HOW MANY MILLIONS OF US WERE DEVASTATED ON THAT DECEMBER 8TH, 1980 WHEN WE ALL LEARNED THAT JOHN LENNON WAS POINTLESSLY MURDERED ? MY WIFE AND I WERE JUST 2 OF THE COUNTLESS MILLIONS THAT FELT THE HEARTACHE. WE WENT TO A VIGIL THAT WE HEARD ABOUT IN LOS ANGELES. WE HEARD ABOUT IT ON THE RADIO AND WE DROVE DOWN THERE WITH BREAKING HEARTS. WE HAD A PERSONAL CONNECTION IN THE SAME WAY AS ALL THE PEOPLE THAT SHOWED UP THERE ALSO FELT. I FELT LIKE I WAS SOMEHOW PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE. JUST A FEW WEEKS BEFORE, I HAD MAILED A LETTER IN A MANILA ENVELOPE TO YOKO AND JOHN LENNON c/o APPLE RECORDS IN NY. I HAD A PREMONITION. IN MY LETTER, I WARNED THEM THAT THEY NEEDED TO INCREASE THEIR SECURITY. JUST TODAY AS I WAS LISTENING TO THE ” IMAGINE” C/D FOR THE 888th TIME SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE,… I REALIZED I NEEDED TO SHARE THIS STORY. BUT NOT FOR YOU, BUT FOR ME. WHEN I MAILED THE LETTER TO APPLE RECORDS, I SEALED THE WRITTEN LETTER INSIDE WITH MELTED WAX AND EMBOSSED THE WAX WITH THE SAINT MICHAELS’ MEDAL THAT WAS GIVEN TO MY MOTHER BY THE NUNS AT SAINT FRANCIS HOSPITAL IN LYNWOOD. CALIFORNIA (IN LOS ANGELES) ON THE DAY I WAS BORN. JUST A COUPLE DAYS AFTER JOHN LENNONS’ VIGIL, WE RECEIVED THE ENVELOPE BACK UNOPENED FROM APPLE RECORDS AND IT WAS MARKED, ” CAN NOT BE FORWARDED” . MAYBE IF I HAD PUT A LITTLE MORE EFFORT INTO TRYING TO FIND A BETTER ADDRESS, JUST MAYBE , JUST REMOTELY….. POSSIBLY, MAYBE JOHN LENNON AND YOKO WOULD HAVE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM MARC DAVID BAKER INSTEAD OF JOHN BEING MURDERED BY MARK DAVID CHAPMAN. I HAD NEVER HEARD OF “THE DAKOTA” except NORTH AND SOUTH DAKOTA AND THE DAKOTA SIOUX TRIBE. SO JUST A FEW DAYS AFTER THE VIGIL, THE ENVELOPE , UNOPENED, WAS RETURNED TO OUR HOUSE. I WAS ANGRY AND HURT, ( PROBABLY JUST LIKE YOU WERE TOO! ) SO I JUST THREW IT INTO THE TRASH.

ABOUT A MONTH LATER I AM SITTING IN A DOCTORS OFFICE AND LOOKING AT A TIME MAGAZINE, “I THINK IT WAS “TIME” MAGAZINE….. AND I SEE A PICTURE OF 3 BLACK WOMEN THAT I RECOGNIZED FROM THE VIGIL. I RECOGNIZED THEM BECAUSE MY WIFE AND I WERE STANDING RIGHT BEHIND THEM AND OFF TO THE SIDE. THERE WAS A PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING A PICTURE AND I DUCKED BEHIND ONE OF THE BLACK GALS HEAD. I COULD SEE PART OF MY HEAD IN THE PHOTO. WHAT A COWARD I AM AT TIMES! IF I HAD ACTED ON MY PREMONITION, JUST MAYBE I COULD HAVE FLOWN TO NY. BUT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CRAZY RIGHT ? YES! AND I KNOW CRAZY…WE ARE OLD FRIENDS. IF I TRIED TO ACT ON EVERY PREMONITION THAT I HAVE, I WOULD SPEND MY LIFE CHASING MY OWN TAIL AND RUNNING IN CIRCLES. SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT I DO NOW ?

I JUST……………… “LET IT BE”

marc