In Memory Of Tom Moore, The REAL Rock Of Love
The Rock Of Love 2 cast reunion special aired tonight on VH1, and it included a lovely tribute to rock dad Tom Moore (father of third-place bachelorette Destiney), who passed away from liver cancer two weeks before the reunion show was taped.
Destiney watched the segment onstage with tears in her heavily masacar'd eyes, surrounded by her supportive fellow former finalists. It was a truly sweet moment. Who knew a show featuring buxom blonde metal groupies catfighting, binge drinking, and pole-dancing could be so dang touching?
So in honor of tonight's reunion special, I decided to re-run this Tom Moore blog, which I originally published on April 6, the day that Rock Of Love 2's parental-visitation episode first aired.
Anyone wishing to make a charitable contribution in Tom's memory can go to http://liverfoundation.org/donate or call 1-800-223-0179 x126.
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This weekend, party girl and accused rock groupie Destiney Moore was cut from Rock Of Love 2...but NOT before failing to learn from the error of Heather's ways and seemingly foolishly getting a Bret Michaels-themed tattoo on the back of her neck. (Well, at least she just got inked with the show's logo, not with his actual name, so maybe she did learn something from Heather's season 1 skin-grafted gaffe.)
Anyway, before she got cut, Destiney got the thrill of having her parents visit Bret's rockin' compound, along with the families of the two other remaining bachelorettes, Daisy and Ambre. And while all the relatives were pretty cool this season (there was no daddy drama like last year, when Lacey's crazy father grilled Bret about his flamed-haired daughter's supposed oral-sexploits), the coolest parent on the show was definitely Destiney's dad.
Tom Moore bonded instantly with Bret over motorcycles, hopping on a couple of shiny prized hogs and cruising through Hollyweird side by side. He was a old rockin' soul, complete with a wraparound head tattoo that made his little girl's newly acquired tatt look like one of those Cracker Jack rub-on numbers. But as rockin' as he was, he still had his priorities straight: The man gave up his beloved Harley to focus on parenting his even more beloved daughter, who clearly was his destiny indeed.
On this week's episode, Tom revealed the heartbreaking fact that he had terminal liver cancer and wasn't expected to live past March. March 2008. Gulp. As I watched it the show, I realized it was now April already, and I braced myself for some bad news...all the while hoping that some miracle cure had been found since this episode was taped around December.
No such luck. After Destiney's elimination, the show sadly concluded with an "In Loving Memory" bumper dedicated to Tom, showing him astride Bret's Harley in happier times. Tom apparently passed away last month, never even getting a chance to watch his daughter's final Rock Of Love episode.
Although I didn't necessarily think Destiney was 100 percent right for Bret, I do commend her for never using her family's tragic troubles to gain sympathy or extra airtime, and for keeping a positive attitude throughout the season--particularly on this week's episode. And I also commend Bret for giving Tom a chance to take one less ride into the sunset, on Sunset. I bet it meant a lot to Tom, and to his daughter. Now when she looks at her neck tattoo, instead of thinking about getting kicked off Rock Of Love 2, she can reflect on the good times she shared with her dad, riding Harleys and visiting tattoo parlors together.
Obviously Tom was his daughter's real rock of love, though I am sure that under a different set of circumstances, he would have been an awesome father-in-law to Bret.
Please feel free to post your condolences to Destiney and the entire Moore family on the message board below.
"Now when she looks at her neck tattoo...she can reflect on the good times she shared with her dad, riding Harleys and visiting tattoo parlors together." ~ Lyndsey Parker
I am sure Mr. Moore rode his Harley to the pearly gate. God Bless his soul.
"[O]ne [last] ride into the sunset, on Sunset." ~LP.
PS: Lyndsey, can we get rid of posting #4 above? Thank you for this lovely column. Love, one of your regular readers and a fan..
The Moore family is in my thoughts & prayers.
Amelia Burr:
Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die.
Anais Nin:
People living deeply have no fear of death.
A brief candle; both ends burning
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning
A friend to share the lonesome times
A handshake and a sip of wine
So say it loud and let it ring
We are all a part of everything
The future, present and the past
Fly on proud bird
You're free at last.
written en route to the funeral for his friend, Ronnie Van Zant of the band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Gilda Radner:
I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.
"If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster". ~ Isaac Asimov.
Louisa May Alcott in Little Women, chapter 36: "Beth could not reason upon or explain the faith that gave her courage and patience to give up life, and cheerfully wait for death. Like a confiding child, she asked no questions, but left everything to God and nature, Father and Mother of us all, feeling sure that they, and they only, could teach and strengthen heart and spirit for this life and the life to come."