Sunday Stealing

Stolen from Kwizgiver

1. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive through? I don't have a car, so I go in. (I used the drive-through at the bank when the walk-up ATM was out of order. Fortunately I didn't have to battle any cars.)

2. Have you ever lost anything down a toilet? I'm sure I have. I just don't recall anything.

3. Do you have a dog? Nope. As an adult I've never lived in a building that allowed them.

4.  Ever go camping? Not since Girl Scouts.

5. Have you met anyone famous? In the spring of 1981, on the last night of the American leg of the Hungry Heart tour, Bruce Springsteen kissed me. A group of girlfriends and I rented a car and drove to Indianapolis for the concert. When we went to the "will call" window to get our tickets, Bruce's roadies tried to pick us up by telling us which hotel the E Street Band was staying at and said they could get us into the Columbia Records after-show party. We got a room in the hotel and, after the concert, crashed the party ourselves. I did manage to get a moment alone with him. With it being early 1981, John Lennon's murder was still an open wound and Bruce said, "If it wasn't for John, we'd be somewhere different tonight, wouldn't we?" (meaning that John influenced us both). At the end of the night, which was really morning, as we guests filed out, he was like a minister at the end of a church service, thanking each of us for coming. He was very big brotherly with us "girls from Chicago," asking if we'd gotten enough to eat. I said I was disappointed -- I'd partied with a world-famous rocker and had done nothing to regret. "I'll fix that," he said and -- OH MY GOD! -- took me in his arms, bent me back, and kissed me. He smelled and tasted like beer. It was divine.

Do you think that, 42 years later, The Boss is telling people how he once kissed The Gal Herself?

6. Any plans today? On Sunday I'll be toggling back and forth between Cubs-Reds and Padres-Yankees. (Go, Cubs! Go, Yankees!)

7. Are you happy? With all that baseball on my horizon, YES!

8. Where are you right now? At my dining room table.

9. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? That the site of my tooth extraction isn't healing as fast as I want it to.

10. Last song listened to? "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by the Supremes and the Temptations

11. Last movie you saw? You Hurt My Feelings with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I know I'm the only person in America who doesn't think she's a national treasure, but for once I really liked her. She's an author who overhears her husband say he just doesn't like her new book, even though he's praised it to her face. Is he dishonest, or kind? Can she trust anything he says, ever again? Is he protecting her feelings or just being conflict-averse? It's an interesting premise and the dialog is very funny.

12. Are you allergic to anything? In the order of how toxic they are to me: bee sting, morphine and erythromycin. 

13. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? My old, broken-in pale blue Birkenstocks.

14. What do you think of when you think of Australia? Hugh Jackman.

15. Do you use smiley faces on the computer a lot? Yes.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Some Gave All (1992)

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

Memorial Day is the federal holiday designated to honor American service people who died in battle.

1) Here at Saturday 9, we regard everyone who served -- veterans and active military -- as heroes. Have you, or has anyone in your family, worn the uniform of our armed forces? We want to hear about them. My dad was a Navy corpsman during the Korean War. He knew how to apply/remove butterfly stitches, saving a trip or two to the ER for neighborhood kids. My favorite uncle was in the Army during Vietnam. He was exposed to Agent Orange, and it ruined his health. I am still very angry about this. Just another unjust and immoral thing about that unjust and immoral war.* My oldest nephew was a Navy damage controlman and served on The Nimitz, the second largest aircraft carrier in the world. His stint in the military was the best thing that every happened to him. He was aimless when he went in and came out with ambition, discipline and job training.

2) Memorial Day has its own flag etiquette. In the morning, the American flag should be flown at half staff in memory of those we have lost. Then, at noon, it should be raised briskly to full staff, in honor of all who have served. Where is the nearest flag flying from where you sit right now? The post office is around the corner.

3) Since 1988, motorcycle riders have participated in Rolling Thunder. In events all over the country, including Washington DC, bikers "Roll Together" to draw attention to service members still missing and raise awareness of mental health issues our veterans cope with each day. When have you most recently ridden a motorcycle? A scooter? A bicycle? It was more than a decade ago. I was in Key West for the holidays and Henry thought we should pedal on over to the botanical garden. I was wobbly at first, but the old saying is true: you truly can't forget how to ride a bike. It was a lovely day. A cherished memory.

