Blair Cramer of Red Deer is kicking himself for missing a coveted chance to attend the Michael Jackson memorial service in Los Angeles on Tuesday because he didn’t check his email on time.
“It would have been incredible to have been part of that experience. I guess that’s something I’m going to regret for the rest of my life,” said Cramer.
The local DJ, who also works in advertising, didn’t discover until he checked his email mid-afternoon Monday that he was among 8,750 people, out of 1.6 million applicants worldwide, who had won the chance to attend Jackson’s star-studded memorial service in Los Angeles. The confirmation had been sent to him on Sunday.
While Cramer would have been happy to drop a minimum $500 on a last-minute flight, he was sidelined by one requirement — he had to present his emailed confirmation at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles before 7:30 p.m. on Monday to get a wristband.
And there was simply no way he could get there on time.
Instead, Cramer said he emailed his memorial entry to a friend’s cousin, who lives in Los Angeles and wanted to attend Jackson’s service. While Ticketmaster told him the ticket wasn’t transferable, Cramer said the cousin still managed to get her wristband.
She promised she would send it to Cramer later, along with any other memorabilia she collected from Tuesday’s memorial. “We’ll see if she sticks to her word,” said Cramer, who was a Jackson fan since he saw his 3-D film Captain Eo in Disneyland as a six-year-old.
He was born in 1982, the same year Jackson’s Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, and still uses the singer’s greatest hits, such as Dirty Diana, for music mixing in his DJ job.
Cramer considers Jackson’s death to be the end of an era. “I was shocked and devastated when I found out he died. He had such impact on how music is made today,” said the local resident, who wished Jackson could have mounted his 50-concert comeback in London as this might have salvaged his reputation. Jackson’s reputation suffered in part because he was charged with child sexual abuse. He was acquitted of all charges involved.
“He had a lot of problems in his life,” said Cramer, “but, honestly, who doesn’t?” Some fans believe Jackson’s flaws are what reduced the super celebrity to human proportions.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com