Could Michael Jackson rescue our economy?

After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, his body was loaded onto a funeral train and taken on a 1,654 mile journey through the eastern U.S., passing through hundreds of towns where people came from all over to pay honor to him as he rolled past. After seeing the throng that descended on Los Angeles for Michael Jackson's memorial, and reading Julie Tilsner's report about the boom in business it brought to the area, I wondered if MJ's magic would follow him on one last tour.

Perhaps a modern-day funeral train could be assembled, to carry Michael's remains from city to city. If LA is any indication, thousands would gather along the tracks in those towns as he rolled through, to see his casket and pay their homage. While in town, those same people would no doubt buy a meal, perhaps do some shopping, or even spend the night in the local hotel. What town couldn't used a tourism boost these days? And it might even make train travel fashionable again.

A Michael Jackson "That Was It" tour could bring some much-needed cash to flyover America, so why not? It's not like MJ doesn't have the time to spare.