A Thought inspired by the late Brittany Murphy

You know how you can look at something and not see it?

You may be very familiar with an area and you could still drive past your freeway exit.

You might be married to someone for 10years and still have trouble remembering which side the mole is on...

You may be an involved parent but you will forget a teacher’s name.

This is what we’ve come to as a society. Our hearts may be willing but our minds our too busy sorting through the self-important minutia that comprises our lives. We don’t intend to be arrogant, but the fact is...we are.

I realized this; well maybe I re-realized this on Sunday December 20, 2009. It was on this day that the radio news reported the unexpected death of entertainer Brittany Murphy. Her name sounded vaguely familiar. The radio reporter told me that during her short 32 year existence Ms. Murphy had been in several movies, television shows and commercials, and had even begun what was expected to be a successful music career.

I'm not much of a pop-culture guy, so I didn’t see her movies, I didn’t watch any of the television shows they mentioned, and I didn’t know her music. Frankly, if this young woman had kicked me in the shin, I still wouldn’t have known her. It wasn’t until very late in the day, and during typical, generic conversation with a friend that he said "I heard Hank and Peggy lost a niece". Now I understood why her name sounded familiar but her resume did not. I had seen her name on the screen many, many, many times. Brittany Murphy was the voice actor who gave life to LuAnn Platter in the Fox network animated series King of the Hill. As a voice actor, I have a particular respect for those in the business.

Funny isn’t it? I saw her name almost every night and yet I never really did see her name. It is said that you need to "stop and smell the roses". I'm going to suggest that we all take some time to appreciate their beauty as well. When you have a rose in your life, don’t just appreciate the bloom. Take time to notice the stem and the leaves and to understand why you love every thorn.