Brian had reserved a room for me a few doors down the hall. I was looking forward to changing out of these clothes and taking a long hot shower. It had been a long night and I had slept some on the plane, but hadn't really rested. The press conference was scheduled for this evening at 7 pm. I only hoped that after talking with the reporters, after John's declarations, things would settle down and the tour would run smoothly. 

I took advantage of the time I had to spare and decided to rest a little. I put on a pair of jeans and a top and turned on the TV. I laid on the bed just to stretch out and didn't even realize when I fell asleep. I guess I didn't realize just how tired I was. I woke up to the sound of a knock on the door; I quickly got up and looked at my watch. I had slept for two hours straight.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It's John, luv." 

"Hey John." I said as I slowly opened the door. 

"Jet lagged?" He chuckled. 

"Guilty as charged." I said as I stepped back to let him come in. "I was so tired. I took a shower to try to wake me up and it just relaxed me even more. I laid down for a second and I was out. I didn't expect to sleep for two hours."

"It's normal... take it you didn't sleep very much on the plane?"

"Not at all." I yawned. 

"So I was going to see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat at the hotel restaurant, but I guess we could always call room service if you're not up to it?" 

"That would probably be the best idea. Do you mind if we stay here?"

"Not at all; I'll call now." He said as he picked up the phone. 

While John called room service I slipped into the bathroom and when I looked into the mirror, I realized why John had asked if I was jet lagged. My hair made me look like I was Medusa and my eyes were so heavy. 

"Ugh...lots of eye cover up tonight." I said to myself before going back into the room.

"So...I talked with Brian and the others a few minutes ago. We discussed what we're going to say at the press conference tonight."

"I'm glad." I smiled. 

"Well don't get too happy about it...we still have to wait and see if this whole thing blows over with what we say tonight."

"I sure hope so." I replied. 

"So how do you feel being back in the States? It's been a long time since you've come back, right?" John asked. 

"Yeah...a couple of years." I lied. It was true for Emma. She had not been back to the US since she had started her classes in London. I, on the other hand, could have used some more time away from the US. 

The food arrived and I was very thankful John had stopped by because I was so hungry; I immediately started digging in. While I was putting food onto my plate, I heard John chuckle a little. 

"What?" I asked a little confused. 

"Nothing." He said as he put some food on his plate. 

"Why are you laughing?" I asked between bites. 

"You know...I look at you and you're just so..."

"So what?" I asked

"...real." John replied.

"What?" I laughed a bit. 

"It's true...that's one of the things I really like about you. I mean I stopped by and you're hair was a complete mess, no make up...and you're actually eating."

"That's because I'm hungry." I said as I took another bite of food. 

"You'd be surprised how long it has been since I've seen a girl actually eat in front of me...Drinking on the other hand..." he joked. 

"Well....if we go to a restaurant, I'm an expensive date because I love to eat." I laughed. "...if we go to a bar...not so much....I get drunk very quickly."

"Bar it is is then..." John smiled. 

"Maybe a wine bar." I winked. 

*****

After lunch, John left and I started to get ready. I didn't have a lot of time before having to meet Alistair downstairs. We were going to be doing some last minute reviewing before receiving the reporters for the long awaited press conference. Alistair informed me that there would be two press conferences here in Chicago; the first one would be with the national and local reporters tonight and then there would be another one tomorrow with the reporters that were traveling with the group as well as some local DJs. 

When 7 o'clock finally arrived, we escorted the reporters Brian had hand picked to the Beatles suite. I noticed that the boys looked quite calm, completely opposite of how I had seen them earlier. I held my breath as the interview began: 

"I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it, but I just happened to be talking to a friend and I used the words "Beatles" as a remote thing, not as what I think - as Beatles, as those other Beatles like other people see us. I just said "they" are having more influence on kids and things than anything else, including Jesus. But I said it in that way which is the wrong way." John said.

"Some teenagers have repeated your statements - 'I like the Beatles more than Jesus Christ.' What do you think about that?" one of the reporters asked

"Well, originally I was pointed out that fact in reference to England. That we meant more to kids than Jesus did, or religion at that time. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this."

