John's Blog

My daughter Jessica inspired me to write this when she invited my wife Prudence and me, our son Peter, Scott Browne, and her close friend Natalie to share a weekend in San Francisco in the fall of 2019. Our objective was to review her young childhood, the age she has little memory of. Frank discussions brought me to my knees a couple of times when I talked of my young adult parenting and its unexpected challenges.

As I prepared to write my memoir, I concluded the driving focus in my life was being faithful to my family’s well-being. This significantly impacted my social interests, religious beliefs, people who led inspirational lives, and my career choice in international business.

Looking back on my seventy years I believe I kept my family in a safe place. Even through life’s occasional turmoil I fulfilled the goal by being surrounded by the people that love me and I them. In the process of writing the memoir, I gave myself the time to quietly reflect on the different life stages creating a narrative that I think you may find interesting which also may resonate with your own life.

The oldest of ten children, John grew up in a Catholic family: Sunday Mass and weekly altar boy duties impacted his feeling of faith and reverence. He attended parochial schools for his first nine years until he transferred to Bella Vista High School in Fair Oaks, California where he graduated from in 1968. He excelled in art winning several school awards and wrote for the high school annual periodical. 

Being the oldest John, understood his roll being called regularly for family needs with regular outdoor projects -mowing, painting fences- as well as daily indoor work, from taking care of the younger siblings while Mom handled the youngest ones to preparing dinner. He remembers fondly living in two homes in his first eighteen years, first in West Covina a suburb of Los Angeles, the second nine years in Fair Oaks, a small town in the Sacramento area. The Abeln house was surrounded by horse pastures, orchards, so activities were focused outside, playing with the other siblings. After graduation he moved with the family to the Minneapolis, Minnesota area when his father changed jobs.

Six deaths in two months on one ward in a London hospital. Is this a case of physician malpractice? Is the staff compliant or just inattentive? Detective Ashley Longfellow of Scotland Yard interviews the ward’s personnel and concludes the spat of deaths are linked to the patient data system. Do the uncovered clues point to a compromised doctor? Is SoftWaters manager of the patient system, Eloy Prado, now a suspect?

Longfellow learns of the anonymous calls to the ward from a red phone box; the caller takes delight in singing of deaths-to-come. The ensuing fear frustrates the detective, adding to her boss’ impossible demands. Is this unhinged voice a doctor or the SoftWaters manager? Nothing is ever simple in murder.

Uncovered in her interviews with the suspect physicians, Longfellow learns of childhood misogynist experiences that may have misshapen their oath of “do no harm,” now canted toward death as a preferred outcome. Confronting their ethos, Longfellow may be risking her own life as she pursues the cause of solving needless deaths.

But what of the SoftWaters manager having access to the patient data system? Is he an outsider copycatting the deaths? Because of her investigation, has Longfellow become a target of the murderer? The case weighs heavily on our heroine. 

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In 2020 I created several new stories for my grandchildren. I found this gift was more special than a toy bought at a store and hopefully more meaningful to the child and my son or daughter as their parent. Seeing my output over the last twenty years I decided to consolidate the previous grandchildren stories into an 8.5 x 11 book full of stories and photos. The book includes eight stories. Some are my spin on an old children’s fable like Hansel & Gretel. My modern version is called The Tale of Frankie and Gabby. I also have a modern, but silly, love story poem called Tam & Tuco based on my old friends.

The other picture-stories are mainly picture-stories The pictures were taken on my business travels to countries outside of North America.My introduction to the story is to tell the child about a stuffed animal I carried on my travels and is shown in front of famous places.  

