Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (1971)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
 
In memory of David Cassidy, who died on 11/21/17.
 

1) This song mentions celebrating the holidays in "the new old-fashioned way." What's a holiday tradition that began with you (or your generation)? There's a charming little Methodist church in Key West that has a candlelight Christmas Eve service. My friend Henry and I attend it every year, either before or after dinner. I love how friendly and happy everyone is, including Henry. It's the only time all year he goes to church and I can tell he misses formal worship. At least the music. He really gets into the carols. (I lip synch.)
 
2) The lyrics include dancing, caroling and pumpkin pie. Will you enjoy any of those three between now and year-end? Pumpkin pie! I don't know where I'll have it again, exactly. But I guarantee it's in my future.
 
3) David Cassidy and The Partridge Family were intensely popular for a short period of time. For example, this song was from the best-selling Christmas album of the 1971 holiday season. Have you added any holiday music to your collection this year? Nope. No plans to, either.
 
4) In 1971, the official David Cassidy fan club had a membership that exceeded both Elvis' and The Beatles'. Have you ever joined a fan club? Nope.
 
5) David recalled that his first hero growing up was the Yankees' Mickey Mantle. When you

This is a great man. Read about him here.

were a little kid, what grown-up did you look up to? Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks. He was the first ball player I ever "knew." An infielder with magic wrists who hit more than 500 homeruns, he was sometimes the only thing worth cheering on some really wretched Cub teams -- and the centerpiece of that glorious and heartbreaking 1969 season that's tattooed on the soul of every fan who lived through it.

During the turbulent 1960s -- when all the grown-ups around me were arguing about civil rights and Vietnam and long hair, etc. -- he was the only thing everyone agreed on. "Did you hear about Ernie?" was almost the only safe topic of conversation. With his talent, professionalism and sunny disposition, the man literally brought my family together.

When my nephew claimed his genetic destiny and became a Cub fan, Ernie is the first Cub I told him about. So I loved it when, as a third grader with a biography project, he chose to do his paper on Mr. Cub.
 
  6) David was a notoriously bad driver. In 1990, he was sentenced to traffic school for speeding. He was late for the class because he was stopped for speeding en route. Do you have a "lead foot?" I don't drive.
  7) David's parents divorced when he was only four years old. He and his mom lived with her parents until he was 10. Have you ever lived in an extended, multi-generational household? Nope.
 
8) In 1971, when David and the Partridge Family were at their height, the US Mint introduced the Eisenhower Silver Dollar. Think of the last thing you bought. Did you pay with cash or plastic or your phone? On the way home from work Friday evening, I impulsively stopped and picked up a slice of pizza. I paid cash. 
 
9) Random holiday question: Let's talk regifting. Tell us about a time you regifted, or you received a present you suspect was regifted. My cousin Rose gave me a pair of amber earrings, purchased for me during her trip to Poland. I know they weren't very expensive (customs and all), but they were cute and the little red gift box was impressive. Here's the thing: I don't wear gold and having anything with a yellow cast (like amber) that close to my face makes me look a wee bit jaundiced. Guess what I added to my niece's birthday gift bag.

The Lucy-Desi Blogathon: I Love Lucy in Palm Springs

Familiarity Breeds Hilarity. My favorite episode of I Love Lucy is from Season 4, "In Palm Springs." I enjoy all the hilarious "Hollywood" episodes, where most of the humor comes from Lucy's fan-girl overreaction to meeting superstars of the day, including Cornell Wilde, John Wayne, Harpo Marx and (my favorite) William Holden.

But this episode stands out because there's no slapstick or pratfalls here -- all the humor is rooted in real life. Much of it is tender, all of it is authentic, and that makes it very funny. The icing on this comedy cake is a very deft turn by Rock Hudson.

Tension arises from too much togetherness. Not only have the Riccardos and Mertzes been neighbors for years in New York, now they are spending too-too much time together in Hollywood. The little things that had always been easy to overlook have now become massive irritants.

It all starts with the four them, trapped indoors on a rainy Hollywood afternoon. Lucy reads an article in the paper and begins laughing aloud. The story is about a wife who becomes so irritated by years of her husband cracking his knuckles that she took a baseball bat to him. This begins a conversation about how each of the four has a noisy little habit that could drive a spouse to distraction. 

