Handle With Care - Book 4 in "What is Life" series

Chapter 6

This past month leading up to the Hall of Fame ceremony passed very quickly. Lauren, the kids and I spent all the time we could together at our home where we could just be a family.

Annie has dreams of becoming a model like Lauren and although she is only 14 now she is beginning to want to do photo shoots. Lauren is definitely happy and excited about this, despite taking a backseat from being in that world.

She was now at the stage in her life where all that she truly desired was being a mom to the kids.

Darry is sweet and cares for his mother everywhere we go. He is always concerned for how she is feeling and what he can do to provide her joy always.

And lastly, of the Harrison children; Ollie is our mature musician who has started branching out into his own endeavors. He has plans this summer to tour with a band in America and although we are both reluctant to let him go we had to think about our own upbringings.

We both left our families at a young age to pursue our careers and he was now at that age. And in my case he's even a little older. I was living out of the country and performing a few years younger than Ollie is now.

I was so proud to bring all of my children and my wife to this event. The children had to accompany us over to the state of Ohio in the states and they were excited to be there. They were fascinated with being someplace foreign to them.

"What do people do in the state of Ohio?" Annie had asked her mother to which I burst out laughing.

Our kids ended up being so different than their mother.

"You always wanted our kids to be American," I said to Lauren, "and if this doesn't prove they are English I don't know what does."

"I will admit," she agreed, "I don't think they would be the same kids if they grew up in a place like Ohio."

We all laughed once more.

Then we soon arrived as a family and went inside to find our seats. There were many presentations leading up to our big moment and when it finally arrived I felt many nerves.

"Just speak from the heart," my wife encouraged me.

Ringo and I went and grabbed Yoko and her boys as we walked backstage to wait for Mick Jagger to induct us as the Beatles.

He talked briefly about how close we were in the sixties and also how we all were rivals. He then said he admired and looked up to us and that we were the greatest band to ever form even though he himself was still in his band from the same era.

Only ours didn't last.

Then finally, it was our turn to give our speeches.

Ringo had one too many to drink as he usually does and so he spoke freely and was the jokester he always has been all these years.

When my turn came next, I knew I needed to bring out the serious side of things. I wanted to make my children proud. I wanted to make Lauren proud and I wanted to make John proud.

I decided in that moment that I was going to reconcile with Paul. I was going to let him be right in whatever it is he wants to be right in. I was prepared to even settle the lawsuits over our Beatle salaries and earnings. I didn't care if he was right or wrong, I just wanted to keep him as my friend. A friend I met when I was 12 and he was 13.

Life is too short. For some it's even shorter than others.

I looked out at the sea of people there to support Ringo and I...and I spoke from that heart.