Off to Neverland

I had to be about 6 or 7 years old when we were having dinner one night and my older brother sat me down in front of the T.V.(probably in a last ditch effort to shut me up and keep me still while I ate). He flipped through the channels, eventually landing on MTV - these were the days when it was still possible to find actual MUSIC Videos playing in-between the Real World New York and Remote Control...All I heard my brother say was, "Mija, You got to see this."

It was one thing to have the cool, dingy nightclub and all of the people dressed up in 20's gear, but Smooth Criminal had all of the dancing, beat and rhythm to match. I watched in amazement as this thin guy in a white suit and fedora worked the room like nobody's business. Just when I thought it wouldn't get any better the infamous 50 degree lean happened. This guy could fucking defy gravity! It suprised me then as a kid and it makes me smile now as an adult. I admit, it is still one of my favorite songs.

Within all of the media shitstorm lately surrounding the death of Michael Jackson, I'm choosing not to acknowledge that and base this post on him soley as an entertainer. Also I'm leaving out the multiple accusations of child molestation and his tumultuous upbringing with a bully, vulture, greedy SOB of a father. He's gone and it's not my place to make judgments on someone else.

I think that he was someone who strove for nothing less than perfection when performing onstage or in a video and it showed. From that point on, my brother and I sat down together for the world premier of Remember the Time, Scream, and Black or White. Seeing the barriers he broke in creativity is still something that drives me in my own writing endeavors. Anything is possible. He worked with the best people in the business and the end result is still being talked about.

Maybe we will never know what happened in his life during some of his most controversial events and behavior. All I know is that I can thank him for atleast giving me moments of connecting with others and my family through his music. A tiny bit of my childhood faded away with his death. It seems like that is happening more and more frequently.