Lesson from Anna: Furor over star’s remains a sad tale — and a message

At last, the furor over Anna Nicole Smith is over — and she has finally been buried next to her son in the Bahamas. This, of course, after weeks of bickering among her survivors and those who claimed they knew what she wanted.

After one of the final hearings about the case, one of the attorneys involved said he headed straight for another law office and made sure his wishes were clear in his will.

And that is good advice for all of us.

The sad display that became the death and burial of Anna Nicole Smith is the best advertisement in the world for preparing in advance for what you want to happen to your body and your estate after your death. Leaving these matters to chance is dangerous — even if you aren’t a celebrity.

There will be more fallout from the Anna Nicole Smith case. There is still the matter of her baby’s parentage and where the little girl will live. There will probably be more disgusting displays of self-interest and many more television hours spent following the testimony.

This nation’s intense interest in other people’s dirty laundry is another topic for another day.

For now, this is a chance to think about a little baby who has lost her mother, a 39-year-old woman who couldn’t go on without her son — and a family struggling to recover from a series of extreme losses.

Our hearts should be with a little girl, just months old, who will inherit the whole sordid tale. Let’s hope someone remembers her as Round 2 begins.

Published in Editorials on March 5, 2007 10:53 AM