That's just WEIRD

So by now, we know that we lost Michael Jackson today. However, I have a slightly different view, if you will, on the days' events.

Liz and I were down at the hotel bar this evening, having a glass of wine (shocking, I know). We were talking about Farrah Fawcett, and since Ed McMahon also died this week, I mentioned to her that my mom often says that celebrity deaths happen in threes (many people say "bad things happen in threes," but for Mom, it's just celebrities). "So watch," I said at about 5 pm today. "Someone else relatively famous is going to die in the next couple of days."

"Oh, that's ridiculous," Liz said. "And anyway, it depends on your definition of 'celebrity.' I'm sure if you look hard enough, then SURE, you'll be able to find someone that SOMEONE has heard of who dies in the near fiuture."

TEN MINUTES LATER, on the flat screen TV directly in front of us: Michael Jackson has been taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest.

We just looked at each other.

I opened my mouth.

"Shut up," she said. "First of all, it's cardiac arrest. He's not dead YET. And second, that's just an incredibly weird coincidence."

Thirty minutes later: The King of Pop is pronounced dead.

"Okay," she said. "That's pretty f*ckin' weird, I give you that."

And you know what, HE was pretty f*ckin' weird, especially in the last part of his life. But he was also a true iconic legend. And watching it on the news was just SURREAL. Michael Jackson, dead? And out of nowhere like that?

That glass of wine, by the way, turned into several. The bar was packed, but it was silent. Everyone was just glued to the TV. For me, it's like Princess Di or the Challenger disaster: I'll always remember where I was when I heard the news.

And for once, I don't even have a smartass comment to make.

(Well, except: at least we don't have to hear about Jon and f*cking Kate anymore.)