Goodbye Norma Jeane

By this time, 50 years ago, the news had been broadcast that Marilyn Monroe, age 36, had been found dead in her bedroom of an apparent overdose. Mystery still surrounds her death and many unanswered questions point toward murder. We will never know the truth about how her life ended sometime in the wee hours of the morning.  But, to those who may have been involved in her murder, it is some justice that the act helped immortalized her. JFK is not the only one with an eternal flame. Her iconic image has been more popular and long-lasting than any of her peers.

I used some of the basic facts of Marilyn's life to create my character, Darlene, in "Laid to Rest." She and Marilyn were both poor working girls, hoping to make a dream come true. Unlike Darlene, Marilyn was sexually-abused as a child. She was shifted from orphanages to foster homes. She admitted to being raped at age 9 by one foster family's landlord. Sexual abuse by adult males continued during her childhood. It was a hard life for a young girl but she never gave up on her dream. When she was old enough to get a job, she went to work, supporting herself while she took acting classes. Of course, it was no easy road for her. Sometimes, she didn't have enough money to eat so she resorted to having sex with men in exchange for a meal. Yet, she never gave up on her dream. She saw it through and, although her personal life was filled with misfortune, she became more than anyone, including herself, would have thought possible.

She became legend.

"We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets."~ Marilyn Monroe