ROCK ‘n ROLL Fridays: The Beatles

“We are like other memes in that we will ask you thirteen questions each and every Friday. But our little “twist” is that each week we will pick a singer, band, era or category and pick thirteen of their songs. Each of our questions will be based on the lyrics.

For the end of 2010, a double-length meme of the Beatles. As though I could resist.

1. HARD DAY’S NIGHT: “You know I work all day, to get you money, to buy you things, and it’s worth it just to hear you say, you’re gonna give me everything…”
Have you ever supported another person?

Well, my wife and I support our daughter. When Carol was in grad school, I was making the vast majority of the income, but now, as with about a fifth of mixed gender couples in the U.S., she makes more than I do.

2. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE: “Nothing you can make that can’t be made. No one you can save that can’t be saved. Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time, it’s easy. All you need is love…”
What 3 things do you need besides love?

Water, food, music.

3. BACK IN THE USSR: “Been away so long I hardly knew the place, gee it’s great to be back home…”
What is the most unusual place you have visited?

Barbados, 1999. Don’t know that it was unusual as much as it was FAR AWAY.

4. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET?: “Listen, doo da doo, do you want to hear a secret? Do you promise not to tell?…”
What was the last secret you heard?

What a silly question.

5. DRIVE MY CAR: “Baby you can drive my car. Yes I’m gonna be a star. Baby you can drive my car and maybe I’ll love you…”
When was the last time you drove someone else’s car?

1987, I think. It was definitely when I was working at FantaCo.

6. EIGHT DAYS A WEEK: “I ain’t got nothing but love, babe. Eight days a week”…
What was the longest week of YOUR life?

First week of the daughter’s life – utter exhaustion.

7. GET BACK: “Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner, but he knew it couldn’t last. Jojo left his home in Tucson Arizona, for some California grass. Get back!Get Back! Get back to where you once belonged…”
Where do YOU belong?

A reasonable question. As Marvin Gaye sang, “Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home.”

8. GOOD MORNING GOOD MORNING: “Everyone you see is half asleep, and you’re on your own you’re in the street…”
What is your morning routine?

I usually get up about 5:30 a.m. While my wife is in the shower, I am at the computer for about an hour, which consists of 1) checking my e-mail, 2) going to the blogs on my list, 3) writing something for my blog, ideally for several days in the future, as opposed to that morning. Then I get dressed, then make Lydia’s lunch while listening to the local news, especially the weather.

A lot depends on the daughter. If she gets up on her own, that could be anywhere from 6 to 7, and if so, I need to occupy her; that could be a book or talk. If I get her up at 7, I get her breakfast, then her mother does her hair, then I take her upstairs to get dressed, make sure she goes to the bathroom, check to make sure her homework and lunch are in her backpack, then help her with her coat and walk her to school.

9. HELLO GOODBYE: “I don’t know why you say goodbye I say hello, hello, hello…”
Who was the last person you said goodbye to that you look forward to saying Hello to again?

Well, when I’m at work, it’s the folks at home. Since I’m home, it’s folks at work.

10. YESTERDAY: “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they’re here to stay, oh I believe in yesterday…”
What was the best event of yesterday (the day before today)?

Reading a bunch of newspapers.

11. WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU: “We were talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion…”
Spiritually, do you believe in the afterlife, reincarnation, or nothing at all?

I believe in the likelihood of an afterlife, but don’t think less of those who don’t.

12. WHEN I’M 64: When I get older losing my hair, many years from now…will you still be sending me a valentine, birthday greetings, bottle of wine?…”
What was your favorite age to be?

37; that’s when I went to library school.

13. WE CAN WORK IT OUT: “Try to see it my way, do I have to keep on talking till I can’t go on? While you see it your way, run the risk of knowing that our love will soon be gone, we can work it out…”
What is the most drastic thing you ever did to try to save a relationship/friendship?

Hitchhiked hundreds of miles.

14. THE NIGHT BEFORE: “We said our goodbyes the night before, Love was in your eyes the night before, Now today I find, you have changed your mind…treat me like you did the night before…”
Anything change drastically just overnight for you?

Always depends on my dreams. When I dream a lot that I can remember, it stimulates my imagination.

15. FOOL ON THE HILL: “But nobody wants to know him, they can see that he’s just a fool. And he never gives an answer but the fool on the hill sees the sun going down and the eyes in his head see the world going round…”
Were you ever teased or bullied in the past?

Sure, especially in second and sixth grades, oddly.

16. SHE’S A WOMAN: “My love don’t give me presents, I know that she’s no peasant. Only ever have to give me, love forever and forever, my love don’t give me presents…”
What was the last gift your significant lover gave to you?

For Christmas, a waffle maker, albums by Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen, and a Hess truck.

17. SEXY SADIE: “She came along to turn on everyone, sexy Sadie the greatest of them all, Sexy Sadie how did you know, the world was waiting just for you…”
What is sexy about your significant other?

She’s sexy when she’s spontaneous.

18. REVOLUTION: “You say you want a revolution, well you know, we’d all want to change the world…”
What would you change about the USA right now if you could (besides war)?

Find some way not to reward what I can only call intentional stupidity.

19. PENNY LANE: “Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes, there beneath the blue suburban skies…
Tell us about your favorite street. It doesn’t have to be the one you live on now…

Lombard Street in San Francisco.

20. PAPERBACK WRITER: “It’s a thousand pages give or take a few, I’ll be writing more in a week or two. I can make it longer if you like the style, I can change it round and I want to be a paperback writer….”
What would your book be about if someone advanced you money to write one?

A roman a clef about people in choirs.

21. NOWHERE MAN: “He’s a real nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody..”
Who do you feel is clue-less?

Only one? OK, Michele Bachmann.

22. NORWEGIAN WOOD: “She showed me her room, isn’t it good Norwegian wood?”
What piece of artwork or furniture are you most proud of?

A piece my late friend Raoul made a VERY large birthday card.

23. MICHELLE: “I love you I love you I love you, that’s all I want to say, until I find a way, I will say the only words I know that you’ll understand…
Have you ever dated a non-US-born person? (If you are from another country, have you dated anyone outside your borders?)

No.

24. MAXWELL’S SILVER HAMMER: “Bang Bang Maxwell’s silver hammer came down on her head, bang bang Maxwell’s silver hammer made sure that she was dead…”
How would you like to die if given a choice?

In my sleep.

25. MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR: “Roll up for the mystery tour. The magical mystery tour is waiting to take you away, waiting to take you away take you today…”
What was the last tour you went on?

Last fall, my wife, daughter, and parents-in-law took a train ride.

26. LADY MADONNA: “Lady Madonna baby at your breast, wonders how you manage to beat the rest…”
How do you feel about public breastfeeding?

It’s fine. There is an ad campaign around here supporting breastfeeding.