David Bowie was like fire…you can’t help being attracted despite the danger.

With the recent passing of David Bowie, there have been many colorful conversations about the gripping impression he made on his adoring fans.  One local Cleveland radio D.J. said she had a crush on him while at the same time finding him a little frightening.  A glorious description, right?

If John Wayne rode horses, then David Bowie drove a fleet of unicorns. –Blackbiter.com

Nothing about David Bowie was ordinary.  One eye a stormy blue ocean.  One eye a gray sky.  (And you’re never for certain which is which.)  The icon was one of a kind and before his time.  Emerging as some strange and nebulous Ziggy Stardust creature bathed in glitter and becoming a solid gold R&B, Pop, and Rock Star.

An alter ego is necessary to do freely and boldly what is not only necessary but destined.

The tone of his voice was mesmerizing, whether acting or singing.  When he sang, he sang with intention, taking his time with the words like poets and jazz artists do, releasing the syllables according to some unknowable plan.  His voice was as haunting as his looks.  And, sometimes, in the early days before veneers, because of the jaggedness of his teeth, he seemed vampire-like and, like Prince, quite seductive.  It is only fitting that he should die at 69.

David Bowie was the epitome of what it means to be charismatic.  Everyone is acquainted with the magnetism that exists between musicians and models.  But who knew David Bowie would find supermodel and entrepreneur Iman as captivating as we found him?  Those skinny opposites of the same thin and gleaming coin had each other’s backs for a lifetime.  Their children must be over-proud that despite the difference in ethnicity and backgrounds, and despite all the general everyday husband and wife differences, they, with a spotlight blinding them, were able to find that elusive “glue” that keeps couples coupled and clinging to each other.  To heck with Charles & Diana!  Who wouldn’t break a twenty to see David & Iman: The Movie?

I love this t-shirt. Don’t know how I got it, but it’s mine. The shirt David is wearing has ruffles down front and at the wrist.

Speaking of movies, David Bowie was in his element in The Labyrinth (1986).  All strange and beautiful.  My little cousins got a huge laugh out of the gurgling and bubbling “pooting pond.”  The soundtrack made them dance the magic dance…and sort of made me simply daydream.

What magical creature is this, this David Bowie?

Like Curtis Mayfield, Barry White, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Cash, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, and the thriller himself, Michael Jackson, these amazing spirits come for but a moment, entertaining and entrancing us with their brilliantly pulsating gifts.  Then, like a glimmer of light, they are gone.

Without David Bowie, the world has suddenly become so much duller.  But, at least, we still have the memories and his oftentimes otherworldly music.

Don’t you miss him already?