9 May 2015
Before
I start this meme, I have to recount my history with this song. Back
in about 1966, when I was very pregnant with Jeri (or maybe it was 67 and I
was very pregnant with Ned), we were visited by Walt's college buddy Jim and
his wife, the very pregnant Anne. Jim was in the Navy and took us to a
fabulous dinner at the officer's club on the base at Treasure Island and
then Walt and I took them to see the nightlife in North Beach (San
Francisco). All the clubs had barkers out in front, each promising a
sleazier show than the next. Jim wanted to see a show where the women
were nude, but the cover charges were prohibitive.
Finally we found a small club off the beaten
track. The barker promised us all nude girls and the cover charge was
sort of reasonable. We paid and went in.
The place was empty except for us.
It was very small and there were no tables, just a bunch of hard-backed
chairs facing the tiny stage, which had a pole on it and a wall of mirrors
behind it, and we sat there, one embarrassed guy, one eager guy, and two
very uncomfortable pregnant housewives.
Pretty soon a woman, naked except
for her high heels, came on stage with a boom box and started the music --
"Harper Valley PTA" (surely an erotic tune!) and began gyrating on the stage
and up the pole. It was hard to know where to look--at her, or at our
reflections in the mirror behind her. We were the only audience for
her show, so we couldn't walk out.
It was one of the weirdest nights I've ever
spent in a club or theater (until I reviewed
The Puppetry of the Penis a few years ago). But when I
saw that this week's theme was "Harper Valley PTA," I had to share!
1) This week's featured artist uses her middle initial (C. for Carolyn) all the time. Do you use your middle initial very often?
Almost never
2) In this song, a mother tells off the local PTA. What's the most recent school event you attended -- whether as a parent, a teacher or a student?
The first grade show and then the school production of The Music Man at Brianna's school in December.
3) The lyrics reference the mom's miniskirts, which were trendy in the 1960s. The website Popsugar reports that gingham checks are trendy for 2015. Tell us about the most recent addition to your wardrobe.
A T-shirt with the Gettysburg Address written to fit the shape of Lincoln's silhouette..
4) Thinking of moms, Access Hollywood named Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch TV's #1 mom. Who is your favorite TV mom?
Carolyn Wilder. (definitely not Donna Reed, who has haunted me my whole married life)
5) Mother Winters always gave Sam peppermint tea to calm her stomach. Do you have any tried-and-true home remedies to share?
Nope, except that, for me, sugar does stop hiccups, though I realize that it does not for many people.
6) Sam's mother always tips 15% in restaurants. Sam has worked in food service and is more judgmental, tipping between 10% and 25%, depending on the quality of the service. What's your tipping policy? Are you more like Sam or her mother?
Being the mother of a server (Tom), I tend to tip on the high side, especially if the service was good.
7) When the tip of her shoelace becomes frayed, Sam's mother snips off the end and then paints the tip with clear nail polish. Good as new! Sam thinks that's crazy because you can just buy new laces for less than $2. Are you more frugal like mother or spendthrift like daughter?
More spendthrift.
8) Mother Winters loves how French vanilla smells and burns her Yankee Candles all year around. Do you use scented candles or air fresheners?
Yes. I have Sentsy warmers in several places and keep them going all the time. Having lived through so many years of puppy pees the predominant odor in the house, this is a great improvement.
9) Sam is celebrating Mother's Day with her mother's favorite, Hershey Bars. Would you prefer classic milk chocolate, dark chocolate or chocolate with almonds?
Definitely milk chocolate over dark and occasionally with almonds.
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