"Would 'Abbey Road' Make It, In 2019? / Babcia"

 

Note: These two blogs were originally written on the same day, September 26th, 2019.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the release of "Abbey Road," The Beatles LAST album recorded together (and many would say their BEST album recorded together.)  But would "Abbey Road" MAKE it, here in 2019?? I'm not so sure.

For starters, that  iconic COVER*.  It's problematic, here in 2019. 

See, there's John Lennon leading the group of three guys in DARK suits with a WHITE suit on.  The Politically Correct crowd of  white Liberals laden with White Guilt might find that OFFENSIVE and somehow an expression of  a secret "White Privilege" being expressed. CAN'T SELL OR PLAY IT, THEREFORE.

And the song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" on this album talks of someone killing someone with a hammer....can't have THAT.  (Hey, their PREVIOUS album, the "White Album," had a song "Happiness Is a Warm Gun," but we can't let these guys get away with White Privilege and Violence messages AGAIN, right??)

And besides, when you listen to the trash that passes as popular music these days, "Abbey Road" is TOO GOOD for 2019.  There's no RAP in it.

(I'm being facetious, of course, about the White Privilege and Violence.)  Around this time in 1969, by the way, rumors started flying that Paul McCartney was DEAD because he was walking with bare feet on this "Abbey Road" album cover (among many OTHER silly "clues.")

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Well I just saw Paul on TV the other night and he's just as alive...and vain...as ever.  More alive than the possibility of "Abbey Road" selling millions of records were it released in 2019, in my opinion.

*Not only have many "covered" (recorded) Beatles' songs but this COVER has been "covered" (imitated and spoofed) hundreds of times over the years.

"Babcia"

It was 20 years ago today that my dear Babcia (Polish for "Grandmother") died.

I have MANY memories of her, but one stands out above all.

The year was 1986, I was scheduled to give my first-ever speech at a carpet cleaners' Convention (I had my own carpet cleaning business at the time.) I was nervous NOT ONLY because it was my first-ever speech, but it was to be in front of hundreds of my peers from around the nation and I'd be speaking AFTER Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, considered by many to be one of the greatest motivational speakers of our day.

To "prep" myself, I had a manuscript written out and asked family members to attend my "practice session." I TOLD THEM TO BOO ME, HECKLE ME, DISTRACT ME, INTERRUPT ME AND EVEN WALK OUT ON ME because I figured if I could get through my speech in THAT setting, I'd be a SMASH at the Convention where my audience would be receptive and attentive.  (After all, the Convention-goers were PAYING to hear me, Dr. Peale, and the several other speakers!!)

EVERYONE in my family who was gathered there gladly....heartily...did as I asked, except for one....Babcia.

Babci was uncharacteristically QUIET during my whole 20 minutes as I pushed through my speech, while everyone else HAPPILY and very LOUDLY complied with my wishes.  (You would have thought I paid THEM to razz me, Lol!!)

When my practice was over, all Babcia said was "Be yourself, my dear grandson.  Be yourself and you'll do fine."

See, she was different than the OTHERS who were there.  She was herself.

That was Babcia in a nutshell....she couldn't and wouldn't do anything to ever hurt me....even when I ASKED her to.

Well, God blessed me and I did VERY well in my first-ever speech, by all accounts.

And I'm not kidding, about 2 minutes into my speech when I saw the crowd hanging on every word I said, feeling that electrical current of excitement passing through my veins as I spoke, I heard Babcia's voice inside of me saying "Be yourself. Be yourself."

Yes, I needed the others to heckle me to PREP me to do well, but I needed my down-to-earth, no nonsense Babcia to GROUND me when it was obvious that, with God's help I was doing very well.

I realized that day that God had given me a gift to speak publicly and I've spoken, and preached, many times since then.

And thanks to the BABCIA God had given me for the first 44 years of my life, I learned to "be myself," for which I'm thankful.