MissRuby said:

purplethunder3121 said:

When Doves Cry—Why the Lost Child Deeply Grieves the Loss of Prince

By Toshia Humphries Apr 23 2016

The lost child is one of five dysfunctional family roles. Essentially, this role is self-explanatory. The child loses themselves in music, books, movies, etc. Buried in his or her room—a safe haven from the storm raging in other areas of the home—the lost child straps on headphones or crawls inside a book or video game and escapes.

.

The lost child typically doesn’t have access to authentic relationships within the biological family. Family members are generally escaping their own realities with drugs, alcohol and other destructive means. They’re void of compassion and empathy. Essentially, even living in the same home, they aren’t any more accessible than Prince, himself.

RIP, Prince. And, from this onetime lost child, thank you for saving me. You were appreciated and cherished in ways you could never know, and you will be greatly missed and celebrated, eternally.

That's a great post.

Prince, I wish U heaven.

[Edited 5/6/16 20:46pm]

rob1965 said:

I am not sure how the restrictions here... but I just want to say... Much LOVE to you all.... and this has been a terrible and horrific loss to our Planet Earth and to us People. Live good, live well and make those positive differences. It is so important we carry on the goodness for our Human Race. <3 This my first post in a long... long time. But I just wanted to send hugs and best wishes everyone.

Mackopolis said:

I'm sure this post might go on overlooked, but even if it does, I still want to come speak my words on Prince's passing. Not on social media but among people who genuinely love and appreciate him.

So I joined the site back in 2010 and used it on a very normal basis a few years ago. I don't know what happened or why but I just kinda fell back on coming back to the site. I don't know why, it just kinda happened I guess. And when this news was released, it made me want to come speak on it. Among genuine Prince fans like I said before. It's been a couple weeks since the news broke, but I'm just now coming back on rather than me having come back on right after hearing of Prince's death. I thought it would be just a little distasteful on my part to not logging in on here for a few years. Like oh Prince died, NOW you think it's a good time to come back like you never went anywhere? It just gives me a little bit of a shameful feeling. Like maybe I felt like I just siezed the moment and taking the opprunity to make myself look good. So I waited a couple weeks to come back and talk about it. Especially for having it sink a little better ove that period of time.

So with that I found the news of his death just absolutely devastating. He's not exactly my favorite artist, there's a few more I like more than Prince. But that's not to say he's not ONE OF my favorites because he is. I would definitely call him one of the greatest of all time. And out of all the deaths of musicians I love, this has got to be the bigget blow to me of them all. That man has such a profound impact on my life. I think it's safe to say he made a bigger impact on my life than any other individual artist. He had such a strong influence on me. I've always been very self conscious about my lot of things. My interests, my thought process, my mannerisms, just everything like that. I think my behavior comes off as feminine or even gay to people who don't know me that well. For a male I always thought I was too feminine. Especially I've always been mistaken for a girl. Which always humiliates me. I guess my personality, and especially my phyiscal appearance make people strike me as being a female or being gay. Which I am not either of these things. It's generally considered to be soft or feminine as oppsosed to being more masculine. Which is ironic because if you're openly gay, most people accept that and just think "oh well whatever, he's gay s it's not a big deal". But if you're straight and just have some questionable tendencies, everybody is always quick to make fun of you. Which makes no sense. And with Prince, he made it acceptable for a person to be that way. Although they might not have as much luck with it as Prince did. But still, it's Prince who made me realize it's okay for me to act and look the way I do. He's actually the person I have strived to be like for years. To me he's always been a symbol (no pun intended). He was like the one person who could pull of being this kind of androgynous figure who really blurred the line between how genders should be regarded socially. He was the one that got the same level as acceptence by both genders. You could be a strightest and most manly of all men, and then see what Prince does and think "well yeah but that's Prince" and not be considered badly. And that's how I have always strived to be like. I always thought to myself I want to be like Prince. I want to be someone who has this sort of genderless and limitless way about himself. And that's just how I've always wanted to be. He made me realize it's okay to be that way.

So anyway, RIP Prince. One of the greatest to ever do it. The man has deeply influenced me and had a profound effect on my life ever since I was a teenager.

