Saturday 9

 

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

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 to answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions!

Saturday 9: Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

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

1) In this week's song, BJ Thomas sings that he knows it won't be long until he finds happiness. What are you looking forward to today? What's going to make you smile?

Something very small, really, but it’s so important to me. I was only recently diagnosed with Celiac disease, and it’s really thrown me for a loop.  I’m trying so hard to focus on what I can eat, rather than what I cannot.  I’m trying so hard to feel this is normal.  The other day I tried gluten-free Walker shortbread and gluten-free Oreos (both yummy) and today I’m going to bake gluten-free brownies.  

2) BJ Thomas met his wife Gloria at a bar. She was there with his drummer, but BJ let his friend know he felt a connection to Gloria and was going to drive her home. BJ and Gloria were married for 50 years, until his death. Have you and a friend ever found yourselves attracted to the same person? If yes, how did you handle it?

It happened in college.  I met a guy over summer break, we were casually dating when I introduced him to my roommate.  He broke it off with me and then asked if I was ok with him dating my roommate.   I was.

 

3) This song is from Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, which has been called "the most entertaining Western ever made." Do you enjoy Westerns?

It’s not my favorite genre, but I do like westerns.  I saw Butch Cassidy in a movie theater in 1969. (Yes, I’m old …)

4) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the most popular movies Paul Newman made, but he liked to say his "favorite role is philanthropist." He raised an amazing $500 million for children's charities through his Newman's Own brand. The most popular Newman's Own product is salad dressing. What flavor of salad dressing would we find in your kitchen right now?

Low-fat Catalina and honey mustard.

 

5) Burt Bacharach won the first of his three Oscars for this song. Yet 20th Century Fox originally wanted to cut the song from the movie, maintaining that that song and the famous "bicycle sequence" between Paul Newman and Katharine Ross were anachronistic and made the movie too long. Burt and the movie's director George Roy Hill fought for it, insisting that it helped define the optimistic character of Butch. Tell us about a time you were glad you stood your ground.

Lawyer war story time.  My client was being sued for $1 million.  We went to pretrial mediation.  My final settlement offer was $300,000.  The plaintiff was ready to accept until his wife said “it’s not enough”.  I was not happy that the plaintiff wasted my time …

We decided to go to trial.  During the trial, the plaintiff asked if the $300,000 was still on the table.  My client and I discussed it, and decided to let the jury decide.

The jury took about 20 minutes to find in favor of my client. 

6) Edith Head also won an Oscar for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. She said that Robert Redford, who played Sundance, presented a wardrobe problem. His jawline is too strong so she had to create special wider-brimmed hats to balance it. If you could magically change one of your physical features, which would you choose? And which feature would you never change?

I’d change my weight.  Right now I’m working on losing weight.  I lost 70 pounds, regained it, lost 70 pounds again, regained it … and this time around I’ve lost 65 pounds and plan to keep going.  I’d love a magic pill to make the weight disappear.

I like the color of my eyes.  I’d never want to change the color.

7) In 1969, when this song was a hit, The Beatles played their last concert on the roof of Abbey Road Studios. When did you last climb onto the roof?

I once had an apartment, a third floor walk up.  My kitchen had a door that led out to the roof of the building next door.  We’d hang out oh the roof occasionally.  Other than that, I haven’t gone up to the roof of any building.

8) Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries sold at a brisk pace at Christmastime 1969. They're still popular today. Were you a fan?

I like mysteries but never really got into Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys.  I was into Perry Mason and Ellery Queen and anything by Agatha Christie.

9) Random question: Do you consider yourself old fashioned?

No, I’m not old fashioned.  I like to learn and grow, and my opinions about the world have shifted over the years.  

And I have embraced modern technology.  My phone is my life, I do everything with my phone — text, email, read a newspaper, Google, post to Facebook, pay bills, take photos, Zoom, and even occasionally talk on the phone.