Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This week, we return to steal again from Manic Monday, a blog that is no more.
Just Another Manic Monday. Bangles
- 1. What is something you should throw away, but just can’t bring yourself to part with?
Old reference books. I have three different versions of The Complete Primetime Network and Cable TV Shows because the older versions have charts in the back that aren’t in the newer ones. I keep my Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles book from 2008, even though I have the one that ends in 2022, because the older book fits on the shelf in front of me, while the newer one is taller, heavier, and thus more challenging to get to.
Of course, old reference books have a certain historical beauty. Atlases, in particular, are fascinating because they show the national borders after the two World Wars. Africa in 1958 and 1973 was radically different.
When I used to get the World Almanac, I used to hold onto the ones showing the results of the Presidential elections every four years, in 1973, 1977, 1981, et al. I would check out how specific lists would change: who are considered “celebrities,” what are the world’s largest cities?
2. When you make yourself a sandwich, do you cut it on the diagonal, straight up the middle, or not at all?
Diagonal, of course. One can never have too much hypotenuse.
Music!
3. What song or sound brings back memories of childhood?
Impossible! I’ve probably spent two decades writing about it in this blog. But okay, I’m looking at sounds that are sometimes part of the whole.
The first 15 seconds or so of the Huntley-Brinkley Report on NBC News was the beginning of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Second Movement.
The Captain Kangaroo opening.
The last minute of the end credits of West Side Story, especially at 4:30, which never fails to make me weep.
The vocal third progression of the Beatles’ version of Twist and Shout from about 1:24.
Holy, Holy, Holy – the first song in what a late friend of mine called the real Methodist Hymnal
4. Who is the first person you call when you have good news?
It depends on the news. Some people appreciate certain types of information more than others. It’s usually my wife, but not always.
5. Have you ever set out on a walk in the rain?
A light rain, sure.
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.
Captain Kangaroo! I can hear it now. Great answer. Books are VERY hard to get rid of, aren’t they? I have a lot that need to find a new home – probably in the recycling bin – and I can’t bring myself to toss them.
I clicked on the link to hear the opening to Captain Kangaroo! I remember watching that when I was a kid – especially if I was at home because I was sick. I always loved the fact that Holy! Holy! Holy! was #1 in the hymnal.