I admit to watching a lot of coverage of Michael Jackson's death. Though his songs were always in the background when I was growing up, I was never a huge fan. So, I'm skipping all the life retrospectives and zeroing in on the sycophants drugging him up and his stomach pumpings.

The child custody angle led to some discussions among friends this weekend. All of them had worries about who would get their kids, if they should push off unexpectedly. Which relatives would be able to handle a disruption in their lives? Who would gladly welcome new kids, and who would perceive it as a burden? One friend was bypassing all the relatives, because they were either crazy, sick, or too involved in sports. Our solution is to be heavily insured; enough money and even the most rigid relative will loosen up.