Episode Transcript
[00:00:17] Speaker A: Hi MJ friends. Welcome to the it's all for Love podcast. I'm Cheryl Mazza, the healing dancer, your host. This podcast is all about Michael Jackson and how he continues to inspire love in the world and inspires us to be our best selves. In this episode, I'm speaking with Lisa Green from Orlando, Florida. Lisa talks about how Michael inspires us to be better people. We also discuss how Michael was such a resilient person and how he constantly faced adversity and kept going. He always stood up for himself and spoke his truth while continuing to help others, even when the world was so unkind to him. So I hope that you enjoy this episode with Lisa. I really enjoyed speaking with her and hearing her Michael Jackson story.
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I am always looking for more guests to be on this podcast, so if you are interested in telling your Michael Jackson story and talking with me, I would absolutely love to chat with you about that. So please reach out. You can reach me on the it's all for Love podcast on Instagram or Facebook, or you can email me at mj itsallforlovemail.com. thank you for listening and watching it's all for love.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: Today we have Lisa from Orlando, Florida.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: With us on the it's all for Love podcast.
[00:01:55] Speaker B: Welcome, Lisa.
[00:01:56] Speaker C: Hi Cheryl. How are you?
[00:01:58] Speaker B: I'm great. How are you?
[00:02:00] Speaker C: I'm great, thank you.
[00:02:02] Speaker B: Yeah, welcome.
Lisa is originally from north central rural Pennsylvania and she's been married for 19 years with her two dogs.
She has been an animal caretaker for 20 years. I love that. And she currently works at Disney's Animal Kingdom. That's awesome.
And she can't remember a time when she wasn't a Michael Jackson fan. So I can definitely relate to that too.
Welcome again. And I love that you work with animals. That is so amazing.
[00:02:37] Speaker C: Yes, I love it too.
It's a passion of mine, for sure, and definitely something Michael and I had in common. Um, our love for animals. And that's one of the things that I loved so much about him is his passion for animals and for the environment. So I felt very connected to him in that way too.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: I think that's all amazing.
So I always like to start out with, tell me your Michael story. When did he strike you in the heart, or when did you notice it? I know you've always been a fan as long as you can remember, but is there a certain time or something that happened?
[00:03:15] Speaker C: So I thought long and hard about that question, and I remember there being almost, like, snippets or pieces. Like, I remember being a little girl sitting on the ground, because, like, at that time, the tv had legs and it was low. And I remember sitting on the ground watching this magical, sparkly man, you know, that would come and dance and glide, like, he was almost, like, flying or gliding backwards across the floor, and he would just spin forever, you know? And everything was sparkly and magical about this man. And I just remember being mesmerized. I would hold my breath so that I didn't miss anything. And so I definitely remember little flashes like that. I remember seeing him when he won all the Grammys for thriller. I just distinctly remember that blue sparkly outfit that he was wearing, that top, that jacket with, like, the gold sash across it. I remember that very clearly.
But I really feel like, aside from those little snippets and things, because my parents weren't really into Michael Jackson, they listened to music, but they weren't, like, up on it, you know? And I lived in a very rural place in Pennsylvania, so there just wasn't a lot of exposure to that sort of stuff. Night Harris songs on the radio. But I don't think that I had the awareness that the sparkly man on tv was the music that I liked. When songs would come on the radio, like, I don't think I was connecting the two. And it wasn't until dangerous. I think that was really the turning point for me. When dangerous came out, that's when I was, like, all about Michael. But even before that, like, I definitely had started. I remember finding my mom's. It was like a Maxell cassette tape, you know, that she had recorded off of somebody else. And it had all the thriller songs, like, handwritten on there, side a, side bde. And I would put my ear up to the speaker, and I would listen to everything. Like, I actually had to wind the tape back in a couple of times and straighten it out because it would fold over itself because I listened to it so much. But I do. I think it was right around the time, maybe end of bad.
Dangerous, I think, was, like, my moment where I was like, holy cow, this guy's amazing.
I love.
[00:05:55] Speaker B: I think dangerous is actually my favorite album. It was just that. That time.
I don't know about it. Yeah. So I can relate.
[00:06:05] Speaker C: Yes. That's a great album.
[00:06:07] Speaker B: Yeah. So do you have any, like, moments from that era that come to mind?
Like, either seeing him or.
[00:06:16] Speaker C: I do, actually. So I was never fortunate enough to see him in person. And I can. I can touch on that a little bit later.
But there were definitely. So one of the things that I did was I sent him a birthday card every year for his birthday on August 29. And I would spend like an eternity at the store. My poor mom picking out like the perfect card.
