Remember That Time: A Book About Michael Jackson Told by His Guards
“Remember That Time: Protecting Michael Jackson In His Final Days” (Remember The Time: Protecting Michael Jackson In His Final Days) is the title of another book that has recently hit the market. The book is the account of nearly three years of work by Bill Whitfield and Jivan Bird as Michael Jackson’s personal bodyguards.
On the cover, you can also see the name Tanner Kelby. He is the person these two bodyguards enlisted to help them write the book.
The MJWN website manager—one of the biggest Michael Jackson fan sites—has written about this book:
"This is a book about respect, trust, and loyalty, and about what happened behind the scenes during the final three years of Michael Jackson’s life. If you’re looking for exaggerated, sensational portrayals, you won’t find them in this book."
Of course, the book also has negative aspects, and perhaps some fans won’t want to read them. They may see it as yet another attempt to make money, or they may believe parts of it are lies. MJWN, however, writes that taken together, the book portrays Michael Jackson as an extraordinary father and a man who was seeking an ordinary life. The two authors themselves have said that their goal was to present Michael Jackson not as the King of Pop, but as a man.
In earlier years, these two guards had talked in their interviews about Michael’s friendship with two women. They have added these stories to the book as well. According to what they claim, in the final three years of his life, Michael had two female friends. Do these two bodyguards know the details and the nature of Michael’s relationship with these two women? No—they don’t even know the women’s names. Michael referred to them as “Friend” and “Flower.”
The woman Michael referred to as “Friend” was very beautiful and captivating. Michael would meet her in the summer of 2007 at one of the hotels in Hampton, in Chantilly, Virginia. At that time, Michael was staying there with his children.
Once, one of the guards took Michael and his “Friend” out at night to tour the Washington memorial. Did something special happen in the car? They wrote:
"All we heard was the sound of lip-scraping from behind the curtain."
That same night, police stopped their car and asked for identification documents. The car belonged to Michael Jackson. No ticket was issued; however, the police did take Michael’s signature.
The other woman, who was called “Flower,” was staying at the Red Fox Hotel in Middleburg, Virginia.
Whitfield and Bird worked for Michael Jackson after his return from Bahrain in December 2006 until his death in June 2009. They accompanied Michael on his trips to Las Vegas, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, back to Vegas, and finally to Los Angeles—where he would train for the tour. All these trips happened because Michael was not willing to return to Neverland. After the 2005 trial, he left Neverland and set off on a trip to the Middle East and Europe. In 2003, the ranch had been raided in a fierce police assault following allegations of child sexual abuse against Michael, and parts of the house were damaged—including Michael’s bedroom, which was completely destroyed. During the trial, the ranch was repeatedly insulted by the prosecutor. From a place that once included an amusement park, a cinema, a zoo, lush pastures, and a lake—an area that had been a safe retreat for sick and needy children—it was now, in court, described by prosecutor Thomas Sneddon as a terrifying place for child abuse.
Michael had told his children: “Neverland is possessed by the devil.”
This line reflects the intensity of Michael’s hatred of the events of 2003 and 2005, and it shows that the trial had never truly ended for Michael Jackson.
These two bodyguards also discuss the arrival of Dr. Teme—Michael’s disgraced manager, who, before Frank Dileo’s return in 2009, handled Michael Jackson’s affairs and left behind a great deal of destruction—Raymond Ben—who became the manager and his mischief—and also the recording of songs with the Cassio brothers, which were released on the album MICHAEL.
There is a lot of information in this book—for example, that Michael was constantly thinking about the song “My Prerogative” by Bobby Brown—Whitney Houston’s husband—and intended to create a cover version of it.
A section of the book deals with Michael’s finances. While the book—the new work by the Forbes magazine writer, the result of her research and interviews with many people—confirms Michael Jackson’s business genius and depicts his rise and fall and his return to the peak, this book by the two bodyguards is a review of Michael’s commercial decline phase and his financial troubles.
Sometimes, Michael’s credit cards were declined in stores due to insufficient funds, or the guards’ pay would be delayed by weeks, although they say they continued out of loyalty to their job. Of course, Michael always kept cash stored somewhere.
