IMAGINE

Thirty years ago yesterday (Dec 8th), I was in New York on business. As was my regular routine after work, I went for a run (really a jog - but I like to think I am actually running!) in Central Park. I love to run in Central Park. You get to see a lot of different people, the terrain is not too challenging and if I exercise hard enough, then I don't feel guilty overeating at favorite New York restaurants. As I was making my way around the park and found myself on the West Side, I noticed an unusual amount of sirens that seemed to be coming from just outside the park. Not thinking too much about it, I completed my run and went back to the hotel to shower and dress for a late dinner. After turning on the television, it wasn't long before the news flash demanded my attention: John Lennon had been shot! It happened just outside his home on W. 72nd St. - just outside of Central Park. - a stone's throw from Strawberry Fields. Later it was announced that he had died of gunshot wounds. John Lennon was just 40 years old. To many, that was the day the music stopped.

The Beatles were my generation's musical icons. The songs written by Lennon and McCartney comprise one of the most enduring catalogues of music in history. They produced the soundtrack of our time. John Lennon wrote songs about love, peace and hope - a sharp contrast to the songs being written today by Rap Artists and Pop Stars of today. Imagine if he had lived the last 30 years and had the opportunity to continue to write. RIP John Lennon

IMAGINE

By John Lennon

Imagine there's no heaven

It's easy if you try

No Hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today....

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world....

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will live as one

And The Journey continues......