It's been something to not have posted anything in so long. I'd been so addicted that I couldn't help thinking about you guys everyday and popping in to get a little reading in here and there, even though I have made time to post anything of my own lately.
My last post was a tribute to Michael Jackson's death. I still can't believe that it has been real. Didn't know the man from Adam, but for some reason it still hurt to hear that such a great performer is gone.
I sat myself down on my couch this morning preparing to watch the memorial that I'd been waiting for for days. The finalization. The proof that he is really dead.
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not a boo-hooer and I don't cry over sad situations that don't involve me. Not movies, not celebrity lives.
So, I had my mom on the phone and we sat and watched as the casket was brought in, as Mariah sang, as Queen Latifah spoke. I laughed myself silly when Stevie Wonder came out and my mom couldn't help cracking jokes about his receding dread-line, saying that he needs to have a weave put up front.
So many times she and I repeated the same thing, "Uhm uhm uhmm, I just can't believe it." I told her she sounded like the old ladies in church. She said I was doing the same thing.
I shook my head in sorrow when Brooke Shields spoke of their childhood together and gave Michael a real face, made him into a real person as she spoke of how funny he was and how much he loved to laugh.
Then Usher sang....... and I felt tears fall. I thought I wouldn't because as I said, I don't cry. I ain't no PUNK! But there were those pesky tears and when Usher started to cry more seemed to fall.
I have been sorrowful for the world's loss and for his family's loss and for his kids' loss since the moment his death was confirmed on CNN and it was CNN that I watched as his daughter took the mic and cried for the loss of MJ, making tears really start flowing down my face.
Can you imagine being Michael Jackson? Can you imagine the kind of life he must have had completely missing out on childhood, always being criticized and scrutinized by the media, living in a glass house? He seemed so much like a kid still himself and he just wanted to world to leave him alone and love him for what he loved the most.
He was just a man, and a friend of mine wrote on Facebook today: Regardless of any of MJs indiscretions, he is still only a MAN, human & with error. Continue to celebrate his life and make this world a better place for you and the entire human race.
Well Spoken. He will truly be missed but his legacy will live within us forever.
10 comments:
I couldn't have said it better myself. I had it live streaming while at work and I almost lost it when his daughter said, "I love you Daddy." It made it real that he was a daddy first, then a son and a brother. Easy to forget in the midst of all of that.
He deserves the recognition, yet some people have said, "Enough already!" My comment was, "Did we say enough already when Elvis died?" Shoot, Elvis is still being impersonated after all these years.
Sorry didn't mean to get on my soapbox. I just had to respond.
Wonderful sentiments for a great man...I teared a couple of times today during the ceremony especially during Brooke...
It really was a wonderful celebration/remembrance of a great human being. I can only hope that he is now at peace, far from the world's questions and fascination.
I really feel for his children. I felt the pain in that little girl's words and I know the pain that is in her heart right now. I've felt it as a young child who lost a parent and I still feel it. May they remain blessed with a strong support system to surround them.
The fact that he might have stolen the innocence of children like yours and mine doesn't shadow his accomplishments?
Chocolate - I'm with you on the Elvis thing. I mean he was a great man as well and he received and continues to receive recognition for being one of our greats.
Michaels was a trailblazer for us and I suppose it may very well be something that only we can truely understand, just like MLK and Obama.
Peach Tart - Brooke's words are where it started becoming a true goodbye for me.
Ms. Bar B - He was the only father figure in their lives and their whole world as they seemed to be very sheltered. It is those kids who will suffer most in all this.
Rambling Rachel - Judge not lest ye be judge. In the bible, right? The way I see it, it is not my place to decide what that man has done and condemn him to hell because of my beliefs. I'm not God and it is only He that can pass that kind of judgement. The way I see it, it is the judging eyes and the media that has driven that man to an early grave.
You know, it is rumored that the first offender came forward and said that he lied about it because his father wanted money. Whether that is true, I don't know, but wouldn't that give you a new outlook on this man's life? Wouldn't that make you think twice about judging someone for something when no one knows the truth except for those in the room and their God?
I just feel that he has died. We should "leave him alone" and let him rest in peace now.
Great post.... I just feel like, in spite of what he may or may not have done at anytime in his life, he was still a daddy, still a son, still a brother.... and that is still VERY hard on a family!!!
I watched it, too. I felt like it was a show until the very end. seeing his little girl cry just broke my heart. for whoever he was or wasnt, for whatever he did or didnt do, he was her dad.
I am so not a cryer, and I was bawling...
(oh, and fwiw, I could not believe how many folks commented on my post that they hadn't seen Thriller! Did they grow up on Mars?)
I appreciate the tone of your post. Written from the perspective of one human being reflecting the loss of another. I didn't know MJ personally, but I know full well what love and loss feels like and can respect and empathize with the loss felt by those who loved him greatly.
I thought about this post and comments a lot. I don't have a lot of tolerance for people who have harmed little children. It makes me quite angry.
BUT
In this situation specifically, it's not a for sure. Maybe people were gold digging (using their kids--now how sick is that?).
AND
The grace given to him by so many people is something I would like to be able to extend to both accused and convicted perps. May God work in my heart.
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