Thursday Thirteen #468

Platinum edition. Within the world of classic film nerds, Marilyn Monroe has been all over the place this month in honor of her 100th birthday. I am fascinated not only by Marilyn, but why she endures. Even if you've never seen a Marilyn Monroe movie, you're familiar with her image. Children not yet born will see the picture of Marilyn on the subway grate, her white dress blowing up.

Yet Jean Harlow is not recognized or remembered outside the classic film world. That's not only too bad – because she was luminous and funny – it's confusing because her filmography is of much higher quality than Marilyn's. Marilyn made quite a few high-profile, crappy movies, Harlow did not.

So here are 13 facts about the original Platinum Blonde. 

1. Jean Harlow was born Harlean Harlow Carpenter, but throughout her life, friends and family called her "The Baby." 

2. She dropped out of high school at 16 to marry a very wealthy boy when he turned 21 and came into his inheritance. They moved to Beverly Hills, where she envisioned life as a socialite. But they were very young, with too much time on their hands and too much money. The union lasted less than two years.

3. As her marriage was ending, she helped out a friend who needed a daily ride to work at Fox Studios. Her good looks got her noticed and she was invited for a screen test. At first The Baby refused, but her friend called her "chicken" and bet she wouldn't go through with it. You know what happened. 

4. She was renamed Jean Harlow and today she's #22 on the American Film Institute (AFI) list of greatest film actresses of all time. 

5. She became a star at age 19 in 1930's Hell's Angels, where she uttered the famous line about slipping "into something more comfortable." 

6. She was famous for her curves, her pencil-thin eyebrows and most of all, her platinum hair. While the studio refused to reveal how this white-and-bright shade was achieved, rumor had it that a combination of ammonia, Clorox bleach and soap flakes. Unfortunately, fans tried to do this at home, with predictably disastrous results. 

7. She was among the most profitable stars of the decade, ranking as one of the top box office draws 5 times between 1930 and 1937. She was making $4,000/week at the time of her death. That's $5,000,000/year in today's dollars. (And remember, Jean was making $4,000/week during The Depression. That was the annual income for couples back then.)

8. Jean Harlow made many top quality films, and in 1933, 1936, and 1938, her movies were nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. She was paired with the biggest stars of her time – James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, William Powell and Clark Gable. Though never romantically involved in real life, she and Gable were a great screen team and made six successful films together. She was working with him when she died.

9. Reading about her, I'm struck by how beloved "The Baby" was by those who worked with her. Directors praised her professionalism. Crews found her approachable. With other actresses of the period, especially Carole Lombard and Myrna Loy, she was friendly and not at all competitive. There's little if any gossip/controversy surrounding her professional life. Which I guess balances out the plethora of scandal and tumult in her private life.

10. She and actor William Powell were engaged at the time of her death. He would have been her fourth husband in 10 years. The first was Charles McGrew (see #2). Her third husband was cinematographer Harold Rossen. Naturally so many trips to the altar caused pearl clutching and tsk-ing. But it was her second husband that caused an earthquake of a scandal that reverberates to this day.

11. Her second husband was studio executive Paul Bern. Balding and more than 20 years her senior and, even though they made an odd-looking couple, she adored him. Just two months into their marriage, he was found dead in their home. Nude and shot in the head. It was officially ruled a suicide but, since Jean was one of the biggest stars in the world, rumors abound. Is it true he killed himself because he couldn't perform sexually with The Blonde Bombshell? Was the long-time lover he tossed over for Jean really the one who pulled the trigger? To this day, there is controversy.

12. Jean was the world's premiere sex symbol when she died of kidney failure at the age of 26. While her death seemed sudden to the public, she had been ill for months (though she continued to work). As with Bern, rumors blazed about Harlow's death. Could she have survived but for her mother's adherence to Christian Science and refusal to get Jean medical help? Did all those years of dangerous hair dye damage her kidneys (see #7)? The likely truth is less sensational: Like many in the 1920s, she had scarlet fever as a kid. As a result, she suffered from high blood pressure for the rest of her life and it's not unusual for scarlet fever to damage the kidneys. However, since forensic medicine wasn't that advanced in 1937, it's impossible for us today to know for sure what killed The Blonde Bombshell.

