Oops, she did it again

I've been watching in horrified fascination the ongoing and extremely public decompensation of Miss Britney Spears.

How did she get from ( this )

to ( this? )

I remember that little girl with the big voice. She had an amazing talent for one so young, and she was oh so gracious at both winning and losing.

Try as I might, I see little sign of her remaining in the woman she became.

Impulse marriages, constant partying, even more constant media attention, a life lived entirely in front of a camera, rumors of drug abuse and child abuse, a public divorce, an even more public and ultimately lost child custody battle, headline after headline such as Britney Spears on suicide watch.... I wonder if there's anyone in this young woman's life who doesn't want a piece of her.

She's been given chance after chance to do right, and she abandons each effort. Who is advising this child? Any real people? (Dr. Phil doesn't count as "real people".)

If I thought it would do any good, I'd haul her off on the next SLO Bunch weekend: have one of our Southern California cohorts sneak her out of town in the back of the family mini-van. Perhaps three days with a bunch of straight-talking middle-aged women with no agenda and no vested interest would help her get her priorities in order.

But then again, perhaps not.