There were nine children in Michael's family. They lived in a small fourroom house. Later he lived in a house which has seventeen rooms downstairs and sixteen rooms upstaires. It stands in 2,700 acres of ground. Besides the house there are guest houses, a golf course, a swimming pool, tennis courts, stables, gardens, lakes, forests and a zoo.

A lot of strange stories are told about Jackson. It's difficult to decide whether they are true or not. Michael never gave interviews and was rarely seen in public, except on stage. Certainly his behaviour may seem eccentric. In public he often wore a face mask to protect himself from germs, he slept inside an oxygen capsule, which he believed would help him to live longer. But his manager says that Jackson wasn't eccentric. He was just shy. Michael sang in public for the first time when he was five. Since that time he had always been in the public eye. And since that time he had been working like a grown-up.

There were times when he came home from school and he only had time to put his books and get ready for the studio. He often sang until late at night, even if it was past his bedtime. There was a park across the street from the studio, and Michael looked at the kids playing games. And he just stared at them in wonder — he couldn't imagine such freedom, such a carefree life.

He said about himself that in the crowd he was afraid, on stage he was safe. Off stage he felt happiest with animals and children. He was well-known for his childish tastes. It's not a secret that his favourite hero was Peter Pan.

Michael has been called "the child who never grew up", but I think he was a grown-up who was never allowed to be a child.

Whether he was crazy, childish, eccentric or just shy, he was no fool. He created a brilliantly successful image, he made a lot of money and spent it on the things he wanted. Who wouldn't like to do the same?