I’ve used the photo at left a zillion times — in press releases, in articles, on various websites. It is, in fact, the very shot on the 2016 (and ooooh so cool!) New York Fest for Beatles Fans poster! But the version I submitted to Mark, Carol, and Michelle Lapidos (the one you see above) is the cropped version. And, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

About a week ago, I came upon the original photo -– the unedited version taken about 2 1/2 years ago at a party in my hometown. And below is what I saw:

In the immediate background, just over my shoulder, you can see my mom. She’s right behind me…there all the time. I never knew.

This full picture set me to thinking…who is in the background now? Whom am I allowing to fade into the shadows, unnoticed, while I concentrate on things that are (arguably) “more important?” Whom am I overlooking –- and whom are you overlooking -– as we race around madly, smiling for the camera?

Most people spend a minimum of eight hours a day at work. For The Beatles, especially in 1964-1966, that was a laughable minimum. They spent a good 10 hours a day filming, interviewing, starring on TV and radio shows, recording, mixing, touring, composing, editing, and taking photographs.

And for John –- who also wrote, illustrated, edited, and promoted two books of poetry and prose during that time frame (at night, at home) — the workload was far greater. 12 hours a day, some days. Pressured.

And so, Cynthia slipped into the shadows. And so did Mimi. And so did his sisters, Jacqui and Ju. And even little Julian. Just over John’s shoulder, in a dimmer light, they waited. And waited and waited and waited.

The questions John had to answer and the questions posed to us all are… “Is it worth the sacrifice?” “Are our priorities in order?” Or (to phrase it quaintly, as Ben Franklin once did), “Are we paying too much for the whistle?”

Ever since I saw that unedited photo of my mom and me, I’ve begun noticing other photos: photos tacked to cubicles; photos taped to work stations of nurses, accountants and car salesmen; photos of people we rarely see; photos of people who get one-to-three hours a night, at best, or a brief weekend reunion.

“You say ‘Goodbye,’

But I say, ‘Hello!…Hello! Hello!’

I don’t know why you say, ‘Goodbye.’

I say, ‘Hello!’”

Is that the familiar chorus of our daughters and our sons? Is that the refrain of our aging mums or dads, living alone? Is that the unvoiced appeal of our patient husbands or lonely wives? Is that the theme song of those who wait for us to come home?

Had I known –- when that photograph of me was taken -– that only six months later, my mom would be gone, I would have stopped and noticed. I would have spent more time, asked more questions, learned more, shared more, appreciated more. I hardly think I would have said:

“You say stop, but I say

‘Go, go, go!!!!’”

I think I would have changed my tune.

We are all incredibly busy. Every day we are challenged to press on. But as we “go, go, go,” precious time is slipping away: Time to notice. Time to care. Time to tell them. Time to share.

Is it time to readjust the focus? I think it just might be.

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

Y’ better slow down…

Baby, now y’er movin’ way too fast!

It happens every year at this time. The tall, exotic, Japanese Magnolia trees in my neighborhood imitate Mother Superior…and jump the gun.

A few warm Louisiana days and nights seduce the silly trees, and right in the middle of January (or at the beginning of February), they explode into mad, delicate, pink blossoms.

“Noooooooo!” I scream at them through the picture window. “Noooo, it’s only February! It’s going to get brutally cold again! Any minute now!”

And sure enough, the frost and ice rush in unannounced. And the delicate magnolias are violently frozen, their lovely premature blossoms seared – falling wilted to the ground, a spectacle of poor planning.

You see, timing matters.

Brian Epstein knew this. He refused to let The Beatles set foot in America until they owned a Number One record. In January 1964, when the boys trekked off to Paris with an excursion to America only a few weeks away, Brian was outside his comfort zone. He was truly gambling. Capitol Records had assured him the Number One slot would be The Beatles’, and he believed the Powers-That-Be. But scheduling the U.S. trip ahead of his target goal was a huge risk. Everything hinged on that one phenomenon. Without the Number One under their caps, Brian knew that The Beatles could flop in America, just as Cliff Richard had done when he “crossed the pond.”

