Michael Jackson was about as big as they come. He had a huge fan base, and who wouldn't if they started at age 5 and kept on going? He wasn't just America's pop icon, he was an icon around the entire world. And even though he had a tough life in the media these last few years, he was still loved by kazillions of people.

When I heard a girl crying over Michael's death yesterday, I was taken back. It made me realize that even though he inherited the "creepy dude" factor by a lot of people due to allegations of child abuse, that people were still fans. I loved Michael in his prime-- I think most everyone my age did. Even in Elementary School, kids would pretend to be him by wearing a glove on one hand and calling their girlfriends "Brooke Shields". But I guess I have fallen out of love with the man because even though his death was a shock, I wasn't dripping in tears.

The media is hammering the whole thing to death-per usual. And the public eats up every word, so the media is definitely catering to an eager audience. Many people shake their heads at the media for their intrusions but then are all desperate to hear what they've got to say. Doesn't scale right.

But since there is a lot of coverage, and there will be much more coverage (I am expecting the TV stations to be tuning in to his funeral), and his fan base is still gi-normus, I predict Michael Jackson will be our generation's Elvis.

Watch out for those future tabloids to print "MJ SIGHTINGS" !!!! and move over Graceland... the pilgrimage route is changing to NEVERLAND.

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About Us

We have a diverse, combined writing experience. I am a middle school English teacher and an administrator and co-administrator for various writing groups. Trisha is a freelance writer, editor, and online educator whose fiction appears in FANTASY GAZETTEER. Together we co-authored "Party Crashers” for the EPPIE award winning anthology BAD ASS FAERIES 2: JUST PLAIN BAD.

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