For this week’s Thursday Inspiration prompt, Jim Adams has instructed us to respond to this challenge by either using the prompt word, today, or anything else that we think fits.
Im going with the story of a man and a woman who meet and something magical happens between them. Or at least it seems that way.
Yesterday we talked on the phone for hours and it was like we’ve known each other for years.
Today we met at the cafe for coffee and it was like magic.
Tonight I’ll be cooking dinner for us at my place for our first date and you’ll be mine completely.
But tomorrow, when the sun comes up in the morning, will you still love me?
Or will my heart be broken?
Oops, I screwed up. Instead of duplicating my May 11th Thursday Inspiration post in order to create this new post, I overwrote it. And that’s why some of the comments on this post are comments meant for my May 11th Thursday Inspiration — Sea of Love post, which if you want to read, click here.
Wouldn’t you like to expose your newer readers to some of your earlier posts that they might never have seen? Or remind your long term followers of posts that they might not remember? Each Friday I will publish a post I wrote on this exact date in a previous year.
How about you? Why don’t you reach back into your own archives and highlight a post that you wrote on this very date in a previous year? You can repost your Flashback Friday post on your blog and pingback to this post. Or you can just write a comment below with a link to the post you selected.
If you’ve been blogging for less than a year, go ahead and choose a post that you previously published on this day (the 10th) of any month within the past year and link to that post in a comment.
This was originally posted on March 10, 2018.
SoCS — So Far, So Good
When I first read Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, “so far,” I was simply going to post two music videos, both with songs titled “So Far Away.” One by Carole King and the other by Dire Straits.
But then I thought that posting two music videos is not exactly a stream of consciousness post, is it? Besides, the prompt is “so far,” not “so far away.”
So getting back on point, I’m a senior citizen who has many more years behind me than I have ahead of me. Some might say I’m in my twilight years, but there are times when it feels more like I’m in the Twilight Zone.
But I digress. Sometimes I think about how my life has been going so far. I’m retired now and I have somehow managed to squirrel away enough to not have to worry that much about outliving my retirement nest egg. Well, as long as I don’t live as long as Methuselah, that is.
My wife and I have no debt. Our house is all paid off, so there are no mortgage payments. No car payments either, and I’m not in the market for a new car. I think I can say with a fair degree of confidence that my wife and I still love one another. Or at least that we’re willing to put up with each other. So far, anyway.
And both of us are healthy. No major maladies or worrisome health issues so far. So that’s good.
We have two grown kids who are great and are doing well for themselves. So far we don’t have any grandkids, but we’re hoping that before too long we’ll have a few.
All things considered, life has been good so far. Sure, there have been ups and downs and bumps in the road. But who hasn’t experienced such things?
Bottom line, then, I’d say so far, so good.
And just for fun, here are those two aforementioned music videos.
2023 update: Just for grins and giggles, I’m adding another song. This one is from Joe Walsh titled “Life’s Been Good” and repeated throughout the song is the refrain, “Life’s been good to me so far.”
There are two prompts today that seemed to fit together like a hand in a glove. One prompt, Throwback Thursday is from Maggie, at From Cave Walls, and Lauren, at LSS Attitude of Gratitude. The two alternate hosting the prompt. The idea is for them to give us a topic and for us to write a post in which we share our own memories or experiences about the given topic. This week, Maggie chose the topic of “friendship.” Maggie wants to know…
Who was the earliest friend you remember?
My parents had just moved us to Silver Spring, Maryland from Newark, New Jersey. I was five years old and going into first grade. Dennis was one of the first kids I met at school and he lived a few blocks from where I lived. He and I became fast friends.
What drew you to this person?
He knew his way around the block and around the school, so he could show me the ropes. And he liked the same things I liked.
What kinds of things did you do together.
We hung out, played games, and had fun. Hell, we were only five years old!
Did you have pen pals?
I used to keep in touch with long-distant friends via the exchange of letters, but these days it’s primarily via emails and text messages.
Have you maintained long-term friendships from childhood.
Only one, actually. We have moved so often in my adult life that I’ve lost touch with most of my childhood friends.
Did you have autograph books?
Nope.
How about high school yearbooks signed by friends?
Yes, I still have my high school yearbook signed by friends from back then, although I can’t recall the last time I looked at it.
What kinds of things may have made you sever friendships?
As I said, we’ve moved around a lot over the years, so after a while, life, time, and distance just got in the way of keeping the friendships going.
Are you a friend collector – the more the better – or are you content with the intimacy of a few close friends?
The latter. I have a relatively small circle of close friends.
How does your personality (shy or outgoing) affect the friendships you develop?
At this stage of my life, my age is what affects new friendships, so other than casual friendships with my neighbors, I haven’t made many new friends lately.
