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MIchael jackson always a class act

by cedric on Jul.07, 2009, under king of pop, memories, michael jackson

Today the world said goodbye to an icon but his family said goodbye to a son a brother and a father. When Marlon said a piece of him died with Michael I could feel his pain. I am still having issues with his passing. To me one of my first memories of Michael is of that a small scared little boy. The fact that he could get up on a stage and do what he did to me was a miracle. I have never been star struck or a big fan of pop stars. Not to say that I don’t enjoy the entertainment that they provide because I do. I think that the talent of a person is something to be celebrated not their private life. I have met allot of famous people in my lifetime and their talent is what puts them in the public eye. The one thing that I can say about most of them is that they are people first.

Michael Jackson broke down barriers that were weakened by those who came before him. Michael was an amalgamation of the several who came before him and he paid reverence to them all. He took the pieces of them all and made them all apart of him. Michael’s talents were undeniable to anyone who ever saw him. He loved his family and he loved his fans and he loved the world. It was this love that endeared him to us all. But as we all know once you reach great heights there is always some bitter bitch that wants to tear you down. The tabloids, bloggers and just plain nasty people will always be there to try and tear down. I can tell you that there is always going to be some nasty person out there who will not have anything nice to say. The fact is that Michael Jackson is dead under suspicious circumstance will always leave-unanswered questions. The allegations of criminal activity were not proven but they haunt him in death.

The one thing that I can say about the memorial service was that it was very tasteful. Michael’s family was nice enough to share this celebration with his fans and the world. I might also add that this was a tasteful event, very well done and filled with emotion and love. The one thing that I can say is that this service made Michael real. All of the wonderful things that his friends and family said about him brought home the fact that he was a son, a brother a father and a friend. I can say that I am happy that the world got to finally see that side of Michael. When my father passed away we did something similar. We had a celebration of his life there were moments that were sad but for the most part there was the joy that my father had lived and that is what my father wanted. I am sure that Michael would have loved this celebration of his life. I just hope that he knew how loved he was in life.

All of those who spoke of him truly loved him. The heart felt performances by Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Tre Lorenz, Stevie Wonder, Jermaine Jackson, Lionel Ritchie, John Mayer and Usher. One thing that I thought that was really sweet was the fact that they included the dancers and singers who were going to go on tour with him. The fact that it was broadcast around the world and that the crowds were so polite and respectful gave me great joy. There was a message in this celebration and I hope it sticks. We really do need to learn to love one and other. Michael Jackson leaves a legacy of great music and great videos as well as a legacy of great charity. Michael’s legacy will live on through his music and his great accomplishments and in the hearts of those who loved him. Brooke Shields said it best “Today, although our hearts are aching, we need to look up, where he (Jackson) is undoubtedly perched in a crescent moon – and we need to smile.” Then Jermaine sang Michael’s favorite song Charlie Chaplains Smile. I smiled through the tears.

This is Elmysterio and I’m out.

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Big wigs and skinny dresses

by cedric on Nov.08, 2008, under drag queens, girl groups, memories, music, sixties

Now when I was a small child in the sixties the one thing that really made me happy was music. And all of my memories are attached to it. I remember watching the Ed Sullivan Show and The Hollywood Palace and Shindig! and Hullabaloo and American Bandstand every chance I got. Now my family and I would always spend a month of our summers in Texas with Memaw and Grand(Pa), (My grand parents, its a southern thing).

My Memaw had a restaurant which also offered live entertainment and it was on the “chitlin” circut. That was where all of the black performers would play as they were not often welcomed at other venues. There were allot of well known black performers who came through there like BB King, Albert King, Little Milton and Bobby Blue Bland to name a few.

It was a rockin place on Friday and Saturday night and it was the only show in town. There was a juke box that had all of the top songs of the time. My cousins and I would go hang out there during the day with Memaw while she was setting up for the night. She would give us each a dime and you could get 2 songs. She would unlock the change box on the back of the juke box so we could get our dimes back and then she would take us to the store so we could spend that dime on penny candy. We would play the junk box all day long and dance on the stage.

Now we all thought we were stars and we would sing and dance on the stage and Memaw would lie to us and say we were good. Now Martha Reeves and the Vandellas had a song called No where to run and I would always perform that and I was Martha Reeves. I had a very happy childhood, there were some bumps in the road but for the most part it was great. Now I did not know what gay was at the time but I knew I was different.

The beautiful thing is all of my family loved me and it was pretty obvious that I was gay even at that early age. They have the home movies to prove it. I was so swishy back than but I was also a scrappy little rough and tumble boy and I loved to go to the farm and feed the animals. I never wanted to be a girl I just wanted to be fabulous. I was always dancing and singing and to this day I still am, just not as swishy but ever so fabulous. And they all still love me. I have been blessed with great friends and a truly loving family.

I was over on you tube and just browsing through all of the content over there and they have a huge collection of old Television performances to look through and I found this video of Nowhere to run and I had a flashback. So I thought that I would share a memory with you all. What is funny is that Drag queens are still working that look. The sixties were ripe with over the top fashion. Those big wigs and skinny dresses still make me happy.