R.I.P. King of Pop

I first received the tweet from Harvey Levin around 2:45 Thursday that Michael Jackson had died. I had received a couple previous tweets regarding MJ being rushed to the hospital, reportedly for cardiac arrest and really thought nothing of it. When it comes to celebrities, most people consider them untouchable or invincible, until reality hits. That's when I received the text from TMZ to which I was absolutely shocked. It was amazing to see how quickly every channel switched to the breaking news. All stations were reporting from Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, with a throng of people flocking to the place MJ had been taken. Not one station was reporting yet that MJ had passed away, but only that he was in full cardiac arrest and apparently in a coma. Not until right around 3:30 did the news finally break on local television in Los Angeles, even though MJ was pronounced dead at 2:26. According to Levin, who appeared on Good Day L.A. this morning, paramedics knew that MJ was gone when they showed up at his home in Holmby Hills, but MJ's personal doctor, who also lived in the home, insisted they try to recessitate him and rushed him to UCLA which was only 2 miles away. The L.A. police department is investigating the death and is questioning the doctor this afternoon. The autopsy on MJ was expected to be completed by lunchtime this morning, but toxicology results will take roughly 3 weeks. Only with the tragic passing of Princess Diana when I was in fifth grade do I ever remember a passing of this international magnitude. I sense from the feeling I'd gotten from residents of Memphis recently, the death of Elvis was surely reminiscent of this day.

The outpouring of support has been unbelievable to watch with retail stores reporting that his music has flown off their shelves in record numbers. I personally wasn't a huge MJ fan by any means. I do enjoy some of his music don't get me wrong, but some of the other things about the man, myth & legend are too crazy even for me. I don't want to diminish though, for now is not the time. After all he was the King of Pop and I believe the 750+ million albums sold will forever defend that title.