Time in San Francisco

 

July 1972 - San Francisco, California with Geraldo Rivera 

John and Yoko at U.S. Customs

 

June 1, 1971 --  John and Yoko are in New York City, once again trying to locate Kyoko.  

Backstage photo

 

John and Yoko in the City by the Bay

 

On Saturday, August 5, 1972 John and Yoko were on a vacation in San Francisco, California.  On this day Geraldo Rivera spent the day in the City by the Bay with the couple.   They did some typical sightseeing: they rode a trolly car, went down the steep hills in the city, saw the Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman's Warf.    The video footage of this is really interesting and fun to see.     Geraldo interviews John and Yoko and Yoko shares that she met her father for the first time when she was 3 years old in San Francisco.   He had been working in the city and the Ono family traveled from Japan to see him.    

Geraldo did a longer interview with them inside.  I am not sure if this is the same day because they are wearing totally different clothes.    It is a very sad interview because they are talking about how they do not know where Kyoko is and how they think Tony Cox is keeping Kyoko hidden until John got kicked out of America.    Yoko always says that she has learned that her 8-year-old daughter is 2 years behind in school.   That just breaks my heart if it was true.    

I think this is an interesting time in John and Yoko's history that we don't hear much about.  

Geraldo and John

If you're going to San Francisco

For the kids at Willowbrook

In 1972, John and Yoko saw on television the program that Geraldo Rivera made about the terrible conditions at the Willowbrook State School.     I have seen some of the film and it is extremely upsetting to think that anyone would have to live in such terrible conditions, but especially children that are mentally impaired and not capable of caring for themselves.    Yoko contacted Rivera shortly after it aired on television and asked how she can John could help.    That is when the ball started rolling for the now famous "One to One concert."     I always found it a bit surprising, with John's attitude toward the handy-capped that he would feel so strongly about helping out the kids at Willowbrook, but it goes to show that John did care, even if he did feel uncomfortable as a Beatle being put in the  position as a healer.