Saturday 9

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme! 

Saturday 9: I Love Lucy (1951)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Before today, did you know that the "I Love Lucy" theme had lyrics?

Yes.

2) Since its premiere in 1951, I Love Lucy has never been off the air. Are you a fan?

Not really (sorry, Jimmy!)  I enjoy it when it's on, but I don't turn it on.  I'm not a big fan of slapstick, or of Lucy's kind of humor.

3) On the show, Ricky Riccardo supports his family by performing in a nightclub. Do you know anyone in show business?

Oh, my lord, Yes.  The aforementioned "Jimmy," Jim Brochu, was a friend of Lucy's and played backgammon with her every day the last year of her life.  He is an award-winnng TV and theater (actor, writer, musician, etc.) in New York, his partner, my friend Steve, is a musician and an actor (or so he tells me).  And, being a theater critic, I know dozens of actors in Sacramento and San Francisco.

4) Lucy and Ricky's best friends are Fred and Ethel, their landlord and his wife. Are you friendly with your neighbors?

No.  We nod to each other on the street.  It is one of my sadnesses.

5) One of the most popular episodes has Lucy and Ethel working on the conveyor belt at a chocolate factory. When did you last have chocolate?  

Tonight.  I had our nightly Haagen Dazs mini chocolate covered bars.

6) Another famous episode has Lucy promoting Vitametavegimin. This tonic is made with vitamins, meat, vegetables -- and 23% alcohol. Do you read the ingredients statement before you take an over-the-counter medication? Or do you trust that it's safe because it's on the store shelf?

Given the fact that I am now suffering from side effects of a physician-prescribed statin I've been taking for a year, I will now be  bit more careful about reading the fine print....but why do they print it so tiny?

7) I Love Lucy was filmed before a live audience. Desi Arnaz (Ricky) always maintained he could identify the chuckle of his mother-in-law, who attended every taping. Do you know anyone who has a distinctive laugh?

I'm sure I do, but nobody comes to mind right now.  Walt has a kind of distinctive laugh.

8) The show ended when the Lucille Ball/Desi Arnaz marriage ended. Have you ever had to choose sides when a couple broke up?

You pretty much always do.  You can't remain friends with both, so unless you write them out of your life, you have to choose sides.

9) Random question -- You must eat the same dinner, every day, between now and Labor Day. An identical menu, no deviation. What will you be having?

Sausage, mushroom and basil pizza.