I had a valuable review of Kruger Park, my 5^th in the SoftWaters series, made updates and released it in Amazon in 2021. All SoftWaters novels happen in Europe, but this is the exception. The setting is South Africa, starting in the Capetown area and then moves into the large animal preserve, Kruger Park. The story’s main characters are the Waters family enjoying a ‘get-away’ vacation. A splinter ISIS group, Boko Haram, that has not even made the local news, kidnaps the Waters daughter Betsy. With the help of the camp’s guides, local men with military background, they track and rescue the daughter in the jungle. The wildlife, hyenas and lions, are an integral part of the story making the release of the daughter not only harrowing but the final act has the guides tracking the kidnappers amongst the dangers and attacks of the animals. 

I have just released my 7th SoftWaters Novel which is based in Norway. Pick it up on Amazon Books. Paperback and e-books. Read more about this novel and my other ones on www.johnabeln.com.

Here’s the synopsis:

The Followers, an ultra-right splinter group, are demanding the Norwegian government correct the balance between industrial and ecological space. Eliminate paved roads!  Decrease cars! Add more paths for bicycles and walking parks! Their plans obvious to all who dare to look deep enough—their intentions are outlined clearly within the group’s own manifesto which threatens to invoke a bloodletting tribunal upon the State.

Meanwhile, the summer solstice brings an uplifting light. With the Nordic sun shining for a full twenty hours, life feels bright. The Hogsness families hold true to their established traditions celebrating the day with a retreat to their summer home near Bergen. The group invites Betsy Waters (an American) and boyfriend, Carl Masimo (a South African), to join them. The Bergen police unit and the State PST police from Oslo organize a task force to track down the Followers and provide extra protection surrounding the Hogsness family festivities. Are additional police enough to protect people from unbalanced extremists? Nordic Sun is ultimately a journey to understand one’s intuition and courage making heroes out of unlikely people.

I’m happy to announce that I have completed the publishing setup for my latest SF novel called Tierra Sagrada. It is the second in the Crying Body Series. I will be offering it shortly through Amazon as a paperback and e-book (Kindle). Read more about this novel and my other ones on www.johnabeln.com.

Writing SF is a different style from my last novel, Kruger Park, set in South Africa, the sixth in the SoftWaters Series that’s genre is murder, mystery, and suspense.

The Tierra Sagrada story is set in the future on the west side of the Rockies after large scale environmental catastrophes have reshaped the area. Many of the characters in the first novel, Crying Bodies, are again entangled with loyalty issues when encountering evil in new forms. There is also the mystical elements of the Crying Bodies that re-emerges as they confront sex trafficking.   

I find religion, spiritualism, and mystical experiences intertwined with lawlessness and dominating leaders create interesting personal dilemmas that force people to come out of their comfort zone and accept -albeit reluctantly- the potential risks of failure or success.

(Part 2 of 2)

(BeatlesAfterBeatles) BABs 

Final Delivery 1980 Album

Name of Song                              Artist/Singer           Time        Original Album

Baby’s Request                           Paul McCartney     2.59         Back to the Egg

Beautiful Boy, Darling Boy          John Lennon          4.04         Double Fantasy

Brainwashed                               George Harrison     6.07         Brainwashed

Calico Skies                                Paul McCartney     2.32         Flaming Pie

Cloud 9                                       George Harrison     3.15         Cloud Nine

Don’t Go Where the Road Don’t Go Ringo Starr         4.51         All Star Band

Flaming Pie                                 Paul McCartney     2.30         Flaming Pie

Got My Mind Set On You            George Harrison     3.50         Cloud Nine

Here Today                                 Paul McCartney     2.29         Tug of War

Good Night Vienna                      Ringo Starr             3.01         Photograph

(Just Like) Starting Over              John Lennon          3.57         Double Fantasy

The Song We Were Singing          Paul McCartney     3.54         Flaming Pie

That’s What It Take                     George Harrison     4.01         Cloud Nine

Watching the Wheels                   John Lennon          3.59         Double Fantasy

Weight of the World                    Ringo Starr             3.54         Photograph

When We Was Fab                      George Harrison     3.57         Cloud Nine

Woman                                       John Lennon          3.32         Double Fantasy

Wrack My Brain                          Ringo Starr             2.22         Photograph

Detail highlights of the songs

Paul delivered 5, John had 4, and George had 5 while Ringo had 4 songs.

