Thriller

I remember, when I was in high school, sitting in the living room watching a TV special called "Motown 25." We only had one channel, so there was either something to watch on NBC or there was nothing to watch.

The Motown special was certainly something to watch that night. I was sitting in the gold velour chair with my feet up, homework spread on my lap when Michael Jackson came on stage. He was wearing that black suit, white socks and, of course, the glove.

He had me from the first notes of "Billy Jean" and from the second he threw his hat into the audience.

He was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

Michael Jackson had been around my whole life. I remember watching the "Jackson Five" on Saturday mornings from the time I was a teeny kid, but this was a whole new Michael Jackson. I certainly had never seen dancing like that.

It was my "Ed Sullivan" moment...you know, the one everyone from my parents generation has--when Elvis shook his hips on TV for the first time.

They have that...we have that first moonwalk.

The music from Thriller was everywhere--I thought anyone who had the tape was cool.

When I watch those black and white clips of Elvis I'm pretty sure I don't get it--the impact it must've had. Neither do my "nieces" when we tell them how cool Michael was. They only know the weird stuff, and they can't see what an influence he had on their Usher and Justin Timberlake.

So I'm just enjoying the replaying of all his music on radio and TV, and skipping all the tabloid-type coverage of whatever caused his death. It's just sad and a little startling, he and Farrah--both huge in my youth--dying on the same day.

The lesson seems to be that we might get to be incredibly special and beautiful for a time in our life, if we're lucky, then we'll probably go a little crazy and die too early. We're all too human to stay in the beautiful phase.

Well, his troubles here are over at least. I'm suspecting his music will re-surge and be around forever. I've got the BET MJ marathon on today--all the old videos.

And, I know what's going on my iPod next.