Saturday 9: Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Saturday 9: Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (1971)

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

In memory of David Cassidy, who died on 11/21/17.

1) This song mentions celebrating the holidays in "the new old-fashioned way." What's a holiday tradition that began with you (or your generation)?

A. My brother and I have exchanged presents on Christmas Eve for a very long time. My parents would allow us to open presents from one another before putting us to bed in order to calm us down, I think.

2) The lyrics include dancing, caroling and pumpkin pie. Will you enjoy any of those three between now and year-end?

A. I will listen to the radio and sing in the store. Maybe my arse will jiggle when I hear a merry tune while I push a grocery cart, but I can't say for sure.

3) David Cassidy and The Partridge Family were intensely popular for a short period of time. For example, this song was from the best-selling Christmas album of the 1971 holiday season. Have you added any holiday music to your collection this year?

A. No.

4) In 1971, the official David Cassidy fan club had a membership that exceeded both Elvis' and The Beatles'. Have you ever joined a fan club?

A. I used to be part of the Xena: Warrior Princess fandom which ran amok on the Internet and was, really, the first Internet fandom in many ways (Star Trekkies not included.). But there were no dues or anything.

5) David recalled that his first hero growing up was the Yankees' Mickey Mantle. When you were a little kid, what grown-up did you look up to?

A. Carolyn Keene, who authored the Nancy Drew books. She herself was fiction, but I didn't know it at the time.

6) David was a notoriously bad driver. In 1990, he was sentenced to traffic school for speeding. He was late for the class because he was stopped for speeding en route. Do you have a "lead foot?"

A. My initials are A. J.  What do you think?

7) David's parents divorced when he was only four years old. He and his mom lived with her parents until he was 10. Have you ever lived in an extended, multi-generational household?

A. For a short while my father's grandfather or uncle or somebody like that came to stay with us. We called him Uncle George. I barely remember him and the time. But beyond that, no.

8) In 1971, when David and the Partridge Family were at their height, the US Mint introduced the Eisenhower Silver Dollar. Think of the last thing you bought. Did you pay with cash or plastic or your phone?

A. I used plastic.

9) Random holiday question: Let's talk regifting. Tell us about a time you regifted, or you received a present you suspect was regifted.

A. Sigh. I have no problem with regifting but apparently other people do. I mean, if something is in perfect condition and you don't want it, how is that different from going into say, an antique shop and buying something old for somebody and giving it to them? The biggest mistake of my life was regifting something, and it cost me a valued relationship that I still miss to this day. I had no idea it mattered.  I received 5 cake plates when I married. Nobody needs that many cake plates. I mentioned it to several folks, that I had all of these lovely cake plates. So when someone I loved married the love of his life about six months later, I gave them the very best of the cake plates. Not the worst one, or the one I didn't like, but the very best one. The most beautiful one and the one I deemed the most expensive. When the next holiday rolled around, that person gave me an obviously opened and put back in the box can opener. (I assume they received two can openers for wedding presents.) That person also stopped speaking to me, for the most part, and has barely had anything to do with me since. I got the message. I still don't think I did anything wrong. I gave them something I, a newlywed myself, could never have afforded to purchase that I thought they would enjoy. (And yes, I used the can opener until it died. I strongly suspect the cake plate went into the trash or something, though.) This has never been discussed and I don't suppose it ever will be, but I am sorry that the person let something so insignificant destroy a relationship. Prior to this, we were like siblings.

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