Doris Day

A goodbye to a star of my childhood.

I very rarely write posts or status updates when celebrities pass away. I feel that their families have the right to mourn in peace. I’m not trying to get at those who do post, but for me, it’s something I will think on in private, as a general rule.

Today is the exception.

Today, I learned that Doris Day died in the early hours of the morning, at her home, at the age of 97. I won’t lie, I shed a couple of tears.

The thing is, that not only was she an amazing woman, and actress. She was an animal lover. I still remember seeing the photo of her, with her dog, posted to social media.

I first watched a film starring Doris Day when I was six years old. I was too young to understand some of the themes, but I loved the music, and I loved the character that she played.

That film was “Calamity Jane”.

I tell not one word of a lie, when I say that I have probably watched that film over 1000 times. When it was on tv, when we only had five channels, I recorded it onto VHS, and I watched, rewound, and watched it over and over again.

When my life wasn’t going well, I would curl up in a sleeping bag, and watch that film, and imagine that I was somewhere else.

The simple truth is that when some of the bullying was at it’s worst, Doris Day, and Calamity Jane, kept me sane.

So, today, I am sad that one of my childhood heroes is no longer here, and I am glad that I am able to say these words about her.

I hope that she’s up there now, running free with all of the animals that she’s ever owned, and that she’s moving and singing, just like she did in that film.