fallen king

i suppose i now have something to write about. it is a thing less favorable than i would have ever asked for.


general web news travelling the ether tipped me to michael jackson's sudden (to us) collapse. as it does with most life and death situations (see 2pac, b.i.g., luther vandross, etc.) it didn't really strike me as something to be extremely concerned about. our stars are so impactful that they take on an invincibility that the threat of mortality can't renege. we just naturally feel like they will recover, they will beat illness, they won't die tragically...stunningly.

then as twitter comments began to rack up i decided to check on it again. people appeared to be counting him out. mourning prematurely...except that they weren't. another scan revealed a truth i honestly wasn't prepared for.


Michael Jackson: iconic musician, childhood idol, media punchline, consummate enigma was...is dead. at the age of 50.


as silly as it sounds, i kind of don't know what to do with myself. i'm a tad shaken. i GREW UP in the age of thriller and bad and dangerous. my childhood was affected in a real way by his musical contributions. no, i didn't know him. i have never met him either, but consider this: i come from a single parent home. what michael accomplished through song has affected me in a more positive and lasting way than my relationship with my own biological father.

anyone who loved michael will have to prepare themselves for the worst, sadly. the tasteless jokes aren't far off, and you'll probably be put off by them more than you'd care to be.

there will be those who just don't get why you care...or why it's ok that you do.


as the years passed and the fame betrayed him, we forgot what captivated us about him. it's natural i suppose. whether or not he was the person the media portrayed him as, or something altogether different, will go with him to the grave for most of us. i say it's better that way. let the innocent bystanders have their memories. i don't wish to deify the man, but i think most of us can agree his life wasn't without debt- self appreciated or otherwise.


fact is, we will never wrap our brains around the inevitability of their passing. their deaths will continue to be sensational. i've shed my tears as though he were a member of my family, and as my life and times mark another casualty i will certainly move on, like the world...in his absence.


but before i do: here's 1 for Michael Jackson (1958-2009)



THE KING OF POP


now touring in the biggest stadium there will ever be...






custamato~