Penny Lane And Escapism

I got a haircut today (oh boy !) And as usual I thought about the lyrics to the old Beatle's song named Penny Lane. I often think and speak in terms of lyrics from old songs that beat around in my head. Especially if I am relaxed and simply enjoying the day. Sometimes the lyrics are Christian and sometimes they are secular depending on the situation. But barber shops usually remind me of these lines...

In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs
Of every head he's had the pleasure to know
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say hello

On the corner is a banker with a motorcar
The little children laugh at him behind his back
And the banker never wears a mack
In the pouring rain, very strange

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back

In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass
And in his pocket is a portrait of the queen
He likes to keep his fire engine clean
It's a clean machine

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes
A four of fish and finger pies
In summer, meanwhile back

Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout
The pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray
And though she feels as if she's in a play
She is anyway

In Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim
And then the fireman rushes in
From the pouring rain, very strange

Penny lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back
Penny lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
Penny Lane (Beatles)

I wonder how many people realize that the Beatles were speaking about a street in Liverpool that was named after the owner of a 18th century slave trade shipping magnate, James Penny? It was a hub of the slave trade in England. From there slaves were often shipped to America. The Beatles were showing how life goes on after the most horrendous atrocities in history. People oblivious to the carnage that went on just a few short years before the moment they live in.

That led me to think about the 41 million babies that have been slaughtered in the 40 years since Roe v. Wade. Operation rescue recently bought the building out from under one of the most aggressive killing operations in the USA ending the carnage at that location. Five years from now, who will remember?