That Butterflies In Your Tummy Excitement when you are in the just going about your day to day life and you get THAT phone call or text. One minute you are in the supermarket, wondering what to have for dinner and do I need to buy cereal and then you check your phone and OOOOMMMMGGGGG!!
Im talking about when Michael used to come to Europe. For one crazy week about once a year, Michael would come to Europe for a public appearance, ie an Award Show or similar event. And when he did, we would drop our normal lives and live in this crazy mad bubble world.
Michael knew how to play the game of publicty very well. He knew how to work the system. He knew that by letting fans know his location , ie the hotel he was staying at, then the event or award show would gain instant free publicty. He knew how to get into the papers by not doing very much and by him being in the papers would raise the profile of whatever he was promoting at that time.
Thats how it worked, and deep inside us we knew we were being used for free PR, but at the time, it didnt matter to us.
It would start by his travel details being leaked to certain fans or by him allowing himself to be papped at an airport. Then by word of mouth, through text and phone calls, the news would circulate around the fan community.
Whenever he travelled to Europe, for a public event, he would always stay at the same hotel, for example in London, there were 3 or 4 hotels within a mile which he has stayed out.
Once word went around that Michael was on his way to London, we would head into central London, and go to these hotels. There was always the same group of fans there, many of us who only ever met each other when Michael was in town.
It was like a small community, year after year, the same faces, the same pattern of events. All of us at one time had been “newbies” who started off with a burning desire to see Michael. Many of us started off on our own, and learned the unspoken rules about how things were done.
Outside the hotel, we learned from those who had done this before. We learned that to get close to Michael you had to get his attention and stand out, but we also learned that to get close to Michael you also had to gain the trust of his security. We learned that the media were to be shunned and avoided, we learned that keeping Michael safe was the most import thing, even if it ment we might not see or get close to him. We found out what NOT to do when Michael was out and about, ie jumping barriers or banging on the car windows. We found out when Michael wanted us around and when he didnt. We found that above all, not to give up and that having patience will in the end make everything worthwhile.
We fiercely protected Michael and his whereabouts from the media and general public, but at the same time, we knew when it was ok to to tell people or the media what he was doing. Many times, to help pass the time we would give PAPS or tv crews wrong information, just to get them away from Michael.
For me, those trips were like a lesson in the school of life. I learned to stand up for what I believed in and not to care what people thought. I learned tolerance and understanding of different cultures and races, as being outside the hotels everyone was the same, just there to see Michael. I learned how far to push my body and spirit, I learned not to give up when things seem impossible. I found out more about myself going to see Michael, than in any other aspect of my life.
Now looking back, we thought it would last forever. We always thought there would be a next time, whether that was in a few months or next year.
Many people dont understand us or why we went to see Michael. They call us stalkers, they say we were a danger to Michael, they say we didnt respect Michaels privacy. All I can say to those is, what would you have done, if you had been told that Michael is staying at XXXXX Hotel, 5 miles away, and fans have been meeting him , and giving him presents. Look deep in your heart and answer, would you have have said, oh thats nice and not thought anything more, or would you have tried to get to that hotel????