Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Farewell, Amanda (1949)

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

 

1) The record begins with a long instrumental interlude, and when the lyrics kick in at about the 1:00 mark, they bid Amanda "farewell, adios, addio, adieu." Of course you recognize "farewell" as English. Without looking it up, can you identify the other languages? Spanish, Italian, French.

 

2) Can you say "goodbye" in a language not represented in question #1? Aloha!

3) The lyrics reference a night full of stars. When did you last take a moment to check out the night sky? I glance out the living room window every night. Does that count as "checking out?"

 

4) This song was written for Adam's Rib, a comedy starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The movie is about husband-and-wife lawyers who square off against one another in court. Have you ever served on a jury? Yes. I've gone down to the courthouse four times, been through voir dire three times and was chosen twice. 

 

5) "Farewell, Amanda" was composed by Noel Coward. Though best known as a playwright, he also wrote more than a thousand songs and was a director and an actor. His epitaph reads, "A talent to amuse." How would you like to be remembered? As someone who tried to live a purpose driven life. 

  

6) There's even a book of Noel Coward paintings. It was published after his death, in part because Coward considered himself only an amateur painter. When did you last pick up a paintbrush? About four years ago. It wasn't for the sake of art. I was touching up the floorboard heater in the bathroom.

 

7) In 1949, when audiences first heard "Farewell, Amanda," Americans began playing Clue. What's the last board game you played? Don't recall.

 

8) The best-selling novel of 1949 was Point of No Return by John P. Marquand. Tell us about the last book you finished. Just yesterday I finished an 800+ page biography of J. Edgar Hoover. I learned a lot about America in the 20th century, but little of it was pleasant. 

 

9) Random question: Growing up, did you share a bedroom? No. Unless cats count, I've never shared a bedroom for longer than a vacation.

 

   

Thursday Thirteen #452

What I value. President Joe Biden said, "Don't tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value." That quote is top of mind for me because I recently sat down with my accountant to discuss tax deductions for my 2025 return. This list of the 13 organizations I gave the most to (listed highest to lowest) does say something about me.

1. My church.

2. My local food pantry. Because these are my neighbors. In addition to monthly cash contributions, I also throw a non-perishable ($1.25 or less) into my cart every time I go grocery shopping. Today it was a can of corn (89¢). Anyway, by doing that, I'm able to bring a bag of food over to the pantry in person every month without even feeling a pinch. 

3. Doctors without Borders. If you're like me, you see stories about Ukraine or the international impact of DOGE cuts and you wonder, "What can I do?" Through my monthly donation to DWB, I am helping provide aid. 

4. Feeding America. This national organization supports food pantries and meal programs all across the country. 

5. Harmony House for Cats. Chicago has many animal shelters. I've chosen to give monthly to this one. They do great work, but they don't get a lot of publicity.

6. Greenpeace. I do this for my late mother. She often worried aloud about the impact of climate change on endangered species.

7. The Night Ministry. The homeless are our neighbors. The Night Ministry supports them with food, shelter, and medical care. 

8. The Carter Center.  I made the first of my 2025 contributions to this organization in memory of Kathleen's mother. Kathleen has a very big family with lots of siblings, so I was afraid any floral arrangement I sent to the funeral would be lost among amid a sea of FTD deliveries. I know Kathleen found Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter's post-White House work inspiring and thought this would be a nice way to comfort her. Anyway, now I'm on their mailing list and I support their efforts to promote peace and health across the globe. The Center refers to their efforts as "Waging Peace." Contrast that with the current POTUS, who insists on referring to the Department of Defense as the Department of War. I'm happy to support The Carter Center's work.

9. Fried's Cat Shelter. I do this for my late uncle. It was his favorite charity. It was started in the 1970s by the Frieds, Jewish immigrants who escaped the Nazis by coming to America in 1939. After they retired, they bought an abandoned motel in Michigan City, IN, and turned it into a no-kill shelter for homeless cats. Their time under Hitler taught them, "To save a life is more in conformity with God's law than to kill." Every cat who enters Fried's is guaranteed a home for life, whether with an adopter on in loving care at the shelter.

