Saturday 9

Saturday 9: So Emotional (1987)

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





1) Whitney sings that she keeps her lover's photo beside her bed. What's on your bedside table? Alarm clock, tissue box, landline phone.

2) She's getting frustrated, waiting for the phone to ring. If your phone were to ring right now, who would you expect to be on the other end? As election day approaches, it's likely a campaign organization. I'm very proud of my work as campaign volunteer and consider involvement part of my civic duty. But boy, once you get on one of those lists ... 😃

3) The video was filmed at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, PA. It seats 6,200. As the nation reopens from Covid19, would you feel comfortable sitting knee-to-knee with a stranger in an arena like this? Hell to the no. I just passed on an outdoor dinner for 5 because of the virus. I'm not doing a concert any time soon. (BTW, 6,200 sounds pretty small to me. Chicago's United Center seats 23,500 for concerts.)

4) This week's featured artist, Whitney Houston, appeared on the

daytime drama As The World Turns. She played herself, performing with Jermaine Jackson at the Miss Cinderella contest in the fictional town of Oakdale. Have you ever been hooked on a soap opera? I grew up on Erica Kane and the gang in Pine Valley from All My Children. And I loved Dallas. 

Pam, Bobby, Jock, Sue Ellen, JR, w/Lucy & Miss Ellie in front

5) Whitney had a sweet tooth, and her favorite breakfast cereal was Fruity Pebbles. Do you often eat cereal for lunch or dinner? It has been known to happen.

6) At Whitney's wedding to Bobby Brown, her bridesmaids all wore lavender dresses and the groomsmen had custom made alligator shoes. Have you ever "stood up" for a friend or relative? If so, do you remember what you wore? I especially recall one cap-sleeved, v-neck bridesmaid dress because the color was so awful for me. It was called "dusty rose." I remember because the bride's mother -- who was really calling the shots, not her daughter -- would correct me every time I said I was dubious about how pink would look with my red hair. I saw resistance was futile and gave up. After all, the bride wanted me in her wedding party, and that's an honor. So I spent a day looking like a jaundice sufferer.


7) In 1987, the year this song was popular, Cher won the Oscar for Moonstruck. Her most famous line was, "Snap out of it!" When you think of Cher, do you first think of her movies, her TV show, or her music? Probably her music. Though mostly I think of her as CHER, a force of nature.

8) Michael Douglas won the Oscar that year for Wall Street. His most famous line was, "Greed is good." His character goes on to say that, "Greed in all its forms -- greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of all mankind." Do you agree? Kinda. It sounds ugly the way ol' Gordon put it, but he's describing capitalism, isn't he? "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs," sounds more generous and fair, but that's socialism.

9) Random question: When you woke up

this morning, were you ready to get out of bed? Or do you wish you could have snoozed for a bit longer? My cat Reynaldo was my alarm clock this morning. He snuggled up so close to me that he unintentionally woke me up. Then I had to pee. He did not wish to be disturbed, but once I move from the bed, he demands and deserves his breakfast. I'm going back to bed for a while after I post this.