Well, you know the familiar story. While in Paris, The Beatles and Brian received that fortuitous phone call from Louise Harrison (yes, it was Louise…read that part of She Loves You, Vol. 3 in The John Lennon Series for detailed documentation) telling them that I Want to Hold Your Hand had just topped the charts in the United States. And in that jubilant instant, the tipping point was reached. Brian’s gamble to prepare for departure had paid off. The moment was right for conquest!

Journeying to America before this pinnacle had been grasped might have been disastrous. Waiting prudently for the name recognition the lads needed was vastly important. It mattered.

Mark Lapidos, too, can tell you about the importance of waiting, about the need for dotting every “i” and crossing every “t.” When Mark devised the idea of “Beatlefest,” he could have plowed ahead on the surging crest of his youthful enthusiasm. He could have moved, full speed ahead, to make his exciting idea into reality, no matter what!

But Mark didn’t. He waited.

He summoned up his courage and went to see John Lennon in person, asking for John’s blessing on the concept of the Fest. Mark wisely asked for an endorsement that would make The Fest something of which The Beatles approved and of which they would be proud. And John saw that it was good. And it was. And 40 years later, it’s even better!

So what does that say to us? To you and me – owners of sure-fire schemes? It whispers, “Wait.”

Don’t jump ahead. Plan. Seek counsel. Ask for opinions. Question everything. Move slowly.

If the Japanese Magnolias would follow Epstein’s and Lapidos’s examples, they would be lovely for months during the spring. They would enjoy a season of beauty unequaled by any other vernal tree. Instead, they spring ahead ruthlessly…and time and again, they fail.

I don’t know what you’re planning or writing or preparing or creating, but know this: If we would pay attention to detail as we plan, practice, hone, revamp, investigate, seek counsel, and keep working, we would see our dreams come true. The Beatles, Brian Epstein, and Mark Lapidos all knew that this is the way forward. Successes one and all, they could tell you:

Ladies and Gentlemen, timing is everything.

Slow down.

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

At the height of the holiday shopping, he sat alone in the outbuilding, the discount warehouse behind a chic, rural gift shop. In that cold, metal shed that boasted stacks of mildewing rugs, funky out-of-season decorations, imperfect mirrors, and broken toys, he was the aging security guard – lanky and underpaid. Lots of time on his hands.

But when my husband and I wandered into his domain, he grinned and greeted us with an enthusiastic “Hello!” I smiled and helloed back reticently, and at once, the man recognized me for a newcomer. He beamed. In fact, he almost fell over himself asking, “Is this your first time in the discount barn? Have you never been here before?”

I shook my head, admitting I hadn’t, and the man stood, full of the kind of full-blown pride that usually denotes business ownership.

“Oh well, in that case,” the menial employee radiated warmth, “Welcome to…here!” And he meant it.

I’ll never forget that man. I’ll never forget how very proud he was of the place in which he worked.

No one on that chilly day (besides my husband and me) had dared venture out of the warm gift shop into the sales barn. And nothing in that barn was beautiful or expensive or special. Except for that employee. He was extraordinary. He was joyous. He was the living embodiment of what our parents meant about when they taught us:

“Whatever you do, great or small, do it well or not at all.”

The Beatles grasped that concept. They owned it. Whether they were recording a Christmas holiday greeting or a Saturday Club segment or an LP, they worked tirelessly to produce the very best. Reading the liner notes on the new “1” DVD, I was struck by this passage from Mark Ellen:

“Modern pop stars tend to reach certain levels of wealth and celebrity and then feel no apparent compulsion to get back to the studio, yet in the seven short years The Beatles recorded, they never lost their thirst for artistic adventure. The larger their following and the louder its applause , the more it raised their game, improving their craft, stretching their creative range, and fueling ever-greater levels of imaginative ambition.”

Indeed, The Beatles were never bored with their work. They never found it tedious. And in their individual careers they were (and are) always excited to produce “the next big thing” (as John phrased it).

That is what I wish for you and me this year…hunger to do better, pride in what you do, desire to learn more and to improve, joy in putting out a good product, and above all, a sense of belonging in your nook of the world.

Your nook may not be “steel and glass.” It may not be Important (with a capital “I”) in the strictest sense of the word. But if you’re thrilled about it, others will catch the fever, too.

I fell in love with that chilly, unappealing discount barn because the security guard was “over the moon” about the place. His enthusiasm was contagious. If he loved it “Here,” then “Here” must be worthy of a second look…maybe, a third.

That afternoon, I bought one of the unusual mirrors stacked in the corner. I bought a few ornamental Easter eggs for next year…and yes, I bought one of the rugs (from under the pile where the mildew had not yet permeated). And I walked away from that place determined to have more faith in my own work…and inspired to celebrate it more.

From Hamburg to Apple, the quality that sold fans, critics, naysayers, newsmen, filmmakers, and business people on The Beatles was their unadulterated enthusiasm. With every song, film, and snippet of Scouse wit ’n wisdom, they shouted, “Welcome to HERE!”

They let their light shine. And so should we. It’s 2016; shine on!

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

And so this is New Year’s…and what have I done?

Well, let me tell you. It’s only seven days into the New Year, and already I’ve broken three of my five brand new resolutions! I haven’t worked daily on my next Lennon book. I haven’t spent daily time in prayer. And I’ve lost my temper (yes, already!) with a goodly number of various and sundry people. In only seven days.

I’m willing to take the blame here, but…maybe (just maybe) I’m failing miserably because the resolutions I’ve created are pledges that I just can’t keep. Maybe I’d do better if I turned to The Beatles for some hints on how to live in 2016.

Hmmm, I wonder what resolutions the lads would have to offer?

(Mystical music begins playing…and fades into “Hey Jude”)

From: Dr. Winston O’Boogie, Paul Ramone, Carl Harrison, and Yer Ritchie

Hey Jude,

Here’s to 2016, luv! May it rock (’n ever roll over Beethoven).

Be it Resolved That Herein This Year, Y’ Should

1. 1.     Take a sad song and make it better.
2. 2.     Follow the sun.
3. 3.     Run…for your life (er, walk, skip, whatever)!
4. 4.     Try to see it my way (or his way, or her way…).
5. 5.     Lead a better life.
6. 6.     Get back to where you once belonged.
7. 7.     Sing in the dead of night.
8. 8.     Get up and dance to a song.
9. 9.     See the world spinnin’ round.
10. 10.  Love forever and forever. Love with all your heart. Love when you’re together. Love when you’re apart.
11. 11.  Try not to sing out of key.
12. 12.  Forget the tears we cried.
13. 13.  Carry that weight a long time.
14. 14.  Promise to be true.
15. 15.  Let it be.

But most of all remember: With our love, with our love, we could save the world.

Fondly and Funly,

Yer 1-n-Only Be-at-les! (shocking!)

Wow! These things, I think I might be able to do! Or at least I can try.

How about you? What’s your resolve, à la The Beatles, for 2016? Write and let us hear from you!

Here at The Fest for Beatles Fans we wish you love, health, and happiness in the year to come, and we hope to see you in Rye Brook AND Chicago. Happy New Year…and we send it along, with love, from us to you!

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

Order counts. Observe the difference in these two short sentences:

“Get it over!”
“Get over it!”

If a nurse is about to insert a long, painful needle into your body, and you say tremulously, “Get it over,” he/she will no doubt have pity on you. But if you spout, “Get over it!” you might as well steel yourself for the shock of your life! Yeow!

My life is all about order. As a writer, beginnings, middles, and ends are my daily fare. As an aerobics teacher for 31 years, I learned that each class needed a warm-up, aerobic phase, warm down, floor-work phase, and cool-down. Putting the “cool-down” first would’ve resulted in torn muscles, at the very least. Order is crucial.

We value order so much that when something is desperately broken, we call it “Out of Order.”

Now, consider the case of Capitol Records. When they received The Beatles’ EMI LP tapes and were ready to cut their own versions of those LP’s, they did so, well…creatively. They threw the song order that The Beatles and George Martin had carefully selected to the wind!

Capitol must have been the rebel of the Beatles family who was dead determined to “do what they want[ed] to do and go where [they’re] goin’ to.” Indeed, they “thought for themselves,” because Capitol didn’t pay one whit of attention to the song order that mattered so much to George Martin and The Beatles.

Can you imagine the shock on Robert Frost’s face had he picked up a volume of his poetry, only to find his elegantly-crafted poem, “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” jumbled thus:

“His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
Whose woods these are I think I know.
To watch his woods fill up with snow.”

Uh, what? That makes no sense at all! It’s a “hot mess,” as they say. However, if Frost’s creation had been tossed about randomly by the publisher, those four lines would have been the result.

Similarly, imagine an art gallery owner picking up brush and paint to alter Mona Lisa’s smile, to make it more pronounced! Imagine an exhibitor attaching arms to Venus de Milo. Audacious!

Now, envision the looks on The Beatles’ faces when they picked up Meet the Beatles, Capitol’s version of With the Beatles, an LP that Martin and The Beatles had carefully crafted to make a pre-determined and studied impact.

In his book, All You Need is Ears, George Martin said, “For me, making a record is like painting a picture in sound.” It was a work of art.

Quite deliberately, Martin had decided to open the LP with John’s passionate, rock’n’roll voice alone…no instruments, no other sound…just John’s raw and raspy, “It won’t be long…” It was gripping. It was, in essence, Lennon (and the band) symbolically announcing to the fans: “I’ve been gone for a few months, but now I’m back! I’ve missed you, as it were. But look, luv, here I am!” It was an unvarnished, goosebump-inducing moment.

But, Capitol (who’d come late to the party and was “playing catch up” by trying to combine two Beatles LPs into one) opted to open Meet the Beatles with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

Martin’s opener, “It Won’t Be Long,” was buried deep in the middle of Meet the Beatles, Side One.

Similarly, instead of closing the American LP with the gutsy potboiler, “Money,” (one of John’s finest Cavern staples) Capitol chose to say adieu to the fans with the far less impactful “Not a Second Time.”

So…how did The Beatles and George Martin react? Well, for the most part, they accepted the situations and went on with their business.

Read All You Need is Ears. You’ll hear George Martin praising Capitol’s superior recording equipment, calling the American sound, “much cleaner, much crisper.” (p. 145) You won’t find one grouse or criticism about Capitol’s liberal creative license.

When talking about the Meet the Beatles era, Martin does complain that Capitol’s Alan Livingston more or less pushed Martin out of the way when The Beatles toured The States and gave Martin zero credit. Livingston, Martin asserts, even introduced The Beatles as “Capitol recording artists.”

But, Martin says nothing about the injustice of having their artistic creations overhauled.

I’ve moved 32 times in 39 years of marriage. A good portion of my life has been spent in chaos: boxes everywhere, items on the floor for weeks before we can hang them, doors closed against disarray. But eventually, we settle in, and once again we discover that “there’s a place” for everything.

I’ve learned (as The Beatles must’ve learned when Capitol issued one strange album after another) to live with it and to fight the crucial fights (like finding the coffeemaker, the sheets, and the Bandaids!). I’ve learned that you can either allow loss of order to destroy you or you can live above it.

What would’ve happened, I ask you, had The Beatles flown into a full-blown swivet over the Capitol LPs? And what would happen if I lost my mind over never knowing where items are in my house? (In the shed? A box? Lost in transit?? Where is it?) Would that change things?

What would happen if today we let the horrible, nightmarish, evil events in Paris stop us dead in our tracks? Cripple us?

Like The Beatles, we must keep going. We must prepare ourselves to fight the big fights that most assuredly will come, to hold our heads up and forge ahead. We cannot be defeated by the loss of world order. We cannot give up and give into the chaos that swirls all around us.

The Beatles endured the sheer calamity of Beatlemania, the bedlam that was Apple, the mania of sycophants like Magic Alex who kept suggesting that things could be better, different, and more perfect…and in so doing, creating discontent. The Beatles carried on through years of upset, pandemonium, and confusion. They survived.

We, too, can survive the loss of order. If we try, we can press on.

