To never forget

[RTSDaddy2]

RIP Rebecca Schaeffer - so hard to believe it's been 20 years ago today.

For those who don't know the story, this was a young actress, co-star of a show few of you may know of called "My Sister Sam" with Pam Dawber in the 1980s.  By the time of her death, the show had been cancelled, but it was becoming NO surprise to anyone who saw her act that the world had been blessed with a true developing talent. Sadly, a crazed stalked walked to her front door on the morning of July 18th, 1989, pointed a gun at her chest, and killed her with one shot.  As I recall, it would come out later that due to lax laws, the DMV in California actually gave this guy her address (the case would change the laws forever).

Why do I deal with this, you ask? Because the summer she died, she had just turned 21 - and was murdered one week and a day before my 21st birthday.  It rocked my world, being the first major "celebrity" death in my life....partway because it was so violent, and partways because I was a huge fan.  Suddenly my perfect little ideal life was topsy turvey - and I would have to add that it was here I realized, perhaps for the first time in my life, that I was not invincible either.  One day about a week after her death, a stranger in a van approached me at the local mall asking for directions - and I realized I was blocked off from the mall. My mind raced - dare I offer directions, or try to go a different way? I offered directions but it scared hell out of me.

Time has healed a lot of it, because I never really knew her personally of course....but the biggest thing that healed me was to learn the    that killed her is still in jail.  I wanted the death penalty, but the wimpy ass jury in California denied it....but I'll take what I can get.