Michael Jackson Will Never Be Forgotten

Gone Too Soon by Michael Jackson



The news of Michael Jackson's death traveled faster than the speed of light. It was reported that text messages were sent at a rate of 65,000 per second all across the world.


















People were gathering at UCLA hospital, his star on Hollywood Blvd. his family home in Encino, California, his present residence in Holmby Hills, California, the Apollo Theatre in New York City, and many many other places around the globe. The people are in shock and are very sad at the news of his death. The television programming came to a hault with breaking news of his death, and there was no more regular programming on most channels for the rest of the day.

I started this post on the day of his death but it is now three days later and there are still some cable channels that are running his videos all day long. For at least two consecutive days the television has been dominated by Michael Jackson, his life, his legacy, and unfortunately his troubles. I learned things while being glued to the television that I didn't know, and the one thing that resonates the most is that Michael is in the Guiness Book of World Records for contributing to the most charities of any celebrity. He gave millions of dollars to 39 charities. He donated his five million dollars earned on the Victory Tour to three different charities. This was the concert of the century


Michael not only made his mark as the King of Pop, but also as a Humanitarian. He broke color barriers around the world, he brought issues of inhumane practices around the world to the forefront,i,e, homelessness, hunger, sickness, and AIDS, and he spent a great deal of his time and money to help eradicate these issues for as many as he could. His favorite of all was sick children. He spent a great deal of his own money paying hospital bills of terminally ill children as well as helping their families, and granting the wishes of these children. Many of these children only wished to meet him, and that he did and more. He truly made the world a better place.



This was a great man that gave so much of himself to people of all races, of all colors, of all religions, and of all nationalities, and unfortunately he got a lot of dirt kicked in his face. There are many that are grateful for all of the sacrifices that he has made to be who he was.

It is hard to know where to start. Just remembering when I first saw The Jackson 5 on the Ed Sullivan Show when I was a little girl. The first concert they had in Savannah, Georgia when I was 12 years old and how my mother made my dress and I wore my first Afro. I took pictures of this concert with my instamatic camera and they were moving so fast on that stage that the picture came out a colorful blur. When I talked to Michael on the phone the next day after the concert, because he was staying at the Desoto Hilton, and I knew someone that worked there that put me through. How my bedroom was covered in posters of Michael and the Jackson 5. How I knew the words to every song, by stopping the record many times to write them down. This was before the days when they published the lyrics. When there were many neighborhood kids starting singing groups to be the next Jackson 5. It was an amazing time, and I didn't believe that it could get any more amazing, but little did I know. That this little fellow would later become the biggest thing the music industry has ever seen.




As he grew so did his message to the world. Some of these messages were of his loneliness and pain, and often addressed to those that continued to conflict this pain upon him. Then there were those beautiful messages that appeal to the heart, that appealed to all of mankind, to right the wrongs in this world. He challenged us to be kinder to one another, to reach out to those that needed us, to speak for those that had no voice, to just be HUMAN. He was a man that felt deeply the pain of others, because he felt deeply his own pain. I have learned when you are one that feels the hurt of what is going on in the world it becomes heavy and that heaviness often times becomes physical. His music was the only thing that made him happy, truly happy. Michael enjoyed children not only because he missed out on his own childhood, but because of their innocence, they were not tainted by hatred and prejudice, they experienced pure joy from life and that is always what he wanted to be around. That too made him a target for those that harbored hatred and greed.


Michael Jackson's Humanitarian Efforts 1979-2003

I want to thank Michael for what he gave to the world, for the joy he has given me in growing up in the same generation as he did, therefore allowing me to grow with him. Michael Joe Jackson, you are truly loved by many all over the world and you will be missed.

May You Rest in Peace my brother!

Update

July 7, 2009

Today was the memorial of Michael Joseph Jackson and it was the most touching thing that I have ever seen. It was beautifully done and it most definitely showed the world the human side of MJ, and that is something the world needed to see. Even though he was greatly loved by his fans for his music, but many never saw him with his family or his family with him. Today they got to see MJ as a child of God, a son, a brother, an uncle, a father, and a friend.
I never knew that the passing of a man that I didn't personally know would effect me the way that it has, but it has. I believe that God gave MJ not just the gift of music, but also the gift of love. The gift, as Brooks Shield put it, to see with his heart. It must have been a beautiful thing just to know him, I am thankful to know him from afar, and thankful to live in this time when he was (A) Present.






Michael Jackson's children

Children of the Street

photo by Kimberley Miles
"Children of the Streets. They're there but no one notices them....."



It is amazing how many of our children are living on the streets in this country. You read about this in many poor underdeveloped countries, but you never think about it being in your own backyard. It is sad to think of this happening anywhere, but it is frightening to think of it happening here in America. A place where so many come for opportunities to better their lives and the lives of their families both here and abroad.



