Friday, June 26, 2009

Why so very sad?

I think there are multiple reasons people are devastated by the death of Michael Jackson at the age of 50 yesterday. For me, I realize he and his talent and family and music was a literal part of the fabric of my childhood.

I remember:

  • Bringing my beloved Jackson 5 album in 4th grade to a last-day-of-school/birthday party,
  • My mother selling my Jackson 5 albums without my knowledge at a garage sale and I was not a happy camper,
  • A Michael Jackson album I wanted ore than anything for Christmas - and got it! Lo and behold my horror however when on Christmas morning with all the stores closed, I opened the cassette tape and found a Conway Twitty tape instead (inside a MJ cassette case),
  • Going to the Kansas City Jackson 5 reunion tour! Amazing! Still have the ticket,
  • Working for Solters, Roskin, Friedman PR in LA and the mountain of Michael Jackson press clips that had to be cut out of the newspapers and copied every day,
  • Working for Epic/CBS records which was for a time his record company.
Truly he was an amazing talent (we all know that). He was also a sad figure who I hope is somehow finally going to have that childhood in heaven he was never lucky enough to enjoy here on earth. He was someone who proved that happiness doesn't always come with money and fame and things you buy. He was an integral part of some of our lives. He was famous and in some way in my life, a literal backdrop to my own childhood and young adulthood. He was always there and always famous -- and now he is gone.

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