Saturday 9: Smoke Rings

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

Well, we're off to a good start. Blogger is being wonky about adding an image tonight so no picture with this. Sigh. I thought they had everything worked out.

Anyway, let's get on with this. I'll be around to visit but it will be later in the day tomorrow as I am setting up at a craft show tomorrow (Saturday).

1) In this song, Donald Mills of the Mills Brothers encourages us to "puff, puff, puff" our cares away. When did you most recently smoke a cigarette?  I've never been a regular smoker, but back in college I sometimes smoked one at a party. 

2) In the 1930s, when this week's song was recorded, an estimated 40% of American adults smoked cigarettes. By the early 1960s, that number reached a high of 42%. According to the CDC, the percentage of adult smokers dropped to 11%. Do many of your friends and relatives smoke or vape?  Oh gosh, growing up ALL of the men in my family (on both sides) smoked heavily. Surprisingly, none of the women did. My dad was the only one to get lung cancer. He died from it. Our son and his wife smoked then switched to vaping. I have no idea if they still do. Our son-in-law smoked, but he switched to chew a few years ago. Not sure that's an improvement. I don't know of any other family that smokes. My friends are not typically smokers, though my work buddy, Don, and probably more than half of my coworkers, in general, smoke.

 

3) Donald was the youngest of the singing Mills Brothers, and he's the one who most often sang lead. That squares with popular birth order theory, which proposes that the youngest tends to enjoy being the center of attention, the middle child is the diplomat, and the oldest is the high-achiever. Think of your own family and the families of your friends. Do you think this theory holds true?  I definitely do.

 

4) The Mills Brothers were one of the first famous singing brother acts. The Williams Brothers – which featured future TV star Andy Williams – followed in their footsteps. Can you think of another group of singing brothers?  The Osmonds, the Jacksons...oh, and how about the Bee Gees?

 

5) In addition to recording hit records, The Mills Brothers were a staple on radio in the 1930s. They were among the first African American artists to host their own radio show and sang jingles for Standard Oil and Crisco. What commercial do you recall having seen, or heard, recently?  None of them seem to stick with me except for the "Mayhem" ones. I love those!

 

6) In 1933, when this week's song was popular, actor Robert Montgomery and his wife had a daughter they named Elizabeth. That little girl would become famous in the 1960s for her own TV show. Without looking it up, do you know what show Elizabeth Montgomery starred in?  Bewitched. 

 

7) Johnny Cash was also born in 1933. Do you have a favorite Johnny Cash song?  I don't know if I can choose a favorite. I really liked Johnny's voice and he sing just about any style. Maybe for today I'll say A Boy Named Sue just because it always makes me laugh.

 
8) In 1933, five French airlines merged to form Air France. Think of the last time you were at an airport. Were you taking a flight or meeting a flight?  Neither. I haven't flown since 2002. Our local airport has a very popular restaurant located overlooking the tarmac. We go there a couple of times a year.

 

9) Random question: Your best friend just received a certificate for completing a car maintenance course at your community college. Would you let them work on your vehicle?  Sure. Why wouldn't I?

Thanks, Sam, for the music and questions!

Play along here.

Currently

I am...

Reading... nothing at the moment. No time this week!

Watching... watching might be a bit exaggerated. It's more like listening while I'm doing other things and I finished the entire Good Witch series and only have a couple more of the movies to go.

Listening... the furnace just kicked on. The last couple of days have been among the coolest we've had yet and last night and tonight? Brrrrrr! We woke to a heavy frost this morning and I'm sure we'll have another one tomorrow morning.

Eating... I spent the afternoon at our daughter's house working on crafts so we just ordered pizza.

Thinking... about what I need to get done for this coming Saturday's craft show, what this week at work will hold, and about how much I am looking forward to getting all the craft stuff organized and put away after the show.

Feeling... a bit tired (it's 10:00) but inspired.

Celebrating... getting back to work and making it through my first week with no problems. It felt good to get back to it.

Enjoying... the times when our granddaughter comes over and hangs out with us by herself. I think it's an escape when her brother gets to be too much. She thrives on the attention and quiet. Plus, she seems to be taking after me in loving to read and write and in the artsy, crafty things.

Thankful...

...for a good return to work.

...Oliver has returned from wherever he went. Our granddaughter actually was the first to see him on Saturday. He's looking fit so he either learned to hunt or someone has been feeding him. Still, I gave him food and he let us all love on him. Today he spent a lot of time basking in the sun in the backyard. Now I have to look for a nice, toasty cat shelter for him.

...the kids are going to be able to go visit friends in North Carolina this weekend.

...a friend from work volunteered to come help me at the craft show.

...the remnants of last weekend's hurricane didn't do too much damage to my Halloween decorations. The worst was Granny Skeleton, who is leaning on the mailbox waving at everyone, got thrown into the street and broke her arm off at the elbow. At least it wasn't her hip!

Praying...

...the kids have safe travels and a good time next weekend.

...there is a good turnout at the craft show.

...Tim feels better (he came home not feeling well today...some bug).

...I can get done what I need to get done craft-wise.

...the exercises I found and saved while I was recovering from surgery, actually help strengthen the muscles and tendons around my knees now that I can start doing them.

