Remembering Linda 20 years later

Linda's self-portrait in 1991 Arizona

I wasn't always a Linda McCartney fan.   I sort of lumped her in Yoko as a reason why the Beatles broke up.   Not that I thought either one of them set out to break up the band, but it was the Beatles settling down and getting serious with a family that did them in.    And why did Paul want Eastman to represent him?  Surely it was the influence of his new wife.....    And THEN this lady has the nerve to play a keyboard that she doesn't know how to play on Paul's albums? 


But I quickly changed my tune when I started to learn about Linda.   I discovered that she was a strong woman who had a funky style and didn't care what others thought or said.    For a teenager, seeing photos of Linda with hair under her armpits was pretty gross and shocking, but I admired her for just being herself and putting herself out there.

I also learned how much Linda cared for the fans.  The Wings / McCartney Fun Club and the free programs at the concerts in the 1990's were Linda's idea.   

By the time Linda lost her battle with breast cancer 20 years ago today, I was a fan.   I know I have told this story before.    At the time I was going to college at Eastern Illinois University and living in an apartment on campus.     My roommate came home and said something like, "I bet you are upset about Linda McCartney."    I said, "Linda?  What about her?"   And my roommate said, "I heard that she had passed away today.  Sorry."    I started to yell at her and tell her what a mean thing that was to say to me.   That Linda had been sick and according to Beatlefan magazine, she was getting better.  She shouldn't play tricks on me.   Then I went as fast as I could to the library computer lab and looked on the Internet the news to see if it was true.    Once I accepted the fact that Linda was gone, I sat at the computer and sobbed.   I am sure people were looking at me -- crying in the computer lab.  I had no clue that I would take Linda's death so hard.    I felt so bad for James.    We are about the same age, and I just couldn't imagine losing my mother.   I felt so bad for Paul -- how could he possibly go on?

Here we are 20 years later and the McCartney family has done a great job of moving forward since Linda's death while honoring her memory.   

Tonight's posts are in memory of Linda McCartney and the many different parts of her life.