And I distinctly remember, I only sent him a gift once. I always just sent him a card. But I picked out this card. It was like, by the World Wildlife Federation, WWf. Had a picture of two tigers on it because I knew that he liked tigers. I was like, here we go. It described them on the back. And I was like, he might like to know a little something about it. And I made him three friendship bracelets and he sent that to him. And so, like, that's definitely a moment that I remember like it was yesterday.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: I love that all. I'm sure you were what I said.
[00:07:24] Speaker C: I was probably like ten maybe right around that age.
[00:07:27] Speaker B: Oh, no, that's great. I love that. I love that so much. I'm sure. I know that he would keep everything that he would get.
At least that's story that I've heard. I don't know, you know, for sure, but I feel like a room in like, Neverland where he kept all the gifts or something like that, that he got from fans. I don't know if I'm that too.
[00:07:48] Speaker C: Yeah, I remember hearing that as well. And it's funny because. Although I never got a response from him personally, because let me tell you, that's what I would be talking about. But I ended up getting like a response from the Michael Jackson fan club and they sent me like a card, like I was a card carrying member of the Michael Jackson fan club. It was a red cardinal, like a plastic credit card looking thing. I still have it attached to my welcome letter.
So. Yes, those are some that I remember very vividly.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh, that's such an exciting moment as a kid. Oh, my goodness, everyone. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah.
[00:08:35] Speaker C: I used to get special permission to watch like, the VH one Michael Jackson weekends or like the MTV weekends because, you know, I was a kid, I wasn't supposed to sit in front of the tv all weekend long, but for those I would get permission and I would sit there with the VHS tape making sure that I was able to record every moment and cut out the.
[00:08:56] Speaker B: Commercials and yeah, I did the same thing, kind of. I just, I remember having these VHS tapes still, like, when I was in college and when they would have the Michael Jackson weekends, I, yeah, recorded them and then I took them to college with me and I would watch them, like, over and over again. Well, he was my inspiration, you know, to become a dance.
And anytime I watch Michael, like, any, I'll just, like, put on his videos. It's just like my creative juices start flowing and I start getting, like, more creative and putting more stuff out in the world, like this podcast, so.
[00:09:35] Speaker C: Oh, that's awesome.
[00:09:37] Speaker B: Yeah. So tell me, was there a anything that he inspired you to do in your life or.
[00:09:45] Speaker C: Yeah, you know, he definitely. So I played the piano pretty much my whole life, and so I really admired his dedication to his art and how much he cared about that and the more I got to know. So it started off there and then I, you know, it's like peeling back the different layers of Michael. You know, like, you see the sparkly magic man and, you know, he's an amazing dancer. He definitely inspired me to take up dance, you know, because I would sit there and just, you know, try to copy his videos as best I could and, you know, rewinding and slowing it down and trying to figure it out.
So, yeah, like, we had music in common. The more I listened, the more I was just enthralled by him. He inspired me to take up dance. He definitely, I don't know that he inspired my love of animals in the environment. I was just excited that we had that in common and that's something that we always had. But one thing that he continually amazes me about is, you know, everybody says, who's met him or worked with him, how kind he is, how humble he is, how gentle is. And, you know, you could almost get the impression that Michael is a bit meek or weak by, like, the way he talks and, you know, those adjectives, but Michael was so strong. He was strong, he was resilient. And that is something that I try to remember, like those times where it had felt to me, you know, being a Michael Jackson fan or just in life, that the whole world was talking about me.
[00:11:33] Speaker B: Right?
[00:11:33] Speaker C: Because we went from Michael is wonderful and it's cool to be a Michael fan to it's not cool to be a Michael fan. And I always was. That's just, I just was. I always loved him. And I'm like, you know, what? If he can stand up and stick up for himself and speak his truth when the whole world is talking about him and not in a positive way. If he can be strong and resilient and stand up to that, I can handle whatever comes my way, too. So I try to really remember how strong he is. And what's amazing about him is his compassion for humanity. Like, people were not kind to him. He did not have an easy life. He, like Tommy said, could have really used, like, some good friends in his life. You know, maybe he had them. Maybe. Maybe he did. I don't know. I would have loved to have been one of them, but, yeah, like, and he also somehow managed this amazing talent, this big presence, in a way that he made people feel comfortable working with him. Like, that would be so intimidating. He had.
He could have been cocky, he could have been conceited. He could have been all of those things, but he wasn't. And he wasn't intimidated by other people's talent. He wanted to bring their talent up. He wanted to give them those moments to shine. You know, like when you watched this is it. Or you watch what is it? The greatest night in pop.
It's on Netflix. Lionel Richie tells the story of how we are. The world came to be.