13. When I watch her movies (and I've now seen three), I'm impressed by her way with comedy. She delivers rapid-fire monologues with perfect diction and just the right emphasis. And her walk! She enters every room like a force of nature. Onscreen, she's a sweet, smart, funny dame. I'm just sorry that The Baby didn't find more joy in her own short life.

Here's the lady herself. I look forward to seeing more of her work.

 

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

 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 24

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 24: Intention I wrote two emails today with intention. They were messages I might have just dashed off not that long ago, and I'm grateful that retirement has given me the time to be more kind. The first was to my oldest friend. My frustrating, troubled, ineffable oldest friend. The second was to my newest friend, Christine from movie group, who has been asking me to visit her home in some faraway burb. 

As far as #1 goes, she's going to continue to make bad decisions and I can't change her, so I didn't try. I just made a couple jokes, attached a photo of Baby Violet, and reminded my friend that, when she finally gets her insurance situation ironed out,* I will be happy to pay for her first two months of therapy. 

For #2, I know it's hard for people our age to make new friends and appreciate it takes optimism and courage to reach out like Christine has. She began inviting me before Christmas and I've been putting her off, which is insensitive of me. She finally quit asking and it occurred to me I may have hurt her feelings. So I asked her – would she mind if, when the mercury hits 95º or higher as it inevitably will, I could spend the day with her and take advantage of her air conditioning and her DVD collection and play with her dog in cool comfort. She answered – SNAP! – immediately.

As I'm writing this, I think of that Brownie song: Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. 

 

*It's been at least three months. A paperwork snafu with Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program. 

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. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Act of Betrayal by Edna Buchanan. This is the fourth of the Britt Montero series and it's a thrill ride from the very beginning. Britt is a reporter on the crime beat for a major Miami daily. She's had a helluva morning, covering the death of a grandmother found in her own kitchen and a van accident that killed immigrants being transported illegally to a work site. She stops for lunch and as she contemplates the empanada purchased from a street vendor, Britt hears an explosion. Being a reporter, she doesn't run away, she runs toward it.

 

And we're off! The Britt Montero books are not cozy mysteries. They are shocking and violent, but also very human. Miami-born Britt is a thirty-something single, looking for love but not as hard as she pursues leads. Her best friend is Lottie Dane, a statuesque crime photographer transplanted to Miami from Texas. I like these women and their friendship.

 

Buchanan is a good writer, successfully creating a specific time and place: 1990s Miami. Very Crockett and Tubbs. Newspapers were still thriving, though very aware of competition from local news stations. Britt keeps a quarter in pocket all the time so she can use the nearest pay phone to check her office voicemail. (I kinda miss those days.)

 

2. What did you recently finish reading?  Marilyn Monroe: The Biography by Donald Spoto. There have been more than 100 books written about Marilyn, her movies and her legacy. I'm glad I grabbed this one. Donald Spoto takes her seriously as a woman and an artist. He doesn't ladle on extra sensationalism or victimization because 1) those are baked in and 2) he respects her and us.  

 

This is a reread for me and I came away with a different emphasis this time. First, Marilyn worked very hard and kept improving. Because she was fired from her last movie and then died at 36 just weeks after, it's easy to assume she'd peaked. It's impossible to know, of course, but she had two new films on her horizon* and it's possible that, like Elizabeth Taylor, she could have become more than her looks and kept getting better. 

 

Second, she kept evolving as a person, too. Around the time she got a part in The Asphalt Jungle, she was struck me as selfish and unlikable. She was 23 and (to slip into today's vernacular) was couch surfing and using people. All exigence and ambition, anything to get by, anything to get a part. Over the next 13 years, she learned about herself and others. As she became more comfortable in her own skin, her generosity of spirit emerged and by the end of the book, I mourned this sweet woman.

