New York City, December 1963
I remember fighting a rather lonely wind as I crossed Central Park on that particular Wednesday before Christmas; an old faded newspaper flapped in the breeze against a wooden seat but I could still make out the headline: ‘JFK Dead’. They would be coming soon, those wise men from the east, the Beatles with their new English beat music. Perhaps we could stop grieving and begin to move on. I clambered up the hill, crossed Central Park West sliding in to 72nd Street and as I passed the Dakota building, a cold chill made me pull my coat in tight.
bobby stevenson thoughtcontrol ltd 2012
The Best of All Summers
Some things remain with you forever.
When
I was ten years old, my father took me on a trip in an old battered
car and caravan, and although I didn’t know it at the time, my father
was dying. He was only forty years of age and he was dying of a brain
tumour.
What
can I tell you about me back then? That I was the only son of parents
who never got around to marrying? That I lived with my two sisters and a
cat and that despite not having any money, we lived in a house packed
to the roof with love.
Maybe that’s as good as it gets in anyone’s life.
My
father was the gentlest of hearts and the kindest of men, and I’m not
just saying that because he’s gone. I’m saying it because it was true.
It was his strength and his weakness. My mother watched so many people
taking advantage of his goodness, that in the end she put herself in
the way of anyone trying to use him. This made her seem hard but she
was willing to put up with that, because that was what our family was
always about – love.
My
parents had decided that when school was closed for the summer, Mum
and the girls would go to London for a few days to see a show, while me
and Dad would go north taking his old car hooked up to Granddad’s
caravan. I knew Dad was probably hoping this would be a chance for us
to talk, as he was always working and I was always in my bedroom being
misunderstood. Even at ten years of age I had no real idea how to enjoy
myself.
On
that summer, that glorious summer, school finished and my life began.
Dad drove Mum and the girls to the railway station and I sat on the
front steps waiting, bag ready and caravan packed.
I’ll
always remember the ‘toot-toot-toot’ of my Dad on the car horn as he
returned from the station, letting everyone in the street know that the
boys were off on holiday. All those unused days were spread before us,
waiting.
If
I’d thought that it was going to be a particularly difficult time
sitting in the car with my Dad, I was wrong. I had imagined him and me
struggling to talk to each other and stumbling over words. I guess I’ve
always made assumptions about things. I’ve worried and assumed – I
suppose that’s what should be written on my headstone. There I go again.
As
we drove towards the coast, I felt ashamed of myself. Here was a man
who knew all about my writings and about the books I’d read. He would
steal himself into my room after he came home late from work, too late
to wish me goodnight but long enough to kiss me on the forehead and
absorb from the room who and what I was. There was I knowing very little
about him, except he was my father and he was rarely home.
I
don’t recall when he stopped the car but I do remember it getting
dark. I had been telling him all about the characters in some Dickens
novel when I must have fallen asleep in his arms. When I awoke, it was
morning and the sun was fighting the condensation on the window. Dad
had placed me in the back seat and covered me with his jacket.
The
car was freezing and as I sat up, I shivered. I wiped away mist from
the side window and saw, that despite the sun, the sky and the sea were a
cold blue, broken up by the foamy edges of the waves. We had parked
at the edge of a cliff and Dad was sitting, staring - that was all he
was doing - just staring. When I felt brave enough, I ventured outside
to join him. I’ll always remember his face that day, the wind had
slapped his cheeks into a Santa Claus red and his eyes were watering,
stung by the sea. You could almost imagine that he had been crying, and
I wonder now, from all those years away, if he had been.
He told me to sit next to him and he put his arm around me, “You, and me, son are going on an adventure”.
Now
don’t get me wrong, I liked the sound of ‘adventure’ and I loved my
father and felt safe with him but there was always a part of me that
wanted to return to the protection of my bedroom, pull up my arms into
my sleeves and wait on the next hurtful thing. Yeah, you’re right, I was
one weird kid.
As
we came over the hill I could see it: Blackpool Tower. I had never
seen anything so tall in all my life and was so excited that I forgot
about my misgivings. The place was alive with people who were swept up
with enjoying life and buzzing with laughter. There were donkey rides
by the sea, the odd uncle with a handkerchief on his head to keep the
sun away and people breaking their teeth on sticks of rocks, slurping
ice cream and getting pieces of candy floss stuck to their noses.
Dad
and I went down on to the beach and ate our fish and chips from a
newspaper. I think it was the best fish and chips I ever tasted.
“That’s better.” said Dad.
“What?”
“You’re smiling, you’ve got a nice smile, you know. You should use it more often.”
“Oh Dad.”
“I’m just saying.”
And do you know what? I felt that I didn’t want to be anywhere else. Just me and my Dad on the beach at Blackpool.
“It’s my fault.” he said, sadly.
“What is, Dad?”
“The fact that you never smile, me and your Mum left you sitting too long in that room of yours.”
“I like my room.”
“No one likes their room.”
Dad
parked the caravan down some quiet side street and told me to get
washed and ready as he took a walk into town. When he returned, his
breath smelt of beer and his clothes of cigarettes.
