I have been traipsing around the internet and on michaeljackson.com reading posts by people who are just overwhelmed by sadness and loss. As I am not feeling too perky myself over his loss, I thought I would take a second and post something that might help.
I didn't think about this until tonight, but I seem to be a bit older than many of the Michael Jackson fans I ran into. I grew up in the same era as Michael and only 50 miles away. I remember Michael -- and Donny (gotta love him) Osmond -- as little boys slightly younger than I. To give it some perspective, I remember running to the store to buy my first Beatles album (vinyl in mono!) for $3.00 and I also remember seeing our President shot in a car on a Dallas street on television and years later seeing his brother killed as well.
I have seen and experienced alot and have been a chronic fan most of my life (even though I've managed to have a complete life with family, kids, job, cats!!). My point is that when horrible things happen like Michael's death, it is normal to grieve and be sad. But as sad as I am, I know that eventually it gives way to a sense of amazement and gratitude--and a sense of joy. The feelings you had when you saw "Thriller" for the first time or watched him moonwalk or shook his hand or went to his concert will NEVER go away. And some day when you have your own family, you will pop that DVD in of "Scream" and tell your kids that it was completely innovative for it's time.
Sure, they may roll their eyes at you, but you know. You know what it was like when you saw it the first time. And you are gonna smile.
I guess the only way to really explain all this is for me to talk Beatles. I was absolutely heartbroken and horrified when John Lennon died. I cried so hard. I couldn't believe it. I had to pull my car over to the side of the road when a song of his would come on the radio -- or even a Beatles' song -- because it made me so awfully sad. He died several days before my birthday and I don't remember if I even celebrated.
His death, like Michael's, was unfair. I felt cheated. John Lennon had so much to live for--music to write, a family to raise. Just like Michael. And John was maligned much like Michael--his peace efforts, his nude album cover, his recordings of Yoko screaming, Yoko -- period, his drug use, his outspokenness--the FBI file on John Lennon was practically as long as a football field and he was constantly threatened with being thrown out of the U.S. His son Sean was 2 years younger than Blanket when his father was murdered.
But I can tell you with 100% certainty that the pain over Michael's death will slowly ease. I know mine will because my sadness over John Lennon's (and subsequently George Harrison's) deaths eased -- and we are talking Mount Everest of sadness. Now I go to a Beatles Convention once a year (since 1982; John died in 1980) and the message of John, George and all the Beatles---of love, kindness and peace is still very much alive. Their music is alive. The charities are still strong. The fans come and the fans bond and the fans talk and fans have fun and laugh and remember. Now, the fans bring their children and there is a whole new generation of Beatles' fans...and there is alot of love.
So it will be with Michael, as hard as it is to believe now when his loss is so close. His legacy of love and caring and his incredible talent will live forever. You will be so incredibly grateful to have been a part of it that there will be a time you will put in "Michael Jackson Number Ones" and not have tears flood your eyes. You will actually smile and laugh and call your kids in and help them learn a dance step or two (while they think you are crazy) or amaze them that you still know all the words to "Beat It". There is a continuum and a constancy that is comforting. I rocked my babies to sleep with Beatles' songs and you will rock yours to sleep with Michael Jackson songs.
With Michael, we've all been a part of something amazing that will never happen again. Just as there will never be another Beatles' or another John Lennon or George Harrison, there will never be another Michael Jackson. And for all of us, we are so grateful that we've learned when someone says "I love you", we answer: "I love you more".
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Love You More
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
What a Special Day
November 22.
It is Anne's birthday, which is enormous in itself.
It is the day John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas.
It is the day the Beatles "White Album" appeared on the shelves.
I propose we create a national day off in honor of these events. Who's with me?
Hands?
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Thursday Thirteen #30 A Hard Day's Night!
13 Great Lines from A Hard Day's Night!
Unless you are a die-hard Beatle-maniac, some of these might not seem familiar. But any Beatle fan will absolutely smile with recognition if you dish out any of these delicious one liners or luscious dialogues!
1. Paul, describing his grandfather: "He's very.......clean."
2. John, after listening to the stuffy show director who's going on and on: "I could listen to him for hours."
3. John to his manager, Norm: "You couldn't get a pen in your foot, you swine."
4. Ringo: "Any of you put a man in the cupboard?"
John: "Don't be soft"
George (checking closet): "He's right you know."
John: "Well, there you go."
5. Paul's grandfather to a buxom blonde: "I bet you're a great swimmer."
6. George showing Shake how to use a razor and shaving cream: "Put your tongue away. It looks disgustin' hangin' there all pink and naked. One slip of the razor and ....."
