You Make Me Feel Brand New!

The Stylistics.. You Make Me Feel Brand New is the subject of today's Saturday 9 on what the weatherman promises will be a rainy Saturday by the seashore.

Saturday 9: You Make Me Feel Brand New (1974)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Watch the video above.

Welcome to the first Saturday 9 of 2019!

1) As 2019 kicks off, what are your hopes for the brand new year?

I don't plan that way. Saves on disappointment. Que sera, sera.. what will be, will be.
Also, I don't like sectioning time off into chunks like that. For instance, people say, "what was it like in your generation?"    Well, it is my generation now. As long as I am alive it is my generation.
And then you have the "in the 70's, in the 90's crowd". Time has been somehow sectioned off into 10 year chunks that are unique in themselves not because they really are but because they are cordoned off artificially. 
I prefer to see life as a whole rather than broken up sections of time which I find limiting.

2) Just because an item isn't brand new doesn't mean it isn't valuable. Have you scored any fabulous finds at a second hand store or website?

I don't like second hand shops at all and I don't shop online. I like to shop at local stores to support small business and as a matter of conscience and principle I will not use Amazon as it uses slave labor.  I avoid companies that abuse their employees. It is the same reason I have nothing to do with Disney.
I have shopped in the Habitat for Humanity Re-store though and urge you to do the same.


3) This song is sung by The Stylistics, a group from Philadelphia. Have you ever been to Philly?

Yes. I don't live far from Philadelphia, just about one hour on back roads.  In tiny New Jersey you never live far  from much of anything.
Philly is a gorgeous city with so much to see and do. Visit sometime. Lonely Planet named it   the number 1 destination to visit in the USA

Photo of Philadelphia skyline by 6abc.com

4) This song was co-written by Thom Bell, a Philadelphia-based musician/producer who was born in Kingston, Jamaica. The average daily temp in Kingston in January is 87º. Do you have plans to get away this winter and go somewhere warm?

No. I don't like the heat or warm climates with their bugs, snakes and creepy stuff. Also I enjoy the seasons for what they are. I like the cold and snow of winter, the flowers of spring, the warmth and breezes of summer, the chill and colors of autumn.  It is the spice of life that makes things interesting.

5) The Stylistics took their choreography very seriously. As you can see from the video, they even carefully synchronized their hand movements. Do you use your hands much when you talk?

 I think that being from NJ, I probably use my hands a lot.

6) The lyrics tell us that the singer is grateful for a friend who will walk with him along a path that "sometimes bends." Looking back on 2018, tell us about a time that life's path took a bend you didn't quite expect.

I had to have a second surgery on my heart.

7) In 1974, when this song was popular, Chicago's Sears Tower opened and was for years the world's tallest building. Its elevators can carry you to the 103rd floor in approximately a minute. When were you last on an elevator?

In November at the hospital.

8) Also in 1974, the 55 mph speed limit was imposed nationwide. When you drive, are you careful to stay within the speed limit? Or do you have a lead foot?

I stayed within the speed limit usually.

9) Random question -- It's time to pose for your Saturday 9 yearbook picture. Will you show us your right profile, your left profile, or will you look directly into the camera?

Directly into the camera.

See you tomorrow for Sunday Stealing. Until then have a wonderful Saturday and remember the words of  Bishop Fulton J. Sheen:
Baloney is flattery laid on so thick it cannot be true, and blarney is flattery so thin we love it.