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This book is a personal memoir and tribute for a place that never got one and deserved it.
The Hard Rock Vault existed for a mere blip in the history of the corporation. I was hired as one of the tour guides of the Vault. Admittedly there is a very Beatles bent within these pages. I was hired for my knowledge of the Beatles and my Drop Forged Lennon books inspired by the Chief Beatle. This book is about what I found out about the Beatles memorabilia on display at the Vault. It is also about the visits of famous guests and the remarkable guests I toured, their stories of the Beatles and the lessons I inadvertently learned from these people. How did I get the job? What were the serendipitous circumstances that surrounded my hiring and my departure? I threw in some poetry too inspired by working there. Don’t worry it’s the last chapter. You can skip it entirely I won’t mind!
In sharing my memories of this incredible concept, the Vault, I hope to impart the dream, the laughter, the disillusionment, the frustration and the higher meaning. Getting paid for what you love can be an awesome experience but “caveat emptor” or in this case, employee beware!
Excerpt
These excerpts are from the chapter titled Meet The People...
My roller coaster ride with the Vault had left the station. I was looking forward to many more experiences like that but the next guest came in the form of what I later recognized as a lesson in worshipping an icon. Her name was Carol. She had a remarkable story of touching John Lennon in the 1970’s in a crowd situation as he got in his car. Which was an absolutley fine memory to share. She told me how she kept bags on her hands for two weeks following the event. That was okay, she was young and silly and weren’t we all at one time. What bothered me was what happened April 5th when Carol came in with her husband, both of them drunk. What I wrote in my journal was relayed to me by their tour guide, Nat.
April 6 (Saturday)
She was moaning about wanting to see John’s suit. “I wanna see John…” she sloshed, her spouse no better. Nat said, “John is here.” He pointed to his heart. She just carried on and didn’t get it. She worshipped John. I’ve read many times that was something he didn’t like at all. I took the higher meaning of why I had first met her and was told this story. I felt the Universe was warning me not to go too far in my appreciation and praise of Mr. Lennon. Keep him down to earth, perhaps?
May 8 (Saturday)
Once again today I diffused a potentially upset guest. This time it was a concierge from the Wyndham Hotel. She had prearranged her visit but she was an hour early and hadn’t brought her coupons. The hostess on duty at the front desk was new and questioned the woman and she got very upset. The hostess was flustered to the point of tears. The concierge also flustered the server in the F-Stop by complaining about her sandwich. Despite knowing this guest had upset my co-workers, I treated her and her guests as kind as any visitor who wasn’t upset but she didn’t know that. I diffused her anger. I’ve done this several times now. I’m able to calm people down. I feel it comes from my sales training back in the early 1980’s. Anyway, she ended up quite happy to recommend us and had a delightful time. I felt the duty manager’s reaction after the front desk incident was unnecessary. He took me aside to explain this guest needed a turn around in their experience. I just nodded and thought, obviously. He had no idea that I’d dealt with many angry sorts of customers over the years.
June 7 (Monday) 3:00pm
I’m in the break room and have just come off a tour with two deaf women. We talked (funny to say that) a bit about how certain rock stars died. When we got in the Beatles/Stones Room – they signed in question “John shot?” I said “Yes, murdered.” I felt some emotion swelling but kept it back. The one dark-haired woman was also a John fan and we felt a connection over his music. I showed them my guitar pin and “John” ring. They saw how sincere I was and we had quite a time walking down the Beatles side of the room. They asked how much the Hard Rock paid for the Help! lyrics cue card. “Nine-thousand”, I said. We talked about the Butcher album and I did have to write some of my answers out. After we were done, I came here for my break and it hit me how beautiful it was that despite our communication barrier the most expressive moments were clearly understood. What a vibe! Right now I can hear the Instant Karma video playing over the retail and lobby closed circuit TV system. Can you say mega-synchronicity!
June 8 (Tuesday)
Still can’t get over the two women who came in yesterday. The feelings of connection were strong and so was John’s presence in the room. The mutual love for Rock ‘n’ Roll crossed communication barriers. Maybe John’s spirit did that too, because after we were in the Beatles half of the room and shared our love for John the miracle of his music took over. It was all unexpected in its power. What may have made it more emotional for me was they asked throughout the tour who was dead and how they died. It didn’t dawn on me they’d ask about John. I tend to forget- want to forget- he’s dead. So when the light-haired lady asked how John died and made a gun with her finger, I said, “Yes- he was murdered.” I had to articulate so they could read my lips. Clearly and slowly I said, “MUR-DER-ED.” It gave me a chill to say it that way and I started to well up. Then I showed them my Rickenbakcer guitar pin and my gold ring that says “John” on it. That’s when the dark-haired lady signed, Yes! She loves John’s music too. I felt this whole flood of joy and excitement of connection. It flooded over the sadness so I wouldn’t cry. That’s when I felt John’s presence. They asked about Geroge too and I said, “Cancer.”
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