Couple more birthday tidbits

I’d forgotten to mention that, along with flowers and lunch, Steve gave me a gift card. What’s so unusual about that, you might wonder. Take a look at it.

What, pray tell, is a “Vanilla VISA”??? Does that mean I can’t buy anything naughty with it? So what shall I purchase? Maybe go to the book section of Amazon and buy “The Joys of Missionary”? Or get some nice virginal white granny panties? Oh, I know! I’ll go to the music section and buy “Shades of White: The Pat Boone Box Set”! (snort)

Incidentally, Steve was the one who scrawled KINKY under the No Fees line.

And really, is my birthday complete without a new cartoon from the uber-talented Dave Wolfe? No, it is not. He never forgets, no matter what. ♥ Here is the 2016 Erica’s Birthday Toon:

Thank you, Wolfie!!

And finally — this part is off topic, but it definitely concerns another topic about which I’m passionate: The Beatles. Yesterday, John took me to see “The Beatles: Eight Days A Week — The Touring Years,” the documentary by Ron Howard. It focused on 1962-1966, the years in which they traveled worldwide and performed live for thousands of teenagers. At the end of the film, there was a remastered film of their 30-minute Shea Stadium concert in 1965, to over 55,000 screaming fans.

It was magical. Especially for me, because I much prefer the first half of their career to the second. I loved them overall, but whenever I have my druthers, I choose to listen to the music from their “moptop” days, when they wore identical suits and haircuts, when they were brimming with youth and exuberance and cheekiness. Before they grew tired and jaded, before they withdrew from the public and retreated into the studio. When they could still do no wrong, before that unfortunate throwaway remark by John (“We’re bigger than Jesus”) in 1966 brought the wrath of the Bible Belt on their heads, inciting everything from mass burnings of Beatles albums and merchandise to death threats. Yes, their later music grew more sophisticated and complex, it gained in maturity and brilliance… but it lost something as well, for me: the unbridled joy. The playfulness, the boyishness. Before “She Loves You” morphed into “She’s Leaving Home.”

Some parts of the film made me cry… I’m not sure why. Nostalgia, perhaps, or sadness for days gone by. I thought of my brother, who was a teen in the thick of Beatlemania, who went to see them at the Hollywood Bowl. In fact, when the film showed footage of the Bowl concert, John leaned over and whispered, “Ken was there!”

But most of it made me happy. And I’d like to share just a tidbit, the last song in the Shea Stadium concert. Where the screaming was so loud, they couldn’t hear themselves, so they had to count on each other for musical cues (Ringo said he kept the drum beat by “watching John’s ass”). For me, this little two-minute clip encapsulates everything I loved about the Beatles. Watch Paul gleefully singing at the top of his lungs; John and George singing accompanying harmonies and cracking up; John clowning at the keyboard. I defy anyone to not feel the infectious joy. Indulge me — it’s just two minutes. 🙂 Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

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