Tributes spring up in some unlikely locations

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tilesha McClurkin wanted to join other Michael Jackson fans to celebrate his life, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to go to whatever official memorial celebration might take place.

So she and 125 other people packed a Pittsburgh funeral home Thursday to watch videos and dance performances and sing along to the King of Pop’s hits.

“Turn this sucker up,” someone in the audience yelled as Jackson’s “Rock with You” video was played. Another woman mimicked Jackson’s footwork in his “Billie Jean” video as the audience cheered her on.

“This is as close as I can get,” said the 34-year-old McClurkin, who wore a red denim jacket bedecked with zippers — just like the Jackson-esque red leather one she had in sixth grade. “How do you love someone so much you’ve never met? ... Why did I feel so much when he died?”

Tequiera Miller’s love for Jackson may be even deeper: She wore a shirt bearing his image and sported a tattoo on her left arm depicting the “Off the Wall” album showing his shoes on tiptoe.

Miller, 22, begged her mother for months for the tattoo and got it when she turned 16 with $75 she earned working at an electronics store.

Roland J. Criswell, president of Coston Funeral Homes, organized the event, saying he knew people had a strong connection to Jackson, even though Jackson, who died last week at age 50, never visited the neighborhood and hadn’t performed in Pittsburgh in ages.

Interest in the memorial was so great that Criswell has added a second service for next Friday.

Across the country, people and towns with no connection to Jackson are having services in his honor, showing how completely the multifaceted entertainer permeated American culture. Among the other gatherings:

UIn Kettering, Ohio, more than 500 people visited the Routsong Funeral Home to sign a book that will be sent to the Jackson family.

UIn Dallas, hundreds of people packed the Golden Gate Funeral Home on Sunday for songs and celebration.

UIn Richmond, Va., hundreds of people, including the mayor, attended a memorial at a park, singing and dancing along to “Rock with You” and other songs.