The first time I remember hearing to the Beatles was I was six or seven years old. I was at my friend’s house jumping on his bed. We decided it would be better to jump listening to some music, so he put a random CD into his CD player. I kind of liked it and he told me it was the Beatles. I found myself singing the lyrics to myself a few days later and making up my own versions of the song. I was into environmentalism and a bit fatalistic so I sang, “We all live in a big trash bag,” instead of, “We all live in a yellow submarine.”

I didn’t think much about it then, but fifteen years later I own almost all the Beatles songs.

My second exposure to the Beatles was watching Yellow Submarine with my parents. I loved the silly little characters and the infinite catch phrases that my family has adopted. My favorite Beatle became Ringo because he was nice to the Nowhere Man.

After watching the movie I insisted that my parents give me all the Beatles music they could find. My parents gave me most of their old CDs. I bought a few at the record store on my own as well. I started listening to them all the time on my walkman. I even started spelling the insect type of beetles as beatles because I thought that was how you spelled it. I took my favorite Beatles CD, the Yellow Submarine soundtrack,  with me to summer camp. I stored it in the same bag as my sun screen. The sun screen leaked out and ruined my Beatles CD case along with my Elvis and The Who best hits CD cases.

My parents told me that Ringo was the voice of the the conductor on Thomas the Tank Engine’s TV show. I freaked out and tried to watch the show whenever I could. I was sorely disappointed when I learned it was no longer on the air.

I still listen to the Beatles quite often. I wouldn’t say they’re my favorite band. That title belongs to the Barenaked Ladies. The Beatles are still the band that I own the most albums of though.

That’s all for today!

-Mister Ed