1) In
this song, Fabian sings he has change in his pocket. Every evening, Sam
puts her change in the piggy bank on her kitchen counter. Do you do
anything special with your coins? Or do they just jingle/jangle in your
wallet or pocket until you spend them? I am obsessed with quarters. I collect them in the Hofbrauhass beer stein I got in Munich decades ago. Then I use them downstairs in the coin-operated washer/dryer.2) Fabian got his start because his neighbor in Philadelphia owned a record label and thought 14-year-old Fabian had the looks to be a teen idol. Tell us about a time recently when you were in the right place at the right time. I'm sorry, but I've got nothing for this one.
3) His record label paid Fabian $30 week to study singing after school. What jobs/chores did you have when you were in high school? Did they prepare you for your eventual career? Mostly I spent my high school years babysitting. Since the kids went to sleep early, I spent most of the time drinking pop, eating potato chips and watching old movies. Sadly, I have yet to find a job where soda/salty snack consumption and a love of MGM musicals is rewarded.
4) In 1959 he appeared on the cover of now-defunct magazines like Teen Screen and Dig. Who and what did you read about when you were a teenager? Mademoiselle was a favorite. It was like Glamour, but promoted a more affordable lifestyle to a younger audience. It also regularly printed book excerpts and short stories by very good writers. Alas, it is no more.5) In the 1960s he moved from singing to acting. In 1965 he appeared in Ten Little Indians, a screen adaptation of an Agatha Christie mystery. Have you ever read an Agatha Christie book? I just discovered her comparatively recently. Her stories can be a little predictable but they're fun. And I forgive Ms. Christie for being formulaic since she's the one who developed the formula. What a crafty old girl she was!
6) In 1973, in an attempt to jumpstart his career, he appeared nude in Playgirl magazine. By the time it hit the newsstands, he regretted it. Tell us about a time you were very embarrassed. This was like 100 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. It was lunchtime and I was enjoying the sun by walking across a very crowded plaza. I spotted a guy I knew -- and was crushing on -- and called out to him. At that very moment, the wind caught my skirt and lifted it, a la Marilyn. So it looked like I was flashing him. Smooth, Gal. Very smooth.
7)
In 1959, when this song was popular, most women wore nylons on a daily
basis and the average price per pair was $1. What socks or leg wear --
if any -- do you have on right now? I'm barefootin'.
8) 1959 also saw the premiere of The Twilight Zone on CBS. 58 years later, you can still see the show in reruns. Are you a fan? Oh, yes. My favorite is about a young woman named Jan. Her brilliant but reclusive parents live shut away from the rest of the world, tended by a household of robots of their own creation. Jan is lively and pretty and wants to go out and have fun and meet people her own age but her parents forbid it. Eventually Jan begins to suspect the reason for all the isolation and secrecy ... and why aren't there any photos of her as a baby in the family album ... and why doesn't she have any childhood memories? When she gets that she's a robot, too, she gets all balky and they have no choice but to dismantle her. Though intellectually they understand she is an it with no more feelings than a vacuum cleaner, this childless couple has come to love Jan and they can't bear to throw her away. So they reprogram her as their maid. And, I guess, they all live happily ever after. As happily as people do in The Twilight Zone. 9) Random Question: While we're talking about TV ... Sam finds it disturbing that her brother claims he's seen every episode of Bad Blood, a show devoted to family members who have murdered their relatives. Do you enjoy "true crime" reality shows? Well, that show sounds creepy and I think I'll pass. But I have fixated on trials of the day, like Casey Anthony and Jodi Arias, and last weekend I watched a documentary on the Scott Peterson case.
When I first saw the song title, I thought it was the Loverboy song--so this was a new song to me.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I would still find the Twilight Zone to be creepy?
That one Twilight Zone you've mentioned might get me to put the series back into our list! Sounds creepy amazing.
ReplyDeleteAgatha Christie was a savvy old lady. She has made a fortune for yourself and the her children, and her ex can't touch it! lol
On #2...you and I will apparently be at the airport when our ship comes in.
ReplyDelete#3...That would be a GREAT job!
Just wanted to say your advice about debit cards on my blog would be a good idea, but I can't trust my husband with a credit card. I've tried a couple of times. He has zero impulse control and runs them up to the limit within days, once on the day it came in the mail. The debit cards we have are only connected to a checking account that I monitor daily on the internet and our bank is very good at catching hackers. They caught it last time and called us before it even hit the account. (Who knew there were Pizza Huts in France??) My mom never uses debit cards because she's afraid of hacking, but uses credit cards all the time and has been hacked at least 4 times. I don't think there is any fool proof way around hackers these days. I hope there is a special level of hell for them.
ReplyDelete