10. WTTW – Channel 11. It's Chicago's PBS station. The Trump Administration has been behind the defunding of public television, and it's up to those of us who care about local news to do our part to help make up the shortfall. 

11. Marine Toys for Tots. I worked in advertising for decades, and I began my career working at Sears, writing about toys for The Wish Book. I commercialized Christmas, and this is my penance. I don't want any wee one to be disappointed because they didn't get a toy from Santa.

12. Lincoln Presidential Foundation.  Kathleen has Jimmy Carter,  I've got Abe. People, especially children, need to learn more about him. Fortunately, since Mr. Lincoln was President before the 1950s when the formal system for Presidential libraries was established, it does not rely on Federal funding. The Trump Administration can't fuck with its staffing, like they did the JFK Presidential Library. Because it's state run, they can't fuck with the content, like they have with the Smithsonian. But that means it depends heavily on private donors.

13. World Wildlife Fund. I do this in my mother's memory, too. Polar bears, seals, elephants ... she often said she worried her great grandchildren wouldn't get to see these wonderful endangered animals. Whenever she was a little money ahead, she'd send $10 along to WWF. I like thinking how pleased she would be that I am expanding her good work, especially now that she has three great grandkids.

Before you give to any charity, make sure it's worthy of your money. Check it out at Give.org.

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

Sunday Stealing

Word Association. Share what comes to mind when you hear the word ...

1. Biscuit – Gravy. Or sauce. Sopping what's left on my plate is my favorite way to eat a biscuit or dinner roll.

2. Crayon – Back to school. Picking up my new box of Crayolas was a late summer ritual.

3. Warmth – Dry skin. The heat in here is brutal, especially on that spot on my back betwen my shoulders that I cannot reach.

4. Flip – Switch.

5. Slush – Snow.

6. Wing – and a prayer.

7. Candle – Pine. We sell this little votive candle at the card shop at Christmastime. My favorite place to stand is near the display so I can inhale the scent.

 

8. Cinnamon – "Let me in."  

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: With or Without You (1987) 

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

 

1) "With or Without You" is about the pain of love. What song reminds you of an old romance? Is it about the joy of love or the pain? Lately this one has been going through my mind. I love the tension between sound of it – very upbeat – and the melancholy message. Our hearts get broken, but we get on with it. 

 

 

 

 

 

2) U2 lead singer Bono has admitted that, when the group recorded this song in the 1980s, he was wrestling with his real-life commitment issues. He was trying to resolve the responsibilities of being a husband with the demands of his career. He worked it through, and decades later both his marriage and his career are still going strong. Do you feel you have been more successful in your personal or professional relationships? Ha! My career, no question.

 

3) Bono credits his wife Ali with helping him through a tough period of writer's block, saying she put the pen in his hand each morning. What time of day finds you the most energized, productive or creative? Whenever I should be doing housework.

 

4) Bono likes to pedal around town when he's not onstage. What do you do for exercise? Yoga.

 

5) Bono is U2's lead singer, backed by three very talented bandmates: The Edge, Larry Mullen, Jr., and Adam Clayton. Bruce Springsteen is a big fan of U2's concert performances. If Saturday 9 were to bestow upon you a free ticket to any see any band or performer live, who would you choose? I just saw Sir Paul in November. It would be hard to top that.

 

6) U2 got together 50 years ago, when they were school boys in Dublin. Have you ever visited Ireland? If not, would you like to go? I've never been but were I to go to Europe, I'd plan to stop there.

 
7) In 1987, the year this song was popular, Cher won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her most famous line was, "Snap out of it!" Without looking it up, can you name the movie that made her an Oscar winner? Moonstruck

 

8) Also in 1987, the first Starbucks opened. What's your standard Starbucks order? I don't drink coffee. I'll have hot chocolate, to be sociable with friends when we stop, or maybe just a bottle of water.

