I would protest to the supermarket folks, too, the Muzak developers, but it is too small a dream for them to relinquish, and a fleeting moment, at that, who is to say the organic cilantro and is better with or without a few tears mixed with the produce department spray of freshness.

Being somewhat eccentric, and very busy, I avoid listening to old music, except on car voyages, one of which recently included Imagine, played as the pickup drove thru a mountain pass cleaved by a flotilla of tractors fifty years ago. Lennon’s cherubic voice proceeded through the verses, carefully blended to evoke a futurist view of civilization which was cherished to him, and to his drove of ‘adequate’ musicians.

Besides avoiding listening to music, I am barely a reader, so, last summer was surprised to read the original lifestyle story depicting a day in the life, of an early Beatle John Lennon which the London Evening Standard had published while I was avidly consuming books on topics like Columbus, and east African archeology for some work I had commissioned, or wished I had, with some professors in Europe. Kindly, someone has preserved the London article there. It contained some jive writing which caused tumult in a cousin’s family, and incurred the wrath of an uncle of mine who barely let me continue to visit my cousin, with the concomitant ban on my bringing records by the fab4 to share with her. He was a good man, and worked hard. He sent my cousin to an ivy league women’s college. But you could kind of see where all the early brilliant energy was going, and the wild dynamics which would divide many musical groups of that antediluvian era, even in the London interview. It looks like 2009 is going to be the year iTunes finally markets the Beatles repertoire, however. Another step toward the same peace.

Little wonder that John Lennon was Richard Nixon’s bete noire. The most powerful government official in the world, impaled on fear by a singer of songs. Little wonder that if Lennon were alive, Cheney would have sent him packing to Liverpool, via Lebanon.

I’d gone through a period of intense Beatles obsession during my teens and John was my favorite, so his death hit me pretty hard. Phil Hartman’s demise had a similar effect… so senseless.

It seems a shame, however, that these sorts of things really only garner our attention when they involve celebrities. What happened to Lennon should never happen to any person, anyplace, for any reason.

me too. was watching mnf as usual. shocked. no what else? I forgot all about it today. damn.

Great song and a great song-writer. Seeing those lyrics really takes me back. I am a dreamer and I am not the only one, thanks in part, to John Lennon.

When someone you really love passes, particularly before their time, it leaves an indelible scar.

For being such resilient creatures we humans sure are a fragile lot. A couple of Mondays ago my little brother Dave passed away in his sleep (negligent homicide, in my opinion). Among other things, he also played a lot of rock and roll.

John Lennon will always be revered in my family, I love and miss them both.

Thanks bmaz for posting about this. I had just sat down to watch the game when the news broke. Besides getting up to call my brother with the news, I didn’t move or speak for several hours.

The lyrics of Imagine contain the best description of Nirvana or enlightenment ever written and it is a level I aspire to reach, in my own writing.

Evolute – sorry for your loss.

My memory of John Lennon’s death came early on the morning after. I’d birthed my son just two weeks before and I was doing an early morning nursing (7a) when the Today show opened its broadcast with the news.

I remember looking down at my son and asking him what kind of world I’d brought him into.