Off The Beatle Track

One recent night at dinner, my wife asked me something to the effect of, “Is all you ever think about The Beatles?”

I truthfully answered that, no, sometimes I think about sports.

A choice

My wife has commented before on what she would call my “obsession”¹ with The Beatles, but it’s what happened the next day that made this instance worth remarking upon.

We found ourselves in a bit of family drama; nothing tumultuous, just another case of folks acting in predictable ways and quickly escalating a minor matter into a series of personal recriminations. After I expressed my frustration at having been pulled into the skirmish, I told my wife, “This. This is why I choose to spend my time thinking about The Beatles.” And she understood.

Tomorrow Never Knows

And that’s just family stuff. I consider myself fortunate in many ways, but life poses challenges even for the luckiest. I wouldn’t need to try very hard to list a dozen things about which I should be worrying right now. The trick, of course, is to turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream. ²

I can say without reservation that being a Beatles fan has improved my mental health–and not just because of their music. I enjoy reading about The Beatles, watching Beatles video clips, taking Beatles-related trips, and researching and writing this blog. Maybe I could be spending my time more (financially) productively, but the time I spend on The Beatles isn’t wasted. At this stage of my life, The Beatles have become a crucial part of my mental health hygiene.

Always good

Over the holidays, one of my sons asked me whether The Beatles were more important to me than sports.³ I answered that they were, in this sense: I’ve been a fan of a particular men’s college basketball team for about 55 years. In those 55 years, the team has won 3 national championships. And 3 is a lot of titles in college basketball. The vast majority of teams, more than 90%, have won zero. So most seasons end with some disappointment.

But every time I turn to The Beatles, they make me feel better. I’m never disappointed. Whatever you consider to be their worst album or song, I bet you can find something to like about it. I’ve never cared for George’s Long, Long, Long. But one day I heard a cover version, and I thought, “I miss Ringo’s drum fills.”

So, not that you need it, but you have my permission not to apologize to anyone for your Beatles’ fandom. If being a fan of The Beatles makes you feel good, then you owe it to yourself to embrace that feeling.

Tell me about your Beatles’ fandom at beatletrack@gmail.com.

1. To be clear, I would also call it an “obsession.” ↩︎
2. In my case, without chemical assistance. ↩︎
3. I watch a lot of sports. Last year, I watched about 145 of our local team’s MLB games, all 17 of our local team’s NFL games, about 30 of my alma mater’s men’s college basketball games, and dozens of games that involved none of those teams. ↩︎