 

Unfortunately, Marilyn's death seems to have become more important than her life. This book walks us through her final days and puts to rest many of the more tenacious and lurid rumors.  

3. What will you read next? I don't know.

 

  

 *Both movies were made with other actresses. Carroll Baker played Harlow and Shirley MacLaine starred in What a Way to Go.

 

 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 23

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 23: Peace We just had our quarterly condo board meeting and I'm glad there was no drama. Everyone played nice. Because of new lending guidelines, we are almost assuredly going to have a big increase in monthly assessments for 2027, and we wanted to get the word out and let people starting planning now. The attitude seemed to be, "Oh, that's 6 months away." I'm grateful those in attendance were sanguine about it because there isn't anything we can do to change this.

 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 22

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 22: Purpose I do what I can, when I can. On Monday I did a pair of Letters Against Isolation cards and wrote out Postcards to Voters. Over the weekend, I made a political contribution and supported the public library book sale. 

My purpose here is to make my country a better place. There's something grating about MAGA believing that they own patriotism. I am grateful that I am able to work toward making ours a more perfect union in my own way.

 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 21

 I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 21: Passion Today was a quiet rainy Sunday, no baseball, so I indulged my passion for movies. I discovered a new podcast series – Ringer Movies – and got lost in it. Then I caught To Kill a Mockingbird, presented on TCM for Father's Day. Now I'm watching Marilyn flirt with Richard Widmark and go slowly mad in Don't Bother to Knock. 

I'm grateful I live now, when I've got YouTube and broadcast cable and streaming that gives me such easy access to something that makes me this happy.

 

Sunday Stealing

Shopping Day. What's on your shopping list from ...

1. Target or Walmart, or other superstore? I need new underwear, and Walmart carries my preferred brand.

2. Dollar Tree or Dollar General, or poundstretcher/99p store? Dollar Tree carries my favorite toilet paper. (Toilet paper and underwear! Such a glamorous shopping list!)

3. Best Buy or any other electronics/appliance store? I just bought a new TV, so I'm good there.  I suspect my refrigerator is on its last legs, so maybe this would be a good opportunity to check my options.

4. Book/music store? The buzzy new Maggie Haberman/Jonathan Swan book.

Bonus question! Where do you want to stop for lunch? Unlike the subject of the Haberman/Swan book, I haven't had McDonald's in forever. Let's do that.

 

 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 20

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 20: Something I accomplished today I took 13 books over to the library for the book sale. 4 hardcover, 9 paperbacks. I didn't volunteer today,* but I did on two previous Saturdays, and each time I went I donated CDs (32 in all). While I was there, I perused the donations and the work that had been done since my last stint. So many board games and jigsaw puzzles had arrived and this made me happy. They are a new addition to the book sale and I'm happy to see our community responded.

While I was wandering about, a very tall bearded man stuck his head in and asked what this room was. I explained and gave him one of the book sale flyers. I'm glad I was there for him. He's a schoolteacher from a nearby suburb and asked if he could participate. Of course! He said he has some of his own books to donate and was excited to buy games for his classroom. I showed him that on July 12, the last day of the sale, everything is free to schoolteachers as well as hospital and nursing home workers. I was going to show him the drop-off for donations after library hours, but he explained that since he was a school teacher and in summer, his time is all his own now, he can easily make the two trips – one before June 30 to drop off books and another on July 12 to pick up free games for next fall's students.

I'm grateful I was there for him. It gives me pleasure to help out my neighborhood library branch.

 

 *My chief contribution has always been to build boxes. We need countless boxes for sorting the books, and I am an artist with the tape gun.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: The Men in My Little Girl's Life (1965)

 

 Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. Chosen for Father's Day.

