Okay Captain, you can make fun of me all you want cause I really do feel like a fool. I have got to be the biggest cry baby there ever was. I watched the Michael Jackson Memorial Service probably three times today and I think I have now finally seen it all in full. I cried the moment the Andrae Crouch choir sang the song “We’re Going to See the King” as they brought Michael Jackson’s coffin out. I cried even more when Mariah Carey came out and sang “I’ll be There”. Oh my, the way she sang that song was so moving. I had tears pouring down my face and then when Mariah’s friend, Trey Lorenz, said “Michael” right at the end of that song, I burst into more tears. The next crying fit was when Jennifer Hudson sang “Will you be There”. Then Brooke Shields came out and told about when her and Michael were younger and how Michael was trying to teach her how to do the moonwalk and she just couldn’t grasp it. She spoke of the song “Smile” and how we all need to look up and smile. Unfortunately, the tears poured out of me again. I really didn’t think I had any more tears left in me until Jermaine Jackson came out and actually sang the song “Smile”. He did an awesome job singing that song and I don’t know how he ever found the courage to finish it because his voice broke up right near the end of the song and he started to cry but then composed himself and finished it. He sure is a true man. Tears just flowed from me. At that point I had a lunch date so I had to leave. It wasn’t until I saw the broadcast again later that day that I saw Michael’s sweet little 11 year old daughter, Paris, tell everyone how much her Daddy meant to her. Oh my God, more tears that I never knew I had.

So, after crying my eyes out all day long, I now feel lost and forlorn. Is this what celebrating someone’s life is supposed to be like? How come I don’t feel happy then? I feel totally depressed and sad.

I never knew Michael Jackson personally, however, I grew up with his music. I remember when the Jackson 5 were just starting out. I remember all Michael Jackson’s hit songs. I remember all the controversy over Michael Jackson’s life. I remember Michael Jackson and I will continue to remember Michael Jackson for his talent. He sure could dance and his dance moves were innovative and my God, that man could sing. Right now, in the back of my mind, the words to the song, “I’ll be There” are stuck in my head. “Just call my name and I’ll be there.”