Imagine all the people
(I guess this is a follow-up post.)
All Those Years Ago:
I remember vividly a particular night in second grade when I was 7 -- actually, 7 3/4! I had recently gone to bed in our home in Bellingham, Washington. I wasn't asleep yet, though, and my mom came into my room.
She put her hand on the foot of my bed, and I could tell she was sad. She said, "John Lennon was killed tonight."
I remember exactly what I said: "Oh no." Pause. Pause. "Who is he again?"
"He was in The Beatles."
"Oh yeah. Why did someone kill him?" I asked.
My mom could not answer that.
As I mentioned in my post about The Beatles yesterday, my parents were not Beatlemaniacs, but they were fans. I also knew, even at the age of 7, that my parents respected John Lennon as a visionary and as a peace activist. I knew that my mom's sadness was not about music, but about the insanity that such a person as John Lennon could be violently murdered.
I also remember that the next day in school -- Roosevelt Elementary School -- during "Show & Tell" in Mrs. McCort's second grade class, someone in my class said (and I quote), "Somebody died."
My student teacher, Miss Douglas, was visibly shaken, and I could tell she was a huge Beatles fan by her reaction. She proceeded to fill in the details for the rest of the class, and she finished by saying, "This is an awful, awful day."
I remember in the weeks to come hearing John Lennon's new song, "(Just Like) Starting Over," on the radio all of the time. He hadn't had an album in years, and he had just finished working on his new release when he was killed.
That day that my mom came into my room--that day that I would inexplicably remember forever in vivid detail-- was 25 years ago today.
I have a strange memory. I remember many vivid details and specifics from various incidents in my life, some important, some not. I was 7 years old. I only vaguely knew who John Lennon was.
Perhaps I knew deep down that one day, John Lennon would truly mean something to me. My mind said, "Remember this. This is important. You'll be glad you did."
John Lennon: October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one.
offered up to the world by CoachDub @ 10:35 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
I wish my mom had done that when Notorious B.I.G. got shot. That would make for a good story.
"Biggie was killed."
"Why, Mommy?"
"Because he was a gangsta thug crack dealer criminal. But he had tight rhymes."
"Oh, the humanity!"
but he had tight rhymes. priceless.
Woah. We all know the LAPD killed Biggie and performed one of the biggest police cover ups of this or any generation.
I hope I never go mad and kill Elton John or Billy Joel.
Thanks to Trent and Alicia for actually commenting on the post I made -- one of the only serious things I have ever done on my blog. A+.
Tom: Thanks. I quite liked it myself!
Yes, I know that website is crap, but I love it. Pop culture dish is good stuff! Sorry about the fact that one other person in the world has the same name as you.
Pretty sure I don't know anybody else named Erik Hukriede. I have googled the name before, and results related to yours truly are the only ones that came up. Is it possible that, for the time being, I am the only Erik Hukriede in the world? (or at least the U.S.)
John Lennon was my moms favorite beatle. she was (is) a beatle nazi. She was married and pregant with my sister when she found out she told me. She said she vomited and cried, but maybe not in that order.
Hey, thought I'd have to reply to this one. Yeah, I love Lennon, he's the major reason why I wish I had grown up earlier than this era, simply so I could be there in high school and early college during the reign of The Beatles and his solo work. I cried twice on Thursday thinking about Lennon, and the stupidity of anyone to kill him. Oh, and by the way Alicia: The guy had the album signed that morning as Lennon left to go to the studio. He then waited around the Dakota until that night when Lennon returned, and the rest is history.
A final note on that: After Lennon was shot, the security guard ran out and asked/screamed "Do you know what you've done!?," to which the guy (I really wish I could remember his name) said "yes, I just shot John Lennon," and (this is the crazy part) sat down and read The Catcher And The Rye until the cops showed up. OK, now that I've written all that out and gotten really really sad again, hi Wanninger!
Yes, that was my era. I remember that day as well, John.
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