michael-jackson I have never been a Michael Jackson fan, but even so, I can’t help but watch all the news reports of his death. I guess I didn’t realize that people still considered him such a pop culture icon — especially since in the past decade or so, he’s become more of a joke than anything else. The child molestation charges, the plastic surgery, the freaky behavior… I seriously had no idea that he was still relevant.

Anyway, from the newscasts I’ve seen, fans are treating this as a pretty huge deal. They’re doing the whole, “Where were you when you heard?” thing — as if MJ was on par with Kennedy, Challenger, 9/11, or any other major event. Seriously?

Well, if you must know, I was weaving my way through all the exercise equipment at my gym on my way to the locker room when the TV monitors started flashing the news. Will I remember this detail forever? Probably not.

At any rate, I can only hope that Michael Jackson is at peace now. He was clearly a very troubled individual, who, deprived of a real childhood by a demanding father and overwhelming work schedule as a youngster, tried to recapture his lost youth by buying into the whole Neverland-Peter Pan thing. Very sad.