Just as people ask now, “Where were you when you learned Kennedy had been shot?” and “Where were you when you heard the news about the Twin Towers coming down?” one day people will ask, “Where were you when you got the news that Michael Jackson died?”
I was on the toilet.
I realize it happened at like 3 in the afternoon, but living in Singapore, that’s the middle of the night for me. So I got up Friday morning (It was still Thursday night for you people in America) and did my usual routine. I had my iPhone with me in the bathroom because I had just woken up and wanted to read email or do something - you know, multitask. My friend Alicia interrupted my game of Spider Solitaire with the breaking news that Michael Jackson died.
At age 50, Michael Jackson suffered sudden cardiac arrest. I wrote a story about this for the Ross Brittain Report:
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association says the untimely death of pop star MICHAEL JACKSON underscores the tragedy of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and the importance of knowing CPR.
What is it sudden cardiac arrest? SCA is the result of an electrical disruption of the heart. It’s not the same thing as a heart attack. It comes on without warning and can strike people who seem to be healthy and have no history of heart disease. Every two minutes someone in America dies from sudden cardiac arrest.
Reports suggest Jackson wasn’t alone and lived just two minutes from the hospital. Even that wasn’t sufficient to keep him alive. Health officials say someone who suffers SCA needs CPR and the shock of an automated external defibrillator (AED) immediately if they are going to have any chance of survival. Doctors say this only drives home the reminder that CPR is a basic life-saving skill everyone should know.
It’s a shame, really. I used to love Michael Jackson. I don’t know if anyone will ever know what caused him to go from fabulous to freaky. It’ll be interesting to watch his kids grow up and see how the media treats them. Actually, it’s not the media I’m worried about. It’s the playground. Two brothers both named Prince Michael (the only difference in their names is that one is Prince Michael 1 and the other is Prince Michael 2) is definitely cause for teasing on most playgrounds.
Ya know, what we do on this earth while we are here has everything to do with how we will be remembered when we’re gone. I love the Nicole Nordeman song “Legacy” because it tells this very story. I want to leave a legacy. How will they remember me?
Do you ever think about that? How will you be remembered when you’re gone? Michael Jackson could have been remembered for selling gazillions of records, for being an amazing pop star, for his philanthropy. But something in this man wasn’t quite right and what could have been an amazing legacy will probably be more about child molestation charges, tons of plastic surgery and dangling his baby over a balcony.
You don’t have to be a pop star known globally to make a difference in the world. You have it in you to do excellent things right where you are, and it’s really never too late to start.
0 Response to "Where were you when ..."
Post a Comment