Saturday 9

Saturday 9: We Belong Together

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions!

Saturday 9: We Belong Together (2005)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

This month we're going to recall Summer Songs. These will all be records that topped the charts during August.

1) Number 1 on the charts in August 20 years ago, "We Belong Together" is about the end of this romantic relationship. Mariah sings that now she won't have anyone to talk to on the phone until the sun comes up. That was then. Today many people prefer to text than to talk on the phone. Are you one of those people?

No I can say that I am not a fan of texting. I'm going to tell you a story... When I was in grad school my study group, friends to study together.

Well... one time we were trying to get together to study. Well after something of 20 texts, I finally had enough. I made a conference call to all of four of us. Within minutes we figured out a place to go to study. It was like a foreign idea... talking on a phone! 

2) The video for this song features an elaborate wedding. Tell us about the last wedding you attended.

Well it was a very, very long time ago... from that marriage one of their children just graduated from high school/

But the wedding was at Lake George in the Adirondacks, you can read about it here.

3) Mariah believes she inherited her musical gifts from her mom, who was an opera singer and vocal coach. When things were hectic in their household, Mariah recalls that music helped bring her and her mom closer together. Share a happy childhood memory featuring you and one of your parents.

Well it isn't from my childhood... my father asked my to take a photo of them. but the photo that I took was one of the posses, it was a candid photo... you can see the love in their eyes... and it brings tears to me eyes.

4) After graduating from high school in Long Island, Mariah Carey went to Manhattan in search of stardom. While waiting for her big break, she enrolled in beauty school and waited tables. Both stylists and servers receive gratuities for their services. Do you consider yourself a good tipper? 

Yes, I always tip 20%

5) The Fresh Air Fund operates six camps in the New York area to provide kids with a chance to learn and explore outdoors. They named Camp Mariah in Ms. Carey's honor to thank her for her support. Here's your chance to toot your own horn. Tell us about an honor you received. (Anything from a major award to a handmade drawing that says "World's Best Mom" counts. We want to hear about it.)

Well, not to brag, I have received many awards... but I don't think the best was an actual award, but rather the what my employees gave me when I was laid off and retired.

6) Mariah has mentioned she enjoys pizza and red wine. Will you be enjoying either pizza or red wine this weekend?

No red wine... but maybe a pizza.

Let's look at the summer of 2005.

7) The biggest news story that summer was Hurricane Katrina. This deadly and destructive storm killed over 1,000 people and did more than $100 billion in damage. Have you ever endured a natural disaster (such as hurricane, flood, landslide, tornado, blizzard, wildfire)?

• Hurricanes:  ✓ My first hurricanes was in 1955 (Back to back) Hurricane Connie and Hurricane Diane
• Floods:  ✓ See above.
• Landslides: 
• Tornado:  (A close call one time, there was a tornado in CT (Yes, folks we get tornados on the East Coast) I was watching the news when when they said the the track would take it over my street...Whoa! And then a few years ago on Cape Cod. In middle of the night my cell phone started to make a weird noise and then the tornado warning. In the middle of the night, I took all the pillows in the cottage and piled them in the bath tub. On radar it looked like a direct hit, but as I watch the storm vanished as it cross over on to Cape Cod Bay.
• Blizzard:  ✓ The blizzard of '78 they are still talking about/
• Wild fire:  ✓ In town last year there was a big brush fire that made the national news because of the death of a firefighter when his ATV turned over on him.

8) Popular that summer was Kingda Ka, the new roller coaster at Six Flags Great America in Jackson, NJ. At the time, it was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. Have you been to any fairs or amusement parks this summer?

Yes, but I'm on the Cape and the fair in town is in 3 weeks.

9) Award-winning American figure skater Alysa Liu was born in August of 2005. NBC Sports and their Peacock network report that figure skating events get high ratings. What's your favorite sport to watch on TV?

America's Cup.

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

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It is troubling times for me. They say one of the early signs of depression is the lack of dong things you used to enjoy... I have picked up my camera in months. And the same with this... it seems like a chore. But I promise that I will keep trying!

But the political situation is wearing me down. It is doing exactly what Trump intended it to do, create fear and anxiety. A number of my friends have actually fled the country, and I am even have thoughts of fleeing (Nova Scotia looks good to me).

I have lost weight, have trouble sleeping, and trouble concentrating. Thank you Mister Trump for making millions and millions of not only trans lives, but other lives miserable. He is totally devoid of any empathy. I have a friend who I worry about, and he is not trans, he is from Canada and just became a US citizen, he was the head of a Connecticut's Office of Civil Rights and an outspoken champion of diversity and inclusion which I fear will put him on Trump's radar.

I fear where this country is heading... all the signs are there: the persecuting and scapegoating minorities (Do you remember Haitians eating cats and dogs?). attacking liberal colleges and universities, attacking the news media, overruling civil authorities, ignoring the the courts, placing unhoused in camps, rigging the elections... these were things done in Germany in the 1930s

I will not go away, I will keep trying to play Saturday 9... I am a fighter. So I might skip a few weeks playing, or might not reply but I am trying to shake the blues, but it is hard. And i want to thank you all for your patience and understanding.