Honestly, this was the greatest memorial of all time for the greatest entertainer of all time but I was keeping my eye on the kids throughout the entire ceremony. I noticed how Paris seemed to be the most overtly hurt, the one child who understood the magnitude of who her father was and his mark on history. It takes a daddy’s girl to know one and I could tell how much she loved him by how intuned to the entire ceremoney she was. However, I didn’t expect 11 yr old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson to hit the stage at the end and I sure couldn’t foresee that this 30 second speech would tug at my heart that hard. If you weren’t already crying throughout the entire ceremony, you were then. Nothing in that 2 hour funeral touched me as much as that little girl speaking. I immediately texted my father with her words but then I started thinking about how lucky I am to have the opportunity to tell the man who raised me I appreciate him. So I called him to tell him “Ever since I was born…you’ve been the best daddy I could ever imagine” which proved to be harder than I expected because I ended up breaking down and crying. But I’m glad I did. And I hope you all realize, the greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they’re alive.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I shed a couple tears during the ceremony, but when she broke down, I broke down too. She was incredibly brave for going up there and speaking, even if it was only for a few seconds. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be in his kids’ shoes right now.
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July 7th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
i cried from the moment i saw his casket until i turned from cnn. honestly, that whole memorial was sooo touching. i loved it. paris was the icing on the cake. that took guts for her to say something, especially during this timing. she made me ddo what you did & call my dad to tell him how much i loved him. she showed the most strength because she stood up there and expressed how she loved her daddy. bless them. hopefully they stay safe.
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July 7th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Oh man. Alexis, when she went up there – I was a mess. I know exactly how she feels.I couldn’t stop crying when that girl started talking. & reading your post made me cry again. When you said you broke down telling your father (& now writing that again) I cried. GIRL. This hit me. I have so many people I hesitate to tell I love them.
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July 9th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I won’t lie, her little speech brought me to tears. I’ve been in tears ever since MJ passed though. I still find it hard to believe it’s gone and I keep thinking that it’s some type of sick joke. But reality is setting in, especially after the funeral. I agree, most people don’t tell people how much they care until it’s too late sometimes.
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