Grand Rapids....come for the churches, stay for the Nascar and Deer Hunting.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Can't Get It Out of My Head
On my way into work this morning I was scanning the radio for something decent to listen to. I didn't find anything. I did hear "S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y...NIGHT!" by the Bay City Rollers and it reminded me of days gone by.
I used to manage a huge antique store in a past life. The store was huge, the antiques we sold were, for the most part, huge, and it was in this huge old building that had been a masons hall or armory or something like that. It was a good job, and everyone else who worked there thought the same thing. As a result there was almost no turnover. I worked there for 10 years and almost everyone I started working with was still there when I left.
The store had three floors with various stairways. At the back of the building was a stairway that would take you from the basement to the top floor in one straight shot. It was a very narrow stairway. If 2 people met on it, both were required to turn sideways to pass each other. I suppose if Mary Kate Olsen and Lindsay Lohan were to meet on that staircase they could squeeze by without turning sideways, but normal size people couldn't.
We played a fun game on that rickety noisy old stairway. The objective of the game was to come up with a song from the past that, as soon as someone heard it, would annoyingly stick in the listeners head for hours to come.
The song had to be bad.
As you passed a coworker on the steps, exactly at the moment of the sideways turn, you would sing out a quick line of whatever song you had chosen as your weapon.
"good morning Rachel" "Hey Jonathan" "I've got a brand new pair of rollerskates..." "You bastard!" (sound of feet running up stairs).
2 hours later
"morning Jonathan" "Hey Jill "You're havin my baby. What a lovely way....." "You bitch!"
Sometimes you would come back from lunch, stroll in the back door on the middle level hang a left and head straight upstairs only to immediately run into someone and before you could even say hi they would sing:
"the night chicago died"
and run away.
We went through a whole bunch of tunes over the years.
Think Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, Abba, David Soul, and you're moving in the right direction. Add some Chipmunks, more Abba, and a good healthy dose of "Thank god I'm a country boy" and you're developing a healthy repertoire. Now throw the entire soundtrack of Grease into the mix and you're ready to go to battle.
Hey, y’all prepare yourself For the Rubberband man You never heard a sound Like the rubberband man You’re bound to lose control When the Rubberband starts to jam
Name: Jonathan Home: Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States About Me: Just a guy who trying to eek out a living as a graphic designer in SW Michigan. See my complete profile
Name: Jonathan
Hi, Jonathan.
Who can take a sunrise, sprinkle it with dew...
*poof*