Lost in translation: Man in the mirror: MJ. The end of an era..

[luis fonseca]

The devastating news of the sudden and sad demise of my greatest idol,
MJ, left me completely shellshocked and saddened.Tears rolled down my
eyes unceasingly:
Because, to me he was one of the most misunderstood persona ever -
Perhaps, a part of it can be attributed to the fact that he was thrust
into the limelight when barely five years of age,...perhaps, he was
forced to do it at the big stage at such a tender age, by his dad- who
confessed to whipping the boy to perform, perhaps - of his lost
childhood: when all kids of his age were blissfully having fun, here
was a young boy forced to perform. Well, that's the trevesty of life..

Any which way, all this contributed to him living a troubled life.
Minting money and fame, but spending more than he earned. Well, I am
no one to comment on his life- but nonetheless the impact he had on
my life, the same way he had on Noel Gama's life was immense:

Noel Gama, permit me to say, imitated him no end: I remember, not
only the music, and the lyrics: but also the way he sang and obviously
the lifestyle, too. Like the way.... he grew his hair, like the way he
walked, like the way he talked, like the way he kept his pets, like
the way he organised a dance concert to the tune of the MJ's, Thriller
hit, 'Beat it'' I was fortunate to be one of the performer...And what
a performance that was....Well all this was about 23 years ago...

I did really continue to perform, and I somehow managed to perform to
a certain degree,the art of the pelvic thrusting, the downward spiral,
limbs synchronistion, the moon walking, etc. About 13 years ago I did
perform one of his dance sequence in Kandla, Gujarat, India in front
of about 2000 people and I am glad to say I was awarded the first
prize, which apart from cash, was also sponsored by Raymond suitings.
Well, that was a long time ago.. But I will remember MJ no eind...May
His Soul Rest in Peace....Amen..

[Noel Gama]

Freddie Mercury (one of my four musical heroes) got it right when he
sang, '... life is a bitch...' in the song, 'Time waits for nobody.'
When I read about a statement made by one of MJ's former publicists
about death being round the corner, I felt more convinced of the bad
premonition I had a couple of months before that.
I walked into my office last Friday and they said, 'Heard the news
about Michael Jackson?' I said, No,' as my TV hadn't been working but
I knew it had to be it... like in, 'This is It.'

It wouldn't have been so tragic if O2 hadn't been just a fortnight
away. The man was just two weeks short of the chance of a lifetime to
redeem himself - 50 shows sold out in hours... no one's done that
before... history; bidding on Amazon with some tickets going for as
much as £16,000 each! It would have made 'Come Back' history.
It feels like life has been very, very unfair to Michael Jackson
despite the three (silver) talents it put in his palms.

We've all felt the loss of a loved one but some losses (a very tiny
percentage) are so unfair especially when they occur on the eve of
once-in-a-live-time happiness. If you have experienced such loss (I
haven't, but I know a very close friend who has) you'll understand why
I think Freddie was being kind when he called life just a bitch - it
can be worse than that sometimes.

But this type of 'loss' is not associated only with death - the other
side of the same coin is when life brings a loved one into this world
after stripping away the very things needed to survive life. In such
cases, you face this profound 'loss' every day of your own life,
especially when you're near but cannot lend a helping hand.

'But life must go on...' croons Freddie.

Yes, life must go on despite life.

Noel

PS: Luis, I did not know about your achievement in Kandla. If you have
photos of the event, please email them to me for the WDD site -
Daman's got talent!