LayzieKrayzie said:

I'm sure this post might go on overlooked, but even if it does, I still want to come speak my words on Prince's passing. Not on social media but among people who genuinely love and appreciate him.

So I joined the site back in 2010 and used it on a very normal basis a few years ago. I don't know what happened or why but I just kinda fell back on coming back to the site. I don't know why, it just kinda happened I guess. And when this news was released, it made me want to come speak on it. Among genuine Prince fans like I said before. It's been a couple weeks since the news broke, but I'm just now coming back on rather than me having come back on right after hearing of Prince's death. I thought it would be just a little distasteful on my part to not logging in on here for a few years. Like oh Prince died, NOW you think it's a good time to come back like you never went anywhere? It just gives me a little bit of a shameful feeling. Like maybe I felt like I just siezed the moment and taking the opprunity to make myself look good. So I waited a couple weeks to come back and talk about it. Especially for having it sink a little better ove that period of time.

So with that I found the news of his death just absolutely devastating. He's not exactly my favorite artist, there's a few more I like more than Prince. But that's not to say he's not ONE OF my favorites because he is. I would definitely call him one of the greatest of all time. And out of all the deaths of musicians I love, this has got to be the bigget blow to me of them all. That man has such a profound impact on my life. I think it's safe to say he made a bigger impact on my life than any other individual artist. He had such a strong influence on me. I've always been very self conscious about my lot of things. My interests, my thought process, my mannerisms, just everything like that. I think my behavior comes off as feminine or even gay to people who don't know me that well. For a male I always thought I was too feminine. Especially I've always been mistaken for a girl. Which always humiliates me. I guess my personality, and especially my phyiscal appearance make people strike me as being a female or being gay. Which I am not either of these things. It's generally considered to be soft or feminine as oppsosed to being more masculine. Which is ironic because if you're openly gay, most people accept that and just think "oh well whatever, he's gay s it's not a big deal". But if you're straight and just have some questionable tendencies, everybody is always quick to make fun of you. Which makes no sense. And with Prince, he made it acceptable for a person to be that way. Although they might not have as much luck with it as Prince did. But still, it's Prince who made me realize it's okay for me to act and look the way I do. He's actually the person I have strived to be like for years. To me he's always been a symbol (no pun intended). He was like the one person who could pull of being this kind of androgynous figure who really blurred the line between how genders should be regarded socially. He was the one that got the same level as acceptence by both genders. You could be a strightest and most manly of all men, and then see what Prince does and think "well yeah but that's Prince" and not be considered badly. And that's how I have always strived to be like. I always thought to myself I want to be like Prince. I want to be someone who has this sort of genderless and limitless way about himself. And that's just how I've always wanted to be. He made me realize it's okay to be that way.

So anyway, RIP Prince. One of the greatest to ever do it. The man has deeply influenced me and had a profound effect on my life ever since I was a teenager.

Thank you for your heartfelt words. Part of his legacy is pulling us out of limited beliefs. He did it all, showing us all what it is possible to achieve. He impacted not merely music, but the heart of humanity itself.

It still seems like a bad dream. Along with his passing music died a little. My heart and ears a numb and will be for a long time. Not sure about anyone else but for me we lost more than a musical genius we lost a good friend we lost a member of our family.

I'm going to ramble a bit.......

The Love Affair all started when my eldest brother introduced "Dirty Mind" to the house. I was not familiar with Prince before then. I didn't know who it was my brohter was repeatedly playing, but I knew I had to find out. I would wait until he left the house and then go into his room and put on different albums (YES ALBUMS), to try to figure out what he was playing. One day, I lucked out. He left without putting the "Dirty Mind" album away......I figured that's what he had been playng.....OMG!!!! I felt like I had hit the jackpot!!! I've been hooked since.......

I realized something over this weekend....I may have attended Prince's first and last performances at Madison Square Garden in NYC. I went to a show in August 1986 (my first EVER concert, I was 18). I can't remember if it was Saturday August 2nd or Sunday August 3rd. My gut says it was that Saturday. There's a site stating that was his first appearance there....not sure how true that is though. However, I do know Feb 7, 2011 was his last appearance at MSG.....and I was there.