1) In this song, a father shares the story of his daughter's life through first the boys, then the men, she brought home. The first is Rod, a little kid who wants to play in the backyard. Who were your playmates when you were young? Did you find it more fun to have them over to your home, or to go to theirs? I preferred going to their homes because I was curious about how other families lived. Example: Mail. My oldest friend lived in the apartment building across the alley and I enjoyed it when we went all the way downstairs and outside and then used a key to unlock their unit's mailbox. My other favorite playmate's family had a really cool mailbox on their front door frame and the mail slid directly onto their living room carpet! Our mail was shoved through a slot in our screen door. Our front door was so thick that I never even heard it. Ah, the stuff that fascinated Little Me!

2) Then his daughter asked if Lee could carry her books on the walk to/from school. During your junior high years, how did you travel to school (bus, bicycle, car pool, shoe leather)? We walked to school. It was only a couple blocks away and took about 10 minutes if I wasn't distracted. My older sister was a year ahead of me and policed me. She was a drag.

 

3) Throughout this song, the father recalls that his daughter alternately called him "Daddy," "Dad," "Popsie," "Pop" and "Father." How did/do you address your father? Dad.

 

4) The song ends with the daughter asking her father to babysit. When did you last look after someone else's child? About 20 years ago. My nephew was still very young (like 5 or 6) and heard me say I didn't put my Christmas tree up because it was too much of a hassle. He offered to help and I was so touched by his eager little face that we had a sleepover and made a night of assembling my tree and trimming it.

 

5) This record was a Top 10 hit in the US and it made the Top 20 in Canada. Much of its success was attributed to Mike Douglas' TV popularity. From 1965 to 1981, he hosted a daytime talk show. Do you watch much daytime TV? I've got the news on most of the day. Shit moves fast these days and everything feels important.

 

6) Mike Douglas was a father himself. He had three daughters, including twins. Are there twins in your family? Nope.

 

Now about Father's Day ... 

 

7) Retail chains like O'Reilly Auto Parts, Auto Zone and Jiffy Lube are all promoting gift cards and car-related gifts for Father's Day. If you got a gift card from one of those stores, how would you upgrade your ride? I don't have a car. But if the gift card was from O'Reilly or Auto Zone, I'd use it to stock up on wipes. Really, you can get the most effective multi-surface wipes and glass cleaning wipes at auto stores. Jiffy Lube doesn't really have much of a retail section so I'd regift that one.

 

Trust me on this.

8) Dick's Sporting Goods also enjoys a spike in gift card sales around Father's Day. Have you more recently given or received a gift card? At Christmas, I sent my oldest friend a Domino's gift card. Because that's her favorite. (Don't ask me why. She grew up in Chicagoland and should know better.)

 

9) In days gone by, ties were the #1 Father's Day gift. But as today's workplace has become more casual, fragrance has taken over the top spot. Dove Men+Care offers gift sets with shampoo/conditioner, body wash and antiperspirant. Think about your shower routine. Are your shampoo, body wash and antiperspirant all the same brand or the same scent? Nope. Right now I've got lavender shampoo and mint conditioner. Oatmeal body wash. My deodorant is "powder fresh." All different brands.

 

 

 

  

Gratitude Challenge: Day 19

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 19: Something that fills me with love My cats. Fur brings out the best in me, I guess. I am at my kindest and my most patient with critters. The world is filled with people who annoy or anger me. I can't think of a dog or cat who has ever stirred anything but empathy and affection.

 

 

Oh, Gal, SHUT UP!

From the day I became verbal to the day he died, my dad knew how to press my buttons. (It must be said it was mutual.) One thing he did that especially set me off was to make self-evident comments as though they were proclamations. Example: Instead of telling me not to jump on the sofa, he would pedantically announce, "This is a living room, not a jungle gym." To this day, that brand of condescension brings out the worst in me and makes me want to respond as if I were the author of Mad's Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions. 

But now I'm nearly 70, not 7. I should have matured and moved past this. Yet I have not.

