Most that know me know I’m a child of the 80’s. I love 80’s memorabilia and especially music. When news broke that Michael Jackson was dead, I was as shocked as everyone else. Seeing it on Indonesian TV was a little surreal.
I’m not going to talk about “omg he was innocent” or “he molested children and nobody should care” or get into any of that. I liked his heyday music and that’s that. I have one particular memory I want to share.
I was riding down to Houston in late March of 2001 with Mark Moreland, on the way to Wrestlemania 17. We were in Mom’s old Explorer (RIP) and ‘Billie Jean’ came on the CD player. Like always, I bopped my head to the music, Mark seemed light-years away as he did school work in the passenger seat. The song played on.
People always told me, be careful of what you do…don’t go around breaking young girl’s hearts.
EE-HEE
When the ‘EE-HEE’ hit, Mark and I both sang it aloud, completely unaware that the other was going to do it. We had a good laugh about it, but I think about that from time to time. His music tied a generation together. May he find the peace in death he could not find in life.
Rhys Martin is an author and photographer from Tulsa, Oklahoma. His love of travel was awakened in 2009 when he sold all of his possessions and left the country. For ten months, he lived out of a backpack and explored southeast Asia and Europe. When he returned home, it was with fresh eyes for his home state.
As he drove the back roads of Oklahoma, Rhys discovered the significance of historic Route 66 to the greater American story. He has traveled all 2,448 miles of the Mother Road and continues to seek out the quiet Main Streets of the Midwest.
Rhys's travel writing and photography has been featured in numerous publications, including Tulsa People Magazine, This Land Press, ROUTE Magazine, Nimrod Journal, The Oklahoman and Tulsa World. He wrote the book Lost Restaurants of Tulsa, which features the stories of nearly 50 iconic eating establishments from the city's past. He has also been a contributing author to multiple Route 66-based travel and history books.
Rhys is the President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and serves on multiple boards and commissions related to the Mother Road and its upcoming Centennial in 2026. He loves to connect with people and share his experiences.
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Rhys' Pieces 