The End of An Era
I am completely distraught right now. I can not believe that M!chael Jacks0n is gone. When they actually said the words that he had died, like this feeling of extreme emotion came over me. I almost had to pull off the road.
I'm certainly not someone who is into celebrities. I mean, I mean I feel sad for their families when someone passes, like F. Fawc3ett and Ed MacMah0n. But I think I am actually experiencing grief right now.
MJ was my childhood, and my teenage years. One of my first memories is of hiding behind the couch because the Thr!ller music video was playing. I had to be about 2. And that was just the beginning.
My students never really understood why we (meaning my fellow peeps who grew up in the 80s) were and still are humongous fans of MJ. The just remember the recent stuff and the controversy. But they weren't there for the history making, and can't possibly understand it because there is simply no celebrity today who is original enough or talented enough to compare to him and some of the other celebs from that time (Mad0nna, Pr!nce, J@net, Wh!tney, etc.) or even those before (Elv!s, Beatles, and countless others). The time for having talent just for the sake of having talent and loving music and being a a true entertainer has passed.
He will always be remembered, at least by me, for being the consummate performer. I have no doubt that he had his issues and probably did some sketchy things, and that in some ways he was certainly freaky. But he was a troubled kid who became a troubled adult without being able to grow up normally and deal with his issues. I just hope that now he's at peace, as trite as that might seem.
This is certainly a sad day, and I'm still in disbelief and shock.
Really, I have no other words.
Sorry for the depressing post. In some lighthearted news: things at work are still going great! I really love it there.
