We Miss You

Today is the five year anniversary of the death of one of my favorite singers. Aaliyah Dana Houghton was a beautiful young woman whom it was my pleasure to meet when she came to the city where I was living at the time. Her warmth was real... her smile infectious. Her grace and realness was not imaged nor was it a facade. What you saw with her was what you got. She loved her mother and respected what her opinions on everything from the clothes she wore to the dance routines she performed. And while Liyah may not have been the strongest dancer in the world, she had it, that star quality that is so difficult to define, but once seen, is seldom forgotten.
I have been on several blogs today where the owners have commented on her passing, and in perusing through the comments left by visitors, I have been at times shocked, and then saddened at the way some people feel the need to constantly put down everything about Baby Girl. I've seen everthing from "she couldn't sing" to "she was just a fake ass wannabe Beyonce!" Why is it that when someone dies, we have to automatically start comparing everyone else to them? Is it because we're trying to keep Liyah's spirit alive.... or just because it's so hard to say goodbye to someone who is certainly, at least in my mind, gone too soon?

Whatever it is, Aaliyah, I for one was a fan from the very first moment I hear "At Your Best" and I will continue to spin your music, because your voice touched something deep inside all of us that I hope would continue to inspire us to be better... RIP Baby Girl, and if you see my Grandma and Grandpa, tell them hello and I love you!