April 1st has always been a difficult day for me. While everybody else is enjoying their April fools jokes and pranks with each other, I am sadly reminded of my mom's birthday. Each year on this day, I reminisce about the great times I had with her. In such a short period of time, she was able to instill all the key values I would ever need in life. She was and will always be my main moral compass. When I was younger, she would definitely keep me in check and did not let me get away with anything. I still live by her rules today and can hear her in my ear whenever I am about to head in the wrong direction. I am so thankful that I was able to spend the little time I had with her. I will never forget her and her influence on me. She will always be a part of me.

Those were the final words my uncle Michael would ever say to me.
It was at the end of our family day at a Beverly Hills Indian restaurant. While I was saying my goodbyes to the rest of my family, I went up to my uncle and hugged him. I told him that I loved him and that I was proud of him and proud to be his nephew. I also said I would see him soon because I was planning to go to the UK to see his shows. He responded by saying that he loved me more. He then paused, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "after this, we're doing films."

That was our master game plan. You see, my uncle had another huge passion besides music... that was film directing. We would always talk about making films together, me and him, we were going to be a 1-2 Jackson power combo.
That's what I loved about my uncle. You truly believed like you could do anything when you were with him. He made you feel like that. He was so inspirational.
Since he's been gone, a huge hole exists for me. One that can never be filled. An emotional, spiritual, and mental hole. The only thing that helps, is knowing that I am doing exactly what he would want me to do. Doing what he taught me to do…. and that's film. And that's why Code Z is so important to me. It's about a promise. A promise to direct films. A simple promise that I made to my uncle, who was and always will be the greatest.

I know someone could say that Code Z is just a zombie series. But it's much more than that too. It's the official start to my film career... when I finally stopped talking about it and started doing it.

I really want to thank all of you for helping me keep that promise.

Taj

Happy Birthday to my Uncle and Idol Michael Jackson. There will never be another MJ, period. He raised the bar so high that those closest to it can only look up and marvel at how far they have still yet to travel.

The fun we shared and the great memories I have with him will last me a lifetime.

I miss and love him so much and will work hard to make him proud and continue his legacy.

I think Berry Gordy said it best at the Michael Jackson memorial service.

"The King of Pop isn't big enough for him... He is simply the Greatest Entertainer that ever lived."

If you want to send birthday wishes to Taryll, post them here.  :-)