music Archives - Lynne Cobb

When the Beatles made their debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, I was a toddler. It would be a few years before I truly understood who and what the Beatles were, and how they impacted our lives musically. And, who could forget the Beatles cartoons, or lunch boxes or any other Beatlemania memorabilia.

I was about eight or nine years old when “The Long and Winding Road” and “Let It Be” made their way to number one on the charts. I absolutely fell in love with those two songs, and to this day, they are still my favorites.

As soon as I hear, “The Long and Winding Road,” my hands-down, absolute favorite Beatles tune of all time, I am instantly transported back to early summer and my dad’s gold Buick. He was so proud of himself, because he was, in his words, “hip,” with his eight-track tape player, white shoes and new Beatles music.

Maybe that is why I get misty every time I hear that ballad. Not only do the lyrics move me, but the music is beautiful. The moment I hear the first few chords, I am instantly transported back to a simpler time; in my childhood home with my larger-than-life father, alive and well.

Several years ago, my parents took a trip to England, and they had a wonderful time. My mother told us of all the places we needed to see should we ever get the chance to go.

Well, March of last year, was my chance to go.

I flew solo to London, as my husband was stationed in the UK at the time. I packed my clothes and shoes into my dad’s luggage – the same suitcase he had used years before when my parents made the trip. Checking my bags at the airport, I smirked as I thought, “Hey Dad, your bags are making the trip again.”

Out in the midlands, a good hour away from London, I had the experience of a lifetime, living in a quaint English village. The scenery was out of a storybook, and my husband and I traveled to as many places as we could in the two weeks I was there. Of course we sought out the traditional fish and chip dinner at a centuries-old pub, and some had some other wonderful foods – likes crumpets, bubble-and-squeak and, of course, crisps. I was fascinated by the trains, taxi and Underground subway system. The traffic rounds and driving on the wrong side of the road took a bit of getting used to, and I can’t tell you how many times I tried to get into the passenger side and found a steering wheel in my way.

I was in awe that I was in the homeland of literary greats and the Queen Mum. I fell in love with England – the accents, the customs, the people.

The weather wasn’t the most agreeable during my time across the pond. But the weekend we chose to tour London was perfect – sunny and warm. We walked miles and saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The Eye of London – all the tourist hot spots. Two of the last “must-sees” on our London list were Harrod’s and Abbey Road. But we were quickly running out of time. We didn’t toss a coin, because my husband and I knew what we would choose.

We chose Abbey Road.

Now, it simply wasn’t a matter of walking from the grounds of Buckingham Palace to St. John’s, where the famous Abbey Road Studios and cross walk are located. We had to find the correct Underground station and change subways routes a few different times to get to our destination. (Oh, by the way, when they say Underground, they mean it! I had no idea how deep into the earth we were as we traveled through London!)

We exited the subway station, and went to the Beatles Coffee Shop at the entrance. Without even asking, the owner handed us a map and sent us up the street to find Abbey Road.

What an amazing experience to walk the path that the Beatles made famous. Yes, we had to be concerned that we’d be hit be a car while snapping photos. Yes, we took many shots of us crossing the street, plus photos of Abbey Road Studios – where music history was made. We weren’t alone in our walk – not only were there plenty of tourists, we sent a text to our daughter, back home in the States, and she actually watched us crossing Abbey Road live, real-time, on a web cam. Think about that!

It’s hard to believe that crossing Abbey Road was such a highlight for my husband and me. But I guess it makes sense, when you think of how the Beatles impacted our lives, from the time we toddlers until even now. It was really awesome to walk that part of history, where Memory Lane meets Abbey Road.

What are your memories of the British invasion? Have you ever crossed Abbey Road?

Part of the Midlife Boulevard blog hop.

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“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” – Sophia Loren

A few events over the past week brought me to this “A-ha!” moment: With age comes wisdom.

Heading to lunch with my husband, I was busy reading email on my phone when a huge thud jarred me: figuratively and literally. Some debris, either from the car in front of us – or kicked up by said car – walloped our front bumper. Talk about being shaken.

It was then I realized that my calmness, as well as my husband’s, was a sign of the times. In our younger days, we would’ve been madder than a wet hen at the young driver. She was completely oblivious to the fact that either she hit something or lost a large part of her car. With her tiny dog in her lap, I noticed the dents and dings in her car. She was completely unphased, and we couldn’t get her attention – as hard as we tried – to let her know what happened.

