The little girl in my heart is crying...

I suppose the day had to come some day, but I didn't think it would be this soon. At just 50 years old, Michael Jackson, THE KING OF POP, has passed away. This is hitting me harder than I am prepared for. Celebrities are just people, like you and me, and I am not usually shocked or emotionally unsettled; saddened, of course, because the loss of a life is still a loss. But this...this celebrity death is permeating the skin and bones and making it's way to my core. Yes, his last decade or so in life was riddled with oddities and scandal, but the little girl in my heart can't help but remember studying his dance moves and practicing them with my big brother; the little girl in my heart remembers playing his tapes and rewinding them, playing and rewinding, so I could learn every word of his songs; the little girl in my heart remembers watching his videos and The Wiz and thinking she was going to marry that man. His songs, particulary those of the 80s and early 90s, are a part of the soundtrack of my life and are attached to memories that are evoked every time I hear his music. So today...the little girl in my heart is crying over the loss of Michael Jackson. I am praying for his family - particularly for his three children, and hoping he finally gets some peace.