I will not claim to be his number one fan or even his number 1003 fan. I didn’t collect MJ memorabilia nor do I own a collection of his albums. Where I knew him was where it mattered most to me and that’s in my heart.
Michael is THE backdrop to my childhood. His songs embrace me in nostalgic warmth. When others raved about the Beatles or the legendary Elvis or even Bob Marley, I sang Michael Jackson songs. I remember only ever seeing two albums when I was growing up; Thriller and Dangerous. I have only ever bought one Michael Jackson CD (Invincible) which wasn’t his greatest CD compared to his previous releases but I still treasure it.
I know that he wasn’t immortal mara yho, who would ever have imagined death visiting this Peter Pan? The man who once owned never-never land and had a monkey called Bubbles? A man who lived his life trying to create the kind of childhood he missed out on. A sad life to live when one thinks of it. To even try and single out one Michael Jackson favourite is as impossible as trying not to blink. Although my collection of his music is poor I knew a lot of his songs; they were the beat of my baby steps, the pace of my walk to school; the reason I had a song book at high school; the HILARITY of the lyrics we came up with; the soundtrack to our own version of karaoke nights, damn the endless MOONWALK practice sessions. His music was good for the soul, good to listen to and he proved that video ho’s weren’t a requirement to good videos. Who didn’t rap along to McCauley’s part in the song Black or White.
I wish I knew what his mirror told him but his quest to look ‘white’ clearly said he hated the way he looked and maybe he was purging the part of him that was subjected to abuse at the hands of his father. Lawd knows what abuse does to the psyche of a person so I won’t even go there. What I’ve always wondered though is whether he wasn’t trying to look like Liz Taylor, who is one of his closest friends. There is some resemblance there. Well, in my eyes anyway.
I remember how astonished I was when I first heard Michael Jackson speak. I was at boarding school and it was some award ceremony and he had won an award (my memory is very hazy on details). He walked up to the stage, moonwalked to the podium (I think) and the venue went crazy. He stood there looking up at all his fans and then he spoke. I could not get over how soft-spoken he was. I think I fell in love then. I couldn’t stop talking about Michael and every other person who had watched had to answer the question: Can you believe how soft spoken he is?
There’s always been a fragility to Michael that endeared me to him even more. I think the kind of love I had for him bordered on the maternal. Like, flip I wanted to take care of him! Even when the molestation charges came up, I felt sorry for Michael. When he suffered financially, I felt sorry for Michael. When he lost never never land, I felt sorry for Michael. When his nose was on the brink of falling off and was held together by a band-aid, I felt sorry for Michael. When he looked like he was fading from himself, I felt sorry for Michael. When there were reports that he had hired a personal trainer, I felt sorry for Michael. When I discovered that he really had died of a heart attack, a piece of me bled.
From his song: Gone Too Soon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ_l_o-53nI Like A Comet, Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon
Like A Rainbow , Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon
Shiny And Sparkly, And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day,Gone One Night
Like The Loss Of Sunlight , On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon
Like A Castle, Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon
Like A Perfect Flower, That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon
Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day , Gone One Night
Like A Sunset ,Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon
Gone Too Soon
