Is Michael Jackson a "hometown tale". We think so. Gary, Indiana definitely touts their reputation of being the hometown of the Jackson 5 and the King of Pop himself. Then of course, there is Neverland Ranch, a portion of land in Santa Barbara County, CA. It's closest "towns" are Los Olivos and Santa Ynez but it was once just a ranch of land until Jackson purchased it and created his own private amusement park and estate. The financial hard times would force Jackson to abandon most of the ranch and sell portions of it. Although, there are no longer rides and amusements, Michael's recent death has kindled rumors of creating a "Graceland-like" memorial for Jackson at the ranch.
So 2 "hometowns" have strong tales of Jackson. What else normally make great fodder for the Hometown Tales brand? Here's a list and some reasons why he fits in;
HUMAN ODDITY
You could say Jackson was odd but more relevant was the classic rumors of Jackson wanting to purchase the bones of another hometown tale, John Merrick, the famous "elephant man". Merrick is an unfortunate example of how cruel the rest of society can be to those who are different. Although, Jackson got a lot of heat from the tabloids about his interest in Merrick. It's actually not that odd. The story of Merrick is pretty fascinating . The bones of Merrick are owned by a Museum, Jackson was interested in buying them for his collection. Any tale-lover could be interested in such a thing.
OXYGEN TANK
And then there is the oxygen tank. Remember, when the rumors circulated about Michael Jackson sleeping in an oxygen tank. What every happened to that craze? The fad was that you could live until 150 years old. Sounds like good material for our show. Walt Disney would be proud.
ALIENS
Isn't the post 1993 Jackson really an alien replacement anyway? Actually, the real Michael Jackson is still around. His alien replacement is who recently died.
ABANDONED
The Neverland Ranch has been more or less abandoned since the criminal investigation of Michael Jackson. Just imagine how much fun it would be to explore the remnants of an old Merry-Go-Round or Zoo. Is the rumor true that they just let the animals go when they closed the zoo? Are they still lurking the valley? Stay Tuned to Hometown Tales.
