Of Michael - We're All Out of Crazy

The death of the gloved one is, to the younger generation, the most notable untimely passing they have lived through, except for maybe Heath Ledger (who, in the context of history will be a mere blip).
My students were very excited about the whole thing yesterday, at around 10am when they entered my class. There were cries of, 'What will happen to Blanket and the other kids?' One particular girl cried actual tears (she had a drawing of him in her diary, and was evidently a dedicated fan). There was an outcry of, 'You've crossed the line!' when another girl started calling out (to the tune of 'Bad') 'Because he's dead, he's dead, you know it'.
We had been studying 'Funeral Blues' and someone suggested it would be a very appropriate time to recite it. I declined, as I could not do it with the sincerity some girls would actually want. But when they wouldn't get on with their work and kept chatting about the death, I did call out, 'Stop all the clocks! Cut off the telephone. You should show your grief through silence.' They did not listen to me.

I guess the only equivalent thing I had as a teenager was the announcement that Magic Johnson had the HIV virus. That made me sad - though the fact that's he's still alive and well makes me feel rather ripped off for my premature grief.

Anyhow, interesting how death can blur and fade the negative things we thought about someone when they were alive. Suddenly he's a much maligned genius again. I'm not really fan of this last-minute hypocritical empathy by the media or anyone else. I guess there's a psychological explanation for why we feel the need to do it, but it seems a little convenient.

In my mind his death is somehow connected to the imprisonment of that truly odd musical guru, Phil Spector. It seems karma is catching up with crazy eccentrics [alliteration!].

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The footnote in the history books might read something like: 'Journalists salivated at the news of his sudden passing as it was a welcome break from the anti-climactical hysteria of swine-flu and it meant all Farrah Fawcet's well-laid plans for a high profile death were thwarted.

Winners all around.