Saturday 9: Mercy

Saturday 9: Mercy (2013)

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

 

1) In this song, Shawn Mendes pleads with the girl he loves to be careful with his heart. Clearly, he feels she's more important to him than he is to her. Do you believe that, in every relationship, someone always loves more?

A. I think it varies from time to time. I've been married for almost 40 years, and I am sure that there have been times when I've loved him more and vice versa. So no, not always. I think it comes and goes, as does the give and take. Marriage is work. Love is work. Friendship is work. Any relationship worth having takes a little work. Sometimes one person does more work, or maybe loves more, but not always.

2) He says that he'd willingly drive through the night just to be near her. Do you enjoy your time behind the wheel? Or do you consider driving necessary but not necessarily pleasurable?

A. I like driving in the country, but I am not a fan of driving in heavy traffic. So, I do ok close to home, but not in the city. In the city it is necessary but not pleasurable. Out here, it's both pleasurable and necessary.

3) He acknowledges that she has good intentions, but she hurt him anyway. Can you think of a time when you unintentionally hurt someone's feelings?

A. Yes, I can think of such a time, but I am not going to write about it.

 

4) Shawn Mendes was a serious skateboarder during his high school years. Crazy Sam admits she's never even been on a skateboard. How about you? Are you more like Shawn or Sam, or are you somewhere in between?

A. I tried skateboarding when I was 10 or so. They were the "new" thing back then, and it was a relief to get rid of the street roller skates that barely held on to your shoes with funky little clamps and a strap. But I was not a good skateboarder and gave it up fairly quickly.

5) While in his teens, he taught himself to play guitar while watching YouTube videos. Do you spend a lot of time on YouTube? If yes, what type of videos do you watch most often?

A. I don't spend a lot of time on YouTube. If I am up there killing time, I watch music videos, the videos of people who are hearing music for the first time, bloopers from shows, and guitar playing videos. But except for when I watch Saturday 9 music videos, YouTube is seldom on my visit list.

6) When he's traveling or busy working, Shawn eats cold cereal for every meal -- breakfast, lunch and dinner. He says it's fast, tasty, and better than the fast food he'd grab otherwise. Will you be getting any meals "to go" this weekend?

A. I don't know. Probably not, but sometimes one gets in the mood for something different.

 

7) In 2016, the year this song was popular, Game of Thrones was TV's hottest show. Were you a fan?

A. I watched all of the shows. I did not rewatch them because they were gory and misogynistic, and I didn't need to see them a second time. I was a fan but not an afficionado.

 

8) Also in 2016, a German shorthaired pointer won Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show. Tell us about a dog who holds a special place in your heart.

Major looked nothing like this.

A. In 1970, we lived in a trailer. We had a poodle named Heidi, and she gave birth to puppies. One of those puppies was white. A day or so after they were born, the white puppy fell into Heidi's water dish, and I heard the plop of the water in the night and went to check. I fished him out of the dish and took him in to my parents, who massaged him back to breathing again. We named him Major and he was with us from then until about 1980, when he was running after my car and just keeled over dead in the road. He had grass in his mouth. I think he may have been eating grass, saw me leave, and ran after me without chewing and choked, which now that I write this seems rather symmetrical since I saved him from drowning/choking on water to begin with. He was a good dog. Very affectionate. We had him about 10 years, which is close to average for a poodle. He was getting old. He was my favorite of my childhood pets.

9) Random question: What's the subject line of the top email in your spam folder?

A. "Give yourself an ultra-luxurious Saatva mattress." (I don't even know what that is.)

*Bing AI drew the cartoons.

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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.