Life is pretty good. Even I (born to complain) have to admit that. But it gets better on days when I don’t skip lunch, and better yet on days when I can sleep in. So today wasn’t all that good a day. But life, still, is pretty good.

The sleeping part, that’s my fault. I try to do too many things in one day, and I start too many of them too late in the day to get them done. I can never talk myself into going to bed while there’s still something left to do. Back when I worked in retail, I had the same problem at work. I didn’t sleep there, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave the store until all the money was counted and all the shelves were stocked. Maybe that’s where it started, the sleep phobia, but I think I’ve always been that way.

The eating part I have down, most of the time. Today’s exception happened because just as I was about to fix a nice salad for lunch, the phone rang. And then it rang again and again, and by the time I could fix lunch it was too close to dinnertime. So I grabbed a few snack veggies and planned an early dinner, but my routine was disrupted and I felt out of sorts the rest of the day. If I could get the eating and sleeping to happen the way they’re supposed to, and both on the same day, I think life would be even better. It’s already pretty good.

Idolizing entertainers is a sore spot for some people, and there’s no doubt it can go too far. However cynical you are, though, you cannot doubt the sincerity and depth of feelings of those who were at the Michael Jackson memorial today (and most of those who watched). It was a beautiful and moving ceremony, worthy of his legacy of more than four decades of music, plus the other things he gave to the world and ways he changed the culture. It would be wrong to underestimate his impact.