I once liked Michael Jackson

Is this the anniversary of his death? #kingofpop is trending on Twitter.

When I was a very small child, I remember the Jackson Five show playing on Saturday morning television. My brothers and I tended to gravitate to cartoons, but I was aware of the Jacksons. I had all but forgotten about them over the years, but rediscovered some Motown Oldies when I was in college in the 80s. I particularly liked the romantic songs.


I remember owning a cassette tape of the Thriller album and playing it repeatedly as I jogged the streets around UCLA.

Over time I became aware that Jackson had had "some work done", but he looked good on the Thriller cover, and it seemed like everybody in Hollywood did that sort of thing. Nothing to be alarmed about....

If only the story stopped there. I remember wondering in the 80s why I never read news stories about him being connected to different ladies. He should have been photographed arriving and leaving from restaurants with countless beautiful women on his arm at the height of his popularity. He wasn't. I know there were "relationships" here and there, but nothing that seemed real.

Then the stories about child-adult relationships emerged and I began to get a creepy feeling. His songs smacked less and less of heterosexual romance as the years went on. In fact, none of the songs he sung as an adult were anywhere near as romantic as the ones he sung as a child.  "Billy Jean is not my lover..."?  Ya.  I bet she's not.

You know the rest of the story. Too many plastic surgery operations. Child molestation accusations. Insomnia. Drug dependence.

All leading to the night of his death, when he apparently ordered the so-called doctor he had on staff to put him out of his misery for a few hours. La Toya Jackson believes Michael was murdered. Maybe. But not first degree. It could even fall under manslaughter, don't you think?