 

9) Random question – Which self-help book would you be more likely to pick up, the one designed to improve your body or your mind? Don't mean to sound contrary, but neither. I tried self-help books a while ago and found they didn't help me much. No judgement if you're into them, but I have found more success and contentment with therapy, prayer and introspection.

 

 

Where's my person?

Think back to 2005. There was a moment on the show Grey's Anatomy where Christina refers to Meredith Grey as "her person" and adds, "If I murdered someone, she is the one I'd call to help drag the corpse across the living room floor." 

They were besties.

Back in 2005, I was swimming in besties. I had my best friend, who was my work husband, with whom I never ran out of things to discuss. I had my oldest friend, my Kindergarten classmate, who shared so much of my history and could always, always make me laugh. There was John, my opposite number in so many ways, who broadened my horizons and made every Friday night an adventure. There was Henry, who only saw the good in me and loved me so.

My best friend moved. My oldest friend is battling emotional/physical issues that make her unavailable. John and Henry both died in 2024. Each of these losses has left a hole in my heart.

I have gone from lots of besties to no besties.

I am lucky in that I am only alone when I want to be. I just got a text from Nancy saying she and her husband miss me and they want to meet for lunch. Joanna sent me a chatty email because at movie group we didn't have enough one-on-one time together to share everything she had to say to me. Elaine saw that Norman Rockwell's Chicago Cubs in the Dugout is now here at The Art Institute and wants to see it with me. Mindy invited me along to see Bruce Springsteen at the United Center in April.*

But none of them are my besties. I can't imagine calling any of them to help me drag that pesky corpse across the living room floor.

So in 2026 my life is not the life I had in 2005. It's not the life I want and miss. But it's the life I have. I have people who care about me, I'm reasonably healthy, financially comfortable, and my adorable cats are right here looking for cuddles. I have to stop feeling sorry for myself, find joy where I can and face forward. 

 

*Can't go because of the TCM Film Festival. Yes, my life is pretty neat. I know that.

 

 

Thursday Thirteen #451

 Me fall down go boom. In late January I fell down at work and landed hard on my forearm. It left me with a big lump and a multi-colored bruise, and its progression toward healing has fascinated me.

1. A bruise happens when blood vessels break but the skin isn't broken.

2. My bruise is a hematoma, caused when a large amount of blood pools under the skin and causes a lump.

 

3. That big lump is my body's way of breaking down the blood that's collected there.

 

4. It could take months for the lump to fully heal and disappear. 

 

5. I should have elevated my arm right after I fell. Since my arm tends to hang at my side, the blood flowed down toward my fingertips, and the injury. Raising it would have slowed the flow. I did not do this. Because that would have inconvenient – I was at the store – and since it really didn't hurt very much, I didn't bother. I'm an idiot.

 

6. Had I iced it right after I fell, the lump may not have grown so big. I didn't do that, either. Again, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

 

7. After two days, I applied a heating pad a couple times a day for a few minutes at a time. Finally! I did something right! Heat can gradually break down the lump and speed healing.

 

8. OTC pain relievers like ibuprofen can help with pain and reduce swelling. I did do this at bedtime the first night I had the bruise. 

 

9. Some websites recommend applying arnica cream to reduce pain and discoloration. I didn't take this advice. I don't have any, the bruise never really hurt that much, and I've kind of enjoyed watching the changes of the colors.

   

10. My bruise started out as dark purple. Now it's mostly brown with a little blue in spots. Other common bruise colors are red and green.

 

11. The color changes as the body reabsorbs the blood.

12. Women bruise more easily than men. It's a hormone thing. Our skin tends to be a little thinner.

 

13. Because I'm (gulp) a senior citizen, my skin is thinner still and provides even less protection to blood vessels.

 

How about you? Do you have any visible bruises right now?

