saturday notes, sadness, & a meme

reading time: 4 minutes

notes

I’m nursing a headache from the depths of hell and have been for more than a week. None of my usual tricks are helping. Not even my tried-and-true method of dispensing Metallica, KoRn, and, Rammstein directly into my ears. Yes, that usually works like a charm. But not this baby. Nothing’s helping this bitch. It encircles my head like Friar Tuck’s hairline, alternately pulsing before sending stabbing fire-tipped daggers into my brain. I’m really living my best life here. Yeah, no. So I’m left feeling miserable and sorry for myself. <insert whine here.>

sadness

More important is the pain I feel in my soul. Yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the suicide of someone I cared deeply for. K lived with my dad and stepmother for a couple years as a foster daughter, stayed close to them for the rest of her life. I was already out of the house before she came to live there, but we became as close as sisters and stayed that way, even though we always lived far from each other. She never found the peace she so richly deserved in life, living through things that no person should ever have to live through. And she was the strongest person I’ve known. But even the strongest person has their breaking moment, and she reached hers. I miss her every day, and my heart will forever hurt for her. I can only be grateful that the last time I saw her, it was a time of love and togetherness.

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1) The title comes from the proverb, “a rolling stone gathers no moss.” What do you suppose that proverb is trying to teach us?

That being stagnant is no way to live. Change is necessary.

2) The lyrics warn us not to be lazy stay-at-homes but to go out and learn about the world around us. Tell us about a place you haven’t visited yet but would like to.

I want to visit Ireland, learn more of my family’s history. In truth, though, I think there are always opportunities around us to learn more about the world around us, even in our own backyards.

3) Karen and Cubby were Mouseketeers on the original Mickey Mouse Club, a TV show which ran from 1955 to 1959. Then, from 1962 to 1967, local TV stations reran it in syndication. In 1989, there was a Mickey Mouse Club reboot, which launched the careers of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilara. So The Mickey Mouse Club has entertained generations of kids. What shows did you enjoy as a child?

Oh, so many. I loved Brady Bunch, Wonder Woman, Partridge Family, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy. And Facts of Life, Three’s Company, M*A*S*H, WKRP in Cincinatti,… I could go on.

4) Karen was Karen Pendleton, among the youngest of the original Mousketeers. Producers discovered her at a local dancing school. Have you ever taken dance lessons?

I took years of ballet and modern dance, then added hip hop in the 80s. I loved to dance. Still do.

5) When The Mickey Mouse Club ended, Karen left show business. She went to public school, graduated, got married, and had a daughter. When she was in her 30s, she was involved in a car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Still, she went back to college, earning first her Bachelor’s and then Master’s degrees in psychology. Have you considered continuing your education? What subject would you pursue?

I went to college for three semesters in 1988-1989, quit when I went active duty Army. I took classes here and there over the years, but nothing serious. But then I realized I really wanted to do the damn thing. So I went back to college in 2011 at the ripe old age of 41. I graduated in 2015 with a BA, a double major of Creative Writing and Cultural Studies.

6) Cubby is Cubby O’Brien, a drum prodigy who began playing professionally when he was just 8 years old. After the Mickey Mouse Club he went on to The Lawerence Welk Show. As he entered his teens, he prioritized school over TV. He later returned to television as musician on The Carol Burnett Show. He also performed in concert behind The Carpenters. Do you have a favorite Carpenters song?

7) In 1958, when kids were watching the original Mickey Mouse Club during the day, adults were watching Westerns. The most popular TV shows of that year included Gunsmoke, Wagon Train and The Rifleman. Have you ever fantasized about life as a cowboy/cowgirl?

Nope. I watched westerns with my grandfather, but they were never my thing.

8) Also in 1958, Dwight Eisenhower became the first President to appear on color TV. Not many Americans saw him in color, though. It wasn’t until 1972 that color TVs outsold black-and-white sets. Did you ever own a black-and-white TV?

Sort of. My family had color, but my dad bought me a fancy boom box to take to college with me, and it had a tiny 5″ TV screen that was B&W.

9) Random question — Did you pass your driver’s license test on the first try?

Nope. I’m New York, but I got my license in California when I was 19 and living there. I took both tests there, the first time failing only because the tester decided the car I was driving was too big for me. WHAT?! I did EVERYTHING right, but because my friend’s car was too big? I went back a week later with a different tester, drove the same car, and passed with a perfect score. For the record, it was a 1967 red, hardtop Mustang. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!

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