The night of my high school graduation, a long-winded preacher prayed for over 10 minutes for the success of the graduates, the success of the school and the city and the state and the nation and I’m sure, the universe! On and on and on he went as we perspired in our dressy clothes and thick, slick robes. At long last, he ended his interminable prayer with this memorable phrase, “And Lord, just let us keep on keepin’ on!”

Of all the many words in his prayer, those are the ones I’ve never forgotten.

In this world of chaos, let’s take our cue from The Beatles and refuse to crumble. Even when our world is dramatically “out of order,” let’s put one foot in front of another and move ahead.

In the path of chaos, I hope that you and I will find a way to “keep on keepin’ on.” That’s my prayer.

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.

“Word.”
When spoken colloquially, it means, “That’s right.” Or, “That word is true.” This compact expression validates another speaker’s words as holding great meaning, great power.

The Beatles knew all about the power of words. “Say the word and you’ll be free!” they sang, harmonizing the crucial message that the schoolyard chant of, “Words can never hurt me!” was (and is) a dangerous myth.
Words matter. They change lives, for good or for evil. They make agreements, create slogans, break hearts, uplift the fallen, dash hopes, end wars, begin conflicts, promise devotion, christen new beginnings, pronounce epitaphs, inspire souls, and give names to discoveries, ideas, children. Words have weight.

Recently, I was asked to chair a small Beatles symposium, and in doing so, I gained undying respect for the Lapidos family, who so adeptly manage our very, very large Fest for Beatles Fans. Twice each year, Mark, Carol, Michelle, and Jessica deal expertly with “the words” of hundreds of authors, artists, musicians, entertainers, speakers, craftsmen, hotel representatives, food service professionals, volunteers, and fans of all ages. They do this with great finesse, while I found chairing my small symposium…well, an eye-opening adventure.

You see, in my limited experience that weekend, I discovered the real power of words. I found out that for some people, words are bonds. These faithful, honorable souls “give their word,” and they keep it.

But, for others, “the word” is empty, vacuous. And their ineffectual, broken words make them untrustworthy – impossible to respect. I learned that, “Actions [really do] speak louder than words.” In fact, actions are the visible proof that an individual’s words have substance and merit.

At this moment, you and I in the midst of another huge “festival” of sorts: we’re participants in a political fest in which words are being handily juggled all about us: bright promises, catchy phrases, glistening pledges, and “oh-so-sincere guarantees.” Here, there, and everywhere, political candidates are performing…dancing about and basing their success on the impact of words. They’re traveling the country speaking, charming – trying to insinuate words into our brains. More than any other tool in their arsenal, these public figures employ words.

“Give [my words] a chance to say that [my words] are just the way!” they seem to sing. They beguile us with clever syllables.

But, we are wary – you and I – because we’ve heard it all before. We’ve heard, in the past, from political pundits who’ve promised to “do this and do that” and then have failed to deliver. We’ve learned the hard way that words of promise offered without the integrity of deeds can lead to failure, guiding us toward the very “eve of destruction.”

So, how can we be certain that someone is sincere, that “the word is good?”

Well, The Beatles suggested this formula:

“Give the Word a chance to say
That the Word is just the way!
It’s the Word I’m thinkin’ of…
Have you heard? The word is Love!”

It’s just that simple. Look for Love. No one speaking in Love can mislead, wound, threaten, lie, assault, cheat, defeat, defame, blame. Those speaking in Love can only offer healing, support, truth, strength, courage, and hope.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not Love,” the Bible tells us, “I am nothing.”
Look for the Love. Evaluate the words of others in Love’s bright, unblinking light.

And then, while we’re at it…let’s speak in Love. When our words leave our bodies and brains, they travel forth as our ambassadors, representing us. Some people may not ever meet us in person, but our words (via FACEbook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, blogs, email, and various other forms of social media) create a vivid image of what we really believe and who were really are. Is my image one of Love? Is yours?

“Give the word a chance to say
That the word is just the way!
It’s the word I’m thinking of,
And the ONLY word is love!
It’s so fine, it’s sunshine…love.”

Word.

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series: www.johnlennonseries.com

Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations — @910PubRel on Twitter and 910 Public Relations on Facebook.