Last December, when we were reminded of the anniversary of the death of the leader of The Beatles -- at least the early leader of the band -- we began to think: How much longer will it be until John Lennon has been dead longer than he was alive? That, according to Google calculations, would be today.
John Lennon was shot down at the age of 40 in New York City on Dec. 8, 1980. That's more than 40 years ago.
Some of us old enough to remember (or mis-remember) first got the news from Howard Cosell on "Monday Night Football." In the days before 24/7 news channels, many more people got the news the next morning when a favorite radio station announced the murder. (A president-elect named Reagan was grilled by reporters the afternoon of Dec. 9 about gun control and the shooting of John Lennon.)
So today, John Lennon has been gone longer than he was here. And two things come to mind: First, why did we think to wonder about such a strange bit of information? Is it because his music has been so important to so many people over the years? And some of us think of these things when it comes to influential people? (We are also half-surprised when we realize that Martin Luther King, although elderly, could very well still be preaching and marching today. If not for his assassination, he could be in his early 90s.)
Also, for the record, we all grow older every day. Time keeps on slippin', slippin'. There are grandparents today who weren't born yet in December 1980.
Today just seems like a weird day. Or a day in the life. Some of us think about these things.