Today is June 25, 2010. Before last year, this day was like any other day. The date held no real significance to the general public unless it was somebody's birthday, anniversary, etc., and the majority of us just went about life as we normally did. It was on this day last year that I was standing in Edison State college, waiting with some of my family members while they we finishing up all the last minute task to get ready to enroll in the upcoming semester. I looked up at the tv and saw the news about Farrah. She had died. I thought of how quickly we forget about someone until they're gone. We will no longer see that golden girl with the feathered hair. Then when came back to the house, they had the tv on the news. The news said that Michael Jackson was in the hospital and in critical condition. We all said the same thing in various ways. We had hopped that he was alright, that he'll be fine.
Then just like that, he was gone.
It felt like the world itself had stopped. There was a gigantic pause in the world. And then the gasp. The tears. The utter shock. It gripped us.
The music was gone.
I remember seriously thinking to myself, "What are we gonna do?" It was as if a light had went out in the world. The man that we had grown up with, who made us dance and sing, was gone. In a way we all had sort of believed that he would never die. He was always there! Always, like an uncle you see all the time. It was like learning about death all over again. It was especially bad for me since my mom was in the hospital at the time and had been there for some months. So the mortality part had me extra nervous. What about her? Is she gonna be okay?! Hopelessness started to set in.
And then the music started.
Somebody had turned it on MTV, then another on BET. They had the usual interviews of grieving celebs, but even their words seemed pointless and empty. The rest of the glittering world of the rich and famous looked cheap and fake. Their words were hollow. But then they started playing videos in between, and one of the channels just played nothing but MJ's videos. We were all transformed. We went from watching them and exclaiming over his moves and awesomeness, to dancing. Dancing and singing. Giggling at the way he flirted with the girls in his videos. Talking about what we would've done it it were us in the video instead. Saying loudly "They need to play that one song..." or screaming the classic "THAT'S MY JAM!!" We ran around the house trying to do some Michael Jackson moves, complete with crotch grabs, high kicks, hip thrust and "HEE HEE!" and "SHUMONE!" sounds. My cousin Jessica (ChiBot) and I were talking excitedly about what look of his we would wear, screaming and laughing at each others responses. Somehow, on the one day that was supposed to be one of the saddest in our lifetime, we were the happiest. Some sort of magic fell over the household. Outside was no different. Everybody played MJ in their cars. The DJ's played MJ almost nonstop in their mixes. the world itself seemed to have transformed.
So now, a year later, the same magic has come back over us. Tributes are being typed up right now as I type this. On Twitter my timeline is usually full of foolishness, shade, jokes, and sometimes with judgment and negativity But that also has transformed. Now it's filled with MJ tweets, pics, and backgrounds that will make your soul smile from ear to ear! Later on today, I garantee that the world outside will be a bit of the same way. Somebody will be blasting MJ all day. DJ's may spin some classics in tribute. We all know the tv networks will have something MJ related on. It may not be as intense as last year, but the magic of Michael Jackson will still be there.
I have a feeling this is the way he would've wanted to be remembered. Not in sorrow, but in celebration. Let us rock all night, and dance until sunlight.
Long live the King or Pop!
Pic credit: Huffington Post
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