I do pray the Lord my soul to take but I also hope that people will tell the truth about my life. Perhaps I have a black heart but I found the parts of the Michael Jackson memorial service that I did catch to be schmaltzy and subtly self-promoting. MJ who spent his life getting lighter and lighter and purposely sought to have children by a fair white woman because he sought those features in his kids, was given credit for breaking down racial barriers. Magic Johnson gave MJ credit for his and Kobe's ability to become household names in their career as basketball players. Really? And the "greatest entertainer/musician in the world" titles being thrown around just emptied those proclamations of their meaning. Sure he was beset on all sides with notoriety and flat out weirdness but to those who actually knew and loved him, you would think they would have more to say than something a random person off the street would have or could have said about him. But that is hardly my point and I don't speak ill of the dead, I speak ill of the living who spoke of the dead. One more thing...Al Sharpton? Really?
When I die, I want those who are around to remember me to remember ME. Not some airbrushed deified version of me that softens all my edges, makes my blemishes and foibles all part of the charm. I want something between a memorial and a roast. I want funny. I want people to laugh and sometimes grimace at some of the pain in the ass things I did. I want the friend whose healthy lifestyle all but guarantees she'll outlive me to tell everyone about the time I uninvited her to my house. I want my brother to tell everyone about the time I locked him out of the house to contend with the wasps he was deathly afraid of because I had been asking him all day to take out the trash. I want that guy who tried to kiss me in 7th grade to tell everyone that as he was leaning in, I told him his breath smelled like Doritos. Okay, he won't be there but I totally love that story because I can usually come up with something inappropriate to say when a guy is trying to make his move, not because I want to cut him down but because I'm extremely socially impaired. I don't want people kicking my coffin but I'd like anyone in attendance to think at least once during the service:
'God, she could be a bonehead.'
'Crap, she was SO neurotic.'
'Boy did she have a way with words.'
4 comments:
Ava. You hit so many things on the head and hit on so many other things that I've got no way to properly comment.
You know I come from Detroit, right? Berry Gordy. Stevie Wonder. Dianna Ross. Aretha Franklin. These were some of the 1st black, super-wealthy class in this country. Dave Bing from my Pistons was another early african-american multi-milionaire in the business world. Then Magic Johnson from Lansing (he's made a few dollars).
Motown and Motown records was culturally important. I believe that. Michael Jackson was important in that certain white people would not let a black man enter their homes even on a TV; but they let little Michael Jackson of the Jackson 5 in. And once you let him in he was a cute and super-talented little kid and then his bothers got in and then Dianna Ross and the hottie Supremes and then...oh my God! Now we've got a black President Obama?! Whoa!!
And little Michael dies and all those Motown people must have looked round and...
Hell, what do I know what they said?!
Wow--I had to make my husband read this--I love your writing!!
I agree with everything you said! When they wheeled out that coffin i just thought 'this is tacky,' which is a shame because it could have been so much better. The only non-cringey part of the memorial was when his daughter spoke for less than a minute. That was real. The rest was a farce.
Thanks for comments! I was honestly a little concerned that I would get some snarky 'leave Michael alone' comments so I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who felt that even without Joe Jackson plugging this record label the memorial seemed hollow and farcical.
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