Sunday, February 9, 2014

Mop Tops and Moppets

When I was five years old, our nation was rocked by both horrific and hopeful news.  The first came in November 1963 when JFK was assassinated in Dallas.  My five-year-old mind could barely take in the profound sadness that stilled the soul of our country. Three months later, still in the shroud of our collective sorrow, something hopeful and fun happened.  On February 9, 1964, The Beatles appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show," raising us, at least in part, out of the depths of our grief.  A new era of Beatlemania had begun. I was among the millions of "Ed Sullivan Show" viewers that Sunday evening when The Beatles made their first appearance. Although I was only five years old, I became an instant fan.  The next afternoon, The Beatles were the talk of the kindergarten class I attended.  We commented on their music and the shrieking teenage girls who swooned over them, but the biggest, most controversial topic was whether Paul, John, George and Ringo had really grown their hair that "long" or, more likely, whether their mop-top hairdos were really wigs!  Such commentary out of the mouths of five-year-olds!  Fifty years later, I am still a huge fan of The Beatles, particularly their early work. "Please Please Me," "From Me to You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Can't Buy Me Love" and "All My Loving" are among my long list of Beatles favorites. However, after such a long winter, I'm especially favoring "Here Comes the Sun" these days.

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