August 25-29 – Starting Sunday – The Beatles – Let It Be and Other Beatle Albums

I was weary. I felt like working out and debated whether I should stick to my routine. Abbey Road, while having its merits, proved to be a chore. I had to keep reminding myself that I had taken a three hour walk on Saturday, carrying bags with some heaviness along the way back. I was more weak and weary than sore and worried that weak and weary was going to be my new normal.

I wondered why Let It Be is on Capital Records. Where’s the apple? I thought this is the one for which the apple turned red. Ah well. Hearing “The Two of Us” reminded me that my weariness had to have been from my previous venture and I think I have to hear it again. So I do. George Harrison’s contributions to this album aren’t of the caliber of the one’s on Abbey Road – “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something” – and I regret that I was not able to enjoy that album more.

“The Long and Winding Road” was one of my mother’s favorite Beatles songs. Mine too. There are some deep, deep feelings there.

The next up is what seems to be titled The Beatles Again, which I remember just calling the Hey Jude album, as the cover has it printed in small letters along its spine . In any case, I believe it is out of order. It’s a compilation of songs and okay to exercise to.

I catch myself sometimes, when I need to do 30 repetitions, saying something like 27 in my head when I know I’ve only done 7. I don’t let myself get away with it, but have to wonder how I think I can fool myself with something so obvious.

Meet The Beatles! is on the turntable. This was the first album I put on when I first got the new record player set up. Purely by chance. It was also the first album I ever got. I think my father actually bought it for me and my older brother for us to share, although he strongly objected to that “be-bop” music. He must have been having a good day, because this was out of character. And it’s not a good workout album. Too short, and, well, there are better Beatles.

I had decided, since the record was so short, in total less than half an hour, I would meditate after I chant. Yes, I sort of chant. I kind of take deep three-part breaths and exhale with vocals. I like chanting within reason, but meditation is not something at which I’ve been successful. I reprimanded myself beforehand that if I tried to meditate I would not think about work and the mess I may have just gotten myself in, nor anything else that might irk me. I would close my eyes and fix scene 4 of the play I’ve been trying to complete for 20 years now, probably a little more. And there they sat, my two lead characters, looking non-descript and identical to one another. “The thing is,” one said, “we’ve really just got to visualize the opening.” “You’re on the stool – the dark on,” I yelled in my head, trying to differentiate between the two. The blond walks in and says “What the hell are you doing?” and they start to behave as any mythological characters would in that situation. They acted out the opening as I watched from my mind’s front row seat, and I wrote it down. The whole meditation was no more than two minutes, but it worked.

Sgt. Pepper’s is also proving to be a poor workout album. Slow, but appropriate for tonight as I had two dinners and am working out on a full stomach. I’ll have to keep that in mind for when I reach my Linda Ronstadt collection. Those can be the evenings I overdo it a bit foodwise.