Tuesday I requested Christmas week off from the card shop. I thought I was being swell, giving the store manager more than six months to plan around me. Plus, it isn't even a full five days off. I am never available to work on Tuesdays and Christmas Day is Thursday and the store is closed, so we're really only talking three days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Also, it must be noted that I don't get paid for time off. It costs no one anything when I take myself off the calendar.

I was shocked when it came back on Wednesday "DENIED."  

I was certain it was a mistake and brought it up to my manager on Thursday. It was no mistake. She told me that her boss, Eric, has "blacked out" that week and told her she cannot approve any vacation time.

It took me a moment to absorb this. "But I will not be here that week. I will be in Michigan." 

I could tell she was parroting back exactly what Eric had said to her: "This is our busiest week and it's all hands on deck. No vacation requests are going to be approved. This is retail."

This is retail? Really? I thought we were hanging drywall.

This is retail? Really? I thought this was a Christmas Carol and I'm Bob Cratchit. 

I did not say any of this. But it was bubbling oh-so-close to my lips. Instead I said, "Well, I'm physically not going to be here that week, and now we know what to expect of each other." We left it at that.

What is likely to happen is that she won't schedule me. After all, we're talking about three days and many of the other girls want more hours, not less. If she does schedule me – and I hope she gives us enough notice – I'll just ask one of the others girls to take my shift. 

Or I will quit, and quit with a clear conscience. Because she knowingly scheduled me when she knew I was going to be away on Christmas with my family. 

At any rate, I'm glad I bit my tongue. She does not want to deal with this. I could tell her life would be easier if she could approve my time-off request. But this is her job and she's doing what she has to do to please her boss.

Sometimes, shutting up is the better part of valor. 

 

Photo by Fotos on Unsplash 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 18

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 18: Something that fills me with hope Today I am overflowing with hope because:  

•  The Obama Presidential Center is opening. I love it when all eyes turn to my city to watch us party. This Center has been in the works for more than a decade, providing jobs and a Chicago Public Library in a part of town that will blossom with the attention. And oh! the Opening Ceremony! It was so inspirational, at once nostalgic and at the same time hopeful for our future. My favorite musical moment was when Bono crooned to the former First Lady, "Michelle, ma belle ..." because –

•   It's Paul McCartney's 84th birthday and he's on the charts with new music. That he's still relevant fills me with hope. In my classic movie nerd world, so much attention is being paid this month to the beautiful tragedy that was Marilyn Monroe. I love to take a moment and celebrate the beautiful survivor.

 

 

Thursday Thirteen #467

 My typical Target run. There's a Target store just around the corner and up the block. I stop there several times a week. This does not reflect my shopping list. These are the impulse purchases and what I grab when I run out.  Here are the 13 things they tell me I pick up most often.

1. Goldfish Crackers. I do mix it up, however. Sometimes I go with Original, sometimes Flavor Blast, and I've just discovered Pizza flavor. 

2. Raisins. I'm trying to snack on these more often than cookies or the aforementioned crackers. 

 

3. Tuna in a pouch. This is not for me. Last fall, my church opened a pantry on the porch of the rectory. It is available 24/7 for neighbors who are homeless or don't wish to go to the "official" local food pantry, likely because they are undocumented and ICE sucks. I like to leave this because it works whether or not you have your own kitchen. 

 

4. Green beans. This is for the "official" local food pantry. Whereas for my church's porch pantry I go for convenience, I select more nutritious foods for the "official" food pantry, whose clients are able to cook at home. Also, I try to grab something for the food pantry every time I go to Target. That way I can gradually accumulate a bag of non-perishables without noticing any impact on my budget.

 

5. Sweet peas. These are for me. Love 'em.

  

6. Coca Cola. I prefer the 7.5 oz. mini cans.

 

7. Skim milk. In the 52-oz. bottle. If I buy the gallon, I end up pouring milk down the sink and that makes me sad.

 

8. Post Great Grains Banana Nut Crunch. I go through phases with my cereal. I believe I'm transitioning to my Apple Cinnamon Cheerios era.

