"Well My Heart Went Boom"

I have no sound coming out of my right earphone when I plug into my iPhone. To hear tunes, I walk the dog on the river with my iPhone speaker pressed to my ear. This morning at 89th Street I swung up the stairs towards East End Avenue and when I reached the peak of the grassy hill at the north end of the park I heard this in my ear.

"Well my heart went boom,
When I crossed that room,
And I held her hand in mine."

And my mind flew back to the first time I heard that song at this spot:

With the 8 transistor in the tattered leather case pressed to my ear, I memorized every word I heard. Lying on the hill against the frozen grass at the north end of Carl Schurz Park, visions of girls, dancing, and holding hands whirled through my head. Had no clue how it all worked, or what I would do, but I saw these things.

86th St & East End Avenue 

It was December 1963, I was nine years old, the Beatles had dropped a bomb in my head that never stopped going off. TV and sports formerly occupied my brain’s whole house but suddenly that year, the master bedroom room was turned over to music and my 45 singles.

89 St Hill

89th & EEA

“I Saw Her Standing There,” was the first time Paul McCartney’s voice trapped me. Even today, if I stood in front of a jury of my peers, charged with a capital crime, and right before the foreman read the verdict, if I heard Paul in tune, I might miss hearing the word,“Guilty.”

I remember missing Pope John XXIII when he died. He seemed like a nice guy, but at least the next Pope had the good sense to take the name Paul. I figured it was only a matter of time before we had a Pope George and a Pope Richard. Even at 9, I knew the church would never allow a Pope Ringo.

Paul’s 75 years old on June 18, the guy’s been cheering me up since 1963. Happy Birthday, Paul!

If you like my work check out my memoir, "I Hate the Dallas Cowboys - tales of a scrappy New York boyhood." Available at Logos Book Store or online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

The book has 125 Amazon five star reviews out of 125 total reviews posted. We're pitching a perfect game. My old world echoes TV's "The Wonder Years" ~ just add taverns, subways and Checker cabs. You can also purchase my photography portfolio, "River to River - New York Scenes From a Bicycle" on Amazon.