Starting with Ringo’s written and live version of Don’t Go where the Road Don’t Go, this album was to celebrate the 4 men’s lives as father and husband. Ringo continued with a blasting Good Night Vienna which was penned by John as an almost throw-away, making fun of a mature man’s uncomfortable love life. The song fit Ringo’s vocal capabilities nicely. He completed his work with the Weight of the World and Wrack My Brain, showing how young ones are so malleable, yet family is what holds them together, bringing the right amount of balance.

John’s sentiments about personal relationships in their different phases are presented accurately in Starting Over –with his wicked mimicking of Elvis. The ’70’s version of the Beatles’ Girl shows his song writing maturity in Woman. John’s happiness as being a father is clear in Beautiful Boy as he sings having fun with Sean, then whispers at the end of the song as all fathers do when seeing the beautiful boy fading into sleep after a wonderful day. Was John happy away from the limelight? Just listening to Watching the Wheels tells you that he had found solace and happiness in his new life. Can artists find such calmness in life when the world seems to be spinning out of control? John did.

George’s personal songs centered around stronger ties as in That’s What It Takes, lyrically one of the nicest messages for intimacy. Got My Mind Set on You goes back to the days of dating and the angst of winning her over. Of course, it wouldn’t be right to not have one satiric shot at the political world. George delivers a great salvo with Brainwashed. Knowing John’s favorite number, 9, George played around with that idea until he created Cloud 9. Of course, the homage to the Beatles band When We Was Fab is on target, showing the group that once was, with all of its signature hooks, trademark noises (remember the cooing in I am the Walrus?) and new words added to the English language, comes back full-board and rests on all of us as we experience the wonderful memories.

Paul glides into a lower gear that sounds timeless and yet belongs to the twentieth century’s life-styles with a slow ballad Baby’s Request. It is reminiscent of Honey Pie on the White Album. Paul’s reminiscence of the band’s old times is heard in Flaming Pie, as homage to John’s tongue-in-cheek writing style. Paul recalls John’s answer when asked where the Beatles name came from. “John told us, ‘A man arrived on a flaming pie that came out of the sky…’ and we just stuck with this fantasy idea that he created.” Paul captured the satirical and almost psychedelic view of the world from John’s creative mind in this song.

Paul hits a playful, skittish note for Calico Skies, a fabled story, dreaming he knew his love from the moment he could think. Taking a memory trip at the Beatles’ experience, Paul imagines the possibilities of continuing that life, with the focus on the Songs That We were Singing. But he then replies with Here Today in memoriam to John. They were as close as brothers, fighting, defending each other, but sharing always. This emotional outpouring of Paul’s love for him shows the depth the relationship was, regardless of what the press saw.

Yes, the dream was over finally in December 1980.

But the music lives on in all of us.

(Part 1 of 2) The Final Delivery Album

1980 was a pivotal year. The lawyers for all sides had taken their pound of flesh and completed their lawsuits, The Beatles’ Company, Apple, was solvent, and royalties were flowing in from their old album resurgent sales with the new technology, CDs. George, Paul and Ringo had released respectable albums in the late ’70’s. After a 5-year hiatus, John was now interested in recording again. He was excited to sing about family and love, his special focus and clear passion, was his son Sean and wife Yoko.

This time they decided to get spend an open-ended ‘vacation’ together in the Caribbean with the families and enjoy the sun while working on their new songs and the next BABs project. The original title came from Ringo and one of his malapropisms. “I just said, ‘Boy, what sunny sea skies’ one morning. John picked up on it right away. “Let’s call the next album Sunny Sea Skies,” he yelped around the table as they were feeding the children. So, it just stuck. As with many of their collaborations, the magic of being together invigorated all of them. Instead of working late at night as was their old pattern, they worked from early morning to afternoon. Then they took the afternoon off. After children and even adult naps, they invaded the beach for family time and frolic.

