Michael Jackson

You would have to have been living under a rock for the past two weeks to not have heard about the death of Michael Jackson.

I was a pretty rabid Micheal Jackson fan in high school. I could moonwalk, I made my self a sequin covered glove, and I managed to go to two concerts.

Yeah pretty rabid.

When I was a little kid I watched the Jacksons on TV. I recall at about age 7 or so telling my father that I was going to marry Micheal Jackson. When Micheal came out with the "Thriller" Video, I along with the rest of the world was pretty smitten. But over the years Micheal went from being cute and eccentric to weird and kind of creepy.

I lost touch with whatever fueled that early Michael adoration. The eccentric behavior, the child molestation chargers and the frankly odd stance on the appropriateness of a 40 plus year old man having sleepovers with children just got too weird.

In his last years his court appearances were marked with a dazed and sluggish appearance when trial was over Michael was said to have gone in to rehab.

So when I heard that Micheal had died, I have to admit that I was not terribly surprised.

I watched the memorial today, quite convinced that I really wasn't going to be moved by what I saw and frankly worried that it would turn in to a three ringed circus. What I saw was remarkably tasteful and moving. The service started and a gospel choir sang "we are going to meet the king" and Michael's brothers wheeled in a shining gold plated casket draped in a blanket of roses.

Suddenly The little kid that I said I was going to marry was dead, the entertainer who had inspired me as a teen, was gone. and a man who seemed to be so innocent and naive was no more.

I cried.

I don't know if Micheal Jackson was guilty of the charges against him. I cant help but think that there was something tragic and flawed even tortured about him.

I have a feeling that the coming weeks will show that Michael did in fact die of a drug overdose, and that people around him took advantage of him.

Good bye Michael, I hope that you have finally found peace