Photo: Abby Fox

Norma Harris, one of the many lifelong Michael Jackson fans affected by the pop legend’s sudden death a couple of weeks ago, recently found the autograph she got from the man himself in 1973, when they were both 14-years-old.
Harris was on an airplane with her uncle Stevie, coming back to Providence from St. Louis, where they had just seen the Jackson Five in concert. To their amazement, the Jacksons were just four seats in front of them on the plane. “My uncle told me to take my ticket to them for an autograph; I was so nervous,” she said.
Harris has all of Jackson’s albums at home, she said. “I used to listen to them all the time,” she said. Lately, she’s brought some of his music in to Norman’s Restaurant, while news about Jackson has been playing almost constantly on the TV.
“My uncle totally surprised me” with the tickets, she said, and in 1973, it cost only $22 to see Jackson in concert “I never thought I’d get the chance to see him,” she said.
“I’m pretty proud of it,” she said of her souvenir. “I loved all his albums. He had a great voice, and lot of good music.”
When last Tuesday’s memorial in Jackson’s honor came on TV, Harris said she watched the whole show, or as much as she could, while working at Norman’s. “It was a nice tribute; it was what he deserved,” she said.