My Visit to the Whitney Houston Shrine

Hello, everyone. How was your Presidents' Day weekend? For my international readers, I'll explain a little about this. 2 of our most well-known American Presidents, George Washington (born on Feb. 22) and Abraham Lincoln (born on Feb. 12), are considered so special that their birthdays must be acknowledged as national holidays (paid time off for many of us). There was a time when these 2 days were acknowledged as 2 separate holidays, but that is no more. Instead, we celebrate both birthdays on the 3rd Monday of each February. Many people choose to go out of town (Vegas is a popular destination for many Angelenos), but I usually stay in town to get stuff done.

So what did I get done? Since launch date (Feb. 5), I attempted to build a bigger collection of Jason Wu for Target items by scouring various Target stores in the LA area. I was pretty successful last weekend, when I found 3 of the infamous cat-print scarves in a Target store 35 miles from my house. I did think of leaving 1 on the rack for a poor soul who'd been hunting it down, but I ended up snatching all 3. I didn't want to take any chances that I wouldn't ever find them again. I turned out to be right. I haven't seen them in any store since that day. Don't fret, though. All of them went to dear friends/family who were absolutely grateful and will keep in order to treasure. I was unsuccessful this Presidents' Day weekend with that, but it still turned out to be a good weekend nonetheless.

So while on the hunt for more JW for T items, I drove by Beverly Hills and decided to stop for a few minutes to visit the shrine of the dearly departed Whitney Houston, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she passed away. There were others there, reading the cards/notes filled with sincere words. The candles were burning, the flowers still strewn, even 8 days after her death. I took a close-up pic of 2 of the many handwritten notes. I chose these 2 in particular because they came from people from countries far away. It just goes to show how far-reaching Whitney's fan base was. She's a true inspiration to singers and people in general. There will never be another singer like her. It's sad to think about how her career declined toward the end of her very short life, but I choose

to remember her in her prime. "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?", "One Moment in Time", and "When You Believe" (her duet with Mariah Carey, from the soundtrack of Prince of Egypt) were my favorites songs of hers.

Time permitting, I think I'll revisit the shrine and leave my own little token of affection for her. I'll let you know how that goes.