Paul in First Class

/ roughwighting

Pixabay, Paul McCartney, Beatles, first loveI’d been in love with this man since I was 12. But he was inaccessible. The years passed and I fell in love with someone my age – several times. Bruce. Jackson.  Married him. He turned out to not be what he seemed. We divorced. Then I married Derek, a man who was more than he seemed. And he seemed pretty darn wonderful.

So, imagine my surprise when after Derek and I were married for a few years, my brother announced nonchalantly, “It’s amazing how much Derek looks like Paul.”PInterest, Paul McCartney, first love

WHAT? My husband looked like my first love? I didn’t see it at first, but as the years passed, and Derek aged into a lean, streamlined handsome gent with smile crevices and twinkling eyes, I realized my brother was correct.

Which leads me to now, sitting here on a first-class flight to London on my way to visit our daughter during her semester abroad. I never fly first, of course, but somehow I got a Ticket to Ride in style.

I sink into the leather seat, accept the mimosa offered by the flight attendant, sigh with satisfaction, and open my book before the man sitting next to me interrupts the bliss by saying, “Hi, Seatmate.”

I nod, not wanting to look his way because I don’t talk on planes. I escape when flying through books and classical music

But I’m not a rude woman. So I take my earbuds out, place my book down, and turn to acknowledge that yes, we’re seatmates for six hours, howdy do, and may I get back to my book.

But I gasp. Derek! Why is HE here? What a fun surprise! I giggle but then notice that Derek’s blonde-gray hair is dark brown, his eyebrows are thicker, and his teeth are straighter and whiter.

I gasp again. “Paul?” I exclaim with incredulity in my voice. “Paul McCartney?”

He responds with a large grin.

“I thought you were my Derek.”

Paul looks confused. “Your Derek?”

“Never mind. I don’t want to gush like a besotted fan. So, thanks for being so friendly. I’ll leave you alone and get back to my book.”

He nods as the flight attendant asks what we’ve selected from the first class menu. “I’ll have the filet mignon,” Paul says, “with a glass of the cabernet that I brought on board.”

I try not to stare at him after the attendant leaves, but I can’t stop myself. “Paul, I thought you’re a vegetarian.” 

“Most times,” he acknowledges.

“And I thought you gave up alcohol.”

“Most times,” he admits. “Maybe I’m amazed you know all of this.”

I shrug. Who doesn’t know everything about their first love? “And Paul,  why do you dye your hair? I heard you were wearing it naturally gray now.”

“So, hey,” Paul answers. “What book are you reading?” Then he pointedly puts on his earbuds, and the conversation ends.

DarkmoonArt_de , Pixabay, Paul McCartney, Maybe I'm AmazedAs does my love for my first love. 

So, who was YOUR first love? 

145 thoughts on “Paul in First Class”

  5. So funny, Pam. I was in love with Paul, too, for a while. My first real life love was a holiday romance we tried to keep going with letters and phone calls. One day I received a letter in which he said he had the ‘flue’ and that was the end of the romance. Couldn’t love a guy who couldn’t spell.

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  6. Love it! Thanks for letting us in your head (and fantasies) a bit more, Pam. I don’t remember exactly who my first love was, but as a teenager, I was enamored by Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson (weirdly enough). Of course, there were the boys of Melrose Place and Beverly Hills (whatever that zip code was) too… Seems so sporadic and sweet now. And so long ago!

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    • I am afraid you are right, Liesbet, I share my fantasies out here in the world. None of this is true except for the fact that my guy is more than wonderful and he does look like Paul. But yes, looking back at our teenage fantasies is rather fun and perhaps embarrassing. Bruce and Michael..?! 😳❣️

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    • Ah, you went for the high-end, lyrically poetic, intellectual sad-eyed musician. What a great choice. And look how well he has done in his personal and professional life. I love James Taylor.

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      • I had to laugh when I read your description of sweet baby James. 🙂 My father would never have agreed with you! For some reason the sound of JT’s voice irritated him and I could never get him to listen to the lyrics with me. By the way, George was my favorite Beatle.

