John & Yoko photo © 1980 Kishin Shinoyama
THE TEAMAKER
by Yoko Ono Lennon
John and I are in our Dakota kitchen in the middle of the night. Three cats: Sasha, Micha and Charo are looking up at John, who is making tea for us two.
Sasha is all white, Micha is all black. They are both gorgeous, classy Persian cats. Charo, on the other hand, is a mutt. John used to have a special love for Charo. “You’ve got a funny face, Charo!” he would say and pat her.
“Yoko, Yoko, you’re supposed to first put the tea bags in, and then the hot water.” John took the role of the teamaker, for being English. So I gave up doing it. It was nice to be up in the middle of the night, when there’s no sound in the house, and sip the tea John would make.
One night, however, John came up with “I was talking to Aunt Mimi this afternoon and she says you are supposed to put the hot water in first. Then the tea bag. I could swear she taught me to put the tea bag in first, but…”
“So all this time, we were doing it wrong?”
“Yeah…”
We both cracked up. That was in 1980. Neither of us knew that it was to be the last year of our life together.
This year would have been the 70th birthday year for John if only he was here. But people are not questioning if he is here or not. They just love him and are keeping him alive with their love. I’ve received notes from all corners of the world to let me know that they were celebrating this year to thank John for having given us so much in his forty short years on earth.
The most important gift we received from him was not words, but deeds. He believed in Truth, and had dared to speak up. We all knew that he upset certain powerful people with it. But that was John. He couldn’t have been in any other way. If he were here now, I think he would have shouted so we can all hear it. That truth was important. Because without knowing all the truth of what we did, we could not achieve world peace.
On this day, the day he was assassinated for being a truth seeker and a communicator, what I remember is the night we both cracked up drinking tea.
They say teenagers laugh with a drop of a hat. But nowadays I see many teenagers angry and sad at each other. John and I were hardly teenagers. But my memory of us is that we were a couple who laughed.
Yoko Ono Lennon
December 8th, 2010
Tokyo, Japan.
Please share your Memories of John in the comments below.
More ‘Memories of John’ (2009) here.
[...] day 30 years ago. Here are some great things going on in his memory:http://imaginepeacetower.com/http://imaginepeace.com/archives/13454 This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Music by Land. Bookmark the [...]
thanks for the message, yoko. And thanks for sharing your steady, gentle love for humanity all these years.
I don't think we'll ever finish gauging the richness, the depth of John's contributions. His poetry, his politics, his music, his love, his emotion. At some level his presence remains. I grew up with him. I leaned to love. I protested injustice. I lived freely. His music and words were always there. No bullet, no amount of time will ever change that.
What a waste!
RIP JWL
RIP 30 years today………..xx.
[...] John since his untimely end over 20 years ago. She wrote a very touching tribute to him “The Teamaker” on her website that was published in various newspapers to make the 20th anniversary of his [...]
The thing I remember the most about John beside his music is that he was a man who truly loved his wife. He didn’t care what other people thought and no matter what he loved who he loved. I married a man named John too. Like your John he spent quite a bit of time explaining why he loved me too. One Christmas I signed all of our Christmas cards Love, John and Yoko. Soon after that his brother called one night and said I got your card and you must tell me all about yoko and I’m sure she is a big improvement over Lori. John dropped the phone and told me what had happened and I think we laughed the entire rest of the night. Till this day he still says I love you, Yoko every night before we go to sleep.
Dear Yoko;Recuerdo cuando asesinaron a John, estaba en cama con gripe y fiebre, no fui al Colegio, tenía la radio encendida y escucho la noticia: “mataron a John Lennon” comencé a llorar, me levanté de la cama, comencé a correr por todo mi cuarto, lloraba, lloraba sin parar, vino mi madre a consolarme, fue terrible para mi, fue al mediodía en mi país cuando escuché la noticia. Hasta el día de hoy tengo la foto de Jonh en mi bibliotca.
I thank God for John Lennon. His music and words taught me to love and know myself. He inspires me every day of my life.
Yo tenía siete años cuando asesinaron a John, y en ese momento no me enteré de lo que había pasado, pero recuerdo que poco después vi la fotografía en una revista de ustedes tres (John, Yoko y Sean) juntos, y el epígrafe decía algo así como “Esta fue la última foto que se sacaron juntos”. Aún no sabía de quiénes se trataba, pero me dio mucha tristeza.
Conocí la música de los Beatles a los 11 años, y de inmediato me enamoré de ella, pero mucho más me gustó la de John como solista, un par de años después. Tenía casi todos sus cassettes. Durante muchos años (podría decir que incluso actualmente) fue mi modelo a seguir: una persona que no tenía miedo de decir la verdad, que se ponía de parte de los oprimidos y que apostaba a la vida. La Humanidad perdió a un gran luchador por la paz y el amor la noche que lo mataron. Ese es un vacío que nadie va a poder llenar nunca.
Va mi admiración también hacia ti, Yoko, porque junto a John fueron pioneros en la lucha por los derechos de las mujeres, y gracias a ustedes yo heredé un mundo mejor.
