Summer's Return

Another weekend.   It has been rainy and cloudy, cool and breezy here for the past few weeks.  The cool breezes at night are lovely and I hope they continue through the coming summer.  

Here at the shore, summer begins unofficially on Memorial Day though there is still a month of spring left.  The boardwalks are active, the beaches have life guards on duty once again.   

Those who leave us for the winter are returning home and you hear them saying how much they missed the pizza, the bagels, the authentic Italian food.  They also speak about the  unique love and family that you find here more than most other places. And by family I don't mean just blood.

"It's nice" they say of their winter shelter, "but it isn't home.  It's so good to be home again."  

  

Here is my submission for Saturday 9.  Thanks Sam Winters for making this possible.

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9  questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer the questions, however, and here are today's questions! 

Saturday 9: 5-10-15-20 (1970)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it HERE

1) In this week's song, The Presidents sing about a long married, very happy couple. Who is the longest married couple you know? Who is the happiest? Are they the same couple?

I don't know. Can you really judge the happiness of others? Some appear happy.  

2) The lyrics ask repeatedly: "Aren't we happy?" Are you feeling happy today? Why or why not?

It's Friday and I am feeling okay. Not happy, not sad, but I am feeling fine. I am pretty laid back.

3) This happy couple enjoys watching children at play. Is there a park, playground or schoolyard near you?

There are a few parks in my neighborhood. Two are within walking distance.   One is along the river that leads to the bay and you can picnic, swim, canoe, kayak. The other is on the bay itself with play area for kids, barbeque area, fishing pier, swimming beach, etc.   There are also inland parks in our town.. maybe 3 or 4 of them for golf, baseball, soccer, picnics, etc.

Every Wednesday we have fireworks and concerts all summer long in the park.

4) This song reminds Crazy Sam of when she used to recite the multiplication tables. Think back to your school days. Was math one of your favorite subjects?

No, not a favorite. 

5) The Presidents seems like a good name for a band formed in Washington DC. What would be an appropriate name for a band from your hometown?

The Baymen or actually The Beach Boys.  New Jersey has some good surfing.

6) DC trivia: The street names are letters, but J was skipped. That's because in the 1700s, the way many wrote their alphabet, "J" looked like "I" and so "J" was passed over to avoid confusion. Tell us something we may not know about your hometown (or state).

My state is called the Garden State because most of the state is farms, flower gardens and deep forest.  My town is on the water, both on the Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. We are a peninsula like Florida and most of the state is surrounded by water.

7) In 1970, when this song was on the Billboard chart, The Mary Tyler Moore Show premiered on CBS. The theme song said Mary could "turn the world on with her smile," yet in real life, MTM was self-conscious about her "wide mouth." Are you comfortable looking at photos of yourself?

Yes I am okay with how I look. 

8) Also in 1970, Dinah Shore became one of the first women to host her own national daytime talk show. Today, Kelly Clarkson, Drew Barrymore, Tamron Hall, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Ripa all have their own shows, and The Talk and The View are both hosted by women. Who is your favorite talk show host?                  None of them. I can't stand them. 

9) Random question -- Would you rather have a job that has you on your feet all day, or one that has you parked in a chair?  Neither one.  I like moderation in things and either of those is ridiculous and bad for you.   Anything in extreme is no good.