There is a story that I read just this morning in the Los Angeles Times about Khadijah Williams who has been homeless her entire childhood and now she is off on a full scholarship to Harvard University. As much as this is a wonderful success story, there are quite a few things that few of us see. Her transition from the streets of California to the Ive League halls of Harvard along side so many privileged young people. There is no doubt that she can stay focused on her studies, because she has proven that in the worst situations, but what does she internalize in order to keep that focus. Then there is the situation with not knowing the whereabouts and well being of the two people that she loves the most, her mother and her younger sister. How much guilt will she feel for leaving them behind, and especially if anything happens to them, or if her sister's life turns out much different than hers. This is a story that I would love to follow and watch her in this transition, her growth and the demons that she has to slay along the way. We can just hope and pray that she will be ok, and when the time comes that she is able to help her mother and her sister that it is not too late.





Update
Oprah has gotten a hold of this story and tells more of what her life has been like since starting Harvard. You can check it out here.

American Bondage

It has been known for sometime that Americans love to own stuff, and the more stuff there is the more stuff we want to own. The weirdest thing about this is that once we acquire the stuff, the thrill is over. This type of bondage has dominated most of my life. It was actually when I went back to school and moved in with my parents that I realized that I could live with a great deal less than I thought possible. I chose to move in with my parents because I didn't want to work full time and attend school part time, knowing how long this process could be. I wanted to make this happen as quickly as possible. So going to school full time was the only thing I could do and that included summers. I also wanted to make the process as painless as possible, not my pain but my daughter's pain. Finding a way that would not disrupt her life anymore than necessary. I knew that if I went back to school full time and worked full time, then parenting would take a backseat. This was not an option for me, not even for a short time. The time that it was going to take for me to earn my degree was going to take a few years. I was not willing to sacrifice her, but I was willing to sacrifice stuff.
When I made this decision, I was up against a great deal of resistance, but I was determined. I had to put all of my stuff in storage. The antique furniture that I had been collecting, the beautiful china, and antique dishes, all of the dolls my daughter had been collecting with her grandmother, and the three closets of designer clothes and shoes that defined me. That was heartbreaking.
After enrolling in school and getting involved in all that was put before me, with the determination an tunnel vision that I equipped myself with, that heartbreak became less and less. I was excelling quite rapidly in school, I was a full time student, a full time mother of a 12 year old girl, and now a member of the honor society that just happened to be featured in the school's campaign for non-traditional students. My face was now plastered all over the newspapers in this campaign, in brochures, and college fairs. All of this happened without the the stuff that use to be so very important to me. So life was lighter and freer, and I was able to soar.
This type of thing also happens when we clean out our houses, our minds, our debts, and our hearts. Sometimes getting rid of the house that sucks our resources, the constant wants that sucks our energy and eventually our money, and then our energy again. It becomes a cycle that we become painfully comfortable with. A cycle that becomes easier to live within than it is to move away from.
Many Americans are being stripped of these tangible possessions in today's economy, and they are discovering that there is a great deal that they are able to live without. Americans are becoming grateful for their loved ones and good health, and with that they are able to attain all that they need and want. The difference now is that their wants are have evolved. Instead of things, they are wanting peace of mind and simple happiness with those that are the most important to them. Through this many will not go back to the way they use to live, because what they value in life is different. They will not go back to the credit card debt, to robbing Peter to pay Paul, the buying more house than they need or can afford, or the keeping up with the Jones. By being stripped by all of these possessions they will discover themselves, who they are , what they want from this life, and what they value the most, and these possessions will no longer be necessary to show the world who they are. However, there are a number of people that is going to jump right back into that frying pan, and there is a part of me that understands why. For some, the pain of change is unbearable and bondage is all that they know.

Los Angeles Parade: Celebrating the Lakers Win

Yesterday while watching the local news the topic at the moment was the Laker's Championship Parade to be held in city of Los Angeles. They were discussing the costs involved in putting on this display of support for this highly esteemed basketball team. The Lakers has contributed 1 million dollars to this effort but there is over a million dollars still needed to make sure that this even is nothing short of what the fans and the team expects.
There has been an effort to cut back on these expenses and shorting the parade route was one way to do that.
Mayor Villaraigosa has been soliciting private donations to cover the city's possible expense for the celebratory event and says that he has raised several hundred thousand dollars. He knows the people would be outraged if he were to spend city's money on this event when there are so many people out of work, so many programs being cut, the threat of teacher layoffs, the insistence of government employees taking furloughs, as well as the enormous deficit that is at the forefront of the minds of those mostly effected.
I became irate at the thought of the city paying any of the taxpayers monies for this celebration. Any type of celebration is a welcome distraction and is actually needed to uplift the spirit of so many that are effected by our present economic situation, both as a city and as a country, but the idea of the city even paying a dine for this was just more than I could wrap my head around. It is a relief to know that this city and its officials are not insensitive.

