December 8, 2000: Somewhere in New York City

I really didn't know what to expect at the annual John Lennon candlelight vigil. I knew that fans gathered in the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park to pay respects for the working class hero. But would it be sad? Who would be there? How many would show up? Would Mayor Guiliani enforce the 1am Park curfew? The first thing that surprised me was the sheer number of people that were there. The fact that it was the 20-year anniversary of Lennon's death might have brought out more people than usual (although I suspect it is like this most every year). It was difficult squeezing through the crowds to make my way through the sidewalk. There were news crews everywhere, people holding signs for peace, lit candles (and lots of them!). There were people of all ages (in fact, there were more people there who were born after the Beatles' split than those who might have experienced Beatlemania in it's heyday). And it was definitely the younger half of the crowd who stuck it out til early morning singing Beatles songs in the cold air (the kids did begin to break up at about the time of the curfew). Morbid? Not in the least. With the exception of a moment of silence at the time of his death, the crowd joyfully celebrated the life of a legendary man and his work.