His death has made me remember the influence he had on my childhood. I have always been a MJ fan. His appearance and actions have confused and saddened me over the last decade but I still kept my Michael Jackson memories close to my heart. I think he was the reason I was so drawn to dance. I started when I was four, I tried modern dance and ballet but I always had a passion for Jazz and Hip Hop and whatever style his dancing was (the MJ style). I would make up dances to all of his songs and collect all the girls in the neighborhood and teach them and we would put on concerts. We (my brother, Aquilla and Francis) would have sleepover concerts and ALWAYS end with the grand finale "Thriller" dance.
One summer we were in San Francisco on a family vacation and were visiting Fisherman's Wharf. While walking down the pier sudden total chaos broke out. MJ was arriving at the wharf to unveil his wax figure at the museum. My dad put me on his shoulders and I saw him in the distance, I saw him wave his gloved hand. If I wasn't obsessed with him before, actually seeing him "did me in". I saved Newspaper clippings of the "sighting" and made a MJ clubhouse from a huge cardboard box from "Shingletons", the sewing store down the street from my parents house. I had it plastered with his posters and pictures (I think I had every Teen Beat/ Tiger Beat magazine in the 80's). My parents didn't have cable (and still don't BTW) so I loved to go to friends and family's houses that did so I could watch MTV because MTV always meant MJ videos. "Beat It", "Thriller", "Bad", "Smooth Criminal", " Black or White" .... aahhh the memories. I used to pretend he was singing "P.Y.T."- Pretty Young Thing to me as well as "That Girl IS Mine" (Im a dork) .
As I grew up my infatuation faded and moved on to "Corey Haim" and "Madonna" but I always stayed a fan of his music and dancing. I think that's why I love watching Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown dance, they are truely inspired by him. I hope his soul can find peace now and people can respect him for the legacy he left behind.
3 comments:
Well said. I'll definitely only be focusing on positives and the legacy. My dad called him a genius, still does. I agree.
I think he's totally a genius that spanned generations! I've been listening to his music more yesterday and today than ever before.
I do hope that his death, the death of other celebs like Heath Ledger and such helps people know about the dangers of drug addiction and all.
may his iconic legend live on and we can remember his brilliance as an artist. MJ forever
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