Speaking of church, I almost got run over by a train today
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Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It’s been two months since I’ve written about my teenage journal. In that last installment I didn’t have much to say.
August 10, 1985
You know what? I saw Barry Manilow on the news the other night. (He’s in concert at Pine Knob.) Right now you’re saying, “Who cares dude?” Well they ended the news with Barry singing, “You know I can’t smile without you” and I immediately thought of Kim in that old blue Nova.
Every time I hear that song I think of us sitting at Friendly’s (talking about church) and I always have to laugh. I swear Dad brainwashed all of us against church without knowing it.
Speaking of church, I almost got run over by a train on the way to … (where else?) … church! The lights are a little slow these days and I spotted that bright, white light just 15-20 feet to my left when the wooden arm-thing went down and the lights started to blink. I guess this was supposed to renew my faith in God.
Whatever it did, it made me thank whoever is up there. Thanks again, dude. I couldn’t have done it without ya.
High school journal, how I love thee.
I’m pretty sure Barry Manilow has been a guilty pleasure of mine for as long as I can remember. He’s just not cool in a global sense and yet everyone seems to know the words to all of his songs. Now that I’m in my 40s I finally feel like I can stand tall with my hands on my hips and declare, “I do like Barry Manilow. What of it?”
Anyway, before my sister moved to California we were driving in a blue Nova, apparently, when she said we should think of each other every time we hear the song, “I Can’t Smile Without You.” All together now, awwww.
It must have worked since I thought of us sitting at Friendly’s which was an ice cream joint in town. It’s long gone now, but it was a favorite hangout of mine. Two scoops of mint chocolate chip, hold the whipped cream, please.
Whoa total side note!
I just remembered a bright, kelly green jacket that I wore to Friendly’s in the summer because the air conditioning made it so cold inside. My mom worked at a department store in the men’s department so she waited for stuff to go on the clearance rack so she could use her discount to get a really good deal. She use to buy stuff like brightly colored socks and men’s jackets that didn’t sell.
I actually had a bright pair of green socks that matched that jacket and I thought wearing those two together with my brown Sperry Topsiders was the bomb, jack. In retrospect I can see why those bright colors didn’t go over very well with the men. But I loved them.
I’m actually surprised to see how often I complained about church in this journal; I didn’t think it made much of an impact on me as a kid and a teenager. My guess is that I hated going because my dad made us go while he and my mom stayed home or went out to breakfast.
It also looks like my brush with a train didn’t make much of an impact on me either since I sarcastically thanked whichever deity allowed me to “renew my faith in God” while making it to church that day.
Tags: Things that make me laugh, Things that require my sarcasm
I was listening to the radio this morning and remembered about how I fell asleep in church and my Dad gave me a funny hug to wake me up so that I didn’t squeal. I think his original plan was to poke me in the ribs lol. (I’d been to a sleepover and then went to church the following morning – it was sooooo boring lol)
Then again I can sleep in all sorts of places. I slept in the middle of a football match (our church was showing the World Cup matches 4ish years ago and I fell asleep across a few spare chairs. Napped on my friends sofa – I’d only know them about two weeks and I crashed out lol. I was sat upright leaning on the arm of the chair. I couldn’t help it.
Man that’s an awesome skill to have — the ability to sleep wherever, whenever. My middle kid is like that. It was excellent when she was a baby. She just closed her eyes when she was tired and she was out.
Wherever we were.
My wife got her picture in the paper once because she fell asleep on a snowy day laying on a concrete bench. We both have that ability. In fact, I’m asleep right now.
You’re like Superman, Mike. Is there anything you can’t do? How are you with leaping tall buildings?
It depends on how tired I am, if I’m just a little bit tired I can’t sleep for anything but if I’m shatter you better find me a pillow quick lol. I nearly dozed off in a meeting yesterday – I stopped drinking diet cola on Tuesday and so yesterday was like the third day and that’s supposed to be when the caffeine properly leaves your system. (and the meeting yesterday was sooo boring)
Do you see me as looking like my avatar? I see you as looking like yours ;)
Anyway, what what was I going to say? I can’t remember now!
Did all parents send their kids off to church on a Sunday so they could do whatever parents did on a Sunday morning with no kids around?
Totally. I will be completely freaked out if you look nothing like that avatar Babs. That IS you. To me, at least.
You know, I never thought of it and maybe you’re not suggesting it but I want to poke my eyes out at the thought of my mom and dad going at it while we were supposed to be sitting in church praying for them.
