I remember the first time I saw this musician the world called Michael Jackson. I was about 3 or 4. My sister and I kept making our mother rewind a videotape that an MJ video on it. I didn't understand what he was talking about in the song. I was just captivated by this handsome black man dancing around in a tuxedo with all these brilliant colors and illusions going on in the background. From that moment on, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough became my favorite song, Off The Wall became my favorite album, and Michael Joseph Jackson became my favorite artist. I'm was too young at the time to remember that he had had another album out. In my mind, this was a brand new song! I later discovered that there was more to the genius that was this man in a black tuxedo.

Michael Jackson has always been a very special part of my life. At one point, I swore we were related because we share the same last name. But, of course, such is not true. Hey, you can't stop a girl from dreaming! He is the ONLY artist that I've ever felt any sort of emotion for. He makes you FEEL the music as he sings. The lyrics just touch your heart and soul. Watching him perform is like nothing I've ever experienced from an artist in my lifetime. Very few have given me goosebumps. I get them NOW as an adult as much as I did when I was a child. What ever emotion he is trying to convey with a song you FEEL it. That is important when listening to music, I think. It should do something for you. I think it's called escapism. Isn't that what he wanted ALL of his fans to experience?

I've never really paid much attention to the tabloids when it comes to Michael Jackson. It is my belief that (not trying to make it a racial issue but I HAVE to say this) the entertainment powers that be did NOT want to see a "black" Elvis Prestley. But if you look at ALL of his accomplishments, once he started breaking records with ANYTHING he did, it became a free for all. ONE album catapulted this man into a stratosphere of superstardom not seen since Elvis or the Beatles. Hell, he bought the Beatles catalogue! THAT is when the media frenzy started. And whether people like to admit it or not, this man was bigger than BOTH of them. Through it all, I stayed a fan. Never wavering in my belief that he could NOT have done the things that he was accused of. As it stands, I hold the media partly responsible for his death. The media needs to learn when to let people be. They aren't hurting anyone; they're just being THEM!

I will never forget where I was the moment I found out that we had lost this musical genius. I'd recieved a call from my sister who had told me that my favorite uncle had passed away. As I screamed and cried the words "MICHAEL JACKSON DEAD AT AGE 50" ran across my television screen. So even more tears flowed. I was now mourning the deaths of two people I loved so dearly; one I'd never even met in person. It was a sad, sad week for me. I blasted his music even more so than I already did. I even recited the words to Gone Too Soon at my uncle's funeral. It was my way of letting them both know that, if they could hear me in Heaven, they were both dearly loved by me.

Michael Jackson's music will always be the soundtrack of my life story. When I hear one of his songs, I can remember the first time I heard it, where I was when I heard it, and what I was doing. No other artist has touched me like he has. I loved him as if I knew him! He had a way about him that just made you want to watch his every move, professionally. I remember saving my allowances to buy any album he ever made. I even have a saying, "In Michael Jackson, I trust, all others will be downloaded". Corny, right? But that's just an example of how much he meant to me as an artist. Special Note: My son's favorite song is....you guessed it.....Don't stop Til You Get Enough. Even at 4 he appreciates good music!

He is gone now, but as this site says, his music will live forever. So this means I will be a fan forever. I know that he is at peace now, no matter how much the media continues to try to tarnish him even in death. It's my hope that he is up there KNOWING that even though the media tried, they couldn't stop his TRUE fans from loving and mourning him.

Fly away now, Peter Pan
You are at peace
You needn't worry
Not in the least
Your burdens are gone now
With the setting of the sun
And with your passing
A new day has begun
Fly away now, Michael Jackson
We no longer despair
Because we know that
Within the blowing of the wind
And the crashing of the waves
YOU ARE THERE

Michael Joseph Jackson 1958-2009