Update: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The mayor came through. All of the monies that the city would have paid for the parade today is being taken care of by the business community. Americans come through again for their own.

The Promise

I am just so exhausted by my inherent impulse to look for the good in people. Some people don't have enough good within to be seen by the human eye or the human heart. Maybe only God can see their worth, or maybe it is just not meant for one to see.

Forget people. But I love people. At times I believe my consistent and subconscious quest for the good in people is a curse, but maybe it is not a curse, maybe it is a blessing. It could be a blessing for the other person although quite painful to me, but it could possibly be a blessing for me.

Maybe this is why I find a real passion in photojournalism. I want to believe that regardless of the many heinous acts committed by some, that there is more to them than their actions. There are those that kill people but love animals; they have no respect for life, but they recycle. I don't know. Many will think that I am reaching here, and maybe I am, but what makes me want to reach, what makes me want to believe in people, "by any means necessary".
If this was a curse I would surely be bitter by now, but I am not bitter. My heart wont let me become bitter or God wont let me. So maybe it is a gift and God is waiting for the time when I am prepared, when I am ready, when I am not so emotional but purely passionate. I feel like I am on the path but I have not yet reached the promise. So hopefully God will ease some of the pain, some of the frustration, some of the uneasiness, and some of the ambiguity of this pilgrimage. I definitely want to embrace this mission and every step taken, because I want to reach The Promise, that now only flashes before me.

What is this promise?

The promise of peace and happiness that is there once one finds their true passion in life. Once one finds their purpose on this earth. Once one finds their way to serve others.
A settling of the soul.

March 29th - My Birthday

Well I am another year older, March 29th was my birthday. I had already planned a road trip for my birthday, but couldn't go until the weekend of April 10th. I am going to have four days to drive up Pacific Coast Hwy from Los Angeles to San Francisco, which I hear is an absolutely beautiful drive. I am really looking forward to it all. Fortunate enough I was off on my birthday and so I decided to drive out to Santa Monica. I fell in love with Santa Monica the moment I came to live in California. There are a few areas there together, Venice is just a little further down Ocean Ave. and then there is also Marina Del Rey.
I had read some time ago that about this gentleman named Abbot Kinney who is considered the father of Venice, California. He had a dream of making the area "Venice of America", patterned after Venice, Italy along with canals, gondolas, a pier and ferris wheel.
I am not that happy with the photos that was taken that day and intend to go back at different times of day and night until I get the shots that I am happy with.

When do you fight, how do you fight?

There are so many injustices in this world until it is hard to know where to start. One would think that you would start in your own backyard, and I have a few issues there that I could definitely address and they would benefit many others as well. Then there are those injustices, like cut back in education that are taking place in California, that are just unthinkable. So where do you start? Yes you can take on a couple of things at a time, but then there is the time required and the research necessary to start to address these issues. Yes I could probably figure out where to start but where do I find the time to start.
Collectively, the average working person was able to override the political machine and elect a man to the highest office in this country, who was not the forerunner. This makes me believe that we can do anything together. We need to continue this fight because President Obama is not going to make this all happen alone, and he is not going to be able to do all through the Executive Office. As he has said many times, we need to get together and continue to fight, continue to make our voices and desires heard.
Today I was able to watch the town hall meeting that President Obama held in Costa Mesa, California, and behold, there was a teacher in the audience to ask the necessary questions in reference to the cutbacks in education. She has been teaching for over 20 years and received a pink slip last week. She also told of another teacher in the same district, an Urban district, who had received the Teacher of the Year Award and was also given a pink slip. Can anyone see the problem here. I was under the impression from watching the news last week when there were a number of teachers gathering with picket signs in various parts of Los Angeles that it was mostly the newer teachers that were receiving these pink slips, not that this is acceptable, but veteran teachers. This is something that just tells me that our education system is just business as usual. The business of getting rid of the teachers that are making the higher salaries and hiring newer teachers at a much lower rate. I do believe that our education systems need fresh ideas and change, but the the teacher of the year. She is obviously doing something right. President Obama stated that most of the money in the stimulus package was for retaining teachers, as well as upgrading the infrastructure, but most was for retention. This particular teacher that addressed President Obama also expressed that the average number of students in a classroom was 36 to 44 students. It is impossible for one teacher to teach that many students when the students have various skill levels. There needs to be a major overhaul of the education system because it is obviously not working and has not worked for at least 25 or more years. This needs immediate attention just like the economy and the health care system in this country.

Now where and when do we start to make enough noise about our education system, how it is effecting our future and our present. How we are presenting another generation of people that are not going to be equipped to run this country, keeps it's promises, and propel it into the next century.