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His death comes as a great surprise to me. My name is Michael Jackson, also. Even though everybody thought I was named after him, I was born first. Five months earlier to be exact. And all through school and even 51 years later, people smile and "hee hee" when they hear my name.
Michael was a hero to people of all ages young and old. He broke the mold when he and his brothers came out when I was a young boy at Fair Street elementary, first to a young black generation and later people of all races. He surprised us all when he left the Jackson 5, but kept moving to the top on his own. And with all the controversy and jokes, face transformation, little kids and "wacko Jacko," we still loved this man named.
When he came out on stage, people fainted and cried. Even though I got offended sometimes when people asked me could I moonwalk, deep down inside I loved it.
When Michael Jackson came to Atlanta, I could have gotten into the concert free. All I had to do was take my ID with my name on it; that was a deal they were offering. But I was young and too busy doing what I was doing in those days.
Even with all the Michael Jackson jokes I had tolerated in my life, I named my son Michael Jackson Jr. I often joke with him saying now you can see firsthand what I went through growing up with the name.
Michael Jackson inspired a lot of singers such as Chris Brown, Usher, Prince and many more. When he came on TV, everybody watched. Jackson had white women wanting to marry him, such as Brooke Shields, before it was cool to marry a white girl.
This man was no ordinary man; he was a icon. Michael Jackson will be missed by people all over the world and even more by me. Even though he had my name and both of our relatives we're born in Alabama not far from each other, he will always be the King of Pop. May God bless him.
Michael Jackson
Gainesville