...sloppy words and movie lines...: you will all be missed

People die every day. And not just one person, but hundreds. Maybe thousands, I don't know the exact numbers on these kinds of things. Rich people, poor people, priests, mechanics, prostitutes, children, seniors, soldiers, good people, bad people, and some in between. No one is immune to death... well, except maybe Larry King.

And I don't want to demean those people who die daily to talk about celebrities but I can't help but talk about the deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson, all three of who died this week, Farrah and Michael today and Ed on Tuesday. And by no means am I trying to say one person is better than the other, but like most others, especially those from my generation, Michael Jackson's death hit me the hardest.

As Meagan was saying earlier tonight, Michael Jackson is the first real pop culture icon to die in our lifetimes. And Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon are pop icons as well, but, and I don't know about you guys, but I grew up listening to Michael Jackson. My little cousins, Katie and Michael, loved that man. I remember watching them dance to "Thriller", and having memorized the choreography from the video. I still remember the "Black and White" video and the appearance from Macaulaly Culkin and a few people from Young and the Restless. And, come on, that song he sang in Free Willy? How is that not forever etched into your memory?

As an artist, Michael Jackson was revolutionary and his music has brought me many moments of happiness, whether I've been out drinking at 3 Brothers and someone plays "Billie Jean" on the jukebox or if I was just hanging around the apartment listening to iTunes on Shuffle and "Bad" comes on.

Though Michael Jackson has passed, his memory and his music will not soon be forgotten.

I wish I could say something poignant about Farrah Fawcett's passing, but I honestly don't know too much about her. I know that she was in Charlie's Angels and loved by the lads in the '70s. She had been battling cancer for several years now and staying strong throughout the treatments and hospital stays, which shows how truly tough she was, and that's admirable. Though she has passed, I take comfort that she is out of pain now and with her God.

On textsfromlastnight.com, someone posted a text conversation and, maybe it's too soon for this, but I took it lightly and it was comforting to me:

(325): I bet farrah fawcett is having words with michael jackson in heaven for stealing her thunder

I've watched clips of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson over the years. I got my mom that 'Best of Johnny Carson' set that you occasionally see on infomercials a few years back and it has turned into a gift to me since I watch it more than she does. Those clips, and a few Publisher's Clearing House commercials, are my only real memories of Ed McMahon. I fully realize that there was much more to the man than that, and I am not belittling his many years on The Tonight Show or him surprising people by coming to their door with a film crew, some balloons, and a really big cardboard check. I love those memories.

In my mind, Heaven is kind of like The Tonight Show right now. Johnny Carson is hosting, Ed is sitting in the far seat to the left of the desk, Farrah is sitting between Johnny and Ed being interviewed, and Michael is slightly off stage preparing for his musical number.

I bet they're having an awesome time up there.

“If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.”
- Michael Jackson, 1958-2009