Just because it is very short doesn't mean that it isn't worth your time. This is the story of Mary, who, in 1966, was a huge Beatles fan living in Anchorage, Alaska. John Lennon was her favorite Beatle, and she never thought she would get the chance to see him in person—that is, until June 28, 1966.
On that date, the Beatles were supposed to fly to Japan for their concerts in Tokyo. They were scheduled to stop over in Anchorage to refuel, but something went wrong. Either it had to do with a storm named Kit in the Pacific, or something on their airplane needed to be fixed. Either way, the Beatles and their crew were not going to be able to leave Alaska until the next day. So they moved into the Anchorage Westward Hotel for the next nine hours.
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| Some pretty bored Beatles wait in the hotel room with Brian |
That is where Mary's story picks up. Her sister hears about the Beatles being in town and informs her Beatle-crazed sister. Mary goes to the hotel and, along with 500 fans, stares up at the top floor in shock that the Beatles were up there!
When it is time for the Beatles to leave and get back on their airplane, Mary gets an idea and ends up next to the Beatles' bus, seeing John Lennon (and the others). I won't say the exact details of how this happens because you really need to read the story for yourself.
However, the one thing that stood out about her story that I never thought about was that in late June in Alaska, they experience the summer solstice, where it is daylight for almost 24 hours. So when the Beatles were leaving for the airport after midnight, it was still light outside, and tons of fans were still mulling around. Typically, the fans thinned out by that time of night, but it didn't FEEL like night, so they stuck around.
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| the guys on that bus that Mary saw them on in Alaska. Photo by Robert Whitaker |
"Face to Face with John Lennon" is available as an e-book only, and it costs 99 cents on Amazon.
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All I want to know is: was Cynthia mentioned?
ReplyDeleteNo--Cynthia didn't travel with the Beatles on the 1966 tours, so she nor any of the Beatle girls were mentioned. This is just a cute story of a brief encounter with the Beatles that a 14 year old Beatle fan had in 1966.
DeleteFace to Face with the John Lennon was such fun to write. My enthusiastic way of telling my story to family and friends always got them swept right up into Anchorage's Beatlemania of 1966. Your contribution with stories and photos about the Beatles is super and a major effort on your part. Congratulations! In your review you wrote; "Just because is is very short doesn't mean it isn't worth your time." (Thank you for that.) "Mary gets an idea and ends up next to the Beatles bus and seeing John Lennon (and the others.) The exact details of how this happens. I won't say because you really need to read the story yourself." I wish you further success in all that you do and would really appreciate a review about Face to Face with John Lennon on my Amazon eBook page from a devoted Beatles fan such as yourself. All my best, Mary Jane Dougherty
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