Gone Too Soon.

Like a comet blazing 'cross the evening sky...gone too soon...Those were the opening words of the Michael Jackson song "Gone Too Soon" from his 1991 album "Dangerous". I am at a loss right now. Not sure what I am feeling right now. In early 1983, I remember listening to AM 800 CKLW which was out of Windsor/Detroit. I was almost always assured of hearing either "Beat It" or "Billie Jean" being played. At this time, a transistor radio was all I really had to listen to music. Although I may have inherited an old record player/stereo from my sister who was in college at the time. I eventually asked for a walkman cassette player. My Mom bought me one and the first cassette tape I asked for was Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album. I remember sitting at our kitchen table doing my homework and listening to the album on my walkman. It was always a little spooky for me hearing "Thriller" in my ears with my headphones. I then saw Michael perform on the tv special "Motown 25". He performed with his re-united brothers and then did a solo performance of "Billie Jean". It was a lip-synched performance, but it was his dancing that got everyone's attention. Michael unveiled his "Moonwalk" that night. It was that night that set his career on fire. Well, his adulthood career. People could not get enough of him. My best friend and I were 2 of those people. We would play the "Thriller" album at his house, either in his bedroom or his basement. We would play the entire album and either make up dance routines for each of the songs or attempt to mimic the dance routines from Michael's videos. We had both gotten very good at doing that, although no one ever knew that. At least, not until a short time later.
Fast forward to the Spring of 1984. My Mom and sister were invited to go to the local dance bar, "The Brewery" on a Friday night. Those of you familiar with Adrian, MI. now know it as the "L.A. Cafe". My Mom was allowed to bring me along with them, providing that I left the bar at 9:00 because it was 21 and over after 9:00. I had never been to a bar, which is no shock, since I was only 14 at the time. That night, I had dinner at The Brewery with my Mom and sister and some of their co-workers. At 6:30 or so, the DJ started playing music. My sister and her friends went out to the dance floor, while I sat there watching from our floor-side table. My sister then said, "You can come dance with us if you want to." I proceeded to dance with my sister and her friends. The first song I remember dancing to was "Let's Hear It For The Boy". When the song finished, the DJ said "Let's hear it for THAT boy!" and he pointed to me. Everybody went crazy. I was a little surprised. The next song he played was Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." I started dancing, doing all my best Michael Jackson moves that I had been secretly doing at my friend's house. My sister was shocked. That night was the beginning of my 15 minutes of fame, which lasted for about one year. After sweet-talking the owner of "The Brewery" during one of my nights there, I was allowed to stay at the bar past 9:00. I was always with my family when I went. I spent much of that year going to The Brewery on Friday and Saturday nights. I was known as the little kid who could dance like Michael Jackson. I would walk in the bar and people would say "There's that kid that dances like Michael Jackson." I know this sounds hard to believe, but it's true.
Billie Jean was always my favorite Michael Jackson song to dance to. I had 2 Michael Jackson posters on my bedroom wall. One of them from the "Billie Jean" video. Kinda like the one Theo Huxtable had on his bedroom wall. In August of 1984, I went to my first concert. It was the Jackson's "Victory Tour" at the Pontiac Silverdome. That was the one and only time I ever saw Michael Jackson in concert. It was cool to be a Michael Jackson fan back then. I know that his popularity faded over the last 25 years. Scandals and money problems plagued him. But, the music he made will live on. It's kinda hard to believe that he is gone at the age of 50. But, in a way, I sometimes found it hard to imagine seeing him as an older man. I just hope that everyone will put all the negative behind and remember the greatness he blessed tht world with for much of his life. R.I.P. Michael.