Jena (my oldest friend from childhood) came to New York for a visit last week. Our big night out was Thursday when we had dinner in Bryant Park and then saw the play "Blithe Spirit" on Broadway starring Rupert Everett, Christine Ebersole, and Angela Lansbery (who won the Tony this year for Best Actress in this performance).This was also the night that we heard the news of Michael Jackson's sudden passing. We were walking down the street to the restaurant when our friend Missy (my second oldest friend from childhood) texted me to share the news (Missy and I watched "Thriller" for the first time at her house in 1983 and we probably watched it 500 more times together over the next three years). We both stopped in shock after reading the message and then suddenly we heard everyone on the street talking about it...as if everyone else had received the news at just the same time. Seconds later a man crossing the street cried out "Long live the King!" It was such a strange and surreal moment.
This picture was taken around 1983 or 84. I really did love Michael Jackson and his music when I was growing up. But I've realized after watching all the news coverage of his life, that the Michael Jackson I loved was gone a long time ago. Although he never stopped making great music, he did lead a very strange life towards the end. It was sad to watch his appearance change so drastically over the last few years and even sadder that his reputation was tarnished after the law suits. The man must have had considerable personal pain in his life to make such choices. But despite all that, I will always remember his music of the early 80s and how it was the soundtrack to my childhood. I cannot hear a song from the "Thriller" album without reliving a memory of dancing around my bedroom in my purple-striped leotard at nine years old. For the sheer joy your music gave me as a child, I thank you Michael Jackson.
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