December 8, 1980 - A day in the life

I was 14 at the time.  Muizenberg.  South Africa.  With my parents on our annual family vacation.  I had no idea what death was, how it worked, its consequences.  And - its finality.

It was actually December 9th when I found out --- about John Lennon's death.  Gunned down outside his brownstone in New York City at 10:49pm (New York Time) on the 8th - 5:49am on Dec 9th (Cape Town time).  I was at the corner store, getting a chocolate bar, when I saw the headline.  It stopped me.  It seemed like time froze - and in what seemed like an eternity, this 14 year-old naive and innocent, John Sacke realized the world had lost a musical icon - John Lennon.  

Murdered by Mark David Chapman.  A lunatic.  A deranged security guard from Hawaii, he had been a fan of the Beatles and would later claim he had been enraged by Lennon's now infamous 1966 remark about the group being "more popular than Jesus."  You'd gun down a guy for that?

Some say John's last words were, "I'm shot".  Other reliable sources they were "Yes", in response to the officers' question, "Are you John Lennon".  Whatever they were, the tragedy remains.  

For the most part, the Beatles were before my time.  I was in diapers when they released what is perhaps the greatest album of all time, "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" .  Released in May 1967, it would go on to spend 15 weeks as the Top Album in the United States - a record at that time. 

I never really internalized John Lennon's death until about 25 years ago - when acts of terror and hate really began to penetrate the mainstream.   And sadly today, heinous acts of terror are an almost daily occurrence somewhere in the world.  The acts are too numerous to mention, and with each one, the world becomes a little, no, make that a lot darker.

And there is no question at all, that the Beatles are as relevant today as they have ever been.  According to Forbes Magazine the Beatles' songs were streamed more than 1.5 billion times last year - and that almost half of the people streaming them, were under 30.  Wow!  Can you imagine being highly relevant for 50 years and counting?  What a musical force, indeed.

I listen to John and the Beatles iconoclastic musical masterpieces all the time and so thankful for it.  It's music I never tire of.  Never seems to go stale - and the more I listen, the more I appreciate its brilliance --  

Even during this pandemic, there are memorial ceremonies being held.  At Strawberry Fields in New York.  Outside the Capitol Records Building on Vine Street in Los Angeles - and in front of Lennon's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star.  There is also a memorial being held inside this little heart of John Sacke.    

"You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one"

My first post in almost 9 months

Time flies. Wow.  

February 12, 2020 (my last blog post).  291 days, 25,142,400 seconds. 419,040 minutes. 6984 hours. 79.51% of the year.  A universe apart.  Everything has changed.  It's a new world.  Not necessarily a better one.  A new world.  But I am grateful.  No make that very grateful.  No again. Make me that "off-the-charts-grateful" for all that I have.  I thank G-d every day.

A vaccine for Covid-19?  I think so.  Coming in 2021.  I know companies like Pfizer, Moderna, Astra Zeneca and many others are pushing science and research to its limits in their attempts to quell this deadly pandemic.

Amidst this changing world, there have been many constants - each one playing a major role in my sanity.  Family.  Friends.  Work.  Health.  Love.  Yes to all.  And then there is music - something that's always soothed me.   Here are some riveting music clips - each with the why.

1.  Amnesty Concert, Maple Leaf Gardens.  1988.  Click here.  The why.  My first concert in Canada, 6 weeks after I arrived.  I had no money.  Jumped the turnstile.  Somehow landed up 9 rows from the stage.  Peter Chapman.  Sting.  The Boss.  Tracy Chapman. Youssou N'Dour.  All singing for the human cause.  Wow!

2. One.  U2 and Mary J. Blige.  Click here.  Guttural Bono at his very best.  Mary - sensual and passionate.  All in One.  You gotta love this one.

3.  Chuck Mangione.  Feels so good.  Click here.  Born exactly on this day in 1940 in Rochester, New York - this is a feel good piece - like no other.  Chuck - happy 80th birthday buddy.

