Saturday 9

 

The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)

 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: The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) 1966

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

1) The bridge that inspired this song is The Queensboro Bridge in New York City. Are you near a bridge right now as you answer these 9 questions?

Interestingly, I am not too far from the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.  Yeah, we renamed it after a former Mayor of NYC.  ("How am I doing?")

However, I am actually closer to a bridge that leads to Jones Beach.  I am a 10 minute ride from the beach.
 
2) Paul Simon says he "loathes" this song and only performs it because fans want to hear it. What's your favorite Paul Simon song?

 
3) "Groovy" is such a 1960s word. What common word/phrase from 2020 do you predict will sound just as silly and quaint some day?

Hopefully "social distancing" will fade away.
 
4) Paul is a lifelong Yankees fan and was thrilled to meet his all-time idol, Joe DiMaggio. Mr. DiMaggio was, at first, less than thrilled to meet Paul because he thought the song "Mrs. Robinson" made fun of him. Once Simon convinced him it was an homage, the men got along fine. Do you have a celebrity encounter to tell us about?

Sarah Jessica Parker.  In the mid 1990's she starred in the Broadway revival of Once Upon A Mattress.  My sisters and I took my daughters, age 7 and age 5,  to see the show.  

We had discount tickets from Theater Development Fund, which meant we didn't get to choose our seats.  We couldn't believe it when we found out our seats were in the center of the very first row!

One of the principal actors in the show had gone to college with my sisters. So when the show was over we went to the stage door and asked for my sisters' friend.  And he asked us if we wanted to meet Sarah Jessica.  

She was so sweet.  She told my daughters that she remembered seeing them inside the theater and that she was glad they had enjoyed the show.

Here she is at the 1997 Tony Awards.

5) Art Garfunkel was the other half of Simon and Garfunkel. Art and Paul met in sixth grade, when were both in a school production of Alice in Wonderland. Tell us about one of your school theatrical appearances.

Right up my alley ... I was a theater kid. Usually in the chorus.  But in 10th grade I played Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!  One of my costumes (I had three) was sewn by my aunt.  I can still recite some of the dialogue.

6) "Artie" used to love needling Paul about his height -- or lack thereof. He maintained he was trying to be funny, but Paul thought is was mean and says the constant digs hurt. Is there anyone in your life who similarly enjoys teasing?

Drew and I tease each other all the time.  It's a running joke.
 
7) Paul told NPR that his impulse to write new music has always come "in bursts." He'll go years without composing, and then he'll write every day for months. Do you often feel creative?

Writing is my creative outlet, and this blog is where I do most of my creative writing.

 
8) In 1966, when this song was popular, First Daughter Luci Johnson married Patrick Nugent. Their reception was held at the East Room of the White House. The couple had an 8 ft. tall wedding cake and when the bride threw her bouquet, it was caught by her sister, Lynda. Sure enough, Lynda married a year later. Tell us about a wedding you attended (or your own).

Many years ago I went to a wedding...I didn't know the bride or the groom, the groom's mother was my mother-in-law's friend and my husband and I were included on the invitation. 

The ceremony and reception were to take place at a local country club, with the outdoor ceremony set for 4 PM and the reception at 7 PM.

But when the bride arrived for the ceremony, she realized that she left the marriage license at home!  Someone was sent to retrieve the license...

...and then it began to rain.

The venue was supposed to have an indoor space set aside as a backup.  "Supposed to" being the operative words.  There was another wedding reception taking place in the space that was supposed to be set aside for our event.

So we waited in the bar (with all the golfers), hoping the rain would stop...and waited...and waited...

Ultimately they were married in the bar.  The golfers cheered.

 
9) Random question: Which do you regret more -- the times you were cautious or the times your were reckless?

Interestingly, one of my regrets is about Simon and Garfunkel.

August 1981.  I was a first year law student. My school, Hofstra University,  was about 30 minutes away from my parents' home, but I didn't like the idea of commuting, so I was living in a dorm on campus.  

Three days into the semester I fell ill, and called my mom to come get me.  The diagnosis?  Mononucleosis. I'd avoided it as an undergrad, but now it threatened to wreck my first year of law school.

I missed about a week of school.  Then my doctor told me I could go back, but my life for the next few months would consist of class, cafeteria and dorm.  No social life.

And then Simon and Garfunkel announced a reunion concert, to be held on the lawn at Central Park on September 19, 1981.

All my classmates went to the concert.  But I was a good girl and stayed home.  

And I have regretted it ever since.

At least there's YouTube.

(And yes, that's Mayor Koch introducing them,)