"There have been threats against your life, there have been record burnings, you've been banned from some radio stations-- Does this bother you?" another reporter inquired. 

"Well, it worries me." John responded

"You know, it's bound to bother us." Paul added.

"Do you think you're being crucified?" the first reporter asked John

"No, I wouldn't say THAT at all!" John responded.

There was laughter from the reporters before they continued with their questions. 

"What do you think about the record burnings here in the United States?"

"Well, I think it's a bit silly. It seems a bit like a publicity stunt on their part, you know. I think they're not going to gain anything by doing that." Paul replied. 

"If they just didn't buy the records, or threw them away, but burning them is..." John said.

"It's the same old wrong mess. They've just taken it the wrong way, and that's just the pity that... It's this misunderstanding which shouldn't be." George commented. 

"Mister Starr, you haven't said a word." another reporter directed his comment to Ringo.

"Well, I just hope it's all over now, you know. I hope everyone's straightened out, and it's finished." Ringo responded. 

"Is this an attempt to raise your flagging popularity?" the first reporter asked

"I could think of a much easier way..." John said.

"Such as?"

"...to raise flagging popularity. I don't know, if you think of stunts. But we don't do stunts. I think we've done one in our lives that's been completely a stunt." John responded.

"But anyway, that's not the kind of thing that's gonna..." Paul started to say

"Are you sorry you said it?" the reporter interrupted. 

"I am. Yes, you know. Even though I never meant what people think I meant by it. I'm still sorry I opened my mouth." John said finally offering the apology he had said he wouldn't give. 

The rest of the press conference continued with questions about whether they thought their image was changing, whether they were going to cut their hair, any upcoming movies in the future, the meaning of Father McKenzie in their new song 'Eleanor Rigby, and then went back to the inevitable topic of the Jesus controversy.

"How are you going to respond after tonight? Are you going to try and explain yourselves every time somebody asks, or what?" the reporter asked. 

"Well, I'll try if they keep asking me, you know." John said

"It's very important to you?" 

"I'll try... I'll go on and on trying until they get it straight, you know, because I just don't like to be sort of thought of as what I'm really not, you know. It's nothing like me-- the thing they're putting 'round is nothing to do with me as a person, you know."

"What about you?" the reporter said turning to George. "What was your reaction to what he said, and the reaction TO what he said?"

"Well, in the context that it was meant-- it was the fact that christianity is declining, and everybody knows about that, and that was the fact that was trying to be made." George siad.

"Do you agree with it?" he asked George.

"I do agree. I agree that it's on the wane." (**)

As soon as the Press Conference was over, we escorted the reporters back out and thanked them for coming. I went back to the Beatles suite to see how everyone thought it had gone. From my perspective, at least, the boys had been very mellow, responded with honesty and even added some humor to it...in truth, I thought it had gone as good as it could have. 

I walked in to the boys serving themselves drinks. 

"How do you think it went?" John asked me.

"Well...they got the apology they were probably waiting for." 

"Yeah...I couldn't think of anything genius to say." he smiled. 

"Well, for what its worth, I think what you said was pretty great." I said. 

"Thanks luv...now let's hope I can remember what I said for tomorrow's press conference." he laughed. 

I was glad to see that at least some of the pressure had been lifted off from John. The boys had been very supportive in front of the press. I guess the stress level of this morning had been a little too much for everyone and they had let it get the best of them, but from what I had heard them say during the press conference, they had John's back on this. 

*****

The second press conference the following morning was a bit more Beatle friendly, but John's Jesus statement was still the main topic. This time around, the reporters were a little more easy to deal with and the boys' responses were a little more humorous. All in all, the two press conferences seemed to have been a good start to clarify things, but I had a feeling that this wasn't the last we would hear on this subject. In addition to meeting with the press, the Beatles performed two concerts at the International Amphitheater with an attendance of 13,000 each. The following morning we left to Michigan and the boys again performed two shows at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit for a total attendance of 30,000. 

That night after the second show, the boys came back to the hotel and I expected an excessive number of women to follow them into their room, but I didn't see all but a couple of girls go in. I was on my way to my room, when Mal caught up to me. 

