Friday, June 26, 2009

The Man in the Mirror

For starters, I woke at 7.20 am from a terrifying nightmare. Then I found out that Michael Jackson passed away.

:(


I was born in the late 80s, so MJ was already white when I came to know of him. I was never really a big fan but I certainly have my fair share of MJ music and videos!

I particularly remember 'Black or White'. I laughed when Macauley Culkin plugged in his guitar, turned the volume knob to 'Are you Insane?' (or something to that effect) then blasted his "dad" out of the room to Africa(?). Also, the face morphing of the people starring in the music videos really stuck with me. I thought it was really, really, really cool.

My parents liked him but did think he was weird. I believed that he was eccentric as well, but I guess he's probably just misunderstood. I remember watching his clips and music videos, and never did understand why masses of people cried or fainted during his concerts.
No one does that anymore. I guess it's not cool to do that nowadays. Wait.. do kids still use the word 'cool'?

Michael came to Brunei in 1996 (I was 9) for a concert. I remember my family and I heading up to the city, to Jerudong Park to watch him perform. Unfortunately, we couldn't get into the concert area due to the large crowds so we had to watch his performance on a massive TV screen instead.

Since he loves amusement rides, Michael went on several of the rides in Jerudong while he was there for his concert. I recall seeing Michael Jackson only a few metres in front of me. He and his family had gotten off the water log ride and was in a golf cart. There were body guards everywhere. There was a buzz of excitement as everyone gathered around trying to get a glimpse of him.
I just stood there in awe.

But the cool thing was my mom who managed to sneak through security and walked up to Michael Jackson while he was in the cart. The cart wasn't going anywhere because of the large crowds so my mom grabbed the opportunity. She extended her hand towards him. He looked a litte surprised but naturally, could not refuse to shake the hands of a fan. My mom quickly thanked him and made her way back into the crowds.

I have no idea how she did it.

My mom sometimes can do the most unpredictable things. But I'm glad she did. How many people can say, "My mom shook hands with Michael Jackson"??

Funnily, not many people believe me so I stopped telling people.



Although I'm not a massive fan, I think he's incredibly talented and is a musical genius. I suppose his music did have some influence on my life. The 'Earth Song' had quite an affect on me; I was only a child then but it made me aware of how we were destroying the earth with our greed. I remember singing 'Heal the world' on karaoke at my cousin's place.

Thinking back of these fond memories really sadden me. The world will be mourning for the loss of a legend.


May you rest in peace, Michael.






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