saturday 9: goodbye, cruel world

reading time: 3 minutes

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1) This week’s song has a circus theme. Have you ever been to a circus? If yes, did you enjoy it?

I’ve been to a few, mostly the small-town kind. Enjoy it? I didn’t hate it, but I was there as an adult with small children, so the experience was mostly about keeping them alive and happy.

2) James Darren sings that he’s running away to join the circus. When you were a kid, did you ever run away from home?

Technically, no. In reality, kind of. I wanted out of my small town. I graduated at 17, and I wanted to join the Army, which meant starting the paperwork during my senior year if I was going to go to Basic Training that summer (the biggest time of the year for boot camp). Since I was under 18, I needed their signatures. We finally compromised on the Reserves and college. So I did the split-option enlistment… spending the summer at boot camp, returning for college and one-weekend-a-month Reserve duties, then reporting for AIT (job training) the following summer. I’d turned 18 late in the summer during boot camp, and the day after I got out of boot camp, I beat feet to the recruiters to begin the process of going on active duty. However, signing for the Reserves required a service obligation before switching components, from Reserves to active duty. 6 months of Reserve time. So I went back for another semester, spent the holidays at home, and then off I went. To say the majority of my family was pissed? An understatement. They got over it. Mostly.

3) While he understands intellectually that this girl is no good for him, he tells us his heart is stubborn. Do you have a stubborn streak?

Probably. But I maintain that age has made me far less stubborn than I once was.

4) Though he had three top 20 singles, including this one, James Darren found more consistent success as an actor. Between 1959 and 1963, he played surfer Jeff Matthews, aka “Moondoggie,” in three Gidget movies. Have you seen any Gidget movies? What about the TV show, starring Sally Field?

I have seen both, years ago.

5) “Moondoggie” got his unique nickname because he enjoyed surfing in the moonlight. Looking back on Summer 2023, did you visit the beach (by moonlight or otherwise)?

I live in Hawai’i so yes. Although I was sick much of the summer so not as much as I’d have liked.

6) While he was playing Gidget’s teen dream, he was a married man. He wed Danish beauty queen Evy Norlund in 1960. They met when she came to Los Angeles to pursue a career and they were both working at Columbia Studios. More than 60 years later, they’re still together. Tell us about the longest-married couple you know.

My grandparents. They were married 58 years, until his passing. In my grandmother’s heart they were married 69 years… until she passed in 2008.

7) James Darren also played Officer James Corrigan on ABC’s police drama, TJ Hooker. Have you ever considered a career in law enforcement?

I briefly considered it once upon a time, but since my dad was a lawyer in the same area, I decided it wasn’t worth the effort of the conflicts of interest.

8) In 1961, when this song was on the radio, matching his & hers mohair sweaters were on trend. Do you have a favorite sweater?

Again, Hawai’i. I no longer have a sweater at all!

9) Random question — They say we’re all young at heart. In what ways are you childlike?

I can be adventurous and playful.

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