Sir Paul and Sir Bill

Last night Paul McCartney was mentioned. He is 64 today. It was late and weariness from hardware abuse had me down. It is very refreshing to know Sir Paul has made it to an age that he memorialized in tune when only 16 years old. He's on the news shows this morning and is most impressive in attitude and alertness. He just doesn't seem to have aged that much. What a bright fellow.

Growing up, Ed Sullivan was a Sunday night staple. Well, most Sunday nights our family was in church, but we did stay home for some events. Elvis comes to mind as does the Beatles. Remember? Back before VCRs? Back when only a few TV sets were in color? Back when you didn't lock your car when it was in your driveway? Wow, even back then you didn't have to worry about evilness invading Halloween and kids were free to roam the neighborhood. Yes, boys and girls, the world was definitely a kinder, gentler place at one time. I digress.

When the Beatles hit America via the Ed Sullivan Show, the world changed forever. They were received with open arms and took advantage of many of the venues pioneered by Elvis. The girls absolutely adored all of them. Boys emulated them. The hair issues became prevelant and those boots with the high heels and zippers up the side were all the rage. Each album was anticipated and they seemed to always wow us with new, exciting music. They were not perfect (who can forget John's remark about Jesus?), but 3 of the 4 seemed to have stayed within the accepted bounds of positive media which has ALWAYS been a hard criteria.

Dad had problems with long hair, but he did like their music. He was not happy with Sgt. Pepper's at first, but warmed up after hearing When I'm 64. He also liked the White Album a lot. My brother and I were blessed with music during our formative years. Our Dad loved Jazz, the Blues, Big Band, Rock, Classical and we were encouraged to pursue things melodius. During my several attempts to finish college playing in a rock band was part of my income. My brother has been a darn good professional musician all his adult life and is now a member of the praise band at church. Church, study, baseball, and music were promoted. Still like all these things. What a great childhood.

Dad passed away in 1998. I remember the last thing that he said to me. It was right after Christmas holidays and the call was to check and see if he was okay. His doctor had told me, just a few nights before Christmas as he released him from the hospital, "Mike, he won't survive another heart attack." He didn't. But, a wonderful thing happened in this phone call. The last thing my Father told me was, "I love you, son." That's right, the last words spoken to me by Dad were "I love you, son." Yes, tears ARE streaming down my face. I do miss him. He was such a great, wonderful, larger than life influence in my life.

If you can't visit at least call. It is Father's Day. It won't hurt to call Mom either. My life has been truly blessed in many ways. Thank You, God.

"Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later... that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy, a boy much like himself, a boy who grew up and had a child of his own and, as best he could, out of a sense of duty and, perhaps love, adopted a role called Being a Father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a Protector, who would keep a lid on all the chaotic and catastrophic possibilities of life."
-Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities (this applies to daughters too, just shift gender in the appropriate places)