Pen-Elayne on the Web

The Late Great Johnny Ace

Half a lifetime ago, on this very day, I went to sleep in my bedroom on the second floor of my parents' house after hearing the news on my little B&W TV that John Lennon had been shot, praying fervently that he would pull through. About an hour later I awoke violently from a death dream, and knew he was gone. It was like I'd felt his spirit leave, and it was that moment, combined with the election of Ronald Reagan only a month earlier, that convinced me more than anything else that the world was headed for a seriously downward spiral from which we've yet to recover.

Natalie Davis has her remembrance here. Update: And here are some words from Jeanne, and some from Julia H, who uses a quote from her eponymous Lennon-McCartney song as a header.