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Where Do You Go?



It's Thanksgiving weekend here in the U.S. and, while it definitely conjures-up cozy scenes of turkey dinner with family (and then perhaps some shopping and movie-gong later on), this particular holiday also reminds me of the death of Melanie Thornton, lead singer of the Euro-dance group La Bouche. Thornton died in a plane crash on Thanksgiving weekend of 2001. I remember seeing the news of the crash (and her death) on the TV while visiting family in Kansas.

Happier memories of Melanie Thornton reside with me in the form of hours of enjoyment, listening (and dancing) to her music. I've never heard her solo material (which she was touring for at the time of her death), but her work with Lane McCray, as the duo La Bouche, was excellent. I still bust out some of their songs on my iPhone to this day. Their music never gets old.

I remember one particularly fun experience, in July of 1997, when friends Thomas, Alison, Jeromy and myself traveled to Terre Haute, Indiana to watch La Bouche and other Euro-dance stars peform. It was an outdoor concert, and I remember hearing Melanie and Lane on the local radio station, being interviewed live from the mall, as we approached town. It was a fun time.

So it is that, every Thanksgiving, I take a few moments to remember Melanie Thornton, gone too son at age 34. It seems as though she should still be here, continuing on this journey with her peers. As it stands, that is not the case. Like so many that have went before her, her light burned bright, and touched many in a positive way, before being diminished prematurely. May she continue to rest in peace, and live on in our hearts.


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