During this time, Michael had deep trust in Peter Lopez, his lawyer in Los Angeles. Lopez committed suicide one year after Michael’s death, in 2010. Michael would call Lopez and say: “Peter, I don’t know where my money is or how much money I have—can you help me?”
Despite his distress and separation from his family—and especially from his father—and despite the many efforts the family made to see him, Michael would remember his father in times of trouble. When referring to the people who were causing him harm, he would say: “My father should deal with them.”
This book also talks about the minor tricks of Raymond Ben. Michael was genuinely shocked when he learned that Raymond Ben, as his manager, did not oversee an office job—he handled things from inside Michael’s home in Washington.
Michael was deeply upset by reading articles about himself in newspapers. He only read the Wall Street Journal’s political and economic section, because it was the only place where his eyes wouldn’t land on stories about Michael Jackson. Raymond Ben kept the bad news away from Michael, and Michael also kept himself away from the internet.
Gregg Cross was another of Michael’s lawyers during this period. Raymond Ben and Cross would constantly argue about Michael’s chaotic financial situation, and their voices could be heard by these two guards.
Another piece of information—perhaps unnecessary—is that Michael kept packages of Tabasco red pepper sauce at his rented home in Las Vegas. A shelf in the kitchen was completely covered with this sauce.
Another point is that Michael always carried a silver-colored document briefcase wherever he went. The briefcase held two Oscar awards belonging to the film “Gone with the Wind,” which Michael had bought at an auction in 1999 for $1.5 million. These were assets that could provide the liquidity needed in special circumstances.
The guards often took Michael and his children out. Even their summer trip in 2007 to Burlington lasted longer than expected, and they went shopping for their clothes and for the kids. Michael was interested in collecting. Once, they spent a thousand dollars buying something Michael had seen in the lobby of a cinema: a collection of full-size cartoon family figurines from The Simpsons.
As expected, when going out, Michael would put something on his head or wear a disguise. Once, he pretended to be Prince, the singer. One day at Chuck E. Cheese, a children’s entertainment center, one of the parents from Paris—Michael’s quick-witted and sharp-tongued daughter—asked whether the father who was disguised was Michael Jackson. Paris had answered: “Assume it is.”
Source: eMJey.com / showbiz۴۱۱ & MJWN
“Remember That Time: Protecting Michael Jackson In His Final Days” (Remember The Time: Protecting Michael Jackson In His Final Days) is the title of another book that has recently hit the market. The book is the account of nearly three years of work by Bill Whitfield and Jivan Bird as Michael Jackson’s personal bodyguards.
On the cover, you can also see the name Tanner Kelby. He is the person these two bodyguards enlisted to help them write the book.
The MJWN website manager—one of the biggest Michael Jackson fan sites—has written about this book:
"This is a book about respect, trust, and loyalty, and about what happened behind the scenes during the final three years of Michael Jackson’s life. If you’re looking for exaggerated, sensational portrayals, you won’t find them in this book."
Of course, the book also has negative aspects, and perhaps some fans won’t want to read them. They may see it as yet another attempt to make money, or they may believe parts of it are lies. MJWN, however, writes that taken together, the book portrays Michael Jackson as an extraordinary father and a man who was seeking an ordinary life. The two authors themselves have said that their goal was to present Michael Jackson not as the King of Pop, but as a man.
In earlier years, these two guards had talked in their interviews about Michael’s friendship with two women. They have added these stories to the book as well. According to what they claim, in the final three years of his life, Michael had two female friends. Do these two bodyguards know the details and the nature of Michael’s relationship with these two women? No—they don’t even know the women’s names. Michael referred to them as “Friend” and “Flower.”
The woman Michael referred to as “Friend” was very beautiful and captivating. Michael would meet her in the summer of 2007 at one of the hotels in Hampton, in Chantilly, Virginia. At that time, Michael was staying there with his children.
Once, one of the guards took Michael and his “Friend” out at night to tour the Washington memorial. Did something special happen in the car? They wrote:
"All we heard was the sound of lip-scraping from behind the curtain."
That same night, police stopped their car and asked for identification documents. The car belonged to Michael Jackson. No ticket was issued; however, the police did take Michael’s signature.
The other woman, who was called “Flower,” was staying at the Red Fox Hotel in Middleburg, Virginia.
