Month: December 2017

Of Balls and Bongs

Fandango6 Comments

346EFFB2-7BE5-44B7-BDC5-FF77CCC026CEThe ding on the microwave oven sounded.

“Finally,” said Frank.

“Seriously, it’s about time,” added Phil.

“It seemed to take forever,” noted Lou.

Lou fumbled opening the microwave door and removing the plate overflowing with pizza rolls they just nuked.

Frank carried the plate into the living room and placed it on the coffee table. Phil carried the pitcher of beer. Lou carried the bong. Once everything was in place, Lou picked up the remote and turned on the 65-inch flat screen TV. Then each took a large hit on the bong.

“There it is,” said Frank, pointing to the image of the large crystal ball overlooking New York’s Times Square.

“The countdown is about to start,” added Phil.

“It’s taking forever,” noted Lou.

The countdown continued. “Five. Four. Three. Two. One.” And the large crystal ball overlooking New York’s Times Square started to fall.

“Finally,” said Frank.

“Seriously, it’s about time,” added Phil.

“It’s taking forever,” noted Lou.

Once the ball reached the bottom, the three friends each took another big toke off the bong. Then they clinked their full glasses of beer together and chugged.

“Happy New Year, everyone. 2017 is over,” the announcer on the TV said. “Welcome to 2018!”

“Finally,” said Frank.

“Seriously, it’s about time,” added Phil.

“It seemed to take forever,” noted Lou.

Written for today’s one-word prompt, “finally.”

Song Lyric Sunday — Bubblegum Music

Fandango12 Comments

For this  week’s Song Lyric Sunday, the prompt is “sugar/candy.” I’m positive that many of my fellow bloggers will select the same song I have chosen, since it’s all about sugar and candy!

“Sugar, Sugar” was a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim. It was originally recorded by the virtual band the Archies, a group that performed on the Saturday morning cartoon show, Archie. The song falls in the genre of pop music known as “bubblegum music.” Bubblegum music, which was popular in the late 60s and early 70s, had an upbeat sound designed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers.

According to Jeff Barry, he and Andy Kim wrote this song with preschoolers in mind since that was the audience for the Archie TV show. The “you are my candy girl” line came from them thinking about what kids that age like (candy).

The song was initially released in late May 1969, on the Calendar label, but achieved only moderate chart success until it was re-released in mid-July 1969 on the Kirshner label, where it became a massive success by late summer/early fall. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1969 and remained there for four weeks.

Here are the song’s lyrics.

Sugar, ah honey honey
You are my candy girl
And you got me wanting you

Honey, ah sugar sugar
You are my candy girl
And you’ve got me wanting you

I just can’t believe the loveliness of loving you
(I just can’t believe it’s true)
I just can’t believe the one to love this feeling to
(I just can’t believe it’s true)

Ah sugar, ah honey honey
You are my candy girl
And you’ve got me wanting you

Ah honey, ah sugar sugar
You are my candy girl
And you’ve got me wanting you

When I kissed you, girl, I knew how sweet a kiss could be
(I know how sweet a kiss can be)
Like the summer sunshine pour your sweetness over me
(Pour your sweetness over me)
Oh sugar, pour a little sugar on it honey

Pour a little sugar on it baby
I’m gonna make your life so sweet, yeah yeah yeah
Pour a little sugar on it oh yeah
Pour a little sugar on it honey
Pour a little sugar on it baby
I’m gonna make your life so sweet, yeah yeah yeah
Pour a little sugar on it honey

Ah sugar, ah honey honey
You are my candy girl
And you’ve got me wanting you
Oh honey, honey, sugar sugar
(Honey, honey, sugar sugar)
You are my candy girl

Almost Over

Fandango12 Comments

img_0341The year 2017 is almost over and many of us are quite happy about that. It was, in the macro sense, a pretty shitty year. Can the upcoming year be any worse?

Personally speaking, though, 2017 wasn’t a bad year. I retired at the end of last year and managed to survive. Someone once told me that fifty percent of men die within their first year of retirement. I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, I’m happy to still be among the living.

No one I personally know died in 2017, which is a good thing. And my wife and I remain relatively heathy for aging Baby Boomers, so there’s that, as well.

I also started this blog in May of 2017, and I consider that to be an accomplishment. And my wife is happy about it because it keeps me occupied and out of her hair.

So while 2017 saw the world cratering, I’m doing okay. I just hope that next year at this time, when 2018 is almost over, I will not be calling it yet another truly shitty year.

Assuming, of course, the world doesn’t end and I live through my second year of retirement.

Written for today’s one-word prompt, “almost.”

SoCS — Be It Resolved

Fandango7 Comments

096DAA0E-6257-4002-9B90-6251F972E3E8Linda G. Hill chose the word “resolution” for this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, which is an apt word to choose, given that today is the last Saturday of 2017 and it’s a time when many of us are making our New Year’s resolutions.

Many people use the approaching new year to take stock of their lives. They look behind at the past year and reflect on their achievements and failures. Often, they focus on the mistakes they made, their broken promises, and unfulfilled dreams. They resolve to improve themselves, to get a fresh start as the brand new year commences.

New Year’s resolutions are an effort to reinvent oneself; they are a form of self-motivation. People make them with the hope of changing their lives for the better. Unfortunately, most such resolutions are not kept for very long. So why bother?

New Year’s resolutions are all about hopefulness and people have been making these annual resolutions for centuries. The act of creating such resolutions has reportedly been around since Babylonian times, when the Babylonians were said to have made promises to the gods in the hope that they’d earn good favor in the coming year.

Some sources say that the tradition of New Year’s resolutions dates back to around 150 BC. January is named after the mythical early Roman god Janus, who had two faces, which allowed him to look both back on the past (the old year) and forward toward the future (the new year).

This became a symbolic time for Romans to make resolutions for the new year and forgive enemies for troubles in the past. Janus would forgive the Romans for their wrongdoings in the previous year, and, based upon gifts and promises, would bless them in the year ahead.

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. It’s not that I’m perfect and there’s no room for improvement. That’s far from the case. But I don’t like that feeling of failure when my resolutions to get more exercise or to eat healthier or to watch less TV inevitably fall short. So if I don’t make any New Year’s resolutions, I won’t beat myself up for not being able to keep them.

Having said that, the one resolution I do plan to keep is to continue blogging, so long as it’s still fun, fulfilling, and doesn’t become a burden.

Happy New Year, fellow bloggers. And for those of you who do make New Year’s resolutions, best of luck. The odds of success are against you.