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

Sunday Stealing

Things I Love Beginning with S 

1. Shrimp

2. Spaghetti 

3. Springsteen music

4. Streisand movies/music

5. "Silly Love Songs"

Saturday 9

 

Saturday 9: Won't You Be My Valentine? (1961)

 

1) Dore Alpert sings that while he considered asking others to be his Valentine, he's sure that this is the girl he wants to love "forever more." What do you think is the secret of a long-lasting romantic relationship? As a barren spinster, I do not feel qualified to comment.

2) Dore is better known as Herb Alpert. He used the name "Dore" early in his career because he thought it was more befitting a teen idol than "Herb." Who made you swoon when you were a teenager?

 

This is how he looked when I was a swooning teen

 

 

3) Herb found he was a better trumpeter than singer. Between 1962 and 1969, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, had 12 consecutive gold albums. They were so popular that in 1966, they sold more records than Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Of those artists (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones), which is your favorite? The answer to #2 provides a clue.

4) He found his greatest success as an executive. Herb and partner Jerry Moss founded A&M Records and signed an array of talented artists including Cheech and Chong, The Carpenters, and Cat Stevens. Herb was happy to step away from performing and run the record label. Are you comfortable in front of an audience or crowd? Or would you prefer to be behind the scenes? I think behind the scenes because that's really where the power is. When I was young and working in advertising, I was so jealous of the actresses and models who crossed my path. But now I see that I was the lucky one. As the one who wrote the advertisements, I always had a job. I was on salary. They were always scrambling. Sure, they turned heads when they entered a room and were never without a date on New Year's Eve, but they were often unsure as to how to make their rent.

5) Karen admitted that when The Carpenters were first signed by A&M, she had a crush on Herb and liked his aftershave lotion. Do you usually wear a fragrance? Yes. I recently unearthed Fendi for Women. It's been discontinued for years. But I've had cologne and body lotion tucked in a drawer for years (decades?) and it's like meeting up with an old friend. 

This is our Valentine's Day Saturday 9 and so this morning we shall focus on the holiday. 

6) The holiday is also known as The Feast of St. Valentine. Do you have a special meal planned for February 14? Nope.

7) Thames River Cruises offers special dinner cruises for Valentine's Day that give lovers a view of London. Some cruises offer live jazz, others classical music. Which would you prefer: jazz or classical? Jazz.

 
8) Women buy and send more Valentines than men do. Who received the last greeting card you sent? My friend Elaine. I sent her a Valentine on behalf of her two cats.

9) Men buy and send more roses at Valentine's Day than women do. What's your favorite flower? Carnations. They are so durable and come in so many colors.

 

   

Thursday Thirteen #450

  

Say it with sweetly. Here are 13 of the sayings you'll find on candy hearts.

1. I ❤ U

2. Kiss Me

3. GOAT

4. Yes Plz

5. Too Cool

6. Only You

7. Let's Hang

8. Cutie

9. Bae

10. Be Mine

11. On Fleek (I had to look this up. It means "well done" or "perfectly executed.")

12. BFF

13. True Love 

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

 

 

Peaceful, Grateful

I started worrying Saturday.  It was my Cousin Rose's birthday and via Facebook I sent her a message, a GIF of her favorite, Han Solo. I'd also sent her a gift, which the USPS confirmed had arrived in plenty of time for her big day. All I heard back was crickets.

This is not like Rosie. She would never not acknowledge a gift. Never. The woman is hardwired to mind her manners. 

So I went to text her. Her phone told my phone it was "not available."

This was Rosie's 80th birthday. A big deal. I can't imagine her not checking social media or her phone to get and enjoy birthday wishes!

By Sunday I was freaking out. I was going to reach out to her cousin, Marlene.* Rosie had knee surgery in mid-January and Marlene has been staying with her. Not just because Marlene is a good cousin. She lives in Michigan and January is a good time to help Rosie recuperate in Tampa.

But then I realized something: I thought Rosie was dead and I didn't want it confirmed. As long as no one told me she was dead, it wasn't real.

What a wimpy, stupid way to feel! Yet it was how I felt. 

