I have had oodles of things on my mind....happy thoughts for our Golden Apple friend....conflicting thoughts about the wild turkeys meandering in our yard (they seem to be making a daily visit, tossing mulch left and right)....wondering what to do about my M D N A license plates, as I'm sick of everything thinking they say MONA....putting out good thoughts for Jobi the Wonder Dog (who, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, is the recipient of new new eye lenses---who knew dogs get cataracts?)...healing thoughts for Captain Harley.....fun memories of American Bandstand.....contemplating the merits of the 17th Annual Day of Silence....pondering how naughty substances became associated with 4/20....and, truth be told, December 2012.Now that Dick Clark died--after all, he is the king of New Years Eve--I predict things are going to start getting weirder and weirder, faster and faster. Damn those Mayans. MJagger says I'm the only one thinking about these things, but won't she be sorry when she didn't take December 21st off and I have the day off. These three diddies were on my Book de la Face wall yesterday, so don't tell me people aren't thinking about these things. (Thanks to those whose artwork is depicted here. I'd give you appropriate credit but Book de la Face isn't very helpful in this department. I do see that the ecard thing is appropriately acknowledged, so one out of three ain't bad. I make no claim to these illustrations; I am merely sharing their genius with you.)
I think I shall stick to talking about Mr. Clark, as that is a much happier topic than the stupidity that might surround the end of this calendar year. I loved American Bandstand. L.O.V.E.D. My mother claims that she used to plop me in the playpen (located conveniently right in front of the TV) and have me watch AB while she did household duties. I believe her because I adore music and I love the concept of musicians performing/dancing/lip-syncing on the tube. I'm guessing I didn't even move when AB was on--I probably begged to be put in that aptly-located pen. Can't you just hear Barry Man.O.Low singing the theme song? I honestly really can remember seeing ABBA, Blondie, Andy Gibb (yum!), The Osmonds, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Adam and the Ants (oh, how I loved Adam!), the Carpenters, Barry Man.O.Low and, of course, David Cassidy on AB. The Number One band (and, I do use that term loosely) on my list of "Most Memorable Memories of American Bandstands of Addiverse Past" is....
....The Village People.
I'm serious.
When I think of AB, I think of the Village People. Cop. Biker. Construction Worker. Cowboy. Soldier. Indian. I can remember thinking, "who ARE these people and why are they dressed like that?" I wanted to BE one of those people. Macho Men, YMCA and In The Navy can make a bad day so much better, even 30+ years later. (How I didn't catch one iota of all that gayness oozing from the songs and the band until I was at least 35, I do not know. Sigh. I'm the same person who missed what Kiss You All Over and Afternoon Delight had to do with, so no surprise I didn't catch on quickly to my People.)
I loved the Village People. How can you not love a band of six grown men in such stereotyped outfits? If memories serves me right, I do believe my sister owned two of their albums and that we would imagine ourselves being a Village Person (which is way weird because I was in high school when they were at the top of their game and I should have been way too old to worry about being a village person).
This jog down memory lane brings up thoughts of Midnight Special, Soul Train and Solid Gold....the glory days before the arrival of MTV in 1981 (which is a whole 'nother chapter in my life).....
.....but, really it was all about the Village People. Spell it with me!
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