I took a look back at last year's New
Year's post...
It seemed that I had 'No Plan' but then
decided that the word for 2018 would be 'Impromptu'...
The Universe saw this post and
replied...'Challenge accepted....'
2018 went from No Plan to...
Blue has always been my color.
A paint job for the Fixer-Upper boat
bottom, and indirect blue highlights...
bringing the Coast of Illinois to the Gold Coast...
A semi-impromptu trip to Chicago with
our travel buddies where we went to Wrigley Field for the first time
and hijacked a taxi...
Our son, doing his best Gorton's Fisherman impression.
A fantastic, albeit freezing, sailing
weekend for Rob's birthday...
It rained. A lot. oh, and the storm drain failed....
yes, mud. 16 inches of flood water, about 37 inches of mud.
ugh. this took two full weekends to clean up. And we don't live in a flood plain.
A massive flood in our basement where
we learned that our friends are indeed great mud shovel-ers. And
truly good friends...
And possibly the best...
I may be partial, but could they be any cuter?
An engagement and wedding in eight
months. (according to our daughter, why would I want to plan this
over a year or more, that is just more time to freak out...)
just a sample of the centerpieces we put together
It should be noted that the only
'freaking out' was by me, over a late flower delivery and in the end
the kids had a beautiful wedding and I now have approximately 7000
yards of ivory tulle, in case anyone is interested.....
I even managed to meet my goal of
'more hiking', by taking a hike the day after Christmas.
One hike.
Which is one more than 2017.
(There will be more on that soon....)
But 2018 is nearly over and 2019 looms
large...
There are trips being planned, home
upgrades in the works, books to be read and posts to be written.
I have spent a fair amount of time
contemplating my plan for 2019 and it looks as though the word of the
year will be
I have debated all morning, in my head,
about writing this.
It will offend some people.
But, if we can't speak freely we have
lost one of the most important rights on that badly bashed document
in Washington DC.
I am here to defend the song Baby It's
Cold Outside.
Yes.
I said it.
Yes, it is a song about a guy trying to
convince a gal to stay at his place.
I mean, who's to say that the woman
isn't there voluntarily?
(for the sake of clarity, the woman's
part is in pink and the man's in blue... and just leave that alone,
it's too easy.)
I
really can't stay(Baby it's cold outside) I
gotta go away(Baby it's cold outside) This
evening has been (Been hoping that you'd dropped in) So
very nice
No mention of being kidnapped and
locked in a trunk and driven to an undisclosed location...
She has people who know where she is,
and to whom she must answer to....
If she stays her reputation will be
ruined....
My
mother will start to worry My
father will be pacing the floor So
really I'd better scurry
and
later:
My
sister will be suspicious My
brother will be there at the door My
maiden aunt's mind is vicious Well
maybe just a cigarette more
Of course, Mom is worried. But Dad is
pacing, a sure sign of aggression and her brother is waiting
for....her....? Why?
And don't get me started on auntie...
What is she is being controlled, not
only by the guy she is seeing but by her entire famly...
And NOW she smokes!!!
Or, maybe they just want her to be
safe...
And then he starts up with the booze...
Well
maybe just a half a drink more (I'll put some records on while I
pour)
Now wait a minute, 'he' doesn't
actually offer her a drink in the song. She's the one who brought up
a drink....
And let's face it, most of us wouldn't
be where we are today without alcohol.
Heck, my husband and I would never have
met if it weren't for cheap beer...
Okay, it does take a 'dark' turn here:
Say
what's in this drink?
But, he's putting on records...
Remember records?
Who has time to slip in a drug while
setting up a turntable?
Next...
I
wish I knew how(Your eyes are like starlight now) To
break this spell (I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell)(Why
thank you) I
ought to say no, no, no sir At
least I'm gonna say that I tried
'At
least I'm gonna say that I tried'???
Trying
to justify her actions...she clearly knows what she's doing here. And
she hair done before coming over...
And
think about the general setting of the song. The poor guy is telling
her its COLD outside. He mentions the weather EIGHT times:
(Baby
it's cold outside)(Look
out the window at that storm)(Never such a blizzard before) (It's
up to your knees out there!)
And
he's worried about her safety...
(No
cabs to be had out there)
he
can't send this drunk chick out to drive her drunken self home in a
snow storm....
(If
you caught pneumonia and died!)
and
he doesn't want her to get sick...
Come
on! What sort of girl goes over to a guys house in the middle of a
raging snow storm without the hope of staying over....
This
poor guy has a gal, of questionable sobriety, stuck in his house in
the middle of a blizzard!
And maybe the guy really loves her...
And perhaps, she is just playing with
him, is enjoying the attention, and from the very start had planned
on staying.
Maybe they are...FLIRTING....
Remember flirting?
Now, before I get accused of defending
predators, ignoring injustices and putting women's rights behind by a
century, I will admit, I edited the lyrics to support my
interpretation of this scenario.
And that's the key.
This is MY interpretation.
Every one is allowed to their opinion.
My daughter, at the age of 13 or 14
commented on this very scenario when I played the James Taylor
version in the car one year.
I tried to argue my point with her, but
how can a mom tell her teenage daughter that this flirty exchange, to
have a guy sweet talk her into staying when clearly people would
talk, was her mother's secret dream date...?
I couldn't do it.
She grew up in a different era. And I
am so very pleased that she was such a self-aware woman even at that
young age.
I want her to live in a world where
people treat each other with respect and don't force their beliefs on
one another, but instead, have intelligent, thoughful discussions.
But I also want her to grow up in a
world without censure.
And to ban a song written SEVENTY FOUR
years ago because it doesn't fit into some people's idea of
'appropriate'?
I thought we had already fought that
battle with Huck Finn and Catcher in the Rye.
Must we now fight it with a fluffy song
written for a movie called Neptune's Daughter starring Esther
Williams, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Xavier Cugat!!
A movie with swimming as a main plot
point!
If you actually watch the movie you
will see the song sung by Esther and Ricardo in the girl/guy context
but later, you will see it in a whole different light when Red sings
the female portion and Betty Garrett sings the male.
Could it be, that the song is just
poking fun and male female relationships?
So please, enjoy the song if you want.
If you don't like it, turn it off or change the station.
But don't be so hateful with your
opinion that you forget the fundamentals of free speech.
Because while it might be cold outside,
we should never be so cold to one another.
Please enjoy the trailer to Neptune's Daughter.
And come back again when I tackle the scene in the movie where the swimmers are tapping their feet on cross-dressing Red Skelton's junk....