Thursday, June 25, 2009

Summer School, Michael Jackson, Steve McQueen and Dirty Harry



There was a half hour left to go. One of my summer school students stood at the front of the room delivering a presentation on a book by Chuck Palahniuk. We were all out of gas. It’s been a helluva long two weeks and four days. One of the girls pointed at her high dollar texting gizmo and shouted that Michael Jackson was dead. I asked her if she knew who Michael Jacks was. Before she could answer someone else said he was in the hospital. I dropped my head to my desk as just about all of my students pulled out their gizmos to find out whether Michael Jackson was dead or in the hospital. A lanky kid in a Black Sabbath shirt said he wondered if people holding tickets for Jackson’s upcoming tour would get their money back. Everyone soon agreed that Jackson was dead and not in the hospital. The kid up front went back to his Chuck Palahniuk presentation.


Steve McQueen turned down the role of Dirty Harry.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

SNYDER! Email me!!

Jason

PS - glad you're back in the writing saddle again!

DPhatsez said...

MJ will be missed!

Anonymous said...

i am doing the moonwalk for the last six hours.. a tribute toMJ

Clif the Lawyer said...

I never met Michael Jackson but one day while working at Record One, I delivered the master tapes for the song "They Don't Care About Us" to MJ's production team led by Bruce Swedien. I believe they were remixing it to replace offensive lyrics about which there had been an outcry.

I also remember being told RO employees who worked directly with MJ had to sign nondisclosure agreements.

RIP.

HaRy!! said...

Idol of every single dancer!! its more of a loss for all the dancers!
c yu soon!

#167 Dad said...

Jason -
I emailed you. Where in the wide world of sports are upu???

DPhatsez -
I was a whan of the early J5 stuff...

Chriz- I'm a pretty good Moonwalker when I'm wearing socks on a slick floor...

Clif the Lawyer -
You are the man, baby...

Hary -
The man could bust a move - no doubt...

#167 Dad said...

huh...