When you talk to former performers, at any level of fame, they'll tell you that when their season comes to an end, it's hard to adjust to life without the attention, the recognition of people in the street, or the roar of the crowd. Michael Jackson never seemed to adjust to his fall from the center of our attention. In the ultimate twist of irony, by dying too soon, at age 50, he has found a way to get it all back. From the moment we heard the leak, and then the confirmation, of his death, the world, including the U.S., where his fame really had receded into a kind of uncomfortable infamy -- we just can't stop talking about him; we're grooving to his music again, and he is the center of all the world's attention.

I've got to think that somewhere up there, Michael Jackson is happy as hell.