Yesterday, the world surveyed the memorial service of all memorial services, the most lavish send-off of a dead man known to our modern times, the only kind of send-off worthy of THE KING (of pop).
Celebrities made speeches, singers sang their songs, retrospective videos played on enormous screens, and throughout the fast-paced ceremony, one thing remained static and conspicuous and that was the shiny casket bathed in fresh roses. Inside it, of course, was Michael himself, perhaps adorned in his signature Thriller jacket, sparkly glove, penny loafers and white socks, the hair on his jet black ladies wig falling elegantly at his shoulders. But what most spectators and performers didn't know was that beneath that wig, and further still, under his skull, there was nothing but empty space. Yes, Michael was being buried without his brain.
It seems rather ironic that the man who sang about zombies would end up taking his final journey without that one piece of anatomy zombies like to feast on. The irony gets even thicker, given that Michael played the brainless Scarecrow in The Oz.
Celebrities made speeches, singers sang their songs, retrospective videos played on enormous screens, and throughout the fast-paced ceremony, one thing remained static and conspicuous and that was the shiny casket bathed in fresh roses. Inside it, of course, was Michael himself, perhaps adorned in his signature Thriller jacket, sparkly glove, penny loafers and white socks, the hair on his jet black ladies wig falling elegantly at his shoulders. But what most spectators and performers didn't know was that beneath that wig, and further still, under his skull, there was nothing but empty space. Yes, Michael was being buried without his brain.
It seems rather ironic that the man who sang about zombies would end up taking his final journey without that one piece of anatomy zombies like to feast on. The irony gets even thicker, given that Michael played the brainless Scarecrow in The Oz.
But there is a good explanation for his brainlessness. You see, having reached no definitive conclusion regarding the nature of his death after the autopsies, pathologists requested his brain for further examinations, which could take up to three weeks. That was the choice faced by the Jackson family: let Michael's body sit in a freezer for weeks and wait for his brain to return back from the lab, or go ahead and put him into the earth, hollow-headed. They chose the latter.
So what do the scientists hope to discover when they slice and dice through Michael's gray matter? Well, for one thing, they're going to dig for evidence of past drug use and whether he has suffered other overdoses, in addition to any other hitherto unknown diseases.
But that is all standard stuff. It seems that these pathologists have a golden opportunity on their hands -- to go beyond the boring drug stuff and try to understand what REALLY lay inside this mysterious man. Did he lie about having only two plastic surgeries (picture Michael making a peace sign during the infamous Bashir interview when asked that same question) in his life? Did his calm, peaceful Little Prince-like demeanor hide a raging temper? I suppose we can only wait and see.
The family still has the option of burying his brain later. Which begs the question: Will the brain have its own ceremony?
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