Our tribute to Linda McCartney

Vegetarian Times, July, 1998 by Cliff Rothman

The outspoken activist and vegetarian was never at a loss for words. Here are some highlights from our past interviews with her.

Those eyes.

That's what first struck you about Linda McCartney when you saw her. Eyes filled with humanity and soul.

Linda was many things wrapped up in one person. "The grand convergence," as a friend once put it, describing powerful, oppositional forces meeting at one point. She was born wealthy, but valued life's simple pleasures. She was keenly intelligent, but let her heart lead the way. She was famous, but lived a private, unassuming life. She had a gentle soul yet fought with a fierce authority to defend, often alone, the rights of hapless animals. She was passionate without being earnest. She was a poet who built a corporation.

If ever there was a role model for living in the light, with love and compassion, humanity and artistry, it was Linda McCartney. She and Paul hated to be apart--even to the point of performing together onstage so as not to be separated. "I'm a musician now," she told Vegetarian Times back in 1990, "but I only do it to get him out there." Paul says the only 11 nights they didn't sleep together was when he was arrested for pot and detained in Japan.

Linda was willing to risk her own comfort level for what she believed in. And some of her beliefs were indeed controversial. She wasn't a big fan of the Bible, which she said was too full of chauvinism and suffering to have come from God. ("Go by your feelings", she told Vegetarian Times. "Be spiritual rather than oppressive in life.") And while she was a supporter of the radical animal-rights organization PETA, she said her one concern about her affiliation with them was, "I don't want Paul's following to be hurt by my very strong beliefs."

These convictions were apparent in that steadfast gaze of hers, as she'd look back into the camera lens, which she was usually on the other side of. There was a fearlessness in those eyes that came from inner peace and knowing what mattered most in the journey of life: love for your partner; for your children; for all living creatures, animal and human; for yourself. "I love the things I do," she once said. "I love cooking. I love my kid I love nature. I love photography."

Linda loved--and lived--on her own terms. She used no nannies, because she was determined not to forfeit that precious bond of time with her children. She sent them to local schools rather than away to fancy schools for the rich and famous. When Paul was knighted, she became a lady, but rather use her title, she playfully trivialized its significance. But most important of all was her decision to not eat meat or kill animals, which she'd fiercely try to persuade others to do as well.

Vegetarian Times once asked her, "You've published four books, you have four kids, you have no nanny, no cook, and you have your music. How do you juggle it all?"

"Love," she answered.

Linda McCartney understood the meaning of life.