What is the quality you desire in a friend?
Knowing that this friend “has my back.”
Now that I’ve answered Maggie’s question on friendships, let’s move on to the other prompt, which is the Thursday Inspiration prompt from Jim Adams. Jim’s prompt usually focuses on music, and today he gave us the song “Holding Out for A Hero,” by Bonnie Tyler. But he also said we could respond to his prompt by using the word “need.” I, of course, thought what goes together better than “need” and “friendship.” And in response to Jim’s prompt, I’m giving you this classic song from Carole King, “You’ve Got a Friend.”
For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Jim Adams (via Paula Light) has given us Delightful, Pleasant, and Sweet. I’m going with the first song that came to mind, even though my guess is that a lot of others will select this song as well: “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”
“Pleasant Valley Sunday” was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. The Monkees recorded the song in June of 1967 and released it a month later. The single peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured in the second season of the Monkees’ television series. The song also appeared on the fourth Monkees album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd, in November 1967.
The song was inspired by a street named Pleasant Valley Way in the Manhattan suburb of West Orange, New Jersey, where Goffin and King lived at the time. The two wrote the song about their dissatisfaction with life in the suburbs.
According to Carole King’s autobiography, her then-husband Goffin disliked their suburban life and wrote lyrics to document this feeling. The lyrics were a social commentary on status symbols, creature comforts, life in suburbia, and “keeping up with the Joneses.”
The tempo and some of the lyrics in the Monkees recording of the song were fairly different from King’s original 1966 demo recording, which is presented here.
Interestingly, I was working in midtown Manhattan and lived in West Orange from the late 70s to the mid 80s, only about a quarter of a mile west of Pleasant Valley Way. I actually thought life in that New Jersey suburban community was, indeed, quite pleasant.
Here are the Lyrics to “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”
The local rock group down the street Is trying hard to learn their song They serenade the weekend squire Who just came out to mow his lawn
Another pleasant valley Sunday Charcoal burning everywhere Rows of houses that are all the same And no one seems to care
See Mrs. Gray, she’s proud today Because her roses are in bloom And Mr. Green, he’s so serene He’s got a TV in every room
Another pleasant valley Sunday Here in status symbol land Mothers complain about how hard life is And the kids just don’t understand
Creature comfort goals, they only numb my soul And make it hard for me to see (Ah ah ah) ah thoughts all seem to stray to places far away I need a change of scenery
Ta ta ta ta, ta ta ta ta Ta ta ta ta, ta ta ta ta
Another pleasant valley Sunday Charcoal burning everywhere Another pleasant valley Sunday Here in status symbol land
Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday) Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday) Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday) Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday) Another pleasant valley Sunday (a pleasant valley Sunday)
For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Jim Adams gave us “alluring,” “beautiful,” “charming,” “graceful,” and “seductive” as our themes. The song that immediately came to mind was Carole King’s “Beautiful.” I know I’m not the only one who will choose this song, but it’s just such an upbeat, inspiring song, so I’m sticking with it.
“Beautiful” was written by Carole King and it was first released on her 1971 award-winning album Tapestry. The song was never released as a single, but it still holds a notable position in Carole King’s repertoire and she sings it at most of her live performances. It was the inspiration behind the title of a 2013 Broadway musical that centered on Carole’s life. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical has been an internationally successful production.
The song contains a simple message about loving one’s self and, in turn, showing such love for the world around you. King wrote, “I’m not exactly sure when I figured out that the way I perceived others on a given day was a reflection of how I was feeling.”
She said that she came up with the idea for the song while riding the New York City subway, which she described as a place where one will come across many gloomy, uninspired, and frustrated faces. It bothered her encountering people in such sour moods. She perhaps naively believed that if these same gloomy individuals were to emit love rather than negativity, those around them would return the positivity and love to them.
Here are the lyrics to “Beautiful.”
You’ve got to get up every morning With a smile in your face And show the world all the love in your heart Then people gonna treat you better You’re gonna find, yes you will That you’re beautiful, as you feel
Waiting at the station with a workday wind a-blowing I’ve got nothing to do but watch the passers-by Mirrored in their faces I see frustration growing And they don’t see it showing, why do I?
You’ve got to get up every morning With a smile in your face And show the world all the love in your heart Then people gonna treat you better You’re gonna find, yes you will That you’re beautiful as you feel
I have often asked myself the reason for sadness In a world where tears are just a lullaby If there’s any answer, maybe love can end the madness Maybe not, oh, but we can only try
You’ve got to get up every morning With a smile in your face And show the world all the love in your heart Then people gonna treat you better You’re gonna find, yes you will That you’re beautiful You’re beautiful You’re beautiful as you feel
This, That, and the Other 