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Mother and Daughter Share MJ with Washington
As an outpouring of her sadness upon the death of Michael Jackson last year, 55-year-old Washington D.C. resident Jewel Lewis-Hall began placing photos of Michael on her front porch. With the pictures was a sign that simply said:
Michael Jackson
King of Entertainment
We'll Never Say Good bye!
Love Always
Jewel
Since then, Lewis-Hall and her daughter Maxcine Lewis have continued to add to the collection, placing more posters, gloves, stuffed animals and flowers. On nice days, music videos and Jackson's music play from a television placed on the porch.
A simple expression of admiration has turned into a shrine. People have left their own remembrances on the Lewis-Hall front stoop, including a personally painted picture. Many people simply stop to look. Of course, some pictures were stolen, to which Lewis-Hall commented sadly, "You know, all they would have had to do is ask me. I would have gone back in the house and gotten them a picture."
This Friday, one year since Jackson's death, Lewis-Hall is throwing a celebration of his life in her front yard. Everyone is welcome as long as they bring "that Michael Jackson spirit!" The menu will consist of music, dancing, prizes and lots of food--ribs, corn and potato salad.
The mother and daughter pair are doing this for one simple reason. Love. Although they admit never meeting Michael or seeing him in concert, Michael remains a vibrant part of their lives. As a small child, Maxcine hoped her mother would meet and marry Jackson so they could all live together as one big family at Neverland Ranch. Once, when Michael was visiting Washington, Jewel left a letter for him at his hotel, inviting him to services at her Jehovah's Witness congregation. Both Jewel and her daughter feel deeply connected to Jackson and the porch is their way of keeping him alive.
"When someone that I love is gone, I still want to see them. And I can sit right here on my porch and, bam! I can see him," says Jewel. "He's like family."
"He was such a great entertainer," adds her daughter Maxcine. "He was giving. He didn't just cater to blacks. He catered to whites and Asians and everyone. He was just a real genuine person and his music spoke to everyone."
Inside their house, pictures of Jackson line the walls along side family members and President Obama. Jackson's music is ever present. Although Jewel's collection of MJ memorabilia is extensive, Lewis-Hall continues to pick up things here and there. Posters. T-Shirts. Vinyl albums. She works cleaning office buildings at night and serving food at a local high school during the day, but manages to stop at local flea markets and search for Jackson items. She particularly gets a kick out of early Jackson 5 photos.
And where does her husband fit in all this? Lewis-Hall smiles and admits, "He knows I'm crazy about Michael Jackson." Daughter Maxcine adds with a laugh, "He just really doesn't have a say-so. If he told her to pack this stuff up, he'd have to leave."
The family proudly states that none of their neighbors have complained and most of the comments about their porch project from others have been supportive and positive. Jewel does admit that one passerby gave her a difficult time. She, in no uncertain terms, told him to "get his little self up the street."
When asked about this Friday, 6/25/2010, Jewel believes it will be a bittersweet day. "I think it's going to feel like it just happened," she says. "Like we're living his death all over again." However, with the party planned in her front yard for friends and strangers alike, she's thrilled about bringing people together in a celebration of "Michael's spirit and his joy."
When asked if she will remove the memorabilia from her porch after Friday, Jewel says she can't see it without the remembrances of Michael.
"If anything," she says with a smile, "I'll get more stuff. Better stuff."
Source: MJFC / Washington Post
As an outpouring of her sadness upon the death of Michael Jackson last year, 55-year-old Washington D.C. resident Jewel Lewis-Hall began placing photos of Michael on her front porch. With the pictures was a sign that simply said:
Michael Jackson
King of Entertainment
We'll Never Say Good bye!
Love Always
Jewel
Since then, Lewis-Hall and her daughter Maxcine Lewis have continued to add to the collection, placing more posters, gloves, stuffed animals and flowers. On nice days, music videos and Jackson's music play from a television placed on the porch.
A simple expression of admiration has turned into a shrine. People have left their own remembrances on the Lewis-Hall front stoop, including a personally painted picture. Many people simply stop to look. Of course, some pictures were stolen, to which Lewis-Hall commented sadly, "You know, all they would have had to do is ask me. I would have gone back in the house and gotten them a picture."
This Friday, one year since Jackson's death, Lewis-Hall is throwing a celebration of his life in her front yard. Everyone is welcome as long as they bring "that Michael Jackson spirit!" The menu will consist of music, dancing, prizes and lots of food--ribs, corn and potato salad.
The mother and daughter pair are doing this for one simple reason. Love. Although they admit never meeting Michael or seeing him in concert, Michael remains a vibrant part of their lives. As a small child, Maxcine hoped her mother would meet and marry Jackson so they could all live together as one big family at Neverland Ranch. Once, when Michael was visiting Washington, Jewel left a letter for him at his hotel, inviting him to services at her Jehovah's Witness congregation. Both Jewel and her daughter feel deeply connected to Jackson and the porch is their way of keeping him alive.
"When someone that I love is gone, I still want to see them. And I can sit right here on my porch and, bam! I can see him," says Jewel. "He's like family."
"He was such a great entertainer," adds her daughter Maxcine. "He was giving. He didn't just cater to blacks. He catered to whites and Asians and everyone. He was just a real genuine person and his music spoke to everyone."
Inside their house, pictures of Jackson line the walls along side family members and President Obama. Jackson's music is ever present. Although Jewel's collection of MJ memorabilia is extensive, Lewis-Hall continues to pick up things here and there. Posters. T-Shirts. Vinyl albums. She works cleaning office buildings at night and serving food at a local high school during the day, but manages to stop at local flea markets and search for Jackson items. She particularly gets a kick out of early Jackson 5 photos.
And where does her husband fit in all this? Lewis-Hall smiles and admits, "He knows I'm crazy about Michael Jackson." Daughter Maxcine adds with a laugh, "He just really doesn't have a say-so. If he told her to pack this stuff up, he'd have to leave."
The family proudly states that none of their neighbors have complained and most of the comments about their porch project from others have been supportive and positive. Jewel does admit that one passerby gave her a difficult time. She, in no uncertain terms, told him to "get his little self up the street."
When asked about this Friday, 6/25/2010, Jewel believes it will be a bittersweet day. "I think it's going to feel like it just happened," she says. "Like we're living his death all over again." However, with the party planned in her front yard for friends and strangers alike, she's thrilled about bringing people together in a celebration of "Michael's spirit and his joy."
When asked if she will remove the memorabilia from her porch after Friday, Jewel says she can't see it without the remembrances of Michael.
"If anything," she says with a smile, "I'll get more stuff. Better stuff."
Source: MJFC / Washington Post
