The yawning maw of celebrity has claimed another victim, Michael Jackson. Among all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, is anyone really wanting to know why or who? Here is a frail 6-foot male who is not eating or drinking but expending energy he doesn't have on his "final show." Anorexia comes to mind. A little boy genius who was helpless in the face of adults who lived off his love and talent while the rest of us ate up any news, good or bad, found the only way to control his life was to stop eating.

Thus, the cause of death: us.

Like those who have gone before — Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley — he succumbed to the perfect storm of being unprotected by family, exploited by commercial interests and the insatiable appetite of the public.

It is easy to mourn and point fingers.

My fear is for the next genius.

Suzanne McKenna

Salt Lake City