I was not even trying to hear anything that remotely sounded like "Michael Jackson died" last night. Those words don't belong in the same sentence together. They do not compute. My thoughts are completely scattered. Some of which I was able to purge on Twitter last night with the rest of my family. But honestly, at a mere 24 hours in, I cannot fathom what tomorrow will look like. I feel like whatever was left of my childhood was obliterated. That's why I'm posting this clip.
Michael Jackson is synonymous with a lot of things, good and not so good. But to me, the main thing, the thing that always makes me choke up (even before his passing) was his artistry as a kid. Charismatic. Kind. Hard-working in spite of his many fears. Compassionate. Impossibly talented, more than he had any right to be at that age. And that voice. Michael's voice as a kid managed to make every emotion inside of me bubble to the surface, whether it was from "Got To Be There," "Ben," "I'll Be There" or "Never Can Say Goodbye." I could never hold it together then, and now? After this? Who knows...
I cannot imagine any kid not aspiring to this, or not being in awe. When Thriller dropped, Michael was already a grown man. But I always wanted to be Little Mike.
I cannot deal with this right now.
