Saturday 9

 Saturday 9: Michelle (1965)

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

 

1) In this song, Paul McCartney sings to Michelle in French, "Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble." Can you say anything else in French? The usual: bonjour, au revoir, merci, oui, non. I wish I had a greater facility with foreign languages, but I don't.

2) Paul admits he that, as a teenager, he'd perform the first few bars at parties to impress girls. It was John Lennon who encouraged him to "turn it into a proper song." Tell us about a time you were glad you took advice from a friend or coworker. "Detach with love." My friend, Patrick, who is also friends with Henry and Reg, has wisely counseled me to not allow myself to get tied up in so many knots over them. Since Henry's TBI, Henry's husband Reg has made so many consequential and unwise decisions and my heart has been broken every way possible. But Patrick is right: I cannot do anything about it except love them. It's hard, because my impulse is to dive in and fix things! But the only one who can change the path they are on is Reg, and no one is helped by me going all tearful and nuts.

 

3) A big Elvis fan, Paul is proud to own the bass that was played on the 1954 recording of "That's Alright, Mama." Tell us about one of your prized possessions. Since we're talking about the fabulous and influential Lads from Liverpool: I have a signed, numbered and framed print of Klaus Voorman's Anthology in my dining room. 

This artwork was converted into the cover of the three Beatles Anthology CDs

4) John was also an Elvis fan and honored The King by naming one of his cats Elvis. Do you share your home with any pets? If so, let us know their names. My little gray and white girlcat is Constance MacKenzie (from Peyton Place) and my massive tuxedo cat, right beside me as I answer these, is Roy Hobbs (from The Natural).

5) John was a heavy smoker who often attempted to quit. He tried hypnosis but that didn't work. Have you ever been hypnotized? Nope

6) George Harrison fell in love with Hawaii and bought a 63-acre estate. If you could take off tomorrow for a vacation to any of our 50 states, which one would you choose? Hawaii has naturally been on mind because of the Maui wildfires. I would love to go there and help in a meaningful way. But, if I was off on a vacation, I think I'd head to California to visit my oldest friend.

6) While Ringo Starr quit signing autographs for fans in 2008, he will donate autographed memorabilia to charity for auction. Have you ever bid on an item at auction? Did you win? I used to bid on eBay auctions. Now eBay more often offers "Buy It Now" at a set price.

 
7) As a young boy, Ringo had a severe case of appendicitis and his appendix was removed. Do you still have your appendix? Yes, though I learned in researching this stuff that nearly 10% of adult Americans don't.

 

8) In 1965 -- before Advil and Tylenol and Aleve -- Americans took aspirin to relieve pain. If we peered into your medicine chest, would we find aspirin? None in my medicine chest. I keep my meds in the kitchen because so many of them go down better with milk. And no, there's no aspirin there.

9) Random question: You're at dinner with a married couple who begins to argue. Would you intercede and try to make peace? Or would you just sit back and mind your own business? Does their argument in any way involve me or something I said? If it did and I could clarify, or help shut it down, I would. Otherwise I would cringingly mind my own business and hope it ended soon.