Michael Jackson - August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009

The King is dead.

Like him or hate him, the guy was a phenomenon. I'm still not convinced that all the molestation claims against the guy were true. The combination of his personality and money made him an easy target. He didn't help by putting himself in situations where those claims could easily be made either. He was charged and aquitted but I'm not sure he was ever able to let that go mentally. He knew from that point on that he would always have that stink on him.

I don't agree very often with Rev. Al Sharpton but he made some sense while commenting on Michael's death. I don't remember the exact quote but he basically said that he was amazed at the amount of public sentiment towards Michael by many Hollywood-types who would have avoided him like the plague and publicly bashed him just 2 days earlier. I agree with that. But let's also remember that Rev. Al had a microphone in each hand before Michael's body even got to room temperature.

I have to admit that I do find it sad that a new generation will not get to experience this guy's genius when it comes to his musical talents, particularly in concert. Someone once said that a large part of the American public had let him down (during the molestation charges) but he never let his fans down. They were right.

I hope that Michael can now find the peace that I believe he had been looking for over the last several years.