(West Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S.A.)

One of the interesting parts of the New Jersey conference was interacting with people whose names I knew…but whom I had never actually seen or met.

As this was an academic conference, many of the attendees and presenters were authors.  I brought along a few books for signing, as it appeared that time would be available to meet the authors.  In each case, the authors were unfailingly polite and it was abundantly clear that they were also big fans of the music.

There was another attendee who might be a little more famous (by work, if not by name) to those outside of the Beatles’ world.  He has a very significant Beatles connection, but he has also reached the pinnacle of his profession through his work with other musicians.  However, he rarely attends events like this…and I wondered if he might not be too thrilled to meet “fans”. 

While I did obtain his autograph and briefly speak to him, I was most struck by his keen interest in the conference.  Although he was a featured guest, he did not just zip in and out of the conference for his assigned slot.  He arrived early and stayed for several days (and these were long days)…perhaps even longer than I did!   And it was evident that he was just as polite with, and considerate of, other “fans” as he was when I met him.  

This made me ponder the whole idea of celebrity.  If I were famous and pursuing one of my interests, my patience with being approached by strangers might eventually get worn down.  Imagine  having to deal with that all of the time!  And so, given the grace with which this person was handling things, I have decided not to name him or post a picture.

Almost exactly four years ago, I came across a similar issue when I visited the Abbey Road recording studio in London, England.  The building (and the pedestrian crossing outside of it) are, of course, iconic in the Beatles world.  I readily accepted a stranger’s offer to take my picture while I walked across Abbey Road.  However, one of the most famous musicians of all time also lives quite close to that studio…only a few minutes’ walk away.

I had to take a look, as I was curious about the style in which this musician lived.  I thought about taking a picture and posting it on this blog.  In the end, however, I decided that posting a photograph would just contribute to the “siege” that this musician must often feel.

As a result, rather than posting “celebrity” photos, I have decided to illustrate this post with some more travel-oriented photos of the conference trip.  The final stop was a  brief visit to the nearby Jersey Shore (see photo at the very top of this post), which I had heard about but never actually seen.  After taking some final pictures and ceremonially touching the chilly Atlantic Ocean, it was time to begin the long journey back home.