MJ

In cased you missed it, Michael Jackson died today.

The UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center across the street from my lab was the epicenter, the place paramedics took the unconscious King of Pop, the place where there weaved around for several blocks countless sattelite-dish-toting news vans, and above which a handful of helicopters buzzed incessantly from about 2 pm until dusk.

What a surreal moment it was when I realized he had been taken in full cardiac arrest to the UCLA ED and that the place was about to be swarmed with people.

As I left at around 9 PM this evening, much of the commotion had died down. But the day will have a lasting impression on me. When I walked outside in the late afternoon for a break from my work, I saw a crowd of people gathering in front of the Med Plaza buildings (just south of the hospital). Amidst the honking cars, chatter of voices in all directions, cameras flashing, and newspeople primping themselves for their live reports, I heard a boombox begin, at first softly and then more loudly (and grainily), playing "Thriller." Putting all of the insanity of the moment aside, that to me seemed like the perfect tribute to the triumphant, troubled, and tragic life of MJ.

Goodbye, Michael.