Letters: Farrah farewell hit the spot

RE Christine Flowers' op-ed "Touched by an Angel" on the death of Farrah Fawcett:

I couldn't agree more. The final days of June brought much tragedy. I feel not only a loss but a subtle betrayal that the death of Michael Jackson overshadowed everything else, especially Farrah's passing.

I don't dismiss Jackson's musical ingenuity or his iconic stature, but I agree with Christine that Farrah "had a humanity that, for all his genius and epochal accomplishment, he didn't."

Despite that fact that, at 31, I was just a child at the height of Farrah's stardom, she had a quality that seemed to cross over generations in a much different way than Jackson did.

As a young girl in the '70s, I remember my mother (like most women back then) with her Farah hairstyle and "Charlie's Angels" fashion.

In the '80s, when my mother and the rest of the world replaced Farrah with Princess Di as the new starlet of the decade, I always thought about those two women in wonderment of how dearly my mother felt for them both.

Both shared a "real" and approachable quality despite their celebrity, they embodied femininity and demonstrated genuine sincerity, both in glory and in tragedy.

Farrah, despite being a sex symbol, emphasized her family and being a mother and showed grace and strength throughout her battle with cancer. Jackson, on the other hand, never seemed to show any grace, even at his best.

Although his music does provide a soundtrack for my life, and I appreciate it, I still can't view him as a heroic figure (not that he ever chose to be one) or as someone who, despite his fame and wealth, I'd want in any way to emulate.

The passings of Gary Papa and Farrah Fawcett, in my opinion, were deeply sad. My heart goes out and my hat goes off to them for the strength and courage they demonstrated in their final days. Thank you, Christine, for acknowledging that and for paying tribute to these fallen stars.

Dana Baker, King of Prussia