MJ is short for...

Quick! What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear someone say MJ? Got it? Alright, hold on to that!

Being played on the radio at the end of the work day yesterday was a remix of Michael Jackson's upbeat and more popular songs. It made me smile as I have not heard some of the ones played in years. It definitely took me back to a time when my brother, like many other kids at the time, was a big Michael Jackson fan. Songs and concerts were taped and played over and over again (which is where I saw Sheryl Crow in an interview from those days as a back up guitarist - big poofy hair!) So yes, I did grow up with a good dose of Jackson's music.

Ahh the days before Michael became a white man. Which reminds me of this: after the liberation of Afghanistan from the Taliban regime, journalists flooded the country to capture its people as they were finally, after years of seclusion, exposed to the whathappenings around the world. I remember this one segment where an American journalist showed a group of boys a copy of an American celebrity magazine. They pointed to Britney Spears and asked them if they knew who she was. The boys had a blank expression on their face. Of course, they had no idea. How could they when the whole country was in isolation for so many years. They the boys were shown a picture of Michael Jackson and were asked if they recognized that man. Again a blank expression. They were then told it was Michael Jackson. The boys were flabbergasted. THIS is Michael Jackson???? they said. The disbelief on their faces was priceless. How can this be, they asked. Michael Jackson was a black man! (Hey! at least they knew who he was before the colour change). I wonder if Michael ever saw that segment and what his thoughts were. There! That will be my question to ask Michael, if I ever meet him.

And like I've said before, Bermuda loves Michael Jackson and I'm finding him played on the radio more and more these days (or maybe it's just one radio station in particular). Not that I'm complaining. I love dancing to his music. In between yesterdays remixes, the DJ gives a little rundown of the next set that's going to be played by MJ. MJ ? When I hear someone say MJ, Spiderman's Mary Jane comes to mind, and maybe Kirstin Dunst's face, along with the voice of Peter Parker in my head (and the way he says MJ)! Anyway, the DJ goes on to say: Don't you love MJ's music? I gotta tell you when you're having a bad day, all you gotta do is listen to some good Michael Jackson tunes. MJ makes it all go away!

I thought that was cute, and maybe a little funny. I'm sure 'MJ' with his current barrage of legal problems and bankruptcy would be happy to know that there's at least this 'paradise' where his songs are played on the radio almost everyday to take one's bad day away. Now if only he could collect royalties on that, he'd be back on Neverland in no time.