On Monday I mailed Rosie a postcard, asking her to let me know how she is. My reasoning was if she got it, she would reach out. And well, if she didn't get it, it would remind Marlene or whoever was handling things that they should give me the news.

I checked my phone over and over. No word from Tampa. This just emphasized my ambivalence: I wanted to hear, and I didn't want to hear.

Today – Wednesday – when I went down to get the mail I discovered something glorious: Rosie's handwriting on an envelope!

She lost her phone shortly after she liked one of my Facebook posts (it was about the Cubs' Ernie Banks) on February 1. She's sure she left it in the courtesy van that took her to her physical therapy appointment, but the van company couldn't find it.

She's got a new phone, but she admits she needs her niece and grand-nephew to come over and set it up for her. Neither she nor Marlene can figure it out. (At least Marlene's phone is charged and working fine, so they're connected to the outside world.)

Rosie also thanked me for her birthday present – because of course she did – and reiterated how much she likes and uses the blanket I sent her right after she had her knee done a few weeks ago. 

Rosie exasperates me. The 12 year age difference is always there in her mind, making me the junior partner in our relationship. When I was 15 and she was 27, I welcomed her input on my clothes and hair and attitudes and aspirations. Now that we're both AARP members, it just feels judgey and nitpicky.

But she loves me. The older I get, the more I value that. Because I'm blessed with the ability to make friends easily, I think I somehow always assumed people would be like Pop Tarts in a toaster – a new one will pop up. But all relationships are not created equal.

There is no one to replace John, who died after 40+ years of friendship. Or Henry, who died after loving me for more than 30 years. Or my oldest friend, who because of her physical/emotional challenges can no longer offer me comfort or companionship. 

There are new people in my life – Elaine and Joanna, Nancy and Will. But it's not the same. None of them went with me to Wrigley Field three days in a row to watch the Cubs play the World Champion Cincinnati Reds. Rosie did that in 1976. None of them taught me how to braid hair, like Rosie did in the late 1960s. None of them held me as a baby.

There's no replacing Rosie. 

Knowing she's out there and OK has left me feeling peaceful and oh, so grateful.

 

 

*Marlene and I are not related, and I'm not sure I've ever met her. But certainly she knows about me, just as I do her. 

 

Photo by Aravind Balabhaskar on Unsplash

Sunday Stealing

One Word Answers ONLY

1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen

2. Tell us about your hair. Pretty

3. What's your favorite thing? Books

4. What room are you in? Bedroom

5. Where did you grow up? Hometown

6. What aren't you good at? Singing

7.  Your favorite drink? Coke

8. Where do you want to be in 10 years? Here

9. Your mood. Good

10. Last time you cried. Tuesday

 

 

Shecky is in the house!

The National Prayer Breakfast has been held in Washington DC every year since before I was born. Billy Graham was a force in its early days, helping to convince President Eisenhower to address religious, social, and business leaders from around the world. Christians, Muslims and Jews gather to talk about faith – in one another, in community and in a higher power. Mother Teresa used the National Prayer Breakfast to condemn abortion as "a war against children." Bono spoke about how his personal spiritual journey led him to Africa to fight disease and hunger.

Want to know what President Donald Trump spoke about on Thursday?

•  He mocked Joe Biden's cognitive abilities. When the response was awkward, he went on to joke that Biden "had no idea he was President so he doesn't take it personally." 

•  He dismissed Rep. Thomas Massie as "a moron." Massie is one of Congress' most vocal advocates for the victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

•  He repeated lies about the 2020 election being "rigged" and admitted he had to win the 2024 election to salve his "big ego."

This was a prayer breakfast, not Don Rickles at The Sands. There was nothing humble, compassionate or reflective about his remarks. (OK, he did joke about whether he would make it to Heaven.)

He didn't take this opportunity to share firmly held beliefs because he doesn't seem to have any, except that he deserves praise and his enemies deserve derision. 

Don't take my word for any of this. Here is a transcript of your President's self-aggrandizing remarks. 

