Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress) 1972

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

1) This week's song begins with Hollies' lead singer Allan Clarke telling us of a Saturday night trip downtown, taken at the behest of the FBI. What are your plans for Saturday night? (No, we don't expect you to tell us you'll be working undercover for a government agency.) I'm going to be under the covers with the new love of my life, my Vapoinhaler. I'll have my tissue box nearby, too. Yes, I'm sick. But it's only a cold and I'm just a big baby. I hope I'm feeling better in time for work on Monday. (<<< Hey! That's a sentence I never thought I'd utter again!)

2) At a bar, he meets a woman in a black dress. The LBD, or little black dress, is a wardrobe staple for many women because it's appropriate for almost any occasion. Let's say you get a last-minute invitation for a "dressy" dinner this weekend and you don't have the time or money to buy something new. What's your go-to outfit from your closet? I'd probably wear what I wore to my niece's wedding three years ago -- a long garnet duster over a matching cami and black leggings. Shoes would be a problem, since I don't think I have a pair of dressy flats to go along with it. Oh well, I shan't sweat it since this is a fantasy, after all.

3) Everyone at the bar starts to run when they hear sirens. Do you often hear sirens in your neighborhood? All the time. I don't really notice them anymore. I get nervous when the siren gets louder and slower, telling me the emergency vehicle is stopping nearby.

4) In 1972, the year this week's song was on the charts, Popeye's opened their first fast-food chicken restaurant in Louisiana. Now that the Thanksgiving feast is over, will you be eating any carry-out this weekend? Perhaps. There may be a trip to the local burger joint in my future. Unless I'm feeling exceptionally lazy. 

5) Black is this week's signature color because November 24 was Black Friday, when retailers historically have slashed their prices and the holiday shopping season begins. Have you begun your gift shopping? I'm just about done! I still have to get my niece a set of private label barbecue sauces from a local restaurant. She lives in Michigan and she can't get these particular sauces up there. I also want to make a donation in my friend Kathleen's name to The Carter Center. She admires Jimmy Carter enormously and I'm sure she's been moved by all the tributes to Rosalyn.

6) Walmart, Best Buy and Target all advertise heavily on Black Friday. If you could have a $100 gift card from one of those stores, which would you choose? What would you buy? Target. 

7) This Monday is sometimes known as Cyber Monday because shoppers can find big savings online. Do you shop confidently online, or do you worry about security breaches and identity theft? I recently was a victim of a breach, and it had nothing to do with online shopping. Back in 2018, my primary care physician sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound of my leg. Now, in November 2023, I got notice that my hospital records were compromised. I just received a very strange call Thursday from a local number. A heavily-accented man said he was calling from "[Unintelligible] Health" about my leg. I yelled at him, saying only a scammer would call on a national holiday and that there's nothing wrong with my leg. Gotta keep a close eye on my credit report. 

8) What are you thankful for this year? My friends. I have a network that supports me. I am so fortunate that way.

9) Random question: Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone (texting doesn't count)? My oldest friend called to wish me a happy birthday by playing the lads singing "Birthday" into the receiver.