Erick Flowers Arrest

Many of us babyboomers can tell you without hesitation where we were upon hearing the news of the assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK, the death of Princess Diana, or the shooting of John Lennon. As of June 25th, 2009, our generation and younger generations will forever remember their whereabouts upon hearing the news of Michael Jackson's untimely passing.

Michael Jackson provided the soundtrack for most of my life. Who didn't love the Jackson Five, with their upbeat songs and fun, fun, fun choreography? Even for those of us who were swept away by the British Invasion, there's always a place in our hearts for his genius.

Every media outlet has played footage of countless hours of people around the world who are mourning the death of Michael Jackson. Makeshift altars seem to grow organically on sidewalks in every city. What is it about the passing of beloved icons that compels us to come together as a human race?

Grieving and mourning are not easy feelings to carry. They are, however, universal feelings, that are inherent to the human condition. The beautiful outcome of global outpourings of grief, is that they strip the usual barriers of race, class, age, and religion. They bring us together as living, feeling beings with universal emotions.

We feel compelled to honor our beloved icons, friends, and families with memorials. Photos, flowers, memorabilia are all familiar objects on the altars formed around the world. They are personal, they celebrate that person, they remind us of the essence of everything represented by that person.

A beautiful, heartfelt memorial is healing. It's not a mass-produced object that has no reference to the person being honored. It wouldn't make sense to add a generic container, a random photo, or a meaningless object to the altar offerings. The same is true when we honor our families and friends who may not have known this kind of fame. We want to honor them for who they were, for their unique spirits and personalities.

We baby boomers are said to be revolutionizing the way we approach the end of life. We carefully celebrate the personality, quirks, physicality, and essence of our deceased. And doesn't it make sense? We now have so many wonderful options available to us. The mass-produced memorial object may serve in functionality, but does it really honor the person? A homemade pie tastes so much better than the store bought version. Besides the fact that it probably has more natural ingredients, it's мейд with love, by a human.

I'm thankful to be part of this generation. To thoughtfully consider the uniqueness of a loved one includes carefully choosing the way in which we remember that person. So, here's to you, Michael Jackson. Thank you for all that you were to us.

Adrienne Crowther