The first week of December is not the happiest week of this so called magical month.
37 years ago, John Lennon left us. He was on the verge of releasing a brand new album.
He was the ultimate New Yorker, watching the wheels of life pass by with both his sons growing up, his wife by his side, and a new decade to discover.
The wheels stopped rolling on that fatal day. The world stopped rolling too. I wasn’t born yet (3 years later), but my brother was 4 years old and he remembers this day clearly. He remembers my mom crying on the phone, telling someone that John had died. My father was in shock and disbelief.
Since I was probably 4 or 5 years old, I have been a big Beatles fan. This was because of my brother and by accident actually.
Saturday morning, on a sports radio station, there was an oldies music show (ironic). And, while we were playing or he was studying in another room, I was in his bedroom playing with my dolls. I remember the first time I heard The Beatles song “Do You Want to Know a Secret” and my reaction was almost ethereal. I was so taken by the melody and the fact that I was having this reaction. This exact moment was the start of my love story with The Fab Four.
A couple of years later, when I was 7 years old, I watched a movie on TV about John and Yoko. On that Sunday movie night at home, I cried realizing John was no longer with us and someone was really mean and killed him.
My brother, again who is until this day my ultimate teacher, explained to me what happened and why. From that moment, I did the math with the Polytechnique tragedy, and I was so mad.
Again, violence was destroying this world.
But today, I want to focus on John and what he brought in our lives.
He taught us to fight the good fight, even if it is not the most popular one.
He taught us not take ourselves too seriously sometimes.
He taught us that we are not perfect and we all make mistakes. It’s never too late to reconnect with our loved ones.
John wasn’t perfect at all. But, he was a real, beautiful soul. Life wasn’t always easy, especially when he was little.
The Beatles have shown us that we may not have chosen our family, but our friends can become the family we choose.
37 years later, we still imagine a world without anger, without hunger, and without pain.
The scars of his death are still visible. It still hurts. He didn’t choose to leave his body like this. No ones would actually. He didn’t get the chance to see his sons becoming wonderful men, or to grow old with his soulmate.
My favourite John Lennon tribute is by his brother, George.
Let’s enjoy this beautiful tribute.
All those years ago by George Harrison
When George sang you are the reason we exist, gosh my heart is melting and tears are caressing my cheeks.
Let’s remember happy thoughts of John today.
Let’s remember the love story of when a man fell in love with a woman who became his ultimate muse.
Let’s remember his sons, and hope they had good memories, even when sometimes father-son relationships can be tricky.
Let’s remember he got the chance to have 3 more brothers in his life.
And let’s remember he was a working class hero, like the rest of us.
Here my favorite quote of John:
