Saturday 9 - Rikki, Don't Lose that Number

This week's tune? Hear it here

 

 

1. In this song, a man asks a girl to spend more time with him and suggests they go out for a ride together. Do you ever take a leisurely drive, just for relaxation and pleasure? Or do you always have a destination in mind when you get behind the wheel?
   
   Again a car-question.
   I never go behind the wheel because I don't have the paperwork to go with that.
   So people fetch me and drive me to my destination.
   Fuel is far too expensive to drive around for fun.
   
   
2. He repeatedly suggests that she could have a change of heart. What's something you've changed your mind about recently?
   
   I am in the middle of changing my mind about some people... After being stuck at the couch for 3 months some people have been screaming absent.
   I have always stood ready for them, being available as much as possible. So one would expect to see at least a greeting on the app. Nothing.
   I refuse to feel used.... But it's clear I have to stop being the kind person and have to stop being available for them.
   I don't like that part of my person... but it's about time...
   
   
3. This week's featured artists are the duo Steely Dan. They earned the reputation as perfectionists, requiring take after take in the studio until they got their sound just right. Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? Or do you more often find that "good enough is good enough?"
   
   I think I was born a perfectionist. If not I was certainly moulded into becoming one under the constant criticism of my mother.
   It has become handy as I have been in situations in life where the perfectionism created good outcomes and even saved lives, because I never studied to do an exam, but I studied for knowledge and for life.
   
   But the past 10 years I have also learned that perfectionism creates stress, so there are areas in life where good enough is good enough.
   
   
4. The Rikki of the title is a writer/poet who met Steely Dan's Donald Fagan when they were both students at Bard College. He had a crush on her and gave her his number, which she refused to call because she was married. She went on to teach in the English Department at the University of Denver, where her students would probably be surprised to learn she was the inspiration for a famous song. Is there something we would be surprised to learn about you?
   
   I have been trained by the best to write about American politics. I have written under pseudonym.
   
   
5. Another woman who played a role in Steely Dan's success is Barbra Streisand. She recorded one of their early songs, "I Mean to Shine," for her 1971 album, Barbra Joan Streisand. It was her thirteenth album and though 13 is often considered unlucky, it reached #11 on the Billboard charts and was certified as a gold record. Do you have a lucky number?
   
   Yes, I have two. 
   
   
6.  In 1974, when this song was a hit, The Magic 8 Ball was still a top-seller at toy stores. It retailed for just $1.99, and promised that all you had to do was gaze at it, concentrate, and wait to learn your fate ... "if you dare!" If you could get an answer to one question about the future, what would you ask?
   
   If I'll ever be able and do to live in England.
   If I'll ever find a partner in live who truly loves me.
   
   
7. Also in 1974, Good Times premiered and the character JJ (played by Jimmy Walker) became a sensation with the catchphrase "Dy-no-mite!" What's another phrase that is forever connected to a TV character?
   
   Pfffff.... ????
   oh. 
   Yabadoobiedoo... Fred Flintstone. Does that count?
   
   
8. 1974 was the year Barry Manilow became a household name with his first major hit, "Mandy." Do you have a favorite Barry Manilow song?
   
   Not really.
   
   
9. Random question: Imagine a beautiful little church on a hillside. Quiet, with stained glass and lovely pews. Well-maintained grounds with plenty of parking nearby. Seats 150. Perfect for a wedding ... or a funeral, because it's located in a cemetery. Would you consider getting married at a cemetery?
   
   No... I don't think so.
   But I know a small church from the 15th century, with no parking space nearby, but requieres a walk through the lovely country side. The church stands on a hill, and one looks very far on a beautiful green hilly landscape. There is a cemetry, very old, with a few veterans resting forever.
   I would marry in that church... with utter respect...

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About **Syl

Syl: "Life is a chain of challenges. Sometimes the largest challenges are we ourselves. Facing life, facing others and facing yourself requires either a worryless attitude or plain courage. Most of the time it is dealing with judgement. Maybe life is about getting rid of it."