Saturday 9: It's Not Unusual

Saturday 9: It's Not Unusual (1965)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Check here.

1) In this song, Tom sings that "it's not unusual to go out at any time." Will you be "out and about" this weekend?

A. As I write this, I think we will probably go out to dinner once this weekend, and I may make an impromptu run to the market.

2) Before his music career took off, Tom supported himself and his young family by working as a vacuum cleaner salesman. Could the room you're in right now benefit from a thorough cleaning with a vacuum?

A. My whole house could benefit from a thorough cleaning with a vacuum. I live on a farm and dirt accumulates within an hour after dusting.

3) You can purchase a verified Tom Jones autograph on eBay for $299 (or the best offer). When you were growing up, did you collect signatures and sayings from your friends? (Autograph book? Yearbook? Cast?)

A. I seem to recall having some kind of little autograph book when I was around 8 or 9. And I have my yearbooks, which have some signatures and sayings in them, but not many. I was not "Miss Popularity" though the teachers loved me.

4) At the height of his popularity, female fans would throw their panties onstage at Tom Jones. Sam can't imagine doing this, and not just because she's not that crazy about Tom Jones. She'd be embarrassed because her underwear drawer could use a serious refresh. If you could choose one new article of clothing to add to your wardrobe today, what would it be?

 

A. A really nice warm coat. The one I wore this winter fell apart.

5) "Tom Jones" is also the name of character in a famous 18th century novel. Tell us about a character from a book you wish you were friends with in real life.

A. I would like to be friends with Gandalf. He is the wizard in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. Gandalf is wise and ancient. He has seen a lot of things but yet he has a great sense of humor and knows that he doesn't know everything. He is a humble wizard. I would like to know him and have him come and drink tea with me in my backyard on a warm summer's evening, and hear his tales and legends. Who knows, maybe he'd teach me a little wizardry.

 
6) When this song was popular in March 1965, Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City fame was born. Do you share your birthday with anyone famous?

A. Frank Lloyd Wright.

7) Also in 1965, when this song was a hit, Americans were riveted by the Gemini space program and children all over the country wanted to be astronauts. Think back to your childhood: When you were in first or second grade, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A. At various times I wanted to be an archeologist or a geologist. At one point, my career goal was to grow up and fly or sail across the Bermuda Triangle until I disappeared so I could solve the mystery. Writing, however, has always been my main career goal. I told my mother when I was about 10 that I would grow up to write for the local newspaper, and so I did. I also wanted to write Nancy Drew novels or something similar, and be a hack like Carolyn Keene, but that has yet to happen. I have never really wanted to write the Great American Novel but I do feel like people expect me to write the Great American Novel. It's a lot of pressure, particularly when all you really want to do is make a living telling stories, somehow or another. I'd still like to be a hack. Anybody know how you go about being a lucrative fiction hack?

8) Fifty years ago, the most popular headache reliever was aspirin, and you could buy a bottle of 200 tablets for just $1. Do you have any aspirin in your medicine chest right now?

A. I keep a bottle of aspirin in my bedside dresser expressly for heart attack emergencies. I buy a fresh bottle once a year or so. Otherwise, we take acetaminophen.

9) Random question: You've just entered a public restroom. Would you rather find a paper towel dispenser or hot air hand dryer?

A. Paper towel dispenser, along with a trash can for disposal. I used to think hot air hand dryers were better until I read a study that said they harbored tons of germs.