My take on Michael Jackson, the man not the myth

A couple of weeks ago we lost a legend. Honestly, I never thought that I would ever be uttering the words “Michael Jackson is dead, not Michael.” For me it just didn’t seem real. I guess because I looked at Michael Jackson as one of my heroes. Someone I looked up to and respected in this world of entertainment. I always thought his artistry was brilliant, something to wonder. From his early childhood years to his latter adult years and everything in between, I thought of him as a child prodigy who became a giant of a man in this world of entertainment. To describe Michael Jackson the artist you can use so many adjectives because he was just absolutely brilliant. To this day if you throw on a Michael Jackson record at a party people will feel an obligation in their legs to get on the dance floor and move. His music is timeless.

He was a man, a boy who chose to walk in his light at a young age. He realized who he was and what God ordained him to do at the tender age of six, and he didn’t run from it. Instead he embraced it, and from that point on the legend of Michael Jackson grew. At times he seemed immortal, something of a God, and after watching his funeral the other day, maybe he was. Some say he was a musical genius, I say maybe he was a musical God. How else can you explain the millions if not billions of fans who adored him world wide? How else can you explain it? How else can you explain the sadness felt by millions if not billions world wide?

To different people, Michael meant different things. Not only was he an entertainer with the power to move millions, but he was also someone’s son, someone’s brother, and someone’s father. He was a man who cared about people. He understood that he was a blessed individual, and he understood that in order to continue to be blessed he had to bless other people. He understood that God gave him this power not just to sing songs, but to call people to action. To me that’s the whole beauty about Michael Jackson. He wasn’t just an entertainer. He was someone who really and truly cared about people. He cared about this world we live in, and he didn’t have too.

I’m a fan of Mike who had to come to grips with this tragic situation. I had to come to terms with what Michael Jackson meant to me. I had to come to the reality that there is an underlying lesson here to be learned and it has to do with addictions, vices, and demons. On stage Michael was at his best. He was happy, but off stage was a tortured soul. Someone told me recently as a matter of fact, and I believe this to be true. The devil attacks you when you are at your weakest, and off stage Michael was at his weakest. Can you imagine the pressure of trying to top Thriller? I’m sure to many artists if they sold half of what Thriller sold they would consider it a success, but to Michael it was considered a failure. That was a demon in itself. Don’t forget that we are also talking about a man who had been working since he was six and whisked all around the world at a very young age. So in essence he never had a normal childhood like perhaps me or you. That’s another demon that he had to wrestle with. Everywhere he went he was mobbed. So he was often times confined and there is absolutely nothing normal about that. Imagine fighting with that demon on a day to day basis. Imagine all those weights on his shoulders. It was only a matter of time before the demon of being a rock star would haunt Michael Jackson so much so that it would take his life.

The lesson I learned from this tragedy is that we all may have demons attacking us. Your demons may be bigger than mine. Mine may be bigger than yours, but we all have them. Yet, we can’t let those demons over take us, and tear us down to a point where we eventually lose our life way to early, because someone on this planet is going to miss us. Someone such as our parents, our siblings, our kids, or just the people whose lives we touched in some way, and then our situation will be looked upon as tragic.

Rest in peace Michael Jackson, you were the greatest entertainer to ever live and you will surely be missed. I love you dude.

Eddie L. Oliver

Mike Vick

Michael Vick was released from prison yesterday, much to my delight. In my opinion the crime did not fit the time, and because of it his life was turned completely upside down. He virtually lost everything because of his own stupidity, but now it’s time for his redemption. Personally, I’m a big fan of redemption because I believe that everyone makes mistakes. Yet it’s how you handle those mistakes that make a man even more of a man. It’s called growing up. It’s called maturing.

Don’t get me wrong. He should not have been involved with dog fighting or even breeding dogs to fight for that matter. Me being a dog lover myself who has virtually owned dogs all my life since I was five years old, can’t even begin to comprehend that lifestyle. I did grow up in the hood though, so I have seen my fair share of two mean spirited pits fighting, and it is not a pretty sight at all. Yet that is something that you might see in the hood on occasion, but once you become a multi-millionaire with a big house on the hill, I would like to think that you kind a have no business in the business of fighting dogs.

I think most people would agree that Vick handled the whole situation wrong from the beginning. Instead of denying it he should have just owned up to it. Then his punishment plus public perception would probably not have been so harsh. Besides, he should have known better than to lie to the feds, his employer, and especially his fans. In that way he let people down, especially the young people that wore his jerseys and idolized him. However, the man did his time like he was suppose to, and he didn’t cry about it. Now he’s going to be asking for our forgiveness, and I think that after all that he has been through with losing everything that he has lost, we owe him that. I say let Michael Vick play football again. Let that man do what he do.

What is Love

Love is late night conversations on the phone, not wanting to get off because you wish that person was right there by your side lying next to you. Love is midnight strolls in the park while holding hands staring at the city lights, the moon, and the stars. Love is talking, communicating like you have nothing to hide. Love is when you get that phone call in the middle of the day because that other person just so happened to be thinking about you so they call just to say, “Hi. How’s your day going?” Love is laughter, being tickled. Love is playing around like you two are little kids. Love is being still, being patient. Love is taking a long vacation with someone who you deem as special. Love is buying gifts for no particular reason like sending flowers to their job. Love is running your fingers through their hair. Love is rubbing their bald head while kissing them on the lips soft and gentle. Love is making love like you two have just done it for the first time, but it feels like that every time you do it. Love makes you feel special like nothing or no one else even matters. Love makes for a lovely day like the sun shining even though it’s raining outside producing a beautiful rainbow. Love is being free, being yourself as you enjoy the moment. Love is you two listening to a guitar being played and there are no words, no one singing, yet you can hear and feel what the other person is thinking. Love is you, and that beautiful person that is inside you ready to feel that empty void in somebody’s life.

"The One"

It comes a point in a relationship where you realize what’s real and what’s fake. Then you are faced with choices, like what are you going to do about it. Life is so short, yet it seems like we are always searching for a love that is going to last a life time. When it doesn’t happen we are oh so disappointed because we thought he or she was the one. Isn’t that what we are all searching for, “The One?” The one that’s going to knock us off our feet and then pick us and makes us feel special.

Spring is in the air and summer is around the corner, which means it’s time for love. Being in love is a beautiful thing, but it can also turn around and bite you if you are not careful. In today’s world every one isn’t always who they say they are. Games are constantly being played, and my question for that is, “Why?” There should come a point in your life where you realize what is really important to you. Real love is hard to find. So when you find someone that you love and they love you back. Make the most of it. Because if you blow it, it may take along time before love comes back around again. Keep it real, don’t disrespect and don’t cheat. Just love them and in turn they should love you back. However, if you don’t keep it real, if you disrespect, or if you cheat on them then expect them to do the same to you.

Can you really and truly trust people?

How come whenever you go to put your trust and faith in people they always let you down? It never fails. I mean, can you really trust people. It seems like good people are hard to find. When you think you know somebody come to find out you really don’t know them at all. It’s a trip. The whole disappointment of it is a trip. I just want to meet some real people, some real honest folks. That’s all I want. It seems like people are so superficial. There’s no need for that, absolutely no need. Isn’t life better when it’s simple? Not plain but just simple. I believe in keeping things simple. I know I can be flashy sometimes. Maybe that’s just the ways of man. Maybe that’s just how it is. I know I’m tired of trying to figure it out. I just know I’m disappointed and I’m tired.