saturday 9: the entertainer (theme from the sting)

 

Hello again, all. I try, I try to stay on top of writing, but the days and weeks just get away from me. So I bring to you another Saturday 9 from Crazy Sam and the crew (and a not-bad looking Robert Redford [RIP]), with promises to try writing other things during the week, too. Noo, those aren't my fingers crossed behind my back!

Today's song choice is Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer." I think the last time I came this up close and personal with this song, it was 1991, and I was 14 years old and on my first cruise. We were on the Carnival Ecstasy's inaugural year, close to the beginning, which my dad and his wife were stupidly so proud about. But I digress. There was a talent show. Two of the guys I was hanging out with had a younger brother who played piano and used this for his talent piece. I cannot remember if he won.

If you're playing along this weekend - which I hope you are - make sure you link your post up here! Let's go:

The Entertainer (The Theme from The Sting) 1973

Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.    

Chosen in memory of Robert Redford: Aug. 18, 1936 - Sept. 16, 2025

1) The Sting marked the second teaming of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. The two enjoyed almost 40 years of friendship. One passion they shared was sports cars. Newman raced Porsches professionally and Redford was deft behind the wheel of a classic Karmann Ghia convertible. Think about one of your longest friendships. What did you two first bond over?

I have had two lifelong best friends, so I have to give both airtime here:

This is us in August 2014, at our 20th reunion.

Lisa and I first bonded over our nerdiness. Seriously! From 6th grade all-Honors classes all the way up through Honors and AP classes in our Senior year, we were together because our big, wrinkly brains put us there. But not just that! We both were in the choir from 6th through 12th as well, although I was a Soprano and Lisa's an Alto. There's a lot more glue than that to keep us together, of course, but you didn't ask for all that.

Shana and I (and, here, two guys who talked at a convention we both were attending in 2017) bonded much the same way as Lisa and I did, though they couldn't be less alike. Anyway, Shana I were also nerds the whole way through, although she broke off a chunk of it to focus on her music. She was also an alto in the choir and played the piano accompaniment, but she also played viola/violin in the orchestra and went to college for that. 

She got her master's for conducting if I'm not wrong, because she's been doing that (well!) for a very long time, along with being a concert violist, violist, you name it - she played with Josh Groban!! I lose my mind every time I think of it but she's not a big fan so she's like, eh, whatever...

Long story short, I'm very proud of both my best friends and count myself fortunate that they want to know me.

2) During their first movie together – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Redford was late so often that Newman joked they should change the title to, "Waiting for Lefty." Do you have a friend who is perpetually tardy? Or are you that friend?

I mean, I can sometimes be late, but the military teaches you (even the family members) that 15 minutes prior to an appointments is considered "on time," and on-time is considered "late," so I still try to stick to those ideas, somewhat. I'll tell you what, though, my youngest child and especially his beau are perpetually very late!

3) Back in 1936, when Redford was born, baseball's Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown. Coincidentally, two members of his high school class of 1954 are represented in the Hall: Redford, with memorabilia from his baseball film, The Natural, and his teammate on the Van Nuys Wolves, Don Drysdale. "Big D" was inducted for his stellar Dodger pitching career. Have you recently spoken to, or corresponded with, one of your high school classmates?

Yeah. Both Lisa and Shana, who I mentioned above, and a couple other friends from high school reached out on Tuesday. It was the first anniversary of my son Jack's suicide, a very hard day after a painful year.

4) Redford admitted he had a few run-ins with law enforcement during his teen years. He specifically recalled being picked up for breaking into the neighbors' back yard and swimming in their pool. Were you a mischievous kid?

I wasn't like, the kind of kid who would get in trouble with the law or anything like that. No way. But I was occasionally naughty. My "parents" didn't care - I was essentially raising myself - so getting falling-down drunk at 17 with my 25 and up friends and going to the bowling alley to bowl and throw darts all weekend, every  weekend went completely unnoticed.

5) Redford went on to CU Boulder. He confessed to being a distracted student and only lasted a year and a half. While not good in class, he was popular with his coworkers at his after school job, mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms at a restaurant called The Sink. The restaurant is still thriving, and Redford returned whenever he was in Boulder. He wore a Sink t-shirt during a national press conference in 2018 and when asked what The Sink was, he was happy to plug his former employer. Do you often wear graphic tees, decorated with a favorite band, restaurant logo, team mascot, vacation destination, etc.?

Yes, I have lots of Mama Dragons items - mostly shirts and hoodies - as a show of respect and love, etc. for my LGBTQ+ children and all the other Mama Dragons loving on all their LGBTQ+ kids, and the greater LGBTQ+ as a whole.

I also have a lot of PuraVida shirts (and tons of their jewelry), because I'm very beach-forward and because they contribute good things to a lot of great charities.

6) When he was a struggling New York actor, he and his wife lost their first child to crib death. Redford told AARP magazine that he blamed himself, and said it's a wound that never healed. Tell us about a time you felt guilty but shouldn't have.

Oh. Well. Now you have my heart here, of course. We lost Jack's twin brother, Robby (Robert William) three days after birth in 2003, and I second-guessed everything I did, every decision I made in my pregnancy, that may have cost him his life. I drove myself insane with these thoughts for a while.

7) Legendary costume designer Edith Head said she liked putting Redford in hats because they balanced his strong, square jaw. Do you take your figure flaws into consideration when you choose your clothes?

Yes, very much so. You don't lose 200+ pounds and not be able to have plastic surgery for nothing! You learn to hide things. Kinda.

8) Forever fit, Redford credited his physique on exercise and genes, not diet. He said, "Healthy food is good for the conscience, but Oreos taste a helluva lot better." What's the last cookie, candy or treat you indulged in?

Oh gosh, you would ask. Chloë left her can of Pringles in our room last night when she went to bed, and I polished them off. Tee-hee!

 

9) Random question: Do you prefer to bathe or shower first thing in the morning, after work, or before bed?

Well, I don't work, because I'm disabled now, so that part of the question is off the table for me. I prefer to shower sometime in the daylight, before sundown.

That's it for me, then! Try to get outside and enjoy some piece of the world a little each week, if not daily!

xoxo

~M