I partially remembered an encounter with Michael Jackson at Epcot many years ago, a few years before Captain EO was there.
He was at the leaping fountains outside of that Kodak pavilion.
Smiling. Sad. Terrified. Alone.
Sitting quietly, looking around. He was peoplewatching.
I actually didn't notice him there. My mom pointed him out, hand on shoulder... don't react, don't say anything... just watch.
People kept their distance, didn't mob him there. No autographs, no shaking hand or head.
He almost was one of the rest of the people. He almost had it, but this aura of... not quite ordinary.
Bodyguards hovering 20-30 feet away. Epcot isn't exactly "Tall Muscular Black Man In Suit Friendly But Keenly Observant" territory, you know.
Smiles. But terrified.
I remembered the rest of it this morning.
He got mobbed as he walked past Communicore to Lagoon of Nations, left side.
People pointing, yelling... as if they were hunting dogs.
He was surrounded, paper waved at him. Pens.
The bodyguards were on either side of him.
At one point, he screamed. And he vanished.
I remember that we walked by... it was an accident we saw that, we weren't part of that mob.
Were we?
I am going over this in my mind, over and over.
I may just call my mom later today to see what she remembers.
I'm pretty sure this is close to what happened.
But if I'm remembering it wrong, I want to know what happened.
Because what happened there convinced me very early on that a human being is not built to handle such overwhelming fame and it's desire to belong, and that humans are pack hunters that feed on them.
There is one other encounter with a celebrity that shaped my view of fame, and I think y'all already know who it is: Dom Deluise.
A person who is genuinely sweet, friendly, loving, and interested in other people will emanate such a feeling... it's like walking into a walk-in fridge and the temperature drop hitting you... that sense of goodness can be felt as you approach it.
Your instincts are to want to understand that sensation, but you have to respect such a person and go easy and not become a predator... a parasite...
Like each individual found themselves becoming as they were absorbed into the mob-monster that hunted Michael Jackson.
I've always wondered if the same applies to genuinely evil people.