 

9. 4-oz baby food tub of peas. Again for the food pantry. Since I don't have a car, I like to buy things that are easy for me to both get home from the store and then carry to the donation spot. And maybe I'm trying to inspire a new generation of pea lovers.

 

10. Fragrance-free skin baby wipes. These are for me, but you can see why Target sends me notifications whenever they have "baby stuff" on sale.

 

11. 100% pure canned pumpkin. For my cats. They love it, and it helps keep them regular.

 

12. Nilla Vanilla Wafers. Because I am weak and often tempted by something less nutritious than raisins.

 

13. Batteries. I lumped the AAs (TV remotes) in with the AAAs (shower radio). It would probably be more economical if, instead of packages of 4 or 6, I just bought the big 20+ packs. (Note to self: Add batteries to grocery list.) 

How about you? What do you run out of?

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

Gratitude Challenge: Day 17

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 17: Something that makes me smile Today I am grateful for my local classic movie couple: Bob and Patricia. Everything about them makes me smile. First, there's how we met. We happened to be crossing Hollywood Blvd. at the same at the TCM Film Festival and discovered we live within blocks of one another! Then there's how they look. They are both tall and cute in a cornfed, Midwestern way. 

Most important, they make me smile because we vibe. We had lunch today, and when I suggested George's – the old-school local coffee shop that has hit hard times – because I want to throw it some incremental business, they immediately said, "of course!" They have an elderly dog they have built their lives around, so nothing I did earlier this year to help save my Connie Cat even made them blink. Last week, after a night of violent storms, they helped their neighbors capture and rescue a wet and frightened kitten (who now has a home with a grade school teacher). We talked classic movies, the Cubs, and our personal transitions to retirement. Our little lunch lasted more than three hours, and every moment made me smile.

 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 16

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 16: Something that makes me laugh Today I am grateful for the gang from Central Perk. I switched from the rather disappointing (Col 5 - Cubs 2) game to the Friends marathon on Nick at Nite and I was happy again. 

 

 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 15

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 15: Music "Go, Cubs, go! Go, Cubs, go! Hey, Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today." And they did win today. 30,000+ fans at the ballpark sang the song. I sang along at home. I am grateful that we have a song to sing when we win. It's ours and I love it.

 

 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 14

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 14: Color Today I'm grateful for all the rain we've had lately because everything is so green. I took advantage of the break in the heat and humidity to take a long walk. As I listened to the Cubs game, I was positively enchanted by the leaves, the lawns and the shrubs. Now if only the game had ended differently.

 

 

 

Sunday Stealing

DIY Meme

1. Would you rather have every traffic light turn green or always get the best parking spot? (Kwizgiver) I don't drive so I don't care about parking spaces. But I'm usually late, whether in a rideshare or on a bus or on foot, so I'm a fan of green lights.

2. What's the most difficult thing you have ever done? (Gold in the Clouds) Said goodbye to my two of my closest friends within months back in 2024. Death is a bitch. It's not negotiable. I have found going on after losing John and Henry is the hardest thing I've ever done. I'm not sure I'm through it yet.

3. What information do you know that you are proud of/happy about, but others say, "Who cares?" (Roger) I once won a trivia contest – completely without cell phone or Google – for knowing Elizabeth Taylor's full name was Elizabeth Rosamond Taylor Hilton Wilding Todd Fisher Burton Warner Fortensky.* It was at a rib joint, so my friend John and I got a break on our bill because of this incredibly trivial trivia.

4. What mystery do you wish you knew the answer to? (Myra/Mevely) Why do bad things have to happen? Fortunately I'm a Christian and I know that when I get to Heaven I will get the answer.

5. What small, ordinary thing brings you disproportionate joy? (Country Dew) My morning shower. Washing my hair and scrubbing my face while listening to my shower radio gets my day off to a great start.

6. What time do you go to sleep/wake up?  (Annie) Whenever. I'm no longer a desk jockey who is a slave to a train schedule.