I lost my Father January 28, 2014 and my Mother January 13, 2015. I'm in a constant state of shock that I doubt I'll ever get over. When February 2016 rolled around I said to my sister, "thank God we got thru January".........and then it "snowed in April"......In all honesty I think I would've completely lost it had I not already been numb from my Parents passing...The idea of never seeing Prince perform again makes me sad.....and the idea he MAY have been in pain makes me even sadder....... but it is a tempered sadness......I now try to focus on those I still have in my life........and Music.......Barry White was my father's favorite artist.....I am finding so much comfort in his music right now. I'm listening to "I Found Love" as I type this.......

There's a saying that you should give someone flowers while they are around to appreciate them (something along those lines). this made me think of an old episode of Good Times where one of the characters, (not sure who, it wasn't a main character), attended their own funeral. He got to see just how appreciated and loved he was before it was too late.

Must be nice (or would be nice) for Prince to see how loved, respected and appreciated he is....flaws and all. I'd like to add I have received so much JOY from his music for over 30 years....and that will continue until I am no more

Rest Prince, your work here is complete

Shaolin325 said:

It's been threee weeks and I still can't stop feeling bad about it. Like u all he has been a part of my life for the past 35 years. I'm always listening to his music, watching the videos, etc. What has changed? Now keeping up with what he is doing, where he is performing, etc. has gone away. I'm still saddened by how his last days went down. How could this happen? I can't help but think someone dropped the ball on taking care of him. I can only hope his legacy is taken care of. I really don't care if his vault is shared with us, we all have most of that stuff. I don't want him exploited. I'm so tired of seeing the Prince stuff for sale on Facebook!

I also feel a little weird and guilty that his death has effected me the way it has. All music just sounds different and has a different meaning to me now. I have been so nostalgic lately and it only brings me sadness.

I feel for all of U, I know what you are feeling. I really don't have any other fans near me here in country Indiana.

Still can't believe it!

bombpop said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I'm a long-time lurker who has never posted on this site before. I feel like I am just beginning to come out of a daze from the last three+ weeks. I've come here several times to read the many sweet words people have left, many of which really resonated with me. I wanted to highlight some of those, and share my own, but due to posting rules for "new" members I had to wait. Well now there are a bunch of new posts and I will have to dig back a ways to find the ones that really grabbed me. In the meantime I hope you don't mind my sharing this blog post that I wrote the Friday after he passed, shortened down a little out of consideration. I might as well come out and say it... I feel almost like I lost a brother. One of those posts from the first few days was a guy talking about how strange it was to be a man in his 40s, with kids and a family, sitting there crying over somebody he'd never met. Well I don't have any kids of my own but otherwise I can relate. For me it's definitely all wrapped up with having lost my own brother at a young age, and Prince was one of the arists we bonded over. In a serious way, I feel like I've been numb to grief since the age of 16 until now. Other people have passed in my life but I always kept up a wall between me and the big It, the facing of our fragile mortality. Prince leaving us has brought that wall down like a stick of dynamite. Anyway I am thankful for this place where I can come and express this and know that you all will understand, because it's become apparent that some people just don't get it, and it's a waste of energy sometimes to try and make them see, like profaning it all.

Anyway I think I managed to communicate it better while it was still so raw in those first days of shock. Here is the post, thanks to the community for keeping this site going for so many years

[img:$uid]http://i.imgur.com/tkbhvKK.jpg[/img:$uid]

THE PURPLE THREAD THAT WOUND THROUGH MY LIFE (Flabbergasted Vibes, April 22, 2016)

Prince had some periods where his music became less compelling to me, but it seemed like he was always searching, and even recently seemed like maybe he was finding what he was searching for again. It's really hard for me to imagine a world where he is no longer obsessively working out his artistic whims and occasionally allowing us all to share in them. His body of work was like the loose purple thread from my favorite garment, the one you are forced to leave dangling, because to pull on it would unravel it all and leave you naked, and to cut it off would somehow be dishonest.

[Edited 5/15/16 20:09pm]

[Edited 5/15/16 20:11pm]

[Edited 5/15/16 20:13pm]

FGVibes said:

Welcome to the Org! I must say, yours was one of the best writings I have read on here. So insightful and sincere. I actually felt like I was reading someones journal.

