Saturday 9: Farewell, Amanda

 

(Harry Prime, young and old)

Hello, kids of all ages! Glad to have you stop by. I have finished my two-week course of antibiotics, and would you believe it? I actually feel so much better now for the first time since near the end of December! It took right up until the end of that fortnight, but that's okay, because I was giving it my full faith and it, its time to work, and it did. I am so damn relieved. Can I get a woot, woot!? [TWO MONTHS of this pneumonia that caused a wicked harsh bronchiectasis exacerbation. No, thank you!]

I know, I'm strange. I'm aware. Today we're doing the song "Farewell, Amanda," over on ye olde Saturday 9. If you're joining us late, like I am, or even tomorrow, be sure and link up here. Now let's get down to business:

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Saturday 9: Farewell, Amanda (1949)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. 

1) The record begins with a long instrumental interlude, and when the lyrics kick in at about the 1:00 mark, they bid Amanda "farewell, adios, addio, adieu." Of course you recognize "farewell" as English. Without looking it up, can you identify the other languages?

^^^ Legitimate thoughts I've had

Absolutely. I'm somewhat of a polyglot, or at least I'm a wannabe and am always studying languages. Those are Spanish, Italian, and French.
 
2) Can you say "goodbye" in a language not represented in question #1?

I can say it in Japanese, too: "Sayonara."

[That was me, oldest kid Chloë, and Hubs, in Kanazawa, Japan, almost one year ago. (I think that's the first picture from our trip that I've posted.)]

3) The lyrics reference a night full of stars. When did you last take a moment to check out the night sky?

I haven't in a good long while, because I don't hang with the cold weather very well. But with the 6-planet line-up tonight, I intend to throw on the ole hat and scarf and make the best of it, because that's my kind of show! Now somewhere in here is a telescope, have any of you seen it??!

4) This song was written for Adam's Rib, a comedy starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The movie is about husband-and-wife lawyers who square off against one another in court. Have you ever served on a jury?

No, but I've always wanted to! I'm approaching my 50th birthday, and I finally was summonsed a year or two ago! But I'm not a good candidate for jury duty, so we called them and talked to them about all my issues, and, disappointingly, I was let off. I really wanted to do my part!

5) "Farewell, Amanda" was composed by Noël Coward. Though best known as a playwright, he also wrote more than a thousand songs and was a director and an actor. His epitaph reads, "A talent to amuse." How would you like to be remembered?

 

Well, I can't say. Sure, there are lovely ways - and also some pretty goofy ways - I'd like to be remembered, but I don't want to invite some self-fulfilling prophecies that aren't as great in the end as I imagined they'd be. And I'd rather not be suggestible. I'd rather just be... wherever I'd be, anyway... and hear what other people think, all of their own volition.

6) There's even a book of Noël Coward paintings. It was published after his death, in part because Coward considered himself only an amateur painter. When did you last pick up a paintbrush?

This is one of Coward's paintings: "Sail Away." Well, I like it!

I don't really paint, unless we're talking walls or decoupaging things. My youngest kiddo is more of an artist than I am:

For example, when Hubs and I were working on our bedroom after moving into our house, I asked Nico to paint something on each of these two 5"x7" canvases, to put in our room. He took them and left, and he was back with these mini masterpieces less than an hour later. I love them!! Now framed, I'm actually using them for inspo in my office, which they certainly are, and I still love them just as much. He's just got so much innate talent for so many artsy things. And I remember at least one of you donated to our fundraiser for his supplies-heavy art course back when we lived in Boise, and I thank you again for that!

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Oh, also, I was just thinking about Noël Coward a couple of days ago, because he was one of the subjects of the Connections game in the New York Times Games app. That's my favorite one, Connections. Do you guys play those games? If so, which one is your favorite?

 
7) In 1949, when audiences first heard "Farewell, Amanda," Americans began playing Clue. What's the last board game you played?

This picture appears to be from 2019 and was an Oreo and Nutter Butter party pack that included so much fun stuff (including the Target gift card with which to buy the latter cookies). I know I did play checker on this, then, when I "won" this party pack. I cannot factually state that I have played any games since then, which is sad because I love playing games. And we all used to love playing board games together. Note to self: Work on this!

 8) The best-selling novel of 1949 was Point of No Return by John P. Marquand. Tell us about the last book you finished.

Honestly, I haven't been reading too much, either. I've been very scatterbrained and not accomplishing a whole lot at all; it's pretty embarrassing. I'm reading this right now: "Leave It Up to Love," by Kristy Woodson Harvey... but it's only a short story and I just can't focus on it to just sit and read it all in one piece! Isn't that ridick?!! I'll start to do better on that, too. /shameonme

9) Random question: Growing up, did you share a bedroom?

My older sibling and I shared a room until I was 6½. Then we moved from Monroe, which is close to NYC, to B'ville, which is up near Syracuse, and we each got our own rooms. Thank God for that, because even in those little-kid years, sharing was awful. Did it build character? Probably. Many new negative traits could've also come out of that and build into a person's character. Just sayin'. We don't talk anymore. It's for the good.

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I shall repeat: glad to have you stop by. it has taken me all days to sit still and write this one post. I need a heavy sedative or something. Probably the "or something" part. And no, I don't drink caffeine or do drugs. I'm just so frazzled and anxious. I think it comes from having a son who unalived himself and being still worried about his two surviving siblings. It's an excruciating thought that one little wrong thing and it could happen again, you know? 

Sorry, this wasn't supposed to be a confessional. Go ahead and have yourselves a great new week. I'm fine. I'll be fine. It's fine.

                                xoxo, m