The death of Michael Jackson, as much as this may offend fans of the King, did have some strange parallels to the death of Elvis Aaron Presley. Of course, you tend to forget that the King did have his love for Priscilla develop when she was very much underage. But whatever proclivities both men may have had for those much younger than themselves in the bedroom is not what I am referring to. No, I am referring to the fact that both men were so wealthy that they had managed to create lived for themselves in a kind of bubble. In short, they were able to create their own world where things went the way they wanted all the time and this is a dangerous thing.

It sounds like a perfect thing, though, doesn't it? How many times have you wished the world and the people in it would just bend to your whim? I know every time I am on the highway and some idiot is doing something stupid in front of me I wish I had the power to have him or her arrested and executed in some particularly horrible way. It must be very tempting, when you have vast amounts of wealth and adoration, to try and create a world where everything you want can come true.

It would be a good thing if people were good. The fact is everyone of us has a dark side and, far too often, that side likes to step out and say hello. We fight against it every day and it is my belief that people are not inherently good, as so many say, but inherently selfish and evil and that only by conquering that do we do good. So, when you can have everything you want, that evil side just gets a bigger playground to run around in.

When you reach the level of an MJ or an Elvis you can surround yourself with everything and anything that comes through your head. You can create a big house on a huge tract of land and build an amusement park or buy cars by the dozen. You can have your own airplane, or a zoo, or any other myriad of things. You need never leave your compound, if you choose not to. However, what often comes with this world are people who simply want to be a part of that world. They want to bask in that world, even just a little bit. These are the folks you need to look out for, but they come, often, bearing gifts or as Trojan horses, concealing their sinister intent.

For Elvis, it was people who were able to get him drugs. I know there are still people out there who believe E was not hooked on drugs. I say that there is so much evidence against that, that you are living in a fantasy world. The fact is that he was horribly addicted. I believe that Elvis was so addicted and had, by the time he died, done so much damage to his body that had he given up drugs on the day he died instead of dying as he did, he still would not be alive today. His body was bound to give out. His liver would have failed or his heart would have given out somewhere else.

E was surrounded by people who just wanted to be around Elvis. As such, rather than risk being kicked out of that precious inner circle, they simply got him whatever he wanted. If he wanted an entire loaf of French bread hollowed out and filled with peanut butter and bacon, then he got a dozen of them. If he wanted pills, he had people who could get them no matter what or where.

I think the same thing happened with Jackson. He had created his own little universe there. It isolated him, allowing him to indulge in any fantasy, however dangerous to those around him or himself, that he wanted. He never had to answer to anyone until those cases dragged him into court and then he still didn't have to pay. At the same time, anything he wanted was there at his fingertips.

It appears that MJ's entourage was not as constant or famous as Elvis' “Memphis Mafia” but that may just mean he had even more people around him all the time, all willing to indulge his every whim and fantasy. If MJ wanted drugs, I am betting it was very easy for him to get them.

Of course, now MJ's life goes down into legend much the way the King's did. I am betting, at some point, Neverland will become like Graceland no matter how much the neighbors want to complain about it. It just makes sense because it is the kind of thing that will make money for is family, and for his children, for the rest of his life.

We may never really know what life was truly like behind the gates of Neverland, just like we will probably never know the full story of Elvis' life behind the gates of Graceland. We get stories, sure, but the true story is known by a man who died and a select few others.

The problem with the world of your own is that there are not, usually, people around you that want to say no. They don't want to risk getting kicked out of that world. They just say yes no matter how dangerous the request or the indulgence. You end up surrounded by “yes” men and sometimes someone has to step in and say no.

Michael was a little weird, but not entirely crazy-looking at the time Thriller was moving up the charts. It's kind of sad no one stepped in then and put a stop to the speeding train. Now, of course, it's too late and all we can do is wonder.
The amazing thing is, that Michael Jackson, like Elvis, will probably go on to even greater heights of fame and legend. That's what people do with celebrities. We build them up, then enjoy tearing then down, and then turn them into saints when their star has finally burned out forever.