If you've reached Michael Jackson saturation, then forgive me, but for the past week I have been sad about Michael Jackson's death. I really wanted him to come back with his "This Is It" tour because he was a genius music man/artist/dancer with a screwed up life, and I wanted him to remind me of his greatness with this new tour.
In July 1984, I was almost four and my brother was already five, my music loving mother and father took us to see The Jacksons' Victory Tour at Texas Stadium in Dallas Texas. My parents wanted to expose us to their greatness. My mother recalls that she had to mail-in ticket requests with a check, and then she waited to receive either tickets to one of his Dallas shows or if they were sold-out she would get her check back. Lucky for us, we received in the mail four tickets on the fourth row!!
When we got to the show we ran into people from our same small town and county on the first few rows of the show, and later we learned that they gave the closest seats to rural zip codes because people from small towns were less likely to be scalpers. I still have glimpses in my mind of his red jacket, his unbelievable dance moves, his Fedora hat, and his sparkling glove- I was so impressionable at almost four years old and looking up from the fourth row.
My strongest memory from the night was when one of the Jackson brothers ripped off Michael's white t-shirt with fringe at the bottom (this was 1984) and tossed it into the crowd. My mother was holding me and standing on her chair, and my father was holding my brother; my parents dropped both of us as they leaped up and grabbed the t-shirt. Two guys behind my father also had their hands on the t-shirt and they would not release their grip. I was crying on the floor. My brother was crying on the floor. My father was fighting for the Michael Jackson t-shirt. Finally my mother picked us up, and my father decided that the only solution was to split the t-shirt with the guys.
The front half of the shirt was our souvenir and it dried stiff as a board; for years I had that t-shirt and our concert tickets proudly displayed on my bedroom wall.
I love that memory. I am so glad my parents too us to that concert and gave us that experience.
I loved this post. I love this memory.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do have one correction. We didn't drop you exactly.
I was holding you, your dad was holding your brother; we (& everyone else) were standing in our chairs. When the shirt came flying toward us, the people behind us came flying over us and we all came crashing down. But it's not liked we dropped you and your brother so that we had both hands free to catch the shirt. :)
But I must admit, the first thing I did after we came crashing down was anxiously ask your dad if he had the shirt. He caught and held on to that shirt with one hand - impressive! It was only after that question, that I gathered you both in my arms. So I'm just sorta guilty of dropping you. - Smile -
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ReplyDeleteCool MJ tribute tribute is here
ReplyDeleteIt seems spontaneous.