Maybe with the wrong person and maybe for the wrong reasons, but I believe it's the first time I have ever done that. I submitted. Surrendered. Gave all. It didn't work But I'm so glad I did it. Once in a lifetime? Maybe I learned something about myself. What it took to give in. To give up. To be there. To not be me, if only for a minute. Or two. And maybe again. In a better world. But in this world, I suspended disbelief and saw the best of life. If only shortly.
July, 2009 - Reprinted from The Wild Wild East Dailies archive
A death and birth in Dalat. Long live Michael Jackson.
My birthday week in Dalat was inspiring. I was taken as a birthday gift and if one can be given peace, comfort,
hope, inspiration and confidence in a big box with a ribbon
on it, that was my gift. A gift from God. No cakes cut, no
candles lit and no songs sung. It was perfect.
The Ana Mandara resort is an old French colonial weekend
colony that has been meticulously refurbished to maintain
the architectural integrity of the original villas whilst
bringing them up to date with WiFi, microwave cooking
and the like. The staff are courteous and casual and make a science out of staying
out of your way while still making sure that all service points are met.
colony that has been meticulously refurbished to maintain
the architectural integrity of the original villas whilst
bringing them up to date with WiFi, microwave cooking
and the like. The staff are courteous and casual and make a science out of staying
out of your way while still making sure that all service points are met.
Birds sing daily and nights by the fire are standard. Our villa had three fireplaces,
making me a full-time Boy Scout and just as happy as could be. Candles are lit in
groups of three always. Flowers arranged immediately. A trip to the market
one day brought tuna, vegetables, fruits and the finest of Dalat's vineyards - and
with the help of the resort kitchen for pots and pans, I was able to cook a meal that
rivaled what the chefs had been preparing for us the whole time. Magical.
making me a full-time Boy Scout and just as happy as could be. Candles are lit in
groups of three always. Flowers arranged immediately. A trip to the market
one day brought tuna, vegetables, fruits and the finest of Dalat's vineyards - and
with the help of the resort kitchen for pots and pans, I was able to cook a meal that
rivaled what the chefs had been preparing for us the whole time. Magical.
With a jazz soundtrack. Morning was delivered in waves of reflection and care.
Introspection and extroversion. Exploration and discovery of truth, love, logic, loss,
magic and pro-activity. Beautiful mystery, explained - explained again. Then
Michael Jackson died.
Introspection and extroversion. Exploration and discovery of truth, love, logic, loss,
magic and pro-activity. Beautiful mystery, explained - explained again. Then
Michael Jackson died.
Turning on the BBC while having my morning coffee, it was like a replay of
Princess Diana's death in August of 1997 except the celebrities had been changed
and the person to whom I would deliver the news would be different. In 97 I had
driven from the lake house to the local convenience store for the morning's milk
and eggs when I saw the newspaper headline as big as it could have been printed,
"Di Dies!". This I knew somehow, would be reacted to profoundly by my wife who
was still sleeping back at the cottage. When I asked her why this was such
important news, during the day long coverage her response was simple. "David",
she said, "Don't you know that every little girl wants to grow up to be a
princess?" This response would prove to be a milestone in my understanding of
women in general but not prepare me much for my traveling companion's reaction
to Jackson's death.
Princess Diana's death in August of 1997 except the celebrities had been changed
and the person to whom I would deliver the news would be different. In 97 I had
driven from the lake house to the local convenience store for the morning's milk
and eggs when I saw the newspaper headline as big as it could have been printed,
"Di Dies!". This I knew somehow, would be reacted to profoundly by my wife who
was still sleeping back at the cottage. When I asked her why this was such
important news, during the day long coverage her response was simple. "David",
she said, "Don't you know that every little girl wants to grow up to be a
princess?" This response would prove to be a milestone in my understanding of
women in general but not prepare me much for my traveling companion's reaction
to Jackson's death.
"Michael Jackson was a foolish man. He couldn't manage his life or his money",
was the statement. No sorrow, no sympathy, no regret. Just a cold hard statement
of what was essentially the truth. Michael Jackson was a victim of himself and no
one else - now relegated the the historical oddity chamber of pop fame. And did he
contribute to my life? Yes. But did his death have the impact on me of that of John
Lennon's? No. Because with Lennon a part of my childhood died but with
Jackson only a part of his childhood died. He seemed to live in a perpetual Peter
Pan state and that, in the end, may have been his demise. He refused to grow up.
And my week in Dalat would teach me that, that was exactly what I needed to do.
Grow up a little bit more.
was the statement. No sorrow, no sympathy, no regret. Just a cold hard statement
of what was essentially the truth. Michael Jackson was a victim of himself and no
one else - now relegated the the historical oddity chamber of pop fame. And did he
contribute to my life? Yes. But did his death have the impact on me of that of John
Lennon's? No. Because with Lennon a part of my childhood died but with
Jackson only a part of his childhood died. He seemed to live in a perpetual Peter
Pan state and that, in the end, may have been his demise. He refused to grow up.
And my week in Dalat would teach me that, that was exactly what I needed to do.
Grow up a little bit more.
I have always been extremely guarded of the childish part in me that looks at a white
sheet of paper and conceives castles to commerce and so showing that to others has
been something I have avoided - even to my wife during our 15 years in marriage.
Yet here in Dalat I was being confronted by a friend, confidant and full-time muse
to look beyond my reality and into a future of intelligence, stability and growth
- a future so unlike anything that Michael Jackson could have ever conceived. And
so a death, and a birth, were happening in Dalat - all at the same time.
It was coincidence, and contradiction and contrition to the fact that I would need to
leapfrog some things in business and jump-start the machine again - all inspired
by the most unlikely person I had met through a failed job interview. Who knew.
Well, it seems that God knew.
sheet of paper and conceives castles to commerce and so showing that to others has
been something I have avoided - even to my wife during our 15 years in marriage.
Yet here in Dalat I was being confronted by a friend, confidant and full-time muse
to look beyond my reality and into a future of intelligence, stability and growth
- a future so unlike anything that Michael Jackson could have ever conceived. And
so a death, and a birth, were happening in Dalat - all at the same time.
It was coincidence, and contradiction and contrition to the fact that I would need to
leapfrog some things in business and jump-start the machine again - all inspired
by the most unlikely person I had met through a failed job interview. Who knew.
Well, it seems that God knew.
For readers in Germany, France and Africa stay tuned for an upcoming tour schedule
as the Wild Wild East goes west. A death in Dalat. A birth in Dalat. From the loss of
Michael Jackson to the birth of something new. The one to thank, already knows.
It's time to take this show on the road. Long live Michael Jackson.
as the Wild Wild East goes west. A death in Dalat. A birth in Dalat. From the loss of
Michael Jackson to the birth of something new. The one to thank, already knows.
It's time to take this show on the road. Long live Michael Jackson.
D a v i d E v e r i t t - C a r l s o n
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Find me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Read my blog: The Wild Wild East Dailies and keep up on our efforts with aSaigon/CreativeMorning.
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