“Too much sun for me really,” replied George as his wife Olivia poked him. “It’s me fair skin, that’s all I’m talking about,” he retorted with a big grin, his oversized straw hat flapping.

All good times must come to an end. The 4 families went home their separate ways after one wonderful winter month in the Caribbean. This time the album was going to be released on time. They boldly set up interviews with radio and TV stations in England and the major cities in the America. The interviews were set with one of the BABs, not the group, since the recoding was still undiscovered. “Maybe most kids buying albums had forgotten about the Beatles by now or didn’t even know who were,” said Ringo. After all it was almost a generation since they released their last album. “Cassette tapes were just coming out and CDs didn’t exist when we were in Abbey Road,” quipped Paul. “So, it is a new game out there.”

But the fateful evening in New York transformed the world into a depressing reality of its harsh times. John was coming back to his New York apartment at the Dakota from the recording studio when a young man stepped from the shadows and pulled the triggered 5 times.

      The world mourned.

“I know John would want us to continue,” spoke George reverently. “His music will live on. And that’s what’s important.”

“But we couldn’t leave the title and artwork as it was originally could we.” asked Paul to no one in particular. “It just wouldn’t be right, would it?”

There were many good songs on the album, but the night John Hinckley approached John changed everyone’s thinking. Even with the album wrapped up, it became sadly clear the album needed to take on a different mood.

John’s untimely end made the three go back into the studios. Their personal grief over his loss created several new gems. Paul’s Here Today talks of loss and sadness, saying goodbye to a close friend. George immortalizes the Beatles in When We Was Fab. Ringo touches on the paradox of being part of the Beatles and trying to get rid of that persona in his live performance of Don’t Go Where the Road Don’t Go. John’s Watching the Wheels, originally rejected, was added back showing how John was comfortable away from stardom.

The new title, Final Delivery, sounded a bit macabre, but the three remaining members thought it best to pay tribute to the one that helped drive them to the top, to a level where no band could claim a similar high in music and quality of songs as the Beatles.

“It was John’s best work in a decade,” commented Ringo as they listened to the BABs new album at Electric Lady in New York.

“It spoke of love and the freedom that using our gifts brings to each one of us,” said Paul as he munched on celery and carrots that Linda brought.

The album captures the final creative efforts of 4 men from Liverpool that conquered the world, fought against all efforts to pull them apart and coming to terms of growing old in a young man’s profession.

But, as John once said, “The dream is over.”

And it was.

(Part 2 of 2)

(BeatlesAfterBeatles) BABs 

Heaven & Earth 1975 Album

Name of Song                       Artist/Singer             Time Original Album

Imagine                                John Lennon            3.40       Imagine

Getting Closer                       Paul McCartney        3.23       Back To The Egg

Give Me Love (Give Me Peace) George Harrison   3.37       Living In The Material World

Instant Karma!                      John Lennon            3.22       Working Class Hero

This Guitar (… From Crying) George Harrison        4.13       Extra Texture

Rockestra Theme                  Paul McCartney        2.35       Back To the Egg

I’m The Greatest                   Ringo Starr               3.26       Photograph

Living In the Material World George Harrison        5.31       Living In The Material World

Give Peace a Chance             John Lennon            4.51       Working Class Hero

Grey Cloudy Lies                  George Harrison        3.42       Extra Texture

Only You (And You Alone)   Ringo Starr               3.24       Photograph

The Lord Loves the One        George Harrison        4.35       Living In The Material World

How Do You Sleep?             John Lennon            5.36       Imagine

The No-No Song                   Ringo Starr               2.32       Photograph

With A Little Luck                Paul McCartney        5.48       London Town

# 9 Dream                             John Lennon            4.47       Working Class Hero

Listen To What The Man Said Paul McCartney      4.01       Venus and Mars

Tired Of Midnight Blue         George Harrison        4.53       Extra Texture

Detail highlights of the songs

Paul delivered 4, John had 5, and George had 6 songs while had Ringo 3 songs.

