Will ya still need me.....

     For me this is a year jam packed with anniversaries both personal and public. It started last September with the 50th anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah, then November 22nd the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK, then February the arrival of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and in April 64 I moved from Brooklyn to The Bronx.making this the 50th anniversary of a number of friendships . This brings me to the topic of those born in 1950. This year we all turn 64 and the significance of The Beatles on our collective psyche is captured so well in a song that we all learned when we were 16 or 17. When I'm 64 was the Beatles first real venture into their music hall roots. Especially Paul whose father had played in them. The use of the clarinet harkens a simpler time and it was a significant departure in the context of the masterwork Sgt. Pepper.
    This very week is significant to the aforementioned crowd of friends..... there is a plethora of birthdays on June 19,20 and 23... Dave " Pook" Whyne, Art Phelps , Gerry " Egg" Schneider, Mike Moore all turn 64 , along with our younger friends Diane Laxman, Rick Lashinsky, and Bobby Cohen.  These folks all went to either Dewitt Clinton High School in The Bronx or SUNY New Paltz... or BOTH !! ... and that is where the cement gelled.  Back in our younger days the weekend around June 20 was cause for a serious party. I remember one in a bar on Jerome Avenue in The Bronx where we were thrown out for attempting to play human bowling. Now we have RT in Denver and Mike in Portland Oregon and Egg in Albequerque... the rest of us are here in New York State.
    Garndchildren on your knee...Vera Chuck and Dave...  Steve Schiff ( who doesn't turn 64 until next year) is the most experienced Grandparent of the crowd... Diane and Glenn were just blessed with twin girls by Corrine and Lael.
   You'll Be Older Too......   Here is a rundown of some of the aforementioned 1950 crew who went to Clinton , New Paltz ..or both ( *)...
Jan: Ken Ehrlich *
March: Glenn Laxman  
June: Dave Whyne*, Art Phelps, Gerry Schneider,  Mike Moore.
July: Barry Schulman*
August: Roger Barnes , Guy Hamilton and Bob Kretsch
September: Me .Stan Beinstein*
October: Mike Beaty
December Martin " Eppy" Epstein*

    As I write this , the song continues to rattle around in my head..... I can't help but be reminded of how the song made me feel when I first heard it, not yet 17. It was June 1 1967, before i went to work at Sam Goodies in Yonkers. That was the day Sgt. Pepper was released. I had already cultivated the addiction of being the guy who buys the record first and brings it to the party. I walked to Honigs on Webster Avenue in the Bronx. plunked down an outrageous $4.99 for a stereo album whn most others were $3.99 and mono was still $2.99 . My first reaction to the album cover was to be slightly repelled by the overload of images..I then  proceeded to walk the 10 blocks to Pook's apartment on Mosholu Parkway. His dad had the best sound system ..even though it was monophonic ..it was a Grundig ...beautiful 16 inch bass speaker..... We listened end to end in mono.... the richness and texture of Pook's dad's system was fabulous...even though.. I would not discover some of the effects until I got home to my portable Webcor Stereo.                                                                                                     We were all getting more attuned to :  With A Little Help From My Friends than  When I'm 64.      Sgt. Pepper established the concept of album as a complete story... a 39 minute journey...or trip if you will.. Taking the album as a whole piece of art and take that trip with the Beatles . Put on Side 2 and you are taken on George's spiritual journey in Within You / Without You...  then the spell is broken by When I'm 64 which jars us back to our parents reality. This is the track that would confuse and amuse our parents most. Then it is back to the rock and roll with Lovely Rita and the laziest back beat snare Ringo ever played. Each song develops as many characters as appear on the cover.                             The album may not be your favorite Beatle album but it still holds a special place in our collective psyche. It ushered in the summer of love. We were 16 going on 17 and it represented the vast open and free world ahead of us.... She's Leaving Home....bye bye...  Then there's that novelty song, When I'm 64. We all imagined for a brief moment all the incredible adventures that would lead to our 64th year on this planet. Here we are 47 years later and I am glad and proud to still be friends with that many people who turn 64 this year.

Retirement

    Yesterday and today 6 old friends celebrate birthdays. Pook, Di, Rick, Art, Bobby Cohen and Mike Moore.. They are all in their 60s now, and I met them all as teens. At 63 I have come to realize that I have bought more books than I will get to read, bought more movies than I will ever watch,...and when it comes to recorded music , be it cd, vinyl or cassette I have more music than I could listen to in a lifetime.
     So why did I collect it all. Did I become a history student because I was a collector; or did I become a collector because I fashioned myself a historian. At this point i would have to say the later. I enjoy answering questions about music and film. The internet has caused me to feel less of a need to possess everything . Easy  access to books, records, films and nothing to store... no special shelving to store them on..  It's all on the cloud. I still hold onto a few thousand albums and I find i am more likely to pick one up to read the credits than to put it on the turntable. Nothing can transport you in time better than an old song. Especially one from your teens or 20s...  The passage of time can even make the ones you didn't like seem quaint.
     I have been retired for a half year. There have been entire days lost to Facebook. The day to day pressure of running an advertising sales staff for radio stations is in the past. Some days I feel relieved, some days I feel lost, some days I feel both ...
     My purpose for this blog is to empty my brain and see how it looks on the page...  I hope to give a piece of my heart... and soul, to these endeavors as well.  Hopfully you will enjoy and join in. Initially I thought I would try my hand at fiction. I furtively wrote two pages.. took a deep breath and erased them after i realized they were crap. I remember reading Stephen King's On Writing , which is partially an autobiography and partially a guidebook for writing fiction. Actually I listened to it on disc read by King himself; which gave added impact to the process. He said that he does not sketch his characters. He leaves the house and walks to his barn where he has built an office and he puts in between 5 and 8 hours a day writing .He does not know where his characters are going to take him today when he starts. When the day is done at 5pm he closes his desk like a normal working stiff and leaves it all behind. Plus...he has written every book on the same typewriter. Why do I share this story here?  I guess because I miss the continuity of projects that went on for days, weeks, months etc.  I am involved in fund raising for Vassar Hospital and it is purposeful work... but   I am still looking for more.
   I play a bit of golf  I play my guitar  .. I even threaten to put together a few sets of tunes with friends for the purpose of performance... but it doesnt happen...and now I will play my hand at this blog business. I am uniquely unqualified. I don't follow any other blogs... unless you count facebook....  I hope you enjoy and join me.. and throw ideas and opinions back and forth...

It's really beautiful out on this, the last day of spring . I hear mom saying turn off the tv and go play outside.