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https://www.ixigua.com/i6669999142288228871/
原文：
Michael Jackson was born in August 1958. So was I.
Michael Jackson grew up in the suburbs（郊区） of the Midwest. So did I.
Michael Jackson had eight brothers and sisters. So do I.
When Michael Jackson was six, he became a superstar. And was perhaps the world’s most beloved（心爱的） child.
When I was six, my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the stick(更惨). I never had a mother, but he never had a childhood. And when you never get to have something, You become obsessed（/əb'sest/着迷的） by it.
I spent my childhood searching for my mother figures（外形，形象）, Sometimes I was successful.
But how do you recreate your childhood when you are under the magnifying glass（放大镜） of the world for you entire life?
There is no question（毫无疑问） that Michael Jackson is one of the greatest talents（天才） the world has ever known. That when he sang a song at the ripe old age of（在。。的年纪） eight, he could make you feel like an experienced adult. Was squeezing（squeeze/skwiːz/挤压、压榨） your heart with his words.
That when he moved he had the elegance（/ˈelɪɡəns/ 优雅 、高雅） of Fred Astaire and packed the punch（Pack a punch 强而有力） of Muhammad Ali. That his music had an extra layer of inexplicable（费解的；法说明的） magic. That didn’t just make you want to dance. But actually made you believe you could fly , dare to （敢于）dream. Be anything that you wanted to be.
Because that is what heroes do . And Michael Jackson was a hero. He performed in soccer stadiums（stadium /ˈsteɪdiəm/ 体育场） around the world. And sold hundreds of millions of records. And dined with prime ministers（首相） and presidents（总统）. Girls fell in love with him. Boys fell in love with him. Everyone wanted to dance like him. He seemed otherworldly（超脱尘俗的）.
But he was also a human being（人、凡人）. Like most performers（表演者、演员）, He was shy and plagued（plague /pleɪɡ/ 使折磨;使苦恼;） with insecurities（insecurity不安全）.
I can’t say we were great friends, But in 1991 I decided I wanted to try to get to know him better. I asked him out to dinner, I said “My treat（我请客）, I’ ll drive – just you and me ”. He agreed and showed up to my house without any bodyguards(保镖). We drove to the restaurant in my car. It was dark out（漆黑，黑暗）, but he was still wearing sunglasses.
I said, “Michael, I feel like I’ m talking to a limousine（/ˈlɪməziːn/ 豪华轿车）. Do you think you can take off your glasses so I can see your eyes?”
He paused for a moment then he tossed（toss 扔、抛） the glasses out the window. Looked at me with a wink（眨眼、闪烁） and a smile and said. ”Can you see me now ? Is that better?“
In that moment, I could see both his vulnerability（/ˌvʌlnərəˈbɪləti/ 脆弱，弱点） and his charm（/tʃɑːm/ 魅力）. The rest of（the rest of 其余的；剩下的） the dinner, I was hellbent（/'helbent/拼命的； 坚决的） on getting him to eat French fries, Drink wine, have dessert and say bad words. Things he never seemed to allow himself to do. Later we went back to my house to watch a movie，and sat on the couch（/kaʊtʃ/长沙发） like two kids. And somewhere in the middle of the film, His hand snuck over（sneak over 溜过来） and held mine. It felt like he was looking for more of a friend than a romance, and I was happy to oblige（/əˈblaɪdʒ/ 帮忙，施恩惠）. In that moment, He didn’t feel like a superstar. He felt like a human being. We went out a few more times together. And then for one reason or another we fell out of（fall out of 失去） touch.
Then the witch hunt（政治迫害） began, and it seemed like one negative story after another was coming out about Michael. I felt his pain. I know what it’s like to walk down the street and feel like the whole world is turned against（背叛，与。。为敌） you. I know what it’s like to feel helpless and unable to defend yourself（defend oneself 自卫，自我辩护）. Because the roar（/rɔː(r)/咆哮；吼叫；轰鸣） of the lynch mob（行私刑的暴民） is so loud. That you are convinced（说服；使确信，使信服） your voice can never be heard. But I had a childhood. And I was allowed to make mistakes and find my own way. In the world without the glare（眩光，怒视） of the spotlight（聚光灯）.
When I first heard that Michael had died. I was in London, days away from（距离、远离） the opening（开始，开模） of my tour（n. 旅行；巡回演出）. Michael was going to perform in the same venue（/ˈvenjuː/ 地点、场地） as me a week later. All I could think about in this moment was , “I had abandoned him.” That we had abandoned him. That we had allowed this magnificent（壮丽的、杰出的、华丽的） creature（人；创造物） who had once set the world on fire to somehow（不知怎么的，某种方式） slip through the cracks（丢三落四，被遗漏）. While he was trying to build a family and rebuild his career（生涯；职业；事业）, We were all busy passing judgment（判断、评断）. Most of us had turned our backs on（拒绝，不理睬） him. In a desperate（ 不顾一切的；令人绝望的） attempt to hold onto his memory, I went on the internet to watch old clips of him dancing and singing. On TV and on stage（在台上） and I thought, ”my God, he was so unique, so original（ /əˈrɪdʒənl/独创、新颖）, so rare(罕见)“ And there will never be anyone like him again. He was a king. But he was also a human being. And alas we are all human beings. And sometimes we have to lose things before we can appreciate（重视；领会；欣赏；感激） them.
I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons, age nine and four, are obsessed（着迷的；无法摆脱的） with Michael Jackson. There ‘ s a whole lot of crotch（胯部，分叉处） grabbing and moon walking going on in my house. And, it seems like a whole new generation of kids have discovered his genius（/ˈdʒiːniəs/ 天赋、天才）. And are bringing him to life again. I hope that wherever Michael is right now. He is smiling about this. Yes, Michael Jackson was a human being. But dammit（该死，他妈的）, he was a king. Long live the king.
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