It was late in the afternoon on June 25th. Everyone had heard the news about the passing of two very prominent celebrities, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. Their deaths were sad but not untimely. It was the phone call I received from Sara, my daughter in Tampa Florida, that shocked me the most. It started out like this. "Hi dad, you won't believe who passed away today!" I said; let me guess, Farrah Fawcett? She said, "NO, Michael Jackson!" You could have heard a pin drop, at first I thought she was joking, or just mistaken. I said; Michael Jackson, are you sure? She said, yep, it's all over the news. I immediately googled "Michael Jackson" and found articles about him being in a coma, nothing about him dying though. I asked her again, are you really sure because the news is saying he is in a coma. She said "I'm sure." So after I continued to search I found it. It was on the LA Times and sure enough, Michael Jackson had died at 50 years of age, OMG!

I began to seriously think about this now. Michael Jackson, dead! He wasn’t much older than me, who would have guessed. I read recently that he had sold out all of his concerts overseas. He was in the middle of a comeback, and he dies? What?

The next thing I did was go over to You Tube, like everyone else in America. I bet You Tube had trouble keeping up with the searches for Michael Jackson. I took some time to listen to many of his songs and watch his spectacular dance moves. How does anyone dance like that? I mean it is like he is floating on air, completely weightless. His movements were effortless and he always kept the beat with one of his feet while singing without a flaw in his voice. As I watched the video of Michael during a nighttime performance singing “Man in the Mirror,” you could see people for miles in the dark holding up candles or lighters to his remarkable and inspiring performance. Everyone’s hands swayed to the music. There were girls in the audience being carried away as they attempted to get on the stage with Michael. There were grown men in the audience with tears in their eyes. Michael never missed a beat and his performance was breath taking. How did I miss this performance before? There were so many videos that showed his remarkable ability to capture the hearts of his audience.

Michael Jackson was light years ahead of his time. He started a new wave of videos back in the 80’s with his “Thriller." still a number one seller today. Then there's “We are the World.” I challenge anyone with a heart to watch that video today. You will be unable to keep the tears from your face. It’s truly inspirational.

Michael Jackson has become an “icon” in my book. I wasn’t sure if he qualified for that title or not so I looked it up in the “Wikipedia.” The Wikipedia says that an “icon is also used, particularly in modern culture, in the general sense of symbol — i.e. a name, face, picture, edifice or even a person readily recognized as having some well-known significance or embodying certain qualities: one thing, an image or depiction, that represents something else of greater significance through literal or figurative meaning, usually associated with religious, cultural, political, or economic standing.” With that being said, Michael Jackson definitely is an “icon.”

Michael Jackson, you inspired generations of loyal fans. You were a true genius with remarkable talent. Your name and legend will live on forever.

MJ, rest in peace my brother!