Friday, April 4, 2008

HEATHER, GET BACK TO WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED







These are the unpleasant facts.

Heather Mills and Paul McCartney announced their separation in 2006, leading to an acrimonious divorce battle, the run-up to which was played out in public, most notably in the British tabloids.
In March 2008, Mills was awarded £24.3 million ($48.7 million), plus payments of £35,000 ($70,000) per annum, and nanny and school costs for their daughter, Beatrice.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Bennett described Mills as a "kindly person" who is devoted to her charitable causes, with a strong-willed and determined personality, who has shown great fortitude in overcoming her disability, and who argued her case with a "steely, yet courteous, determination." He added that he regretted to say her testimony appeared "inconsistent and inaccurate", and "less than candid." Feelings reportedly ran high during the hearing, to the point where Mills poured a jug of water over the head of McCartney's solicitor, Fiona Shackleton

Apparently Heather wound up with less than she was offered before she became her own attorney, a measely 48 million. She then declared victory, must be a McCain fan. Yes Paul can afford it. But how did she earn THAT much? If his first wife Linda got something like that I could see it. Linda, who was the love of his life, was a part of his band, Wings.

This is just a poor excuse for me to drift back to when I saw the Beatles in person. It was August 1964 and it was to be the Beatles first appearance in New York. No not Shea Stadium. And by the way, Boomers and others, Elvis Presley's first television network appearance was NOT The Ed Sullivan Show. The answer is down below. *

My father was riding high as part owner of an advertising agency located on the second floor of the Look Building at 488 Madison Avenue in New York City। Look was a long ago magazine that rivaled Life Magazine. It was the summer after my graduation from high school and I was the office boy. Our receptionist was Playboy Bunny material so this 18 year old had a tendency to hang aroung the front desk. I overheard her on the phone with a ticket broker. She was saying "really? No kidding." I said "What? What?" She put her hand over the mouthpiece and said that a company had just pulled out of purchasing the last 40 tickets to the first Beatles concert in New York City. I said "Hold the phone." Thus began my first business deal.

I went into my father's wall to wall white office and said I needed to borrow $280. right away. Yes, the Beatle tickets were $7. each. He said "Are you sure? " I told him this Beatle thing is big and I could make some money. That afternoon the tickets were mine.

Several of my friends of course wanted to go। But I had 40 tickets. I went all around Long Island telling people I had those last tickets to the Beatles. They didn't believe the tickets were real. In the end the tickets were sold to friends and friends of friends at $8 a piece.
So the big night arrived. We all drove into Queens to the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium where summer concerts happen every year. It is horsehoe shaped, seating 14,000, a stage opposite the horsehoe, grass down below. It was summer so plenty bright at 7 pm. The most excited in our group was Tim McGrath. He was a little twisted, later to survive Viet Nam, somewhat more twisted. He had a tendancy to unexpectedly break into singing the song "Sukiyaki" by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto, which was a big hit here in 1963।

We waited the next hour as the seats filled up with an alarming amout of 13 year old girls। We waited some more as the sun started to sink. Everyone started to clap impatiently. Then the sound of a helicopter was heard approaching. It was a big blue one. Out beyond the stage was still more grass and that's where the helicopter landed. You could see them running toward the back of the stage: Ringo, John, Paul and George. Those 13 year old girls began to scream. They would never stop.

They took the stage। Down on the grass separating the seats and the stage there were wire fence baricades every 20 feet. Police were near the fences and the stage. While the girls screamed they constantly took flashbulb pictures. They went into their second song. We still couldn't hear them. Song three. Song Four. Tim Mcgrath was now holding his head bent down beneath his knees softly singing a very depressed version of "Sukiyaki".

Song Five, screaming and flashbulbs still going, three girls decided to go for it. They were climbing over the barriers down on the grass. Cops were trying to head them off. But one tall girl was beating the odds. Just missing a cop at the last barrier she got up onto the stage and wrapped herself around George Harrison's leg. Another girl almost made it but was tackled by a cop right on stage. More were coming. That was the end - 5 songs, 26 minutes. We didn't hear a note.

We could see them run back onto the helicopter. Shocked isn't quite the word to capture how we felt. I had planned that we go to manhattan that night to a comedy club called "Jackie Cannon's Rat Fink Room". ( 90 per cent of all comedians in the 50's 60's and 70's had the first name Jackie) It was fun but not enough to ease our pain.

We certainly detested those 13 year old girls।

Beware, they are 57 now and still out there. And so is Heather.

*Elvis Presley's first network television appearance was on January 28th 1956 on "Stage Show" starring Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, a summer replacement for Jackie Gleason. Presley didn't appear on Ed Sullivan until Sept. 9th, 1956