Just Pictures

 

Sunday Stealing

When I Was Young

1. Tell us about a time when your family got a newfangled invention (your first air conditioner, color TV, VCR, microwave, computer, etc.).

A. I remember when my brother received an Atari for Christmas. This was the first year they were out, and my father found him one by just happening to be at a store when they were being unloaded. The store owner said all of them were claimed, and my father said, "Yes, but I'm standing here with cash," and thus snagged one of the games. Or so the story goes. It played Pong, as I recall.

2. Is there a particular song that sparks a childhood memory?

A. "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious! If you say it loud enough, you'll always sound precocious! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" I had a little jukebox-like music player that played this song, along with "Do Re Me" from the Sound of Music. It was through careful listening that I eventually learned that the latter song did not say, "Te, a drink with Jane and Fred" but instead said, "Te, a drink with jam and bread."

3. What is something an older family member taught you to do?

A. My mother taught me to knit and crochet, although I am not very good at either one.

4. Back in the day, what name brands would we have found in your family's kitchen?

A. Kraft Mayonnaise, Capt'n Crunch, Kraft American Cheese, Valley Dale weiners, Oscar Meyer bologna.

5. As a child, did you collect anything (rocks, shells, stickers, etc.)?

A. I once had a small collection of quartz rocks, which I hid in the rocks along the creek bank. There was a nice hidey hole in a ledge in the creek in an area where I wasn't supposed to be. I wonder if they are still there, of if they've been flooded out or otherwise sent swirling downstream.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Volare

Saturday 9: Volare (1960)

 

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

1) The word "volare" is Italian for "to fly." Say something else in Italian.

A. Non parlo italiano . . . però Mamma mia!

2) This week, Bobby Rydell invites us to take off with him up in the clouds and promises we'll find a rainbow. Countless lyricists have included rainbows in their songs. Can you name another song that mentions rainbows?

A. Rainbow Connection, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

 

3) His happy heart is singing. What is making you happy this morning?

A. What is this "happy" of which you speak . . . Ah! I know! That feeling of giddiness that overtakes me when the husband hugs me and plants a kiss upon me!

 

4) Bobby Rydell, like Frankie Avalon and Fabian, was a 1950s teen idol who hailed from Philadelphia. Home to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, Philly is Pennsylvania's most populous city. Have you ever been there?

A. I have never been to Philadelphia. I have been to Pennsylvania, though.

 

5) Bobby was such a perfect example of a clean-cut American boy that when Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey sat down to write the play Grease, they named their fictional high school Rydell High after him. Do you have a favorite song from Grease?

A. Hopelessly Devoted to You.

 

6) In addition to singing, Bobby also acted. His most famous film role was opposite Ann-Margret in Bye, Bye, Birdie (1963). Have you seen it?

A. I do not think I have seen that movie.

7) In 1960, when this record was popular, so were hand-loomed, 100% virgin wool sweaters from Italy. You could order one from the Sears catalog for $12.60 (approx. $135 in today's dollars). That sweater was labeled "dry clean only." Do you have any garments waiting to be picked up from the cleaners?

A. I do not buy garments that need to go to the cleaners. If it isn't wash and wear, it is not in my closet.

 

8) Also in 1960, Princess Margaret married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. They met when he was commissioned to take her official portrait. Who took the most recent photo of you?

A. I think a friend of mine last took a picture of me.

 

9) Random question: Is your oldest friend also your best friend?

A. My oldest friend is one of my closest friends. But by some standards, my oldest friend would be my best friend, depending on which friend I am discussing. And yes, I am intentionally being obtuse.

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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

Thursday Thirteen

These are the number one songs from the first week in January 1976! Fifty years ago.

1. “Saturday Night” by Bay City Rollers. The song that convinced an entire generation that spelling S‑A‑T‑U‑R‑D‑A‑Y was a personality trait.

2. “Let’s Do It Again” by The Staple Singers. A smooth, grown‑up groove that absolutely did not mean “let’s do the laundry again,” though that’s how adulthood interprets it now.

3. “Love Rollercoaster” by Ohio Players. Proof that in 1976, even romance required seatbelts and a height requirement.

4. “I Write the Songs” by Barry Manilow. Barry, sweetheart, you didn’t write this one — but we admire the confidence. (The song was written by Bruce Johnson, a member of the Beach Boys.)

5. “Fly, Robin, Fly” by Silver Convention. Three words. That’s it. That’s the whole lyrical budget. And somehow it still slaps.

6. “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” by Diana Ross. A song that asks the same question adulthood does every morning before coffee.

7. “Fox on the Run” by Sweet. For when you want glam rock but also need to be home by 9.

8. “That’s the Way (I Like It)”by KC & The Sunshine Band. Disco’s answer to “don’t overthink it.”

9. “Convoy” — C.W. McCall. A novelty CB‑radio trucker anthem that somehow became a national mood. America was weird, and honestly, charming. What happened to us?

10. “Eighteen With a Bullet” by Pete Wingfield. A song title that sounds like a crime drama but is actually about chart positions. The 70s were nothing if not dramatic.

11. “Nights on Broadway” by Bee Gees. Falsetto so sharp it could slice bread. Also the soundtrack to at least three unwise romantic decisions.

12. “Sky High” by Jigsaw. A breakup song disguised as a motivational poster. You think it’s uplifting until you listen to the lyrics.

13. “Over My Head” by Fleetwood Mac. Christine McVie quietly carrying the entire emotional weight of the decade, as usual. My favorite on this list, although I like "I Write the Songs," "Theme from Mahagony," and "That's the Way," too. Just not as much. It's hard to beat Fleetwood Mac when it comes to songs and bands I enjoy.

*An AI tool helped me create this list, mostly because you can't get away from the things in a search now.*

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 941st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

The Acreage of Unsaid Things

The Acreage of Unsaid Things

By A. Firebaugh

She stands at the worn and weathered door,

fingers resting on faded wood.

The world beyond is dusk and shadow,

but her eyes drift across years and fields.

A brother's laughter drifts back,

high and bright,

echoing off the walls that once held

their games and arguments,

their whispered plans to swim in the creek,

to play hide and seek in the building near the spring house.

When she squints, she can still see them --

Ghost-children barefoot in the front yard,

sitting side by side on the porch swing,

daring one another to make it go high and fast.

In the stillness of the evening,

at the edge of her land,

she whispers to the night:

"I am still here, waiting where you left me."

Who Pays Again?

I was looking at an item I was thinking of purchasing, and I wrote the seller, who is in the United Kingdom, to ask about shipping fees. The person could not give me a quote.

"Thanks for your message.

Yes, shipping will be from the UK. Unfortunately, we are not told about the tariff charges. Once the item has been shipped, DHL will be in contact regarding the payment of these tariffs. We are advising our customers to check their government website under importing goods.

Thanks,"

I looked up the item at some place called flexport and it looks like the tariff on this $400 item would add an additional $104 on top of the regular shipping fees from the company.

COST BREAKDOWN

Base cost: $400

Total duties: $69

Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF): $1

Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF): $34

Landed Cost: $504 (plus seller shipping fees)

And I would be paying that. Not some corporation. Me.

Don't let certain people fool you when they say you and I aren't paying the tariffs. We are. They know it. If you're buying direct from overseas, expect surprises on your bill. Ask first if you can and walk away if answers are vague. That's what I am doing.

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I also looked at this website, tariffcheck.org for the UK imports, and this whole tariff business is such a FUBAR I don't think anyone actually knows what is what.

The only government website that came up is so messed up that I just looked at it briefly and moved on. What I wanted to buy is not worth wading through pages and pages of BS to try to figure out a final cost.