•  Ricky absent-mindedly taps his fingers
•  Lucy keeps stirring (and stirring and stirring) her coffee
•  Ethel makes sucking and slurping noises as she eats
•  Fred jingles and jangles his loose change

The conversation turns from good-natured ribbing to out-and-out fighting. The Mertzes retreat to their own room to leave the Riccardos to battle in private, and to continue their argument. Finally, when the four of them reunite, Lucy shares a truth. The problems caused by their annoying habits has been exacerbated by all the time spent together in close quarters. It's agreed that two of them should getaway to Palm Springs.

But which two? Fred and Ricky or Ethel and Lucy? How to decide? They agree on a coin flip. "Heads we win, tails you lose," Lucy suggests. First Lucy and Ethel lose 2 out 3, then 3 out of 5, then 4 out of 7. Finally Ricky just agrees to let the girls go because he doesn't have the stamina to toss "233 out of 349."

The girls get to Palm Springs and find it's raining there, too. It rains, and rains, and rains. It hasn't rained this much in this desert resort community in 20 years. Stuck indoors together, Lucy and Ethel begin to irk one another. Lucy comes to the thunderbolt realization that she's irritable because she misses Ricky. "I can top that," Ethel counters, "I miss Fred." Their longing is as touching as it is amusing.

The clouds part and the girls race down to the pool. From a distance, it appears they're having a good time, but they're still sad and lonely without their men. Unbeknownst to them -- because it's I Love Lucy, after all -- Ricky and Fred have slipped into Palm Springs unannounced. Ricky persuades his new MGM buddy, Rock Hudson, to grease the skids and prepare the wives for a reconciliation with their husbands.

Rock Hudson joins the girls by the pool, telling them he has a message for Ricky. Naturally they are wowed to see him. At the time he was best known for lush, big-budget "women's pictures," like All That Heaven Allows, One Desire and Magnificent Obsession. A flabbergasted Ethel offers him a chocolate, asking, "Would you like a piece of Rock, Mr. Candy?"

Rock shares the news for Ricky. It's a ridiculous, completely made-up story about a woman he and Ricky both know from the studio, a script girl named Adele Sliff. Adele has just suffered a tragedy. She and Sam were married for decades, and over all those years Sam absent-mindedly, tunelessly whistled. Just one note. Over and over. Finally she could take it no more and filed for divorce. Once he was gone, she realized how much she loved him and wanted him back. Before they could reconcile, Sam died in a car crash.

(Hudson makes this so much more charming than it sounds in the retelling. I couldn't find a YouTube clip of this scene to share, but trust me, I have just done him a great disservice in the preceding paragraph. He had a gift for light comedy. I wonder if this turn on I Love Lucy gave producers the idea of casting him comedies like Pillow Talk at the end of the decade.)

The girls buy his sad story and start to cry. Just then, Ricky and Fred appear and the lovers are reunited. And we all live happily ever after!

BTW, "Adele Sliff" was actually a script girl on I Love Lucy.

Still want more Lucy and Desi? 

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

1. What are you currently reading? The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. This is the autobiography of Enzo, a dog at the end of his life looking back on his "dogness." It's a captivating book -- charming, imaginative and filled with provocative insights -- but it's not an easy read. Not if you're an animal lover. As I move through it, I get a little misty imagining the story my cat Reynaldo would tell ... or Joey ... or Tommy ... or Wilma ... or any of the furry souls who have shared my life. I have loved them all, of course, but some have felt more connected to me than others. And at the heart of this book is the connection between Enzo and his human soulmate, Denny.

2. What did you recently finish reading?  A Murder Is Announced, by Agatha Christie. A Miss Marple by the Grand Dame of Mystery.

This book is popular with fans of the genre, but I admit it left me cold. The mystery itself was engaging and the suspense escalated thrillingly. But there were simply too many suspects and I didn't find them to be sharply drawn. I don't recommend it.

I learned that this story has been performed many times both on stage and in made for TV movies -- once in the late 1950s with future Bond Roger Moore as the male ingenue. Maybe it's more successful when the audience can actually see this or that suspect entering from the right and exiting stage left.
 

