Michael Jackson’s Death: Where Were You?

Pop star Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009.  I can remember where I was when I got the news.  At that time, I worked overnights at UPS, got off at 4:30am, and came to the radio station at 5:00am.  So, during the time that the news broke that afternoon, I was asleep.

After years of being unreachable when major news stories broke, I'd learned to sleep intermittently.  I can't recall the last time I slept more than 2 hours straight. The day that Michael Jackson died, I tried hard to ignore my vibrating phone and sleep through whatever was happening and later contact whoever was trying to reach me. I was tired.  However, the phone wouldn't stop ringing.  I finally answered around 5:00pm and never went back to sleep.

I flipped between channels while also checking social media and doing Google searches.  I was in shock, awe, and plain disbelief.  Could it really be true? We'd heard so many false rumors of celebrity deaths that I automatically thought this was one, too.  It wasn't.

I'm not going to say that this day will forever be etched in my mind, but it's not one I'll soon forget.  Do you remember what you were doing when you got the news?