4.  One hundred ways.  James Ingram.  A great soul song.  Click here. Note the words "Bein' cool won't help you keep a love warm. You'll just blow your only chance. Take the time to open up your heart. That's the secret of romance"  Been married to Karen, the love of my life for over 26 years and still going strong.

5. David Bowie.  Starman.  Click here.  Not gonna say much, as I've said it before --- see here - a post I wrote a week after his death in 2016.  A musical icon.  Gone.  Not forgotten.

6.  Asimbonanga.  Jonny Clegg.  Click here.  A haunting song.  A riveting song.  Skip to 4:07 in the clip (if you must) to see Nelson himself make an appearance.  Clegg, a South African musical icon --- just a few years older than me.  Sadly, he passed away July 16, 2019.  Taken too soon.  Cancer.

7.  Eminem.  Lose Yourself.  Click here.  It's hardcore - motivational.  Never seem to get tired of listening it it.  The opening lyrics ... "Look. If you had One shot. Or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted. In one moment. Would you capture it. Or just let it slip?"

Is this list exhaustive?  For sure not.  It's just a listing a songs I've listened to and clips I've watched frequently in the past 9 months.

Stay safe.  Stay sane.  Stay healthy. 

 

I'm Now 54 - A thing or four I have learned

So, yesterday I turned 54 – my age now incorporating the numbers of the most famous dance club of this (or the last) generation; Studio 54.  Truth be told, I did go there a few times (the winter of 1985) but that’s a topic for another day.

You know, birthdays always make me reflect a little – and the perfect time for that was yesterday in the spinning class I went to from 5:30 to 6:15pm.  The instructor played great music – loud – and for those that know me well, know that I love great music – loud.  It was grunge hour yesterday, a genre I particularly like.  Soundgarden.  Nirvana.  Blink 182.  Pearl Jam. I was in my happy place and did some good reflection. 

The bottom line is this: I consider myself to be the most fortunate person I know (or even don't).  Far as I am concerned, I have it all.  A great job.  An awesome wife.  Two great young adult kids.  Supportive family.  A career I adore which provides me a good living.  Perfect health.  A wide and diverse circle of friends and many clients that admire and respect me.  And I live in a fantastic country.  And that’s the point – I have it all – and I am so grateful. 

That I have so much happiness in my life, makes me kinda/ somewhat qualified to share the things that got me to where I am, and if this helps but one person of the approximate 600 that will get this – then the world will be (just a little bit) a better place.

• Being angry for 10 minutes is OK.  Being angry for more than 10 minutes is not.  People, places and things are going to piss you off from time to time.  No question.  And you’re going to be justifiably angry.  Know what I say?  Get over it dude and move on.  No problem was ever solved by dwelling in an angry past --- look at the tomorrow aspect

•  Keep in touch with people – even when you don’t need anything from them and especially when you don’t need anything from them.  Even a dead, rapidly rotting fish in the summer sun smells better than a voicemail I got a few days ago that went like this, “Hi John, it’s so-and-so and we met like ten years ago at a PR conference.  FRemember me? Sorry I never called you or was in touch.  But I wanted to pick your brain for a few minutes.  Please call me.”  Yeah right? I could not hit the delete button fast enough

• Keep your word.  I know this sounds easier than you think – but most people say one thing and do another.  I’ve noticed in the past few years that many people pay little attention to doing what they say and saying what they do … but don’t be a sheeple.  If you say it.  Then do it.  Simple.

• Ask not what others can do for you, but what you can do for others.  Help before you ask for help yourself.  Be kind and generous in everything (especially with our time) to others and they’ll repay you over and over and over again.  You have got to give to get. 

That pretty much is it.  Heed the above 4 ideas – and you’ll live a happier life.  You have my word. Now, as I bask in the emotional warmth from yesterday, I will bid the world goodnight.  Le Chaim!