I am no Michael Jackson fan.

Byline: Pam Pastor

LAST FRIDAY, LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, I woke up and was greeted with text messages all saying the same thing: Michael Jackson is dead.

I did not pass on the news. One, I figured everyone else already knew. And two, waking people up with morbid news isnt my style.

A few minutes later, my brother checked his mobile phone and asked, still half-asleep, Patay na raw si Michael Jackson?

Oo, I replied.

Sh*t! he said, then promptly fell back to sleep.

A few minutes later, my mother walked past. Ma, patay na si Michael Jackson.

Oh, my God, bakit?! she reacted as though Michael Jackson were a relative.

All day long, people kept repeating the news and all day long, people kept reacting like my mother. Suddenly, every person I knew was a Michael Jackson fan.