Gone Too Soon...

My head and heart are still reeling from the events of today. We knew Farrah Fawcett was, sadly, losing her battle with cancer, yet to hear that she had passed was, nonetheless, heartbreaking and painful. Just hours later, the shock of Michael Jackson's passing was almost unbelievable, in fact, too much to take.

In my business of covering entertainment news, one must remain stoic while reporting these stories, but I must tell you, I broke down in private several times today. You'd have to be inhuman to not feel the sadness of such tragic situations, human loss. And it didn't begin today, it started earlier this week.

First it was a former colleague, a very successful sportscaster from Philly who succumbed to prostate cancer at the young age of 54. Gary Pappa was a father, a husband, a friend. And worked til the very end, even doing the sports on station WPVI while losing his hair. He will be missed. Then, Ed McMahon, whom I had the distinct pleasure of being welcomed into his home, and working with him on several occasions. A class act all the way, and a family man to the core. Then today...

I am shaken, saddened, yet trying in earnest to celebrate the lives of these icons. On Jackson's album "Dangerous" is a song titled "Gone Too Soon" ... say no more.