A Legend Lives On

I just watched the last part of Michael Jackson's Memorial Service on TV. I didn't see all of it, of fear that I would start crying in front of Sofia. She gets upset too, when she sees mommy cry. So I decided, I could catch up online later, if I wanted to. But the part where his daughter, Paris, said a few words, just pushed me over the edge! It's really sad to think that the only parent they knew is gone. I can imagine, he was a wonderful and caring father to them, and that even though it was questionable sometimes how he behaved with them in public, he did the best he knew how. Protecting his children was his main priority, because he knew first hand what the media can do to you!
I start crying every time I hear about him or I hear one of his songs, it's crazy! I think the fact that his death came so sudden, makes it harder for me to process, because I can imagine, he really would have had a huge comeback with his upcoming England Tour! I was equally shocked when I learned of Heath Ledger's death, too, and it still brings me to tears, when I see him in a movie. It makes me wonder what our real purpose here is? Who is it really, that gets to decide when we have to go? Is it fair to blame anyone? Do we just have to accept the fact, that one day we're here, and the next we could be gone?

I was never a huge fan, collecting everything about him, or buying all of his music or anything like that, but I grew up with him, most of my teenage years were filled with MJ's music. I can clearly remember staying up late with my brother, watching the premier of "Thriller" on MTV. It was on at midnight and my mom let me stay up with my brother to watch it. It was amazing and I knew that I wanted to see him in concert, should he ever make it to Switzerland.

He did, finally and I think it was in 1992 when I got to see him live in Lausanne, Switzerland. I had originally bought two tickets to the show in Basel, but decided to exchange those with someone who had tix to the Lausanne show. I was working retail at a Jewelry store back then, and the Basel show was on a Saturday. Too many of us wanted to go (and had already tickets, without wanting to let go of them, for obvious reasons), so I decided that I needed to find a way to get Lausanne tickets, if I wanted to go. Magically, I did! My then boyfriend (aka. "The Narcissistic F#@*er" but that's a whole 'nother story) and I drove the 3.5 hour drive to Lausanne that Tuesday. I have to say, it was one of the most exciting, breathtaking, most awesome concerts I've EVER been to. And even though, it was rumored that he was in bad health at the time, he gave his fans his absolute best! We drove home, knowing that we had witnessed history! So friggin' cool!
Well, it turned out that I went to work the following Saturday, with about four of us missing, because they too, were on their way to the MJ concert in Basel. Around noon, we heard the rumor that the concert was canceled! I was shocked and a little bit sad that the others wouldn't be able to see him perform, but deep down inside I felt a bit of "Schadenfreude", because had I not given in and exchanged my tickets, I too, would have been the one disappointed. But I did and so now I can be the one saying, "I saw him once in concert!"

I love all his music! It's timeless, full of love. It's meaningful, his lyrics make you want to listen and understand what it is, that he's trying to say. Even when I didn't know English yet, I dissected every line, trying to figure out what he was saying, mostly, because I didn't understand his slang, but also to know, what it meant.

I hope that secretly, he has written many, many more songs for us, that will appear in form of other artist, so that he can continue to give us hope for a better world. Rest in Peace, Michael. I hope that you can finally Rest in Peace!