michael jackson in cabrini geen in the 70's and early 80's
in our 3 bedroom apartment located at 365 w. oak st. in cabrini
green there were two phrases that would make the kids gather
quickly. one was hearing our mom say, "the soul train line is
on' and the other was the jackson's our on tv.' when michael
jackson p***ed in june memories like these came flooding back.
the jackson's destiny album was a staple in our apartment. just
like if you'd see and 8x7 photograph or larger of dr. martin
luther king on the living room wall in a household or if you
see'd an oversized wooden fork and spoon in someone's kitchen
back in da day. that destiny album sat on top of our wooden
phonograph right next to nat king cole, billie holiday and
roberta flack. i remember the day when daddy went down to the
barber shop and bought it. i was mesmerized by just looking at
them. they were all grown up and too sexy. when michael
jackson sang it was as if he was teaching because he understood
so well how to get his emotions across. i have always felt an
intimacy between mj and his audience. he may have sold millions
of records but he was communicating with one honest heart. 'til
this day i can't pick a favorite, though 'can't help it' is at
the top of my list but heck i love all of his music. i remember
i was in about the third grade and a girl told me that she was
related to the jacksons. her surname wasn't jackson and she had
never lived in gary. but this chick was certain that she was kin
to the jacksons. i am beginning to think there was one of these
people in every neighborhood. they claimed they were either kin
to the jacksons, sylvers or the debarges. when mike did the
robot he held you captive just as he did when he did the moon
walk in front of millions. you might have seen other folks do it,
like that guy from the singing group shalamar but when you saw mj
do it you knew he killed it. every kid wanted to be michael
jackson. you'd dance around the house singing his tunes and as
soon as relatives came over your parents would say, 'gone baby do
michael jackson'. you'd freeze up and get shame faced. if it
were christmas you'd sing a chorus of i saw mommy kissing santa
claus or santa claus is coming to town. as the day wore on and
you warmed up no one could shut you up. then you'd lapse into
"heart break hotel,' and 'off the wall.' yeah, when mijac went
solo my heart went with him. i am not going to sleep on
jermaine jackson though. jermaine jackson's 'let's get serious'
rivaled marvin gaye's 'let's get it on' in housing project
airplay. if you ever want to know how well a song is doing drop
past the hood and if you hear it pumping continuously then it's a
monster jam. let's get serous and you like me don't you have
endeared millions of fans to jermaine. with funkmaster stevie
wonder in the background of let's get serious it was destined to
be off the hook. but back to the.gloved one. i know that
over the years michael jackson was quoted as saying that he
didn't have a childhood. he even made a song called 'have you
see my childhood' i felt really sorry for him. but from the
looks of the jacksons made for tv movie i think jackie, jermaine,
tito, marlon and randy had one. when the thriller album came out
mike set the world on fire. that's right i said thriller album, i
didn't say thriller cd or thriller on ipod or mp3. yes, i am
dating myself but oh well. i thank god that i am old enough to
have experienced the comfort of an album. you could sit up all
day and peruse the liner notes and credits. you could decorate
your walls with album covers. back in da day, artists took the
time to pose and they dressed up for photo shoots. nowadays,
some of them are wearing white t shirts or oversized clothing or
just cropping their face into photos or they are not on the cover
at all. what is that all about? they made one album and they
think they can just represent themselves with a symbol. they
aren't the purple one or the gloved one. anyway, albums were
also good for doubling as dust pans when nobody was looking.
when thriller came out michael jackson was more popular than
ronald reagan. reagan's popularity hit its peak when he got
shot. michael jackson was the shot! michael jackson couldn't
get out of the news i credit michael jackson with giving the
jheri curl it's boost. when michael jackson allowed that baby
hair to show and that one curl to sit atop his forehead everyone
took heed. flash forward and never in a million years
did i think i would hear the words pedophile and chld star
michael jackson mentioned in the same sentence. but in the 90's
i heard it over and over again. i am not anyone's judge and jury
so i don't get off into that. michael jackson didn't owe me a
thing. but in the latter years of his career my mom would call
my house and say michael jackson is on tv this time i didn't run
to tthe television. i'd brace myself for fear that bubbles or
one of the llamas had escaped and attacked someone. i think
in our collective conscience, mike brings out the kid in all of
us. for a man who never felt that he had a childhood he sure
gave a lot of other people a great memory of one. when i think
about my time in cabrini green and when the last building is
razed, i'll still have those memories of what the 'man in the
mirror' meant to me. the world loves you mike.   By: Dorreen Ambrose-Van Lee on the December 26th, 2009