? Michael Jackson was born in August 1958.So was I.Michael Jackson grew up in the suburbs 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 child. When I was six , my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the stick. I never had a mother, but he never had a childhood. And when you never get to have something, you become obsessed by it. I spent my childhood searching for my mother's figures. Sometimes I was successful, but how do you recreate your childhood when you are under the magnifying glass of the world for your entire life.

Michael Jackson生于1958年8月，我也是。Michael Jackson在中西部的郊區(qū)長大，我也是。Michael Jackson六歲的時候，他已經(jīng)成為了一個超級巨星，是全世界最受寵愛的孩子。當我六歲的時候，我失去了我的媽媽。我覺得他比我更慘(原文：我認為他拿了比我還要短的樹枝)。我沒有母愛，然而他從來沒有童年。當你從未得到過什么的時候，就會對其非常著迷。(為Michael戀童事件埋下伏筆)。我童年的時候常常想象媽媽的特征，有時候我也會成功，但是當你的生活暴露在整個世界的聚光燈下時，你要如何重建你的童年？

? There is no question that Michael Jackson was one of the greatest talents the world has ever known. That when he sang a song at the ripe old age of eight he could make you feel like an experienced adult was squeezing your heart with his words. That when he moved he had the elegance of Fred Astaire and packed the punch of Muhammad Ali. That his music had an extra layer of inexplicable magic that didn't just make you want to dance but actually made you believe you could fly, dare to dream, be anything that you wanted to be . Because that is what heroes do and Micheal Jackson was a hero.

毫無疑問Michael Jackson是眾所周知的天才。排比結(jié)構(gòu) 當他在八歲這么老成的年紀時(顯然是反話)，他可以唱出像一個飽經(jīng)風雨的成年人的歌那樣震撼你的心靈；當他像Fred Astaire(一個舞王)那樣優(yōu)雅并且像Muhammand Ali(拳王)那樣有沖擊力般跳舞的時候；他的音樂有無法言喻的魔力，不只能讓你跳舞，實際上使你更自信，敢于做夢，讓你相信你可以成為任何你想成為的。那常常是英雄做的事，而Mickeal Jackson就是一個英雄。

? He performed in soccer stadiums around the world, and sold hundreds of millions of records and dined with prime ministers and presidents. Girls fell in love with him, boys fell in love with him, everyone wanted to dance like him. He seemed otherworldly — but he was a human being. Like most performers he was shy and plagued with insecurities. 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, I'll drive — just you and me."

他在全世界的體育場演出，賣出了百萬的唱片，和大臣、總統(tǒng)一起吃晚宴。女孩對他狂熱，男生也愛他，所有人想像他那樣跳舞。他看起來像是另一個世界的人——但他也只是個和我們一樣的人類。像很多表演者一樣，他很害羞，也缺乏安全感。我不能說我們是很好的朋友，但是在1991年我想試著了解他更多。我邀請他出去吃晚餐，我說："我請客，我開車——就我們倆"。

? He agreed and showed up to my house without any bodyguards. We drove to the restaurant in my car. It was dark out, but he was still wearing sunglasses. I said, "Michael, I feel like I'm talking to a limousine. Do you think you can take off your glasses so I can see your eyes?" He paused for a moment then he tossed the glasses out the window, looked at me with wink and a smile and said, "Can you see me now? Is that better?"

他同意了并且沒有帶任何保鏢出現(xiàn)在我的門口。我們開我的車去了飯店。外面已經(jīng)黑了然而他依然帶著墨鏡。我說：”Michael，我覺得我在和豪車說話。你能不能摘掉你的眼鏡讓我看看你的眼睛？“他停了一會然后把眼鏡扔出了窗外，帶著電眼和微笑看著我說：“你現(xiàn)在能看到我了嗎？有沒有好一點？”

? In that moment, I could see both his vulnerability and his charm. The rest of the dinner, I was hellbent 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 like two kids, and somewhere in the middle of the movie, his hand snuck over and held mine. It felt like he was looking for a friend more than a romance, and I was happy to oblige. In that moment, he didn't feel like a superstar. He felt like a human being.

那一刻，我能看見他的脆弱和迷人。剩下的時間里，我拼命讓他吃法國炸薯條、喝酒、吃甜點，說一些臟話，這些他看起來從來不允許自己做的事。然后我們回到了我家，像兩個孩子一樣窩在沙發(fā)里看電視，在電影的中間，他的手握住了我的手。比起愛情，那更像是在找一個朋友，我很樂意的接受了。在那一刻，他看起來不像一個超級巨星，而是一個普通人類。

? We went out a few more times together, and then for one reason or another we fell out of touch. Then the witch hunt 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 you. I know what it's like to feel helpless and unable to defend yourself because the roar of the lynch mob is so loud you feel like 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 of the spotlight.

我們一起了一段時間后，出于一些原因不再聯(lián)系了。他的厄運開始了(原文：女巫開始狩獵了)，一個接一個的負面新聞朝Michael涌來。我感受得到他的痛苦，我知道那種走在街上全世界都好像在與你為敵的感覺。我知道他一定覺得很無助，他無法憑他自己的力量保護自己，因為暴民的聲音震耳欲聾時你的聲音看起來永遠不會被聽到。但是我有童年，我會允許自己犯錯，我能找到自己在沒有閃光燈照耀的世界里的生存方式。

? When I first heard that Michael had died, I was in London, days away from the start of my tour. Michael was going to perform in the same venue 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 creature who had once set the world on fire to somehow slip through the cracks. While he was trying to build a family and rebuild his career, we were all passing judgment. Most of us had turned our backs on him.

當我得知Michael去世的消失時，我在倫敦，剛舉辦完我的演唱會。Michael本來將在一周后和我一樣在這里演出。我這一刻腦子里只有一句話，”我拋棄了他“，我們每個人都拋棄了他。我們竟然允許這樣一個讓世界沸騰的如此優(yōu)秀的男人滑向地獄(cracks:裂縫)。盡管他試著擁有一個家庭，重建自己的人生，我們卻不停地判斷他的對錯(為他貼上各種標簽)。我們所有人都背叛了他。

? In a desperate attempt to hold on to his memory, I went on the Internet to watch old clips of him dancing and singing on TV and on stage and I thought, "my God, he was so unique , so original, so rare, and there will never be anyone like him again. He was a king." But he was also a human being, and sometimes we have to lose things before we can appreciate them.

在我狂熱地想保留與他的回憶時，我在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上看他在舞臺、電視上的歌舞片段，我想：“天吶！他是如此的獨一無二，與眾不同，如此珍貴，再也不會有像他一樣的人了。他是一個天王?！比欢廊灰彩莻€人類，我們常常在還沒來得及感恩的時候便失去了。

? I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons, age nine and four, are obsessed with Michael Jackson. There's a whole lot of crotch grabbing and moon walking going on in my house. And, it seems like a whole new generation of kids have discovered his genius and are bringing him to life again. I hope that wherever Michael is right now he is smiling about this.

我想以一種積極的方式結(jié)束這段話，我的兩個兒子，一個九歲一個四歲，深深的為Michael著迷?？偸窃诩依锾腃rotch grabbing(抓襠舞)和Moon walking(太空步)。看起來新的一代人已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了Michael的天分并把他在此帶回給我們的生活似的。我希望無論Michael現(xiàn)在在哪都能為這件事感到欣慰。

? Yes, Michael Jackson was a human being but he was a King. Long live the King!

是的！Michael Jackson是個人但他更是一個王。王者永存！