#16 Michael Jackson Never Spoke To Me (Until Now)
Michael Jackson would have celebrated his 51st birthday today. Maybe I’m alone but it’s actually hard for me to believe he was that old. I guess it makes sense when you actually think about, his career started when he was just five-years old and he was such a constant figure in the worlds of music and media you almost saw him as immortal. That theory proved false this past June.
Sadly, when Michael passed I didn’t feel the same sense of loss that so many experienced. That’s not to say I don’t acknowledge the man’s immense catalog of songs and talent, which changed the face of music and the world in general, it’s just that when people I don’t know die I have a hard time connecting emotionally.
I always say that I’m lucky in the sense that in my 32-and-a-half years here I’ve only experienced the death of only a single loved one—my grandfather, who passed when I was 10. Losing my grandfather, who played the role of father in my life, was a traumatic part of my childhood and I guess detaching myself from the emotional impact of other deaths is my coping mechanism.
Or maybe I’m just digging too deep.
No disrespect, but it’s not like I knew Michael. Just because I knew a few words to his songs didn’t mean I knew him. We weren’t high school friends and we didn’t send each other birthday cards each year. He was just a man I heard on the radio and saw on the TV or Internet, but to everyone else he seemed to be so much more.
I could blame my mother. I grew up in a house where music wasn’t really played except around the holidays when Christmas carols filled the house. As a result, I don’t have a strong connection with music like most folks around me do.
Yeah, I listen to music but it’s mainly for work, not because it’s a major part of my life. So I didn’t feel personally impacted by Michael’s passing. It was definitely sad to see anyone with that much talent expire but I wasn’t moved to tears—not yet at least.
It wasn’t until about week later that Michael’s impact truly hit me. I was in the Bahamas for a wedding and the entire bridal party went to the main square downtown the night before the nuptials. The DJ was rocking the spot and went into a medley of MJ’s material. It was in that moment, a thousand miles from home, that I saw Michael’s impact for the first time.
There were children and adults, Black folks and White folks, Americans and Europeans, people from all walks of life all enjoying this man’s music. They were dancing, cheering and celebrating Michael’s life.
While all this was going on, I sat off to the side in silence stoically observing. Since I had not allowed myself to enjoy Michael’s music while he was with us, I didn’t feel a part of the experience. I didn’t know the choreographed moves to “Thriller.” I didn’t know every song that was spun that night. All I knew was that I did myself a great disservice by not appreciating Michael when he was here.
I felt tears welling up behind my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I stuffed them back wherever it they came from and pondered my feelings. I sat back, closed my eyes and just listened to Michael.
He asked me, if I “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’?”
I laughed and told him he was “Off The Wall.”
He told me to relax and just “Enjoy Yourself.”
I told him I was trying but I felt like a “Stranger in Moscow.”
He said, “You Are Not Alone.”
I told him I was sorry and I just wanna “Rock With You.”
He said it was cool, just “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).”
That’s when I told him about this girl, “She’s Out My Life.”
He said, who, “Dirty Diana?”
I said, nah, the “Lovely One.”
He said, was she “Black or White?”
I said, Black you might know her as “Billie Jean.”
He said, oh, she’s “Dangerous.”
I said, yeah but she’s a “P.Y.T.”
He said, yeah she is “Bad.”
I said, tell me about it, she gives me “Butterflies.”
Before he left for the night and the DJ played the last record Michael just told me to do him one favor and just “Remember the Time.”
I shook my head knowingly and sighed, I will, Michael, it’s just a shame you’re “Gone Too Soon.”
Where were you when you heard about Michael’s passing? How did you feel about it? Do you take the passing of celebrities the same way you would a close relative? How important was Michael’s music to your childhood and adult life? Do you feel that some people are only appreciating him now because he’s gone? What’s your favorite Michael Jackson song of all time?
Speak your piece…
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Lonias
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janet
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http://goddessesrising.blogspot.com goddessjaz
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Righteous Mama
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da ThRONe
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Mz. Ashley
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Keisha
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Anonymous
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Boriqualuver69
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~L.
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Elle
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Jenn Perez
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sweetsexxybrown
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bumblebee88
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Big Tim
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Dj.
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Stay High Mama
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Mr Sensible
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readerhi1234
