Minor Illness/Jackson Update/Upcoming Plans

With the number of doctors in my immediate, extended, and pseudofamily, I seldom visit a doctor's office, but, unfortunately, that's precisely where I am right now. I'm not in the waiting room, at least. I feel compassion for those who are less connected in a medical sense than I. Physicians' waiting rooms are a virtual smorgasbord of pathogens. I'm going to suggest to my Uncle Steve that he invest in  pagers similar to those used by Olive Garden and other restaurants, which would give patients (or their parents' in the my Uncle Steve's case, as he's a pediatrician) the option of waiting in their cars if they wanted to avoid becoming sicker than they already are. i understand that it wouldn't necessarily be fun to wait in a car with a two-year-old, but it might still be preferable to the alternative.

I developed a gastric ailment almost immediately upon returning home from Utah. .My parents feel reasonably strongly about giving garden variety ailments time to remedy themselves and about not over-medicating me or my brother just because they can.  I've been existing on 7-Up with just the bare minimum of Ondansetron, but my temperature is high enough that my mom wanted me to be seen by my physician of record, who is my Uncle Steve. I begged my mom to wait until tonight and take me to uncle steve's house, but she said that he doesn't want to diagnose and treat patients in his time off any more than does the next physician. While there may be truth in her words, what is the point of my being Uncle Steve's favorite niece if I can't even seek after-hours medical treatment? It's now a moot point, because i'm sitting in my uncle's private office waiting for him to come in, do his best Benny Hinn impersonation, and make me well again. I'm even using his office computer to type this entry.

The latest turn in the surreal world of the Jacksons is that T.J. Jackson and Katherine Jackson will petition the court for joint custody of Prince, Paris, and Blanket. This seems like a most satisfactory arrangement for all directly involved. A judge has ordered an investigation of the welfare of the children in the form of interviews that will take place at school, A report of the findings of the investigation will be accessible only to the judge. This, too, while routine,  Dysfunction in one form or another exists in most of our extended families. The inclusion of extended families in all out lives can be a great benefit and blessing, yet it's tricky to be much a part of a large and diverse family without being bogged down by the drama and dysfunction. i genuinely hope Prince, Paris, and Blanket will find that often-elusive balance.

And speaking of extended families -- dysfunctional or otherwise -- my brother and I have been invited to travel a short distance  to Santa Catalina Island with Jared's extended family. Jared's grandparents, all of his dad's siblings, and all of their wives and children will be on the trip. fared and his cousin alyssa are the only two older teens in the family, and the grandparents invited my brother and me to make the trip more fun for Jared and his cousin Alyssa.  The plan is for a Monday morning departure, with a return to the mainland Wednesday afternoon. it sounds short, but there's not all that much to do in Catalina, anyway. Two days should be about right. The trip is one of the reasons I agreed to a doctor's office visit. I don't want this pseudoillness to get in the way of my alleged frivolity.

On a totally unrelated note, a  well-known British tweeter recently tweeted: "Americans, this mitt person is some of American Borat: right?" Too perfect.

As the World Turns: Days of the Jackson Family's Lives

Drama continues to surround the Jackson family. Celebrities from Dr. Drew to Gladys Knight (whose opinions differ by about one-hundred-eighty degrees) and a motley crew of notables and not-so-notables in between, have weighed in with their opinions. Dr. Drew stated (or agreed with a guest who stated such; I can't recall which with certainty) that Michael would be proud of Paris for standing her ground. Gladys Knight suggested Paris was very much out of line in tweeting the family's dirty laundry, that her aunt Janet Jackson was right to call her on it, and, had Paris called Gladys Knight what she called Janet, Paris wouldn't have any teeth.

Unless Gladys Knight is privy to details of the altercation between Janet Jackson and Paris Jackson of which the general public is not aware, it is my contention that she, Gladys Knight,  misspoke. according to the reported account of the fracas, Janet Jackson called Paris a "spoiled little b---h," to which Paris responded,  "This is our house, not the Jackson family house. Get the f--k out!"  Again, if Gladys Knight knows something the rest of us don't know, it could put a decidedly different perspective on things. As it stands, however, while expletives were hurled on both sides, the only name-calling in that particular exchange came from Janet, not Paris, and the initial incidence of profanity came from Janet as well.

Moreover, Ms. Knight, you may very well have been raised in the south with a specific  tradition that mandates respect of one's elders, but i would hope that those elders whom you were commanded to respect were in better control of themselves than was Janet Jackson on the day in question.

Prince Michael may or may not have weighed in on the situation via Twitter. It's at this point still unclear as to whether or not the tweets, some of which were removed, were authentic.

Janet Jackson reportedly has money of her own and has no need of a chunk of Michael's estate. I'm not sure if I believe this or not. Regardless, Jermaine and Randy do have a perceived need of the funds in Michael's estate.

I understand where Michael was coming from in outlining his will to provide for his heirs in the manner he chose. My parents, while comfortable financially, hold a combined wealth that would probably not pay the monthly fees that go to those charged with managing Michael Jackson's estate. Still, my assumption is that my parents' will stipulates that the holdings go to my brother and me, and that their own siblings are expected to fend for themselves financially except for the idea that anyone charged with overseeing my brother and me either physically or financially would be compensated. I assume also that my parents would have provided for my father's mother in the event that she survived my parents, were it not for the fact that her finances are secure.

Michael's siblings are not entitled to maintain a lifestyle any more affluent than what they can support through their own respective means and employment. Had Michael chosen to extend his wealth a bit further in their direction, the story would be different. His will, however, has already been found to be valid, and nothing Al Sharpton alleges is likely to change its presumed validity.


What Jackson's siblings do stand to inherit, unless terms of either Michael's will or of any will written and signed by Katherine Jackson dictate otherwise, is one-eighth of Katherine Jackson's twenty per cent of Michael Jackson's estate when she eventually dies. The irony here is that, if Michael's siblings were to be granted control of his estate, the portion of their late brother's estate they each might ultimately hold, under their own likely less-than-competent-management, would in all probability equal less than one-eighth of twenty per cent of the estate under its current management.

Secret Mission/Killer Headache/ The Jacksons

I'm on a top-secret mission in a location that I will be able to divulge tomorrow. It's been exciting up to this point. My friend (just a friend at this point) is also here.Today was a fact-gathering part of the mission, as tomorrow morning will be as well. Tomorrow afternoon will involve putting the whole operation together.
My job involves typing and being an errand girl. I don't mind it.

I have a serious headache.  I toughed it out until it got to the point of tossing cookies. My uncle gave me some medication. The anti-nausea meds have already kicked in. The pain medication should kick in soon. I'll probably konk out at that point. Right now I'm deciding whether to walk upstairs under my own power or stay here and force someone to carry me upstairs once the medication kicks in. I'm leaning toward staying right where I am and accepting a free ride to bed.

Nothing terribly exciting with the presidential campaign is happening at the moment. The Jackson family, as in Michael Jackson's family, is making up the news deficit for everyone else who is lying low and staying out of controversy. The late Michael's mother is supposedly in Arizona. she's resting under orders from a physician who testified on behalf of the physician who was convicted of being responsible for the late Michael Jackson's death. A couple of hours ago a physical altercation between unnamed participants at Katherine's home. Allegations concerning elder abuse, financial mismanagement, and forged wills, among other things, are being bandied about.i can't help wondering if any of this would be happening had Michael Jackson's financial situation not taken a dramatic turn in the direction of solvency following his death. Had Mrs. Jackson been forced to rely upon Social security and AFDC checks and his or her own funds to provide for Michael's children, I seriously doubt anyone in the family would be fighting over her.