So my dad grew up on Allison Island in Miami Beach and Barry Gibb lived right down the road on North Bay. The man in the pink shorts was my aunts (far left) long time boyfriend. Pink shorts aka Charlie happened to be Barry Gib’s neighbor.
So Charlie and Barry Gibb were friends since they were neighbors and they would often go waterskiing on my dad’s little speed boat. During or right before the “Victory Tour,” Barry had MJ over at his house for a few days. Charlie asked if he could bring a +1 on the boat one day and it happened to be Michael Jackson.
My dad said MJ was an extremely charismatic guy and very fun to be around. He said he didn’t seem like he had anything weird about him and he just wanted to live a normal life.
Fun fact: MJ told my dad that if he could have anything in the entire world, just one wish, he would like to walk into a 7/11 and buy a Pepsi.
Another fun fact: MJ came to the dock with two big body guards and they told my dad, “Go do whatever you want, just don’t let me lose sight of you.”
My dad was a stagehand for thirteen years. After a show, Michael requested the entire crew to line up so he could shake everyone’s hand and thank them for doing a good job. He’s one of the best performers my dad worked for.