MJ

Just amazing. I’m not going to say that it wasn’t sort of expected, considering just how sick he looked in recent weeks. But I guess it did surprise me that it was now. I think I sort of figured he’d fall ill on the upcoming tour and maybe be hospitalized for a little while. Then he’d get better and still be around trying to stay out of the public eye. But to up and die I guess is a bit of a shock.

It’s hard sometimes to pinpoint someone’s influences on your life, especially when you don’t have any sort of relationship with that person other than the product they produce. Whether it’s Ed McMahon making you laugh, Farrah’s posters back in the day making your pants tighter, or MJ’s music making you feel good, you don’t have any real relationships with these people, yet they all hold a special place in your life in some way. Perhaps it’s that those positive things you remember about them make you temporarily feel happy when looking back.

Sure it may seem that we are obsessing over these people because of their celebrity, but that’s not really the case, while for some it may be. I know how laughter and music have affected my life, so I guess when I mourn the loss of these people it’s not because of their fame, it’s because of what they did through their fame that made me temporarily happy.

It’s the same thing but on a more personal level when friends, family, and associates die. I don’t know if it’s that you necessarily miss the person, especially if the connection is that distant, but it’s missing the feeling that that person gave you for whatever moment it was.