Birth Of The Stalkarazzi/Death Of A Princess!

Earlier this month we reached the 50 year anniversary of the passing of Marilyn Monroe. To those who were alive then it still feels like yesterday as many people now believe that it wasn’t suicide that did the former Norma Jean Dougherty in.

Today I awoke and I immediately flashed back to something that I remember ever so vividly. The way the story unfolded and the way it was reported created a wave of anger and sympathy. It was also the first time I ever heard the term ‘stalkarazzi’. By today’s standards that would be TMZ. Some might even say ‘Drive-by Media’…

RIP Diana

On this day in 1997 Bill Parcells was about to debut as a Jets coach in Seattle Washington. It was Opening Day in the NFL. The earliest start ever.

I chuckled when it was announced that Glenn Foley would be the starting quarterback for Big Tuna. Who was this guy? Oh, yeah, Curtis Martin would lead the team on the ground. Against all odds and a very iffy defense led by Chad Brown the Jets destroyed Seattle 41-3.

That game and that day was quite the haze. There was an employee party going on north of downtown Seattle. It was the last time I ever imbibed to the point of nearly blacking out. I knew that deferred treatment was two weeks away. Amongst my staff I was content to sit off in the corner with a friend with  long neck. Of the bottle variety.

About 4 pm PST there was a radio on and it was announced that Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were involved in a car wreck. Details to come. Immediately I started to think back to a wedding day 16 years and 1 month earlier.

Diana Spencer grew up before our very eyes within the Royal Family. Diana wore many hats. I remember how she always was a pillar of class and grace.

When it was reported there might have been drinking involved all of a sudden a noise went off in my head. The desire to drink cessated and my attention turned away from football and sports to life and how fleeting it could be. Now I turned the radio up louder. A crowd began to gather around me. It was then that reports switched from accident to fatalities to ‘being involved in a high speed chase with the stalkarazzi’.

I know now that certain publication rags/gossip gushers will pay top dollar for photos of people in the limelight. At the time the attention that was on Dodi and Diane was pretty huge. I am told that not everyone approved. It still didn’t seem to matter to me that two people just wanted to go about their life without being hounded.

My thoughts turned to anger and indignation when it was reported that Princess Diana and Mr. Fayed were dead. Damn Camera freaks of stalkings. Rot in hell! That’s what my thoughts were. Spencer was 36 years young. I’ll never forget the outpouring of support, love, anger, and sadness at her funeral. This whole incident seemed so senseless.

Over time there was more to the story. The limo driver had a story of his own that also lead to alot of questions and more scrutiny. In any event, yes it was this day in 1997 that Diana Spencer left this earth tragically with her friend at the time while trying to outrace the stalkarazzi of photographers with nothing better to do. 36 seemed so young to leave us.

RIP Diana. From some of us who still remember the iconic impact you imparted on the world.

Over and out in Big D.

Mr. Will