Farrah Fawcett's Early Life

It's hard to believe Farrah Fawcett is gone. Stranger still, to look through newspaper archives and see her life before she went out to Hollywood. If you are lucky enough to access the Corpus Christi newspapers, you occasionally glimpse old pictures of Farrah.

• October 28, 1959: The cheerleaders of St. Patrick's School Shamrocks, in green and white costumes, will lead the yells at 2:30 p.m. Saturday when their team meets the 'eleven' from Our Lady of Sorrows. Farrah is the one on the far left.
  
• February 14, 1965: Farrah is voted the most beautiful girl at Ray High School annual favorites dance.
  
• April 1, 1965: "Four W. B. Ray seniors will be honored at a punch party from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. today at 352 Palmetto. Hostesses will be Mrs. Louis J. Wehmeyer and Mrs. Edward P. Thomas." Farrah was listed as a member of the house party.
  
• May 17, 1965: Farrah is listed on the permanent honor roll at Ray High School.
  
• April 2, 1967 in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times: "Miss Farrah Fawcett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James W. Fawcett, the Cliff House, left Saturday for Acapulco. She will spend her ten-day spring vacation from the UofT with classmates in Mexico. She has been named Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps sweetheart at the UofT. Mrs. Fawcett will join the group in Acapulco Monday."

• July 3, 1970: An ad for the film Myra Breckinridge, playing at National Twin I in Corpus Christi lists Farrah as one of the stars, along with Rex Reed, May (sic) West and Raquel Welch.

• August 30, 1970: "The Houston Astros seek a new "Miss Astro" to represent the ball club today in final ceremonies at home plate at 1:30 p.m." Farrah and Kristina Allen, each a former Miss Astro, received movie contracts. Clearly this position is a stepping stone.

• January 23, 1973: From Dorothy Manners: "I was on their first date together so it is of particular interest to me that Lee Majors and Texas beauty Farrah Fawcett, after five years of togetherness, will be married on June 28th. Both are doing very happily in their careers as well as in private life. Farrah recently appeared in "The Great American Beauty Contest" (20th-Centurty Fox) and Lee is finishing a pilot, "Cyborg," about an astronaut.

• March 15, 1974: On an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man, airing at 8 p.m. in Corpus Christi: "Seems Steve (Lee Majors) is assisting the first female to go into space as an astronaut. She is played by Farrah Fawcett Majors, Lee's wife. There is a problem in space, so they must rendezvous at Skylab. Turns out Steve is no longer .invincible up there. Some good effects,  realistic dialogue and science editor Jules Bergman as himself to add authenticity."

We tend to remember life in moments rather than spans of time. When I think of my life in San Francisco, I think of walking down Market Street in the late afternoon, dodging pigeons and homeless people. I remember the crisp air and  slanted sunlight on brick buildings. It's spooky to think that when I die, I might feel all that again, for one more fleeting moment.

Farrah's death is a reminder of a lost world. Maybe it's hit me harder because of my Dad's recent death. I've spent a lot of time lately, considering death. What  happens when we die? The more I think about it, the less I'm inclined to think of time as a rigid construct. I'm also thinking that the live people are less alive than the dead.