"Emma...why don't you join us for a little while? " 

"Uh...I don't know...I mean tomorrow we're leaving to Cleveland...and I'm really tired." 

"Oh, come on...just have a drink with us...then you can head back to your room. Besides, we're only playing the evening show tomorrow, so we're not leaving until noon. You've been working a lot....take a break." he smiled.

"Well..." I said not convinced. 

"One drink..." Mal insisted. 

"Alright...one drink." 

"Great. C'mon then." he said as he lead me back to the room. 

"I'll get you your drink...go ahead and find a seat." I heard Mal say over the talking and laughter in the room. I noticed a strong smell in the room and recognized it as marijuana. I had tried it a couple of times, but had decided it wasn't something that I wanted to make a habit of. It had been something I had experimented with and nothing more. I looked over at the boys who were drinking and noticed George was messing around with his guitar. I went over to them and sat next to Paul who offered me a hit of the joint he was smoking. 

"No thanks." I said.

"C'mon Emma.Try it." George said from the other sofa across from me. 

"No...I'm fine." I smiled. 

Mal came over and handed me a drink. 

"Thanks." I said as I took a sip. 

John called him over for a second and Mal nodded to him before going over to a room. A minute or two later Mal came back and handed John something I couldn't quite make out. 

John leaned over to George and said something inaudible. George smiled, then took the joint from Paul before handing it back to him. He started playing a few notes on his guitar and then I heard the sound of a harmonica coming from John. After a few bars, I recognized the song as Bob Dylan's Rainy Woman #12 and 35.

"They stone ya when they're trying to leave your bed...they stone ya when they're trying to get you red...they stone ya when you're trying to be so good...they stone ya when they're dah de dum de dum...I must not feel so all alone...everybody must get stoned!" John sang getting most of the lyrics wrong. 

Paul and I were laughing at John's sorry attempt at the lyrics.

"Try getting the lyrics right!" I said between laughs. 

"Allow me." Paul put in. 

"Well they'll stone ya when you're walkin 'long the street...they'll stone ya when you're trying to keep your seat..they'll stone ya...dah dah dah dah dah dah dah." Paul sang also forgetting the lyrics. 

"They'll stone ya when you're walking to the door....but I would not feel so all alone....everybody must get stoned!" I sang finishing the verse. 

The song fell apart after that and everyone burst into laughter. 

"So much for you knowing the lyrics!" I teased Paul. 

"Thanks for your help, luv." 

"Listen to what the song said, Emma." John said "Hand her the joint, Paul."

"No thank you." I persisted. "Tried it before...not a fan....thanks for sharing though." I smiled. 

"Well aren't you full of surprises. Here I thought you were a sheltered, innocent girl..." John said. 

"Well...what can I say...there's more to me than meets the eye." 

"I'm looking forward to finding out more about you." John winked. 

Needless to say, I stayed at the Beatles suite for more than just a drink. Mal walked me back to my room at about 4 in the morning and I didn't even bother changing out of my clothes. Not only did I fall asleep in my clothes, but I forgot to set the alarm.

The next morning, I was awoken by my phone ringing. I crawled over to it and answered it still half asleep. 

"Hello?"

"Emma...where are you? We're ready to head out to the airport." I heard Alistair's voice on the other end of the receiver. 

"I'm on my way...give me five minutes." I responded as I hung up and frantically ran through the room; I washed my face, smoothed out my hair, changed clothes, and grabbed my stuff from the bathroom and shoved it into my suitcase. I ran to the elevator with my shoes in hand and was putting them on when the elevator doors opened. I nearly bumped into John in the elevator. 

"Oh! Sorry." I said. 

"Running a little late, are we?" he asked as he took my suitcase. 

"How the hell do you do this? I'm so tired by the end of the day after everything and you're as fresh as a cucumber the next morning while I am a walking zombie!" I said a bit frustrated. 

"Let's get to the lobby and I'll let you in on my little secret, luv." 

