MJ Passing a Lesson in Life Appreciation

By Deon Price

The entertainment industry mourns the death of a global mega super star and legend. The sudden and shocking passing of singer Michael Jackson exposes the hypocrisy of main stream media. We have seen a borage of dedication tributes on every media outlet from radio, T.V., in print  and on line for the King of Pop, yet these same venues have done just about everything possible to destroy his image, demean his character and derail his career. Now that he’s gone there is a phony love fest displayed by the media that many people including his family clearly recognized.  Michael Jackson endured years of image assassination attempts by mainly American media that forced him into exile. His recent career comeback tour that was planned this summer was a testament to his resilience.

As a society, we tend to rarely show sincere appreciation for people until they are gone. I can honestly say that I also allowed public perception to influence my appreciation for true talent. I was what you might call a closet MJ fan.  I know I’m not the only one who would be reluctant to blast MJ music in public. However, I do have a few of his jewels stored on my MP3 player like  “Human Nature,” or my most recent favorite, “Butterflies”.  I also made a point over the years to share his genius and talent with my children by proclaiming Mike as the “King of the Stage,” taking the thrown over their favorites Chris Brown, Justin Timberlake or Usher. His videos alone convinced them that he has the trophy for all-time best performer.

If there’s a lesson in this it is to appreciate people while they are here.  How many times have we seen t-shirts worn by people of their loved one who have passed away? I often ask, “would you have made a t-shirt” if that person was still alive. Most of the time the answer is, “probably not.”  Don’t wait until I’m gone to show me love.  Make a t-shirt of me now, while I’m here. We just celebrated a family event honoring my mother who is 75 years old.  Prior to the event we had t-shirts made with her image on the front. The event drew a larger than expected amount of family members from all over California. The sentiments of many of the folks attended was, “We should to this more often.” Most of the time families only get together like this when there’s a funeral. Whether it’s quality time with your immediate family, calling your grandparents once a week or attending the annual family reunion, these gestures are sincere and everlasting.

Never pass on an opportunity to show love and appreciation for someone because you never know what tomorrow will bring.  That holds true for family, friends or, in this case, a talented artist. Years ago I had a rare opportunity to see Myles Davis live at the Circle Star theater in Redwood City. I decided to pass thinking I’ll catch him next time. Unfortunately, he died a few months later. More recently, I had a chance to experience the God Father of Soul, James Brown in Cache Creek. I decided instead to go to the Berkeley Jazz  festival. Little did I know, James would pass away on December 25th that year. How many people who were constant critics of Michael Jackson are showing appreciation for him now that he’s gone?

Deon Price is youth advocate and freelance writer who lives in Suisun City, Ca. He can be reached at Deon.Price@comcast.net or http://www.priceedutainment.webs.com

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