Remembering John

I was on a commuter bus from Lake Hopatcong, NJ to my job in NYC at 4:15 a.m. when a muffled cry from another passenger broke the sleepy silence. She had been listening to news radio and as she struggled to hold back tears, told everyone she was sorry for the outburst, but she had just learned that John Lennon had been shot and killed outside of the Dakota.  John lived in that building.

Arriving in NYC at 5:30, a few of us postponed work and headed up to the Dakota on Central Park West only to find hundreds of people there for the same reason. We *needed* to be there. It was hard to believe and many were sure it was a mistake.  It wasn't. Some were under the impression that he was only wounded, not dead.  That simply couldn't be.

Like so many others, I remember where I was that day, just as we remember where we were when John F. Kennedy was shot and killed. That is the power and beauty of John Lennon.

It's hard to believe it's been 30 years!  I will be in line Friday when this issue of Rolling Stone hits the stands. I want to read the whole thing.

NEW YORK — John Lennon's fans celebrated his life Wednesday by visiting Strawberry Fields, the Central Park garden dedicated in his honor, while a newly released interview he gave shortly before his death showed he was optimistic about his future.
On the 30th anniversary of Lennon's murder outside his Manhattan apartment building, admirers played his music nearby at Strawberry Fields and placed flowers on a mosaic named for another famous Lennon song, "Imagine."
"I grew up with his voice," said Marissa DeLuca, 17, who came to New York from Boston with her father, Paul DeLuca, 50.
"The Beatles are the soundtrack to my childhood," she said. "His voice is just kind of like home."
Her father said, "Nothing is timeless like the stuff John and Paul (McCartney) wrote."
In the interview, conducted just three days before he was gunned down, John Lennon complained about his critics – saying they were just interested in "dead heroes." He mused that he had "plenty of time" to accomplish some of his life goals.
In Liverpool, where Lennon was from, hundreds were expected to gather for a vigil Wednesday around the Peace and Harmony sculpture, recently unveiled by Lennon's former wife, Cynthia, and their son Julian in Chavasse Park.
Jerry Goldman from The Beatles Story, a museum dedicated to the band, said the monument has brought even more people to Liverpool: "The city is very excited that we finally have a focal point at which to remember Lennon and look forward to a vigil that will reach out to people the world over."
Lennon's final interview was released to The Associated Press by Rolling Stone on Wednesday. The issue using the full interview will be on magazine stands on Friday. While brief excerpts of Jonathan Cott's interview with Lennon were released for a 1980 Rolling Stone cover story days after Lennon's death, this is the first time the entire interview has been published.

More HERE.

It's very cold today and a perfect day to watch the Warner Brothers' documentary "Imagine"  on DVD which contains the film and a whole lot of special features and interviews. I will remember John today.

And so it goes.