Yes, he always said, right before we walked out the door, “Say a prayer for me, eh?”
I should have said, “NO!”
Ha ha! I actually think they they just wanted some quiet time, with no kids around, to be honest. A nice, leisurely Sunday morning with some peace and quiet, so don’t poke your eyes out :)
I hate to disappoint but my avatar was created just as a ‘doodle’ and a couple of bloggers suggested I use it in my banner in place of my beetle. Although it doesn’t look like me, it does some up my character quite well, so it’s not a total let down.
Okay, I actually feel better about that now. They were always fighting anyway, I bet my dad read the paper and my mom hung out in the back room folding laundry.
I do love your banner — especially the green squiggle that ends with a sassy ladybug.
Generally the offhand thank-you’s are even sloppier than the panicky pre-impact prayers. Neither really matters much. If a squishing for you is in the plan, it’s a squishing you’ll get. I do occassionally intervene (2007 NY Giants) but it’s rare.
You are, however, welcome for your existence in the first place. You could just as easily have been created AS the loud green jacket, rather than the plucky chick wearing it!
Thanks God, I never thought of it that way — I could have been a green jacket, man!
Love the alliteration on panicky pre-impact prayers.
I like the parenthetical insert. Nice touch, God. Of course, you have certain advantages…..
(Mumbles under her breath) “Unfair advantage anyone?”
I had a bright green handbag with matching shoes. I don’t remember them actually going with anything I had, but I loved the colour.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen green shoes much less a green handbag. But I bet they were fabulous.
I’m not a hard-core Manilow fan, but I do really dig “Copacabana.” My big guilty music pleasure is the Carpenters. My mom used to sing their songs to me when I was little and I *love* them.
Kelly green jacket and socks with TopSiders in 1985 really was the bomb! No wonder you felt like you were rocking it. I still love the kelly green and pink combo that was so popular during the 80s preppy craze.
Love. The. Carpenters! Love them! I was so bummed out when Karen died. Her voice was so expressive and smooth.
I have to admit I also like that kelly green and pink combo, too.
Can you guys imagine a Carpenters/Manilow concert? Dreamy! Only thing that could possibly make it better would be adding Neil Sedaka to the lineup! I’d sell my soul for those tickets! I’d have to!
That.
Would.
Be.
AWESOME! I also adore Mr. Neil Sedaka “I love, I love, I love my calendar girl.” We also had his greatest hits on 8 track.
I probably would have loved the jacket. Green IS my favorite color after all. I used to listen to Barry Manilow, too. I hadn’t thought about that song in years, and then there’s “Mandy” Thanks for the memory.
Any time, Linda. I wish I had a picture of that jacket, the inside was a cream color with thin, vertical navy and maroon stripes. Bitchin’, is it not? But the best part was the inner pocket. Because it was a man’s jacket it had that inside pocket to squirrel stuff away.
I’d never had a jacket with an inner pocket before that.
You had me at Barry Manilow.
I *love* him!
In fact, I’m a huge Fan-ilo.
I’ve never heard that phrase Fan-ilo but I think I like that. A lot.
:)
I hate green and Manilow. Hold on. Let me go Youtube some stuff just to make sure. Okay, I don’t hate him. Not like I hate that “Jersey Boys” crap. But Barry is a little too easy listening for my taste.
I grew up with Led Zeppelin and The Doors. My parents still fight over who took the “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” record in the divorce.
Wait a sec. Your mom didn’t go to church either? That’s pretty effed up. I threw an absolute hissy fit when Moma told us we had to switch churches, but at least we all went together.
I thought you were going to come back and say, “Okay, I do hate him.” I actually grew up with that 70s rock as well — “Smoke on the Water” was a favorite.
Nope. My mom had a massive grudge against the Catholic church so she was a no-go until she was in her mid-60s.
I loved to play “Smoke on the Water” in pep band. It was one of few instances where brass was allowed to just blare. It was fun.
Like food, I’m open to all types of music at least once.
I like real music, too, Liz. Black Sabbath, Nazareth, Jethro Tull, Zeppelin, Neil Young and Rust, Bob Dylan, Cake, Tom Waits and the like. I used to listen to it in church to drown out the hymns.
@Liz Wow your band played “Smoke on the Water?” That’s cool! The most progressive our band ever got was to play the “Star Wars” theme — via violin and other stringed instruments.
I played cornet and was jacked that we got to blare in certain sections.