That was Thursday. But no one was talking about the Prayer Breakfast any more on Friday. Do you know why?

Trump's racist post about Obamas is deleted after backlash despite White House earlier defending it.

Isn't that a knee slapper?

Just to recap: He lies at a prayer breakfast where he celebrates his own ego and uses terms like "moron" to diminish others. He is unable to keep a civil tongue in his head for 30 minutes out of respect to religiosity. Then he shares a post where the Obamas are depicted as apes but insists he's done nothing wrong. That's just two days! I'm exhausted just watching him. I guess bile gives him stamina.

But at least he is cruel to people of color and the LGBTQ community. I guess as long as he hates who they hate, that's enough for 35% to 40% of our fellow Americans.

When are his "devout Christian" supporters finally going to have enough of this charlatan?

In the meantime, the rest of us have to stay alert and active. It's so easy to feel beaten down by all this hate. But we can't afford to. 

Combat Donald Trump with love. Let his supporters be motivated by fear and anger. I'm going to act out of positivity. I'm finding mid-term and special election candidates to support, giving money to organizations that protect the civil rights of those ensnared by ICE, and strengthening my ties to my own community.

My church has placed a refrigerator and a cabinet on the porch of the rectory. This is unrelated to the local food pantry. This is for those who can't/won't fill out the paperwork at the food pantry. They are either homeless or undocumented. Since ICE invaded Chicagoland, many have been afraid to go to their jobs and so food insecurity is a real issue. Now whenever I go to the grocery store, in addition to the beans or pasta I pick up for the food pantry,* I add ramen for the pantry on the porch. It feels good.

Don't let Donald Trump and MAGA beat you down. Live your faith. Find ways to respond that lift your spirits.

 

*Our food pantry serves people who are un- or under-employed and seniors for whom Social Security just isn't cutting it. This is important work and I'm happy to support it with cash and canned goods. But there's paperwork attached to getting the food. Clients need a photo ID with an address.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: You Make Me Feel So Young (1956)

 

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

1) This morning, do you feel younger or older than your years? I have a slow-healing bruise on my forearm and my knee is achy. Also, when I hear all the bitching that Bad Bunny is a "dumb" or "silly" name, I can remember people saying the same thing about The Beatles in 1964. It's like everything old is new again, and I feel every moment of my 68 years.

 

2) In this song, Frank Sinatra tells us that every time he sees his lover's grin, he's happy. What's something you can reliably count on to lift your spirits? Feeding the cats. They are so cute at mealtime! Chatting with me to make their menu selections known, herding me into the kitchen, supervising food prep ... I love how communicative cats always are individually, but at mealtime they coordinate and double team me. 

 

3) The lyrics mention hide-and-seek. What games did you play when you were young? I don't recall ever playing hide-and-seek. The games I remember were the outside games – SPUD and all the permutations of tag (stoop tag, freeze tag, etc).

4) Frank Sinatra was a fan of Campbell's chicken and rice soup, believing it helped his throat feel better after an evening of performing. Is Campbell's soup in your kitchen right now? Yes. BTW, in her memoir, Streisand repeatedly rhapsodized about her love of Campbell's Tomato Soup. The marketing whore in me sees a campaign here. Somebody should reach out to Katy Perry or Kelly Clarkson. Maybe Reba. If one of them will also swear by Campbell's, we've got some commercials to make.

 

5) Frank's favorite dessert was a slice of lemon ricotta torte. He believed every meal should include "a final flourish." Do you more often indulge in or skip dessert? I'd be more likely to skip the meal than the dessert.

 

6) At Sinatra's home in Palm Springs, CA, you'd find a less sophisticated dessert. He always kept Entenmann's Crumb Cake on hand for his young granddaughters. Share a memory of your grandparents. My grandpa thought I was pretty great. Every knock-knock joke I learned at school was hilarious. Whenever he saw me with a book or comic book, he'd ask me to read aloud because I was so good at it. Every little girl should have a cheerleader like my grandpa.