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        • I understand what you went through with your dad. My parents absolutely hated the Beatles and my dad kept on telling me they didn’t know how to sing. I think he changed his tune eventually. 😊 As I got older I got much more appreciation for George. You were ahead of your time!

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  8. I didn’t know a thing about the Beatles until my sophisticated cousins came to visit. One asked me which Beatle I was in love with and I told her I didn’t know. She told me that Paul was the only one worth loving, so I said I loved him. Hence my answer to your question is Paul.

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  10. I’m glad I have a ticket to ride to fantasyland on your blog. You dream up the most wild and wonderful stuff, Pam, always first class!

    My first love (actually “like”) was Charlie-John-David-John, but I settled on Cliff, my forever love.

    P. S. I like Mary Smith’s comment a lot. I wouldn’t marry a man who couldn’t spell. 🙂

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    • Wow. You had a lot of first loves, Marian, but of course they lead us to the right man as you were led to Cliff and I was led to my guy who actually does look like Paul, only better. 🥰 That was the only fact in this tale of fiction although I think if I had been in first class and Paul had been my seatmate he would’ve shared that bottle of wine with me. 😃

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    • Davy was the “cute one” in the Monkeys just like Paul was the cute one in the Beatles. And he was also a really good musician. With such a heart shaped sweet face. I must admit my story here is fiction but yes my guy looks like Paul and my brother is the one who first saw the resemblance. Yeah yeah yeah 🎶🤗

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  15. What a Magical Mystery Tour with the Yellow Submarine gang! I was in love with all of them and their music, which transported us to new levels of harmony, memories, and fan adoration. Please Please Help Me! Or Let It Be Pam. 😜

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  16. I think it was George Harrison. I remember crying because I was too young for him. And my mom told me very compassionately that there would be more rock and roll stars as I grew up. 🙂 Paul Newman stopped to help me change a flat tire. That was pretty nice, but I was too young for him too. Lol A fun post, Pam.

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    • Wow you are always full of surprises, Diana. Paul Newman? Well I followed Robert Redford on a running path once. Now if we’ve gotten those two together we could’ve made a new movie!
      George Harrison ended up being the truly deep spiritual one. And I grew to appreciate his music so much as I matured. And there you were as a teenager connecting to that already. I am not surprised. 🎶💙

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  22. Hey Jude–no, Pam–this was another precious story. Baby I’m amazed. 🙂 My first love–one of my first loves–was a guy named Ted four years older than me. He never knew. We swam at his family’s pool. I think I would have been in love with any boy who even looked at me. Ted did not even look, sad to say.

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  24. You met my first love in Eternal Road. She and I were inseparable in grade school. Her family moved away, and we kept in touch until she met a man and got married. I had hoped that maybe later we could get together, but she died at thirty. That was 49 years ago.

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  25. Loved reading this and what a lucky woman you are to have found someone better than he appeared. My first crush was a boy at school who always picked me up and carried me to the nurses office when I fainted on the playground in 6th grade. I remember his name but won’t divulge it here though I’ve never been able to find him again. My first husband looked very similar but they turned out to be very different kinds of people. Too bad you didn’t show him a photo of his look alike. He might have understood. 😉

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    • I really enjoyed the Monkeys and their singing also. However I felt like I was cheating on Paul at times. 🥴 It is really interesting though how we teenage girls felt our imaginations soar with these musical crushes.

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  29. Sweet story — it sounds like it’s real. I never know, with you. David Cassidy. I worked in summer stock theater for many years in high school/college and after, and met his family when his parents (Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy) were performing in their own show. I got to know his brother Shawn Cassidy (Hardy Boys) and another younger sibling who were traveling. Only saw David from the front row of the Ohio State Fair, when he was touring on his own. I was crushed when he married actress Linda Pearl.