“You’ll never guess what I’ve got in my pocket? Two tickets to see Arthur Askey at the Grand”
What
a night that was, everyone laughing and singing along with The Bee
Song. I looked over at my Dad and he was laughing so hard the tears were
rolling down his face. God, I miss him.
We had ice cream topped with raspberry sauce on the way back and I never once thought about my misgivings, not once.
The next morning after a cup of tea and a bacon roll, we left Blackpool still singing the Bee Song, just me and my Dad.
I
can’t remember who saw the old lady first. My Dad had stopped the car
because I needed to pee again and I was hiding in the bushes. The woman
was sitting on a bench and at first we thought she was just sleeping,
but her head had rolled forwards and she was moaning. Dad put his ear
close to listen to her breathing.
“This isn’t good. We’ll need to get her to hospital.”
I
sat with her in the back seat of the car while she rested her head on
my lap. She reminded me of my Gran, I almost said “We won’t be long now
Gran” when she moaned really loudly. The nurse brought Dad and me
drinks as we sat in the corridor waiting on news. It almost felt like
it was my Gran.
“Are you family?”
Dad explained to the doctor that we had found her sitting by the side of the road.
“There was nothing we could do, I’m afraid. I’m sorry your trip was in vain. She passed away five minutes ago.”
Dad
got a bit annoyed but he kept it to himself until we were outside the
hospital. I thought maybe he was sad about the old lady dying, but
really he was a bit angry.
“Don’t
you ever believe that what we did was in vain, son. Never think that.
That poor lady would have died alone on that bench if we hadn’t
stopped. As it is, you kept her company and there were people with her
when she went. So it wasn’t in vain. Nothing is in vain. Always, always
remember that. Everything matters”
I guess that’s the kind of thing that happens to a person when they come out of their room.
As
Dad drove south, I had the feeling that he just wanted to keep driving
but as soon as it started to get dark, we stopped. Thinking back, I
guess he couldn’t see too well in the dying light, something to do with
his tumour.We set the caravan down in a field that overlooked
Liverpool. What a city. Looking over the way the setting sun painted
the building tops, a crimson yellow. We were going into town tomorrow
and Dad said he had a surprise.
I
don’t think I have ever been to a happier city than Liverpool that
day. People were going to and fro but always laughing and joking. Some
were singing, others whistling. I loved every minute of it; every
blooming minute of it.
“I’ve
got a pal and he owes me a favour”, said Dad. I felt ashamed that I
hadn’t even known that my father had any friends or who they were.
“He works at a club down Matthew Street. He says if we arrive early enough, he’ll get us in and you can hide under my coat.”
I almost had misgivings again, almost wishing I was back in my safe, warm, bedroom - almost.
We did what Dad said and he put me under his coat and the doorman, his pal, waved us past all the people waiting to get in.
“We’ll
need to keep you under cover young ‘un” said Bert, Dad’s pal, as he
led me to a small room by the stairs where he gave me lemonade.
“We’ll come and get you when the band is ready” said my Dad. “I’m going to have a talk with Bert. You’ll be okay here?”
I would be.
I had just finished my drink when there was a knock at the door, followed by it opening.
“Hey Paul, look what I’ve found, the Cavern has little people living under the stairs. What are you doing here, son?”
I told him I was waiting on the band and that my Dad was coming to get me.
“And what band would that be son?”
I shrugged and the man seemed to find that funny. His pal, Paul came over to have a look at me.
“You’re right John, that is one of the little people. You’ve got to be lucky to see them” and then he rubbed my head.
John
said it was his band that was playing and I said I was sorry. He said
not as sorry as he was and asked did I want to come to their dressing
room? Although on second thoughts, John said, there was probably more
room under the stairs.
So
I went with John and Paul and met the other two, George and Pete. They
were all fooling around and didn’t seem to be in anyway nervous. John
asked me what I wanted to do “That is, when you stop being one of the
little people.”
I
told him I wanted to be a writer and he said that was probably the
best job in the world next to being in a band, especially his band, and
he went into his jacket and gave me his pen.
“If anyone asks, tell them John Lennon gave it to you.”
That
night I watched John, Paul, George and Pete play the most wonderful
music I had ever heard or will ever hear. I didn’t know it then, but a
few weeks later Ringo replaced Pete. I never got to meet him.
My Dad died, just after Christmas, that year.
He
left me with the best present that I have ever received in my life. He
took me out of my room and locked the door so I couldn’t go back in.
So what if I got hurt? That was the price you paid for being out there,
that was the price we all paid, and the other thing he gave me was the
belief that nothing is ever in vain, nothing.
On
the thirtieth anniversary of John Lennon’s death, I flew to New York
and walked through Central Park and climbed the hill to Strawberry
Fields. There was a little boy about ten and his Dad listening to the
music of Lennon and I took out the pen and I handed it to them:
“John Lennon gave me this.”
Everything matters.
A big thanks to Stephen Fry for tweeting this story to the world.
A big thanks to Stephen Fry for tweeting this story to the world.
bobby stevenson thougthcontrol ltd 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment