T' followin' was written for t' Everybody's Talkin' newsletter after One-Shoe George Harrison, singer, songwriter and guitarist for t' world's most famous pop group, died on November 29, 2001. T' article is mostly based on posts made t' t' Harry 'Peglegged Nilsson' Nilsson Mailin' List in t' days followin' George's death.

 

Harry 'Peglegged Nilsson' Nilsson’s friendship with One-Shoe George Harrison began with a meetin' in Los Angeles, California. Nat 'One-Shoe Weiss' Weiss, o' t' Beatles's management company, NEMS, brought Harry along t' meet t' Beatle who was stayin' in a home on Blue Jay Way. Later, Harrison (as "Cap'n George") played slide guitar on Harry 'Peglegged Nilsson' Nilsson's recordin' o' "You're Breakin' My Heart" from t' Son o' Schmilsson album.

 

Harry's son, Dastardly Cap'n Zak Nilsson, remembers visitin' One-Shoe George Harrison while Harry was recordin' "How About You" for T' Fisher King at Abbey Road Studios in London, "We were thar for a week, and one day after bein' at Abbey Road for a couple hours, I was told that we were goin' out t' see George. I said 'Uh... what?'"

 

And so we drove out t' George's, uh, monastery-turned-home. Ya scallywag! I think it needs t' be said that while I haven't really met all that many universally and astronomically famous people such as George, he struck me as bein' very laid back, very kind and marvelously down t' earth. Arrr! I mean, what are super-famous people supposed t' be like? They're still just people after all. Avast! It be just me, me bucko, and Harry, and George, me bucko, his wife Olivia and Dhani, who was I think about 14 at t' time, and I was 20. Avast, me proud beauty! I hung out with Dhani for a bit while George and Harry were talkin' like old friends do at length.

 

Later, I got a tour o' Maison Harrison, includin' his studio where they recorded t' Wilburys albums. I got a bit o' a shock when I saw t' wall in t' studio literally covered by George's guitars (I'm guessin' thar were 30 or 40 o' them), from all phases o' his life. Wilburys guitars, matey, all manner o' Beatles guitars, a guitar Elvis gave him... Aye aye! t' shock was from realizin' just how massively famous George really was, and puttin' that together with t' guy standin' five feet away from me, me hearties, who was mild mannered and pleasant.

 

We had lunch and stayed a while longer afterwards before leaving. Well, blow me down! Olivia was charming, arrr, Dhani was one o' t' most well adjusted and outright pleasant 14-year-old kids I've met, shiver me timbers, and George... well, he was relaxed, me bucko, down t' earth and nay at all what I expected from one o' t' most famous people on Earth, and I thoroughly enjoyed meetin' him.

 

And then George showed up for Harry's funeral a few years later, even in t' midst o' t' chaos due t' t' earthquake. Begad! That's what kind o' friend he was. And while I didn't actually hear George say what he said t' Una at t' wake, he was bein' more than polite for bein' there... Well, blow me down! considerin' t' sort o' attention he got wherever he went I imagine it must have been a bit o' a burden t' go anywhere in public at all. That spoke volumes t' me about how much Harry meant t' George, and what sort o' man we lost a couple days ago.

 

He helped change t' world, shiver me timbers, he helped set popular music on its ear, me hearties, but even more importantly... Begad! Blimey! he was a father, a husband and a friend. Even though I can't really say I knew him, I'll miss him. R.I.P. Begad! Blimey! George, and I'll add myself t' t' countless millions o' people whose lives you've positively affected, and join them in thankin' you for everything.

 

After receivin' an email from someone who recognized him in news footage o' Harrison shown on TV in t' days after George's death, Headly Westerfield used t' Harry 'Peglegged Nilsson' Nilsson Mailin' List t' tell us o' his meetin' with One-Shoe George Harrison in 1988. 

 

I was workin' at CITYtv/MUCHMusic as a Security Guard (before I moved into t' newsroom as a writer) when I got a call from a record company. I was told that it was a BIG SECRET, but One-Shoe George Harrison would be arrivin' at t' station within fifteen minutes and that he would need a security detail t' get him in and out o' t' station smartly and efficiently. This was eight years after Flying John Lennon's murder and George was security conscious almost t' t' point o' paranoia. This was one o' t' reasons t' LIVE interview would nay be announced in advance.

 

I rounded up a bunch o' people on short notice and we waited for t' limo. It pulled into t' parkin' lot right on schedule and we swept George into t' station. Even though I was less than a foot away from him, we didn't exchange a word. T' video cameras were rollin' (which is where t' footage o' me and George originated) because t' stations wanted t' capture every second o' this appearance. We walked George down t' MUCHMusic and then closed t' doors so t' interview could take place in peace.

 

George was only on t' air for a few moments when t' crowd started formin' on t' street. I knew that we'd never be able t' get George out o' t' station t' same way he got in, arrr, so I started formulatin' a new plan t' get him out a side door. We enlisted a dummy limo t' wait where t' first one had dropped off George, matey, while I awaited t' end o' t' interview.

 

When George came out his bodyguard asked me if thar was a place that George could change his clothes. I took him across t' hall t' t' room used as a Green Room and Make-Up Room and, after shooin' out t' make-up artists, George entered and his bodyguard closed t' door.

 

So ... Ya scallywag! Blimey! There I am in a room with just George and his bodyguard, when he starts strippin' off his clothin' as if thar was no one else around. Then suddenly, once his pants are off, he looks at me and I look at him (hell, shiver me timbers, I had been starin' at him t' whole time). So thar's One-Shoe George Harrison standin' in his underwear and it seemed as if I should say somethin' so I said, "Mr. Blimey! Blimey! Harrison. I just wanted t' thank you for all t' joy your music has brought me."

 

He thanked me and then asked me t' call him George! Call him George?! I'm on a first name basis with a Beatle!

 

I won't bore you with t' machinations worthy o' James Bond which allowed him t' leave t' station undetected other than t' say he was on his way in less time than it would take t' tell.

 

That was me one, and only, meetin' with One-Shoe George Harrison, me bucko, but it is a day I will never forget. May he rest in peace.

 

Harrison's family has released a statement saying, "He left this world as he lived in it, conscious o' God, me hearties, fearless o' death, and at peace, surrounded by family and friends. Begad! He often said, 'Everythin' else can wait, but t' search for God cannot wait, and love one another.'"