A few of us, in Binghamton, New York , stood in a circle and sang this song the day after Lennon died. We were already stunned by an electoral victory like last month’s, but in the reverse direction. We felt that we had just begun the worst of times.
Last night, Elizabeth reports at my other shop, Yoko One was in Tokyo, memorializing John along with thousands of Japanese youth too young to remember, but who know the Beatles playbook by heart. Go see – and you’ll find Ann Northrop and Liza Minnelli, too,
Incredible Panic Rules 
Just remember being stunned on the 8th — and thinking, not another one! Even though almost two decades since JFK, and just over for MLK, RFK and Malcolm — it seemed too fresh, too soon. Always wonder what he would have become as an elder. My favorite song of all time is from the Fish album – So This Is Christmas. I weep.
I was 17. The Beatles were big when I was a child, but as a teenager I had rediscovered them. I certainly remember the period of my life when the hits from Double Fantasy were on the radio. And then the shock of the announcement late at night on the radio – and then after a few minutes of the dj’s angry mutterings against the “smirking” assailant, the final, unbelievable, word – John Lennon pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital. Holy Crap. It was tragic, but for a wildly romantic teenager it was quite the moment – a sort of emissary of peace cut down. sounded kinda of familiar….