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He performed in soccer stadiums around the world, he sold hundreds of millions of records, he dined with prime ministers and presidents. Girls fell in love with him, boys fell in love with him, everyone wanted to dance like him. He seemed otherworldly--but he was also a human being.
他在世界各地的足球場做過演出，他有著數億張的全球專輯銷量，他接受過許多國家首相和總統的宴請。女孩兒們愛上了他，男孩兒們迷上了他，每個人都想和他一樣跳舞，他是那么的超凡脫俗——但同時他也是個凡人。
Like most performers he was shy and plagued with insecurities. I can't say we were great friends, but in 1991 I decided I wanted to try to get to know him better. I asked him out to dinner, I said "My treat, I'll drive--just you and me."
正如大部分歌手一樣，他很靦腆，又深深為自身的不安全感而困擾。我不敢說我們是很要好的朋友，但是在1991年我決定更為深入地了解他。于是我邀請他共進晚餐，我說：“我請客，我來開車——就你和我。”
He agreed and showed up to my house without any bodyguards. We drove to the restaurant in my car. It was dark out, but he was still wearing sunglasses. I said, "Michael, I feel like I'm talking to a limousine. Do you think you can take off your glasses so I can see your eyes?"
他答應了，并只身一人不帶任何保鏢出現在我家。我開車和他去飯店，天已經黑了，可他仍然戴著墨鏡。我說：“邁克爾，我覺得我是在跟這輛車說話。你能把眼鏡摘下來讓我看見你的眼睛嗎？”
He paused for a moment then he tossed the glasses out the window, looked at me with a wink and a smile and said, "Can you see me now? Is that better?"
他猶豫了一會兒然后把眼鏡扔出窗外，用閃爍的眼睛直視著我，笑著說：“現在你能看見我了嗎？這樣是不是更好？”
In that moment, I could see both his vulnerability and his charm. The rest of the dinner, I was hell-bent on getting him to eat French fries, drink wine, have dessert and say bad words. Things he never seemed to allow himself to do. Later we went back to my house to watch a movie and we sat on the couch like two kids, and somewhere in the middle of the film, his hand snuck over and held mine.
這時我終于感受到他的脆弱和他的魅力。在接下來的晚餐時間里，我盡我所能地讓他和我一起吃炸薯條，一起喝紅酒吃甜點，甚至爆粗口，讓他做一些他似乎從來不允許自己做的事。后來，我們又開車回到我的家，一起像小孩兒一樣坐在長沙發上看電影。看著看著，他悄悄地把手搭過來握住了我的手。
It felt like he was looking for a friend more than a romance, and I was happy to oblige him. In that moment, he didn't feel like a superstar. He felt like a human being.
那種感覺，就像他正試圖擁抱他的朋友而非戀人，而我非常高興地接受了他。就是這樣的時刻，讓我覺得他不再是一個超級巨星，他只是一個平凡的人。
We went out a few more times together, and then for one reason or another we fell out of touch. Then the witch hunt began, and it seembed like one negative story after another was coming out about Michael. I felt his pain, I know what it's like to walk down the street and feel like the whole world is turned against you. I know what it's like to feel helpless and unable to defend yourself because the roar of the lynch mob is so loud that you are convinced your voice can never be heard.
在那之后，我們又一起出去過幾次，但后來因為某些原因我們失去了聯系。緊接著，巫婆的詛咒似乎就開始了，關于邁克爾的壞消息一個接著一個不斷地傳出。我可以體會他的痛苦。我很清楚當一個人走在街上而全世界似乎都與你為敵的感覺，我也很清楚那種無助和無法為自己辯護的痛苦，因為那些嘶吼著要將你處死的聲音實在太大，以至于無論你如何大聲否認也沒人聽見。
