Jul 5, 2009 7:59 pm US/Central
North Texans Heading To L.A. For Jackson Memorial
Arezow Doost
MANSFIELD (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
-
-
Messages left by fans outside the gates of the rented Holmby Hills home of music legend Michael Jackson after his recent death, in Los Angeles on July 2, 2009.
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
More than a million Michael Jackson fans waited all weekend hoping to be the lucky few to witness his memorial service on Tuesday at Staples Center.
Among the fans are two North Texans headed to L.A. and praying to get front row seats to history.
"That's a historical moment like when Obama got elected for President," says Michelle Johnson of Mansfield.
Michelle, along with her mother Paulett McCowan, paid $900 each for the airfare alone to L.A.
As of Sunday night they were not sure if they could even get close to the service.
"We registered for tickets online and we keep checking the computer constantly," says Paulett McCowan.
Fans like McCowan registered online for free in a random drawing.
According to a Staples Center spokesperson ticket winners were in the process of being notified Sunday afternoon.
The tickets will admit 11,000 people to the Staples Center plus 6,500 in the Nokia Theater overflow section next door.
"If I'm outside the Staples Center I still get to see it and be a part of it," says Johnson "I was in L.A. and I got to be in the place where they had the service."
Paulett and Michelle just want to pay their respects and say they hope once they are there they can figure out a way to be close by.
"I think it's just for me to have closure to get there and see he's really gone," says McCowan.
50-year-old Jackson died on June 25 after going into cardiac arrest in the bedroom of his mansion he was renting. The cause of his death has not been determined yet.
Jackson's family is planning on a private ceremony at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills area.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Reports: Tom Schieffer Quitting Governor's Race 11 mins ago
Stumble It!