@Mike Hate Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits — the Terrible Trifecta of my youth. You probably like Bob Seger too, right?
I think we can still be cyber friends though.
Hello fellow Fan-ilo!
I can’t look at him without thinking of high school science. My teacher Mrs. Balding, looked just like him. I always expected her to break out in song, she never did. So disappointing.
Get out! Your science teacher, MRS. Balding, looked like Barry? She had that ‘do didn’t she? Sort of a long, feathered Dorothy Hamil.
Too bad she never sang for you guys, not even once.
Not just the hair, she could have been his twin sister separated at birth. Same nose, mouth everything. It was creepy
I think I would have liked that class. My sister had a friend who looked *exactly* like John Denver. I swear I’m not kidding. She had the same hair style, color and glasses.
Oy, if I were her I would have put my hair up in a ponytail (natch) and worn tortoise-shell glasses.
I posted side by side pix at my place
I was there. Not when you just missed the train, of course. I was there — at the Barry Manilow concert, sitting on the hill. I’m guessing it was the 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe tour because I remember that being at Pine Knob and the timing is right but it could have been related to Copacabana too.
I guess you could say I was born a Manilow fan. In fact, I came thisclose to being named Mandy. The song hit #1 in the month after I was born but my mom already knew who he was due to her love of Bette Midler.
We (mom & I) went to pretty much every show in MIchigan through my high school graduation. And I had a clock, made from one of those records (vinyl, playable) in the shape of Barry’s head, on my wall. Actually, its probably still on the wall in my old bedroom.
When October Goes is probably my favorite song of his BUT, you can bet I’m standing up and waving madly every concert hoping he’ll pick ME ME ME to duet with Can’t Smile Without You.
And that’s my dork admission of the day…
Aww yeah! This has never happened before — I have never met a reader who was at an event in Michigan that I wrote about. Sweep the Leg!
And that clock sounds awesome! Naturally I’m hoping you have a picture or you could procure a picture to share with the rest of the class.
I didn’t recognize When October Goes, had to go to YouTube. I’m not positive I’ve ever heard it, but it totally sounds like a Manilow song.
I might hate Manilow, but this truly is an amazing story! Sweep the leg, indeed!
You’re being sincere, right Mike? Who wouldn’t want a clock made out of a vinyl record that’s shaped like Barry Manilow’s head?
I really do want to see a picture of that.
Attempt to locate photo in progress. I know they exist, the question is where.
I have lived my entire life in a triangle where Lansing, Flint and Detroit are the points- our ‘paths’ were bound to cross at some point!
I didn’t realize it back then but the words to When October Goes were written by Johnny Mercer and I’m a big fan of his music so I gues it connected on multiple levels. Another one of Mercer’s, Come Rain or Come Shine was the song I picked to dance to at my wedding, years before I actually met my husband.
THat is awesome- socks with top siders. Are you my father??? It will be July, hot, my father is standing there shorts and white socks with his topsiders. Bright green socks couldn’t make it any worse!!
LukeSparkling74, I’m your father.Man white socks with shorts in July should be outlawed. If nothing else it should become an unspoken rule like the one that says not to wear white after Labor Day. Of course you’d have your dissenters who would laugh in the face of that rule and probably they would be led by your dad.
I like Barry. Bright green socks, not so much. Manilow sort of spans generations I think, sort of like John Denver. I liked him too. I have to laugh at your parents sending you to church. I was very devout as a young person, (8 years of Catholic school will do that to you.) My daughter is Muslim, and my son is Catholic. I am a devout Pagan.
I agree about the spanning of generations but I don’t think John D. can join that distinction. If he had kicked out records into the late ’80s I might have included him, but he didn’t.
My sister had a friend who looked just like John Denver back in the 70s. Her name was Cathy Phelps and she looked. Ex.Act.Ly. like Mr. Denver.
I could never like a man who writes these lyrics:
Well, you came and you gave without takin’
But I sent you away, oh Mandy
well, you kissed me and stopped me from shakin’
and I need you today. Oh, Mandy!
I mean, come on. That’s just silly.
I still miss my high school girlfriend, though. *sob*
I’ll be she misses you, too, Mike. *Shakes her head no as she mouths the words “Not really,” to the rest of the VIPs in the Lounge.*
…music and passion were always in fashion at the Copa…they fell in love…
It’s crazy to me how the melody just takes over in my head when I read any of his lyrics.
Not to mention the need to start dancing…especially in the car…and especially when there are children in the car. Embarrassing my children is always a special perk.