John’s continuing stance at addressing the ills of the world with love starts off with Imagine. He continues with Give Peace a Chance, a credo used at many peace rallies during the turbulent ’70’s. He levels his assessment of human-kind in Instant Karma, telling everyone that they can be a star, an instant star, if they believe in themselves. “I know we already released it, but it’s good the next time around!” emphasized John. He also threw in his dry humor by poking fun at Paul in How Do You Sleep? John did a similar jab in Glass Onion on the White Album when he confessed that the Walrus was Paul. They were never afraid of holding the mirror up to themselves in a self examination of the times. A true dream-like quality is found in his #9 Dream. The string instruments mimic floating to sleep, the made-up words interspersed with French (Poussée, Poussée!) made the song magical, drawing you into it as Yoko whispers, “Lord, Lord.” Living in New York must have inspired John to write Imagine, the great ’70’s anthems.

George’s Living in the Material World sounds like his assessment of the ’70’s, the frustrating, me-first generation. But then he illustrates a way to a better life and world in The Lord Loves the One and Give Me Love (Give Me Peace). The righteous live well in God’s eyes is a theme that George uses throughout his work in the ’70’s. Always experimenting, George continues to delivers wonderful rhythm & blues songs in Tired of Midnight Blue and This Guitar Can’t Keep From Crying.

But George also shows love right-from-the-gut in Grey Cloudy Lives, showing the despondence of living and loving in the ’70‘s. Its slow pace accents the word’s meanings of reaching out among the tears.

George was influential even to American artists and he was at his most creative, writing probably more songs than any of the other lads. As John retired (semi-permanently), George took over as the master song-crafter affected by the band’s breakup in 1969 as he had already left it once before. Not one to take sides he found the in-fighting uncomfortable and demeaning. He wanted out. You can hear his exuberance and tongue-in-check in It Don’t Come Easy. John also wanted to get into the fun and penned a great send-up called I’m the Greatest for Ringo with John dancing behind Ringo during the recording shouting the anthem. Can you just see John’s antics?

Then he comes back with a pointed finger at the excesses of the ’70’s in the No-No Song and sings it so sweetly you would know it was written for him. It has that wonderful naiveté that surrounds Ringo and spoke of the best quality in him, no ego.

Paul stretches his range of songs beyond the earlier individual songs while living in Scotland’s country-side. Leaving London urban life has impacted his approach. By the mid ’70’s he’s hit his stride with large auditorium concerts, covering the world with tours. Thriving on the jet-set life-style brought out his fancy and fantasy in some of his albums during this period. Although his pot bust in Japan did crack the happy veneer for a period of time. Still, the contributions to the non-Beatles album are rooted in his love and positive outlook.

Life and love are good is clearly still Paul’s anthem. Along with his wife Linda, Paul grows his family which is intertwined into the songs he worked on. Paul’s desire to have a strong band to back him is seen in the Rockestra Theme, pulling together the English stars of the ’70’s making an almost orchestral sound. Paul also has a good ear to pick up sites and sounds around him as he tours and turn them into musical gems such as Listen To What The Man Said. He speaks to his generation with a plea to recognize your neighbor in the soldier, especially when a musical note or tune whistled lifts one up. He also shows his loving side with Linda in Getting Closer, an amorous paean to his wife, and With A Little Luck.

The BABs Second Album in the 1970’s

(Part 1 of 2)

For their next collaboration the BABs created the album, Heaven & Earth. It started with the same boyish fun of fooling the public a second try and having a good laugh. “It felt like our days in Hamburg where we laughed at the audience as much as they shouted at us,” remarked John. In 1974 the 4 got together at Paul’s Scotland farm to put together the next album. With the lawyers still going left, right and center over Apple ownership, it was crazy to consider the idea of another album, yet they had so many ideas to explore they communicated incognito and agreed to meet. Maybe they’d get fired up and at least sketch something out.

