Tony, the Beatles, and me

This is an epic story that started over 25 years ago when I developed an obsession with the Beatles. It was all consuming, and anyone who knew me then would confirm this. When I got my first car in college, my mom even got me a personalized Beatles license plate. I won't drag you through the details, but if it was Beatles, I knew it, had it, or wanted it.

When I met Tony, I am not sure how quickly he became aware of my obsession, but it couldn't have taken long. About 10 days after I met him, my mom called me to tell me that George Harrison had died. Tony held me while I cried like a baby. Even that didn't manage to scare him off!

Then about two months later, I visited Tony at his parents' home in England. He surprised me with a trip to Liverpool. We saw all the Beatles sights, and he liked to tell people about how I corrected the tour guide. He even took me to the gates of George Harrison's home, not far from where his parents lived. Yet another sign that this was the guy for me.

As life, children, and grown-up-ness ensued, my obsession took a backseat, but never diminished. Tony would roll his eyes at how teary eyed anything Beatles could make me. And he could tell you my explanation for why... I have always been amazed at how those unlikely four guys could become the biggest band in history... and how they could impact so many people with their music.

I had been lucky enough to see Ringo in concert twice before I met Tony. And we were lucky enough to see Paul once together... a decent track record. We danced to a Beatles song at our wedding, and I managed to sneak a few bits of memorabilia into the decor of the house. If we had a boy, it would have been quite a fight over his name. Fun fact: Louise shares her birthday with Ringo! (I could go on and on)

Fast forward to this year... the most Beatle-licious of my life. A picture of Tony and I on our 10th anniversary trip made it into one of Ringo's music videos (I'M IN A BEATLES MUSIC VIDEO, REALLY!). And tonight, I was lucky enough to see Paul in concert again. The stories he told are just a snapshot of what the Beatles mean... being the first band to play in Red Square (although that was long after the Beatles), and being told by the Russian Minister of Defense that the first record he bought was "Love Me Do." Or that Jimi Hendrix opened his first London show with "Sgt. Pepper's" only two days after the album had come out. Of course, the tears flowed tonight too. I thought of Tony a million times, and I kept trying to pick the one moment that would sum up this whole story for me.

In the end, Paul said it best... "the love you take is equal to the love you make." I love you, babe.


See if you can spot us in Ringo's video... it's a picture of us after snorkeling in bright blue water... we're about 4:30 and again at the end.