I've been a moderate Michael Jackson fan since I was a tike. I like a lot of his earlier music, most of it the stuff he did with Quincy Jones back in the late 70s, early 80s. I also enjoy the Jackson 5.

My thoughts in these last couple of days go back to when I was a kid. I turned 6 when "Thriller" came out, and I remember him being larger than life. I don't think there has ever been a star as all encompassing in society as Michael was back then. His music broke through all cultural divides. He had black people, white people, children and octogenarians all dancing together to his music, back at a time when the divide between the races was much more pronounced than today. He really changed all that, opened countless doors.

I didn't always approve of how he lived his life, nor what he chose to do to himself over the years. His talent, however, was and is unparalleled in our time. I chose to remember him as that young, incredibly talented superstar of superstars, and hope that he's finally found the peace in death that eluded him in life.

R.I.P.