The Beatles on Abbey Road's Curb

http://www.asksensei.com/gorindo/radio01En.html

I ran across this photograph in my GooglePlus account. It was one those random 'oh, you might be interested in this' posts, and I was interested.

"Abbey Road" is the first Beatles album that I ever bought. And if I'm honest, I committed a little larceny when I bought it at the what would now be called the dollar store in my neighborhood. I wanted "Abbey Road" first, but I wanted the poster that I knew was included in the "White Album" also. Hmmm. I probably didn't have enough money for the "White Album" either, come to think of it. It was a double-album, which would have been more expensive. Money was an issue. What I really would have liked was to have bought both albums. And I decided that I would take some from both. I was 12 or 13 years old, and I needed a Beatles album of my own. I learned to love the Beatles down the block at the neighbor's house. They were older, and they played records all of the time. Spending time with them was an initiation to all of the sounds. I was raised in a home where music was played, mostly jazz, and I love it, but moving from the tin-tin of my little radio set to an AM station to richness of music played on a turn table became my savior. It gave me an idea that life could be bigger than what I saw in front of me.

So, what did I do? I slit the plastic on the "White Album," pulled out the poster, slit the "Abby Road" record plastic, and slipped the poster in it. Hey, I'm owning up to it. I don't feel that bad about it. At the time, it didn't make it hard for me to sleep. I wonder if the customer who bought the "White Album" even knew that there was a poster in it.

And this picture delights me. I've looked at the iconic album cover more times than I can remember. But this is the picture. It is so human. They look almost - fragile. And is the woman with the band? She looks to be really checking out what Paul is up as he adjusts Ringo's jacket. Strange, isn't it, that the two that are still alive touch, and the bookends, John and George, are distant. Always, the signs; always, the signs. It appears as if Paul has his shoes on at the curb. He kicked them to the curb, and everyone thought that he was dead. But he isn't. Ringo needed him.