A Good Shot of Fantasy and Reality.

Last night I had a chance to go out and "be Missi" as Dan says. I got kinda dressed up and met a girlfriend and her daughter at The Von Leibig Art Center for the wonderful exhibition on Princess Diana. It was a collection of some of her dresses, letters that she hand wrote, memorabilia and much more. Her story. Her story.

So I will start from the beginning. I was a Diana freak. Mom and I woke up very early on July 29, 1981 and watched her wedding on t.v. I was young and sleepy, but with the help from mom I made it through. The idea of a real princess was so exciting. I was excited about that special event all day and for years to follow.

Between the time she was married and had her first child William, my sister had gone to Europe, a stop in London and loaded up on Diana stuff for me. I still have some of it here in Naples. I wonder what I have left in storage. My BFF growing up she too was a Diana Junkie, (I would say her more than me) but we both shared the passion for the life of this woman. We thought no one could top her, to us she was the ultimate woman, she defined grace and elegance and poise and fashion and more. My BFF at the time even cut her hair to be like Diana's. We were so excited about having a positive roll model.

You know as we grew older we still enjoyed reading and talking and wishing to meet Diana. We would go down the street to the local drug store and read all the ROYAL magazines. We had pictures of her framed, we read everything we could on her and we pretended we were her American BFF's.

As Diana grew into her roll as 'The People's Princess' her time was not as fairytale-ish as my friend and I had ever hoped. She faced so much sadness and a troubled marriage and much more. Apparently the job as Princess of England is not that easy. But what she did do was break many barriers of humanity. She did things and met people and touched people that no one has done since Mother Theresa. Once her marriage was dissolved Diana really transformed herself into and untouchable and unstoppable humanitarian. Stunningly a fashionista and her work was off the chart. She was a Mom to two boys who are in line to inherit the thrown, but she always kept them grounded. She constantly reminded them how blessed they were and that there are plenty of children in the world who have nothing....

Diana's death was devastating to so many. I know I wore black for a full week. It was as if I lost my best friend. I was so sad. I remember every event leading up to finding out she passed. She was my generation's...."where were you when Kennedy was shot" we will always remember. Even Dan Rather cried on air as he reported her death. Oprah was devastated and Katie Couric was speechless.

Once she died, I stopped collecting things. Everything for sale was for a 'charity' but i never knew where the money was going. it seemed pointless. She was gone. I was so happy to go to this exhibit last night. It was good fun reliving my love for Diana, to remember who she was and the wonderful things she did. To learn facts that I had never known, to enjoy time away from the house, the husband and the son. It was great to tell my friends daughter all about a REAL PRINCESS and for her to find the dress that most resembled Cinderella's.

How sad though. Her story of life was told in the gallery in a very classy manner, and then the end. I felt a little heavy, a little sad but a little hopeful too. Being there last night reminded me how the work she did was selfless... A good shot of fantasy and reality.