First I want to say that I purposely waited until late in the day on November 29 to post my tribute in memory of George. I did that because while I know that George passed away on November 29, 2001, it wasn't until the morning of November 30, 2001 that I heard the news. As I have said in the past, the day I learned of George's death was my last day working at a job that I was anxious to leave. I had quit on September 12, 2001 after realizing that life was too short to be stuck doing something you dislike. But this particular job had a 2 MONTH notice (instead of the traditional 2 week notice) and with my accumulated sick days and whatnot, November 30 was my last day. On December 1 I was going to venture out into a new phase of my life. Somehow George's death at that particular moment of my life made me think about how George also was going onto his next phase of the cycle of life.
Having a Beatles blog, I felt like I had to do something great in honor of George. "People expect it, Sara", I was telling myself all day. And I had a few different ideas. I looked for letters from fans written after his death and found very little. The photos I personally took of the George Harrison memorial wall at Beatlefest in 2002 didn't look as great as I remembered them.
Words cannot express how I feel about George. George isn't my favorite Beatle. I have jokingly referred to him as "my fourth favorite Beatle." Because I love and adore George Harrison, and he is one of my favorite musicians ever. I think George would have found that to be a funny statement. It actually angered me that after George's death people that I know were never fans started calling him their favorite Beatle. But now, 10 years later, I don't care.
Anyhow....I am leaving you with some excerpts from a Rolling Stone magazine article written in by Fred Goodman along with two fan photos, one of which was taken by Lizzie Bravo and the other I think was taken by Cathy Sarver (although I might be incorrect about that one.)
Das and Goswami, the Krishnas who prayed and kept him company till the moment of his death, say Harrison's humor was intact until he died. 'There was some great jokes,' says Das. 'He's always been a super comedian.' 'He faced the end with great humor and courage,' said Dr. Lederman, who treated Harrison. 'He believed that death is part of life and had no fear of death. sometimes it made those around him uncomfortable. But he was totally fearless about it.
In early November Harrison received treatment on Staten Island. Throughout, he remained in good spirits, even working on "Brainwashed". And it was there on November 12th that he shared a final reunion with his former band mates, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. According to the British tabloid, Sunday People, Harrison was in high humor throughout lunch, recalling early adventures from their days together, including how he had thought he fellow Beatles were asleep when he lost his virginity in their shared Hamburg hotel room, only to have them cheer and clap when he had finished. Starr, who had flown in from Boston, where his thirty-one year old daughter is being treated for a brain tumor, left after lunch when Harrison went for treatment (and we all know what was shared between Ringo and George at that moment, especially after seeing the Harrison documentary this past October) but McCartney insisted on remaining, spending the rest of the afternoon with the Harrisons. "It was a spirited affair," said Lederman, "not a somber one. There were lots of laughs and lots of fun. There were tears, but George remained very much a man of dignity. At the end, after both Paul and Ringo had left, he was fine and calm. He was a very happy man. This meeting meant so much to him."
