It was 25 years ago today

I remember this day back in 1980. I was in second grade and had come home from a Christmas school party where I had to wear a skirt -- ugh! (amazing how those unpleasant moments really stand out). I came home from school, eager to change in to my play clothes and Mom told me John Lennon had been killed. I didn't understand the impact of that moment until years later, but I do remember Mom saying that John Lennon had made music that was very important to her and that was all I needed to know that John Lennon was important to me too. My Beatles love fully blossomed in high school, with the early Beatles albums, "The White Album", "Sgt. Peppers" and "Magical Mystery Tour" that I had disccovered as a child.

In college I discovered "Abbey Road" and that has become my favorite. Our college friend Danny Gamble used to have Beatles night once a year at his house where he would play their albums -- on original vinyl since Danny was around when those albums were released. I will always appreciate the guts John Lennon had to speak out against war and the establishment and his quick wit was a force to be reckoned with.

There will never be anything quite like the chemistry that was The Beatles -- a magic moment in time made important by a visionary voice known as John Lennon.



Comments

Jamie said…
I remember Lennon's death, too, but somehow I was in 4th grade and we lived in Oklahoma that year. Reagan got shot while we were there,too, and I thought my baby brother Sam (who was three) was gonna die because he LOVED Ronald Reagan, even more than he loved the Duke Boys.

I had a wicked high school Beatles phase, too, adn right in the middle of it I saw Paul McCartney at the Ranch market in Tucson and thought that i would die (because he was my favorite Beatle and lo, there he was buying asparagus with Linda in Tucson...WTF? So surreal).
1:25 AM
Brooks Brown said…
You have had so many moments with the stars Jamie. I think I would have passed out if I saw Paul McCartney. I can't believe there wasn't a mob scene stalking him and his asparagus stalks. He and Linda were such a great love story. I remember reading an article after she died that said they had only spent one night away from each other in their marriage.
7:10 PM
Jamie said…
I know! I need to start a "Brushes with Fame" website-- Tucson and SLC are just secret movie star hang outs--Livingston, too. I saw Margot Kidder again at Ben Franklin, calling a travel agent on her cell phone because she forgot when she was supposed to fly to Memphis. No joke. I can go al teh way back to Fishbone, 10,000 Maniacs, seeing U2 for $5 twice on theJoshua Tree tour, Peter Buck, No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Dave Matthews, Trent Reznor, Tony Hawk (I kissed Tony on a dare)... of course most of these were long before they were famous.

Paul and Linda were wonderful, really. She died in Tucson--her death certificate says Pima County. I still have a soft spot in my heart for Paul and his cute puppy dog eyes, even though he's a total grampa now.

Your new post about Christmas--did you read mine? I do not get these people. There are like 7 zillion things more important than this. WASTE OF BREATH AND AIR TIME, Dammit. USe the publicity to say something that matters.
2:14 AM
Brooks Brown said…
I know Jamie. I did read your post and agreed with you totally. I also saw a spot on our local news where they interviewed religious leaders from all faiths. The Rabbi and the Muslim leader said they were never offended when someone said "Merry Christmas" to them. The Christian pastor said he was never offended to hear "Happy Hanukah". Even the atheist they interviewed had a Christmas tree and said he called it a Christmas tree -- it was part of a celebration that he had grown up with and still appreciated. So, where is the issue? Isn't there enough real strife in our country right now without the media creating more (and people acutally stooping to react to it?) Who care if stores want to be inclusive in their advertisements? In the end its all about making money anyway and there is really nothing holy about it. Jewish money, Muslim money, atheist money, Christian money is all the same color and that all the stores care about. Since when do we go to K-mart for religious affirmation?
3:13 AM
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