Sharing The Loss of John Lennon
by Bob McMahon, Lansdowne, PA
The night of December 8, 1980, I was in my college dorm room when a friend called to see if I had heard the terrible news: John Lennon had been shot and killed. At first I didn’t believe her, but then I turned on the radio and found out it was true. I went out into the hall and knocked on a few doors, spreading the word, then went downstairs to the TV room. Eventually the room was full of people staring at the news and hastily-prepared tribute shows in shock. Occasionally someone would offer some subdued commentary: no more hopes of a Beatles reunion; the sadness that John had just ended a 5-year sabbatical as a “house-husband” and father to Sean, and there had even been talk of a tour to support his new album; and the bitter irony that a man who sang of peace had been cut down in a senseless act of violence.
A few nights later I drove a carload of students to the next town to participate in a candlelight vigil and memorial in John’s memory. As we stood in the crowd holding our candles, we sang “Give Peace A Chance” over and over until we were all crying. Many of my political convictions crystallized for me on that night: advocate for stricter gun control laws, oppose war and militarism as John did during the Vietnam War, imagine all the people living life in peace, and dream of nonviolent revolution (”when you talk about destruction, don’t you know that you can count me out”).
We came together on that cold December evening because we couldn’t stand to bear our loss alone; singing together by candlelight, somehow we knew “it’s gonna be all right”.
I went to bed the night of Dec. 8th, completely oblivious to what had occurred. My Mom woke me early the next morning and told me the news of John’s murder. The first words out of my mouth were, “Shut Up”. Something I had never dared utter to my Mother in my entire life. I thought that this could only be some sort of cruel joke (eventhough I know my Mom would never do something like that to me). After all, who in their right mind would ever do such a thing?
August 31st, 2007 at 11:44 pmAs it turned out, it wasn’t a joke. It was all too real.
I had to teach the day after John Lennon was shot. I put a black armband on and my students asked if one of my relatives had died. I said, “Yes.”
Seven years later, I named my son Julian, in honor of John.
His ideals live on in many of us who came of age in the 60s, and we still believe in saving the world, one person at a time. Give peace a chance….and all you need is love.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:23 pm