I thought I’d give Erik a break and post a celebrity interview this week. How about one of the Beatles, George Harrison? Many considered him invisible, almost expendable. This interview, in its entirety, will prove them wrong.
Me: Erik, let’s go with George Harrison?
Jamie: George Harrison? Who’s that?
Me: The Beatles guy! Where have you been, girl?
Jamie: Oh, I recognized the name; I just couldn’t put it where it needed to go!
Me: Welcome to the hell that is my world!
Erik stands there, looking pretty.
Jamie (to Erik): Okay, go! Get out of here!
I laugh.
Me: Shoo! Run along now!
Jamie laughs as Erik disappears.
Moments later, Erik appears with George Harrison and George Carlin.
Jamie (giggling): Hi. We’re going to have the day of the Georges.
Me: Oh, okay. Hi, Mr. Harrison. We’ll start with you.
George: Hi!
Me: How are you?
George: Very peaceful, thank you.
Me: One of my favorite songs in the world is “My Guitar Gently Weeps.” I just love that beautiful song, and I want to thank you for that.
George: Thank you for saying that! That’s very nice.
Me: You’re welcome. Well, we’ll get started with the questions, I guess. I suppose you know what this is all about.
George: Yes, I’ve heard from my friend, John!
Jamie and I giggle.
Me: Y’all still pal around, do you?
George: Yes, of course.
Me: That’s awesome! Do you jam with each other?
Jamie: Aw, he’s funny! I didn’t expect him to be funny, for some reason.
Me: Yeah, he seemed like he was pretty serious, but I don’t think he really was.
Jamie: Yeah, he’s kidding around. He said that he and John get together; they’re just waiting for Paul to die off, also Eric Clapton—
Me: I think they were all buddies, yeah. And what about Ringo, Ringo Starr? What is he, chopped liver?
George (laughing): That’s pretty much what we always called him!
Jamie (laughing): Why?
George: Oh, that’s because he always said he was the expendable Beatle.
Me: Aw! Ringo said that?
George: Yes, but without him it would never have been the same.
Me: Aw! Okay, now what beliefs did you have about death and the afterlife when you were alive, George?
Jamie listens for several seconds.
Jamie (to George): Why?
Jamie listens more.
Jamie (to George): Who are you imitating? (Pause) Your grandfather?
Jamie laughs.
Jamie (to George): I know you’re imitating somebody; I’m just not in on the joke!
Jamie (to me): He’s teasing about his grandfather, an Irish man. He’s talking about being Roman Catholic and that his grandfather, I think on the mother’s side of the family, were very harsh about having Roman Catholic beliefs, and he felt that if he was trained to behave well and followed the dotted line, and then he would obviously be saved by God and be redeemed.
George: We had times when we had to purge ourselves from all of our sins.
Me: Oh, boy.
George: Yes, and mostly it would be sitting down and talking, and God was used not only as the wonderful man but also as the bad guy who would get you if you didn’t behave.
Jamie and I laugh.
Me: So, what happened to those beliefs after you crossed over?
George: I think really my beliefs changed when I found music and when I started traveling around the world and looking at different religions. That’s when it changed. This was years ahead of me dying.
Me: Did your beliefs change to more spiritual ones like those we espouse in the blog?
George: Yes. In looking at the way people lived, believed and survived, there was no way I could believe that what I was taught was the only way.
Me: So you crossed over and it wasn’t a big surprise?
George: No, not a big surprise.
Me: Can you tell me about your transition?
George: I was ready. There was a time before my death that I was sick and it was potentially fatal.
Jamie: He’s talking about an Ashram.
George: Soon after that—I fell ill—
Me: Yeah, you had throat cancer, right?
George: Yeah, but this was before that. I had another scare. So I started yoga and chanting and I became part of an Ashram.
Me: Oh, okay.
George: That’s where I found complete peace. I changed my diet; I became vegetarian—
Jamie: Like me!
George: In all my travels and my music, I decided I’d sit there and get cleaned up.
Me: Good.
I invite you to watch this video where Harrison’s son, Dhani (who looks just like him), Prince, Tom Petty and Steve Winwood play My Guitar Gently Weeps. I never realized Prince played guitar so well. Very Hendrix-esque. He comes in toward the end so stick with it.
http://youtu.be/0lZ1Mu78VFM