And just learning those things about him, learning that all the adversity that he faced, he still had the strength to keep going and to spread his message of being a humanitarian, being compassionate, like, what artist is out there today?
Writing songs like heal the world or man in the mirror or earth song, and continually bringing awareness, raising money at times, you know, helping people when people were so unkind to him, you know, like, he's. He. I have goosebumps. I just. So, yeah, he inspires me to be a better person. Simply said yes, exactly.
[00:14:03] Speaker B: No, I. I just love everything you said. And especially when you were talking. Not especially all of that, you're saying, but when you're talking about how he inspires you, like, how he just always spoke his truth and was just always like himself. He was so.
Such a humble person, almost like, you know, he just. Well, the podcast is called it's all for love. Right. That's exactly what he was and still is, is love. That's, to me, like, that's all of that that you just said. That is the energy of love, of just, like, really encompassing being love. Because he was always, no matter what was thrown at him, no matter what hate was thrown at him, he still loved.
[00:14:53] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:14:54] Speaker B: And that's. That's a hard thing to do. Like, that is hard to do, but he did it, and that's what he instills in all of us. As fans, as followers of Michael. Like, that's what I think a lot of people don't understand. Like, everyone's like, why are you so obsessed with Michael Jackson? Well, that's why.
Because he inspires us to be a better person. He inspires us to love in the face of hate. Like, how? I can't. Like, I have chills. I want to cry. Like, I can't.
[00:15:24] Speaker C: I know it's all those emotions.
[00:15:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
Like, how can you not love someone like that and just want to, you know, be in their presence or being their energy. And even though I didn't have a chance or anything to meet him either, so. But we're still so, like, just in love with him. And I don't mean, like, you know, but it's just nobody else has that presence. Nobody and nobody ever will. You know, maybe Elvis had that before him. Elvis has that kind of presence, too. I don't know a lot about Elvis, but I was captivated by him a little bit when I was little. But Michael. My gosh, like, yeah, just Michael.
[00:16:10] Speaker C: And it's nice to talk to somebody who you can just say his name and, like, it just like you had said before lights you up. It does. It fills you with love, you know, just thinking about him.
[00:16:22] Speaker B: Yeah. And I have to. Just a side note, like, you know, I don't. If you ever have, like, bad days at work, right? You're just like, man, this day was shit.
So that was kind of like my day today. But I was like, you know what? I get to go home and talk about Michael with Lisa. I'm so excited to do that. You know, there's, like, an example. He just lights me up. Like, I'm just like, yes, I have this to look forward to.
[00:16:49] Speaker C: He knew to set it up. He arranged it at this time because he knew you were going to have a shit day. Thanks, Michael.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: Thank you, Michael.
Well, do you ever have times where he kind of just shows up in your life?
I call the Michael Jackson synchronicities, where it's just like, hey, Mike, thanks for message, or thanks for whatever.
[00:17:20] Speaker C: Yes. And I will tell you my story now because it kind of goes hand in hand with this. But I never had a chance to see him in concert. Obviously, would have loved to, but it's just, you know, I don't really have the means, you know, I wish I was a kid. And, you know, then he stopped touring and doing concerts, and I thought, okay, like, I'm never gonna get the opportunity to see him. Well, then he announces, this is it.
Over in London. And I remember having like, a full on, like, cry and saying to my husband, I was like, oh, my God, it's going to be impossible. Because at first he was only doing ten shows. I was like, it is going to be impossible.
Do you think we even have a chance? I feel like we've got to try. I said, I don't care if I have to, you know, work two other jobs and pickup overtime shifts like crazy.
And my husband is in it. So he basically set up a command center, not even kidding you. And we stayed up all night because of the time change of when the tickets went on sale over in London. Stayed up all night, had two computers going. He did like, a rehearsal with me. We got tickets. We got the vip thriller tickets to his what would have been his first show.
And he sadly passed away two weeks before we would have seen him. And everything was in motion. Time off work. We're meeting another couple over in London and traveling with them. We have hotels booked. We were going to Paris. Everything is in motion. And it's like, what do you do? Of course, devastated doesn't even begin, you know, to describe that feeling, you know, like to be so close and then to have it be taken away and have him be taken away at the same time, like, gone from the world, like, forever. It was devastating. So we end up going.
We end up going to the zero two where the show would have been on the night it would have been. And there were thousands of other Michael fans.
