When Michael passed in December of 2021, I shared a story on Facebook of an experience I had with Michael in 2012, when he helped me grieve Davy’s passing. That writing went viral, and had extremely positive reception. So, I am sharing it here for others to read. Thank you!
“Almost ten years ago, I had learned that Davy Jones had died, through someone who worked for Davy, earlier before it hit the news.
I was immediately hysterical. It was a stabbing, painful shock I felt unable to wrap around. And the first person I contacted was Michael.
I knew he needed to know. But I knew I also really wanted him to comfort me as well.
Initially I called and called and texted and Skyped and did anything I could to reach him, impatiently [like on the show The Office, “I Woofed him”–LOL that scene always makes me laugh]. Moments later, Michael reached me back, on Skype [so we were also seeing each other]. “Emily, what’s wrong? You’ve been ringing my phone off the hook.” Michael said in a concerned, but lighthearted tone. Which told me he hadn’t heard yet.
But then he saw my face, and knew something was truly wrong.
And whenever Michael saw me that distressed, his first reaction always was to do anything he could to comfort me and make me feel better.
“Davy is dead!” I wailed hysterically.
But Michael did not believe me. It hadn’t hit the news yet, and this all seemed very implausible out of context. He comfortingly chuckled, and said I had to be misinformed, despite all my crying. I kept wailing, “But he really is dead Michael!” But Michael didn’t believe me. Instead, he continued to do all the things he could to cheer me up, console me, comfort me, and make me laugh. And when this didn’t work, he said he would open the news up with me and read it out loud, just to prove it was not true. So he did, and he read all the headlines in an amusing tone, just to make me smile again.
“Oooh, something is going on with JLo…” Michael joked. I laughed a little through my tears.
Michael continued to do anything he could to make me feel better, sure that I was misinformed.
“Do you feel better now Princess?” he asked.
I nodded, “I do.”
And I let him go for the moment.
But hours later, it hit the news. And I called Michael back on Skype.
Now he was morose.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s real.”
We both sat with this news for a moment. And I had resumed crying again.
But Michael always had an instinctively selfless attitude when he saw me that deeply in pain. He could never see me cry like that and not to try to do everything he could to help comfort me.
“Davy isn’t really gone.” Michael eventually calmly said, “He’s still here with us. He’s just in a different place now. It’s just like Davy has gone into another room. You wouldn’t think Davy was gone if you thought he was just another room, right? Well, Davy is in another room now. And one day, we’ll be in that room with him too.”
And Michael just kept soothing me, talking to me about the other room Davy was in, until I felt like I was not really alone in my pain. And like maybe everything was going to be okay.
It was a very selfless act of his, focused so much on making sure I felt okay, when he also may have been hysterical and scared and screaming himself inside. But he just remained calm and nurturing and strong for me.
For anyone who knew Michael, there can be so much to reflect on. Surely many people have had difficult experiences with him, myself included. But moments like these, where Michael saw with his own eyes the depth of pain I was in, and put healing and comforting me before focusing on his own pain, I think reflect the core of who he really was, and what he was really like.
And now, Michael is in that other room too.”
© Emily Wells, December 2021
Emily I love this as well as your site!
This is beautiful and consoling Emily