CLOSE FRIENDS

Last week, I caught a little of the Paul McCartney concert in New York. No, I wasn’t there…they replayed part of it on TV. Being a long-time Beatles fan, I can never hear too much of most of their music.

One segment of Paul’s show caught my attention. He dedicated a song to John Lennon, one he wrote after Johns’ death in 1980. Paul sang of an imaginary conversation with John, telling him how much ‘he loved him’. Paul admits in the song, that John would probably laugh at hearing the words, but it was no less true.

Between 1958 and 1969, John and Paul wrote and published nearly 200 jointly credited songs. Sometimes a song was written entirely by one, but credit was given to the other out of their respect and friendship. Most times, songs were started by one but would be completed with input from the other. They developed a friendship and working relationship that was inseparable.

We can only imagine what times they, (with George and Ringo), shared in those 5 years of unbelievable fame from 1964 to 1969. They were…after all…The Beatles. Anytime they were in public, they couldn’t safely do something as simple as walk the streets, or have a meal, without being noticed and mobbed. The pressure they were under every day for all those years, took its toll. They had only one another to share their time with. Only ‘they’ could understand what each one was going through. When the Beatles were no more…Paul and John, (particularly),…were no more. It was a ‘marriage’ that had just gone sour.

Pauls’ song made me think back to my high school years. My friend Scott and I became very close, so much so that you would rarely see one without the other. We had other friends in our circle…Mark…Barry…Tree…among others…but Scott and I had a special bond…or so I felt. If I wasn’t home sleeping, I was at Scott’s house. I became another son to his parents. Scott and I did everything…together. Games at his house, pinball at Teresa's Greasy Spoon, basketball in the garage, discovery of beer, lusting after pretty girls, trick or treating…together. We grew through those teen years…together.

Our relationship began to dissolve by the end of high school. After 4 years of a great friendship…it was gone. We had different ideas…different goals, and we drifted apart. I have spoken to Scott, ‘maybe’, 5 times in the last 35 years. We’ve never found that common ground to get back together…and there is some sense of sadness for me.

Close friendships. Where do they go?

Like Paul and Johns’, sometimes friendships just serve their purpose and then they’re gone. Maybe that’s for the better. Each person can then go on to find their own ‘separate’ purpose in life.

I hope Scott has found his. I believe I have found mine.


Dan