We think it's pretty exciting!

I really love these stories that remind us just how truly kind George was toward so many fans that came by his home.    As long as he had the time, George always went out of his way to chat and just make his fans feel special.  He would just take a few minutes to talk to them and it really meant the world to each and every fan he did this to. 

This story really is a great one to see just how kind George was, even in the late 1970's.   The story is from the January 1979 issue of the Harrison Alliance.

 

We think it’s pretty exciting!

By Sue Link

August 19, 1978

When our original plans of going horseback riding in Hyde Park fell through (we didn’t call a week in advance for reservations), my boyfriend Danny and I decided to forget about anymore sightseeing plans and venture out t Henley once again (our first time had been earlier in our trip), so we found ourselves on a London street corner hoping to find a British Railways station nearby.  Lady Luck smiled on us, for we rounded a corner and Paddington Station stood in front of us.  We inquired about trains to Henley and found that one left within the hour, with a transfer at Twyford station for the train that actually went to Henley.

Upon our arrival at the Henley train station, my excitement began to grow, and as we walked up Hart Street toward Friar Park, I told Denny I was certain something was going to happen.  It wasn’t long before my feelings were proven to be correct!  Denny and I weren’t at the gates more than ten minutes when we heard the sound of a car downshifting, coming down the driveway, and even before seeing the car, I knew it was George.

We weren’t in a very strategic position when George first drove out, so I had to be content with just waving, but when George looked over he smiled a gorgeous smile and waved back!  He waited long enough for Denny to snap a picture, then pulled across the intersection and disappeared down Paradise Road.  My first thoughts were, “He’s home! He’s gone out, so he has to come back.  He’s really here!”  I couldn’t believe had just driven away, for my constant fear was that he would be elsewhere in the world while I was in England.  Of course, my thought then turned to, “Oh please let George come home before it gets dark!”  as neither Denny nor I use strobes on our cameras and neither of us had high speed film for shots without sufficient lighting.

Lady Luck smiled upon us again, for George wasn’t gone more than five minutes.  We once again recognized the sound of the Ferrari (Ferrari Dino, very rare, very expensive!) before seeing it.  He pulled across the road into the driveway, stopped the car, and waited for us to come up to him.  Needless to say, my heart was beating a mile a minute, for the moment I’d been hoping for, for fourteen years was now actually happening!

George looked really fantastic that day.  His mood was very up and he smiled that gorgeous smile a lot.  He was dressed casually, wearing a weird dark blue and white print shirt, beige corduroy cut-offs and sneakers.  I failed to notice if he wore the rings he usually has on, but he did have his neck beads on and his gold earrings, and of course, the ever present mirror lensed sunglasses.

We exchanged hellos and from then on, George got more answers from us than we did from him.  He’s more soft spoken than I had expected him to but, but I could have listened to his voice for hours.

His first question was, “Where are you from?” and when I came back with “Pittsburgh” George sort of shrugged and gave me the kind of look that said, “no one comes from Pittsburgh” and I never hated Pittsburgh more than I did at that moment.  His next question was if we were on holiday and were we staying in the city.   I told him we were staying in London proper, but I liked the country a lot better, to which George replied, “Yeah, I like the country  more, the city is okay, but I haven’t lived there for years.”

George then proceeded to ask, “Have you been on the river yet?”  I told him no, but we’d planned on a river trip before we left for home.  I did mention that we had experimented with driving and that it was the most terrifying experience of my life.  George laughed, saying, “It’s easy really, ya just have to remember to drive on the wrong side.”

Denny then spoke up and told George he liked the car, and typical men, they started to talk cars; George said he hadn’t had the car very long (it was a sharp car, but I was more interested in the driver!) and it was a five speed.  He made Denny’s day by saying, “The next time you’re over, why not take a better look at it.”  When they’d finished their car talk, Denny asked if he could take pictures and George said, “Sure, take as many as you like.”

While Denny took the pictures, I asked George if he’d gotten the gifts we’d left the first time we were in Henley ( a hard carved plaque saying “Music is love in search of words” meant a lot to me, a mother of pearl necklace for Olivia and  sleeper outfit and little giraffe for Dhani) and he said “gifts?  Which ones?”  When I told him what they were he nodded and smiled, “Oh yeah!  That was real thoughtful of you, but I thought they came through the mail.  Yeah, they were real nice!  Thank you.” 

I asked him if he was recording and his answer to that was, “yeah, well, I was, but stopped when the baby came.  All that’s left to do is to remix it though.”  We congratulated him on the arrival of Dhani (pronounced “Danny” I’ll never forget how he said it) and said how excited we all were when we heard the news.  He gave a big grin and said, “Thanks, we think it’s pretty exciting.”

When I asked if he had an idea when the lp would be released, he looked at me and asked, “What’s this?”  I looked back at him, not understanding what he meant, so he asked, “What’s this, August?”  Here he was asking me what month it was when I couldn’t even remember my own name!  I stammered out, “August?  Oh uh..yeah…” (I wasn’t sure!) He smiled again and I got a free concert as he sang “With a little luck---it’ll be out in September, once the remixing is done.”  I came back with a very intelligent, “Oh.”  Not thinking to ask if he had a title for it, but I had figured we’d kept him long enough.

“Well, uh, we don’t’ want to keep you from what you’re doing…”  I started, to which George said, “It’s okay, really.”

I stepped away from the car and said, “No, we won’t keep you.  Say hello for Olivia for me.”

He put the car in gear as he replied, “Yeah, I will.  Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you later.”

He started to drive through the gates, slowed and shouted back, “Enjoy your holiday!” and waved again as he left.  

As I watched the car disappear, I couldn’t believe that George had thanks US for stopping by when we had imposed on him in the first place! 

I do know one thing for sure, George has given me so much and loving him has made my life so richer, that no words can express it, but I know all of you who love George know exactly how it feels.  Om Shanti.