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Harry Potter rules! Best movie of the series yet.

"We Had Him" by Maya Angelou

Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.

Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace.

Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.

In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time. No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.

Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.

Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him.

He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.

Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that.

He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style. We had him whether we know who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his.

We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.

His hat, aslant over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us.

And we laughed and stomped our feet for him.

We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing. He gave us all he had been given.

Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana's Black Star Square.

In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England
We are missing Michael.

But we do know we had him, and we are the world.

Goodbye Michael

I needed some time to process the death of Michael Jackson before I could write about it. Michael represents different things to different people. For me, Michael started my passion for music...and that passion has shaped who I am. I always loved music, but Thriller changed everything for me. I'd never really understood the concept of an album before Thriller, it was my first album. It was more than just a song...it was every song! I listened to that album over and over and over, committing it to memory. That was the first time I actually paid any attention to the lyrics of a song. It made me sing, it made me laugh and it made me get up and dance. The first concert I ever went to was the Victory Tour, for the Thriller album. I was in 6th grade, and I was the only person I knew who got to go. My Uncle Earl lent my mother the money to buy us tickets and I've never forgotten that night. Later, for the Bad tour, I was lucky enough to go to both nights at McNichols arena. The second of those two nights I was in 6th row...and to this day that is the best concert that I have ever been to. Over the years as people have asked me about my favorite/best concerts they're often surprised that it's not Bon Jovi. Don't get me wrong, emotionally the Bon Jovi concert is as good as it gets for me. However, NO ONE puts on a show the way that Michael Jackson did. It's just simply not the same thing, his shows were on another level. He was magical. Literally. His life has been so important to mine; his music so important to the fabric of me, that his death has filled me with mixed emotions. I'm so sad that he's gone. I'm sad that the end of his life played out the way that it did. I NEVER believed any of the allegations that he faced in his later years, and I wish that he didn't have to live under that permanent cloud of doubt. However, I can't deny that Michael was not the same person at the end of his life as he was when he changed mine so dramatically. So, while I mourn the loss of my idol, I'm also so happy that he doesn't have to be "Michael Jackson" anymore. I don't think that anyone but him can understand what that kind of fame can do to you, especially since it started when he was 5. No one has ever been that famous...and I think that all his life Michael was searching for all that he lost because of fame. It brings me peace to know that all that is over for him now. He's at peace. He can finally be happy...and we'll always have his music to enjoy. For me, that is who Michael Jackson was. The best musician, dancer and performer the world has ever known. There will never be another like him. Thank you Michael. Thank you for all you did for those in need, and all that you did for music. Now is your time...be at peace.

Gone Too Soon

Like a comet

Blazing'cross the evening sky

Gone too soon

Like a rainbow

Fading in the twinkling of an eye

Gone too soon

Shiny and sparkly

And splendidly bright

Here one day

Gone one night

Like the loss of sunlight

On a cloudy afternoon

Gone too soon

Like a castle

Built upon a sandy beach

Gone too soon

Like a perfect flower

That is just beyond your reach

Gone too soon

Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight

Here one day

Gone one night

Like a sunset

Dying with the rising of the moon

Gone too soon

Gone too soon

-Michael Jackson-

Dangerous