I don’t remember much about the day Elvis died, August 16, 1977, except for what my mother has told me. We were on our way back from Orlando, Florida, having visited Walt Disney World for the first time. I was 5. It would be years later that I would discover and truly appreciate the King of Rock and Roll and his music.
Late Thursday afternoon, my manager had just given me my annual evaluation. When I returned to my desk, my coworker broke the news to me that Michael Jackson had died. I was shocked. But that was it. No tears, no real sadness. I watched a portion of Dateline’s special later that night. I read the updates that poured out of Twitter and Facebook, a mixture of sadness and mockery. Not wanting to get sucked in, I avoided it like any other media event Michael Jackson was involved in.
News of his death brought back memories of “Billie Jean”, the Moonwalk on the Motown 25 special, Eddie Van Halen playing on “Beat It”, the “Thriller” video. However, I steered clear of being a fan when the weirdness took over. I really thought he could put out a new album of great music, but I think he tried too hard to top himself instead of being himself. And the media circus always outdid what he put out from the studio. From the plastic surgeries to the accusations to the trial, I cared less about Michael Jackson.
After nearly 2 days since the announcement, the sadness is starting to kick in. I tried searching for my copies of Thriller and Bad but could not find them. Frustrated, I played disc 1 of HIStory, and I had forgotten how awesome his music is; my childhood has come back to me. He will be missed by millions, myself included. Rest in peace, Michael Jackson.
Sophia celebrated her 1st birthday this past Tuesday! Click on the image above to see photos of this event as well as images from the past month. She is showing her personality (good and bad) more and more each day. Sophia’s so cute to watch her learn and react to everything around her. She’s really into my techie stuff – my iPod, my cell phone, my laptop, the TiVo remote control. I can’t take photos or video with my cell phone without her wanting to use it. And she knows the remote controls the TV because when the channel changes, she looks around to see who did it; when she pushes buttons, she looks up to see if anything happened. She’s not walking yet, but hopefully soon (she’s balancing better while standing). And deciphering her chitchat is a challenge; I think she’s talking Japanese.
Christine and I were able to attend the ballgame Friday night (tickets courtesy of a friend). It was a very nice afternoon/evening. We had comfortable temps until the sun went down, the air became still, and the humidity creeped up. The seats were great, the food was expensive, and the atmosphere was fun. Cardinals were leading 2-0 when we decided to call it a night; they eventually won 5-0. Click the image above for the photo set.
Sophia is less than 30 days away from being 1 year old. I cannot believe how fast time flies; a year ago, this past weekend, Christine had her baby shower. Now, Sophia is 11 months old, and she’s one smart cookie. She points to things in the house when you ask her where they are. She started climbing stairs just the other day. She’s not quite standing on her own, but she’s pretty close. Sophia’s eating habits have somewhat changed; she’s gone from baby food to big girl food and seems she won’t look back. And she’s been doing some cute things that you have to see to believe (I hope to have video of them soon). Click on Sophia’s image above for her latest set.
Sorry to see Matt Giraud go home tonight. However, his performance of “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” was just not good enough. I still like Chris Daughtry’s version on American Idol 3 years ago.
UPDATE: ok, I jumped the gun. Looks like the vote was 3 to 1 to keep Matty around another week. Now that the judges used the save, from this point on, the contestants, who are all good, must be prepared to go home each week.
