GROVELAND - For 15-year-old Kay Zar (now Kay Crow ) it made perfect sense to rent a helicopter to fly over the Los Angeles home being used by the Beatles in 1965.
"My dad taught me a lesson: If you're going to do something, do it big. We were smart kids, who knew what we wanted and didn't no for an answer," Crow said about her Beatlemania adventure.
One year earlier, Kay and friends tried to meet the Beatles by chasing their vehicle at 85 miles per hour on a Los Angeles freeway. That led to a ticket, but also coverage in the Los Angeles Times.
"We vowed at that point, next year, we'd meet the Beatles," she said. And they did.
So in 1965, remembering an I Love Lucy episode in which Lucy was flown to a ship via helicopter, Kay and three friends found a helicopter pilot willing to hover over the backyard pool where the Beatles were staying.
"They were waving and posing. They were impressed. ( We said via bullhorn) 'Welcome to Hollywood! We want to meet you. We love your music,'" Crow said.
The four friends actually met the Beatles the next day when they were invited to be guests at a Los Angeles news conference.
"George said to me, when I said we rented the helicopter, 'is your father rich or something?'" Kay recalled.
The girls, 15 and 16, paid $100 for the helicopter flight. Kay joked she still hasn't paid back the one girl who had a job and put up the money.
Kay said she never went to a Beatles concert when the group played in Los Angeles. She said the screaming by other girls would have prevented her from enjoying the music.
