Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson

Two pop icons of my youth, gone in one day. I recall Michael Jackson as the kid from the Jackson 5 in the early '70's. And I had the infamous Farrah poster on the wall of the basement in my family's home.

In 1987, I was working part-time at Graphitti Comics in Westwood. A thin African-American man with a moustache came in and sought to buy a box of Three Stooges trading cards. He wanted to pay with a credit card, which required my boss's ok. I called the owner while "Miko James," as the credit card identified him, browsed the store. The transaction was approved, and Mr. James left the store with a box of Stooges.

Later that day, the boss came in and reported that some kids in the Westwood videogame arcade had recognized "Miko James" was Michael Jackson -- then at the height of his popularity -- in disguise.

I may not have been as fond of his music as others; and I was definitely saddened by the shambles the man's life became as he became more and more of a laughingstock. But still, there's a little sparkle that's gone from the world now that it no longer has a Michael Jackson in it.