4) This week's song is the title track of Billy Ray Cyrus' best-selling album. Named for this patriotic song, the album also included Billy Ray's signature song, "Achy Breaky Heart." "Achy Breaky Heart" is a popular choice on karaoke nights. Do you know it well enough to sing along? Yes. But don't worry, I won't.

5) Sandy Kane, the hero of "Some Gave All," is based on a real Vietnam vet Billy Ray Cyrus met and spoke to about his sacrifice for his country. Can you think of another song based on a real person? Tara Browne was a very young millionaire, an heir to the Guiness liquor fortune and friend to the Beatles. His sudden death shocked them and John sang about it in "A Day in the Life." ("He blew his mind out in a car/he didn't notice that the lights had changed ...").

6) Memorial Day is the traditional kick off of the summer season. Have you packed away your winter clothes yet? I'm going to do it this weekend. Honest.

7) As you answer these questions, is there a fan or an air conditioner cooling your room? There's a fan in the window.

8) Memorial Day is also a holiday for retailers. Ads promise great prices on everything from grills to lawn decorations to high tech gear and gadgets. Will you be shopping any sales this weekend? Nope.

9) Random question: When is the last time you felt like a kid? All summer long when I watch baseball.

*I mean it: Don't get me started. We drafted boys, exposed them to toxic exfoliants and then abandoned them decades later when their health deteriorated. Btw, it was George W. Bush's VA that epically failed my uncle when he needed them, so don't even try to tell me how the GOP loves and cares for veterans. I loved my uncle very much and I'm still so, so angry about this.

A romantic pilot and a grumpy old man

This made me smile. A pilot lives on the third floor. I only ever see him in uniform, coming home trailing his roller bag behind him. We have a superficial "Hi! How are you?" "Fine! Welcome home!" kinda relationship. Which is why today surprised and delighted me.

As I passed the laundry room on my way to the dumpster, I saw a massive, empty clothes hamper and noticed all the machines were in use. Someone was doing a shit ton of laundry. Then I went out the back door and saw who it was. 

The pilot, in casual clothes that revealed a bit of tummy that his uniform conceals, was dancing -- ballroom style -- to music only he could hear. In his arms was a woman in shorts and sandals who looked a little embarrassed when I caught her eye. As I watched them spin and sway amid the dumpsters and parked cars while they waited for their clothes, I thought it was one of the most romantic things I've seen in real life in a long time. May the lovebirds have a lovely Memorial Day weekend!

This made me sad. I met John and Gregory for lunch. It was the first time the three of us have been together in months. I was really looking forward to it because last week I was still swollen and filled to the gills with ibuprofen after having my tooth pulled. I was bored and eager to get out and have fun.

It's not that I didn't have fun. I did! But my old friend John was so ... old. Grumpy and old. Retired from advertising since 2019, he got a freelance writing job and he hates it. He doesn't like this newfangled way of working, with Zoom calls and editing Powerpoint documents from home. He wants to walk into a person's office and hash everything out.

Post-covid, those days are gone. Besides, he's a freelancer and he doesn't get to make the rules. And there's this: with ChatGPT infiltrating the workplace, freelance writing jobs are going to dry up soon. He should take the money when he can. 

When I pointed this out, he grumbled at me. He grumbled at me a lot. (I talk too fast and then, when he asks me to repeat myself, I talk too loud and it really annoys him.) A friend at the bar he frequents is annoying him, too. The guy texted him during our lunch, wanting to take John to Chinatown for lunch over Memorial Day weekend. Does he really feel like doing that? Oh, hell, maybe he doesn't. His friend can be really annoying.

John says he doesn't want to be "that guy." The old man who doesn't go anywhere. Maybe he goes out, but nothing seems to make him happy. 

Since he cut the cord and no longer gets cable, he doesn't watch the Cubs regularly. Because he needs his cane now more days than he doesn't he really can't go to Wrigley Field. He never goes to the movies anymore because it costs too much. We talked about my trip to the TCM Film Festival in Hollywood, but he's no longer going to visit his brother in Florida. First of all, because it's Florida, which seems bent on becoming the anti-gay book-banning capital of the country. I get that. But I don't believe that's why he's not going. I suspect it's his mobility and cash flow issues.

John has become "that guy." His life is a few quarts low of joy and too full of beer. 

John and I have been besties for 40 years and I love him. I'm not going anywhere. I just have to get my mind around this: one of my oldest friends is getting old.