I'm cruising home from the Jill Scott concert, vibing in the afterglow of the
sister-soul of the Philly songstress, when the radio DJ brings me down from
my high with a heavy thud. He informs that singer/actress Aaliyah is confirmed
dead on a flight enroute from the Bahamian Island of Abaco to Opa-Locka,
Florida. Wire service reports confirm that the 22-year-old was on the island
to film a video for an upcoming single from her self-titled CD released in
July.
She was one of eight people to die when the twin-engine plane, a Cessna 402B,
exploded on impact just 200 feet beyond the end of a runway at Marsh Harbour
International Airport on Abaco Island at 6:45 p.m. A ninth individual was
airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami with serious injuries. While
the cause of the crash is still to be jointly investigated by the U.S.
National Transportation Safety Board and the Civil Aviation Department of the
Bahamas, airport workers it is reported, said the plane was overloaded with
luggage and equipment that the group did not want left behind.
The news put me in my own personal tailspin not because I was an active fan
of work, but because it forced me to reflect on my own life and priorities. I
am a procrastinator, guilty of not taking full advantage of all that my life
now holds. If you are like me, you may have also deferred experiences or
opportunities for one or some variation of these reasons: I will get to it
when I am thinner, have more money, have a better job, meet the right mate,
my child is older, I get a bigger house, a better car. . . Life as we have it
now just never seems to be enough for us to truly enjoy the moment.
At only 22 Aaliyah had accomplished much in the entertainment industry. She
released her first album, "Age Ain't Nothing But Number," in 1994; "One In a
Million" in 1996 and her third "Aaliyah" in July. She added motion picture
actress to her resume when she co-starred in the Y2K action flick "Romeo Must
Die" with martial arts expert Jet Li. She also has the lead in the film
adaptation of the Anne Rice novel "Queen of the Damned" and joined the Keanu
Reaves et al for the "The Matrix 2." Both films are scheduled to be released
in 2002.
Another creative voice has been silenced too soon. But as nature proves the
dead can nourish new life. The key now is for us the living to wake up from
our inertia and boldly add our voice to the mix today because tomorrow offers
no guarantees. To comment on this or any other article email
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