Fallon Cush, The TVD First Date

“My first date? Well, she was stunningly beautiful, that was plain for all to see. The first time I saw her I thought, I’m way too young for this, way out of my depth. I wanted to walk away but couldn’t. Clearly, she had my number and being older she knew exactly what she was doing. She looked and smelled exotic, exciting. From the time we touched I was spellbound.”

“Over time as our relationship developed, her outlandish beauty became less relevant. I was completely besotted and in turn obsessed with what was on the inside. Her appearance became meaningless as I began to understand her more and more.

Still, I could never understand how she could be so blindingly brilliant most of time and so flippant and throw-away at others. Did she have a level disdain for me? In the end, I decided the best way to handle the flippancy whenever it started was to simply turn off.

Not surprisingly given my age at the time, I did not remain true to her. At times I ignored her completely for long periods while I spent time with others. Ours was not an exclusive relationship but what was ours was ours, unique.

Perhaps I have been guilty of not standing up for her at times. People have said on occasions that they don’t really like her and I have remained silent. In my defence though, to not like her seems such a ludicrous proposition to be undeserving of a serious response.

Her name was Penny. Penny Lane.

The Beatles, “Penny Lane” EP was my first date with vinyl. “Penny Lane,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Strawberry Fields” and “Yellow Submarine.” I love it still, except for the flippant “Yellow Submarine” which gets under my skin to this day, what the hell were they thinking.

Like just about everyone else on the planet, I’ve heard the songs off the “Penny Lane” EP on CD, download etc. They probably don’t sound all that different to the original, the brilliance is still all there but they feel different. Completely different.