(247) THE IRON HORSE & MICHAEL JACKSON--PART III

Saturday, July 4, 2009 marked the 70th Anniversary of the Iron Horse giving his oft-repeated speech at Yankee Stadium. The morning paper brought a great story about what he did after he retired from baseball. He went to work for the Department of Probation and Parole, and he worked diligently in that position. He would visit prisons, he would write up parole recommendations--and when he got to the point that he could not drive safely, his wife took him to work every day. He was extraordinarily happy that he had a job. Here's to the memory of the Iron Horse.

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I have been listening to "Thriller" this weekend, and it is more powerful and vibrant than I had remembered it to be. I have enjoyed it, probably, more this time around than I did when I first listened to it.

My take on Michael Jackson is somewhat convoluted, but I do not believe that he intended to die, and I think that he was going to use the overdose and revival as an excuse to avoid the 50-city ("This Is It") Farewell Tour. I also learned this weekend that it started out to be a ten-city tour, and the agent, with or without Michael's knowledge, changed it to a 50-city Tour. That would be enough to intimidate a rock group that was in top physical condition. Here's to Michael, and a reminder, to myself and others, that having a lot of money does not lead to happiness.

Respectfully submitted,
Donald M. Heavrin
A Musician in the Garden of Life