August will be devoted to story songs. Here's the first!
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
This is one of the first songs I remember hearing when I was a child.
1) This song tells the story of a stern, enigmatic miner. None of the other miners knew much about him. When people first meet you, do you think they see you more as mysterious or straightforward?
A. I presume straightforward.
2) During a serious accident, many of the miners panicked. But not John. Think of your family, friends and acquaintances. Who would be the most dependable in a crisis?
2) During a serious accident, many of the miners panicked. But not John. Think of your family, friends and acquaintances. Who would be the most dependable in a crisis?
A. Not me, apparently. I would say my husband, a former firefighter, or my brother, would be the most dependable people in a crisis.
3) His heroism allowed 20 miners to escape, but cost John his life. According to the lyrics, there's a marble slab on site of mine that honors him. Is there a memorial to a local hero in your town?
A. Not to my knowledge. There are memorials to the many who have died in wars, but not to a single person. The state is getting ready to put up a highway sign for Norvel Lee (1924-1992), who was an Olympic Boxer in 1948. He also won a Jim Crow case, an important landmark victory for Black rights, because he didn't move from the white-only section of a train. The case went all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court. The sign isn't up yet, though. It will be in the northern section of my county.
4) This song was written and performed by Jimmy Dean. He began composing it on a flight from New York to Nashville. How do you amuse yourself while traveling?
A. I listen to audio books.
5) Jimmy Dean hosted a long-running variety show on CBS, which is best-remembered today for introducing Jim Henson's puppets -- especially Rowlf, a dog who sang and told jokes. While Rowlf didn't make it to Sesame Street, he was a recurring character on the Muppet Show. Are you a Muppet fan?
A. Not particularly. I like the Geico commercial with Animal in it, though.
6) Jimmy found success in business with The Jimmy Dean Sausage Company. He sold the company to Sara Lee in 1984 for $80 million. Today Jimmy Dean breakfast products are still popular in grocery stores all over the country. What's your favorite breakfast?
A. Eggs, bacon, grits, and a biscuit with butter and grape jelly. I haven't had that combination in years.
7) In 1961, when this song was popular, Vogue asked if fashion sense is inborn or if could a woman could learn to be chic. What do you think? Do you think style is either something you have, or you don't?
A. I think it can be learned if a person is of a mind to learn it. It's not something that I ever concerned myself with. I have always been more concerned with comfort and I've never cared much what others thought of me.
8) Also in 1961, Ernest Hemingway took his own life. Did you read Hemingway in English class? Can you recall any other novels you read for school?
A. I was in an advanced placement English class throughout my high school years. I read some Hemingway, As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, A Raisin the Sun, by Lorraine Hanesberry (which is actually a play, not a novel), plays by Shakespeare, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, both by J.R.R. Tolkien, works by O Henry, Shirley Jackson, Homer, and Sophocles, Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky, The Scarlett Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, etc. etc.
9) Random question: Think about the last "white lie" you told. Was it to make your own day easier or spare someone's feelings?
9) Random question: Think about the last "white lie" you told. Was it to make your own day easier or spare someone's feelings?
A. I suspect it was the usual "I'm fine" when I am not. I think more of my "white lies" are sins of omission than actually saying something. It's to make everyone feel easier.
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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
I was the only one in my English class that got into Crime & Punishment. It was my favorite! Dickens was my runner-up favorite. My classmates didn't understand me.
ReplyDeleteWe read Raisin in the Sun and Our Town when we studied drama. I wish I could recall why -- from all the plays available! -- those two were chosen. Anyway, I loved Raisin in the Sun but Our Town didn't click with me at all. Maybe it's time to give it another try.
ReplyDeleteI am with you on #7. If I am not comfortable, I will not wear it. Loved your answers! Have a nice weekend. ♥
ReplyDeletehttps://lorisbusylife.blogspot.com/
I'm surprised our town never had highway signs for the two biggest "heroes" to come out of here. But when they put the new bridge in the cloverleaf intersection, they imprinted the concrete with a not to Arnold Palmer on one side and Fred Rogers on the other. It sounds like our high school reading lists were about the same. Not that that's really a surprise.
ReplyDelete#3 If roads count, then the highway through town is the General Pulaski highway.
ReplyDelete#4 Ditto. I like audiobooks while I driving the 4 hours up to the Cape