There was all of the memorials set up to him and everybody was singing. And it was just this beautiful moment with other people that could appreciate exactly how I was feeling in that moment. Because, you know, there's no people like Michael. People I don't think you know, where it's indescribable, that feeling that he gives you. And I felt his presence very strongly there. And it just. It breaks my heart for him that he didn't get to do that because he wanted to do that. He wanted to have one more go. You know, he wanted to show his kids what he was about. He wanted to show his fans that he was making a comeback and be there one last time. And he didn't get that chance. And that just. It kills me how it all went down. It breaks my heart.
But today, you know, song will pop up on the radio and it'll be a Michael song, which is exciting, you know, and my husband will feel like, you have all of his music. Like, why is that exciting? I was like, because I think it's like, a surprise visit from him, especially in the moments when the Michael song, you need, like, if you're having a shit day at work and scream comes on, you're like, yes. Especially because that's a song that you don't hear very often. You definitely know you're getting a little bit of help from MJ. You know, I think those little moments and, like, bringing me together with people like you, people like Tommy, I feel like those are the times where he still is having influence in my life and touching me, so.
[00:21:40] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, definitely. He. He's very good at bringing us together, and I. It's like, you know, yes.
[00:21:51] Speaker C: And, I mean, thrill the world, that is such a great event. I know Tommy talked about it, but it is so exciting, you know, to go from being that little girl in the basement, learning and dancing thriller all by myself, thinking, how much fun would this be to have other people to do this with and to see it done worldwide. That's so cool. It's so exciting and so much fun.
[00:22:15] Speaker B: So how many times have you done it?
[00:22:18] Speaker C: So I have done it. This will be my fourth coming up.
So the first time I hadn't heard about it, I couldn't believe it had been going on since 2006. Where have I been? Like, how did I not know? But I didn't find out about it until 2017.
We were living in Seattle at the time, and they have a huge. I mean, we're talking, like, 400 people. A huge, like, thrill the world event there.
[00:22:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:50] Speaker C: And that was my first time, and that was super fun. Well, then we moved back here. We drive all the way to Jacksonville because that's where we found the closest event to us. And there's, like, ten of us. But you know what? We still rocked it. We still did it. So it was like, a really big difference. But it was sort of cool to see, you know, all the people from around the world and how different it is, and to do it in Jacksonville, so appropriately named. That was pretty cool.
And then I did it here with Tommy last year. So there's probably 20 of us, and I know that we're growing, and I can't wait to do it again in a month. So that'll be fun.
[00:23:32] Speaker B: Yes. Oh, gosh, I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to see it. The thrill Orlando, because I. Well, all of it, you know, obviously. But, yeah. Tommy, I know, has been growing that for the last four years, and it just gets bigger every year. So he inspires.
Yes, he inspires me. I will start it in New Jersey next year, so. Yes.
[00:23:56] Speaker C: Oh, cool. Are you going to do it anywhere in New Jersey this year or close by?
[00:24:00] Speaker B: Not this year, no, it's too late, but too late for me to learn and then teach other.
[00:24:07] Speaker C: Oh, you don't have to teach it. You can just learn it and go to the event. I have all the confidence you could learn about.
[00:24:14] Speaker B: Well, there is no event in New Jersey, so I have to be the one to start it.
[00:24:19] Speaker C: Wow. Okay.
[00:24:21] Speaker B: Yeah, but that's right. I'm putting it out there. I'm starting it.
Everyone listening can, and you can be my accountability partners. I mean, like, you have to do it. There's no.
[00:24:34] Speaker C: There were two ladies in Canada. It was just the two of them last year, and they did it, and so good for them. It's really cool to see the thrill the world video that I guess the admins of the event put this together and it must take forever, but they slice all the different groups around the world for the full thriller video. So it's like, you know, you've got these people dancing with the falling leaves behind them. You've got us in Orlando, like, melting off all of our makeup because we're sweating palm trees behind us. And then there are these two ladies in Canada, and it was in the snow.
[00:25:13] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness.
[00:25:14] Speaker C: Snow on the ground. But they were there doing it. So I love it.
[00:25:19] Speaker B: I love it. I can't wait to learn more about it and to do it with you guys. Even though we won't be in the same state someday, I will be. I'm coming to Orlando to do it with you all.
[00:25:29] Speaker C: Do it.
[00:25:33] Speaker B: If you had to pick a favorite Michael Jackson song, what would it be?
[00:25:38] Speaker C: So I give this a lot of thought, and I agree with all the comments about how, gosh, it kind of depends on what mood you're in, right? You know, like, whether you've got scream or you're feeling sexy and dirty. Diana is good for you or, you know, whatnot. But Billie Jean, Billy Jean classic. That is my favorite. If I had to pick one, which is really tough to do, it's Billie Jean.
