Pardon me if this comes off a bit awkward, but this moment is very surreal to me. Not that I ever thought about his actual death, but were I to do so, I would have ventured it'd be at least 20 or so more years down the line. I mean, it's Michael Jackson. The largest music icon ever.

Sidebar Tangent: Because the news put it out there yesterday, I will make a brief comment. To suggest, that Elvis Presley was anywhere near Michael Jackson is laughable at best. We're talking about a person who has been in the industry for about, oh, 45 years or so. Someone who literally changed the music industry with ingenuity and an individualism that will never again be seen. Everything from fashion to the way the video is done can be owed to his influence, and dare I say, he and his brothers were the original blue print for the boy band (New Edition Spawned NKOTB, who spawned Backstreet Boys, N Sync, and so on...) Elvis, though talented, ripped off an art form from artists that weren't accepted across color lines and sold it as his own brand. For that, he was dubbed the king of something he wasn't the originator or clear best of. Nobody could ever doubt Michael's dominance at his peak, selling 40 million plus off of Thriller alone...the dude was a Titan among men, and everybody that came after him was able to benefit from what he did...period.

So, I'm at a loss...because I grew up with Michael Jackson. I remember when he did the "Moonwalk" (originally called the backslide) at the AMA's Motown 25; I remember watching Thriller and the Making of Thriller (and the big event leading up to and around it for that matter), and how big it was to watch him in the make up chair, and see the behind the scenes footage and effects. I remember the "Moonwalker" short movie, and having a coat with the Michael Jackson iron-on patch because nobody would buy me the "Thriller" or "Billie Jean" jacket (or the "Beat It" one). I remember my baby sitter contending that Off the Wall was a better album than Thriller was, and me being unfamiliar with that album, therefore unable to relate. Then, getting older, and being able to see her point of view. I also realize that my baby sitter actually grew up with Michael--the boy entertainer.

Michael literally touched every generation. My grandparents like and appreciated his music, either when he was a child, and or on into the 1980's. My parents generation came of age with him, if not a bit older than him, he was no less than a younger sibling. I grew up imitating his dance moves. My oldest nephew owns his 2-disc CD set of greatest hits, and played it adnausium.

Even though Michael had his share of issues towards the latter part of his life that many thought unsavory, he was still family. He had been in our homes before we were, he was that distant relative that we cheered for, that made us proud and represented what we wanted to become to some degree...happy and successful. Even though we never met him (most of us, anyway), we knew him. Truly. And suddenly, I get a call on the subway that he's gone. No warning, no build up. I didn't even no he had a heart attack--I mean, I keep MSN on my computer all day, and I saw the news on Farrah Fawcett (R.I.P.); and the WashingtonPost.com website didn't mention anything up until I locked my computer to go home.

There was no preparation for this. No chance to say that he lived a full life. And it feels kind of sad that he didn't get a chance to repair his image, which had been so damaged by scandal as of late.

So now, watching the Wiz will be a sad affair in some ways, listening to "Rock With You" will be celebratory, but sad as well. This is bigger than the last few presidents who have dies, because Micheal's success and talent knew no borders. His energy permeated Iron Curtains and the Berlin Wall. He made us want to heal the world by showing us We Are the World. I wish I had the words to say more, but I will simply say this: Prayers go out to all of those affected by his loss, especially close friends, immediate family, and most, his children. It is my hope that wherever Michael is now, that he has found the peace that seemed to elude him through the course of his life. Long live the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Icon. Legend. Human Being.