3.  What will you read next? Maybe another mystery? Or a biography

 

Giving Tuesday: I've Got Your Back, Santa

I live next door to a children's home, where kids live awaiting placement in foster care. It also offers childcare for a sliding scale to working parents who can't afford any other option. To help these kids enjoy a little tangible Christmas cheer, the home decorates the tree at Whole Foods. Each ornament has the name/age of a child and what they'd like to receive at their Christmas party. For many of these kids, it will be the only holiday toy they receive. This year, it looks like the trend is toward remote-controlled toys and Baby Alive dolls.

So Carl's Christmas wish really stood out. This 8-year-old boy asked for an Uno card game. The same one we all played in the 1980s. How retro is that? How could I resist making that modest dream come true? In addition to the Uno game, I got him a Jacob's ladder (or click-clack) toy. I figure that any kid who likes to play old-school would enjoy it, plus it will give him something to do around the tree until he can find someone to join him in a game of Uno.

Carl's teacher noted that it would be nice if he got a long-sleeve shirt, too. And so one of those went into the gift bag, too. The one I chose is a pullover with a light bulb graphic and the words, "Awesome & Intelligent." Merry Christmas, Carl.

Then there's the Toys for Tots. I love this organization! When I saw the collection box, I had to pitch in. Literally. I added a cuddly doll, a plush Minion and a lip gloss/body lotion duo (because that would appeal to an older girl.) For a Toys for Tots donation location near you, click here.

Our agency supports an after-school program for inner city kids. There are parts of Chicago which are, frankly, not safe for our children and they need somewhere to go to play. I'm happy to support them, but not with toys. Everyone is eager to buy toys for these kids. And there's a political benefit to helping out with something big and showy. So I went the other way. The organization mentioned that the older girls appreciate pullovers, so I went to Old Navy and got a trio of long-sleeved graphic tees: Be Your Own Hero, Love Is All Around, and a bulldog in a winter cap and scarf. (I chose the last one because as I was shopping, two junior high school aged girls ooh-ing over it.)

It's such a delight to do all this. It made me so happy. I've had the post-birthday blues -- more on that later -- and playing Santa was a terrific antidote. I highly recommend it!

Happy birthday to me, parts 4 and 5

I wasn't sure my friend Mindy remembered my birthday. She did. An intriguing book that I'd never even heard of!

It's a massive tome about RS and its founder. I admit I haven't done more than flip through an issue in years, but there's no disputing how much that magazine had meant to Baby Boomers. And Jann Wenner has been friends with everyone from Bono to JBKO.

Then I got another bookish birthday present from Henry and Reg: a $100 gift certificate from a Key West bookstore. It's run by a friend of theirs who helped them through a rough time, and now they want to support her as her store struggles. Ironically, I'm giving Reg a $15 gift certificate for the very same store for his birthday next month.

Attention must be paid

David Cassidy died when I was in Las Vegas. There is no overestimating what he meant to my girlfriends and me when I was in junior high. We all watched The Partridge Family. We read about him exhaustively in the pages of 16 and Tiger Beat. We all got upset when grownups said Shirley Jones, his mom on the show, was his mom in real life. PUH-LEEZE! David's parents' divorce when he was very young was one of those secret heartaches that we believed infused his music.

Bobby Sherman of Here Come the Brides was my personal fave rave, and he was always sunny. I appreciated that Donny Osmond was a better all-around performer -- able to sing and dance with his brothers. But David was the romantically tragic one. The Heathcliff of Bubblegum.

In retrospect, I think he probably would have been a good serious actor. I think that earnestness and intensity is what we little girls were responding to, and he probably could have parlayed that into an acting career if he'd had better guidance. (Think I'm kidding? Don't forget Johnny Depp began on 21 Jump Street and Leonardo di Caprio was on Growing Pains.)

I know Cassidy had a difficult transition from teen dream to adult performer. I know he suffered financial setbacks and more than his fair share of health problems. I'd read that he was awaiting a liver transplant when he died.

I hope he is at peace now. He brought a lot of us a lot of happiness once and he remains a bit player in the soundtrack of some of our lives. That should count for something. And so I post this in honor of the beautiful and achingly sincere boy I was once a little in love with.

