Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Me and Bobby McGee (1971)

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

1) The song begins with Janis telling us about a trip from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Have you ever visited Louisiana? If yes, where did you go? I've never been, and I don't know why, really. I have two friends who both insist it is terrific, easily walkable and with great food.

2) She and her boyfriend Bobby hitch a ride with a truck driver and together the three of them sing "every song the driver knew." If you were to begin a singalong with strangers in a bar or at a party, what song would you confident everyone knows? "Sweet Caroline (buh buh buh) good times never seemed to so good ..."

3) Janis had a painful time in her Port Arthur, TX, high school. She was ostracized for her looks and her taste in music. If you could give advice to your high school self, what would you say? Life is long and this is only four years. Don't take it all so seriously!

4) She credited the blues and Bessie Smith, specifically, for getting her through her tough adolescence. After she became famous and mentioned Bessie in interviews, Janis learned Ms. Smith had been buried in an unmarked grave back in 1937. Janis rectified the situation by paying for a proper tombstone for Smith in 1970. If money were no object, what's something you would like to do for someone else? I'd buy a condo in Long Beach, CA, and let my oldest friend live there. Her current living situation out there is not great, and I'd like to help.

5) Because of her party girl persona, people were surprised that Janis had a domestic side and enjoyed talking recipes. Thinking of cooking, what dish would you whip up for our Saturday 9 potluck? I don't cook, so I'd bring a fruit plate.

6) "Me and Bobby McGee" was written by the late Kris Kristofferson. Kris' life before hitting it big was varied, including time in Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, focused on English literature, and serving as a helicopter pilot in the US Army. Which career path do you think you'd enjoy more: academia or the Army? Academia.

7) In 1971, when this song was popular, the US Mint introduced the Eisenhower Silver Dollar. Think of the last thing you bought at a store. Did you pay with cash, plastic, or your phone? I mailed a package and paid for the postage with my debit card.

8) England's Princess Anne turned 21 in 1971 and in honor of the occasion, she had an official portrait taken by fashion photographer Norman Parkinson. Who took the most recent photo of you? My friend Amy took a selfie of us. Last time I saw her (30 years ago), she had a mass of long black hair. Now it's short and gray. But she's still cute as a button.

9) Random question -- There's a knock at your door. Who do you expect it is? My neighbor from the end of the hall. He means well, but he annoys the living shit out of me. "Did your cable (or electricity) go out and then come back on again?" "Did you find that Amazon package I left yesterday?" "Did I tell you I'm selling my car?" I'm always tempted to pretend I'm not home, but I suspect he's lonely and really, it costs me nothing to be kind. But I admit I'm never happy to see him.

Three years, thirty years

So much good food, good conversation and good feelings this week!

First, I reunited with friends from my last agency job. It was me, my art director, and Megan. It was Megan who made it special. We haven't seen her in three years, after she was the first of our little team to be let go. She's a complicated one. She was run out of that agency, the victim of office politics, and it triggered a bout of depression. Then her favorite aunt died. None of us heard from her. 

Then, out of the clear blue, she reached out to me. After a long time off, she took a position as an independent contractor at a pharmaceutical company. She told them she knew of a good writer -- me -- and wondered if I was interested. I'm not -- I consider that part of my life over -- but it meant a lot to me that she still thought enough of me to put a good word in.

I asked her if she wanted to get together. After she immediately, enthusiastically, said "yes," I included my former art director. She is still in the game and I thought maybe Megan might be interested in promoting her to the pharmaceutical company. 

They didn't make the professional re-connection I'd hoped for, but that's on them, not me. I can play matchmaker, but I can't force them to fall in love, right? But here's the important thing: Megan felt supported. It made me happy that she felt so comfortable with me and remembered me so fondly that she wanted to get together. 

The three of us spent hours together, laughing and catching up and gossiping.  

Then I saw Amy. For the first time in -- wait for it! -- thirty years. Back in the long ago 1990s, she was briefly my admin. Then she got a promotion and was moved to our database department. She went away for a long weekend to be a bridesmaid at a wedding in Vermont and came back in love with one of the groomsmen. It was like a Hallmark movie. She was bam, struck by lightening.

I privately thought it was a cool weekend romance but nothing more. After all, he was from Philly, she lived in Chicago. She went to visit him in Philadelphia and upon her return, she said she wanted to move out there to see if they could make it work. I knew then not to underestimate the zsa zsa zsu.*

She left Chicago in 1994 and never looked back. Very involved in her community, now the mother of college student, and still very much in love with the man she met at the wedding in Vermont. 

Anyway, she was in Chicago for the first time since Bill Clinton was President. She was headed to a girls weekend in Lake Geneva and flew into O'Hare. She spent the night in a hotel by the airport and from there she'd rent a car for the drive to Wisconsin. Anyway, wanted to know if I'd like to meet her for dinner.

I was so flattered! We'd kept up on Facebook, but I literally hadn't heard her voice in 30 years. Yet she wanted to see me.

We literally closed the steakhouse. Thirty years gave us a lot to catch up on! We talked movies and books. Her recent trip to Italy and my retirement. Lots about her son and husband. They've had their ups and downs. Amy had a colectomy and requires a colostomy bag, a transition wasn't easy but she made it a triumph. 

Anyway, I had two terrific evenings and enjoyed them both immensely. I'm also proud of myself that I was able to pay for all of it out of the beer stein on my kitchen counter. Here's the deal: At the end of the week, I put any cash I haven't spent into that stein. Using that money keeps me from putting socializing/entertaining on my credit card.

 

 

 

*As defined by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City: “That butterflies-in-your-stomach thing that happens when you not only love the person, but you gotta have them. Isn’t that what gets you through the years? Even if it fades, at least you have the memory of the zsa zsa zsu…'”

 

Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash

Get ready

On November 4, I'm joining in Mimi's Blogblast for Peace. Why don't you do the same? It would be lovely if we filled the blogosphere with peace signs and gentle good wishes for a better future.