I didn’t even think to yell or scream at her. Maybe I envisioned one of my own children, having car trouble that could cause a major incident, and hoping that an encounter with another driver would be educational and not dangerous. Even when we reached our destination and looked at the damage, we were both surprisingly calm. Back in the day, not only would we rant and rave, we’d wring our hands and wonder how we’d pay for this mess, that was no fault of our own. Instead, we were thankful it didn’t break the light-housing or come flying through the windshield, which would surely caused injury to one or both of us.

With age comes wisdom.

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to attend an art gallery opening. The featured artist, whom we never met, is the husband of a colleague and friend of mine. She and I chat several times a week online and meet for coffee when we can. To be able to see her husband’s incredible art was a moment in our lives that we felt truly blessed to be able to share – alongside them and many others.

Exactly a week later, we had another great opportunity. Our neighbor and friend has been in the fight of her life. Diagnosed with a very aggressive, late-stage form of breast cancer, this woman has been a courageous inspiration for many. And just as it seemed that surgery, chemo and radiation had done their job, the bad news came. This fighter now had to face even more extensive surgery, just as she thought she had gotten back to her life. After six weeks of healing, doctor appointments and rest, this trooper was on back stage last night. And we were in awe. I firmly believe that The Blues were written for her to sing. Confident, smiling and blowing us away, she beat the crap out her cancer, and we were there to watch her comeback gig – completely in awe of her amazing talent. Who knew that this tiny little powerhouse could sing?!

But the most amazing thing happened after both of these events – and it was the humbled response of these artists. While we were so thankful for being invited to share in one of the most memorable moments of their lives, they thanked us for attending!

Hmmm…I think I am beginning to get it.

With age comes wisdom.

Back in the day, when I was a younger woman and desperately trying to seek fame and fortune through my writing, my focus was completely wrong. Please don’t take this as a judgement call, but in our twenties, many of us embraced our gifts as “ours.” We didn’t share – we had what I will call an arrogant talent. What will my talent get me? Some of us foolishly pitched that gift when it didn’t bring us the income or fame we thought it should.

Additionally, some of us shelved that talent when we started having families and felt pursuing a dream was a waste of time when there were kids to raise and an income to earn.

But as we got closer to or reached that half-century mark, the talent that was buried for various reasons began to sprout back to life. Maybe because we now have more time to nurture it, but maybe, I think, we have just come to realize how important that gift is.

We realize how fast time is ticking. I think, too, that we become confident in our place in life. Maybe we are a little less shy in sharing certain aspects of our lives. Seeing that life has smacked all of us around by the time we hit this age makes us more humbled for sure, and most often, kinder to others. We have felt the sting of loss; whether it was a job, a house, a loved one, or health. We embrace good news, and to celebrate accomplishments and talents of those around gives us time to pause from the mundane and experience joy.

We also change our attitudes when it comes to our talents. Instead of wondering what we get from it, we are more concerned about what others get from it. Our motives don’t revolve around making it big – they revolve around making a difference.

Will Doug’s gift of art inspire someone to experience the smell of paint and the feel of a brush meeting canvas? Will Annie’s gifted voice inspire someone to sing, take a dance class or play piano? Most likely, yes. But the biggest gift of all came from these artists sharing themselves – putting themselves out there for all to see. To bare their souls, not because they are awesome (which they are), but because of their choice to share their gifts with others.

God has graciously gifted everyone. Some have the gift of art, music, photography and such. Others have the gift of service; some have the gift of teaching. Still others can build and repair anything. Then there are others that can turn ordinary grocery items into the most extraordinary meals. Or grow beautiful flowers and delicious produce.

Our gifts are endless.

No one could have ever convinced me that going into decade number five would be one of the best times in my life. And, admittedly, there are days I long to be in my twenties again. (Sometimes it is because I long to see myself minus the little wrinkles forming around my eyes, or so I can wear short shorts because I’m not sporting these awesome varicose veins!) Seriously, though, revisiting my twenties is more because of my want to go back in time and smack that twenty-something me in the head, then bestow upon her all this wealth and knowledge and insight that I have today.

With age comes wisdom.

Here’s to settling down and not flying off the handle over the little things in life. Here’s to enjoying your older, wiser self. Here’s to sharing with others. And if you are burying that talent, unearth it today. I double dog-dare you to share that God-given gift of yours with others. In doing so, you will experience a joy that can’t be described.

Tag: music

Memory Lane Meets Abbey Road

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