Sunday Stealing

Monday Morning Meme

1. How has your life most benefitted from the Internet? Whether it’s meeting people, cutting business overhead, finding rare collectibles, or simply sharing funny cat pictures, share how the web has made life easier. Convenience! I never have to flip through the phone book anymore, searching for a number. I never have to dig out my thesaurus when I need a synonym. I never have to dial the phone and actually talk to someone when an email will do.

2. How do you deal with negative comments on your blog? Badly. I don't know why people leave negative comments at all. It's MY blog, after all. It's like my cyber living room. Behave like a guest and we'll get along just fine.

3. There’s never enough time, is there? What would you do with an extra three hours today? Depends on the day. But I think a blanket answer would be read. I'm so jealous of the way Kwizgiver plows through volume after volume.

4. The getaway car is waiting outside – where is it taking you? North to the border.

5. Who was your "arch enemy" in high school? Do you have any enemies today? Janice. She was a mean girl. I was less her enemy and more her "prey." Now I suppose my enemy is a woman named Michele. I am always afraid I'll be on the other side of the desk, asking her for a job.

 6. You’re giving the keynote address to the graduating seniors of a high school today. What’s your advice to them? I'd quote Michelle Obama, "When they go low, we go high." Our world is so polarized. So "us" vs. "them." Don't get in the mud. Don't be hateful. Don't become yourself what you despise in others.

7. Thinking of words of wisdom: What's the worst advice you've ever received? A coworker once warned me of management, "Don't listen to what they say, watch what they do."

8. Tell us about the best summer vacation you EVER had. My best vacations haven't been in summertime. I've dearly loved my solo spring getaways, to places like Colonial Williamsburg and Hot Springs and Chateau Elan in Atlanta.

9. What do you have to have with you when you travel? Why? I try to eat a nice breakfast every day. I love eggs, pancakes, bacon and other typical breakfast foods, but I hate all the dishes. So nice to spoil myself by letting someone else do it.

10. Would you accept $1,000,000 tax free, if it meant you had to leave the country and never come back? Hmmmm .... Do I get to choose where I go? If I could go to Canada or England, I might give it a shot. It would be nice to not worry about money anymore.

11. Do you believe the world will be a better, or worse, place 100 years from now? I hope it will be better.

12. Do you expect to buy a new winter coat this year? No.

13. If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience, would you do so? Yes.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: The Man in Black (1971)

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

1) Black is this week's signature color because Friday, November 24, was "Black Friday," when retailers cut their prices and consumers flock to the stores. Did you score any "Black Friday" bargains? No. I was on a plane most of yesterday, coming home from my holiday/birthday in Las Vegas.

2) Among the biggest the Black Friday advertisers are Target, Kohl's, Macy's and Best Buy. If you could have a $100 gift card to any one of those stores, which would you choose?  What would you buy? Target. One just opened a few blocks from my house and they have a big grocery/drugstore department. I could buy the stuff of everyday life there.


3) Feasting and football are also popular Thanksgiving weekend pastimes. Do your Thursday-Sunday plans include pigging out or watching a game? Pigging out: yes. I ate way, way too much Thursday.

4) Thanksgiving weekend is a major time for travel. How far did you venture from home for the holiday? About 3,500 miles -- ORD to LAS and LAS to ORD.

5) This week's song, "Man in Black," is about a singer who refuses to wear bright colors. What color are you wearing as you answer these questions? A bright yellow nightshirt.
 
6) Johnny Cash first performed this song at Nashville's Vanderbilt University. When were you last on a college campus? What brought you there? During the summer of 2016, I attended my niece's college graduation.

 7) The average American man wears a 10.5 size shoe, the average woman wears a 7.5. Johnny Cash wore a size 13. Are your shoes bigger or smaller than the national average? Smaller.

8) He preferred his coffee very strong. To make sure what he was drank was to his liking, he carried a jar of instant coffee with him and would ladle it into his cup in restaurants. What about you? What's your standard coffee order? I cannot stand the smell of coffee, so I avoid ordering it altogether.