 

7) In 1956, when this song was popular, Frank was tooling around Southern California in a blue Continental Mark II. That model was known for its interior of hand-stitched imported Scottish leather. 70 years later, Scottish leather is still used in luxury cars because it's both soft and durable and the production methods minimize environmental impact. If you could splurge on something right now, what would it be? A luxury car, jewelry, travel, clothes, something else? (No responsible answers allowed!) A luxury 2026 BMW is about $100,000, which is an awful lot of money to imagine myself playing with. In fact, I can't. After all, I'm a gal who has $1.25 cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle in my cabinet. So I'll imagine that I have approx. $10,000 earmarked for fun. I'd take myself on the TCM Classic Film Cruise. To have my own private, deluxe stateroom (with veranda) for five nights would be $8,650. That includes all the movies I can handle, plus meals. I'd have to fly to/from the port in San Diego, and I'm not going economy, so that's about $1,000. One of the ports of call is Catalina Island, a place I'm curious about. Ah, like the song says, I'm California Dreamin' on such a winter's day.

 

 
8) Also in 1956, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Forbidden Planet were popular at the box office. Do you have a favorite sci-fi movie? Not really.

 

9) Random question: What were you doing three hours ago? Taking a nap. Which was stupid because it's after midnight and I'm wide awake.

 

Thursday Thirteen #449

 Tips for hiring contractors. I am not very handy. OK, I admit it: I don't know how to do a damn thing around here. So I depend on plumbers, handymen, etc.

If you're like me, you might benefit from these tips, cribbed from Consumer Reports. 

1. Find a repairman before you need one. You're bound to be upset when your car breaks down or you find yourself locked out of your house. You may not make your best decisions in such an emergency situation. Ask friends and neighbors who they turn to in a pinch and have those numbers on your phone.

 

2. Do your research. In addition to references from friends, read the Yelp/Google reviews. Check the Better Business Bureau.  

 

3. Contact the manufacturer first. Before you call the repairman for your refrigerator or washing machine, go to the manufacturer's website or call the 800#. Your problem might be a common one that's easy to trouble shoot.

 

4. Be prepared before you talk to prospective contractors. Provide as much detail as you can. Take photos you can share. 

 

5. Get written estimates. That's for parts and labor, both. No surprises. 

 

6. Remember, there are different types of replacement parts. If parts are going to involved, find out if they plan to use new, used, or genuine manufacturer replacement parts. Ask if this makes a difference in price. 

 

7. Specify that you want to retain/dispose of the old parts. This one was new to me. It helps reduce fraud because unscrupulous repairmen have been known to replace parts unnecessarily and then resell the one they just removed from your appliance. (Gulp! Shit like this just makes me want to pull the sheets up over my head.)

 

8. Before you hire, verify the credentials of the repairman who is going to do the actual work. I don't know why, but conversations like this make me uncomfortable.

 

Hopefully the work goes well. But what if it doesn't? 

 

9. Pay with your credit card, not your debit card. Financial institutions offer protections for credit card purchases that you just don't get with your debit card. If you don't want to pay with a credit card, write a check that you can stop payment on. Even that is safer than using your debit card.

 

10. If your appliance breaks down again shortly after the repair, give the contractor a chance to make things right. If they guarantee their work, they may come over and repair the repair at no charge.  

 

11. If you can't reach an agreement with the contractor, call in another repairer. You still need your refrigerator or washing machine, right? There's no use going without while disputing things with the original repairman. Just be sure to document everything about the second repair – photos, receipts, etc. They will come in handy if you have to prove your damages in small claims court (more info on this ahead).

 

12. You have recourse against bad service. First, contact the credit card company (remember #9?) and work with them to have the charge reversed. Then take to social media and warn others on Yelp and Google.

 

13. Legal questions? Consumer Reports recommend you turn to NOLO.com for information about filing a small claims action in your state.

I've really been rather fortunate with my contractors. No horror stories. How about you? 

