Where Were You on December 8th?

[studiotwosession]

It was weird how Lennon, the Pope and Reagan were all attacked by guys with handguns in the span of a few months, and astounding that the casualties were, John aside, so light (though of course Brady took one to the head and has been in horrible shape ever since.)

For you younger folks, this was in the day before school shootings here were typical fare, thus they were seriously shocking events.

[kog]

I was 28, living in L.A., and was sick that day, so was sleeping in the early evening when the news broke back east. An actor friend who was shooting a movie in Georgia at the time called me and told me about it. I was feeling miserable and full of Nyquil, and I remember trying to sympathize with my buddy, as we recalled old Beatles songs and stories. I hadn't followed Lennon much in the 70s, although I do remember seeing that same interview that David Calderon mentioned in an earlier post. I remembered reading about how Lennon had come out of his "househusband" years recently, and was ready to create again, etc etc etc. I felt bad about it, but it was kind of a "numb" feeling...like, what ELSE can go wrong?

After we finished the phone call, I turned on the TV, but of course there were no cable channels with wall-to-wall coverage of every aspect of the event back then. So, I turned on the radio -- KLOS, I think -- and of course they were playing nothing but Beatles/Lennon music. And the feelings, the memories, the horror of the whole thing crept up on me.... and then they played "A Day In The Life", and that did it for me. I cried for the next hour.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

I forgot about that Playboy interview! My friends and I were all reading it at the time, very excited about Lennon's return. Come to think of it, that's probably what made me think about playing a Beatles set that night.

And now I just found the interview on a link: http://beatlesnumber9.com/lennonplayboy.html

Still, I have noticed several people over the years relating stories of bizarre coincidence and irony when they heard about his death. When JFK was shot, everyone remembered where they were. Same holds true for Lennon, but with an extra twist of weirdness. If JFK's death marked the beginning of an era, I suppose John's death marked the end of it.

[studiotwosession]

I imagine they felt pretty bleak in the days following at RIC all those years ago.

[Scastles]

Irony. The cover of the Playboy issue with the Lennon interview was that of the future Mrs. Ringo Starr.

[teeder]

My Mom woke me early the next morning for school (9th grade, I think). She was crying as she told me the news. I remember having a numb empty feeling for weeks afterward.
The forever unanswered question, Why would anyone want to kill John Lennon? I don't get it.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

I seem to recall that the mentally ill Chapman believed he WAS Lennon, and killed the real one to quell his inner confusion.

You know, being famous has got to be the worst curse in the world. Remember the angry freak in the Imagine documentary who showed up raving in Lennon's driveway, and after some crazy conversation and was eventually invited in for lunch? Makes you think it was only a matter of time. Everyone wants a piece of a famous person, and the crazy ones take even more.

[studiotwosession]

To an extent. Two Beatles were attacked by disturbed people who meant to kill them.

The Beatle who lived in the U.S. was attacked by a guy with a handgun and thus perished.

Harrison, on the other hand, was attacked by a guy with a knife and survived.

So if you're famous, it makes sense to live somewhere where they don't sell guns to lunatics.

[expomick]

That's not irony, that's more...serendipitous...geesh, I probably used that work incorrectly, and didn't spell it right.

The word irony is often used in the wrong context.
The song "Ironic" by Alanis is usually cited as such an example. That song had more instances of bad luck/unfortunate timing than it did of irony.

If Barbara Bach had shot John Lennon, or had dated Mark David Chapman, or had dated John Lennon, then irony would enter into it.

Any professors out there? As for that date, my story practically mirrors most others. I was in high school, getting ready for bed, and a friend called to inform me.

My mom didn't tell me, as she thought I didn't like the Beatles anymore.

Ironic.

Okay, not really.

[Scastles]

Okay, okay, irony it isn't. Just say coincidence.

[studiotwosession]

I think it's a credit to the UK that Harrison's attacker didn't have a gun. I know there are illegal guns in the UK, but nowhere near as many and to the extent that we have them here.

You get caught with a handgun in England, sane or not, you do ten years, no parole. Here, you're lucky if you get that for killing someone.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

In checking out that Beatlesnumber9 site, I read a McCartney Playboy interview from 1984. He says that when the other Beatles heard about John's death, they all went to work the next day. They couldn't deal with being at home and thinking about it. All three put in a work day.

[expomick]

Actually, the word coincidence is one of the most over-used words currently in the English...

Okay, just joking.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

Are you being ironic?

[expomick]

The good doctor says I have too much iron in my diet as it is.