WHEN DOVES CRY FOR MICHAEL JACKSON

My response to Michael Jackson's death surprised me. I didn't expect the tears to well, but they actually did. For me, Michael Jackson was more than his music; he was a touchstone for my adolescence.

I remember getting off the school bus in May of 1983 thinking that 8th grade was almost over, and that I was ready for high school. My good friend and I had our 14th birthdays two days apart, and he surprised me with the best gift ever—my first album, Michael Jackson's, Thriller.

I had just gotten