Gone Too Soon

Ok, I will now publicly tell you that I spent yesterday afternoon in tears. I can almost hear the sneers of those that disagree with me, but I was genuinely saddened by the unexpected death of Michael Jackson. I know what many of you are thinking...has she completely gone off the deep end? My husband and son both thought I had. They came home to find me superglued to the tv, curled up with a stack of napkins, and boohooing as I witnessed the memorial service for MJ. Bill and David tried to pry me lose with their best tactics. They tried to entice me out of the chair with promises of a shopping trip to the Galleria (desperate times call for desperate measures!). All to no avail. I was completely caught up with this family and their grief.

Not at first. At first I was synical. The choir began singing a favorite gospel song of my father, "Soon and Very Soon, We Are Going to See the King". I started to snicker, thinking of the double meaning of "King"...were they thinking of God or Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop"?

But as the service continued,I found my heart feeling pain for Michael's mother and for the three children. And then, when Paris spoke at the end of the service and referred to this pop icon as "Daddy", I lost it.

I feel kind of funny admitting this on the blog, because I know a lot of you have disgust for this man. But yesterday, my reality was sadness for this creative, albeit tormented, man and the way his creative genius twisted and distorted him and the direction of his life.