A Michael Jackson moment I won’t soon forget

The last time I saw Michael Jackson in person I was standing on a hill, peering through a chain link fence on a hill behind the Santa Barbara County jail.

I stood there watching him exit a car, turn and wave to the crowd around me and and walk inside to get booked on suspicion of child molestation — charges he would later beat after a trial.

At that moment I had a cell phone at my ear and was describing everything I saw to a New York tabloid. The story the next day called him “Sicko” and “Jacko” and probably sold a million copies.

I always found it interesting that this man of enormous talent never seemed to lose his fan base despite being prosecuted for serious crimes and blasted for some seriously bizarre behavior.

There was never an absence of people hanging outside the gates of his Neverland Ranch. And when he hosted events there, the stars did come out in droves.

Not much more to add from me but go here to view a collection of old videos posted at The Herald.

Here’s the view from Santa Barbara County

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