Rainy Night

    Started watching the George Harrison documentary, "Living in the Material World" the other night.  It's long, over 3 hours, so I had to break it up over several nights.  Then tonight after going to bed, I had a hard time getting to sleep so thought what the heck, I'm just gonna finish the article I started on Wikipedia about the Beatles' guru and heard the rain falling against my window.  Love that sound.  The drops lightly tap against the pane.  So soothing.  It's been a long time since it rained.

     Ended up reading a lot about the Beatles' music.  Pure genius.  I read that they attended a technical high school (the Liverpool Institute?) and maybe that's where they started their musical training.

     George was only 15 when he joined the band.  Lennon thought he was too young, until he heard George play "Raunchy,"  with McCartney saying, "wow, listen to that!"  Lennon was wowed.  "Raunchy" is familiar to me -- it must have gotten a lot of air play so maybe that's why it's so familiar to me.

"Raunchy"  clip:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raunchy_(instrumental)

The surviving Beatles played the tune in 1994 for a Beatles Anthology.

       Their song, "A Hard Day's Night," begins with that famous dynamic guitar chord from Harrison's Rickenbacher:

Opening chord, "Hard Day's Night:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_Hard_Day%27s_Night_opening_chord.ogg

     The Beatles have a big section on the soundtrack of my life.

     George Harrison's documentary has footage of his home at Henley-on-Thames, Friar Park.  Recollections of when I stayed there in 1977 with the Philpott family.  They said Harrison could be seen around town at times.  The Philpotts were Mimi's friends and were wonderful hosts.  Took me to an inn where I had a "shandy" and they made scones with strawberry jam and clotted creme for breakfast one morning.  Took me a see a motorbike race which was won by an American, Brad Lackey, and I think this was on the 4th of July.  Great fun.

     Harrison died in 2001 at the age of 58.  Had throat cancer.  In Hindu fashion, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered down the Ganges.

     Good time here to go back to sleep, thinking about meditation.  The Beatles popularized meditation through TM and visits to India to see the Marhareji.  I had 2 friends in Richmond, Chuck and DeAnna Sanders who were followers of him also.  Such fond memories of them at their place in the country.