August Happiness Challenge -- Day 5

My 2023 Happiness Icon

Today's Happiness: Bruce, baseball, brains and a burger. Before my hair cut I had lunch with my nephew. I had a burger, he had pizza. We talked about:

• Bruce Springsteen -- Next week my nephew is seeing The Boss for the first time ... and at Wrigley Field!

• Baseball -- We talked about our Cubs, how entertaining this season's roster is, and how cool it is that we're actually making a run for the wildcard spot.

• Brains -- I am not taking this Anthony Rizzo concussion news well. Not by the longest shot. Not just because Anthony Rizzo is a great guy -- though that would be enough -- but because it kicks up sad and disturbing feelings about my friend Henry's TBI. I confessed to my nephew that since I heard, I haven't been able to watch more than a few moments of baseball. Suddenly they don't seem like millionaire professional athletes anymore. Now all I see are 18 fragile boys, taking the field and risking injury for my entertainment. I know this will pass, but it's how I feel right now.

It makes me happy that we have so many shared interests and I can speak to him honestly. I told him that as cute as he was as a wee one, I enjoy him now, too.

Saturday 9

Linda (1946)

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

1) In this song, Buddy Clark sings that when he can't sleep he doesn't count sheep, he enumerates Linda's charms. Did you sleep well last night? It was fine. I got up in the middle of night for to go to the bathroom and have a glass of water, but I do that most nights.

2) In addition to singing with big bands, Buddy sang commercial jingles live on radio programs and was the voice of Carnation Milk. Can you think of a jingle that's stayed in your head? 1-877-Kars4Kids. K-A-R-S Kars4Kids. 1-877-Kars4Kids. Donate your car today.

3) For "Linda," Buddy Clark performed with bandleader Ray Noble. Ray was classically trained at London's Royal Academy of Music, but much preferred big band music to that of Mozart, Beethoven or Chopin. When did you last listen to classical music? I never intentionally listen to classical music. It may have been piped into a room I happened to be in. I don't recall.

 

4) Composer Jack Lawrence named this song after a particular little girl, the daughter of his lawyer, Lee Eastman. Without looking it up, do you know what became of Lee Eastman's daughter Linda?

 

5) According to the Social Security Administration Linda was long one of the most popular names for American baby girls. It was #2 in the 1940s and 1950s (second only to Mary). By the 1960s it slipped to #7 and by the 1970s it fell to #68. Are there many Lindas in your life? The only Linda is a former coworker who was born in 1947.

6) 1946, the year this record was released, is regarded as the first year of the Baby Boom, which lasted until 1964. Are you from The Silent Generation or are you Boomer, a Gen-Xer, a Gen-Yer, or a Millennial? Boomer.

7) In the summer of '46, hats were a standard part of any woman's outfit. Hats for day, hats for evening, hats for rainy days ... The 1946 Sears Spring-Summer catalog devoted nine pages to women's hats. Do you own many hats? If yes, for what occasions do you wear them? I don't do hats. I hate hat hair. In winter I wear ear muffs or a hood.

8) Also in 1946, the Mensa Society was created. The only qualification to join was an IQ in the top 98th percentile. Do you know your IQ? Nope.

9) Random question: Tell us something you admire about your best friend. Whomever owns the coveted title of The Gal's Best Friend changes with my mood, but it's usually John or my oldest friend. One thing they share is that they take me as I am. I treasure them for their inclusivity and acceptance.