I hadn't planned to say anything on the passing of Michael Jackson, but then I read what my friend Duane Allen, of The Oak Ridge Boys wrote, and it pretty much sums up my feelings as well, so I will share it with you now.
WHILE THERE ARE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE GONE UNANSWERED ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON AND HIS PERSONAL LIFE, HE HAS PAID OFF SOME TO NOT TALK, AND IN OTHER CASES, HE WAS TAKEN TO A COURT OF LAW AND WON THE CASES.....SO, TAKE YOUR PICK OF HOW YOU LIKE TO LOOK AT HIM, THERE ARE PLENTY OF EXAMPLES OF HIS PERSONAL LIFE FOR YOU TO OBSERVE.......I HAVE OBSERVED HIS WEIRDNESS FOR YEARS......AT ONE TIME, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS ON OUR BUS WAS, "WHO DOES MICHAEL JACKSON THINK IS WEIRD?"NOW, HE HAS TO ANSWER TO GOD.....NONE OF US KNOW HOW THAT WILL COME DOWN.......
NOW, LOOKING AT HIS ARTISTRY......I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AMAZED AT THE TALENT I SAW IN HIM AND HIS BROTHERS FROM THE DAYS OF THEIR YOUTH.......MY RESPECT FOR HIM NEVER CHANGED AS I LEARNED OF HIS PERSONAL LIFE.......I STILL RESPECTED HIS MUSICAL ABILITIES........I ALWAYS WAS DRAWN TO HIM IN THE JACKSONS, AS I FELT THAT HE WAS THE MOST TALENTED OF ALL........I FELT THE SAME WAY ABOUT DONNIE OSMOND WITH THE OSMOND BROTHERS......I ALWAYS FELT THAT DONNIE AND MICHAEL WERE THE MAGICAL MEMBERS OF EACH FAMILY GROUP.......
WHILE IN NEVADA, I READ AN ACCOUNT BY DONNIE OF HIS RECENT CONVERSATIONS WITH MICHAEL.....AS DONNIE RELATED------MICHAEL WAS SO HOUNDED BY FANS AND THE MEDIA THAT AT ONE POINT RECENTLY, HE GOT A RV AND LIVED IN IT ALL OVER ARIZONA, JUST TO GET AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WERE HOUNDING HIM......CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MISERABLE THAT WOULD BE.......MICHAEL WAS AFRAID TO EVEN GIVE OUT HIS PHONE NUMBER TO DONNIE BECAUSE HE FEARED IT WOULD BE TRACED AND PEOPLE WOULD FIND HIM.......HIS OWN POPULARITY MADE A PRISONER OF HIM, RESTRICTING HIM FOR A PERIOD OF TIME TO A RV TO JUST TRAVEL FROM ONE TOWN TO ANOTHER, NEVER EVEN GETTING OUT EXCEPT AT NIGHT, AND THAT WOULD BE ONLY WHERE THERE WERE NO PEOPLE.......
SO, AS AN ARTIST, I DO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS LIKE, BEING IN A FISHBOWL.......ALL OF THE GOOD IS MULTIPLIED, AND ALL OF THE BAD IS MULTIPLIED, TOO.......EVERYTHING IS BLOWN WAY OUT OF SHAPE, AND SOMETIMES, RE-SHAPED TO FIT THE DESIRE OF A STORY-HUNGRY MEDIA PERSON JUST LOOKING FOR A NEW STORY........WHEN WE HAD "ELVIRA' WE HAD ALL KINDS OF NUT CASES COMING OUT FROM UNDER EVERY ROCK ON THE ROAD.......I MEAN, SOME REALLY CRAZY PEOPLE.....IT WAS HARD TO DEAL WITH SOME OF THEM, BUT WE HAD PLENTY OF PEOPLE AROUND US AND OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT PEOPLE TO HANDLE THE NUT CASES........SO, I AM NOT CRITICIZING THE LIFE OR CAREER OF MICHAEL JACKSON.......I DO RECOGNIZE HIS AMAZING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY......THOSE ARE, WITHOUT A DOUBT IN MY MIND, HUGE, ALMOST BEYOND BELIEF........I WAS NOT A HUGE FAN, IN THE COMMON WAY OF LOOKING AT IT, BUT, I HAD A HUGE RESPECT FOR HIM AND HIS BROTHERS.......AND, I DID RECOGNIZE THAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD WERE, AND STILL ARE, HUGE FANS........
WHILE I DO NOT DISMISS THE WEIRD LIFESTYLE THAT HE LED, IT DID NOT AFFECT ME IN ANY WAY.......IT IS UP TO GOD NOW TO PLACE VALUE ON HIS LIFESTYLE........I DO NOT SEND HIM RIGHT INTO THE ARMS OF JESUS, BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW IF HE EVEN FOLLOWED JESUS.......I DO RECOGNIZE THAT AT ONE POINT IN HIS CAREER, HE WAS RECOGNIZED AS BEING THE ARTIST WHO GAVE THE MOST TO HELP CHARITIES.......I WAS REPULSED AT THE JESSE JACKSONS, AND AL SHARPTONS, WHO I CONSIDER TO BE OPPORTUNISTIC FLIM-FLAM CON ARTISTS.......THEY HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH MICHAEL JACKSON.......HOWEVER, I WAS VERY MOVED BY SOME OF THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO PERFORMED OR SPOKE AT HIS FUNERAL......BROOKE SHIELDS TOUCHED ME WITH HER STORY OF SHARING.......AND, SOME OF THE MUSIC WAS JUST FABULOUS........WHEN MICHAEL'S LITTLE GIRL SPOKE ABOUT HER LOVE FOR HER DADDY, CHURCH WAS OUT FOR ME........MAY GOD BLESS THESE THREE LITTLE CHILDREN AS THEY SEARCH FOR WAYS TO MAKE A PLACE IN THIS WORLD FOR THEM......MAY THOSE LEFT TO CARE FOR THEM TAKE CARE OF THEM, AND NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM IS MY PRAYER.......
SO, WHILE THE WORLD MAY BE JUDGMENTAL OF MICHAEL, I AM COMFORTABLE TO JUST SAY HE WAS WEIRD.......I AM ALSO COMFORTABLE IN SAYING THAT I BELIEVE HE WAS A MUSICAL GENIUS, EVEN THOUGH I WAS NOT A NORMAL FAN....... DUANE ALLEN