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    • I love hearing about some of the things we bloggers did during our “past” lives. Your time working in summer stock theater during high school and college gave me a twinge of jealousy. It’s something I had hoped to do when I was in high school but never accomplished. What fun to have met the entire Cassidy family. Good crush choice! 😉
      Oh, and this story of mine is 90% fiction. But my guy does look a lot like Paul. I do tag at the end of the story “fiction” or “nonfiction” but in the end, does it even matter? I always call fiction – fictionalized truth. 💗

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    • My guy doesn’t believe it but other friends/relatives besides my brother have commented on the similarity in face and lean body. However, the rest of the story is fiction. I think Paul would’ve shared his bottle of Cabernet with me if this happened in real life. 🤗 🍷

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    • You, my friend, are a very lucky woman! Thank you for sharing your secret – I will not share it with anyone. Except all those who read this post that combines fantasy with real life. To secrets and Love Love Love (to paraphrase a Beatles song). 🤗

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  34. My last love was my truest love! David was a wonderful companion on my life’s journey for 26 years, until he died 9 years ago. 😢
    So glad you and yours knew him, Pam and share happy memories with me.
    Loved your plane fun story!!! ❤️

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    • David was an extraordinary man. How we loved him so. David and my guy had the same, shall we say, funny sense of humor. 😛 As David’s birthday grows near I think of pumpkins and chocolate cake, Yosemite and you. 💗

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  36. My first love was Edgar , not a good choice. But I also loved Paul and his music . Gerlinde , sorry I am not able to change my WordPress profile.?

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  39. Wonderfully weaved Pam… Oh how my heart gushed in my youth to the very same Male Band member…. Of my all time favourite Band… The Beatles.. 😀 I am so jealous lol…. hehe, I had posters on my bedroom door I shared with my three sisters which I cut out of the girly comic magazine of the time Jackie…. 🙂
    Loved your tale.. 🙂 First Class! ❤ 🙂

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  42. It was a fun read, Pam. I was in love with my fourth-grade teacher and I thought he liked me very very much until I asked him for a big favor and he said ‘no.’ He made the whole class stay because we were in trouble. I had a family event and needed to get home, but it was not an excuse to grant me the favor.

    Good to hear you got a first-class ticket to see your daughter. It must be thrilled after all these months of travel restriction.

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    • Ahh those 4th to 6th grade inclinations toward our teachers. You made me remember the crush I had on my seventh grade history teacher. He never did me any favors either. 🥴 I must admit most of this post was fiction but it sure seemed real in my imagination. However, my guy really does look a lot like Paul. 💖

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  43. Oh my goodness… the story and the comments were a hoot to read. I never loved the Beatles (I know, I know, what can I say?) I can’t remember dreaming about any one in particular. They all had their moments, Donny Osmond, Leif Garrett and when I was older, David Lee Roth… Think there’s anything to the fact that my husband looked a bit like Sean Lennon?

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  48. Pingback: Paul in First Class – nelsy

  49. You made me think!!!! While I liked many artist growing up ( which by the way they were some dead, lol, and some way to old for me) I felt for hubby at the age of 9. He was my crush 😍 time went by and we became something more and we had been married for 26 years

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    • What a romantic story about your “crush” and eventual long-time love!! Yes, in so many ways “age” doesn’t matter. We know when we’ve met our soul mate, whenever that may be. Thanks for sharing your delightful “love story.” ❤

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  53. Pingback: Paul in First Class – nature scenes

  54. Sorry to hear about your breakup 😀

    My first crush was not a celebrity…just my classmate in high school. He had of course no clue. Me being the awkward nerd, had no intention of letting him know. Once I thought of making a conversation and asked him suddenly “are you coming to class tomorrow?” (ohh my amazing social skills) and he answered in a surprised tone “why do you ask?”. I decided it was a rude reply….so that was the end of my love for my first love.

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    • Hmmm, but a story (Tommy K) that should be told at some point, I’m thinkin’! I wonder if we learn something from our first crush. In your case, Fabian. Do you see anything from that crush that got followed through in your following loves? Hmmm, interesting question! 🙂

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  56. What a delightful story, Pam! I was about your age when my first love was George. Oh, how I dreamt of him. In fact, you might have noticed that my recent post is titled Paperback Writer. Those guys really had a huge influence on us. She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah. ❤

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