The Beatles Party

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were invited to a party at the home of a couple who had been in the audience for two or three of my band’s gigs. I had never met the hosts and was about to decline the invitation (which came, not from the homeowners themselves, but second-hand through mutual friends) until I learned that the party would have a "Beatles" theme. Guests were being asked to bring along their Beatles memorabilia and musicians were encouraged to bring their acoustic instruments for a Beatles sing-along. They had even invented a Beatles trivia game for the occasion. Except for the fact that ten minutes after I arrived I managed to spill half a bottle of beer on the carpet that belonged to two extremely nice (and forgiving) people, we had a great time. As a Paul McCartney concert DVD played on the television, one woman was getting more and more excited about her plans to see the former Beatle on the following Tuesday at Citi Field in Queens — the new home of the New York Mets. “Wish I could go,” I must have said, because the woman’s husband told me that good seats were available via on-line distributors for $275.

For a few minutes, I almost forgot that I had just lost my job of 19 years at Cornell University, and that my wife and I were now wondering what was going to happen to us when the savings ran out. Then, reality set in and I knew that, even though this might be my last opportunity to see the great one in concert, it wasn’t going to happen for me this time. When we got home from the party, I fired up the computer out of curiosity, and sure enough, I located great seats available on the field, not far from the stage. With the added fee for the ticket vendor, the cost was $290 each. My wife came into the room and stood behind me. “Do it,” she said, like the little devil who sometimes sits on my shoulder and forces me to do things I know I’ll later regret. “This is one in a lifetime,” she said. “You deserve it.”

A few clicks later, I printed out my ticket to see Paul McCartney.