The "Remembering A Childhood Sweetheart" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading in the paper about all the people who have died recently.  My next door neighbor who was a good friend for years and who moved to Venice, Florida this past December after retiring from his business, the tow motor mechanic who died in an industrial accident and worked at the plant where my son is a pressman, and last but not least, one of my "girl friends" from my youth, Annette Funicello.  She died this past Monday from complications due to multiple sclerosis which she had battled for over a quarter of a century.  I never cared much for the Mousketeers on TV, but I sure loved Annette.  I can still remember the puffy hairdo, transistor radios, dancing, and bikinis in Beach Blanket Bingo.  Annette, along with Frankie Avalon, were two of my childhood memories that I will never forget.  I couldn't believe it when Annette married her agent in 1965.  I kind of lost track of Annette for years when she retired from show business to raise her family.  I did know that she had three children, but didn't realize that she had divorced her husband and remarried three years later to a racehorse trainer.  In 1987 she and Frankie staged a reunion with Back to the Beach which at the time seemed kind of corny.  I guess I had outgrown the things that were at one time important to me.  It was during the filming of that movie that she noticed she had trouble walking.  In 1992 she made it public that she had MS and stated that "I think you only have two choices in this kind of situation. Either you give in to it or you fight it.  I intend to fight."  Two years later she appeared in a TV docudrama based on her autobiography and spoke about her MS.  A few years ago she had finally lost the ability to speak.  Published in the paper was a statement from her children after her death which read, "We are sorry to lose Mother.  She is no longer suffering anymore and is now dancing in heaven."  How true.  As I was looking through all the YouTube videos to add one to this story I came across a link that included a few condolences from fans.  One struck me as how I remembered her.  It went like this:  She was so beautiful, good-natured, humble and kind to everyone around her.  And she did it all - TV, movies and music, one of the biggest stars in the world in her time.  Then she walked away from it all to raise a family.  A role model for everyone who works in this industry.  Her suffering was cruel and undeserved, but she handled it courageously.  Now she can RIP.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Check out Annette one more time by clicking: http://youtu.be/9ngTd7SPFCw