Where To Now, St. Peter?

When I wrote my article Forever Young, it made me think about other great concerts I have attended. One of the five best would have to be an Elton John show in the 1970s, but which one?

The Dodgers Stadium show in October of 1975 comes immediately to mind. Hosted by local celebrity Cal Worthington, and with Joe Walsh also on the bill, the show featured Elton successively throwing piano benches of different colors into the crowd after songs, or at least that’s what it looked like standing 30 yards from the stage where my friend Sam Cracchiolo and I watched the show. Elton had already accumulated an impressive string of well-crafted albums, and he was a great showman. For part of the show, he wore a glitter Dodgers uniform, and throughout two long sets, he and his
band were in peak form.



However, the one I would rank as more memorable would have to be the September 7, 1973 concert at Long Beach Arena. I went to the show at this much smaller venue with three friends from grade school, Chris Crabtree, Jim Bommer and Steve Coleman. We stood about 30 yards from the stage in an area without seats.

“Where to Now St. Peter?” is the song I remember clearly.  For some reason, the four of us sat down to smoke among the sea of standing fans for that particular song, and it felt like we really were in a blue canoe drifting along on the music. As the song title indicates, it is about the death of a young soldier or cowboy, shot unexpectedly and transitioning from this earthly plane.

What cemented that moment in my memory was that Jim, who had only recently moved back into the area, took his own life about a month later.



Elton John also factored into my learning of Jim’s death. I had just returned home from Platterpuss Records where I had bought a copy of the brand new album, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and called Jim to see if he wanted to come over to hear it. His dad answered the phone, which was surprising because Jim lived in his own apartment, miles from his dad. I asked to speak to Jim, and after a long pause, he said, “Jim’s Dead.”

It’s still hard for me to believe that someone so young would take his own life, but at that moment, it was a crash of darkness that I remember to this day. We all have to go sometime, and even though we rationally know our parents will most likely die before us, we are inevitably shocked when it happens, and it unnerves us. Learning someone barely 20 years old had taken his own life was even more shocking for me, and it certainly changed my life path and recognition of mortality.

Living in the present moment became paramount, at the expense of focusing on college and my future. Playing my guitar, something Jim had encouraged me to do so that he could practice playing lead guitar to my rhythmic strumming, became absurdly important, even though I had no particular talent for it beyond having taken lessons in fourth grade.

While I certainly had some good times and didn’t go down a blatantly destructive road, I nonetheless was going sideways instead of progressing, and my sixth year of college didn’t seem to have an exit strategy in mind.

I sort of woke up a few years later and put myself back on track, the first of several rebirths I would experience in my life. I joined the Air Force and finished college at night. For what it is worth, with Air Force buddies Larry Jaramillo and Mike Weber, my trio Backroom Blues won our Air Force base talent show, which was the pinnacle of my musical performing career and sort of completed the prior phase I was going through. I swore to myself I would never allow any circumstance, no matter how bad it might seem, derail me again.

Like Rod Stewart and the Rolling Stones, Elton John continues to have a productive music career four decades later, and I can’t help think how little of life Jim had tasted before he made his transition.

How sad that death seemed a viable alternative to what were most likely transitory problems.  From what I learned later, I think the catalyst might have been losing the job he loved, delivering Sparkletts Water. Could that really have been enough? Something that mundane?

A few days earlier, Bommer had asked me, as someone he knew to be a Christian, if I thought everyone who asked Jesus to be their savior went to heaven. I interpreted this as an invitation to discuss in the abstract something not of immediate concern. I remember pontificating with my college student regurgitated wisdom how I couldn’t believe God would punish someone who was perfect who lived in a remote area never hearing about Jesus and forgive someone who was evil but asked Jesus to be his savior on his death bed. I probably referenced the Kung Fu television series, which I was into at the time.

I wish I could have given him a better answer in light of what he did, or spoken to him before he made that fateful decision and told him to choose life. It’s so obvious from my perspective now that the best was yet to come.

To you I say the same. God put you on this beautiful garden planet. Appreciate every moment here, and be grateful for your time. It is most likely no less significant than any other part of infinity.

  On a lighter note, most cruises feature outstanding live stage shows, including some featuring the hits of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. I’ll be happy to help you choose a cruise to suit your entertainment tastes.

Better service leads to better trips.