I leaned against the elevator and took a breath. I was flustered by having gotten myself ready and packed in such a short amount of time. "I should have gone straight to bed last night instead of hanging out with you guys until the early hours of the morning." 

"Relax, luv...you can get some sleep on our way to...where are we heading to?" 

"Cleveland." I yawned. 

When the elevator got down to the lobby, I saw that everyone was waiting for us.

"I'm so so sorry for having made everyone wait. I guess I'm still not used to this fast paced Beatles touring." I said meekly. 

"Don't worry Emma...it'll get easier." George said giving me a hug. 

"Besides, it's not like they can leave without us!" Ringo smiled. 

We flew to Ohio that afternoon. The boys would be playing at the Cleveland Indian's baseball stadium. 30,000 tickets were sold and the show was going normal; normal being thousands of screaming girls preventing us from really listening to the music. However, during the second performance, while the boys played the song Day Tripper, a crowd of fans got down to the baseball field and eventually rushed the stage. We were looking for the police and the security to restore order, but it was a lost cause. The boys ended up having to leave the stage and take refuge in the trailer that had transported us into the field. 

"Bloody security can't get those birds under control!" Paul said as he came in. The rest of the boys also came in talking about the mess that was taking place just outside. Alistair said they would let us know when they got the crowd settled down. 

I looked around as Mal, Neil and Alistair took charge of the situation. It was amazing how quickly information flowed between security and the Beatles' staff. 

About twenty minutes later, Alistair came back in saying they could go back outside. 

"Skip the rest of Day Tripper....start with a slower song to set the mood." Alistair said. 

"Baby's in Black." John told the others as he walked back out. 

We got back to the hotel later than we had expected that night. Not only did the rushing to the stage extend the time of the show, but it was a pain to get out after the show ended. There were so many people on the street. 

When we finally got to the hotel, everyone seemed to be ready to go to sleep...there was no intention of having a party after tonight's show...and even if there was, there was no way I could have handled it. As we went up to our floor, I could see the tired faces of all four Beatles. It wasn't just tiredness from exhaustion, but tiredness of this situation...of touring...I remembered what Brian had told me...they were ready to stop touring and if anyone had seen the way they looked in that elevator, they would have agreed." 

"Anyone have an aspirin? My head's killing me." John said. 

"I'll go buy some in a minute John." Neil replied.

"I think I have some in my bag." I added

"Oh...if you could give me one, I'd love you forever." John said. 

"Sure." I chuckled. 

John followed me to my room for the aspirin. I took off my shoes as soon as I got into the room and headed to my suitcase that was next to the bed. I knelt down and opened it. I pulled out some clothes until I found my toiletry bag; I found the aspirin bottle and tossed it over to John. 

"Thanks, luv." He said as he popped a couple of pills and grabbed a bottle of water that was on the desk. 

"I should probably head to bed and sleep this headache off." John said as he headed to the door. " Thanks for the aspirin...you're a life saver." John said before stepping out into the hall. 

"No problem... goodnight John. I hope you feel better." I said 

"Goodnight.." 

I saw John walk down the hall before I closed the door.

As I started putting things back into my suitcase, I realized something was missing. I began taking things back out until I had all my clothes, undergarments and everything out of the suitcase and tossed onto the bed. But he wasn't there. 

"Oh no." I groaned as I closed my eyes. I had left Fred at the hotel in Detroit this morning when I rushed out. 

"Why the hell did you bring him along on a tour with the Beatles?" I said angrily to myself. 

It was silly really...to be holding on to a stuffed bear when I was 23 years old, but I took Fred everywhere with me since I could remember and bringing him along with me this time around was no different...except for the fact that I changed hotel rooms every day...and now I had lost him...he was gone...and although it was stupid for me to feel this way about a...toy...I felt awful. I knew it was childish, but I couldn't help it. I felt a tear running down my face. "Stop it Mirel! You're such a girl sometimes!" I said to myself. "...it's just a stupid bear." I said trying to convince myself of just that...but the truth was that I would need Fred's comfort more than ever within the next 24 hours.

**Footnote: Taken from Transcript from Beatles Interview on August 11, 1966 in Chicago.