1) In this song, Haymes sings he must have reassured his girl “a million times or more.” Does it frustrate you when you have to repeat yourself?

I’m a wife and a mother to four boys. Repeating myself has become second nature. And, yes. It frustrates the living hell out of me sometimes. Especially when it’s something that has been said ad infinitum. You got two working ears, humans. Use at least one of them.

2) The lyrics were inspired by a poem written by a war bride to her soldier husband. Have you ever been in a long-distance romance?

I was a soldier, my husband was a soldier, so long-distance relationships are sometimes part of the package. We got married in 2002, just months after 9/11. I was pregnant on that day, and soon after it, he deployed to Kuwait and Iraq. He came back, and I ended up getting out eventually when I became pregnant with my fourth kid. We left Fort Lee for Fort Drum, which was a RDF (rapidly deploying force.) Then it was back-to-back deployments to Afghanistan. And in the months he was “home,” he was generally away, training for the next deployment. For the first several years of our marriage, we were literally apart more than we were together. Which was why our PCS to Fort Huachuca in 2012 was such a culture shock. Four years, and the only trips away were a few weeks here and there for training in Alabama. Then we moved here to Hawaii, and there were no deployments, just a few months at the training area on the Big Island and then a few in Australia. He’s retired now, and his contracting job takes him here and there sometimes, but nothing like it once was!

3) This was the biggest hit of Dick Haymes, a popular singer in the 1940s. He got his big break when he replaced Frank Sinatra, who left the Tommy Dorsey Band to go onto bigger and better things. Are you a Frank Sinatra fan?

Not particularly, although I definitely am familiar. I grew up listening to Sinatra, as my grandparents were fond of his music.

4) During the 1940s Dick Haymes toured with the Dorsey Band, made hit records, had his own radio show and appeared in nine movie musicals.  Yet by the early 1950s, he was broke. Part of it was that musical tastes changed, but more of it was that he enjoyed night life and high living too much. If you wanted to shave unnecessary expenses from your budget, where would you economize?

I kind of already did that, for the most part. I did the Snowball method, and paid off all our debt in 11 months. Technically, I suppose most things could be considered unnecessary when it gets down to it, as the only things one really needs is food and shelter. But I think the only real “unnecessary” things would be our subscription services. Our several streaming channels, my Kindle Unlimited, my World of Warcraft, my Book of the Month.

5) He blamed his money problems for his ongoing hypertension. How do you combat stress?

A hot bath, coffee or tea, and a good book. Or the beach, a bottle of water, and a good book.

6) Though he needed his voice to sing and suffered from high blood pressure, Haymes was a chain smoker. What bad habit would you like to quit?

I don’t really have any truly bad habits. It sounds cliché, but I’d like to be more accepting and positive with myself.

7) Though raised since early childhood in the US, Haymes was born in Buenas Aires to an Argentinian rancher and his Irish wife. This enabled Dick to claim Irish citizenship later in life. Have you ever lived abroad? If not, do you wish to?

I have not. I love where I’m at now, but I wouldn’t mind living in another tropical place. I need the beach!

8) Dick Haymes never regained his popularity as a singer. After touring Europe for years, he returned to the United States in the late 1960s and tried his hand as a dramatic actor, playing small parts on popular cop shows like Adam 12, McMillan and Wife and McCloud. If you had to support yourself as a performer, would you be more successful as a singer, a dancer, or an actor?

None of the above. I sang for a long time, buy my voice is out of practice. Dancer… I did ballet, jazz, modern, and hip hop back in a day, and I love to dance, but I’d rather keep it as a hobby. Acting… nope. Just not something I’m good at!

9) Random Question: We’re at the booth of a gypsy fortune teller. Would you be more embarrassed if she loudly and correctly guessed your age, or your weight?

My weight. Hands down. I could give a damn who knows my age. I’ll prove it.

I’m 50.

And I will be 51 in a couple months.