My Mascara is Running for Tammy Faye
Last week, I happened to see Tammy Faye Bakker on Larry King. I couldn’t watch all of it- she was dying and emaciated, and I couldn’t understand how she had the strength to hold her head up, with her big hair and all that makeup. She was amazing though– that tiny voice belied a great inner strength and spirit. She seemed completely at peace and unafraid of death- just concerned about those she was leaving behind.
I saw that she had a web page, and I was so touched by the interview that I sent her an e-mail, telling her that her strength was inspiring, and wishing her well. A few days later, she died.
Sometimes the world is a fickle place, and it is very moving to me. This is a woman who, along with her husband, bilked little old ladies out of millions of dollars so that her family could have gold plated bathroom faucets and air conditioned houses for their designer dogs. Then came the Jessica Hahn scandal. And the homosexual lover (his, not hers). And the hypocrisy. All in the name of the Lord. She and Jim were disgraced and despised.
Jim went to prison, but Tammy Faye remained free. Armed with that innocent little girl voice and gallons of running Mabelline mascara, she managed to regain a great deal of public sympathy. Kind of the way I get out of traffic tickets, only bigger.
But here’s the thing I think that Tammy Faye showed us. There are so many shades of gray. You can be a greedy person, and generous one. You can be intolerant and open-minded. You can act ditzy and be intelligent, all at once. At first, we saw the negatives in Tammy; then she showed us the good. She somehow broadened our view of her, so that in the end, instead of just being a kooky televangelist, we saw a kooky televangelist with major faults who used the last part of her life showing genuine kindness to others, seemingly without the bigotry and hypocrisy we saw from her in her early days. She seemed to radiate genuineness, encouragement and compassion. A lot of people ended up admiring her, and many gained strength from her courage during her long illness.
Our fascination with public figures has a lot to do with seeing human nature played out on a grand scale. Few have played it out more grandly than the Bakkers. In the end, Tammy Faye showed us the best of her human nature, and she did it in a strong and graceful way. I wish her family the best.
Brian said,
July 28, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Hi,
Great post. I wish you would watch the documentary about her life entitled “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”. It explains alot about what really happened with PTL, and I don’t think Tammy was really to blame for any of it. Sure, she went along with the constant money-grubbing, but she didn’t appear to be enjoying it at all.
Peace.
moonbeammcqueen said,
July 29, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Thanks for your comment, Brian. I’ll watch the documentary soon. It’s been on my “to watch” list for a long time.
d matthews said,
March 16, 2008 at 5:42 pm
im sure she dont enjoy the excesses she lived at all.
Fat Man said,
June 29, 2008 at 3:10 am
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, they both suck!!!
They ripped off millions of dollars from all the Christian retards who followed them, and spent that money on gold plated bathroom fixtures, luxury swimming pools, and an air conditioned dog house for their poodle, Muffy!
I remember the long hot summer when the air conditioner on top of my mobile home broke down, and I was unable to get up on the roof to fix it because I had injured my knee and could not climb the ladder.
That summer we had 118 degree temperatures and the humidity was about 90 percent because of the rains we had.
I could not get anyone to help me fix my air conditioner, so I suffered all sumer long from the extreme heat and humidity.
And then, I hear about the PTL Club scandal and the millions of dollars that bastard Jim and that bitch Tammy Faye Bakker embezzled, and how their poodle dog had and air conditioned dog house while I went the entire summer without any air conditioning at all.
I got sick from the heat and wound up in a hospital for 5 days, while their poodle muffy had air conditioning!
WOW! Tammy Faye Bakker looked really pathetic toward the end.
She sure lost a lot of weight, and no longer the chubby little bimbo she once was with her face all plastered with make up like a clown.
She got what she deserved, and good ol’ Jerry Falwell has also croaked. Hope Pat Robertson goes next!
Good riddance!
There shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and the flow of Mascara!!!
P.S.
I know that my E-mail won’t be published so I’ll post it here myself.
You can write to me, and I’ll set you straight and show you the truth.
Fat Man, I don’t normally edit comments here, but as you can see, I edited yours. As a rule, I won’t publish hateful diatribes toward groups of people (unless maybe as regards to hate groups
).
I’m sorry about your air conditioning– that must have been miserable for you. You know, during that time, I too was living in a trailer with no air-conditioning (or running water). It never occurred to me to compare my living situation to that of the Bakkers’ dog, or to be angry with them because of that. It wasn’t how they spent money that irked me so much as whose money they were spending on it. I assume that you didn’t send them any of your money, so while I’m sorry for your situation, it had nothing to do with them. It’s the little blue-haired pensioners who were sending contributions to PTL who had my sympathy.
As for your comments that I deleted, hatred is hatred, and your hatred toward various religions is at the least, unhealthy for you. It certainly does nothing more for those who read it than to incite more hatred.
I don’t disagree with some of your facts. History has shown that horrible things have occurred throughout the ages in the name of religion, but I won’t let this blog be a forum for more of the same. I also won’t publish your e-mail address here.
I do wish you peace and love, and gentleness and kindness in your life.
Brian said,
June 30, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Forgive me, MBMQ, but I can’t help but reply to Fat Man’s comment. The comparison of his situation to Tammy’s dog is completely irrelevant. I don’t fly around in Air Force One or live in the White House, but I certainly don’t fault the president for allowing his dogs the privilege.
Does the fact that my cats are fat and sassy while there are starving children in the world make me a bad person? I hope it’s evidence that I’m a caring person who loves God’s creatures and wants them to be as comfortable as possible. Does that mean a pet is equal in importance to a human? No, but the Bible does say that God sees when the sparrow falls, so I think he notices when we care for the beautiful beings that He has created.
Maybe Tammy’s image as a loving person was completely controlled and fabricated, but I don’t believe so. I do believe that Tammy was a loving person who accepted people just as they are, and if that isn’t Christ-like, then what is?
Whether or not Tammy intentionally committed evil acts or was simply an innocent bystander is irrelevant at this point. She’s dead. God will judge and we need to trust that He knew Tammy better than any of us ever will.
I hope this makes a shred of sense.