7. Interviewer: "And how did you find America?"
John: "Turn left at Greenland."
8. Paul, to every interviewer who asks him anything: "No actually, we're just good friends."
9. George, to a production assistant who was rebuffed after tapping on Ringo's drums: "He's very fussy about his drums you know. They loom large in his legend."
10. Woman, claiming John looks like "The Famous John Lennon", and John denying it: "You don't look like him at all......"
John, hurt, to himself: "She looks more like him than I do."
11. John (to a tailor holding up a measuring tape as John cuts it in half): "I now declare this bridge open."
12. Ringo to Paul's Grandfather: "I never really thought about it before....but being middle-aged takes up all your time, doesn't it?"
13. George: "Oh, that posh girl who gets everything wrong? We frequently sit 'round the television and watch her for a giggle. Once we wrote these letters saying how giddy she was and all that rubbish."
Promoter: "She's a trend-setter."
George: "She's a drag. A well-known drag. We turn the sound down on her and say rude things."
Many thanks to Alun Owen for a great screenplay which has held up really well over all these years. It was very hard just to pick out just 13 -- afterall, A Hard Day's Night is when we first heard the word "grotty" (for grotesque), which George had an incredibly hard time saying without laughing. Also, trivia buffs, in the concert footage filmed at the end, a very young future famous musician is seating near the back. His name is Phil Collins.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Happy, Happy, Happy
Have just returned from Beatlefest (oops, sorry, Don't Ever Call It BeatleFest Again) and a good time was had by all, as always. Thought I would share the experience with you and show some photos of Anne and myself enjoying the wit and wonder of The Fest For Beatles' Fans.
#1 -- Anne proving to one and all that yes, indeed, this is exactly where we've gone every year since 1980.
#2 -- A great talk by Victor Spinetti, who played the "knitted" director in A Hard Day's Night, and the mad scientist in Help! Yea, maybe I got a better shot of the bald guy's head in front of me, but I never claimed to be Annie Liebowitz.
#3 -- The concert at night by Liverpool and starring Mark Hudson, one of the Hudson Brothers, who produced alot of Ringo's records/CD's and is a great musician in his own right. I took pics of him too during his talk, but another guy's bald head was clearer than Mark.
As a sidebar: Mark is always a treat. Funny, animated, a big fan himself. He can imitate all 4 of the Beatles' perfectly. Anyway, for fun every year, Anne and I try to guess what color Mark's goatee is going to be and if it will have a braid in the center or not. We enjoy the simple pleasures in life, you know. So for all of you have been waiting to know, chin hair -- shamrock green and side burns -- deep burgundy. NO BRAID. The plaid tam-o-shanter hat was an extra plus, as were the matching plaid pants.
4. Here, a good picture of Lara herself with a Beatles' sign, taken with loving care by Anne.
5. Anne with her Beatles' bag and catalog, waving goodbye to another Fest.
See? This isn't so bad. Laughs, music, food, drink, conversation. And there were tons of other things going on: old videos being played, the flea market, memorabilia, games, contests, exhibits. Everybody happy, happy, happy. Although one of our fave programs at the Fest, called Beatly-Incorrect with Martin Lewis, will no longer be available. Seems that when Martin gave the disclaimer EVERY SINGLE YEAR that what was said in that room, stayed in that room, not everyone listened. What made this panel discussion so hysterical is that the guests and the audience could say whatever they wanted. Yes, we sort of reemed Heather Mills last year. But it was made very clear that this midnight forum for adults only was done all in the name of fun. There was absolutely never any malice in anything anyone said -- and Anne and I have been there every single midnight, every single year Martin Lewis did this.
Some bozo taped it last year and put it on You Tube and now that's the end of Beatly-Incorrect. Some nutcase didn't understand these simple rules: what was said in that room stayed in that room -- that it was all in fun. Who ever it was who didn't understand those very clear, very simple rules: remind me never to go to Vegas with you.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Dear John,
In keeping with the previously posted Beatle theme and upcoming journey to that which we affectionately refer to as DECIBFA ("Don't Ever Call It Beatle Fest Again"), I thought I'd take a self indulgent moment (as are all my moments) and write about John Lennon.
I was a George girl, Anne was a Paul girl and Ringo....well, he was Ringo. What you saw was pretty much what you got, which was sweet, witty and just seemingly pretty happy to be where he was.
But the beauty of John Lennon eluded me when I was younger. I think in a way, his sexual, dark, brooding nature frightened me. He said shit I didn't get. Fortunately, like my parents, John Lennon has become extremely intuitive and intelligent since I've gotten older.
