So right across from the courier-journal.com tent at Abbey Road on the River, a vendor sells something called Beatwear .... men's fashions from the '60s ... collar-less, Beatles-esque jackets, Beatle boots (ankle boots with a bit of a heel, for guys), skinny ties .... all of which caused me to have a flashback (noooo, not THAT kind) to my old neighborhood in Orlando, Florida, and my neighbors -- Susan, my friend, and Billy, her older brother.

Susan and Billy latched onto the Beatles, big time, right after the Ed Sullivan earthquake. Susan liked Ringo (no argument among girlfriends, I was always a Paulie), and got a Ringo doll, I think. Billy got a Beatles wig, if memory serves. (Billy was practically a teenager, which meant he bought 45-rpm records and knew all the latest stuff ... later on, I remember him playing "GTO," "409" and "Psychotic Reaction" for us ... and that last song is still one of the great R&R songs, in my book). I remember how the British invasion fashion thing played out for girls -- I insisted my mom iron my hair, even though my hair was fine and limp and straight anyway ... and when I was old enough to wear lip stuff, I wanted Yardley frosted lip gloss, the kind that smelled like strawberries ... and when I was way older and got to interview Twiggy, who was then an actress, well, my gosh, that was very exciting for me.

Not quite like Proust and his cookie --- :) --- but seeing those Beatle boots across the way reminded me of all this happy stuff.

-- Pam Platt, The Courier-Journal