Where it all went down for Whitney Houston

I was here, so I had to do it. Before I left the Beverly Hilton for my morning walk, I took the elevator to the fourth floor and walked all the way down to the end of the hall to suite 434. That’s where, last February, Whitney Houston was found dead, the end of a life of extremes: fortune, fame, drug addition, and bad decisions. 

I have to admit – my heart was racing a bit as I walked down the hallway. I didn’t want to get caught taking this photo or be accused of being sensationalistic. But I wanted to see where it happened. Love her or hate her, it’s hard to dispute the fact that Whitney Houston had a gift. Yes, she could be screechy and over-the-top, but I was always a fan of that voice. And maybe because she was the same age as me, it made me very sad to learn of her untimely death. 

We were actually here in Los Angeles the day it happened. In fact, we had driven by the Hilton that afternoon, during a tour of the city before getting on a plane that night to leave for our trip to New Zealand. Right before we got on our 12-hour flight to Auckland, I checked the news online and read about the tragedy.

We’re all born to a life with promise and hope and opportunities. But our paths are all different. I think that every choice we make – big or little - can lead us down different roads. We all make bad decisions sometimes. But by all accounts, Whitney’s unfortunate choices compounded over time and for her, there was no escape. Very sad. RIP.