http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...-jackson-birthday-st-0830-20160829-story.html
Fans celebrate Michael Jackson's 58th birthday
A Michael Jackson impersonator strolled around with an umbrella as a woman played Jackson's music from her car. Meanwhile, Keita Sa'ad hung up a string of heart-shaped photos of the singer on the fence around Jackson's childhood home Monday.
Young students from a Cleveland, Ohio, charter school wrote messages on the backs of the photos for Sa'ad to bring to Gary on what would have been Jackson's 58th birthday Monday. Sa'ad introduced the children to his music in the before- and after-school program at the charter school, Sa'ad said. The children, ages 5-10, were excited for Sa'ad to bring their messages to the home at 2300 Jackson St., she said.
"I can't wait to take the pictures and let them see them," she said.
Sylvia Walker and Tenita Coleman have made the trip to Jackson's home before from Chicago, but this time they brought Coleman's daughter, 13-month-old Tabitha, who they say is becoming a young Jackson fan herself. Each visit, they like to take photos together by the home, they said.
Siren Van Tighem made the trip from Alberta, Canada, to visit Jackson's home Monday after wanting to visit since Jackson's death seven years ago.
"I've always loved his music and admired him, but after he passed away, I took a closer look at him as a human being and learned a lot about what he was really doing here on the planet," Tighem said.
Van Tighem appreciates Jackson's humanitarianism, she said, and his "beautiful way of living and caring about other people on the planet and being a demonstration for the beauty of the human spirit."
"It changed my life," Van Tighem said. "It made me want to be a better person."
Fans came and went from the home Monday, dressed in shirts with pictures of the singer, placing cards on the fence and sharing stories about the singer.
