Michael. . .

Every arrival foretells a leave-taking; every birth a death. yet each death and departure comes to us as a surprise, a sorrow never anticipated. Life is a long series of farewells; only the circumstances should surprise us.
-Jessamyn West-

We are always saying a farewell. . . we maintain our right to be surprised by the circumstances, but we can grow into the beauty of graceful farewells.
-Anne Wilson Schaef-

Was he a child molester or a man who just loved kids with a child-like simplicity? Was he a "freak" with an ever increasing list of oddities and eccentricities or was he a unique and deeply misunderstood soul? Was he an artist and musical genius or a shrewd and manipulative business man? I do not claim to know the answers to these questions and now may never know. What I do know, however, is that Michael Jackson is just as much a part of my cultural experience as a young black girl growing up in the 70s and 80s and coming of age in the 90s as are my own relatives and friends. His music, his voice, and his songs were the backdrop and soundtrack to much of my teen and young adult years. For me it is not a matter of wanting to forget him or not wanting to forget him. It is that I cannot and will not forget him.

And so with saddness, shock, surprise and maybe even a little bit of irony, I wish Michael a graceful farewell.