9) While in the air force, Cash wrote short stories under the pseudonym "Johnny Dollar." Make up a pen name for yourself. I think I'll just stick with The Gal Herself.

Oh, how could you?

I've always been a little in love with Charlie Rose. The intelligence, the sly humor, the ability to carry on comfortable, revealing conversations with everyone from Condi Rice to Ron Howard.

And yet today I found out that he has been accused -- by eight different women -- of sexual harassment.

I hate this so much. How could he not know it's bad to walk around your house naked when your assistant is there?

Yes, I know here in the US of A, we have the laudable standard of innocent until proven guilty. But that's for jail. I get to decide who inhabits my fantasies. And Charlie, you're outta here!

So now he is dead

I refuse to rejoice in the passing of another human being, so you won't find me among those cheering the death of Charles Manson. On the other hand, I do appreciate Charlie's timing.

Leslie Van Houten has been approved for parole and Governor Brown is weighing whether she should be released. Perhaps all this attention on what she did will help him decide.

She, at Charlie's behest, broke into the home of this woman, Rosemary LaBianca, and her husband Leno. Then Leslie (and these are Van Houten's own words) "took one of the knives and started stabbing and cutting up the lady." In all, Rosemary LaBianca was stabbed 14 times.

This is Rosemary LaBianca. She is in my thoughts this morning. She was a hardworking, ambitious and imaginative businesswoman back in the days when "entrepreneur" was not something most women aspired to. She was a loving wife, mother and stepmother. Her life should not have ended in horror.

I believe in Heaven and grace and yes, I believe that Christ has forgiven even Charles Manson. I believe He will forgive Leslie Van Houten, too, and, when her time comes, will welcome her to Heaven.

But that doesn't mean society has to forgive Van Houten or welcome her back among us. She belongs where she is -- in prison.

This makes me sad

A coworker likes to tease me that my tombstone will read, "Change Is Bad." She has a point. Some things I won't change unless absolutely forced to. I've been going to the same dry cleaner for decades. Likewise my dermatologist, gynecologist and GP. Just as I don't like to throw serviceable things away, I don't like to switch from something that's still working. Hell, I still have an AOL email address!

Which, I guess, is why I was sad to see a "For Rent" sign in the window of my former eyeglass provider. I've been going there for 20 years. I impulsively went in one afternoon and asked the woman at the counter (who I would learn is Cindy) to replace the screw on my sunglasses. My $10 drugstore sunglasses. She did it at no charge but with a smile, saying she had a favorite pair of cheap sunglasses, too. Next time I needed a new contact lens prescription, I moved my business over there.

Three pair of glasses and countless boxes of contacts later, I was still happy. I came to know Cindy and Sharon, who ran this location efficiently for a woman they really liked -- the owner who spent all her time at the original store in a northern suburb. I participated in their holiday toy drive and dropped a pair of my old glasses in their recycled eyewear box. The optometrist on site was trustworthy and careful. I was happy. They were kind and friendly, so I was loyal.

Then, early in 2016, everything changed. When I called, I had to identify myself and say what I wanted. Usually, Cindy or Sharon would recognize the Caller ID and say, "Hi, Gal! Do you need more green contacts?" But now I had to spell my first and last name out for a new and very young girl.

When I went to pick up my lenses, I was met by Ray, the owner. His wife had died and he was running things now. He had a big personality, very chatty, all about the selling. While I was waiting for my order, I heard him tell another customer he had given Cindy and Sharon "early retirement."

Then he laughed.

What the fuck? Those two women ran this place and I liked them. They deserved more respect than that!

But I began to have eye trouble and I trusted the optometrist to shepherd me through it. I like my new frames, chosen during the summer of 2016, even though Ray pressured me to buy designer frames. So I stayed.

Until around Halloween. Yet another new counter girl answered the phone, "Hello." Not terribly professional. When I went over for a Saturday morning appointment with the optometrist, the office was locked tight. No one even bothered to called me to cancel.

I went around the corner to another eyeglass shop. They were more expensive, but they take insurance. They have a wider variety of frames in my price range. (As Sharon used to say, "Gal is all about the lenses" as she steered me to more affordable frames.)

