Patricia "trisha" Franklin:  

Hello Friends, I'd like to tell you about a project I've just started, called, "A Million Trees For Michael". Being a longtime fan of Michael Jackson, I was really excited to see the movie, ¿This Is It¿, about the making of Michael¿s last concert. I was even lucky enough to see it on opening night! The film lived up to my expectations and even more and was utterly captivating, showing a side of Michael that was real and vulnerable, yet you also saw the genius in action. If you haven¿t had the privilege of seeing it yet, go out and buy it! As much as I enjoyed the entire film, there was one segment that moved me to tears and I felt an instant kinship with this kind-hearted, soft spoken musical prodigy. Ever since I was a little girl, I¿ve had a passion to make a positive difference in the world. No one can dispute that Michael shared a similar passion¿ he was a real humanitarian who loved the Earth and wanted to do his part to ¿heal the world and make it a better place¿. That is evidenced over and over from the myriad of charitable activities in which he was involved. The segment I¿m referring to featured Michael¿s ¿Earth Song¿, which included a video of a lush and beautiful rain forest. A sweet little girl appears, who starts to run and play with the colorful butterflies surrounding her. After awhile she grows tired and lays her little head down on some moss, where she gently falls asleep. While she is sleeping, we are shown various scenes of destruction, including an ominous bulldozer, unearthing all of the trees in that lovely rain forest. Next we see scenes of animal cruelty and other acts of senseless violence, including the burning of the rain forest, which has now been completely destroyed. Suddenly the little girl is awakened from her slumber and looks in horror at the smoldering forest surrounding her. She looks up and sees the bulldozer rolling towards her and she jumps to her feet to run away. As she¿s running through the forest, she comes upon one little green tree, the last one remaining in the smoking forest. She instinctively knows that she needs to save this lone tree so she falls to her knees and frantically starts digging, continuing to look over her shoulder at the fast approaching bulldozer. She digs and digs, as the suspense heightens, and then the scene abruptly ends. Meanwhile, Michael¿s haunting melody is playing in the background, ¿What have we done to the world? Look what we¿ve done.¿ The song ends and Michael¿s voice is then heard, lovingly saying these words: ¿I love trees. I have a thing for trees. The colors and the changing of the leaves¿ I love it!¿ His voice becomes somber as he continues, ¿The Earth is sick. Everyone thinks someone else will take care of the problems, the government or someone else. Noooo¿ no one is going to do it for us. It¿s up to us! It¿s up to us to do our part to heal the world.¿ Even as I write these words my eyes are tearing up at the remembrance of his tender plea. When the movie was over, no one in the audience wanted to leave. Everyone sat in their seats, young and old alike, mesmerized by the images and the music we had just experienced on this unique two hour journey we had shared. As I walked out of the theater I was still choked up, unable to say anything¿ Michael¿s pleas had really touched my heart. Suddenly I had an idea! I had been planting trees through the non-profit company, ¿American Forests¿, ever since I had discovered this great organization. They have been quietly helping to re-forest the Earth for almost 135 years, planting seedling trees all over the world for¿ are you ready for this?¿ only $1.00 per tree!! What if we could take up Michael¿s challenge and give a gift back to him, by planting trees in his honor? What if we could plant millions of trees for him, al...Expand for more