25 Years Ago
There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all.
I remember a Tuesday morning in 1980. I had just received a promotion at my job. (A government job, for god's sake.) I was in a training class and rushed in at the last second. (I'm not a morning person.) As I plopped in my seat the woman next to me said, "That was something about Lennon."
I didn't have a clue. For one of the few times in my life I had gone to bed early.
I ran out into the hallway and bought a paper . I stood there stunned. I honestly wondered why work had not been called off. Lennon had been a constant for my entire life. When I first started listening to music not purchased by my mother I bought Beatles albums. I purchased Double Fantasy the day it came out. I cried listening to Beautiful Boy as my son played at my feet.
John Lennon was dead? It was impossible. I don't remember anything else about that day. I do remember a few years later my daughter was in her car seat as "Beautiful Boy" played on the tape deck. She had heard John Lennon's music since her birth. She seemed unusually quiet as it played. I looked over my shoulder and she was quietly sobbing. I asked what was wrong. She stammered that John Lennon's son couldn't see his daddy anymore.
In a way she was wrong. Julian and Sean can both see their father in music played all over the world. We all can see Lennon in rock stars unafraid to speak their minds. I see Lennon in the way a father can express tenderness to his child.
John Lennon's body died that day in 1980. His spirit can not be extinguished.
Originally published October 9, 2004
