DIVERSION BY BEATLES

            The gears of our psyche have been adjusted.

        Some seven hours and 45 minutes of intimacy with the Beatles and entourage produced a retooling of attitude. 

        Over a couple nights we took a deep dive, to January 1969, and the 22 days that became the supernova of the singular creative force that changed music, lifestyle, lives and the world. 

         

        The previously unseen and impeccably shot film, edited and curated by director Peter Jackson, (The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies) is riveting and immersive in the documentary Get Back. Lana dreamed about it, and I continue to marvel. 

        We laughed that just 4 months after the filming, we walked into Apple Records in London, thinking we might just "bump into" one of them. 

        Get Back, the documentary series, has the capacity to time scrub your brain and fill you with the zest and verve of that era in our life. It is a trip that rocks you with the passion and playfulness of our own youth.

        For a generation reaching the autumn of life, Get Back is a full on reminder of how good it felt, and how hopeful and limitless was our future.  

        We see our minstrels of revolution at their peak, in their 20's, writing and playing music, talking about their future, and it has the ability to vacuum the uncertainty and unpleasantness of that "future" we now occupy. 

        Watching John Lennon and Paul McCartney write songs, and seeing the duo work them through is astonishing. It is lightening in a bottle. There are moments when the two are  riffing, playing around, having fun while amping up their creative force. 

        There is something pure, innocent and even loving in watching McCartney's fascination as Lennon vamps, and then as Lennon, wryly acknowledges McCartney's new melody or set of lyrics. And on it goes. 

        Watching almost 8 hours of unscripted and pure Beatle creativity not only reminded us our own earlier dreams and life without limits, it is a balm.  

        Time and exposure can dull our senses. Remembering greatness, and seeing it so intimately is a thrill.

central coast autumn colors

        A lot of pundits have used the old bromide about the dog catching the car when talking about the right wing getting a court that now may overturn Roe v. Wade. Given overwhelming public support for abortion rights, it could become a big negative for many Republican candidates.  

        The larger question that occupies me is how will the Supremes handle the inner issue of being so out of step with where most of the nation is on choice. It is particularly delicate in this political culture because the court's very credibility is on the line. It will be interesting to see how they handle it and how the decision is written.

        Be careful, stay well.  See you down the trail.