Paternity established, but Anna Nicole case drags on
Posted: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 6:14 PM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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Pop culture
People on their vacations in the Bahamas actually tore themselves away from the beach to mill around a courthouse today and wait for news in the Anna Nicole Smith paternity case. They'd have been better off soaking up the sun. The results were what pretty much everyone expected: Larry Birkhead is baby Dannielynn's father, and give him credit, he at least seems legitimately thrilled about the news.
A cynic could say "sure he's thrilled, he just won the lottery." Well, that's only if baby Dannielynn is ever proven the heiress to any of J. Howard Marshall's millions. Her mother was never able to claim that money while she was alive, so maybe baby Dannie shouldn't count on it, either. Birkhead seemed to care about making a life with the baby -- even though it's unclear if he attempted to be a part of her life before Smith died.
The crowd was undeniably on Birkhead's side. Those who had watched the courtroom testimony earlier thought he came across as honest, and most found him more likable than Anna Nicole's longtime companion, Howard K. Stern.
And as a somewhat new addition to this soap opera, Birkhead didn't have the nagging baggage of Stern or Smith's much-reviled mother, Virgie Arthur. People will wonder forever why Stern couldn't stop Smith from abusing prescription medication, or at least get her help.
And Virgie Arthur just needs to step out of everything. She wasn't in much contact with her daughter while she was alive, and it seems highly hypocritical to see her now, cooing about how she wants to be the baby's grandmother. Her lawyer has indicated she may even fight for custody, which is just ridiculous. Let the baby live with her father. In fact, Dannielynn's adorable face is about the only bright thing in this whole mess. She knows nothing of money, or custody suits, or Playboy Playmates, or prescription drugs. Some day she won't be able to escape this whole mess that surrounded her babyhood, but for now, she's a precious innocent -- the only one in this whole case.
In Charles Dickens' "Bleak House," an infamous and interminable legal case drags on and on. It'll make someone incredibly rich, if it only ever ends. But in the end, court costs eat up all of the enormous estate. Sound familiar? Dickens wrote his book 150 years ago, but apparently we've learned nothing from his cautionary tale.
