I did not plan to spend my day watching Michael Jackson’s memorial service…..yet that is what I did. I was touched and moved by the tasteful and heartfelt program, which transported me back to my high school years and first introduction to this world-wide pop phenomenon. The service successfully banished the more recent negative images of the man, and instead reminded me of the greatness of his talent, his creativity and the barriers he broke.

At the end of the day, we are all measured by our contributions to the planet….and Michael contributed more than most of us will ever dream about. As the old saying goes, we don’t know much about a man until we have walked a mile in his moccasins. Safe to say that few of us have, or will, come even close to walking in MJ’s reality. Michael Jackson may have led what appeared to be a charmed life, yet who of us mere mortals have been thrust into the national limelight at the age of five,  having our childhood stolen, being placed instead into a completely artificial, albeit lucrative, parallel universe. We know the genuine talent and gifts he was born with….yet we have no real comprehension of the demons and deprivation that resulted from this new reality, both for a young boy and the troubled man he grew into. Our societal history clearly demonstrates that true fame and happy, adjusted lives seldom go hand in hand.

Today I marvelled, and reveled in, the genius that was Michael Jackson….and at least for myself, and for today, choose to overlook some of the bizarre ramifications of  his life. He changed the world as we know it and for that he has my thanks. I know that I, along with millions of others, will always cherish the good times we’ve had because of his special gift of music and dance. I hope that in death he can at last find the peace that seemingly eluded him many of  his years on earth.