(Danville, California)

Most people know me for my years of political coverage, but as a young reporter I covered just about anything, including entertainment. Michael Jackson and I were the same age, and I knew a lot about his career. I had also been a professional musician and disc-jockey from 1978 to 1984; and, like many of our generation, had ambitions of musical stardom. Jackson obviously reached that goal; I did not.

Still, my musical knowledge has been called on many times over the years, for example in interviews with legendary music writers Ben Fong-Torres and Joel Selvin. My experience as a musician also caused me to cross paths in the news business with the likes of Brenda Lee, Gregg Allman, Eddie Fisher, Latoya London, and, yes, Michael Jackson.

In February, 1998, Michael Jackson was embarking on a solo tour across the world, but he needed a place to rehearse. Jackson chose to rent the Pensacola Civic Center, on Florida's Gulf Coast. I was a reporter for WEAR-TV3, the ABC affiliate in Pensacola. We got a lucky tip! Dan Shugart, our sports anchor, was also the radio voice of the Pensacola Tornadoes professional basketball team. Dan and the team were on a flight home to Pensacola, and guess who was also on board? Michael Jackson and company!

I rushed to the airport with a cameraman; and shooting through a chain link fence, we were able to get a brief clip of Jackson leaving the plane as he was wisked into a van on the tarmac. Doing my best Sam Donaldson impersonation, I shouted across the runway, "Michael, are you going to play Pensacola?" I was drowned out by the noise, and he did not respond. This was a huge issue, too, because while Jackson was rehearsing in Pensacola for two weeks, no actual concert was scheduled there.

After Jackson boarded a plain gray minivan, it sped off the tarmac. By the time it reached the main gate, it had been joined by two identical minivans, all with tinted windows. When we reached the main road, the vans split off in three different directions. It was a shell game diversionary tactic, and we did not know which van to chase. It was a riot!

Over the course of the next two weeks, we were camped out at the Pensacola Civic Center, as hundreds of fans held court outside. Among them was a trio of Canadian girls, all 14 years old. Their parents let them travel to Florida alone to follow Jackson (or so they claimed!). The legions of faithful made for great interviews. All the while, we could at least hear the thumping of the bass and drums from inside. Occasionally, we would get a faint sound of Jackson's vocals. The building was not completely sound proofed, but it was close!

We made calls to his record company for interviews, but none was ever granted. Every day the three identical minivans would depart for the Pensacola Hilton, but we could never figure out which one was carrying the music legend. There were reports of his odd eating habits and that he ordered a wreath of orchids from a local florist--not to decorate his room, but to eat!

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the trip was that more than four hundred kids from Hallmark Elementary School got to take a field trip to the Civic Center for a private Michael Jackson concert rehearsal.

Today, the "Pensacola News-Journal" interviewed Kim Kirchharr, who was a teacher on that trip. "When we got down there, it was unreal. The kids and teachers were overwhelmed," Kirchharr told the paper.

"Michael Jackson put on a whole show for the kids, with all the special effects, everything," Kirchharr told the newspaper. "We couldn't believe Michael Jackson was doing this for us."

It was an exciting two weeks, and we even won some awards for our coverage. I never did get to meet or interview Michael Jackson, except for my shouted question at the airport. His career obviously took a lot of strange turns in the twenty-one years since our encounter, but it was a moment in my career I will never forget!

(Photo: Courtesy Pensacola News-Journal & Charlie Steed).