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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 12, 2005
/ 11 Kislev, 5766
All You Need is Love maybe
By
Mitch Albom
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The thing about dying is you can't answer any more questions. And when famous people die, the questions pile up.
Last week, we marked the anniversary of the death of John Lennon, the cornerstone of the Beatles, who was murdered 25 years ago in New York City. There were countless tributes and retrospectives. New books. New CDs. New videos.
And, of course, the same old questions. Lennon was a quixotic guy, playful and cynical and mysterious. So the questions ran the gamut. Here are a few of them:
Would John and the Beatles have gotten back together? Which songs did he really write and which did Paul McCartney write? Why did he marry Yoko Ono? Was it his idea to pretend Paul was dead? Why did he claim the Beatles were bigger than Jesus? What does "I am the Walrus" mean? Which song was he proudest of?
You can add a few dozen more and still not be finished. They're the same questions, year after year.
But as I watched and listened to Beatles footage from 1964, screaming fans, blistering record sales, everyone wanting to meet them, play with them, record them, honor them, I found myself coming back a different question, the one I would have most liked to ask John Lennon:
Why was he so unhappy?
As a kid growing up, watching the Beatles from afar and dreaming of being a musician myself it was hard to imagine a better life. Who wouldn't want every girl in the world squealing over you? To be a Beatle wasn't a dream, it was a fantasy, impossible, akin to becoming a king.
Yet by all accounts, Lennon was often miserable. The Beatles' latest biographer, Bob Spitz, told me Lennon's "heart began to break" the moment McCartney and manager Brian Epstein decided to dress the Beatles in suits. And while the band played on for years after that, Spitz claims Lennon was already wangling for an exit, finally using Ono as a catalyst.
"He wanted out," Spitz said.
Who would want out of the Beatles?
Cynthia Lennon, his first wife, told me the same thing. She claimed Lennon was unhappy with the way the band was going and was frustrated that the Beatles couldn't play a concert without teenaged screaming drowning them out.
She said when John got into drugs, he was looking for something else. And when he fell into bed with Ono, he was looking for something else. And that he barely spoke to or saw his son, Julian, for many years, because he was looking for something else.
And all that time, as a kid, learning guitar, writing childish songs, looking at Lennon from afar, I asked myself, "Who could want anything else?"
There's a lesson in all this. We spend much of our lives believing money, fame or attention will make us happy. We are so convinced of it we spend most of our days pursuing it.
But you couldn't have more money, you couldn't have more fame, you couldn't have more attention than the Beatles had during the 1960s.
And it wasn't enough to make one of them happy. In fact, it seemed the further away Lennon got from the Beatles, the more he established a smaller, more eclectic, more activist type of music career, the happier he became.
Lennon penned many songs that you probably can sing, but a lesser known was released three years after the Beatles broke up. It begins:
The years have passed so quickly
One thing I've understood
I am only learning
To tell the trees from wood
Ironically, that song is called "I Know (I Know)." And maybe before he died, this once-so-unhappy man did know. The rest of us can only wonder.
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© 2005, THE DETROIT FREE PRESS
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