Saturday 9

 Saturday 9: One Night Standards (2019)

1) The video for this song takes place in a motel and the story is told from the point of view of the desk clerk. Have you ever worked in a hotel, motel, or bed-and-breakfast? Nope

2) Ashley McBryde sings that she's not Cinderella, a reference to the fairy-tale heroine warned to return from the ball before midnight. When did you recently stay up until the wee small hours of the morning? Not since the pandemic. As the baseball season ended, it made me sad that I never went to a game within The Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field and made a day of it. Get to the park early and watch the stands fill up with jerseys and blue shirts ... after the game, hang around at a nearby dive bar (like Joe's) until the crowd thins ... go to dinner ... take the last train home ... go to bed tired, likely sunburned and certainly broke but completely in love with my Cubs and Chicago.

3) Ashley had been working hard as a singer/songwriter for eleven years before she was discovered and proclaimed one of County's best new artists. What was your life like 11 years ago? In October 2009, my nephew and I celebrated his 10th birthday. I gave him a Harry Potter scarf and a stuffed turtle to add to the collection of plush pets that sat on his bed. This year, he just turned 21 away at college. I sent him $50 in gift cards to McDonald's and Burger King so he can eat in his car instead of in the dining hall because he's trying hard to limit his exposure to the corona virus. And, at my nephew's request, I used the rest of his designated gift budget to make an incremental contribution to Joe Biden's campaign. He's a kid with a conscience.

2 scoops of Heaven

4) Ashley is from Mammoth Springs, AR. One of the most popular stops on Main Street -- for locals and tourists alike -- is Spring Dipper Ice Cream. More than 20 flavors are made right there on the premises, from Jamoca Almond Fudge to French Vanilla. When confronted with such a wide selection, do you tend to order your familiar favorite or try something new? If they have mint chocolate chip, I want mint chocolate chip. If they don't, I'll try something new.

5) In 2007, she moved to Nashville to pursue a music career. Have you ever relocated for a job? Nope. Never seriously considered it.

6) Whenever Ashley hears a Carpenters song, she thinks of her mother, who loved Karen Carpenter's voice. Tell us a song that reminds you a loved one. This was my favorite uncle's favorite song. He wasn't really a country music guy (his other favorites: Joan Baez, Barbra Streisand and Gladys Knight). I'm sorry I never asked him why he loved this record so. Did the lyrics remind him of a special girl? Was it playing on a jukebox during a special moment with friends? Or did he just like the sound of the guitar?

 

7) In 2019, the year this song was recorded, Notre Dame Cathedral was damaged in a fire. Have you ever visited Paris? Yes. Right after high school. I saw Notre Dame.

8) Also in 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (aka Harry and Meghan) had a baby boy. Is anyone in your life expecting a baby? Nope.

9) Random question: Do you always want to hear the truth about yourself? NO! I think it would hurt my feelings.

 

Props to the Birthday Boy

 I wrote this on John's 75h birthday. Today he would be 80.

He'll always be family

John Lennon came into my life when I was 6 years old. I was never in love with him, the way I fell for Sir Paul.  I didn't really like him, either. He was always too angular, too prickly, too raspy. But John was always a force to be reckoned with. A leader. Even as a little girl, I knew The Beatles were really just two brilliantly talented guys and two very lucky ones.

He influenced me. I loved the word play in his poetry. "No Flies on Frank" from In His Own Write still makes me laugh, even after all these years. "He took his head in his hands … and clubbed her."

I loved his political passion. "Power to the people, right on!" Some of his stunts for peace confused me then, and still do in retrospect, but I admired his commitment, anger and integrity.

I hated Yoko, and blamed drugs for their passion. I drink and I've done coke, but nothing more, because watching John and Yoko just get dirtier and messier and wackier had a greater impact on me than Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign.
 
So today he would have turned 75, if some crazy SOB hadn't been able to get his hands on a gun. And I miss him. I've been listening to my favorite John solo song, "Watching the Wheels." It speaks to me, more and more with time.

He might not have been my teen dream, but in my heart, he'll always be my family.

God bless you, John. Peace!