My Most Cringe-Worthy Moment

With a title like this, you would think this post pertains to my children. Like the time I took Kitty to see Earth, Wind & Fire. Chris Botti was their opening act. If you don’t know who he is, he is a jazz trumpeter and a little piece of blond male perfection. After his performance, he was doing a meet and greet. I hustled Kitty over there so he could meet his bride to be: ME! We stood in line and when it was our turn, he signed my CD and made small talk as I envisioned our wedding day. Then he turned to Kitty and said, "How are you tonight?" She looked at him and responded, "I’m here to see Earth Wind & Fire". Yep: cringe-worthy and that’s why he isn’t her new daddy!

Anyhoo, there is a moment that is even worse than that. We have to go back several years, to when I was about 18. Okay: a LOT of years. It was summer, and instead of my usual crew I was hanging out with a couple of sisters that I knew from school. We were going up to Lake George to go dancing. However, they first wanted to stop at Duffy’s to say hi to their parents and to have a drink with them. Hey: they were my ride so I said of course that’s fine! Famous last words…

So we got to Duffy’s and went in. They spotted their parents so we went up to chat. There was a man playing the piano and singing. It was an older crowd and I was hoping that we could leave soon. I had dancing to do!

After a little while I noticed the piano player, probably in his late 40s or early 50s, was looking at me and smiling. I kind of smiled back and then resumed my conversation. But when his current song ended, I looked around and he motioned to me. My friends said, "Oh he must want to meet you!" Why? But because I had been raised to be polite, I went over to the piano. He said, "You are the loveliest girl in the room. I’d like to sing a special song for you. Please sit here with me." I was a little dubious about this, but said "Okay thank you." So he turned to the crowd and announced, "I’d like to sing my favorite Fats Waller song for you and this special young lady." He then began to sing ‘Black and Blue’.

In case you are not familiar with this song, some of the lyrics are: "’Cause you’re black, folks think you lack, They laugh at you, and scorn you too. What did I do to be so black and blue". Seriously. You can google the rest of the lyrics.

I was mortified. All I could think was WTF? "’How will it end? Ain’t got a friend, My only sin is my skin, What did I do to be so black and blue." And this man was smiling at me and singing to me like it was his crowning achievement. As God is my witness: this is true. And I had to sit there until that excruciating song was over.

After the wild applause from the crowd (did they think this was an act?) the gentleman turned to me and said, "I just love Fats Waller and I’m so glad I got to perform that song for you." I’m thinking ‘are you crazy????’ but I was raised to be polite so I said, "Well…um, thanks." I stood up but he grabbed my hand and said, "Won’t you stay? I’d love to buy you a drink and get acquainted." Instead of saying, "Not on your life old man!" I just told him I was with friends and we were leaving. Then I beat a hasty retreat.

My friends thought it was great! They had never been sung to before and were a little envious. Yep: that’s the mentality that they had. All I wanted to do was get out of there and shake those lyrics from my mind. But as you can see by this post: that never happened!

Oh, if only it had been Chris Botti playing a romantic tune on his trumpet: that would have been an entirely different story!

Hanging With Marie

This past Saturday my mother had a bill due so I stopped by in the morning to grab it and pay it. She looked so little and alone, I asked her if after I ran my errands I could bring her something for lunch. She visibly brightened and said to surprise her. So after Brie and I had our hair appointments, I dropped her off and went to Dunkies to get my mother’s favorite sandwich and a hot chocolate. It was a cold day and I knew she would enjoy it.

I took it to her and she was happy. I didn’t have any other plans until I had to drop of Kitty somewhere, so I told her I would keep her company. And she knows the rule: if I am at her house we do NOT watch the news. I always find something crazy for her to watch so she isn’t just inundated with bad news all the time.

