Saturday 9

--> Saturday 9: Angel (1998)... because Bev recommended it

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Sarah McLachlan wrote this song about someone she barely knew. She read the obit of Jonathan Melvoin, keyboard player for the Smashing Pumpkins, who died of a heroin overdose. What's the most recent news story that touched you deeply? This story on football players and CTE. I've never been a big football fan, but I'll never watch at all now, never again. These young men are like modern-day gladiators, destroying themselves for our entertainment. It's tragic.


2) Ms. McLachlan performed this in tribute to Linda McCartney at the 1999 Concert for Linda. She was expressing her hope that, in death, Linda found relief and peace after a long and painful battle with cancer. What do you think happens to us when we die? We go to heaven and enjoy eternal life. There's nothing in life that I'm surer of than that.

3) Daytime dramas General Hospital and As the World Turns used this song on-air after a major character died. Do you follow any "soap operas?" Not anymore. But in the olden days, I used to watch All My Children in the daytime and Dallas at night.
 

4) In 2007, Sarah donated her recording of this song to the ASPCA. Do you have a pet? If yes, how did you get it (shelter, pet store, etc.)? I share my home with two cats, both shelter rescues. Giving them a good home has been my pleasure and honor.

5) She admits she can't watch those ASPCA commercials, where her recording of "Angel" plays over sad photos of animals. Is there a TV commercial that really gets to you (in either a good or a bad way)? "Brad" is back! You know, The Liberty Mutual commercial where the girl in the cute denim jacket talks about the car she had for four years. She named it "Brad." She loved Brad. Then she totaled him. She and Brad had gone through everything together. Nothing could replace Brad. Then Liberty Mutual calls, and she breaks into her happy dance.

6) In 1994, Sarah was stalked by an obsessed fan. Tell us about a time you were really frightened. In retrospect, was your fear commensurate with the threat? I'm terrified every time I fly, and I flew twice this week, and in a small plane, at that! No, it's a baseless fear. It is never commensurate with the real danger.

7) Sarah was adopted by Jack and Dorice McLachlan. Though she has a friendly relationship with her birth mother, she always considered Dorice her mother and sees herself behaving with her son the way Dorice did with her. Is there anyone in your family that you feel you resemble, either physically or by behavior? I look and act an awful lot like my aunt. Fair skin, round face, firmly held opinions.

8) McLachlan is one of the founders of Lilith Fair, a summer concert series designed to showcase talented female performers. Do/did your summer plans include an outdoor concert? Nope. Though last week, I heard three different bands playing at different spots up and down MIchigan Avenue.

9) Random question: Which of these men would you most like to be seated with at dinner -- Clint Eastwood, Prince William or Jimmy Fallon? Well, I never have been able to stand Clint Eastwood since he made such a fool of himself, yelling at an empty chair at the 2012 Republican National Convention. I like Jimmy Fallon, but only in small doses. So William, definitely William! I look forward to hearing stories about George and Charlotte and Lupo, the royal dog.

We liked each other!

Part of why I went up to Michigan was to meet my niece's new fella. I was a little nervous about it, because I was underwhelmed by her first boyfriend, Jason, and hated her second one, Michael (I referred to him as "a sanctimonious pain in the ass if ever there was one" in a post written upon our first meeting).

But Mark! I liked him. And he liked me. We're both liberals, we both like cats, we both love my niece. If he only he loved the Cubs ... but alas, he's just not into sports.

Both he and my niece had to work until after 8:00 on Wednesday night, so I swam in the Best Western's pool and then unwound and watched the Cubs beat the White Sox on the big flat-screen TV. Really, is there any better way to spend an evening?

Then we got together and bonded over appetizers and I feel so much better about my niece's life. She's got plans for a new job, beginning in 2018. Instead of food service -- she's now a restaurant manager -- she'd like to try customer solutions at a restaurant supply company. Her plan is to try as many different aspects of the hospitality industry as she can before she settles into one job. As one who let my career just unfold, I'm impressed by her self-awareness and forethought.

Those shelves along the wall are all penny candy!

We spent the whole next day together in Holland, Michigan, where Mark grew up. A French bistro,  an Irish pub, lots of shopping in little stores, including one filled to the brim with old-school penny candies. Stops at a couple bookstores to indulge me -- even though I've promised myself not to buy books anymore for a while.

It was good to get away, it was good to spend time with them. Now I have Saturday and Sunday to spend, just chilling.

A new look at a familiar place

I usually fly American Airlines. I like the way they handle check in and I know my way around their concourse at O'Hare.

This week, however, I flew United. My niece lives in Michigan and United is the only airline that flies the ORD-MKG route. And so I took in some new sites as I made my way to Gate F2.

It made me a little sad that no one but me seemed impressed by her. Everyone just seemed so eager to get where they're going that they didn't look up to admire the lady craning her neck heavenward.

I want to learn from this. I must try to stay more in the moment and see what wonders I can discover.

Cheers!

Today would have been JBKO's 88th birthday.

I found a Facebook group of people just as enduringly fascinated by her as I am. According to posts, John Jr. reminisced about celebrating with his mother, saying she wasn't big on gifts but, every year, she always wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, rocky road ice cream, and a glass of wine. He said that after she died, he continued to have the chocolate cake and rocky road and would silently toast her with a glass of wine.

It's also been said that, if she really liked you, she would make you a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting on your birthday.

Happy birthday, Jackie. I wish I'd known you well enough to share a piece of cake.

Happy Reminder

Every year I take the August Happiness Challenge. Here's a brief explanation of the Challenge: "Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world."

You're invited to join me. Visit me with a link to your daily August happy, and I'll come read it. I've found that experiencing other peoples' everyday pleasures is a great mood lifter.

It helps if your August Happiness Challenge posts are marked with an icon. Just something that means "happy" to you. Here's a pair of my past happys.

THE HAPPY BEGINS AUGUST 1!