What could get me blogging again but the untimely passing of my beloved childhood icon, Michael Jackson. I felt compelled to share my memories, thoughts, emotions on him mainly after seeing so many remarks on Facebook today; comments from what I would consider kids who weren't even born when I was trying to Moonwalk. Gather round, little ones, and let me share something with you.
Every girl recalls the first male celeb she fell madly in love with, right? To some of you younger ones it may be one of those goofy Backstreet Boys; to each her own. Well to me even in Kindergarten (yes, Kindergarten) I was in love with Michael Jackson. Posters of his smiling face, gloved hand, and tip-toe stance were plastered over every square inch of my bedroom and door. I had the black jacket and glove and I wore it to school and was PROUD OF IT. Like my friends, I would rush to watch MTV just to catch a glimpse of his video that afternoon side by side with my two older siblings who also thought he was the coolest thing ever and guess what? He was.
Today I read on Facebook a few comments during the time of MJ's memorial service which was being aired on NBC asking things like, "Why does he get all this attention? Other celebs have died recently, too. What about our troops that die every day? Where's their tribute?" To that last part I say whoa, hold up, wait a minute. Apples and oranges. Michael was a celebrity beyond any other celebrity. Whether you were a fan or not, he was notorious and changed the face of pop music and made way for the present day boy bands and Justin Timberlakes of today that I'm sure most of the younger crowd adore (see how that happens?). He wasn't just an actor or a famous shot on a poster in a red swimsuit. He wasn't just a singer or an entertainer. He was beloved by millions over generations from the time he himself was a Kindergartener.
The men and women of our military are in fact every day heroes and I have all the love and respect in the world for them and their families; my father served in the Army. I was a young Navy wife once myself and my husband missed a LOT of things b/c he was on a submarine defending your freedoms so please don't confuse their acts of courage and honor with the one day media blitz for MJ's funeral. He will live on in the hearts of millions forever but just like every other breaking news story and special series, this too shall pass and the hype will die down. Relax. Let this one guy have his funeral and some air time. Do you know what all he has contributed to society? To humanity? To charity? He deserves the recognition for that if nothing else. And despite what you may or may not believe about him behind closed doors, if you missed the end of his service today and didn't see his beautiful daughter sobbing saying how much she loved her daddy and how great he was then seriously, you have no room to talk. A family has lost a loved one, a mother has lost her son, children have lost a father, and the world has lost someone that most of us truly treasured so please be respectful of that.
Now here's a funny story about my childhood love for MJ. Most of you that know me well won't be surprised by any of this! When I was in Kindergarten my parents sent me to this school that I haaaaaated. It was a small, private Christian school and I had to wear a dress every day which stinks when you're 6 and wanting to climb monkey bars and chase boys, and I did. Every Friday, we had chapel. It lasted a small eternity. K-12 were all crammed into this small church we had at the school. One horrible day, the preacher (such as he was) got up to do the sermon and was preaching on the evils of rock and roll music and specifically about MJ. Oh, holy cow. I was in tears. I was so mad. I didn't believe a word this moron was babbling for an instant but he was saying MJ was going to Hell for singing these songs and doing these dance moves and on and on, just ignorant mess, some older boy was shaking his head and the preacher yelled at him for shaking his head "no" at him b/c he knew what he was talking about....I went home crying to my parents and refused to go back to school; I had to go to school but not on Fridays. Eventually the principal (aka preacher) called my mom to ask why Steffi hadn't been coming on Fridays to school anymore and Peggy you better believe told him! To this day I'm positive my mom did the right thing not forcing me back to those chapel services. I mean, it was bad enough I had to wear a dress every other day I was there. ;-) I was 5 then and remember that vividly. By first grade I had the black jacket w/ the faux diamonds. Thanks, mom and dad, for letting me do my thang! LOL!
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