John was the ultimate work in progress. He went from writing "Run For Your Life" to "Woman". His transition from an angry young teenager who rebelled against all forms of authority to a Beatle in a suit to a stay-at-home dad who fought tirelessly for peace (with a few human detours along the way) is fascinating. It's probably because I can see my own transition from an independent, relatively bright young woman to a scared, silent wife to an independent, relatively bright woman. It's just a damn shame that we won't see the full circle of John Winston Ono Lennon.
So Dear John, who would have been 67 this year, I salute you in the only way I feel I can: in your own words.
"When I feel my head starting to swell, I just look at Ringo and know perfectly well we aren't supermen."
"Women should be obscene and not heard." (note: that was from 1964).
"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted."
"I wouldn't say I was a born writer. I was a born thinker."
"The more I see, the less I know for sure."
"Reality leaves alot to the imagination."
"As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot."
"I always knew there was something wrong with me because I saw things that other people didn't."
"Love and peace are eternal."
"When you are drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to come and rescue me'. You just scream."
"My role in society, or any artist's or poet's, is to express how we all feel, not to tell you how to feel...art is a reflection of us all."
"Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans."
"It doesn't matter how long my hair is, or what color my skin is or if I'm a man or a woman."
"You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are."
And finally, I must end with a few abbreviated instructions from Mr. Lennon, from his book "In His Own Write", about the importance of proper diction:
"All Abord Speeching:
1. Speak you Clear and Nasal, for distance;
2. Sing you with long voice, for discharge;
and
3. Practice davy but not if your Mutt and Jeff."
Thank you, Dear John.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
The first weekend in August, Anne and I will make our yearly pilgrimage to The Fest For Beatles’ Fans (aka Beatlefest, until all hell broke out a couple years ago over a copyright infringement that had been unnoticed for about 20 years or so). We have been doing this for ages, since I think, 1980. At least that's the first ticket stub I could find.
Go ahead. Make fun. Manilow, the Beatles…and YES, dammit – I’ve been to a Star Trek Convention!! You will never feel so much a part of anything in your entire life until you travel to one of these affairs. As Barry Manilow said so eloquently, “you aren’t a misfit when you are surrounded by other misfits.” They may think I have a couple screws loose at work, but at one of these soirees, I’m just one of the happy crowd bumping elbows with some lawyer from Milwaukee who’s dressed like John in his Sgt. Pepper outfit, or sitting next to a housewife from Duluth in her Yeoman Rand Classic Star Trek red uniform, including a wig with that weaved hair.
And you know what? I’ll bet 99% of the people there are happy. A crowd of happy campers, just there to get a chance to meet Manilow, or watch “A Hard Day’s Night” on the big screen followed by a great talk by Victor Spinetti or shake hands with Leonard Nimoy, who loves to bash his captain Bill, who can dish it back just as well.
So tell me, where’s the harm?
I know. I know. Maybe some people don’t snap back to reality and manage to get back to their lives. But maybe they don’t have much of a life to get back to either.
Me? I’m trying to escape for awhile. Escape work and responsibility and bills and the telephone and e-mail and laundry and shopping and cleaning and refereeing fights between the kids. Nothing says “Escape” better than a blue officer’s uniform with triangular patch over the left breast and a set of Spock ears, or the anticipation of the season’s first Beatles’ Puppet Show.
Beatle time in August means only 2 things: regression and a never ending supply of low-brow laughs courtesy of the flea market (and maybe a couple of drinks to ring in the celebration). When’s the last time you scrounged through Fave, Sixteen and Tiger Beat magazines from the 1960’s? When’s the last time you heard the name Bobby Sherman? When’s the last time Davy Jones’s love life EVER crossed your mind? There's hot news on Paul and Annette, Paul Revere and the Raiders…..the Beau Brummels…..Herman’s Hermits…..that guy named Lloyd Thaxton who drew a face on the side of his hand (the thumb was a jaw) and made stupid jokes….Music Scene….Gary Lewis and the Playboys. When’s the last time you saw your Beatles metal lunch box with matching thermos? Well, if you’ve seen it recently, it’s probably worth about $500.00….so who’s laughing now, huh?
So call us nuts. Call us crazy. But when that Trivial Pursuit question comes up: “Who was the ‘fifth’ Beatle?” you’ll want us around! We KNOW (without benefit of the internet or one single reference book) the answers to this stuff:
So embrace the "fan" in you. Share it with others. I guarantee, "a good time will be had by all..."
