I thought my sister was kidding when she told me the news at the kids last t-ball game last night. I've been a huge fan my whole life and I just can't believe that he's gone. It feels like I lost a big part of my childhood, in a strange kind of way. I remember having this poster on my wall, I remember seeing him in concert with my entire family, and I remember wanting a red zipper jacket so badly.
We make new music CD's to play in the house every couple of weeks, and about a month ago I put a bunch of old MJ songs on one of the CD's. It was wild to see the kids' reactions to his songs - hearing them for the first time. They jumped out of their chairs and started dancing all around the kitchen. Much like the reaction I saw when I was in Party City a few weeks ago and Beat It came on over the store's speakers - people literally started dancing in the aisles.
His music was amazing, and he put his heart and soul into his performances. I had to rewatch this video today, because I remember it so clearly. My sisters and I were trying to figure out how he did his famous dance move and practiced all night in front of the TV.
The last few years certainly weren't good for him, but he was planning a comeback tour, one that I'm sure I would have tried to see if it came to the US. Radio stations here are playing his songs all day long and I just heard one of my favorites while running errands at lunch - The Way You Make Me Feel. I remember being so bummed that he didn't play it at the concert I saw. Not that he didn't perform a million other great ones that night.
In between work and burning a new MJ favorites CD, we're getting ready for our first family trip to the drive-in tonight to see Tranformers 2. Then I'm planning to do some fabric shopping tomorrow (yeay!), visiting with my step brother who's coming to town, and maybe sneaking in a visit to our new waterpark on Sunday. It's hotter than hot here in Chicago - 90's with 100% humidity. One extreme to the other, always. Sunday is supposed to be sunny and 84, though - just right.
We might have to try to teach the kids how to moonwalk this weekend, too ;)
