I’m not quite sure what I can even say…I’m just shocked. Shocked but not necessarily surprised. I never expected Michael to live to be an old man or anything. In fact, the last few years have seemed like somewhat if a death watch. He had always seemed so frail and sickly, he looked like he was dying. I guess what I’m most surprised about is the way Michael Jackson died. He could have died of cancer or lung disease or a drug overdose and I would have been like “Oh well, I guess the rumours were true”. Cardiac arrest was something that I never expected. To be honest, he had been looking better these last few months than I had seen him look in years and years. I really did think that he would be able to pull off the concert series and I was excited to see him come back. It’s just absolutely tragic that he died less than three weeks before the first show was scheduled. I wish he could have done one last show, say one last goodbye.
I can’t think of a death that rocked the world the way that this has. Diana comes to mind. Elvis comes to mind. John Lennon comes to mind. But this is huge. Michael Jackson was one of, if not THE greatest entertainers of the 20th century. But in the end, I think he’ll always be seen as a tragic figure. I wasn’t one of those mega Jackson fans, but I truly did admire him, and I’ve got most of his albums (I think all but Invincible). It just seems so surreal to know that he’s gone.
The next few weeks should be interesting as we see the Michael Jackson story unfold. I think a lot of people will start talking now that he’s gone. There was an interesting interview with Brian Oxman, the Jackson family’s lawyer, where Oxman claims that Jackson was heavily addicted to painkillers and likened his death to Anna Nicole Smith. I just hope that he had a will and that his kids will be well taken care of.
I’m just stunned.
