"It's a thousand pages, give or take a few I'll be writing more in a week or two. I can make it longer if you like the style I can change it round and I want to be a paperback writer Paperback writer." - The Beatles
I am actually one of the very few fortunate individuals to be able to say I saw The Beatles live in concert. I was at Sydney Airport every time they touched down. If only I had known that one day I would become a publisher I could have got a Hay House agreement to them! I knew the words to Paperback Writer, I didn't know I could offer them an opportunity decades later.
Life was tough for a teenager with very curly hair. The Fab Four had straight hair hanging over their eyes and ears. Mine would not behave that way. I kept thinking, "Why do I have to endure such an unfashionable crop of hair?" I used to go to bed every night with my hair wet and imprisoned down in one of my mothers old stockings. On top of the stockings I had a beanie. The trick for me was to wake up at least five minutes before my dad did and hide the stocking and beanie underneath my pillow. On the morning that I did sleep in, I was awakened by the sound of my father yelling out to my mother, "Vicky, come and have a look at your crazy son and his crazy straight hair!" A good day for me at school was one without rain or humidity that would cause my hair to go frizzy.
On the day The Beatles arrived I was at the airport and we all got soaked to the bone. I managed to jump the fence to try to get to the boys but only got two steps when two very strong policemen threw me back into the crowd.
On the way home from the airport I began to hitchhike, hoping to get a ride back home before school started. I felt it would be impossible if I waited for the next bus. There I was, wetter than a platypus' pocket and who stops right in front of me, opens the door and invites me in? My mathematics teacher! What are the chances? I had planned to breeze through the whole experience without telling my parents, getting to school before assembly and spending the rest of the day bragging about how I almost got to touch Paul. Instead, my maths teacher dropped me off at home, spoke to my parents and put me on detention. Would I do it again? You bet. I was so close! One of my friends also got stopped but managed to throw a book at Paul and he actually picked it up, autographed it and the police retuned it to her. Wow, was she the most popular student for months to come.
If I had a time machine I would go back and slip a Hay House contract into that book and who knows? I could have made John, Paul, George and Ringo's dreams come true and they could be Paperback Writers.
Happy Trails,
Leon