It's Been 29 Years

I was a skinny 19 year old kid, living on my own in a two bedroom apartment in Midwest City. I could barely pay my bills and I lived on fried potatoes and ramen noodles. Because I couldn't afford electricity I kept my heater turned completely off and the apartment was so cold that downstairs you could see your own breath. My entertainment budget was zero, and the used bookstore was my only means for escape.
I was reading The Two Towers and had less than a couple of dozen pages to finish. I was reading fast, trying to finish because I really needed to go to sleep. I had my radio on, listening to the KATT when the DJ said that there was a report out of New York that John Lennon had been shot.
I didn't really think much about it and plugged away at the book. A few minutes later the DJ came back on and said "John Lennon has died." and launched immediately into "Imagine."
I put my book down.
I couldn't read another word, I was in shock. I turned off the light and listened to the radio for another hour before drifting off to sleep. I don't know exactly why his death affected me so much that day. I was a good Beatles fan as a young lad. I visited a Hard Rock Cafe once and noticed they had the same Beatles lunch box that I had when I was six years old. Yeah I was a cool kid. I did love the Beatles, but in all honesty, Ringo and Paul were my favorites.
Anyways, I think I was affected by John's death because the Beatles were a big part of my youth, and the fact that they would never ever get back together blew me away. I realized that we truly lost an icon, and we would never get him back.
In 2004, December 8th became a double dark day for music, when Dimebag Darrell Abbott was executed in a small club in Ohio. Dimebag was one of my favorite guitarist of all time, he truly reinvented the steel.
Rest In Peace