A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Michael Jackson

I never thought I'd be writing this today...but here goes.
There probably won't be many of us blogging about Michael Jackson today. Yesterday was a day like no other in the music world. I have always loved the music, but wondered about the man. We have heard so many stories about him ....hard to tell what's true and not true. I have felt bad, on occasion, that this fragile human being was being so tormented...by our crazy USA media. He probably made some bad choices in his life...who hasn't? I have never believed that he molested children, and if I'm right...how tormented he must have been, loving kids the way he did. When he died, the press just exploded with coverage of his life and death. So many repeats...it was almost too much to handle, so when the day of the memorial service came....I thought that I wouldn't watch it, but I guess curiosity got the best of me. We turned on CNN and watched the whole thing. It was a wonderful tribute to this man. We heard so many things that we didn't know before. What a giving person he was...how many people he helped. How he opened the entertainment business to people of all colors. His love for his family and friends. What a creative mind he had that created music like nothing else that was out there. We watched...mesmerized by what we were seeing. I have never liked the Rev. Al Sharpton...but he gave a wonderful tribute to Michael. The wonderful entertainers presenting his music. Brooke Shields and her comparison of him to the Little Prince. The wonderful poem by Maya Angelou. Then at the end his little girl's words. Later in the evening I was in another room and Joe said, Come out here for a minute." He had set up the VCR and put in a 17 year old tape of the Bucharest tour...."Dangerous." Here we were last night...two old.. 70 some year old folks, watching an old Michael Jackson concert. It was wonderful and at the end... Joe turned to me and said, "I've changed my opinion of him." Me too!

Balisha
Here is an alphabetical list of known charities that Michael Jackson has individualy supported publically throughout his career. Michael Jackson also helped set up Heal The World Foundation, the charities this has supported have not been listed.
AIDS Project L.A. (Remember Ryan White?)
American Cancer Society
Angel Food
Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles
BMI Foundation, Inc.
Brotherhood Crusade
Brothman Burn Center
Camp Ronald McDonald
Childhelp U.S.A.
Children's Institute International
Cities and Schools Scholarship Fund
Community Youth Sports & Arts Foundation
Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)
Dakar Foundation
Dreamstreet Kids
Dreams Come True Charity
Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
Love Match
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Minority Aids Project
Motown Museum
NAACP
National Rainbow Coalition
Rotary Club of Australia
Society of Singers
Starlight Foundation
The Carter Center's Atlanta Project
The Sickle Cell Research Foundation
Transafrica
United Negro College Fund (UNCF)
United Negro College Fund Ladder's of Hope
Volunteers of America
Watts Summer Festival
Wish Granting
YMCA - 28th Street/Crenshaw

5 comments:

Crayons said...

Wow, I never thought I'd read about Michael Jackson here! I really enjoyed reading your appreciation of all the good he provided. I like the idea of the two of you boogey-ing down in the living room.

2 Dogs said...

He was indeed a very talented individual. He will be greatly missed by his children, family and fans I'm sure.

coolwaterworks said...

Hi Balisha...

Like Caroline, I did not expect a post about Michael Jackson here... Indeed, he had made bad choices and the difference is that every bad choice he made is magnified by his stardom. As I have pointed out some days ago in some other blogs, many still do not know that MJ is one of the most generous persons in the US music industry. He will remain in the hearts of those he has touched by his kindness.

Frances said...

Thanks for that Balisha, I feel the same as you and was appalled by the media explosion, good term for it, when he died. The coverage does seem over the top but they have so much archival material to use. His daughter's words were the most poignant of the evening and one couldn't help but think of how her life is without privacy or normalcy. Bless her heart.
Frances

Judy said...

I never thought he was a child molester either and I thought he loved his children very much and was a good father. He was so talented. I did not see the service but wish I had now. He was like a little boy in a man's body in a lot of ways. I think he really did love children. What a talent. It is so sad that he died so young. Great post Balisha.