Whitfield and Bird worked for Michael Jackson after his return from Bahrain in December 2006 until his death in June 2009. They accompanied Michael on his trips to Las Vegas, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, back to Vegas, and finally to Los Angeles—where he would train for the tour. All these trips happened because Michael was not willing to return to Neverland. After the 2005 trial, he left Neverland and set off on a trip to the Middle East and Europe. In 2003, the ranch had been raided in a fierce police assault following allegations of child sexual abuse against Michael, and parts of the house were damaged—including Michael’s bedroom, which was completely destroyed. During the trial, the ranch was repeatedly insulted by the prosecutor. From a place that once included an amusement park, a cinema, a zoo, lush pastures, and a lake—an area that had been a safe retreat for sick and needy children—it was now, in court, described by prosecutor Thomas Sneddon as a terrifying place for child abuse.
Michael had told his children: “Neverland is possessed by the devil.”
This line reflects the intensity of Michael’s hatred of the events of 2003 and 2005, and it shows that the trial had never truly ended for Michael Jackson.
These two bodyguards also discuss the arrival of Dr. Teme—Michael’s disgraced manager, who, before Frank Dileo’s return in 2009, handled Michael Jackson’s affairs and left behind a great deal of destruction—Raymond Ben—who became the manager and his mischief—and also the recording of songs with the Cassio brothers, which were released on the album MICHAEL.
There is a lot of information in this book—for example, that Michael was constantly thinking about the song “My Prerogative” by Bobby Brown—Whitney Houston’s husband—and intended to create a cover version of it.
A section of the book deals with Michael’s finances. While the book—the new work by the Forbes magazine writer, the result of her research and interviews with many people—confirms Michael Jackson’s business genius and depicts his rise and fall and his return to the peak, this book by the two bodyguards is a review of Michael’s commercial decline phase and his financial troubles.
Sometimes, Michael’s credit cards were declined in stores due to insufficient funds, or the guards’ pay would be delayed by weeks, although they say they continued out of loyalty to their job. Of course, Michael always kept cash stored somewhere.
During this time, Michael had deep trust in Peter Lopez, his lawyer in Los Angeles. Lopez committed suicide one year after Michael’s death, in 2010. Michael would call Lopez and say: “Peter, I don’t know where my money is or how much money I have—can you help me?”
Despite his distress and separation from his family—and especially from his father—and despite the many efforts the family made to see him, Michael would remember his father in times of trouble. When referring to the people who were causing him harm, he would say: “My father should deal with them.”
This book also talks about the minor tricks of Raymond Ben. Michael was genuinely shocked when he learned that Raymond Ben, as his manager, did not oversee an office job—he handled things from inside Michael’s home in Washington.
Michael was deeply upset by reading articles about himself in newspapers. He only read the Wall Street Journal’s political and economic section, because it was the only place where his eyes wouldn’t land on stories about Michael Jackson. Raymond Ben kept the bad news away from Michael, and Michael also kept himself away from the internet.
Gregg Cross was another of Michael’s lawyers during this period. Raymond Ben and Cross would constantly argue about Michael’s chaotic financial situation, and their voices could be heard by these two guards.
Another piece of information—perhaps unnecessary—is that Michael kept packages of Tabasco red pepper sauce at his rented home in Las Vegas. A shelf in the kitchen was completely covered with this sauce.
Another point is that Michael always carried a silver-colored document briefcase wherever he went. The briefcase held two Oscar awards belonging to the film “Gone with the Wind,” which Michael had bought at an auction in 1999 for $1.5 million. These were assets that could provide the liquidity needed in special circumstances.
The guards often took Michael and his children out. Even their summer trip in 2007 to Burlington lasted longer than expected, and they went shopping for their clothes and for the kids. Michael was interested in collecting. Once, they spent a thousand dollars buying something Michael had seen in the lobby of a cinema: a collection of full-size cartoon family figurines from The Simpsons.
As expected, when going out, Michael would put something on his head or wear a disguise. Once, he pretended to be Prince, the singer. One day at Chuck E. Cheese, a children’s entertainment center, one of the parents from Paris—Michael’s quick-witted and sharp-tongued daughter—asked whether the father who was disguised was Michael Jackson. Paris had answered: “Assume it is.”
Source: eMJey.com / showbiz۴۱۱ & MJWN