Such a Cute Little Boy

While I'm still in a mellow mood, I think I'll say a few words about Michael Jackson. From all the media attention he has gotten all of his life, especially his adult life, he could have stood a little mellowness and kindness from somewhere.

When Michael was five, he was just as cute as a bug in a rug. My kids were fans of his. I could stand to listen to him, one of the few rock "artists" I could stand without wanting to shove a pencil into my ear.

Then, he began to grow up and grow weird. At first, he just seemed quirky. Neverland seemed to be a poignant attempt to experience the childhood he never had. Then, it all fell apart. What a nightmare! Young boys and their greedy parents lined up to accuse him of being a pedophile. The media couldn't get enough of the stories, the more lascivious the better. Michael was tried and acquitted of the charges in court, but found guilty by the media.

So, here's where I mellow out. After being married to a lawyer for many years, I believe in the judicial system, O.J. Simpson's jury notwithstanding. So, I believe in the possibility that was truly not guilty - emphasis on the word "possibility". We'll never know, now.

Still, I feel that Michael's life was a trajedy. It's hard to pinpoint where things started spiraling downward, but the worse things got, the more I believed that things could not end well for him. Whenever I saw him in interviews, I became convinced that he was an example of arrested development. It became obvious that he needed someone who would tell him "no", occasionally, and tell him that some of the things he was doing had, at the very least, the appearance of impropriety.

All he ever had around him were people with their hands out, and this includes his family. They seemed to treat him like their very own money machine. Parents were only too happy to drop their children off at Neverland, and even happier to accept money for the privilege. Are we to believe that they pimped their children out? Sure sounds like it, if the allegations were actually true.

I watched the memorial service, and thought that the people who spoke and thse who performed were there because they were his friends. They seemed sincere. The only thing that struck a rather jarring note with me was the sight of that casket. I admit I was very surprised to see it there. Then, maybe not. It seemed a flamboyant gesture, and he was a flamboyant man. So, maybe it was fitting. And, then, there were the heartbreaking words of his daughter.

But, enough, already. He's gone, and hopefully, at peace. His accusers will eventually fade into the mists of time, and his music will live on.

That seems appropriate.