The Beatles, etc.

My friend Chuck recently emailed me - or gmailed me - to tell me that he was listening to "The Beatles" (aka "The White Album"). He said that he had forgotten how much he loved it.
I love it too, Chuck.
In his book "Timequake," Kurt Vonnegut writes, "I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.'"
I am re-reading "Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury. It, along with "Timequake," is one of my favorite books. In it, a 12 year old boy named Douglas Spaulding, in the summer of 1928, realizes, for the first time, that he is alive! Appreciates it. Of course, such an epiphany comes with its murkier counterpoints...
Such is art. Such is life.