Their lives in front of the camera is often very different than the day-to-day "norm". Often it's awful and tawdry and way worse than we could imagine. Sometimes though it's the exact opposite.
And I often wish I'd known about them in that context when they were alive but I never bothered.
True of Kobe. I never liked him at all because of the sex scandal early on. I thought he was a crumb bum and that was that.
Boy was I ever wrong. He was THAT once upon a time but I found out he was a loving devoted father and good member of his community who went out of his way to support women's sports, especially the WNBA. He had 4 daughters, one of whom (Gianni) died with him. She was a basketball player who hoped to be "the next Kobe" one day. She was 13 years old. Who knew any of that? Maybe some of you did. I did not. Well now we do. He has left behind a fine legacy as a human being. His legacy as a great basketball star was never in jeopardy. But now he is a three-dimensional human being and I for one will remember him that way always.
My true confession. This is not the first time I've changed what I thought about someone. Being ignorant is not as good as being knowledgeable when you make a judgment about someone. I know! DUH! Too soon old too late schmart.
