A 365 to 40 Holiday, Day 8: Let's Hope It's a Good One, Without Any Fear...

There are moments where it still amazes me that John Lennon has been dead quite literally a lifetime at this point--30 years. I'm surprised at how deeply it affects me, how deeply it's always affected me. I remember hearing the news when I was a little kid that he had been killed; I was only 8, but I knew the Beatles from my mother's record collection, and John was my favorite. I can remember being 8 years old and terribly sad.



Decades later, standing in Central Park, just beyond the intersection of Central Park West and 72nd street, with the Dakota behind me, I cried as the snow fell around me when I visited the Imagine Memorial for the first time. There was a lighted garland hanging from one of the balconies facing the park; I realized after I had left the city that it was John and Yoko's apartment. If ever a place was haunted, that piece of park, and further beyond, that doorway certainly is. It took me three passes just to get up the courage to walk by it, and even then, it was from the other side of the street. When finally I stood in the actual doorway where he died, a surge of anger flooded through me, and I wanted to scream. I rushed away, with my hands grabbing my hair, and every muscle in my back and neck tensing up. It's still uncomfortable to think about.

So this year, instead of channeling the pain, I wish to channel the message.

"Let's hope it's a good one, without any fear..."

Happy Christmas (War is Over) - John Lennon

MP3 File