Other Than Michael

The sudden passing of Michael Jackson has some folks in a tale spin. To the point that one of my office mates cried. Look I love Michael Jackson. Did the man have issues? Hell yeah- but he was still a very talented person and I realized as I listened to the radio how many of his songs I actually love. So I hope he finds the peace that he never got here on earth and I am sure that in time the bad things that became a part of fame - or rather infamy- will fade and he will be overwhelmingly remembered for his talent and contributions.

But in the midst of Michael and Farah Fawcett dying within in hours of each other, there was another death. This one was not a famous person. In fact he was a poor black man in his twenties in Baltimore City hanging out in a housing project. He was shot in the neck and shoulder last night and and began to bleed out in the street. He was gone before they could get him to the hospital. No one knows what his name is. The news never reported it. They never put a face to this man. I assume that everyone assumed to worse about him. I know I did. At first.

Then I found out who the man was. My cousin Stevie. Stevie had his issues. I can't talk about him and not admit that. Yes he even has criminal record- mainly misdemeanors but still a record. Stevie was a person with a family that loved him for better or worse. He was the middle child of 3 boys and one of 13 grandkids of his grandmother. He had countless cousins and aunts and uncles. His mom and my dad were siblings and they had 13 other brothers and sisters. It would have been 17 total but 2 died in infancy. Right now he is a number. He is mentioned in 2 lines in a newspaper and for 30 seconds during the local evening news. Is that what his short life boiled down to? Is that what we see when we hear that someone was shot in Baltimore City? I have long said that we have become so numb to violence. We see it all of the time and if it is not a loved one who is a statistic we say thank God and keep it moving.

It's a shame when a life boils down to 2 lines and 30 seconds. But that's the way it is.