whale talker

Reflections & A Tribute


We have a bit of a storm brewing to the South East of us that is “organizing” and could become a good sized tropical storm. Nobody seems to be particularly concerned and I have come to see why that is so at least here in the village. Life is simple here, people do not have very much and so are able to do without the amenities more affluent people miss in a disaster. They also have something extremely precious........trust in their neighbors help and a feeling of community that runs very deep. They may lose a roof, a window, clothes etc but they know that there will be help in the village from somewhere and that no one will be without aid in case of trouble. I have been included in that community and have been told that I will be watched out for if there were a real bad storm. It is a good feeling that comes from knowing that and one that endears these villagers to me even more than before.

Those kinds of revelations are becoming more frequent in my long contemplations by the Sea and under my palapa.

One that I had the other day that I would like to share with you was how much I missed John Lennon. Now I was never really much of a Beatles fan. I knew their music was exceptional in every way but it just didn’t strike a chord in me as did the music of The Doors, Credence Clearwater, Iron Butterfly and many, many others. I liked many of their songs, indeed some of them had an extraordinary affect on me yet their music was not my chosen music as it was for so many.



There was something however very special about John Lennon. His mellow voice of course, his excellent guitar work and his poetry put to music clearly indicated a genius. It’s nice to have a genius as a contemporary. To know that out their in your own time there was someone like a John Lennon burning with a creative fire that simply had no limits!

But it was not these things that made me think of him. What made me think of him was the love that he carried in his heart for this planet and all of humanity. He was a really good man. He would have been a great spokesman for the planet and for peace had he been allowed to continue his creative life. Unfortunately he was killed by a “pig boy” who had probably been raised to have pig beliefs. There is a lot of that going on today, particularly in America.

The injustice of it is a profound statement of a society gone mad. So here are two pictures (not mine of course) of John Lennon that I happen to like. One is on the cover of a book written about him. I just like it. There is a quiet wisdom and love in his face that I find very appealing.



This second picture is of the deeper side, the intellectual side. If this were a painting from the middle ages one might see the philosopher scientist here. I have seen other pictures that I like even better than these but I couldn’t find them online. But I believe these capture some of the true intelligence and love that was John Lennon.

In December it will be 29 years since his death, I miss him.