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Michael Jackson was born in August 1958. So was I. Michael Jackson grew up in the suburbs of the Midwest. So did I. Michael Jackson had eight brothers and sisters. So do I. When Michael Jackson was six, he became a superstar, and was perhaps the world's most beloved child. When I was six, my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the stick. I never had a mother, but he never had a childhood. And when you never get to have something, you become obsessed by it. I spent my childhood searching for my mother figures; some times I was successful, but how can you recreate your childhood when you are under the magnifier glass of world for your entire life?

译文：

Michael Jackson出生于1958年8月，我也是；Michael Jackson在美国中西部的郊区长大，我也是；Michael Jackson有8个兄弟姐妹，我也是。当Michael Jackson6岁时，他便成为超级巨星，或许在当时是世界上最被宠爱的孩子；在我6岁时，妈妈去世了，我认为他的处境比我的还差，我没有妈妈，但是他从未拥有过童年。当你从未拥有过一些东西时，你就会偏执地想得到它。我花费我的童年时期去搜寻我母亲的模样，有时我能成功想象出母亲的模样。但是，当你一生都处在全世界人的注视下，你怎么能够重新创造你的童年呢？

There is no question that Michael Jackson is one of the greatest talents that the world has ever known. That when he sang a song at the ripe old age of eight he could make you feel like an experienced adult was squeezing your heart with his words. That the way he moved he had the elegance of Fred Astaire and packed the punch of Muhammad Ali. That his music had an extra layer of inexplicable magic that didn’t just make you want dance but actually made you believe that you could fly, dare to dream, be anything that you wanted to be. Because that was what heroes do and Michael Jackson was a hero.

译文：

毫无疑问，Michael Jackson是世界已知的伟人之一。当他还是8岁时，唱的歌便会使你感觉像一个经历丰富的成年人用他的声音在歌唱你的内心；他移动的方式，有Fred Astaire的优雅和Muhammad Ali的震撼力。这使得他的音乐有一种难以言喻的魔力，让你不仅仅想随之而舞，更让你相信你可以飞翔，勇于面对自己的梦想，成为任何你想成为的人。因为这就是英雄的影响力！而迈克尔·杰克逊就是个英雄！ 

He performed in soccer stadiums around the world, and sold hundreds and millions of records and he dined with prime ministers and presidents. Girls fell in love with him, boys fell in love with him, everyone wants to dance like him. He seemed otherworldly — but he was also a human being.

Like most performers he was shy and plagued with insecurities. I can’t say we were great friends, but in 1991 I decided I wanted to try to get to know him better. I asked him out to dinner, I said “My treat, I’ll drive — just you and me.” 

He agreed and showed up to my house without any bodyguards. We drove to the restaurant in my car. It was dark out, but he was still wearing sunglasses. I said, “Michael, I feel like I’m talking to a limousine. Do you think you can take off the glasses so I can see your eyes?”

Then he tossed the glasses out the window, looked at me with a wink and a smile and said, “Can you see me now? Is that better?”In that moment, I could see both his vulnerability and his charm.The rest of the dinner, I was hell-bent on getting him to eat French fries,drink wine, have dessert and say bad words. Things he never seemed to allow himself to do. Later we went back to my house to watch a movie and sat on the couch like two kids, and somewhere in the middle of the film, his hand snuck over and held mine.It felt like he was looking for more of a friend than a romance,and I was happy to oblige him. In that moment, he didn’t feel like a superstar.He felt like a human being.

We went out a few more times together, and then for one reason or another we fell out of touch. Then the witch hunt began, and it seemed like one negative story after another was coming out about Michael. I felt his pain, I know it’s like to walk down the streets and feel like the whole world is turned against you. I know what it’s like to feel helpless and unable to defend yourself because the roar of the lynch mob is so loud that you are convinces your voice can never be heard.

But I had a childhood, and I was allowed to make mistakes and find my own way in the world without the glare of the spotlight.

When I first heard that Michael had died, I was in London, days away fromthe opening of my tour. Michael was going to perform in the same venue as me a week later. All I could think about at that moment was I had abandoned him, that we had abandoned him, that we had allowed this magnificent creature that once set the world on fire to somehow slip through the cracks. While he was trying to build his family and rebuild his career, we were all busy passing judgment.Most of us had turned our backs on him.

In a desperate attempt to hold onto his memory, I went on internet to watch old clips of him dancing and singing on TV and on stage and I thought,“my God, he was so unique, so original, so rare, and there will never be anyone like him again. He was a king.”

But he was also a human being, and last we are all human beings and sometimes we have to lose things before we can truly appreciate them. I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons, age nine and four,are obsessed with Michael Jackson. There’s a whole lot of crotch grabbing and moon walking going on in my house. And, it seems like a whole new generation of kids have discovered his genius and are bringing him to life again.

 I hope that wherever Michael is right now, he’s smiling about this.Yes, Michael Jackson was a human being but he was a king. Long live the king.

（From Net）

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