Mother Nature's Sons?

I am afeared.

Spot the sociopath. Mark Chapman and his doppelganger, assassins both.

John Lennon was murdered on my birthday, thus transforming forever and ever amen my nascent distrust of guns into a hardcore aversion. Besides, at that age I was surrounded by rednecks, and if ever there were a cure for gun apathy, it's an idiot 14-yr-old who has to beat up things (people, dogs, fence posts, trees) so he can deal w/ his father's authoritarian crap. That kid lived aross the street from me, and he loved to brag that he would kill anybody who crossed him. He always ended his warnings, And I would, too. Needless to say, my parents said we were to have nothing to do w/ him and, at the very least, had to give that boy a wiiiiiiiiiiiiide berth. But how wide a berth outdistances a shotgun? That gun sat in the rack in his father's truck. We all saw it, and he knew we did. Crazy is relative, friends. And I think it's related to Desperate. Anyhoo, I always felt a little extra connected to John, sharing Dec. 8, as we did, and every birthday I think of him, may he rest in rabblerousing peace.

The public response to John Lennon's life taught me a v. important lesson. I was too young to know what anyone was really getting at, but I had some grasp on war and peace, jealousy, tantrums, creative license, the cult of personality and so on, though writ small in the mini-orbit of grammar school. My ideas progressed like this (please note the utter ignorance!): the Beatles suck -- "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," big deal; the Beatles were all John and Paul; Ringo was a hack; Yoko broke up the band; Yoko was a hack; John was a saint. This is what I thought when I wasn't thinking and just skimming along the top of popular "wisdom." One need read only a thing or two to realize the picture is always much more complicated than the bite-sized morsels we're spoonfed. It's not rocket science, but it was a valuable lesson to learn before jr. high. I remember once telling my mother the Beatles were old and irrelevant. She said, "You won't think so for long." Ha.

We miss you, John Lennon. Thanks for everything. Karl Rove, thanks for nothing. I hope you get what we deserve.

Comments

[Alicia]

That is just way too close for comfort...

[David]

We have good prisons in Ohio; Mansfield and Lucasville.

[Tata]

Next year, Paul turns 64. Guess what we're going to find out?

[Cairo]

Wow thats scary