Misunderstood But Never Forgotten

A genius of a man, visionary, artist, the ultimate performer. He was the Michelangelo of his craft. He did what he felt in his heart, yet the media ridiculed him and questioned his motives. They buried him long before he died. While people did him wrong, he was busy writing a song about the earth.

I just watched his This Is It movie and I envy each and every singer, dancer and musician that got to spend all those time with him. When he speaks, they listen. When he points, they fire up the lights. When he jumps, they beat the drums. It had to be perfect. They are at awe of his very presence because he was perfect. He did it with love and respect for everyone. There was no question of his genuine love and worry that the Earth is sick. The people are sick, body and soul. All he wanted was to heal the world. His message is clear. Love.

Everyday we hear performers say that they idolize him and wanna be like him. Greatness cannot be achieved by beating people up, getting hooked on drugs and trouble with the law.The Brittney Spears, Kanye West and the Chris Browns (sorry Andie), do not even respect themselves and others. We have artists that are so arrogant and difficult to work with. They are not even half as successful as he was, and yet they act like no one can touch them. These folks will be forgotten very soon but Michael Jackson, his music will live on for many generations.

Michael is love and love is forever. Earth Song by Michael Jackson

25 years ago, Michael, with Lionel Ritchie wrote We Are The World. This was performed by United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) for the benefit of the famine-stricken Ethopia. I loved this song so much that I would sing this to sleep.We Are the World 1985

This year, a new set of performers sang the same song in the same studio. This time to benefit Haiti. Michael is painfully missed in this performance but he would have been proud. We Are the World 2010

This is for Angie because of all the people I know, she loved Michael the most. She knew a good thing when she saw it.

Lost Love

As I felt the first chill of the season, I knew autumn is here. Otherwise known as the season of fall, it is my favorite. The sudden burst of the colors matches that of Spring, not with the flowers, but with the leaves. This is the time when God's supporting cast in nature shows their majestic elegance. The reds and golds that I have read about couldn't hold up a candle to witnessing its beauty in person. The best of the season can only be observed in two short weeks. Then the trees succumb to temporary death. But however parched and lifeless the trees look, there is a feeling of hope that they will soon awake in the glory of spring. Fall speaks in volumes and if we listen carefully, we may even learn a thing or two.

We go through life looking for our ideal person. And sometimes we find them. We love them and for a while they will love us back. But as seasons change, people change. When we lose the person we love to something or to someone else, we find ourselves sad, helpless and even devastated. Rejection is not an easy thing to live with. It causes turmoil with the human emotions. Some lose sleep, some are driven to insanity, and some would rather die. Loneliness can be a scary thing. No one wants to go through life alone. But there is a reason for everything. There is a plan and everyone has a purpose greater and bigger than ourselves. Love and life doesn't end with one person. Life doesn't end with the last leaf that falls. Hope awaits and it will be there when we are ready. And when we are ready, Love finds us.

We may not realize it, but we need to lose some to gain some. We get weak so we may get stronger. We lose love so we learn to love better. Our ideal person may not be so ideal after all. We only see these when we let go of our personal guidelines and go with life's flow. Faith in fate is a beautiful thing. The surprises it brings and the lessons we learn are precious, just like the season of Fall.
- This is for my good friend and brother Russel E.