March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009
Will always be remembered for
Heeeeeeerrrrrrreeeeeee's Johnny!
Heeeeeeerrrrrrreeeeeee's Johnny!
Farrah Fawcett
February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009
Iconic pin-up "Angel" with the
much desired feathered tresses
Michael Jackson
August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson is the one that gave me pause. And I don't think I can sum him up, as I have the other two.
You know, when someone passes away, even a celebrity, I think about how that person may have impacted my life. Farrah and the popularlity of Charlie's Angels was a little before my TV viewing days. And Ed McMahon's reign as Carson sidekick was pre-Leno, which was about the time I started watching the Tonight Show.
Somewhat ironically, after years of relativly quiet celebrity-hood, both Farrah and Ed have spent time in the headlines, for moments both would have certainly rather endured privately. Farrah for her battle with cancer, documented in "Farrah's Story", Ed for his bankruptcy.
Then there's Michael. At first, I thought his impact on my life was as his role in public tended to be in the later years - a punchline for jokes about plastic surgery, skin conditions, baby dangling and inappropriate relationships with small boys (there might even be a completely inappropriate version of "Rubber Ducky" floating around from my college days that was inspired by that last bit.) And for a moment, that's how I remembered him.
Then, on the way home from work, my carpool companions (Slacker & Steve) were taking calls from listeners who were sharing stories about Michael Jackson. Not Michael Jackson, the Headline. But Michael Jackson, the Headliner. The King of Pop. The voice of a new generation.
I was never a particularly huge Michael Jackson fan - I knew his stuff and I have his HIStory CD, but I wouldn't have gone to a concert, or actively sought out his new material. But when I got into the car, they were playing one of my favorite songs. And I remember, that for a lot of years - before the headlines and the surgeries and the unfortunate baby dangling - Michael sang for a better world. We Are the World, Earth Song, Man in the Mirror, Black & White and Heal the World.
Michael Jackson is the one that gave me pause. And I don't think I can sum him up, as I have the other two.
You know, when someone passes away, even a celebrity, I think about how that person may have impacted my life. Farrah and the popularlity of Charlie's Angels was a little before my TV viewing days. And Ed McMahon's reign as Carson sidekick was pre-Leno, which was about the time I started watching the Tonight Show.
Somewhat ironically, after years of relativly quiet celebrity-hood, both Farrah and Ed have spent time in the headlines, for moments both would have certainly rather endured privately. Farrah for her battle with cancer, documented in "Farrah's Story", Ed for his bankruptcy.
Then there's Michael. At first, I thought his impact on my life was as his role in public tended to be in the later years - a punchline for jokes about plastic surgery, skin conditions, baby dangling and inappropriate relationships with small boys (there might even be a completely inappropriate version of "Rubber Ducky" floating around from my college days that was inspired by that last bit.) And for a moment, that's how I remembered him.
Then, on the way home from work, my carpool companions (Slacker & Steve) were taking calls from listeners who were sharing stories about Michael Jackson. Not Michael Jackson, the Headline. But Michael Jackson, the Headliner. The King of Pop. The voice of a new generation.
I was never a particularly huge Michael Jackson fan - I knew his stuff and I have his HIStory CD, but I wouldn't have gone to a concert, or actively sought out his new material. But when I got into the car, they were playing one of my favorite songs. And I remember, that for a lot of years - before the headlines and the surgeries and the unfortunate baby dangling - Michael sang for a better world. We Are the World, Earth Song, Man in the Mirror, Black & White and Heal the World.
So today, I choose to remember him as a voice that opened my eyes to the possibility that I can be an instrument for change.
I'm going to make a change for once in my life
It's gonna feel real good, Gonna make a Difference
Gonna make it right...
As I turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
I see the kids in the street with not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind, pretending not to see their needs
A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top
And a one man's soul
They follow each other on the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That why I want you to know
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then
Make a Change
I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
That there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me, pretending that they're not alone
A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream
They follow the pattern of the wind, ya'see
Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his way
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and
Make a change
You gotta get it right while you got the time
Cause when you close your heart
Then you close your mind!