This day, one of the channels was running a Twilight movie marathon. Pay dirt! I turned to the channel and she said, “What in the world is this?”  I explained a bit of the plot line to her. She thought for a minute and said, “I don’t think I’d like to date a vampire. I’d worry that he’d be chewing on me while I was sleeping.”  Yes, I literally laughed out loud. I said that was her choice. Then she wanted to know if I thought there were any around here. I assured her that if there were any, they were far away in Transylvania. I told her that I was team Wolf Pack anyway. This seemed to cause her a bit of concern. “I’m sure they are much too big and smelly to be pleasant.” Sorry Jacob: my mother doesn’t approve!

Presently I had to go take Kitty to her friend’s house. “Well, thank you for coming over,” my mother said sadly. I told her she didn’t have to watch any more Twilight and I turned the channel to news. Ugh!

After I dropped off Kitty I decided to treat myself to my new addiction: a cherry icee from Cumberland Farms. Yes it was 20 degrees but so what? It wasn’t like I was going to drink it outside. Then I figured since I was getting myself a treat: why not stop at Stewart’s and get Marie some ice cream? So I did.

You can imagine her surprise when I came back through the door, especially with her Philly’s Apple Pie ice cream. She ate ½ of the 2 scoop dish and said she would save the rest for the next day. And of course I had again changed the channel back to the Twilight marathon. So we watched TV and talked and she said, “If you happen to fall asleep I’m not going to wake you up. I’ll just let you sleep there all night!” I knew she would have loved that, but seriously I was sitting in a spot next to her that was freezing! I was maybe…a little over 2 feet from the heater, which was set at 78, but I felt nothing. I then wrapped up in an afghan AND a blanket but was still freezing. I told her that Robin must be sitting in the chair with me because nothing warmed me up. She said, “You really think so?” I told her that I knew without a doubt that Robin was always with her. That seemed to satisfy her.

When I finally left (because it was warmer outside than in her living room chair) I was glad that I spent most of the day with her. It made her happy, it kept her company and we got to talk about her dating preferences (no vampires!), ha ha. And you know what? I think I’ll do it again real soon. But this time I’ll bring my own heater! ☺  

In the Mood

I love music, as anyone who knows me can attest. I was in radio for several years and that was a dream for me; and I actually started out as a club deejay when I was in my first year of college. Music is a BIG part of my life.

Over the years I have made several music lists for various reasons; and I have folders of music on my tablet and phone. Like most women, I  have a "list" of songs for when I'm with that special someone. Surprisingly, the downside is I've never played it for anyone. Yet hope springs eternal!

With that being said, and since it's Saturday night which is usually date night (notice how I'm home), I thought I'd share my top 10 "in the mood" songs. Of course they have changed over the years but the sentiment remains the same. I currently have 80 songs on  my list and I look forward to finally having someone to share them with. So now in no particular order (except for number one) here they are:

• Sail by AWOL Nation - now at first listen you might not consider this song, but if you had seen "Thunder" dance to this: it would be on your list too!
• I want You by Marvin Gaye - I think the title sums it up.
• How Can I Fall by Breathe - David Glasper has one of the best voices out there, and what he does with it on this song: it's magic.
• Unthinkable by Damien Escobar - if you haven't discovered this contemporary violinist by now: get thyself to YouTube. This song is killer.
•  At Last by the Fatback Band - forget Etta James. Once that sax wails at the beginning of this song, you know what's coming.
• You've Got It by Simply Red - Mick Hucknell can croon to me anytime with that voice of his.
• Creepin' by Stevie Wonder - there's just something about this song and how his voice joins with Minnie Ripperton's that makes you think of being in a cabana by the ocean and becoming one as the waves lap at the shore...
• Don't Say Goodnight by the Isley Brothers - when they say it's time for love, you'll be ready.
• A Love of Your own by the Average Whited Band - trust me: they are WAY above average! You'll go from slow dancing to slow something else...
• You by Raheem DeVaughn - this is my number one song that totally transports me...

So that's my list. I'm sure there are songs up here that you're not familiar with so go to YouTube and give a listen. Who knows: a couple of these might end up on YOUR list!