Oh, I am just the saddest ever. I honestly cannot believe that Michael Jackson is dead... I really just can't stop thinking about it. Mark and I were up until 1:30 in the morning watching old MJ videos on MTV Jams and I'm listening to him nonstop right now on Kiss 108- he was just so good.

Michael Jackson was an enormous part of my childhood. The videos we have of Bekka and I dancing to Beat It and Billy Jean (it was never Becky Jean- sorry Bek), the pictures we have of us baking cookies in oversized shirts with his face on it, the MJ microphones we used to sing into, the bust of his head (yeah, you read that right) that Vo made me, crying over Thriller (so scary!), choosing him to write a biography on in English class and getting laughed at.... like probably everyone in the world right now, I have a million memories involving someone I'm never even met.

MJ STORY: My family and I visited California for a wedding when I was 15 and Bekka was 12. I had just bought the HIStory album and to say that I was obsessed is putting it mildly. I barely spoke to anyone as we drove up the PCH. Headphones firmly lodged in my ears, I was completely devoted to my Discman... to Michael. Anyway, at one point during the drive, Bekka timidly piped up that she would love to hear a couple MJ songs and maybe could she borrow my Discman? WHAT?! I, naturally, was horrified that she would even attempt to separate me from my beloved and responded in the most logical fashion possible. I made her list 3 (maybe 4- I could have been feeling generous) songs that she wanted to hear and told her that she wasn't to listen to any songs she hadn't listed. I then asked her to bark out the window like a dog. She did...and I think she'll tell you it was worth it.

Michael Jackson was an easy target and whether or not you believed any of the several rumors that continuously swirled around him, the impact that he's had on music is in immeasurable. He created the blueprint to pop music and I can't think of one current musician who can claim to not have been impacted by his visionary instincts. Michael Jackson had a lot to work against, but he loved what he did and, more importantly, was perfection as a performer; I respect every choice that he made (well...maybe not the baby dangling- that can get dangerous).

I just love, love, love him and only regret that I will never get to see him in concert.

Just for fun, here are my five MJ faves: Keep it in the Closet, Remember the Time, Human Nature, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Scream.

Please bark for Michael Jackson.

Love, Sarah