¡¡Que Dios te bendiga siempre!!
Marina, de Resistencia (Argentina)
wow Marina, a la misma edad y de la misma manera me enteré. Todo lo que dices, lo diría exactamente, nomas que desde Guadalajara, México. Gracias por compartir eso.
Logré conocer a Yoko una vez hace 15 años a traves de un proyecto de arte digital en Los Angeles, y te quiero contar que Yoko se portó tan bien, tan amable y humilde.
Junto a John y Yoko, seguiremos luchando por la paz y el amor.
Of course, I am one of those who never knew John. I hadn’t even been thought of by then — in fact, my parents hadn’t even met each other. I’ve gone through most of my life with the faintest knowledge of The Beatles hanging around the edge of my mind. I really didn’t pay much attention to them until I was up late doing a project in sixth grade and had been loaned my dad’s iPod. I heard Paul’s Yesterday, and even though it’s pretty much a solo by Paul and nothing to do with John, it made me notice them all. Over the course of a few years, the songs slowly moved into my life. We even sang Imagine in chorus earlier this year. Everything came down to a week last fall. My science teacher/cross-country coach told me to check out Google that night. I did. It was an interactive doodle with John and Imagine playing in the background. I thought it was amazing. Later, I came to possess a copy of Remembering John Lennon, and was struck at the end by how much John seemed to…mean something, I suppose. To me. So I started listening and watching and, er…peace-i-fying. I’ve been looking up songs, slowly but surely, and watching movies, and just paying attention. I can’t say I know him. I never did and will never be able to claim that I know why he did this or that. And from the outside looking in, I can’t say what sort of person he really was, but from what I’ve observed, he was really intelligent and had a handle on what was happening and what worked and didn’t. Plus, he was funny. Anyway, it’s all affected my life profoundly for the better. Thank you.
I love you.
Hadley
Dear Hadley,
Thank you for letting me know your connection to John.
Yes. you do have a connection to John by your love for his work.
Enjoy. yoko
i ii iii
Hadley
My memories of Yoko & John on Mike Douglas..the TEACUP inspired me to buy Garapefruit…thanks for the wisdom…
Now Japan is the teacup..we must all help rebuild in enlightened ways.
Communications technology gives us a glimpse, that some day war is not necessary…and there is no country…
goosebumps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
as time goes on, am sure will be remembered as romeo and juliet of our day yoko keep smiling bless and good health
In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev’ry glove that layed him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
“I am leaving, I am leaving”
But the fighter still remains
[...] Ono has also paid tribute to Lennon with a blog on Imaginepeace.com. “This year would have been the 70th birthday year for John if only he was here. But people [...]
[...] The Beatles as a culturological and musicological phenomenon. Yes, it’s true, this class really does exist and is the equivalent of a 3-credit course at U of S! The course is pretty much my ninth-grade dream: we went over the entire Beatles timeline and watched corresponding clips from the Beatles Anthology. I really hope I get to have a showdown with someone over Yoko Ono. She is adorable! [...]
Thank you, Yoko, for sharing.
Although I am a girl of 12 years, you were someone who fought for PEACE. My father was the first invited me to listen to your songs two years ago. I’m still listening, translating (I am Spanish), and inviting my friends to listen too. And imagine all that you imagined.
I also hope that some day people will give him an opportunity that many call it PEACE.
Thanks John.
For all these beautiful songs written.
I think that legends never die, so
JOHN LONG LIFE
I’m only 19, but John has and always will be my idol and hero. Ever since i was young i was brought up with the beatles and i love them to today, which to be honest sets me apart from my other freinds, but my love of the beatles made me dig deeper in to each of the members lives, and Johns was by far the most interesting. As i researched John i found tragedy, pain and anger but i also found humor, love, peace and his ability to speak out and speak the truth. He truly was a great man, he brought peace and love to the world that is so angry and broken, his music was created with pure emotion that soothed the soul. I love you John Lennon. Thank you for what you have done and given to the world, you have changed my life and i am still only young. Thank you.
[...] to post their memories beneath. It’s a good read so I would reccomend it. You can access her IMAGINEPEACE website [...]
I’m too young to say anything about John, i’ve never seen his alive, but i feel a good person on his songs, and i love him, i’m sure that he was a realy good person, i hope, some day i have the oportunite to see him, when i was not in earth anymore. Love from Brasil
I absolutely love this story Yoko and just now posted to my friend, just before Christmas I was trying to remember how this story went when I was at her house and we were having tea… hahahaha
Your stories are so from the heart that I feel so filled when I finish reading them. Thank you and have a Joyous 2011. It is one Christmas Wish I have is someday our paths will meet and I will shake your hand and say to you, Thanks.
~Peace Love Joy~
Love Is an Art, And Your Love With John, Was A Work Of Art In Progress. Thank You For Giving Us Such A Wonderful Museum, Filled With What Your Union Has Created. Your Love With John Is Eternal And Should Be Shared… Like All Love Should. God Bless….And Grant Us All Peace.
it is so clear why he loved you so – feeling his presence stronger than ever…the world continues to need you and John and the message of love and peace – thank you Yoko