... because Diana suggested Queen
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) In this video, Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury is wearing a leather jacket. Do you have a leather jacket?
A. I have one but I don't wear it anymore.
2) There's a statue of Freddie in Switzerland. There's another statue of him above the Dominion Theater in London. Tell us about a statue or memorial in your town.
The monument is unusual in that on one side it says this:
“To the women of Botetourt in remembrance of their constant encouragement, steadfast devotion, tender in ministrations and unfailing providence and care, during the war and in the dark reconstruction years.” Most of these Civil War memorials do not honor the women, from what I understand.
The other side lists “the deeds and services of the twelve volunteer companies … that went to the war from Botetourt County.” It is “in memory of our brave and loyal officers and enlisted men who were killed in battle and who died from wounds and disease, during the war, and of our faithful comrades who have died since the war.”
Since I live here and have ancestors who died in the War Between the States, I don't have a problem with it. It is a memorial for the dead, nothing more, though I realize others may differ in opinion, and perhaps rightly so. I do have a problem with the flags that people put out by it, but not with the memorial itself.
3) Mercury said this song was inspired by Elvis Presley. What's your favorite Elvis song?
A. Wise men say only fools rush in. But I can't help falling in love with you.
4) This song was covered by the animated Alvin and the Chipmunks. Do you still watch cartoons?
A. I haven't in a while. As an adult, I watched Captain Planet and the Planteers and a show called Reboot, which was quite original. As a child, I watched Bugs Bunny, Underdog, Bullwinkle, and all of the other cartoons that '70s children viewed.
5) The members of Queen met while attending Ealing Art College in London. Are you still in touch with the friends you had in your late teens and early 20s?
A. Facebook has made this much easier. When we had our 30th high school reunion, most of my classmates found one another on Facebook. So while we are not exactly in touch, we're Facebook friends. Some of them I have blocked, some I never "friended" in the first place. However, one of my closest friendships dates back to 1983; we worked together when I was 20 and we still meet monthly for lunch and usually talk once a week on the phone. We are not Facebook friends.
6) During Queen's hey day in the 1980s, Mercury stayed in shape with tennis and swimming. Are you more accomplished on the court or in the pool?
A. I'm more accomplished with the eating of chocolate chip cookies. Can you eat those while you're playing badminton?
7) In 1980, when this song was popular, Brooke Shields made a jeans commercial where she said, "Nothing comes between me and Calvins." It actually only aired for a short time because so many viewers called and complained about it. Have you ever called or emailed to protest something you saw on TV?
A. I wrote a letter protesting the cancellation of Cagney & Lacey and another in support of a second season of Designing Women. Does that count?
8) 1980 is also the year the Post-It note was introduced. What's the last Post-It you wrote?
A. An address for someone to whom I need to send a sympathy card.
9) Random question: Do you blush easily?
A. Not as easily as I did when I was younger. But I do blush.
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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
I do like monuments to people who have fought and died for their beliefs. I don't know how that would offend anyone the way a flag might.
ReplyDeleteI love how you know your stuff about your home! You're an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI simply don't get the memorials to the Confederate dead. Of course, I have always lived in Illinois and am steeped in Lincoln lore. To me, the Civil War is about secession, which is, by definition, treason to the United States. I mean, "united." "One nation under God, indivisible" doesn't sanction the South taking off on it's own, does it? So I don't understand the romance attached to the Confederacy. (Even if we ignore the odious business of slavery, and I'm certainly not in favor of ignoring it.)
It's a memorial to war dead, just like a WWII memorial might be. Yes, the south committed treason, but it was, for that period of time, it's own country. A lot of people died and General Sherman made sure the south paid for its treason with his scorched earth policy. Memorials are reminders of what happened, and it is better to be reminded than to forget and have it happen again. I hope that war dead memorials aren't in-your-face racist symbols, but I don't know that they aren't for some people.
DeleteExcept the WWII memorials are in honor of soldiers who fought and died *defending* the USA, as opposed to Southerners who seceded and fired upon the United States. I appreciate that, 150 years ago, memorials to the Confederate dead helped ease the Reconstruction. But that was 150 years ago. And if we want to honor those who fought valiantly against barbarous generals, we'd better start constructing memorials to the Indian chiefs whose land we took when they were their own countries. On the other hand, I don't want to eradicate history and some of these structures have a great deal of architectural value that deserve to be preserved. I just don't get the romance of the Confederate South. Last word: It's your blog and your opinion is the only one that should count. So thank you for letting me voice my opinion, and I'll slide my soap box back under the sofa now.
DeleteI don't think I romanticized it, but thank you for your opinion. It is always appreciated and I enjoy a good discussion when it's done politely. To my knowledge, no one is building granite monuments to the Confederacy these days, they were built when the people who fought in the war were still alive. The flag issue is, in my mind, completely different than a memorial to the dead. The flag stands for bigotry, racism, and hatred and deserves nothing more than a spot in a museum, if that. And maybe the romance is actually a romance of the South, with its big front porches, magnolia trees and sweet tea, more so than the Confederacy itself. I don't know. I'm just a local news reporter who answered the question about the area monument.
DeleteI think I would prefer eating chocolate chip cookies with you than either tennis or swimming! Let's do it!
ReplyDeleteIt's better to not forget. We don't want that happening again. Now it would be too big of an invitation to get third party nations aroused, and the weaponry is just dreadful.
ReplyDeleteEating while playing anything except the guitar is asking for aspiration. I'd say no to that. ;o)
I am hoping that those chocolate chip cookies are warm and just out of the oven...
ReplyDeleteYou are SO right about Facebook! Two of my closest high school/college friends that I had lost touch with reappeared. And not just in the "web world". We get together and such...
ReplyDeleteI love your answer to the monument question... and to badminton and chocolate chip cookies, haha!!
ReplyDelete