Our MJ is Gone

When Princess Diana died I didn’t sleep for two days. My husband thought I was a freak saying, you didn’t know Princess Diana. Who is she to you? The last 48 hours I’ve been watching news report after interview about Michael Jackson’s passing. It’s strange to feel such sadness over someone that I didn’t know and that ultimately led such a strange life, one with no connection to mine.
.
Yet, here I sit blogging about it and it just hit me why. Michael Jackson was like the Justin Timberlake of our generation. We watched him grow up, leave the bosom of his group, break out on his own and become an omnipresent force on the radio and the TV. His songs could make you cry (I’ll Be There), make a wedding dance floor get way more interesting (Wanna be Startin’ Something), make running on a treadmill way less tedious (Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough) and now, let you groove a little on an easy listening station driving in the car (Rock with You). And really, who hasn’t tried at one point to learn the choreography to the Thriller video? I don’t know a single cheerleading squad or dance team that didn’t somehow copy some of those moves during the 1980’s.

I watched Michael Jacksons’s performance of Billy Jean on the Motown 25th Anniversary Special live. It was one of THE most spectacular performances that I’ve ever seen in my life! It was so original, so exuberant, and so effortless, you knew you were seeing greatness and you just wanted more. And, that’s what he gave, and maybe a little too much. I hope now he has a little peace.