I can still hear The Byrds\u2019 crystalline, jingle-jangle sound as they brought Old Testament wisdom to life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor everything,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Turn, turn, turn\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a season,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Turn, turn, turn\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And a time to every purpose under heaven.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The year that they took \u201cTurn, Turn, Turn\u201d to Number 1 on the charts, my mother was a Home Economics teacher at Bolton High School, Alexandria, Louisiana, and I was in the 6th<\/sup> grade, where I spent my days madly in love with The Beatles. For me, the Byrds\u2019 song had a gorgeous melody and a real hook, but honestly, the words were kind of\u2026well, scary. \u201cA time to break down\u201d made me uncomfortable. \u201cA time to weep,\u201d when gruesome reports of Vietnam filled the nightly news, scared me. And \u201ca time to be born, a time to die\u201d was terrifying. The lyrics were so foreign to me then, so far removed from the childlike emotions I understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n But now, \u201ca time to die,\u201d has become all too real. I lost my remarkable mother five years ago, and my dad, three years after that. Three of my dearest friends in The Beatles World are mourning the loss of their moms right now. And many others of us have losses fresh in our memories. Our sweet Carol Lapidos, for example, posted on John Lennon\u2019s birthday a \u201cHappy Birthday!\u201d to John and Sean\u2026and to her dearly departed father-in-law, Mark\u2019s dad, as well. All of us are missing someone cherished. All of us are learning \u2014 first-hand \u2014 about the complicated emotions intertwined in loss, mourning, and remembrance. All of us are finding our way in this new season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1965, when I first heard the Byrds\u2019 lovely and haunting rendition of the words from the book of Ecclesiastes, I knew so little about death. I had only lost a grandfather whom I had never had the opportunity to really know. But a year later, I lost my quiet and faithful companion, my sweet cocker spaniel, Beau\u2026and the reality of \u201ca finite existence\u201d began to sink in. Separation and acceptance became more tangible than they had ever been, and I started to value the importance of memories. In 1966, I learned to grieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n And at a mere 13-years-old, the one healing unguent that got me through the pain of loss was The Beatles. Their music made sadness bearable. Their sound assuaged pain. Getting lost in the melody of \u201cThis Boy\u201d or \u201cIn My Life\u201d stopped the tears. The Beatles were a panacea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And you know what? Very little has changed. Today, my friends and I (all ardent Beatles fans) are calling upon the same balm to tend our wounds. Fifty years later, we are still turning to the soundtrack of our lives as we \u2014 the ones left behind in this place called Earth \u2014 recall, remember, and re-target our lives. The Beatles still seem, somehow, to understand as John spools out his own heartbreak in \u201cYes, It Is.\u201d As the boys seem to offer \u201ca way forward\u201d in \u201cI\u2019ll Follow the Sun.\u201d Their lyrics, though written for them and about them, somehow fit our lives so well. We feel an inexplicable kinship with these four lads from Liverpool, lads we\u2019ve never met and yet, have always known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In that vein, I sat down a few years ago and wrote a poem for a friend who was walking through her own \u201cValley of the Shadow.\u201d I so hoped that the words would strengthen her heart, and today I hope that wherever you are<\/em> on your journey, she and I can share them to touch your spirit as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n They were<\/p>\n\n\n\n My safe place,<\/p>\n\n\n\n My known against the unknown,<\/p>\n\n\n\n My run-to, go-to shelter after midnight,<\/p>\n\n\n\n My flickering light up in the window,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Far back as I can go,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Far forward as I can imagine,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reverse and forward,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stop and pause\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were always there:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A net beneath me,<\/p>\n\n\n\n A hiding place,<\/p>\n\n\n\n A room sequestered from the world<\/p>\n\n\n\n A vault where I could hide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I huddled close beside them<\/p>\n\n\n\n And deftly hid my head,<\/p>\n\n\n\n With<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nowhere Man and Silver Hammer,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Moonlight, Lovely Rita,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Celebrated Mr. K<\/p>\n\n\n\n Performing feats on Saturday\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And standing in the gaps<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the Helter Skelter in my brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pretty little policemen, guard me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Octopus\u2019s garden, hide me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m on my way home,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m on my way home\u2026to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the play-out tracks,<\/p>\n\n\n\n I heard they had a message<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Backwards perhaps and not in tune)<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I am there as well,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Covered in music,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wrapped in lyrics,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Invisible\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Camouflaged\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sheltered in their sound<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am there,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buffered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are there with me\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Turn<\/strong> up the music. Turn<\/strong> up the hope. Turn<\/strong> up the volume and shout aloud these words that I would love to say to you in person: \u201cYou are not alone. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Winston Churchill said to all of us, \u201cSuccess<\/strong> is not final, failure<\/strong> is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember that seasons change. Nothing stays the same. If you are in a season of distress, it will dispel. If you are in a season of pain, it will fall away. If you are in a season of sadness, hang tight. We are a Beatles family, and together, we can do what we need to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Turn, turn, turn\u2026you can go on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel<\/a> on Twitter and 910 Public Relations<\/a> on Facebook.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I can still hear The Byrds\u2019 crystalline, jingle-jangle sound as they brought Old Testament wisdom to life: \u201cFor everything, Turn, turn, turn\u2026 There is a season, Turn, turn, turn\u2026 And a time to every purpose under heaven.\u201d The year that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7956","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\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7956"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7965,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7956\/revisions\/7965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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