My Michael Jackson Story

MANY years ago I managed a performance incentive program where the top 10% of TCB employees meeting specific sales goals were rewarded with an amazing travel experience. Each year, I would do site inspections with our travel agency to select the destinations and work out all of the details before bringing the group in the following year.

I think it was 1996 when we planned the trip to Nice and my friend Marilyn and I were in France & Italy for 5 days with a ground supplier who was responsible for ferrying us around and helping us communicate. We were staying in Nice, but had decided against the Negresco as our destination and were working to move the program to Monte Carlo. So our cranky ground supplier arranged a tour of the Hotel Hermitage.

Upon arriving at the Hermitage, we hear that MJ is staying at the Hotel de Paris next door rehearsing for the World Music Awards. So Marilyn announces that she is friends with MJ's head of security and wants to go to the Hotel de Paris to see him. For anyone who knows Marilyn (colorful but conservative) this seemed like an interesting revelation ... but off we go to the Hotel de Paris.

I don't remember the man's name, but Marilyn called his suite from the hotel lobby and he was happy to hear from her. We all went up to the suite and they had a great visit, talking about people they knew in St. Louis and in the travel industry. He gave us autographed photos of MJ & I'm sure it's here with my TCB/Chase files somewhere.

We didn't see MJ, but shortly after our arrival he called Marilyn's friend asking for something so we left ~ didn't want to interfere with his security duties. What I remember most about that strange visit was that the living room of the suite was FILLED with toys and stuffed animals. We asked about it and he said that fans would send gifts to MJ everywhere he went and that they always donated them to local hospitals.

We all said we wouldn't want that guy's job for all the money in the world. Can you imagine? Our ground supplier perked up after this unexpected detour because he got to see Elle MacPherson in the lobby as we were leaving. Ha!