Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

Perhaps by now there must be thousands and thousands of people posting kind words in their blogs for the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson who died yesterday (June 25).

Actually, I made up my mind not to blog about this fellow because I thought what more could I possibly say which others haven't? Besides, I can imagine that most people would only have good things to say for someone who's recently died. It's not considered "polite" or "kind" to say anything bad about the recently-deceased, especially when he's someone as famous as Michael Jackson.

However, I was just having a casual conversation with a friend this afternoon about Michael Jackson, and he thought that I should write about him in my blog. He said it would be something "different" from what could be found in other blogs.

And so, here I am, putting my fingers to the keyboard and letting my thoughts flow.

Now, perhaps it will come as a surprise to my readers, that I was once a big fan of Michael Jackson. Honest, no kidding! That's a very long time ago, when he was still sane and normal.

When he was a very young boy, I didn't think that he had anything special in his voice. He could sing—yes—but I was more amazed by his ability to dance. As a young man, he developed his dancing skill even further. Hence I really enjoyed the "Thriller" years and that famous "moon walk" of his.

It was around then that the insanity began. He changed his hairstyle and I thought he was quite a handsome young man with that new look. But he was not satisfied; he had to do something dramatic to his appearance.

He just wouldn't leave his nose alone and after a while, I was sad to see what he had done to his handsome face. I have a feeling that many of his fans felt the same way too.

The madness continued long before his transformation into Diana Ross. Over the years, he gradually transformed into a woman in appearance. But the madness did not end there. He constantly found his way into the pages of newspapers the world over. He brought his boys out in Spiderman suits "because he wanted them to have a normal life"; he dangled his baby from a balcony of a hotel; he went shopping in women's clothings. Apart from that, there were the sexual allegations against him. Not that a $5 million settlement can't solve, of course.

But in spite of the madness, the awe-inspiring insanity, many, many people still loved him. He has truly achieved a lot in the short 50 years of his life. For that, I must salute him.

The world grieves for you; rest in peace, dude. The madness has come to an end, but your memories will continue to have an impact on us (traumatic ones for me, naturally) for many years to come.