Saturday 9

Saturday 9: The Last Song (1972)

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

1) In this song, the lead singer admits he leaves the light on when he goes to sleep. Do you leave any lights on in your bedroom? Or do you prefer it completely dark? I leave the light on.

 

2) He sings that he can't stop wondering where his old girlfriend is. Do you know whatever happened to any of your exes? I just got a Christmas card from one of them! He's a retired grandfather, living with his wife in Minnesota, near their daughter and her family.

3) He says this is the last song he'll ever sing to his girl. What's the last song you sang? Where were you when you sang it? I sang backup along with the Pips on "Midnight Train to Georgia" yesterday in the bathroom while I was putting my makeup on.

 

4) Edward Bear was a Canadian group who took their name from Winnie the Pooh. As written by A. A. Milne, Edward Bear was Pooh's "proper" name. Pooh's favorite food was honey. Is there a food you can't get enough of? Lately it's bakery. Cinnamon rolls or little blueberry muffins.

 

5) In 1972, when this song was popular, Disney's Winnie the Pooh was quite a celebrity in his own right, appearing on the cover the 1972 Sears Christmas Wish Book. That year, kids asked Santa for plush Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. Did you have many plush toys as a child? If yes, do you still have any of them? I had many and loved them all. My favorite was a Lassie, not unlike this one. She's up on a shelf in my closet.

6) Enough about 1972! Let's look back on 2022. What's something you learned or rediscovered in 2022? I read former Cub manager Joe Maddon's book, The Book of Joe, and I learned a lot about the unsung jobs in major league baseball (because Joe did them all along the way). Baseball scouts travel the country, sometimes other countries, all year around discovering talent, and their median salary is only about $35,000. The average salary for a pitching coach is about $45,000, and they generally don't get pay or housing during spring training. I love baseball -- the elegance, the sounds, the strategies, the history -- and these men must, too. They certainly aren't doing it for the dough. I appreciate their contributions all the more now.

7) Can you think of a moment in 2022 you'd like to do over? I'm haunted by a decision I made at work almost a year ago. I should have argued more vehemently with management. I had a bit of a reputation (probably very well earned) as a know-it-all, and I thought I should back off. I mean, it's possible I was wrong, right? Well, no, I wasn't. If I'd stood my ground more forcefully, would it have made a difference? I hope not.

8) What are you looking forward to most in 2023? I have two trips planned -- Tampa in February (spring training and Anthony Rizzo!) and Hollywood in April (the TCM Classic Film Festival).

9) Random question: Who received the last email you sent? My friend John.

 

PS If you have a WordPress blog, please know I can't comment on your post unless you've changed the settings.
 

Better than a gold watch

Back in 2007, Kathleen and I worked with a promising young woman. Soraya had terrific people skills. (I will always remember her with her pen poised over a small notepad, asking, "How can I help?" Writing it down as you spoke made you feel like she was totally focused.) My client adored her, which made my job easier. I missed her when she moved along to another advertising agency, but I understood why she made the leap. She wanted to work on a variety of accounts before finding her niche. We stayed in touch.

Yesterday I posted a photo of my friend Kathleen and I toasting our birthdays, Christmas and the New Year. Soraya's comment: "Cheers to my two talented, fierce female role models!"

Good goobies! She's an executive vice president now. She works on major brands (right now your kitchen contains products she promotes). I was one of her role models? I'm fierce?

You can't tell but I'm smiling as I compose this. 

Learning I had a positive influence on the women who came next has me looking at my career differently. It's very satisfying.