Now I wake up everyday

With this smile upon my face

No more tears, no more pain

‘Cause you love me

You helped me understand

That love is the answer to all that I am

And I’m a better man since you taught me by sharing your life

YOU ARE THE SUN

YOU MAKE ME SHINE

MORE LIKE THE STARS

THAT TWINKLE AT NIGHT

YOU ARE THE MOON

THAT GLOWS IN MY HEART

YOU’RE MY DAYTIME, MY NIGHTIME, MY WORLD

YOU ARE MY LIFE!

 Your Daddy

Your day is finally here!  HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN!  Before you go off to celebrate YOU with your family and friends, let’s take time for that last piece of cake.  It will only take a few minutes, but, I think it will send you on your way with a smile…and, maybe a  tear.  We left off WAITING…enough of that!

NO!

That’s not you!

Somehow you’ll escape

all that waiting and staying.

You’ll find the bright places

where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,

once more you’ll ride high!

Ready for anything under the sky.

Ready because you’re that kind of a (girl)!

Oh, the places you’ll go!  There is fun to be done!

There are points to be scored.  There are games to be won.

And the magical things you can do with that ball

will make you the winning-est winner of all.

FAME!  You’ll be famous as famous can be,

with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when you don’t.

Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that SOME times

you’ll play lonely games too.

Games you can’t win

’cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!

Whether you like it or not,

Alone will be something

you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a good chance

you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.

There are some, down the road between hither and yon,

that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

but on you will go

though the weather be foul,

On you will go

though your enemies prowl.

On you will go

though the Hakken-Kraks howl.

Onward up many

a frightening creek,

though your arms may get sore

and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike.

And I know you’ll hike far

and face up to your problems

whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course,

as you already know.

You’ll get mixed up

with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life’s

a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And NEVER mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

So…

be your name Buxham or Bixby or Bray

Or Mordecai Ali Allen O’Shea,

Or PARIS MICHAEL KATHERINE JACKSON

you’re off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting,

SO…GET ON YOUR WAY!

Now, that’s the way to begin a birthday.  There’s just one more thing.  INSPIRATION.  For me, inspiration leads to hope and helps me to be braver.  Your Daddy does that for me.  Whenever I get stuck, or depressed, or scared, or angry, or frustrated…I turn to your Daddy’s beautiful language and I find my way.  Darling Paris, my gift to you is words and so I end with words that describe who he was to the world.  I know you will feel closeness to them because he was YOUR DADDY and his love lasts forever.

“In the music world, he put on one glove, pulled his pants up and broke down the color curtain where now our African American videos are shown and magazines put us on the cover.  It was Michael Jackson that brought Blacks and Whites, Asians and Latinos together.  It was Michael Jackson that made us sing WE ARE THE WORLD and feed the hungry long before LiveAid.  Because Michael Jackson kept going, he created a comfort level where people that felt they were separated became interconnected with his music.  And it was that comfort level that kids from Japan and Ghana and France and Iowa and Pennsylvania got comfortable enough with each other until later it wasn’t strange to us to watch Oprah on TV.  It wasn’t strange to watch Tiger Woods play golf.  Those young kids grew up from being teenagers, comfortable fans of Michael Jackson, to being 40-year-olds, and being comfortable to vote for a person of color to be President of the United States.  MICHAEL DID THAT!  Michael made us love each other.  Michael taught us to stand with each other.  There are those that like to dig around in mess.  But, millions around the world…we’re going to uphold his message.” 

Reverend Al Sharpton

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PARIS.  GO FOR YOUR DREAMS!

Our love from all around the world!

Jude