Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett

It both amazing and weird that two of the great icons of my college and grad school years, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett passed away yesterday. Their impact on popular culture of the 70s and 80s - was incalculable. Although I never owned the famous Fawcett poster - I certainly watched for several years Charlie's Angels. It's good to remember her growth as a serious actress and also her courageous battle with the cancer that took her life. I don't know enough to even begin to offer a eulogy, but it seems appropriate to realize that she was a real , complex person: sex xymbol, a life of difficult relationships, great success, and painful, prolonged illness. May her memory be a source of blessing.
Michael Jackson was one of the greatest musical and performing talents of my lifetime. His voice, his dancing, and his choreography were wondrous. In good days, his generosity was equal to his talent and sadly his strangeness was just as great. One of my favorite comedians is Lewis Black who has this funny shtick: that Michael Jackson is a punch line. All you had to do was say the name: and people laugh. While that is true for many ... I'd prefer to remember the singing and the dancing. At his best, Michael Jackson filled us with a joy - of the ability of the human soul to create beautiful music and movement - to celebrate the fears and joy of life and to expand the imagination in videos of sublime storytelling. That's what I choose to remember.