We all shed a tear when Paris Jackson told us about how great her dad was. We all sat in awe as we listened to little Shaheen Jafargholi belt out one of our favorite Jackson songs. We all wondered if Joe was going to say something and would it be appropriate for the occassion. We all wondered why Mariah was dressed like that for a funeral, and how come they could find Usher but BET (Black Entertainment Television) couldn’t for their tribute to Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. After all was said and done we sat back, loosened our “belts” looked at each other and a lot of other folks seemingly ran for the door!

At least that’s how it may seem in retrospect to the tax paying citizens of Los Angeles, California who footed the $1.4million dollar bill for the memorial service that lived up to the larger than life standards that mirrored the life of the King himself. Now what? Well crowd control was not as major an issue as thought. I mean I live in Brooklyn, but why waste my time on a plane ticket if I thought the chances of me getting in were any greater than those of the Denver Nuggets winning the NBA Playoffs. So, all those police officers who “worked” overtime got a nice summer bonus for an easy day’s work in theory. Donations made on a website totaled $35,000. The goal of the website was to raise contributions to offset the overall costs and were paid by 1,800 volunteer donors. Mayor Villaraigosa stated that he was away on vacation when this brillaint idea was hatched and implemented under then acting Mayor, Councilwoman Jan Perry. In contrast, several weeks before, the city encouraged AEG to contribute to funding for the Lakers basketball team parade which ventured out onto public streets. Jackson’s funeral was held at a private center on private property. Mayor Villaraigosa acknowledges that there are funds in the city’s budget for unplanned events, such as a funeral. The city in the past has spent $100,000 on a Bob Hope memorial after his death in 2003. However, the Mayor along with some of his fellow politicians and AEG feel it is inappropriate to look for funding to foot this bill anywhere else but from the city and it’s taxpayers. However, there are some politicians who disagree and we wonder along with them. One can’t help but wonder why an event held on public city streets wouldn’t be deemed worthy of city funding but a private function would?

Most importantly, where were the Jackson family and their money and Michael’s in the midst of all of this fuss and grandeur? Isn’t that how most families pay for funeral services? Or, even the Staples Center owners, AEG? What do you think? The main course was good, but like on any date always make it clear wether you’re going dutch or not.