Not even George Martin knew about these meetings. In a way they felt guilty not bringing him into the circle, but they wanted that new, fresh face on everything.

The album’s cover was a photo taken by George. He stood at a high point at False Bay, south of Cape Town, South Africa when he was visiting Nelson Mandela. “It reminded me of the intersection between heaven and earth. It’s the point where the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean creating clouds from the water’s turbulence and fresh air,” explained George.

As in the previous album, when writing to each other they called themselves the BABs –BeatlesAfterBeatles- to describe their new phase of a group identity. The men were happy with family and friends, but it was overall a lousy year with the non-release of their second BABs album.

This album examines the purpose of existence, how memories play a record of history, of significant events, and how karma impacts people in mysterious ways. The title Heaven & Earth was created to speak to mortality, relationships, and one’s spiritual side. It was classic yin-yang.

“We wanted to talk to the kids out there about their inner life, about the things that really mattered. All of the material things are just rubbish,” commented George describing the album’s focus. 

Cigarette smoke surrounded John as Yoko rubbed his back. Talking slowly, he supported George. “The rest of living is just worthless if you don’t have a core, an understanding of your Karma. Some kids are losing their way and the politicians are eager to feed their brokered world view which is deceptive. It’s all just a plastic junk that world-wide marketing was creating.”

“Too much synthetic music, synthetic food, synthetic religion,” echoed Ringo, commenting on the Disco craze. “Can’t go to a dance hall and dance. They’re not playing music. Don’t know what to call it.”

So, the album went beyond sex, rock and roll? Did it become an adult album?

“Yeah, sort of,” smiled Paul as he brought out herbal tea for the group. Linda followed with a plate of fruit and cakes. “We are just focusing on things that were important to us. At our age. It may not be important to anyone else. Okay! Fair enough. We’ll see, won’t we?”

“The name,” intervened George, “reflects our mood at this time. There is too much falseness in the music industry as well as in politics, art and fashion. We believe all can live at a higher level. What is there besides Heaven & Earth?”

The release of the Double Albums of the Beatles old work were starting to gain traction with a new group of teenagers. No record executive would do battle with EMI/Capital over the rights and ownership of new Beatles’ material. The legal entanglements of the 4 and the EMI/Capital record company’s greed became a mountain too tall. They were becoming nuclear atomic.

“We did it, so stuff it, is what I say,” responded John when asked why the second album wasn’t released.

“For a while we thought about releasing the Green and the Heaven & Earth albums as a double release. But that meant increasing up-front costs and the small record company wanted loans and guarantees which we were not in a financial situation to afford,” answered George. He was involved with Hand Made Films and made it clear he had no funds to devote to another non-Beatles project at that time.

“It was the shits,” said Ringo melancholy. “So, I went on tour with me friends.” He brightened up and laughed. “Yeah, with a little help from my friends. You know, a love and peace concert.” His tour in America covered small venues with his eclectic group of friends who made some great music.

George quietly focused on the spiritual world, but still entertained his assortment of great artist friends like Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynn. John was living in New York, just having dealt with the Nixon political machine that tried to extradite him. So, he was looking for a quieter time from the paparazzi. Paul and Linda now had two small children and their focus of a peaceful life for their emerging family was captured in the organic food, the outdoor activities, the natural clothing and furniture of their farm. Ringo seemed to fit into all these environments. Having completed screen work with his wife Barbara, he knew Hollywood life as well. Too many legal and illegal drugs made him realize that he wasn’t of that ilk.

This was a time when George was more prolific musically than John who set a self-appointed withdrawal from the music scene. Busy with raising Sean, John let the light shine on George in a round-about way.