For a great majority of Beatles Fans (the Boomer variety), these quotes from John and Paul are oh-so true. The golden thread of memories we share with loved ones is, in many cases, longer than the days that unspool before us. We\u2019ve been blessed with a joyful past \u2013 rich and full. And you know that can\u2019t be bad! But there\u2019s a flip side to that bounty of yesterdays.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the last couple of months, my Fest Blog has included a final, loving tribute to Cynthia Lennon and one for John\u2019s sound engineer, Dennis Ferrante. And in the year ahead, we\u2019re sure to say goodbye to more of that original group who made up The Beatles Family. It\u2019s that “time of the season,” and we all know it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I was mulling over this situation last week \u2013 thinking how very sad it is that, in most cases, we only express how much people have meant to us when we\u2019ve lost them. Then we scramble to write eulogies and memoires. We publish favorite photos on Facebook and place stuffed animals beside lighted candles. We pause to pay homage. But unfortunately, these tender tributes never reach the ears of the departed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Too little, too late.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So\u2026for the next two weeks, I\u2019m encouraging you to \u201cSay the Word\u2026Love!\u201d to someone you cherish. You might speak to:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1) A teacher or mentor from long ago who challenged you to become your best, who molded you (intentionally or unintentionally by a quote, deed, or direction) into the person you are today
\n2) A faithful friend who\u2019s always there for you\u2026the person who\u2019s your “thick and thin, Stu Sutcliffe” kind of soul mate
\n3) A parent, grandparent, aunt, or cousin\u2026some family member who (expecting nothing in return) has blessed you with unconditional love
\n4) An inspirer…a favorite performer, writer (for me, it was Maeve Binchy\u2026why didn\u2019t I tell her???), artist, achiever, or public figure who has stirred you to be greater and better
\n5) A faith guide who has lifted you to a higher plane
\n6) Or a\u2026well, you get the picture!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There is someone out there who deserves your thanks, someone to whom the words have never been said. Say them. Email, text, scribble by hand, telephone, Instagram, or “say the word,” face-to-face! But no matter what you do\u2026say it! Don\u2019t wait until it\u2019s too late to speak the emotions that are in your grateful heart.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In 1965, John Lennon gave us this advice. It was good then. It\u2019s great now. Listen:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Everywhere I go I hear it said
\nIn the good and the bad books that I have read:
\nSay the word, and you’ll be free!
\nSay the word and be like me\u2026
\nSay the word I’m thinking of
\nHave you heard the word is \u201clove\u201d?
\nIt\u2019s so fine\u2026it\u2019s sunshine!
\nIt\u2019s the word: LOVE!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Love: you have 14 days to express it. Don\u2019t delay!
\nReady? Steady? Say, say, say!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For a bit of inspiration, CLICK HERE<\/a> to listen to The Beatles singing “The Word”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series:\u00a0www.johnlennonseries.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations —\u00a0@910PubRel<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter and\u00a0910 Public Relations<\/a>\u00a0on Facebook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For a great majority of Beatles Fans (the Boomer variety), these quotes from John and Paul are oh-so true. The golden thread of memories we share with loved ones is, in many cases, longer than the days that unspool before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[8,98,117,30,109],"class_list":["post-5591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baby-boomer-beatles-blog","tag-john-lennon","tag-jude-southerland-kessler","tag-the-beatles","tag-the-fest-for-beatles-fans","tag-the-word"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5591"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5594,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5591\/revisions\/5594"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}