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

Not the first time I've been this wrong

In January 2020, I was sure that Harry and Meghan stepping away from Royal duties would be the biggest news story of the year. Then everything shut down for Covid. 

I had another Great Moment in Wrongness on January 24. Elaine had invited Will and me to meet her at the deli next to the Music Box Theater. The plan was bagels at 10:45 and Barbara Stanwyck on the big screen at 11:30. I'd have to leave my home around 10:00 AM. No biggie, right?

I was surprised when I woke up later than I'd intended. Usually the cats don't let me sleep in because they want breakfast. But on Saturday, January 24, nobody was walking on me, purring and willing me awake. I padded into the kitchen and found out why.

Roy Hobbs has somehow managed to get past the childproof lock and climbed into the kitchen cabinet.  He ate through the bag and gorged himself on Connie's prescription cat food. There was kibble everywhere. For good measure, he vomited. 

So I had to wrap what was left of the cat food bag in Saran Wrap and encase it in a paper bag. And vacuum out the cabinet. And clean up the puke, all before my shower. I was running short on time. I was stressed.

Elaine was in a weird mood. I thought the movie was rather trippy. On the way home, I stopped for a burger and reflected on what a crappy Saturday it had been. I got home about 3:30, sure the worst was behind me. I'd curl up on the sofa, watch Columbo reruns, and shop Amazon for containers that lock to keep Roy Hobbs out of the kibble.

Then I turned on the TV. Alex Pretti had been shot in the back by ICE agents. While he was on the ground. Just weeks after Renee Good had been shot after telling an ICE agent, "I'm not mad at you, dude."

I remember Kent State. This image is seared on my soul. Here we are again. This anguished girl is all of us right now.

 

What the ever loving fuck. Our government is shooting our citizens in the street. Their crime? Disagreeing with the policies of Dear Leader, Donald J. Trump.

Do not tell me that Alex Pretti spat at an ICE agent and kicked out a tail light. That happened more than a week before the shooting so it's not relevant. And even if it was, those are not death penalty offenses. The officers should have arrested Pretti, not executed him in the street.

Don't you dare mention that Pretti was carrying a gun to a protest. The GOP has been arguing for decades that we all have a Second Amendment right to bear arms. And Donald J. Trump pardoned rioters who brought bear spray, zip ties and, yes, firearms to the Capitol on January 6.

I have not been the same since January 24, and no, it wasn't the kibble incident in the kitchen. Alex Pretti happened. After ICE agents here in Chicagoland haunted school parking lots and loitered outside The Home Depot and (wait for it) the children's museum in search of "the worst of the worst." After Renee Good. After five-year-old Liam Ramos was shipped away to a detention center in another state.

OK, so what am I going to do about this?

I'm sending incremental money to the ACLU. I'm working on Democratic voter registration in red states. I'm concentrating my efforts lower ballot initiatives and special elections. 

I still believe in America. I still believe in the system. 

But we are broken. Approximately 35%-40% of Americans still approve of Donald Trump. They are so afraid of the LGBTQ community and people of color that they excuse his cruelty and disregard for the rule of law. And they so often do it while wrapping themselves in my Christian faith!

Whatever happened to, "whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me?" I guess they found the loophole, which is, of course, that you don't have to love brothers or sisters who are trans or brown. After all, Donald Trump has made terror and cruelty OK. Patriotic, even.

So prayer is important here, too. But I won't pray to change the hearts of  35%-40% of Americans. I have to concentrate on my own heart and not let myself get too exhausted by this blanket of unremitting ugliness.

 

PS I truly believe that ICE began entering Blue State cities as a political calculation, to change the headlines away from Epstein. Just like Greenland and Venezuela and the Kennedy Center and the East Wing were designed to distract us from Epstein. The shenanigans in Georgia are meant to rig the mid-terms and protect Trump from Epstein. I have no idea what's in those files, but he must believe it would shake the faith of his loyal 35%-40%. I want those files released, if only to put an end to the desperate self-preservation measures of Donald J. Trump.