So I've moved on. But still, I was sad to see that sign in the window of my former shop. I hope Cindy and Sharon have moved on, too. They were so good at their jobs I'm sure someone snapped them up. I just hope they still get to work together. I suspect my former optometrist just retired. He was only there three days a week anyway.

And even though he was a slimy jerk, I feel bad for Ray. I don't know what his story is, but his wife ran these two eyewear stores and she's gone. Now this location is shuttered. That's sad.

Although I wonder about the legality about just closing the doors. After all, they have my medical records ...

Sunday Stealing

Thanksgiving Thoughts

1.  What made you feel patriotic this year? Watching this young man stand tall by not apologizing for kneeling. The President of the United States took him on, and he didn't back down. When it comes to free speech, in this country we are all equal, and that makes me so proud.

2 . What do you value most about your life? My independence

3.  What do you appreciate about your friendships Acceptance and accessibility


4.  Name one person who can make you laugh, even months later. Why? My oldest friend. She and I share a sense of the absurd. I've laughed the longest, the loudest and the most often with her.

5.  What is the funniest thing you remember about a Thanksgiving past? I'm sorry, but nothing comes to mind.


6.  Do you have any unusual traditions, rituals or habits around Thanksgiving? As an adjunct to #5, Thanksgiving with my family was always stressful. Guilt was the main dish, served with ladles of resentment. While I am sorry that my family never enjoyed a Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving, I do not miss those gettogethers.

See these happy people? They are not my relatives.

7.  Name one ancestor that you think about on Thanksgiving and tell us why. My nice grandma made the best rolls from scratch. And she refrained from martyrdom about how hard she worked on the meal. I wish we had spent more holidays with her and fewer with my icky grandma.



8.  Is there a family heirloom at the Thanksgiving table? What its story? No heirlooms.


9.  What is your favorite part about Thanksgiving Day? Delicious food, and lots of it.


10. What random act of kindness did you perform or that was done to you this year that makes you feel grateful? On Valentine's Day I encountered a kind young man I never saw again. He worked in the coffee shop at the auditorium where my movie group meets. I ordered a hot chocolate and he made a milky heart with the foam. Then, as I went in to watch the movie, I had trouble with the lid and splashed the cocoa all over the place, including on his book. He was studying The Book of Psalms.

I apologized. He was kind enough to show me the inside of the book. "Look, the pages are all fine! It's for reading, not for show, so don't worry about it!" As I tried to help him mop up, he looked me square in the eye and said with great seriousness, "I've already forgiven you. Now you have to forgive yourself." What a dear, sensitive young man.

11. What do you appreciate about the change of seasons? The difference in the trees. I love watching the trees go from leafy green, to colorful, to bare branched, and then back again. I feel so fortunate to live in Chicagoland, where we have four distinct seasons.

12. Name five things that make you happy about today. 
•  My cat Reynaldo let me sleep in
•  Reynaldo has also been a very good, very affectionate boy this morning
•  My girlcat, Connie, is happy and healthy, too
•  I'm getting a fresh pedi this afternoon
•  I just ordered tickets to see a play with my friend Barb on 11/27.

13. How has the celebration of Thanksgiving today changed from when you were little? Now I celebrate with my friends instead of my relatives.

14. If you could share Thanksgiving dinner today with one person in history who would it be? Why? (Note: it can be a relative) My mom. I'd love to spend time with her again, just the two of us.

15. What is one wish you have for the next generation as they begin to establish their own Thanksgiving traditions.

 

Happy birthday to me, part 3

Behold the official burger of Gallapalooza 2017. John took me to celebrate at Monk's Pub, the bar where we regularly hung out in the long-ago 1980s and 1990s. Back in those days, we could always get a table. Then it became famous, named for having one of the best, most affordable bowls of chili in the city. It immediately went from a blue-collar dive to a white-collar afterhours destination. John and I refuse to wait for a booth at a place we supported during the lean days, and so we quit going.

Because this is a landmark birthday (60! Gulp!) we decided to go back to the future and returned to Monk's. I had the same burger I ordered at my first birthday celebration earlier in the week, but it was cheaper and more delicious at Monk's. Cheddar cheese, bacon, and egg ... with tater tots on the side. Heaven!