[00:26:04] Speaker B: Yes. Yes. Oh, Billie Jean. That is the jacket that I want. Billie Jean. I will get one. I have one. But it's like, you know, a cheap Halloween costume.
[00:26:18] Speaker C: No, it needs to be the full spot. Sparkle. That check.
[00:26:21] Speaker B: I needed to, like, be form fitting, you know, kind of how it was with Michael. So I will get one.
[00:26:26] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:26:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
I love the sparkle.
[00:26:31] Speaker C: Yeah. Everything about him was just sparkly and magical. That's my earliest memory of Michael.
[00:26:38] Speaker B: Exactly.
My favorite music video.
[00:26:44] Speaker C: Smooth criminal, for sure. Full version.
I love just the beginning of that, where he, you know, he's in that gangster suit, and he flicks that quarter, it goes all the way and just lands right in the jukebox. And you could hear a pin drop. And then he starts like, it's just amazing. So my dogs are actually, one of my dogs is named after that video. She's Annie.
[00:27:12] Speaker B: Annie, are you okay?
[00:27:14] Speaker C: Yep. Annie, are you okay? And then Jackson, of course.
[00:27:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:20] Speaker C: So I have Jackson.
[00:27:21] Speaker B: I see it in the background. Which one is that behind you?
[00:27:24] Speaker C: That's Jackson. Jackson.
[00:27:27] Speaker B: Hi, Jackson.
[00:27:29] Speaker C: Who's that? Who's that? Say hi.
[00:27:32] Speaker B: Oh, look how cute. Oh, my God. So cute.
All right, big question here. What do you want the world to know about Michael Jackson?
[00:27:47] Speaker C: I know that the world knows what an amazing musician and songwriter and dancer and performer, just overall entertainer he is.
But what I would really like them to know is I would like them to remember that he's a person. You know, he had feelings. He was a father, he was a brother, he was a friend, he was a son.
He was all of those things in addition to that, that big presence, that big Persona that he had.
And I. I mean, he was a savvy businessman.
He had so many different hats that he wore. And I would just like people to realize that he. He was a person. And the more I learn about that person through reading, like, his autobiography, through, you know, other books and other people's, you know, accounts, like Lionel Richie, of what it was like to work with him. Like, these are the people that knew him. Or you can get it straight from Michael's mouth and read his autobiography, just really, if you're like, just get to know the person, you know? And I try to know him as much as I can, and every time I pull back a layer, it's just another surprise, you know? Like, I remember learning, I was like, wait, all those sounds, that was you beatboxing. I'm like, oh, my gosh. You know, like, just little things, you know, or knowing that he did his entire badge or. And gave it all to charity.
[00:29:42] Speaker B: Right.
[00:29:43] Speaker C: Like, all the money. All of that money.
Every time you learn something, it's just mind blowing.
Every time. So I would just encourage people to remember that he's a person, a very kind, generous, loving human being, and, you know, seek out that information because it's really interesting, and it'll just end up making you a better person to learn everything that he went through. Yes. Still, all that he gave back, right?
[00:30:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
And all that he overcame.
[00:30:25] Speaker C: Yes, yes. Well said.
[00:30:29] Speaker B: How does Michael continue to spread love in your world?
[00:30:34] Speaker C: I think just by connecting me to other people that love him as well and giving me other people to talk to about that and to dance with and, you know, I'm not like you, where I can just go and dance by myself, and I don't care what I'm doing or who sees me. I'm not. I'll dance all day long by myself and my house happily, but I don't have the courage to go out and just do it alone. So, you know, inspiring me to want to seek out people that are also Michael fans because I'm a bit of an introvert, you know, I would be very happy. Nothing seeking out brand new relationships with people.
But he inspires me to do that, to find other people that are lit up by him, because it, in turn, lights me up.
[00:31:31] Speaker B: He brings us together.
[00:31:34] Speaker C: He does. He does. And, you know, like, as an adult, you know, it's quite easy to just, you know, sit with your circle and your husband and snuggle with your dogs and not seek anything or anybody new.
[00:31:48] Speaker B: Yeah, I get that.
[00:31:50] Speaker C: But, you know, although my husband will go with me to those things, he's not gonna be dancing. He's not gonna be going to thrill the world. So even if he's there, I'm still doing it alone, which is not fun.
[00:32:04] Speaker B: No, it is a lot more fun to dance with others, especially those that are Michael fans, so.
Well, thank you so much for chatting with me about our favorite person, Michael Jackson.
[00:32:18] Speaker C: Thank you for doing this. Yes, I know it's a. It's all for love, but it's a labor of love. It's a lot of work on your part, so thank you.
[00:32:26] Speaker B: I am honored to do it.