Giggling...

Currently...

I am

Reading... finally coming back around to Rumors & Whiskey by Victoria Wilder.

Watching... Chronicle Mysteries on Hallmark+.

Listening... to the fan in the bedroom. We always sleep with it on, but the nights are cool enough now that I'll be turning it down to low when I go to bed.

Eating... my daughter and I had a day out today and we enjoyed lunch at Cracker Barrel. I had leftovers from mine for my dinner and I brought Tim a ham dinner.

Thinking... about things I want to get done around here in the next couple of days because my time off work is about to end. I go back to work on Friday.

Feeling... sad. My kitty, Oliver, has struggled with digestive issues as long as I have had him. I had him at the vet's a couple of years ago and they gave him some medicine that helped for a while. I also adjusted his food and water and that helped for a bit, but the problem never went totally away. In recent weeks it's gotten very bad. I've found more than one very inappropriate place he's done his business. 

Tim is not a big cat fan to begin with, but has always tolerated them for me. This has not been the case with Oliver. He has lobbied long and hard to get rid of him. I have resisted and our daughter has been in my corner. That all came to an end yesterday when Oliver climbed up into a very far back corner of the upper kitchen cabinets and deposited a most unwelcome and unpleasant "gift." Even our daughter admitted that was the breaking point. 

Oliver was miserable at the shelter so I did not want to send him back, but was going to until my daughter suggested I fix him up with a cozy shelter and food outside. I did all that and while not happy about it, Oliver seemed to settle in. He was around until I went to bed. I don't know what happened after that. Both my daughter and I have walked around outside calling for him many times today, but there's been no sign. We have a LOT of feral cats in the neighborhood and several people put out shelters and feed them. I'm hoping he decided to go to one of them.

Celebrating... a good day with my daughter. We went to a huge farm market that also sells many seasonal items for fall and Christmas. We try to get there every fall. We loaded up on fresh apples, cider, baked goods, and loads of vegetables. Nanny may have bought a few stocking stuffers for the kiddos, too.

Enjoying... watching the reactions of people (and sometimes animals) to the Halloween decorations now that they are mostly done. I've seen people snapping photos and kids running up to look at something and one dog who seriously had some issues with my granny skeleton out by the mailbox.

Thankful... my stepdad went to the ER again this weekend for shortness of breath, but it apparently wasn't even bad enough to put him on oxygen and none of the tests showed anything. They did tell him to check in with his cardiologist, but it wasn't urgent.

Praying... tomorrow's appointment gets our grandson's meds on track. He hasn't been sleeping since the last change they made two weeks ago and that means no one at their house has been sleeping much. For my mom and stepdad. Of course, I'm praying Oliver is okay.

Looking forward... Tim and I are going to Christmas In the Woods over in Columbiana, OH this Saturday.

Giggling... 

Saturday 9: Eastbound and Down

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

1) This week's song was featured in the movie Smokey and the Bandit, the surprise box office hit of 1977. Have you seen it?  Smokey and the Bandit is a favorite around here. I've seen it many times.

2) Though not well received by critics, Smokey and the Bandit had one very famous fan: Alfred Hitchcock. The classic film director enjoyed re-watching the movie on video at home, often while having dinner. Do you ever watch TV with your meal?  More often than not, I'm on my own at dinner time (Tim gets home later) so I almost always watch TV or read while I eat.

3) Jerry Reed not only wrote and performed the movie's theme, he appeared in the movie as truck driver Cledus "Snowman" Snow. Have you ever driven, or ridden in, a big rig?  No, but I think it would be fun.

4) He sings, "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there." Have you recently felt rushed?  Not really. Since I've been off work recovering from surgery time hasn't meant a whole lot to me. That ends next Friday when I return to work.

5) Director Hal Needham asked Jerry Reed for a song that explained the plot of the movie. He wrote this overnight and always considered it a happy accident. Can you think of a time when something turned out better than you expected?  I am drawing a blank at the moment.

6) Reed was born in Atlanta and, coincidentally, he mentions Atlanta in the lyrics. Has your hometown been immortalized in song?  I don't know about immortalized, but a local guy has this song about our claim to fame as the birthplace of the banana split on YouTube.

 

7) Jerry met Priscilla Mitchell at Capitol Records, where Jerry was a session musician and Priscilla was backup singer. Though she was only 18 when they wed, it seems their union was a happy one and they were together until his death almost 50 years later. If a newly engaged 18-year-old asked you for advice, what would you say?  Wait a while.

8) In 1977, when "Eastbound and Down" was on the radio, nostalgia for the 1950s topped the TV ratings. The two most popular shows that year were Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days. If you magically transported back to the 1950s, what do you think you'd like about it? What do you think you'd miss about your life in 2026?  I'd like the fact that most families would still be intact and enjoy doing things together, extended family would likely still live nearby, and people could have differences of opinion and not hate each other. What would I miss from 2026? Maybe the modern technology. Maybe.

9) Random question: Were you ever afraid of monsters in your closet or under your bed?  Not as long as my hands or feet didn't hang over the edge of the bed and I had covers over me. As a leftover of those days I still have to have at least a sheet over me to sleep no matter how hot it may be.