Thanks, MJ! Go in peace!

It was a horribly hot day, the day Michael Jackson died. Yet there was a little shiver that ran through me when I heard. There was a sudden dullness, and of course disbelief. I have always thought that this day would be a hell of a day for the world. And yes, that’s what it was. Twitter crashed, and Google ran into trouble as the world mourned.

Michael Jackson was not my favorite singer, not ever. But if he was on TV, we had to watch. It was the time teenagers like us were waking up to English pop on TV, and our parents getting shocked at the antics of some of the artists, undecided if they really should let their kids watch all that! But if there was one artist who could shut them up, it was Michael Jackson. My typical housewifey mom knew ‘Beat it’! And my father expressed his amazement at the way Jackson danced. They could identify Michael Jackson from the hoard of posters plastered in my brothers’ room, or the pictures in pop magazines. My elder brother learnt how to breakdance, and his pre-teen daughters today can throw a wave or too. My nephew can do a lot more than just a wave.

So when I heard that MJ was dead, I called up my mother. She was shocked too.

That kind of power is a bit hard to come by. MJ is part of our growing up years. We could hardly ever tell what he was singing, and ended up buying lyric books and wearing out the rewind button on the music player in an effort to learn. But his videos were what all of us were magnetized with. And the lyrics and music were secondary.

While I can remember lyrics of many songs by various artists now, I still do not know too many of MJ’s songs. We are the World, Heal the World and Will you be there? are probably the only ones I know. And the refrains of some of his most popular songs. No, he was not my favorite singer ever.

He did not have an easy life; no one in his shoes could possibly have had. And he went berserk with it all…one could say. But in his framework, it was probably the best he knew, or wanted to be.

And as I listened to the RJ play his songs last evening, I realized that people who have success very early on in life have to find new ways to supercede that success. And often they come up with things that are bigger than before, but sometimes they just go, well, offtrack.

While I celebrate my little successes everyday and stay happy within them, MJ seems to be saying that maybe there is a better way than this. Think a little different…he is saying.

MJ, if you’re coming back, I hope you will have it far easier than before, and that you will do far better. Meanwhile, thanks for being an incredible part of my life.