My Preferred Go-To Name

Saturday 9: Susan

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here. (It's an oldie but a goodie.)

1) In this song, our hero tells Susan that "no other girl could ever take the place of you." Crazy Sam feels that no other earmuffs could ever take the place of the ones she left in restaurant coat room last month. Tell us about something you recently broke, lost or misplaced.



Pyrex exploded,
 glass went everywhere.

A. Blogger has been broken for about two months now. First it stopped working completely after Microsoft updated me to IE 11 and in the last 10 days I started getting another, different error message after another MS update. It is very frustrating. And my internet provider is "upgrading" and stuff just stops working. None of that is within my control, though. My biggest breakage occurred a few weeks ago when my Pyrex dish exploded - literally - in my kitchen. 

2) When this song was first released back in 1968, the name Susan was very popular. According the Social Security Administration, it was one of the top 10 baby girl names of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Today it's not even in the top 100. Do you know anyone named Susan (or Suzanne)?

A. I do. And Susan Pumpernickel is my preferred go-to name when someone asks me my favorite name or the name I would like to have. You've probably seen it in a Saturday 9 before.

3) The Buckinghams were Chicago's attempt to get in on The British Invasion begun by the Beatles. (Hence the silly suits.) But they took their name from Chicago's famous Buckingham Fountain. If Crazy Sam visited your neighborhood, what local site would you recommend she check out?

The Mill Mountain Star. Roanoke is known as the Star City of the South (also the Magic City) because we have this huge funky neon sign on top of Mill Mountain. You can see a picture of the star here, and at this link you can see the star cam, which shows you a view of the entire city as seen from Mill Mountain (which really is a mountain). There is also a zoo on top of the mountain, Mill Mountain Zoo. I have not been on top of Mill Mountain to see the star probably since I was dating; I need to rectify that this year.

4) Chicago is known for deep dish pizza. Describe your dream pizza. (Calories, carbs and gluten need not be a factor because it's dream pizza!)

A. Hmm. Nice thick crust, chewy cheese, with tomato sauce that has just the right amount of spices for me, loaded with fresh veggies - tomato, green pepper, mushrooms, onions, maybe a little broccoli, zucchini, and yellow squash. A nice veggie pizza. As a side note, I have not had pizza since my birthday last June and would really like one but it will probably be June before my doctor says I can eat one again.

5) The Buckinghams got their big break by winning a local "battle of the bands." Do you often go to concerts or bars to listen to live music?

Me rockin' it out in 1979.

A. The short answer is no. I haven't been to a bar since I married 30 years ago. The last concert I went to was a Christmas concert about two years ago. However, when I was in high school I played in a rock and roll band and we played in a battle of the bands and won. I played rhythm guitar and sang. Damn, that was a long time ago.

6) The best-selling book in 1968 (the year "Susan" was released) was Airport by Arthur Hailey. It was set during a snowstorm at Lincoln International, a fictional airport based on Chicago's O'Hare. What's the most recent airport you flew to? Why were you there?

A. Ha ha. I last flew in 1993. I flew from Roanoke to Baltimore to Orlando, and we went to Disney World to celebrate my 30th birthday and my graduation from Hollins College (B.A. in English). I haven't been on a plane since and given the things they do to you in the name of "safety" I probably won't ever get back on one.

7) Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs, Sox ... Chicago is a big sports town. What's your favorite pro team?

A. I don't have one. I don't watch pro sports. My favorite college team is University of Virginia, if that counts.

8) Thinking of sports, did you watch the Olympics? If yes, which events?

A. Yes, I watched the ice skating in all of its forms, the bob sledding, and that half-pipe stuff. Also some of the skiing. I actually had the TV on most nights for it but I was reading and more honed in on the book than the sports.

9) Do you consider yourself an idealist or a pragmatist?

A. That's quite a question to end with. I think I'm a pragmatic idealist. I'm such a perfectionist that I suppose I would have to fall in as an idealist somewhere. But I do try to understand the realities of life.