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TICKETS TO RIDE

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

“Organized? You call this organized? I see books not positioned correctly on the shelves and why is there a bottle of Coca Cola sweating on your desk? There better not be any water rings on the wood. Now finish up in here; we haven’t got all day and my patience is wearing thin!” 

More anger and criticism rained down on me by my long-suffering mother. Living with her was neither fun nor easy – it just was what it was. 

Mother was a strict, in-control-at-all-times perfectionist who rarely let her guard down or her emotions show, which is why what happened that ordinary day in August left both me and my sister bewildered, squinting our eyes, skewing our faces and scratching our heads wondering who this imposter was in my mother’s place.

Mother raised her arm above her head. Suddenly the sky parted, angels sang and a brilliant stream of light shone down upon an envelope in her hand. My sister and I stared in disbelief as realization struck. We hugged each other, jumped up and down, screamed and cried tears of joy for peeking out of that envelope were three yellow tickets that looked exactly like this:

Three passes into a world we only dreamed of, a place greater than any national treasure, a fantasy land more majestic than any shrine in the universe, tickets more precious than gold, frankincense and myrrh. 

Clapping her hands twice, Mother brought us back down to earth. “Hurry and get dressed. The show starts in four hours and traffic will be a nightmare. Dresses only, girls. No blue jeans and no shorts. And for heaven’s sake, wear your bras; you are not animals and this is not a free-for-all!” 

Oh, really?

Sacred tickets in hand, we jumped into Mother’s 1957 Ford Fairlane 500. It seemed to take forever to arrive and we sang one Beatles song after another. In the distance we caught our first glimpse of Shea Stadium glimmering in the glow of the setting sun like the Land of Oz, and the four wizards were there waiting to play just for us. Well, us and approximately 56,000 crying, screaming, hyperventilating fans.

We found our seats and finally had our first real chance to look around. Our eyes widened in awe; surely this was even more spectacular, more jaw-dropping than The Colosseum in Rome which we had visited just one month earlier. Finally, after waiting for what seemed a lifetime, television host Ed Sullivan appeared on stage and tried to speak over the roaring mass of adoring fans. These were the words he spoke that night: “Now, ladies and gentlemen, honored by their country, decorated by their Queen, and loved here in America, here are The Beatles!”

Pandemonium, a mania the likes of which was never witnessed before broke out as the most beloved musical group of all time ran onto the stage.

My sister and I grabbed our binoculars and raced to the bottom of our tier for a closer look. Hearing anything over the cacophony of the audience was almost impossible and we screamed and cried right along with everyone there. At one point I looked back, stunned to see my mother laughing and singing and dancing in the aisle! Whatthefuckedness?!

That night my world was changed; my greatest dream came true. I had reached Mecca, climbed Everest and walked on the moon. Being there was beyond surreal. It was the most electrifying and exhilarating experience of my life. That night remains etched in my mind and on my heart for all eternity. 

Well done, Mother. Well done. 

NAR © 2023

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20 thoughts on “TICKETS TO RIDE”

  4. I was at the World’s Fair that day – Shea Stadium adjacent -and heard the whole concert. Going home on the #7 train that day – it was a zoo with all the concert goers still all hyped…I realize this is sacrilege but I was never a big Beatles fan. I think my high school graduating class (1964) was dedicated to The Beatles…

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    1. I’m sorry, Grace. Did I read that correctly? You’re not a Beatles fan? I feel mortally wounded! 😂 😂
      Do you remember when you had to be either a Beatles fan or a Stones fan but couldn’t be both?! LOL
      It was a zoo that day and my uber practical mother tried to convince us to leave before the last song to avoid a traffic jam; that was not going to happen!
      So glad you left a comment; great to hear from someone who was in the neighborhood at the same time!

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      1. I lived In Eastern Queens – an area called Queens Village. Took the Q2 bus to the 179th stop of the IND subway line, the E or the F to Roosevelt Avenue and then upstairs to the #7 Flushing line LOL

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        1. WOW! That’s a trek! I was living in The Bronx at the time, where I stayed until I got married 7 years later and moved north to Westchester County. I don’t know a lot about Queens except that it’s at the foot of the Throggs Neck Br and I remember seeing signs as we headed out to Montauk every summer.

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          1. I was born in the Bronx – lived there until I was 8 when my father moved us out to Queens – which was the end of the world in those days. He had wanted to move way out on the Island but my mother nixed that idea. Two of my Aunts eventually moved to Yonkers. My mother’s side of the family always lived in Manhattan tho my maternal grandmother owned chunks of real estate in the Bronx – we lived in one of her houses until that branch of the family moved to California and my grandmother sold all her NYC real estate. Last place we lived in the Bronx was 735 Magenta Street and why I still remember that address I’ll never know. It was the projects – brand new when we moved in.

            I lived in the part of Queens that started at the 59th Street Bridge. I don’t know jack about the Throggs Neck Bridge.

            I still refer to myself as “The Little Italian Girl from Da Bronx” even tho I have no real connection there but then I don’t relate to Queens either LOL

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              1. 1946 to 1955. My father was born and raised on St. Lawrence Avenue – my grandparents lived in the same place for about 40 years. When I was born my parents were living on Williamsbridge Road.

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