I too lost a brother when we were young, and know what you mean about how a death of someone like Prince (even though we didn't personally know or hang with them) evokes all the pain and grief from our past experiences to surface, and we get to deal with it all over again.

Hang in there.

bigtimefan said:

FGVibes said:

Welcome to the Org! I must say, yours was one of the best writings I have read on here. So insightful and sincere. I actually felt like I was reading someones journal.

I too lost a brother when we were young, and know what you mean about how a death of someone like Prince (even though we didn't personally know or hang with them) evokes all the pain and grief from our past experiences to surface, and we get to deal with it all over again.

Hang in there.

Thanks for the welcome and the kind words. Some of the minor details were off (I started a new school in the 6th grade, not the 7th, and I'm pretty sure I had a 45 of Little Red Corvette before getting Purple Rain..) but I chose not go back and mess around with the text for trivial stuff, and keep it like a snapshot of what I was thinking the day after the guy who taught me how to listen to music left us behind.

Sorry to hear you lost a brother too. It changes a person. You said "we" so I assume you have other siblings? It's still terrible, but at least you have each other. Being the only one left has its own set of baggage I guess.

(edit: deleted a bunch of stuff)

[Edited 5/15/16 21:29pm]

[Edited 5/15/16 23:49pm]

Adore4ever said:

Amen..though im unable to listen at the momemt. When i can i will turn it up loud!! Still too raw

I couldn't listen either for the first few days. And then I couldn't stop listening. Kind of unhealthy maybe, I haven't been listening to much else besides him and have had to force myself to put on some other tunes. I still haven't been able to watch any of the films, I keep saying "maybe tomorrow I'll watch ___" and then I still can't. I would have liked to have gone to a public screening of Purple Rain but the closest one happened before I heard about it (and it was a long drive from here too).

Everyone has their own pace for processing loss, don't ever let anybody tell you what you should and should not be feeling, they have no right.

Adore4ever said:

bombpop said:

It's been threee weeks and I still can't stop feeling bad about it. Like u all he has been a part of my life for the past 35 years. I'm always listening to his music, watching the videos, etc. What has changed? Now keeping up with what he is doing, where he is performing, etc. has gone away. I'm still saddened by how his last days went down. How could this happen? I can't help but think someone dropped the ball on taking care of him. I can only hope his legacy is taken care of. I really don't care if his vault is shared with us, we all have most of that stuff. I don't want him exploited. I'm so tired of seeing the Prince stuff for sale on Facebook!

I also feel a little weird and guilty that his death has effected me the way it has. All music just sounds different and has a different meaning to me now. I have been so nostalgic lately and it only brings me sadness.

I feel for all of U, I know what you are feeling. I really don't have any other fans near me here in country Indiana.

Still can't believe it!

Dont give up hope ...its getting better Everyday. Still a deep sadness inside though. Will love him 4ever💜💜💜💔💔

I know it's getting better, but very slowly. I just really thought he'd have another 20 years of making music. Maybe retiring from preforming and mentoring young acts as a way to still release music. I just can't believe it ended so abrubtly and soon.

The worst part is that he is in the news now, everyone trying to figure out why he died. When this is settled I fear that this will all go away, the org, and all the other fan communities that we enjoy. I hate that he is in the news now for this, but I feel once it is settled it'll be over. I don't know how to explain it. A huge part of my life is gone. I imagine many of us feel the same way. I still feel just horrible. Thank U 4 your kind words.

First time poster here at the Org. Forgive if this is a bit long.

First off, I want to say thanks to the Org for convincing me, almost 10 years ago, to get out to Vegas for the 3121 residency. I took my girlfriend, who is now my wife, and we took the advice I saw on here about how to line up and get close to the stage. We were 10 feet away and it was easily the best show I've seen, and I've seen all the modern greats. It wasn't even close. The fact that we were close enough to see the expressions on Prince's face and hear him command the band were extra benefits, of course. My wife, to this day, claims that Prince checked her out a few times. She was probably right. That remains one of the best times we've ever had, and I don't think we would have gone were it not for the Org.

