" 'How VIP do we gotta get?' "

Said Sir Paul McCartney after being denied admission to a post-Grammy party.

Another View of "Yesterday's"

Evanston, Illinois, about 1975. My friend Kris—who also attended Northwestern—today sent along a photo of a watercolor. Kris writes, "I saw your blog entry about Yesterday's a day or two ago. Brought back fond memories. Used to love having a burger with the blob of soft cheddar on top on Sunday evening when the food service was closed. Oh, and plunking my coins in the jukebox to play The Beatles' 'Get Back' (one of my favorite songs)."

Beatlemania

Fans wait to see HELP!

Air Guitar

Suburban Chicago, January 1965. We have friends visiting from Indiana, and their daughter and I play in the Rec Room. She's got Barbie, and the Skipper doll is at my feet. One of our neighbors—Mikey's owner—made animal figurines, and he gave us the deer that's standing between Skipper's box and Barbie's wardrobe.

Memory triggers leap from this photo. I first focus on the tchotchkes in the bookshelf's center panel. On the top shelf, at the left, stands a wooden statuette of a woman, dressed in white, holding a baby. There's an inscription at its base, "Lady Doctor." A patient carved it for my Mom. The White-brand sewing machine stands at the window so that the seamstress can have a nice view out of the window. My play table is tucked under the formica counter because we are entertaining guests. I am again wearing tights. And moccasins. Even the wall-to-wall carpet looks bright gold (less its grape-juice stain) in a black-and-white photo.

And the title of this post tells you it's really about the Beatles.

Where there once was a Lenin, there now is a Lennon.

I understand the idea inspiring the replacement of Vilnius's statue of Lenin with a statue of Lennon. But it's probably a good thing that it's made of sand.

What are you watching?

Suburban Chicago, February 9, 1964. The hamster keeps me company again as I watch The Beatles make their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Elegance

Suburban Chicago, January 1, 1965. My Mom's best friend, Donna, relaxes after serving New Year's Eve dinner. This is the record resting against the stereo console.

Start thinking about spring.

Now that the holiday season is almost behind us, it's time to start planning for warmer weather. During the icy months, you might consider visiting a garden show.

In the 1960s, when my Dad still was well, our family often visited exhibits and museums. It was not uncommon, for example, for us to go to the Chicago Auto Show. When President Kennedy visited Chicago in March 1963, my Dad took us to O'Hare International Airport to see him. When A Hard Day's Night premiered in 1964, Dad drove us downtown to see the movie at its first Chicago showings. He even took us to Soldier Field in 1964 to see a football game: now that was unusual.

So it wasn't surprising to see this photo from the Chicago Flower and Garden Show.

Chicago, Illinois, January 1964. A view of the "Chicago Flower and Garden Show."

It's the fiftieth post.

I'd like to write something special for this occasion, but I am too distracted by watching the HBO documentary, "George Harrison: Living in the Material World." Ringo Starr said there were two Georges: the George who was a bag of love beads, and the George who was a bag of anger. That reflection made me smile for a number of tender reasons.

I love watching television; I have loved it for years.

Suburban Chicago, 1962. I sit in the "Rec Room" of our newish home, watching television on the newish set. I wonder whether I was focused on my childhood crushes, Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare. Just two years after my Dad snapped this photo, he would be taking us to see the Chicago premiere of "A Hard Day's Night."