How Quickly We Forget

I was wrong. I didn't think Britney Spears could come back.

That this whole MTV Awards show thing was and is a last, desperate musical Hail Mary pass for what I assumed was the "popped" tart.

That her career, much like what I've always felt to be her questionable talent, was gone.

I forgot about history. And I forgot about you. And how forgiving, at least most of you are.

I forgot about George Foreman. Mean and downright monstrous in his younger days. Comes back as a cuddly, grill-hawking grandpa in his older days.

I forgot about Robert Downey, Jr. too. Talented but troubled in his early days. Adored as a gifted, tortured soul these days.

And I forgot about Richard Nixon. Given up for dead when he told a nation it wouldn't have "Dick Nixon to kick around anymore." Back after all the kicking stopped.

I could go on. But why bother? You get the point.

And belatedly, so do I.

It just seems remarkable to me that in a week we lost an incredibly gifted talent like Luciano Pavarotti, who never fell out of style, I have to acknowledge a not nearly so gifted Britney Spears, who's about to fall right back in style.

Difference is, of course, Pavarotti never had to perform with a boa to wow a crowd.

I suspect that without such antics, Britney might never find one.

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