Now I See It Too

Not a gardening post, but I promise I will get back to the garden in a minute.

John Lennon. Yesterday was the unfortunate 30th anniversary of his death. I am not a huge Beatles fan. Like them, not crazy about them. I certainly respect their contributions to music.  But we watched a special last night that included home movies of Lennon.  And now I see what others see in him – I see it too.  Took me a few years, but I caught on.

Someone filmed an encounter between Lennon and a fan who randomly showed up at his house.  It looks like it’s the early 1970’s by his hair and clothes and Yoko’s hair and clothes. They’re standing outside the house confronting a teenager with wild eyes who pleads, “You wrote ‘I Am the Walrus’ about me, didn’t you?”

Lennon is so gentle with this kid. The kid is clearly disturbed. You hear in his pleading voice, make me feel special, please.  Care about me.

And Lennon does. He’s honest. You can feel the honesty. He says, “No, I didn’t,” and launches into a really interesting talk about how he writes his songs.  You can feel the honesty and the passion in his words.

All the while, the home video camera is rolling.

The kid looks as if tears are in his eyes.  Lennon says to him gently, “Look mate, you hungry? C’mon in.  Have a bite.” And he leads him into his house. It looks like it’s in the countryside somewhere.

And he takes the kid into his own kitchen.  The next bit of film shows them at the table and the kid is sipping a mug of tea and eating a piece of toast. The kid still looks wild eyed. He’s looking around the kitchen like he can’t believe where he is and it might all disappear in a minute.

I just sat back and said, “Whoa.”  Think about it.  A random stranger shows up at your door.  He’s a bit off kilter.  What do you do?  I would probably call the police.  John Lennon, one of the most famous people in the world, sits him down and fixes him tea and toast (maybe Yoko did that, who knows?)

Now I see what others see.  He was indeed a special man.