A Sad Anniversary

On this day 27 years ago, the world lost quite a voice. A mind. A musician. A poet. An artist.

December 8, 1980 was the day we lost John Winston Lennon.

I remember that day for the Howard Cosell announcement on Monday Night Football. December 8, 1980 had a huge impact on me, though not on that day. I was a Beatles listener, though not yet really a fan. I had just owned a hand-me-down copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for about a couple of months, maybe, and, since I was only 13, the full weight of what had happened didn't really strike me at the time.

As I got older and the Beatles' influence grew in my life, the realization of just what had been lost began to dawn. John Lennon meant a lot to me, personally. I remember listening to Plastic Ono Band, crying myself to sleep over "Mother" as I mourned the loss of my own mother's relationship. I remember pantomiming "I Am The Walrus" in time to the music in front of my foster brothers. I remember listening through headphones in absolute wonderment to "A Day In The Life" and "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." I also remember singing along with "Watching The Wheels" on lazy Summer days.

When I got a little older, I realized that I had some disagreements with his political stance and his religious (or non-religious) views, and I had some problems with the simmering cauldron of temper that seemed to continuously find its way to the forefront. However, I never lost my love for his ability to craft poetry and set it to music. We can look past certain things to appreciate beauty, you know.

It's a dirty rotten shame that the man who wrote "Grow Old Along With Me" didn't get to. It would have been interesting to see how age would have affected his writing and his public persona.

We miss you, John.