Man in the Mirror

To say that Michael Jackson had an impact on my childhood would be one of the only times Rox would utter an understatement. He made me move, he made me sing, he gave me something in common with the african american girls that played basketball alongside my sister. Today feels very similar to the day I found out Princess Diana had died. However, with Diana's death I thought I lost a friend. With Michael Jackson's death I feel like I've lost a part of my childhood -- that very formidable time when things really could have gone either way, you know? Dealing with celebrities you realize how isolated they either make themselves or others who want to ensure that they stay on the coat-tails and payroll create the isolation for them. When it happens to you at 5 years old -- your reality is far from "our" reality. Yes, there were monkeys and Madonna and Liz; there was black then white (but it didn't matter if he were black or white, right?). At the end of pop culture, people will be talking about when they first heard a Michael Jackson or Jackson Five song and first saw that sweet little boy with the golden voice and flood light charisma. They also will remember how they found out about, where they found out about and how they felt about...the news of Michael Jackson's neverland finally coming to a close. I hope he finds peace finally. And I hope people are finally respectful of not only the man but the boy that could sing, move and get people off their asses and dancin'! Michael, you should be very proud of the face -- whether boy or man -- that you saw when you looked -- and when you look -- in the mirror.