Jon and Yoko's "Bed-In" for world peace; 30 years ago, Montreal. (video clip from the CBC.) This poster is from the Musee des Beaux-Arts' current commemorative exhibit.
Here's another vintage clip, also from the CBC, of the press interviewing John and Yoko after their meeting with Pierre Trudeau (the first 30 seconds are silent.)
If you haven't seen The United States vs. John Lennon, you should. If you were alive at the time, it will take you right back. If not, it will show you what it was really like. (I still can't see Nixon or Kissinger on the screen without wanting to scream.)
My actual memories of John Lennon include only "Double Fantasy" and his tragic murder the year I was in eighth grade.
Posted by: Kaycie | June 05, 2009 at 03:13 PM
I linked to your blog today on my own -- the last few posts have been just so great.
Posted by: Elizabeth | June 05, 2009 at 04:53 PM
Sigh. The complexity of my feelings about John Lennon defy expression. More than anyone, for better and worse, he made the psychological world I grew up in. I've never quite forgiven him for that, or learned to thank him for it.
Posted by: dale | June 05, 2009 at 04:58 PM
Oh, how close it all seems. Must I consign this to history?
With you all the way, Dale.
Posted by: Dick | June 06, 2009 at 06:30 PM
At the time of his death, I was living in Seattle. People on the bus that day spontaneously began to talk to each other about it. I’m not sure I’ve seen that happen since.
Just two seconds of his voice and you know who it is. Lennon and the Beatles aren’t history for us who were there. Or rather they are history, but that’s because we’re becoming historical too. The events that defined us, or by which we defined ourselves, are moving into the past, out of the window of lived memory, just as WWII has.
Posted by: DDC | June 24, 2009 at 05:56 PM
DDC: Thank you for your comment, I'm delighted to hear from you. You've put your finger on something I've been thinking about a great deal: the scrolling passage of time where the recent past is so dominant, the newest events the most compelling, while past events, regardless of their importance, inevitably recede into what becomes known as "history," along with those of us who have been defined by events occurring in the past. As a writer, I see the importance of chronicling those times in a way that captures their essence as much as possible, but I also accept that "understanding" is always subjective and colored by the context of the reader's life itself. As a philosopher, how do you describe and grapple with time and memory?
I'm very happy to find out about your blog and will be reading it from now on!
Posted by: beth | June 25, 2009 at 08:42 AM