THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE

Tammy Faye has gone on to her just rewards. I'm a little sad. I saw the documentary, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, done by two gay guys. Very interesting and I think I might watch it again--what I got from it before was the mutual respect of the film makers and their subject.

What a storied background that Ms. Tammy has lived. Most of us got to know her when, along with her former husband, Jim, they were ripping off the faithful. All of us know that story and the downfall. When it happened, I had mixed feeling, although never a fan. I was constantly asking questions: how could people be so stupid as to be taken in by these two. But, to be fair, I was constantly asking that of all the televangelists, whether they promised riches or keys to the kingdom.

I always thought that Jim and Tammy Faye were kind of naive with a simple message that made people want to believe. And, then there was Jim's near tryst with a not quite so innocent believer, Jessica Hahn. He didn't quite seem to know how to pull that off--there was always a question of whether they got it on or not. And, let's face it, Jessica made out financially OK. Maybe a little disillusionment, although it didn't keep her from having breast augmentation.

Remarkably, Tammy Faye and even Jim, after a little prison time, went on to rebuild their lives somewhat. So, as often happens in our culture, the famous become infamous.

Larry King announced Tammy's departure on his show. She had promised him "dibs." The last time she was on his show, she allowed as how she was going straight to heaven once it was time. Tammy, I don't doubt that but since nobody knows quite how heaven works, I can't believe that you're not going to have to wait a bit--straight I would think refers to those like Mother Teresa and others who probably never concerned themselves with the Larry King show.