Saturday 9

Saturday 9: September in the Rain (1956)

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

1) This song refers to "leaves of brown." Can you see any leaves outside your window? What color are they? Yes.  Lots of leaves on lots of trees.  It is just the very start of fall here, so the trees are still green, many shades of green, with a touch of yellow here and there.  What we laughingly call our 'lawn," though, is totally brown.

2) It also mentions whispered words of love. What did you say last time you lowered your voice?

"Hi, Baby."  Said to our dog.

3) Clearly this song is about a treasured romantic memory that took place in autumn. Think about your favorite romantic memory. In what season did it take place?

I'll go with the last one, which was the Christmas that Walt bought tickets to Book of Mormon for me.  The good seats. I was verklempt.

4) This week's featured artist, Julie London, was famous as a singer and actress. Less prominent in her bio is her appearance as a "pin up girl" in Esquire magazine when she was just 17. What's in your resume that you'd prefer to de-emphasize or gloss over?

I don't know if I was let go or fired from my job as medical office manager.  It had been a private office taken over by a corporation.  I was blindsided, called to a special "meeting" where it became clear that they wanted me out.  The reason?  I didn't have a degree and could not get one "in time."  It was so embarrassing and hurtful that I played into their hands and quit.  (They didn't have to pay unemployment)  It took them over a year to find a replacement, going through five managers (one of whom quit before the training process was complete).

5) Julie recorded more than 30 albums and was named "most popular female vocalist" by Billboard magazine in 1956. If you could see any entertainer -- male or female -- in concert, who would you choose?

I'm not really a "concert person," but if I were in Las Vegas (not likely since I hate Las Vegas), I might see about tickets to Celine Dion (and I'm not really even a Dion fan, but I hear her show is wonderful).

6) She became well-known to another generation when she appeared in the 1970s TV show Emergency! The younger actors credited her for keeping everything calm on the set. Who has a calming influence on you?

Television.  NCIS marathons.  The Food Network.  etc.

7) Her Emergency! costar was her husband, Bobby Troup, and the show was produced by her ex-husband, Jack Webb. Do you have an ex that you're on very good terms with?

I lead a boring life.  I have only had one husband in 51 years.  But if we were to split up, I'm sure we would stay on good terms.

8) Julie was a chain-smoker since she was a teenager and in the 1950s recorded a jingle for Marlboro cigarettes. Yet in the 1970s, when she saw Bobby Troup's health negatively effected by smoking, she pressed him to quit. Tell us about a time you found yourself in a "do as I say, not as I do" situation.

Well, first let me say that I am so glad that I never smoked.  It's not for any reason except I didn't like it.  But all of the relatives on my mother's side of the family have died of smoking-related diseases.  My mother was the only one in the family who didn't smoke, and she is the only one still living and healthy at age 97.

As for "do as I say, not as I do," I can't think of anything specific but I'm sure there were many times when my kids were younger when I gave them that sort of advice.

9) Random question: You have won an all-expenses paid trip to an exclusive resort in the Hawaii. When you get there, you discover that the private beach is bathing suit optional. Do you swim nude?

I swam in the nude once, in a private swimming pool, and I didn't enjoy it at all.

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As a P.S. to yesterday, I spent the morning talking to the Long Term Insurance company, her doctor to try to get some relief for her pain, shopping for a cold wrap to put on her back, someone at Atria about the upcoming assessment for assisted living, and finally going to Atria.

I found her in the lobby listening to music, a smile on her face, no memory of 3 days of pain or of her trip to the emergency room, and confused about why I had been concerned.

Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!