Cleaning Out

Our cupboard hath begun to overfloweth with cans and jars and bags of all sorts of preserved food stuffs and old spices (not "old spice", mind you...) Seeing as how the Soviet Union is gone and the threat of worldwide nuclear annihlation is somewhat diminished, the wife and I have decided to plow through our storehouse.

For lunch today, I dug out a can of chicken noodle soup - un choix très approprié for such a cold, wintery day. The can had a picture of Neil Armstrong on it, and an advert for an 8"x10" autographed photo of Davy Jones of the Monkees (to be had for the paltry sum of 6 can labels and five cents postage & handling).

The soup was still amazingly good.

Can It Really Be 25 Years?...

It really is difficult to believe it has been 25 years to the day that John Lennon was murdered. I can remember the day as clearly as if it happened yesterday.

Actually, it isn't December 8 I remember, but December 9. His murder occured after most of us east of the Mississippi River had gone to bed, so we didn't find out until the next morning. Still, as I watched the archive footage on BBC World News this morning, the same rush of sadness I felt at age 13 came back.

So today, I listen to John's music (the Anthology boxed set, Walls and Bridges, and - oddly - Some Time In New York City) and I remember the music of a brilliant artist who was ripped from us far, far too soon.

Don't misunderstand me. It isn't that John Lennon was a morality figure or role model. But his music has always been special to me. His lyrics had an honesty to them that is still refreshing, even after all these years.

And the tragic irony that a man who spoke and sang so much about peace and love was taken in such a violent fashion... it is difficult not to feel a tinge of sorrow on such a sad anniversary.

But, just now, as "Mind Games" cues up on the Media Player, I am reminded that life is to be celebrated, not mourned.

So, when you get a chance, grab that John Lennon CD of yours (or, if you don't own one, go buy the newly released Working Class Hero compilation), give it a spin, and appreciate the musical genius that was John Lennon.