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Monday, September 21, 2009
News / Mike McCray The three minutes I believed Prince was dead
Posted By Mike McCray on Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 10:15 AM
There has to be a university study somewhere that says alcohol makes you believe anything, right?
Because Thursday night, there was enough of it in me to believe some random guy with hipster clothes on was as trustworthy as MTV News.
Like most Thursday nights, I decided to bounce around Plaza-Midwood and take advantage of the beautiful green driver's license which I like to call, the "all-access pass."
The problem with the intoxication that "all-access pass" allows is that when drunk people start talking, just about anything sounds plausible.
Sitting on the patio at Common Market, a Michael Jackson song came on, making one drunk guy say, "Why are they playing this when Prince is the one who died today?"
Almost choking, I said, "Are you serious?" and instantly pulled out my Blackberry to do some research, because even I wasn't inebriated enough to cause mass hysteria by tweeting RIP Prince.
Checking Google and AP News my solid buzz was replaced by a strangely fast-acting sobriety and an understandable sadness, I went over headlines in my head about Prince needing a hip replacement and somehow convinced myself that maybe you could die from those complications, while I debated if I should wake my Mom to tell her the news.
After coming up with nothing, I confronted the guy who'd almost ruined my night and said, "Where did you hear Prince died?" He said, "I don't know, I saw that somewhere."
Finally out of my "take your word for it" fog, I said, "you mean Michael Jackson?" and he says, "Oh yeah, that was Michael Jackson! I get them confused because they're both light skin and sing ya know."
Instead of starting a fight Roadhouse style over his drunken slip of the tongue or laughing at how someone who didn't really grow up with either pop icon could confuse the two... ehh I guess I see it. I was just happy I didn't have to be that guy at the stop light blasting "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry" with tears in my eyes.
Win, win.
Speaking of News, Mike McCray
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