July 4th 2009, and The Passing of Icons of Our Generation

Copyright 2015, The Hopelessly Hooked Genealogist (B. Harrison)

We just celebrated Independence Day 2009 a few days ago, a joyous occasion for all Americans. Many of us celebrated with food and fireworks at local community events or backyard Bar-B-Ques. Most of us also watched (or recorded and re-played) the fireworks and musical events from Washington DC and Boston on TV. Both shows were spectacular. My husband and I went to a local festival near where we live in AZ to watch a few minutes of fireworks, then came home and watched the National shows on TV. My daughter Michelle, her husband and kids went to the big show on Tempe Town Lake in AZ for fireworks and live music. A good time was had by all.

In the past week, as a country we have also lost and laid to rest two celebrities who were national Icons.....Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Both were major figures of my young adult years. My first daughter grew up on Michael Jackson's music. The Jackson 5 burst upon the scene as a group when I was still in high school, and Michael Jackson had emerged as the "King of Pop" by the time my daughter Michelle was in Jr. High and High School. Who can ever forget Michael Jackson's moonwalk dancing moves, or his music? Who will ever forget Farrah's gorgeous smile, or that hair? They will forever live on in history as two of the biggest stars of their time. Michael Jackson's music will be his lasting legacy; artists will be singing and playing his music for generations to come (not to mention the karaoke-ers).

Some of us are feeling our mortality, with the passing of these two legends. Though this is primarily a genealogy blog, I feel compelled to also make note of the historical events of my lifetime as they occur. Yesterday morning, watching the live television coverage of Michael Jackson's memorial service was a moving and memorable event. It touched all our hearts, across the country and around the world, to hear his brother Jermaine Jackson sing Michael's favorite song, "Smile". It brought us all to tears when his 11 year old daughter spoke in public for the first time, tearfully proclaiming her love for her daddy. As many Icons do, Michael Jackson had a turbulent and troubled life...yet in death he managed to bring us all together to mourn his passing.