THOUGH seemingly all of Barbados mourned the passing of Michael Jackson, one woman has added reason to be sad.

Deborah Lashley's dream of seeing Jackson perform live was dashed Thursday night with the news of his passing.

Lashley, an information, communications and technology teacher
at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus bought tickets to attend a
tour stop in London, when the pop icon announced his intentions to hold a
come-back tour in Europe. All that was
left for her to do was wait.

But one of her greatest desires was not to be. Lashley said her best friend informed her of her idol's infirmity:

"I said 'If he's ill, I'm sure he'll get medical attention, and I'm sure everything will be alright'.'"

Enjoyed music

But things would not be so simple. "I just loved him. I loved his music. I loved the message that his songs had. . . My daughters know his songs. And they know it because I sing his music often, I play them often, I play his music videos. All
of his songs tell a story," said Lashley.

She also recounted her fondest
childhood memory: "I remember when he brought out the Bad album - I was in New York that summer. I had the album, and I remember the Christmas my sisters - they gave me a shirt. I still have it. It had the logo of him with the long jheri-curled hair. And it had 'Michael Jackson - Bad,'"
she said, laughing."

But she insists all is not lost.

"London is a lovely, beautiful place
to visit. Lots of museums, castles, parks, theatres and so on. We (she and her husband) are still going to take that
trip," she said. (AB)