Birth of the Moonwalk

For a moment, Michael Jackson’s dream of world unity was realized with people of all ages, races and gender blasting his music out in the streets. Unfortunately, it came at the price of his pre-mature death at the age of 50 from what the media is saying was from a cardiac arrest.

As I walked away from the day job and toward a Boston bar to watch the news on CNN, sounds of “Dirty Diana,” “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and “Black or White” penetrated the air, creating a strange sort of aural pop music soup that seemed to inspire smiles, followed by the inevitable single tear in the corner of various eyes.

In the bar, people appeared to be visibly shocked at the news and soon Blackberries were out to log on to Twitter feeds to comment about the latest news or speculation.

Michael Jackson was dead…and the world didn’t know how to react.

Eventually, people found a way, either through blasting the Ultimate Collection album they had on their iPod, which they hadn’t listened to in years, or by talking about their favorite songs.

As for me, it’s strange to say, but Jackson’s death felt like a personal loss. Thriller was the first real album my sister and I got as kids. We had the choice between Billy Joel and Michael Jackson (essentially it was a choice between the songs “Uptown Girl” or “Thriller.” I often wonder how my life would have panned out had I grew up singing “…she’s just living in her white bread world”).

But even that young age, my sister and I knew there was something special about Jackson and soon enough, like every kid in America at the time, we were imitating the dance moves as best we could. Today, those same dance moves can make you the most popular on the dance floor whenever a Jackson song is played.

A lot changed for the pop star since Thriller and not all of it was positive. From the legal troubles and strange behavior, Michael has never truly gotten a break from the media despite his unquestionable contribution to the world of music.

As I did back then, I’m choosing the music over anything else and will strut down a sidewalk every time I hear Billie Jean. Thanks to Michael, I will forever choose the music and the chance to dance…because those fleeting moments are ones of unity, freedom and tranquility. And it’s rare to experience any one of those emotions on their own, let alone at the same time.