King of Pop

I can't believe Michael Jackson is dead. I wonder if finding out about his death is going to be like the "I remember where I was when I found out Elvis died, where I was when I found out President Kennedy died, when the Challenger blew up, when I found out about 9-11," etc... Love him or hate him he was the icon for my generation. Michael Jackson's Thriller album was my first album I ever owned. I was in fifth grade and my brother came home from college and brought along the "new danger" album that would forever be a changing moment of my life. I memorized every song on the album. I read the words as Michal sang them in his soprano voice and I agreed with him that Billy Jean is a skank who is trying to pin him as the daddy just to get child support. Little did I know at the time, but "Beat It" had a double meaning for him, it wasn't just get out of my house and don't darken my doorway again. Still today when I hear the song "PYT" (Pretty Young Thing), I expect, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' " to immediately follow. Michael Jackson's video of my favorite- Thriller, was the first music video I ever saw. I admit it was scary with all of the zombies, but was a bit "thrilling" and exciting as well! Michael Jackson was the first man I saw gyrate- to music and otherwise. Apparently the "Man in the Mirror" was a bit too black for Michael because soon after his huge success, he turned white. He also had a strange obsession with the elephant man and owned his skeleton. Maybe Michael could relate to the elephant man since his nose fell off just like him. I always kind of related Michael with OJ Simpson because they both only had one glove. In my time it was cool to wear only one glove (and a sequenced, tight red jacket), but then along came OJ and his one glove and it no longer was cool, but creepy. That's about the time Michael Jackson reached his peek of creepiness. He was dangling his children out of hotel windows, making his kids wear veils (maybe because they were in fact black), and opened the Never Land Ranch as if it were in competition with Disney World. I think Michael Jackson was a troubled man. Actually all of the Jackson's are troubled. Latoya with the drugs and jail time. Janet with the whole "Ooops! I showed my nipple decoration on national television during the most broadcasted event of the the year- but didn't mean to!" Perhaps father Jackson pushed too hard for his brood of 5 to succeed and Michael couldn't re-gain the popularity of the "Thriller" era and couldn't cope. I feel bad for his three children, not just because he threatens to play "toss the baby" out the window, or the veils, but because their mother gave up all rights and visitation to a crazy man, and now that crazy man is dead. Maybe someday they can join Brittney Spears in the Circus- I mean on her Circus tour...