7. What is your favorite sleeping position? (Lisa) On my left side.

8. Describe your personal Utopia. (Pandora) Listening to the Beatles while eating cheesecake with strawberries and drinking icy cold Coke. 

9. Imagine that you have a machine that can create any new invention for you based on your description. What you ask the machine to create, and why? (Plastic Mancunian) I'm on the top floor. The laundry room is in the basement. The elevator is not convenient and it's incredibly dispiriting to haul my clothes and detergent and fabric softener down there only to find no washers or dryers open. If there was a way I could know that the machines are available for use, I would be eternally grateful.

*I actually said "Burton" twice since they married and divorced twice, but the judge said it wasn't necessary. 

Gratitude Challenge: Day 13

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 13: Smell My Vicks Vapo-Inhaler is tremendously comforting. I struggled with allergies late last month and this got me through. Also, when I had covid back in the day, I lost my sense of smell. So now, whenever I'm sick, I reach for this Vicks Vapo-Inhaler to reassure myself that I don't have the plague.

 

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Accidentally in Love (2004)

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

1) In the video for this song, a young man dances alone in the kitchen while making breakfast for his lady love. When no one's looking, do you often bust a move? It has been known to happen. But I am an awful dancer.

2) "Accidentally in Love" was featured in the animated movie Shrek 2.  In this video, a plushie from the movie is shown on their bed. Do you have any plush toys in your bedroom? There's a bear on either side of the dresser, beside the mirror. One is beige and he wears a yellow shirt that says, "Someone at FKCC loves me." That bear was a gift from my late friend Henry, who was a professor at Florida Keys Community College. The other is a green Beanie Baby that says, "Give Peas a Chance." It was a gift from my Mom because of the nod to John Lennon. I miss them both, but I was lucky to have their love in my life. 

3) The lyrics liken falling in love to strawberry ice cream that he just can't resist. What sweet treat would hit the spot right now? There's a brownie in the kitchen that is not going to last much longer.

4) He sings about lightening. Astraphobia is the fear of thunderstorms. Have you ever suffered from astraphobia? Nope.

5) This song is about falling in love when he wasn't looking for it. Has this ever happened to you? Or have you usually found romance while actively seeking a partner (dating sites, blind dates, etc.)? I have always just let love find me. Maybe that's why I'm so bad at romance. Perhaps I should have put more work and planning into it.

 6) This week's artists, The Counting Crows, got their start in San Francisco. A famous quote, often attributed to Mark Twain, says, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." How has the summer weather been where you are? Last week was pretty rough – storms, high winds, high humidity. It left me grumpy.

7) In 2004, when this song was popular, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook. Have you checked Facebook today? Yes.

8) Also in 2004, we lost President Ronald Reagan. Before entering politics, he had a decades-long career in Hollywood and appeared in 53 films. Have you ever seen a Ronald Reagan movie? I've seen four. He was good in this one, where he played the most popular but also the wildest young man in a small town. There's another one, Juke Girl, also with Ann Sheridan, where he's effective, as well. Reagan and Sheridan were quite the romantic duo. As I answer this question, it occurs to me that Republicans are the ones who complain about "Hollywood" types getting involved in politics but they're also the ones who elected a movie actor and a reality TV star to the nation's highest office. I suspect it isn't that they don't want to hear from celebrities when it comes to politics, it's that they just don't want to hear from anyone who disagrees with them.

9) Random question: Describe your favorite pajamas. It's an oversized bright yellowy-orange (or orangey-yellow?) t-shirt that was a gift from my friend Henry. It's very soft.

 

 

Gratitude Challenge – Day 12

I first took this challenge in November 2014 and I think now is a good time to revisit it. Click here for a list of the Gratitude Challenge prompts.

Day 12: Noise I woke up this morning to the sound of the fan whirring in the window, and it was a nice way to start the day. It was positively tropical this week – too hot, too wet – and so I had to go with the a/c instead of open windows. I'm grateful for a seasonal day and that gentle whirring of the fan.