Saturday 9

It's So Nice to Be Nice

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: It's So Nice to Be Nice  (to Your Neighbor) – 1947

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

 

1) In this song, Monica Lewis encourages us to greet our neighbors with a smile and a hello. Tell us about one of your neighbors.

I don’t really know our neighbors.  We’ve only been here about a year.  Our next door neighbor is a man named Tom.  I’ve never met his wife.  They’ve lived here about 26 years.  His bushes and shrubs overhang our driveway, and periodically Tom will come onto our driveway to trim his plants.

 

2) She reminds us that it's "nice to be nice." Who has recently shown you kindness?

We had a small barbecue last weekend, and two of the guest brought gluten free treats from the bakery because they understand.  I was diagnosed with Celiac 2 1/2 years ago and cannot eat anything with gluten.

 

3) Monica Lewis was born in Chicago, where her mother performed with the Chicago Opera Company. Have you ever been to the opera?

Does operetta count?   Drew is a devotee of Gilbert & Sullivan, and I’ve seen several professional and amateur productions of their works.  Most recently Drew was in a community theater production of HMS Pinafore.

And I did see a production of Porgy and Bess on Broadway.

My parents enjoyed the opera, and saw many productions at the Met.  I think I’ll have to go eventually.

 

4) Her family moved to New York City, where she attended college by day and worked at radio station WMCA in the evenings to help support her family. Which do you listen to more: the radio or podcasts?

(Ah, WMCA … in the early 1960’s it was the most famous Top 40 station in the country, the DJ’s (WMCA “good guys”) were famous in their own right and established the format used by most Top 40 stations of the era.)

We listen to the radio in the car, Drew has SiriusXM in the Pacifica while I make do with an AM/FM radio in my Prius C.  

At home I listen to two podcasts, both by MrBallen.  I also follow him on YouTube.  If you like the strange, dark and mysterious in story format, you’ll like him.

5) In the 1940s she appeared all around New York – in nightclubs, on Broadway, and on radio shows. It was then that she got her best-known and longest-running role: the voice of Chiquita Banana. For decades she was heard singing the jingle, "I'm Chiquita Banana and I'm here to say ..." Do you have any bananas in your kitchen now? 

No. But I really need to go grocery shopping.

 

6) Around 1950 she moved to Hollywood. She had recently divorced and wanted a fresh start. There she dated an actor who was also newly divorced: Ronald Reagan. Obviously she never had to ask, "Whatever became of him?" Who is the last former romance, classmate or coworker that you looked up on the internet?

A few weeks ago I looked up my college boyfriend.  He’s not on social media, but his son is.  I did not reach out. 

 

7) In 1947, when this song was popular, actor Ted Danson was born. He's best known as Sam Malone, the bartender at Cheers, "where everybody knows your name." Is there a bar or restaurant where you are recognized on sight?

Not a bar/restaurant…but we love a minor league baseball team, the Long Island Ducks.  We see 8 or 9 games every year, sometimes even more.  We always sit in the same section of the ballpark and we usually buy a meal in the Duck Club.  By the middle of the season most of the staff recognize us.  

 
8) The 1947 Studebaker Champion was one of the first cars to have an adjustable driver's seat designed to accommodate motorists of various heights. When you're driving someone else's car, do you usually adjust the seat?

Of course.  I’m very short, if I didn’t adjust the seat I wouldn’t be able to reach the pedals.

 

9) Random question: When someone takes advantage of you, are you angrier at them for doing it, or at yourself for letting it happen?

Myself.

 

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!