Post No Bills: New York Adventures in Banality

Dear Tammy Faye Bakker,

Forgive me when I say I never followed your life with much more than a passing interest. Yet you caught my eye because you were camp, over the top, and you loved everyone. Everyone! And how the gays loved you back! You were strong in the face of personal crisis -- something that garnered great respect.

I was so shocked to see the YouTube clip of you on Larry King. Emaciated and only moments from death, you were still strong. Even when King crassly asked if you were afraid of death, you were strong. Even when your voice faltered, heavy with the ravages of the cancer that had spread to your lungs, you still smiled. For some reason that YouTube clip really got to me. It showed me what true strength was -- strength in the face of great pain and certain mortality -- and I realized that I had so much to learn about life.

God bless you, Tammy Faye. You died on Friday after a protracted battle with colon cancer. I can only hope that you are finally at peace. But I am sure you're still going strong on the other side.