Tommy

We planned to take the Hop On Hop Off Bus in Liverpool.  It worked well for us in London, and we expected the same in our newest city.  We found the stop closest to the cruise ship but learned something new as we purchased our tickets.  It was twelve pounds for an all-day ticket and just six pounds extra for a separate Beatles tour.  We opted for the bonus.

The ticket vendor directed us to the appropriate stop.  It was about a twelve-minute walk.  As we walked, I suggested we sing Beatles songs and I started with “Ticket to Ride”, after all, that’s where we were headed.  My friend, David, followed that with “Yellow Submarine”. I thought it was an unusual choice but maybe it was one of his favorites.  It was a nice walk and an uplifting passage of time.

The bus had a driver and its tour guide, Tommy, provided commentary on our Beatles tour.    He shared insight into the group that I’d never heard before.  Perhaps I knew at one time, but if I did, I’ve forgotten.  He pointed out interesting sites along the way and provided us several interesting stories about the Beatles’ beginning.  It was a perfect complement to Pete Best’s talk on board the ship.

We saw the street where Ringo Starr lived, stopped in front of John Lennon’s childhood home, and learned that George was just seventeen when the Beatles began and twenty-four when they went their separate ways.  He told us, too, that Paul was the workhorse of the group, insisting that they practice their craft on a daily basis.

One of the stops was Strawberry Fields. Lennon wrote and based the song on his childhood memories of playing in the garden of Strawberry Field, a Salvation Army Orphanage near his childhood home.   None of the Beatles lived in the orphanage but John and his friends did play on the grounds.

When he wasn’t providing insight into the Beatles, Tommy played Beatles’ songs over the buses’ PA system.  The first song he played was “Ticket to Ride” and the second was “Yellow Submarine”.  The Beatles recorded 213 songs between their debut in 1962 and their breakup in 1970.  The odds that my friend, David, and I would sing the same two songs that Tommy played on that Liverpool bus are astronomical.  But when he did, I knew Ruth was with us.

Near the end of our ride, Tommy spoke of his mother, Maggie Calderbank.  After she passed, he found several poems that she’d written.  He published the poems in memory of his mother.  He shared his favorite poem from her collection with the people on the bus.

And You’re There

When sadness is imminent
Or unhappiness threatens,
When the World
Becomes a cage,
When Tigers stalk
Through the Nightmare Hours,
When I’m afraid
To turn the page;
When the Sulphur Breath
Of the Fire Dragon
Begins to singe my hair,
In the Dark of Night,
To comfort myself,
I whisper your name,
And you’re there.

When Storm Clouds gather
And block out the Sun,
And my Life
Is awash with Rain,
When I think that
The Light at the
End of the Tunnel
Is really an oncoming train;
When I need to be held,
To be kissed, to be loved,
Need to feel
Somebody care,
In my mind’s eye
I conjure you,
I whisper your name,
And
You’re
There!

As he recited the poem, I thought he was talking directly to me.  There was no logical explanation for what transpired that day.  There was just the knowledge that I was experiencing something truly rare.

After we got off the bus, I told Tommy about the two songs that David and I sang to begin our trip. He agreed that it was no accident that we sang the same two songs that he chose to start our tour.  My voice cracked as I explained that my wife, Ruth, had passed almost two years ago, and she was supposed to be a part of this trip.

Tears filled his eyes when he assured me, she was.  “She’s here with you, just like Maggie rides this bus with me.”  We stood together, two strangers sharing our loss.  We hugged, thanked each other for our brief visit, and went our separate ways.  While Tommy may have already forgotten me, I’ll never forget him.