Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Ain't That a Kick in the Head?

Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here.

 
1) In the song, Dean sings, "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" to express how delighted he is to discover the girl loves him. When was the last time you were pleasantly surprised? Yesterday. I called the vet and asked for a Saturday appointment for my cat, Reynaldo. They were already booked up, but because they know me and know Rey, they're going to squeeze us in at 8:00 AM, before their 9:00 opening time. I appreciate this so much.

2) Martin was born Dino Paul Crochetti, and his family only spoke Italian at home. Do you speak any language other than English? Nope. I wish I did.

 
3) Before he became an entertainer, Martin fought under the name "Kid Crochett." Do you watch boxing? What about wrestling? Nope. 

4) This song appeared in the original Ocean's 11 (1960). That film was remade in 2001, with basically the same plot -- a group of suave criminals knock over the casinos on the Vegas Strip. Why do you think so many movies feature crooks and con men as heroes? I think there's a streak of rebellion in each of us, and movie anti-heroes appeal to it.

 
5) Crazy Sam's college sweetheart took over his family's wholesale liquor business, married a woman named Helene and has two sons. How does she know this? She checked his Facebook page on the sly. Have you ever used the internet to look up an ex? Of course. Isn't this why the Internet was invented?

 

6) As she writes this week's meme, Sam is sipping from a Big Bang Theory cup that features Sheldon's face and the word, "Bazinga!" Tell us about your favorite mug or water bottle. I have a mug that I bought as a souvenir from the Streisand concert I attended nearly a year ago.

7) Are you a good judge of character? I'd say I have fairly good instincts. I don't always heed them.

 
8) Do you know how to turn a somersault? I used to know how. Haven't attempted a somersault in decades, though. (And don't feel like trying one now, either.)

 
9) Which one do you use -- roll-on, stick or spray deodorant? Solid or stick.

Upset, upset, upset

A woman was ripped off on my train this evening. Two young men entered the car together but then sat apart, one on either side of this middle aged lady.* I didn't see what happened, but apparently one knocked her phone out of her hand and the other grabbed it and then, when the doors opened at the next stop, they leaped out. The woman screamed, "NO! NO!" and followed them onto the platform, but they were gone. She started to cry and two other people joined her on the platform as she waited for the authorities to file a report.

It was only 5:30. The train is usually very safe at that time.

An el car is a small, confined area, so this had an impact on each of us.

I'm upset, but I'm also strangely relieved that I seldom use my piece-of-shit phone while on the train and that my tunes are on an old-school iPod that no one else would want.

*I realize that to these young perpetrators, I probably look like a middle-aged lady, too.

My dream seatmate

I'm pretending that I'm on a long flight* and I get to kill time with Suzy Hunt. She's an enigmatic, blonde Forrest Gump. She was there for so much, knows so much about so many cool people, and doesn't speak to anyone about any of it.

She was Suzy Miller, a tall, willowy London model when being a tall, willowy London model was the best thing to be. She met and quickly married studly James Hunt, the race car driver soon to be immortalized in Ron Howard's Rush.

That marriage unraveled pretty fast so she did what folks like that did in the 1970s -- she went to Gstaad. There she just so happened run into another less than happily married celebrity, Richard Burton. He was instantly smitten with her and they began an affair, even though he was married to old Whatshername. 

Burton decided that she was his future, his escape from his drunken, excessive life with Elizabeth and so Suzy Hunt became known as the woman who came between Liz and Dick. As the third Mrs. Burton, she is credited for helping him beat the bottle and enjoy acclaim in Equus on Broadway. During their time in New York, she and Burton frequently hung out with another high profile pair of newlyweds, Henry Kissinger and his bride, Nancy.

After six years together, the age gap between Suzy and Richard exerted itself and they, too, divorced. By now, she'd had quite enough of celebrity and, for all practical purposes, disappeared. Apparently she lived a socialite's life in Palm Springs for a while (or was it Palm Beach? I get those two confused). Currently she lives in Spain.

Though she is portrayed in the movie by Olivia Wilde, she's given no interviews to promote Rush. Nor has she joined the other Mrs. Hunt at any of the film festivals or premieres. She's never spoken publicly about her years with Burton, either, not even now that Liz is gone.

But if we were sitting together on a flight for three hours, maybe we could talk about Watergate, Taylor and Burton, James Hunt and Nikki Lauda, what it's like to have it all, what it's like to walk away ... Because as much as I admire the lady for not selling her story, I still want to hear it.

Who's your dream seatmate?

*And that I'm not stoned on Xanax