Heal the World: A Personal Account of the Michael Jackson Memorial

Shock and awe doesn’t adequately describe the feeling. I woke up Monday morning and found out I was the proud new owner of a voucher for two Michael Jackson Memorial tickets at Staples Center in Los Angeles. My first reaction was to think it was a cruel joke. I mean, didn’t 1.5 million people send in for those tickets? How did this gift from the Universe fall into my hands? My second reaction was to call my girlfriend and tell her we had to pick up the tickets fast – before someone figures out it’s a big mistake and sends for the “jaws of life” to pry the voucher from my clenched fists.



It wasn’t that long ago that I was sitting at my computer in Seattle wondering if real people actually ever won these things. I sent in my application, clicked “send” and went along my way never dreaming my efforts would amount to anything. Suddenly a few days later we were driving up the hill to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles where the Memorial tickets were being handed out. We passed three heavily guarded checkpoints, got the tickets, and were promptly overwhelmed by people outside the perimeter who were waiting to beg for them. We could have made a lot of money selling them but the truth is, I grew up with Michael Jackson’s music as the soundtrack of my life. Even more important, my girlfriend’s parents lived in Communist occupied Lithuania years ago when they confiscated all Western music and destroyed it. Her dad, a Jackson fan, somehow managed to smuggle Jackson’s music into Lithuania so he could still listen. Our reasons for wanting to go to the Memorial were both historic and personal so we smiled, waved, and kept going.


Walking up to Staples Center the next day was surreal. It was hard to believe he was here a week earlier preparing for his This Is It Tour. There was press from all over the world. It was instantly apparent that Jackson’s impact not only crossed borders of race and age, but also geographical borders. This wasn’t just a memorial for American music fans; this service was needed to heal an entire world of music lovers. Michael Jackson was right. “We are the world,” and the flags of multiple countries proudly attached to hundreds of TV cameras proved that point. So did the staccato rumble of helicopters overhead and a huge wall with Michael Jackson’s name on it. So many people from around the world signed it with messages that they had to extend the wall and bring in more pieces. We both signed and as crazy as it sounds, it felt like he’d somehow get the message.


Reporters interviewed us, pushing microphones into our faces, just before we stepped inside the blessed quiet of Staples Center where we were then handed our golden programs. Sheer amazement ricocheted through us when we found out our (randomly distributed) tickets were for seats located five rows from the stage/alter – just left of center. When the Universe drops a huge gift in your lap, it does it right. For anyone who‘s been to a professional basketball game in a huge stadium like Staples, you can picture the seating right by the tunnel where the players run out … except today every legend in music, sports and religion was walking out through that tunnel and they all had to pass right by us.


By now you’ve probably seen clips of Mariah Carey, Usher, Magic and Kobe, Dr. Al Sharpton, Brooke Sheilds, Martin Luther King III, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Stevie Wonder, to name a few. Maybe you watched it for two and a half hours on TV or looked it up online. But I’m here to say that the energy, respect and celebration in that room were something that will inspire me for a lifetime. Legends were talking about a Legend and they seemed as in awe of Michael Jackson as we were to be there with them. Jackson’s giant changing likenesses over the stage were spotlighted and seemed to hold court over the event. Rather than seeming gaudy or tacky, they seemed somehow comforting. The entire service was planned and carried out with a dignity I didn’t expect. Some people predicted a circus but the atmosphere was quietly sedate and honorable. When the poll bearers walked in with the casket, each wearing one glove in tribute, it was quite a memorable image.


Of course, the music was AWESOME! Michael Jackson and his music are intertwined as one so it only seemed right that the music was as much a part of everything as his family, friends, and fans. Along with that came a real clarity about the incredible generosity of a man who helped feed the starving, built burn units, paid for HIV education, visited soldiers and gave more money to help mankind than any other pop star in history.

It was a humbling and exciting experience to be there celebrating a genius who died too young, leaving a series of unanswered questions about his personal choices both good and bad. Although found not guilty as charged, many people still see him in the darkest light and that’s their prerogative. But on this day, the audience of family and fans was celebrating all that was remarkable and good in the complex life of a musical genius and unprecedented humanitarian. They sniffled and became teary-eyed on many occasions. However, the entire crowd and every celebrity there was brought to sobs by one little girl’s comment. Jackson’s daughter, Paris, bravely spoke at the end of the service. Through her grief she managed to give him the greatest honor of all when she said her daddy was the “best father anyone could ever imagine. I love him so much."

Higher praise could not be given.


Chris Fabregas




Copyright 2009© by C Fab. All rights reserved.

Please see pictures below