At the end of the show, a guy who looked like an NFL linebacker, wearing an Under Armour t-shirt (everyone else was dressed up) slapped me on my back. He had been standing behind me the whole show, though we had spoken. He grabbed my shoulder and said, "Prince is a legend, man. He's a legend". I thought to myself, "Damn right he is". The guy disappeared in the crowd as quickly as he had shown up. He was by himself. I looked toward the back of the floor for him and Tom Jones of all people was standing there. It was that kind of night. Surreal stuff everywhere.

I was introduced to Prince and the Revolution by my cousin, who we all called Wendy because she played guitar, sang, and wanted to be Wendy. I was 9. I'd like to say I was always a huge fan, but I wasn't. For whatever reason, it never really clicked for me until high school, when I got into Parade at the behest of a girl I was dating. I then got into the rest of the music and even dragged friends to the opening (maybe the only) weekend of Graffiti Bridge. Prince was never my favorite band/artist (that was and is U2), but I always tried to keep up with what he and the band were up to. I didn't see my first show until 1998, on the New Power Soul tour. Great show, though I wondered why Doug E. Fresh was there. Since I'm a guitar nerd, his solo on Purple Rain on a riser near my seat was my favorite concert moment up until 3121, which killed everything.

I've kept up on here after his passing, and I am truly amazed at the genuine emotion I've seen. I can't say I'm a fan on that level, but I have had a difficult time myself knowing that Prince is no longer around. It was one of those things you could count on in life-somewhere, Prince was somewhere being weird and probably playing an awesome show. So many questions about him remain unanswered to me: why did he let people into his world and then seemingly usher them out so often? Why no collaborations with men other than the strange foray into rap? What motivated him to record so much? What exactly was the point of Graffiti Bridge? I mean, I've seen the movie 5 times and can't understand it. But all of those questions don't really matter. I am truly sorry for the Org-never seen a fan community with this type of genuine emotion and connection to the person it's about.

Just wanted to say that. The tributes and stories on here have been amazing. While I understand the curiousity about his death, I'm not terribly interested in the details. I'm sad that he's gone. I'm sad that it doesn't seem he ever found true happiness away from the stage, though maybe he did. And on the stage, he was the happiest person I think I've ever seen. He was totally in his space, where he was supposed to be. Few of us ever get that gift. The various stories about his personal life don't interest me much, as I only knew him through the music. I hope that he squared things with as many as possible before he left, there seemed to be many comings and goings in his life. I'm sad that he died alone at Paisley, the world he created. I'm sad that there will be no new stories, no new sounds, no new riffs, no new shows. But, lord, the ones he left behind. And it's been great to hear all of his stories of outreach and charity. Thank you for all those stories too.

Whenever I think of Prince now, I think back to that guy in the Under Armor shirt. I wonder if he's an Orger. "Prince is a legend, man. He's a legend". Damn right he is. And legends never die.

RIP Prince, and thank you. Again, my condolences to the Org.

Peace and be wild.

[Edited 5/16/16 18:27pm]

rookparade said:

^ beautiful, heartfelt sentiments. I'm jealous you saw him in Vegas. I so wanted to go. I thought he'd be there longer and put it off too long....I'm sure I'm not the only one with regrets.

rookparade said:

Hi everyone,

This is my first comment.

I just want to respond as all of you regarding losing our Prince.

This man was a precious soul. He had a one of a kind talent, was so mesmerizing to watch on stage. I am so glad to see all the videos on YouTube. Can't stop watching them. It was on my bucket list to go see him perform when I heard all the talk about how good he was in concert.

My favorite YouTube videos so far that are on repeat are the Leno interview and joke, and the Brit Awards. Man, he was so good. Excellent timing, voice never left him to the end.

I just can not believe he is gone. I believe his passing upset more people than Michael Jackson. I have never seen so many news anchors in tears. Van Jones, on CNN, Steve Wonder, the girl from Access, the list goes on. People are just shocked.

My one wonder is why Prince was left alone, particularly, when he OD the week prior to his death. In additon, who made that fateful call on the Wednesday before his death? Why wasn't emergency actions taken instead of waiting for a pre-med student to arrive the next morning? This is why it is so important for celebrities to surround themselves with smart people. Often, it's not the case.

I will truly miss this amazing artist, Prince.