The morning of July 25th started with utter happiness. The phone rang with my brother on the line relying the news that his wife had just given birth to their six pound son, Miles Robinson. It was an end to a long awaited anticipation. I was overjoyed to be an aunt again!
The last week I had spent relentlessly studying for my insurance license so sleep had unconcernedly taken a back seat. It was four minutes after 4:00 in the morning before I stepped onto the treadmill for what I had dubbed in my head as a thirty minute jog. When I got on, I was possessed by this urge to continue. I watched the clock clear 4:15 then 4:30 before deciding I wasn't going by the time anymore and instead demanded a certain amount of miles out of myself. At five miles, I convinced myself I would jog another half mile then stop. After 46 minutes and 5.59 miles I was done. I stood in the middle of the living room for a moment, my body was still surging with energy so I figured I would continue my mini work out with some short leg and ab exercises. I jumped in the shower around 5:15.
Angel was on TNT and I had grown a slight addiction to watching it in the mornings. Perhaps it was the fact that nothing else seemed to be on at five o'clock in the morning while I was still up painstakingly studying my notes. I fell asleep midway through Good Morning America, but woke up long enough to catch a glance of the paparazzi shoving cameras into the face of Alana Stewart as she drove from the hospital after Farah Fawcett's passing. At the time I wasn't conscious enough for it to soak in and just buried my head back into the pillow, going back to sleep.
It was nearly one in the afternoon as I sat in front of my laptop that I realized Farah had succumb to her three year illness. Even after having tearfully watched her special on ABC weeks ago, I was still a little surprised. She had fought so hard and the doctor's had long proclaimed her illness incurable, I thought she would be able to hang in a few more months. As portions from the special aired on television, my tiny surprise quickly dissolved after seeing her wilting body in each piece. Her death was inevitable and I felt nothing but remorse for the people around her unwilling to accept her fate. My heart was saddened by their current position, but encouraged by their strength and support of her.
I was watching Oprah when the phone rang again- it was my sister. She had been receiving text messages that Michael was dead. I chuckled thinking it was another fake death trilogy because nothing had scrolled across the scene. As Oprah's show ended and the five o'clock news began to preview, they announced Michael had been rushed to the hospital in Los Angeles. My smirk had immediately turned to a bewildered state. I hung up the phone after telling her what I had just seen and that I would call her back. I turned to my election faithful, MSNBC, which was already in full swing and on location at UCLA Medical Center. When they went to commercial I switched to CNN and within 15 minutes they announced the LA Times had declared Michael Jackson dead, but they wouldn't confirm. I sat shaking my head and turned to MSNBC, thinking CNN had been unreliable in the past. It was true MSNBC, Fox News and Channel 8 all confirmed the death of Michael Jackson. I sat there staring at the scene before suddenly feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me. I rolled over onto my hands and knees, heaving in disbelief. What was going on??
I unconsciously moved from my laptop to the television, still trying to grasp what was happening. Was this real? Was I really watching the death of an Icon? I was paralyzed in what seemed like an alternate universe. Memorials and sympathies were being tattered everywhere- online, television, newspapers, but it wasn't real yet. I listened as Keith Obberman noted the next footage they would be showing could be graphic. The cameras continued to an arial shot of the aid atop UCLA Medical Center transporting Michael's body into a windowless white van bearing the label Coroner and it finally hit. This was all real. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, the music Icon and the cultural inventor was dead. This was more than a moment in history, this was a devastation to millions of people around the globe.
I couldn't stop watching and couldn't help feeling guilty for letting this tragedy overshadow the miracle my family had shared this morning. This was unbelievable- the day of my nephew's birth would now be tainted by the death of music's greatest.
In the hours passing and the 25th becoming the 26th, many words have been said. Many from the unfenced community of entertainment and others from the people that have watched over the years. For the first time a genius has eclipsed a sex symbol and people would wake up Friday morning to see Michael's death front page while Farah's became swallowed within the pages of their newspapers. As expected his death recanted his successes just as much as his scandal and eccentricities. But in his death, his huge influence became noticeably apparent by the resonating news throughout the world. Newscasters reported from the Apollo theatre in shock of the faces and ages in the crowd people. Unforgettably Michael's career spanned for 40 years, touching people in their 80's just as much as teenagers. People, myself included, posted their favorite videos on their websites and Thriller is once again the number one best selling album.
In the end what is there to be said about Michael Jackson? I suppose everyone has their own opinion- whether to recognize his indisputable talent or his uncomfortable mystery of the later years is upon each individual. I've learned over time, in death people usually choose to see the greater good in people. This is a moment in history that will never be replicated. It can be comparable to the death of President Kennedy, which is obvious by the coverage it has received through every media outline. It's news is top story, ahead of the revolution in Iran or the bombs in Korea, something which has never been said for any other entertainer.
I have also posted videos, sayings on Twitter and Facebook. I don't believe my words to be the thoughts of everyone, but I took comfort in how I've chosen to see the life of Michael Jackson. I posted this on Activist Don Ramon's Facebook page:
Este es un día triste no sólo en el African American historia, pero la historia de la música y la historia del mundo. Michael ha cambiado la imagen de los vídeos con Policial, la imagen de la filantropía con We Are The World. Su corazón era enorme y su inmensa compasión, pero su talento ha sido y siempre será insuperable. Durante los últimos 40 años, ha sido una inspiración y una influencia para tantas personas. En mis oraciones que, el corazón y el amor salir a su familia, sus amigos y sus fans. Michael mayo encontrar la paz en la muerte no se le permitió en la vida. Se puede perder ahora, pero recordar para siempre!
It says:
This is a sad day not only in African American history but the history of music and the history of the world. Michael has changed the image of videos with Thriller, the image of philanthropy with We Are The World. His heart was huge and immensely compassionate, but his talent has been and always will be insurmountable. Over the past 40 years, he has been an inspiration and influence to so many people. In that my prayers, heart and love go out to his family, his friends and his fans. May Michael find the peace in death he was not allowed in life. He will be missed now, but remembered forever!
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