I’d just sat down to dinner with a friend of mine when I heard that Michael Jackson was dead. My heart was already heavy, as a close co-worker’s ex-husband had died after a terrible terminal illness. He’d been in an out of the hospital for months and left behind two daughters, ages 12 and 17.
Earlier that evening, I was in a quickie writing class at a local Barnes & Noble. Most of the time had been spent trying not to laugh at some guy in the crowd who kept saying trite stuff in a voice that reminded me of Mike Tyson. That and learning that a fatal flaw is essential to character development.
And if anyone could be the poster boy for a really disturbing fatal flaw, something so bizarre you can’t quite pinpoint it, it would be The King of Pop.
So my friend said Michael Jackson was dead, and I went into shock. He was too young, and I’m saddened to think about how isolated he must have felt. Even after the child molestation charges and Neverland and baby dangling, he kept on ticking. His mental health was questionable, but he was spry. You know the guy could’ve moonwalked at any time.
I turned to two men at a table next to ours and asked, “Is is true? Is Michael Jackson dead?”
They said yes.
And then two other guys at another table. Never mind that they were talking privately, I needed confirmation. “Michael Jackson’s dead?”
So pop culture had lost Farrah Fawcett, whom everyone knew was terminally ill, and then Michael Jackson.
“Don’t forget Ed McMahon,” one of the guys reminded me.
“Everyone thought he was already dead,” I said.
Though I was born in 1983, I don’t consider myself a child of the ’80s. I was a tiny kid with no control over anything I consumed, save for the Play-Doh I’d eat on the sly. Plus, I grew up with parents trapped in the ’70s. We listened to The Carpenters, Helen Reddy, and Jim Croce. Madonna who?
So how lame was I in college when I fell in love with a DJ obsessed with MJ? He had so much to teach me, and oh, what fun it was to learn. “Just look over your shoulders, honey! Oooh!”
I have a lot of memories now in which Michael Jackson features prominently. A pep rally skit to “Black or White.” Dancing in a tiny apartment to “I Want You Back.” Riding with TBID in Brooklyn, blasting “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).”
The musical genius, the joyous originality, the abundance of sequins cannot be denied.
But I think we were always hoping for even more music from The King of Pop. As cruelly vilified and misunderstood as he was, I think we all loved the way he made us feel.
It was the perfect weekend for my visit to New York. Everywhere we went, there was Michael Jackson. Singing, break dancing, even in the form of a midget in a subway terminal. I was glad I had raised my kids knowing his music. Guess his behavior and the media had given them a bad taste of the other side of him, but it still felt good to know they could appreciate his gift and sit at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge with me and sing “Man In The Mirror.” Afterwards, they thought it was pretty cool when I told them about when he was a little boy -he was black back then- and me and every other little girl I knew when I was five would crush on him when we would hear him sing “I’ll Be There.”
Just like my kids, glad you got to appreciate his art and still have a sense of humor about the other stuff.
Thanks for the email! It was great to hear back from you!
We had a wonderful time in the city!! Speaking of Madonna…We stayed at Hotel 17. I heard she stayed there before she was famous!! I thought that was so cool!! I loved that area! We also went to see Upright Citizens Brigade. So funny! Have you ever been to one of their shows? Definitely worth it!
It’s so hard to believe it. I am still so shocked. Farrah Fawcett I was prepared for, and every now and then I would whisper a prayer for her whenever she came to my mind. I love most of Michael Jackson songs, “tell ‘em that is human nature” mm
“remember the time.. we fell in love” “keep on with the force.. don’t stop..don’t stop ’til you get enough”… “thriller”, “off the wall”, “wanna be starting something”
I could go on and on. I thank him for the memories, and I wish love, peace as
starts his next journey.
Tatiana, i love you so much! you are my angel… my drem was, you to be michael jackson s wife… but god see everything! they are nt right about you.. he hed to care about your love… you are my everytnig… you must be happy! i love you!