Got a couple little gifties: a 2018 desk calendar and a cat pen holder. But better than that was spending time together. John and I have known each so long, there's just tremendous comfort in observing big events with him.

Saturday 9

It came on Halloween and I still haven't touched it

Saturday 9: Son of a Preacher Man (1968)

1) This song was originally offered to Aretha Franklin, who turned it down. What's the most recent thing that you said "no" to? Renewing my subscription to People magazine. I just don't keep up with it and have back issues waiting for me on my bed. If there's a story I really want to read, in 2018 I'll pick up the issue at the newsstand.

 

2) Two years later, Aretha recorded "Son of a Preacher Man." What's something you changed your mind about? Salad. I used to hate feeling like a rabbit, nibbling on lettuce. Now I enjoy making salad and like adding stuff to the greens, like slivered almonds, or raisins, or croutons, or cheese ...

3) This song tells the tale of Billy Ray, a young man who could be very persuasive. If we wanted to change your mind about something, would you be more easily swayed by an emotional argument, or with verifiable facts? Emotional
 

4) If you ordered a "Son of a Preacher Man" in a bar, you'd get a cocktail made with

peppermint schnapps, gin and lemonade. When did you last have lemonade? Was it just lemonade, or was it spiked with alcohol? It was last summer. On the way home from church, I happened upon two little girls and their lemonade stand. Obviously it was "just lemonade."

5) Dusty had a thing for maps. She admired them artistically and enjoyed using them to take long car trips. Do you use printed maps? Or do you rely on technology, like GPS or Google Maps? I do not own a printed map.

6) As a girl, she attended convent school. There, one of the nuns discouraged Dusty from performing, telling her that if she would do better to be a mother or a librarian. When you were growing up, did the adults in your world encourage your dreams? My cousin Rose was always very encouraging. Also, she was a powerful role model. When I was growing up she was a junior high school geography teacher so she had summers off and traveled. I lived in a family of women who married young, didn't go to college, and didn't go anywhere farther than Wisconsin. Here was Rose, getting a degree, getting a job, spending her summers going everywhere from Los Angeles to Guatemala.
   
7) That nun inspired Dusty's first major act of rebellion. In an attempt to make herself look less like a future librarian or housewife, she bleached her hair platinum blonde. In school, were you much of a rebel? Or did you conform to the expectations adults had of you? Among my high school classmates, I was considered geeky and aloof. Schizoid, I guess. Within my family, I was considered a non-conformist because I didn't join clubs or go to dances or do any of the things my older sister did, the things that my mother maintained would make me look back at high school as the best years of my life.
 
8) Early in her career, Dusty provided the entertainment at a family summer camp. She appeared on the bill with a clown, a fire-eater and a hypnotist. Have you ever been hypnotized? No.

9) Random question: Have you ever played matchmaker to your friends? If yes, did your efforts lead to romance? No. I'll be interested to read everyone's answers and see if anyone had any luck in this area.

Happy Birthday to Me, Parts 1 and 2

It's Galapalooza Time! The kickoff was earlier this week, and it was lunch with my coworker. We tried a new -- and, I thought, too pricey -- restaurant that she chose. At first I was a little disappointed because I had expected her to ask me where I wanted to go and I had privately chosen a restaurant. Oh well, her birthday is a few weeks away. When it's my turn to buy, I'll choose.

Anyway, the meal turned out to be very good. The burger was completely awesome. Huge and gooey, complete with a fried egg. Dessert was a pair of fabulous, huge, freshly-made donuts.

This luncheon gives me a moment to reflect on our relationship. She and I have been working together, off an on and at two different agencies, for more than 15 years. She can be exasperating and selfish, but she's also grown a great deal and become more sophisticated as a designer and better at handling responsibility (which I appreciate). I wonder how she views my professional and personal evolution over that same time.

Today, when I got home from work, I was greeted by two (2) packages! One was from my cousin Rose. A pretty nightshirt festooned with books. The other was from Snarkypants herself -- a body butter and bar of holiday-scented soap. Such nice gifts, so nice to be remembered, and so much merrier than the Bed Bath and Beyond coupons and credit card bills that usually greet me.