Saturday 9

Saturday 9: River of No Return (1954)

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

1) Marilyn Monroe performed this song in the 1954 western, River of No Return. In the movie (and at the beginning of this clip) she wears jeans. The wardrobe mistress bought the jeans off the rack at JC Penney's. Yet because of their connection to Marilyn, they are valuable memorabilia. Designer Tommy Hilfiger bought them for a reported $75,000 and today they hang in the closet of Britney Spears. Do you ever shop at thrift stores or websites for second-hand or vintage clothes?  I like ThredUp. They curate things for me, remembering my sizes and colors. I support Goodwill, but mostly by dropping off my gently used goods, not by shopping.

2) In this song, she sounds melancholy as she recalls a lover who has gone. We hope this morning you're feeling more chipper than Marilyn. In one word, describe your mood. Hopeful.

3) In real life, Marilyn's love life was sailing along. During the filming of this movie, her famous boyfriend, Joe DiMaggio, visited her on location in Canada and they were married by the time the movie was released. Joltin' Joe was of course one of baseball's greats. How is your baseball team doing this season? Well, it's a tale of two cities. You see, the Cubs traded my favorite player to the Yankees. So while I cheer for the Cubs -- because I must -- I now also follow Anthony Rizzo and his New York team. The Cubs are struggling, and while I applaud their few-and-far-between victories, I expect little this season (and next). Now the Yankees have the best record in baseball. This overjoys me because I want Anthony Rizzo, now 32, to have another shot at a World Series ring. 

 

To tie this back to Joltin' Joe ... In 2019, Anthony Rizzo's charity made a $1 million donation to The Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital. So as much as I hated that trade, there's a wonderful symmetry to him being a Yankee. 

 

4) It was during her romance with Joe that Marilyn learned to cook. She enjoyed preparing Thanksgiving stuffing from scratch. Do you have a favorite recipe to share? It's very easy, but I did manage to mess up the initial batch during my first try.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons any flavor jelly or fruit preserves

Preheat oven to 350º. Mix peanut butter, sugar egg and vanilla until well blended.  Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Make a few holes/dents into the top of each cookie and fill with the jelly.  Bake for 8-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Cool. 

 

My dream man

5) Over her lifetime, Marilyn had 43 different addresses. She was always a renter until February 1962, when she bought her final home in Brentwood. If you're a renter, do you ever wish you owned? If you're an owner, do you ever think you'd be happier as a renter? Well, I'm a terrible homeowner. There are so many things I should be doing or should have done in this condo but haven't because I'm not handy, didn't know better, and simply hate this sort of thing. Sometimes I'd sell my soul to have Fred Mertz on call to fix everything. But financially, owning just makes more sense. My monthly mortgage payment (which includes property taxes, paid out of escrow) and assessment is a hair under $1,000. I couldn't rent a comparable apartment in this neighborhood for less than $1,400/month. And there's this: I have equity in the place that I can borrow against if I have health problems in my dotage. So I made the right choice. I just have to get my shit together, make a list of what needs to be done, prioritize it, and either do it my damn self or call the handy man.

 

6) Marilyn tended to her famous alabaster complexion with Nivea, which is still available at drugstores today. What's the last thing you purchased at a drugstore? Was it medication? Food or snacks? Health and beauty? Something else? Here's what I just got at Walgreens: zinc, big bandages for that blister on my foot, a 6-pack of Coke, and a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli for the food pantry. (Kids love that!)

 

7) Her signature scent was Chanel No. 5. What fragrance do you wear most often? The Body Shop Warm Vanilla. Yeah, it's their holiday scent but I wear it all year. The spicy scent makes me happy.

8) The year Marilyn's recording was released, John Travolta was born. What's your favorite John Travolta movie? I'm such a romantic sap.

 

 

 

 
9) Random question: What happened to your first car? (Sold? Traded in? Still in your garage?) It was an old Impala. A big green boat of a car. When I moved out, I gave it back to my parents to dispose of. My mom reported that my first car soon became the first car of the high school student who lived across the street, who painted it neon yellow. Besides my mother's disapproval of his color choice, I think this story has a happy ending.