Requiem For An Icon
John was my favorite.
February, '64. First grade. Ed Sullivan.
Paul was cute, but John was smart.
I followed his antics, his music and his opinions. Some ridiculous, some classic. Usually the polar opposite of how I was being raised.
He fascinated me.
So did Yoko. I may have been the only one who saw what John saw in her back then. You couldn't have one without the other. I wanted to climb up that white ladder and see "Yes" on the ceiling.
It was easy to be idealistic, then.
Today I won't imagine that there is no heaven and I can't imagine there is no hell. I have something to kill and die for, the protection of my country - I won't imagine the alternative.
I grew up.
On December 8, 2000 I walked the floor with my five-month-old daughter and cried.
The photo in the Life magazine above is from what John called his "fat-Elvis" period around the time that "Help!" was shot. Not a happy time in his life, apparently, but I love that picture.
I wonder what John would have had to say about all that is going on today.
We gave peace a chance. The other side didn't get the memo.
posted by Kim @ 12/08/2005 02:32:00 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
John Lennon never would have agreed with the war in Iraq.
I think you are probably right.
Bravo, Kim! Well-written. Of course he would not have agreed with this war. Not very many do.
Very well written. Now I can't get "Imagine" out of my head.
I imagine John would be in the Hollywood political movement nowadays... and unfortunately looking as foolish as they do.
You are right, they other side didn't get the memo.
My sentiments exactly (except I can believe in no heaven/hell outside of our insides.)
I kept a scrapbook of John and Yoko as a kid to go along with his bootleg albums I ordered out of the back of Rolling Stone. My most prized possession was an actual photo of him taken on the street of NYC. I held on to it as if it held some of his energy. He and his music always make me smile.
When I heard the news about John's death, I knew the world had changed. And not for the better.
When I watch the news I miss him and his contemporaries so much - but even if he were around today, now that the opinions of every country in the world but the U.S.A. no longer matter, I doubt we would listen. We've already forgotten about Vietnam and about optimism and a better world, and probably there will never again be a figure such as this. They would be torn to shreds before they could finish a sentence.
Really wish I hadn't read this post. I do hate to be so strident, but I really can't stomach the writings of someone who is STILL pro-war after the years of disaster it has brought us, and will be taking you off my blogroll. Good luck in your career, though.
Anonymous,
I'm truly sorry you feel that way about the blog, especially since this was the only post that deviated into the world of politics. I am glad that you posted, though,and thanks for taking the time to read. Take care.
Kim
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