Papoe

Bet you a quarter

We were watching Dance Party last night, rocking out to the best (or worst) of the 80’s, when the song, I’m gonna be (500 miles) came on. To which I replied, “This is NOT an 80’s song.” That song came out in 1993.

Khary said no. 1994.

Tomato, toe-mah-toe.

But I knew I was right. That song was in the movie Benny & Joon, which was played on the lawn outside of my dorm, the first week we arrived at school. Fall of 1993.

He said summer 1994 because…I stopped listening to his reasoning, since I knew I was right.

Turns out, we were both wrong, but I was right-er. The song was originally released in the late 80’s, when no one knew there was a band called The Proclaimers. It wasn’t until Benny & Joon that the song took off like a rocket, to be played on the radio ten times a day for two years.

Did I mention that Benny & Joon came out in 1993?

Jocelyn paid little attention to our back-and-forth because she was transfixed. The song has a beat that gets stuck in your head, and she likes a good beat. Or a bad beat. We seem to be venturing (already?) into the land of bad music. I blame myself for using the SEARCH button on the radio in the car. She hears a dance beat and immediately screams if you change it. Sometimes I let her scream.

It started last year with Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance.

Then it was Jennifer Lopez’s new song. I have no idea what it’s called, but Jocelyn calls it the La La La song.

Gaga I like. JLo I can deal with. But there are others that I cringe at, which just makes me old.

She’s not even three, so I can’t imagine the crap we’re going to hear blasting from her room in ten years.

We may have a chance with Aja. She’s currently a huge fan of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, or anything that involves clapping. Of course, Khary and I don’t always agree with what constitutes good music either, so we’ll see who can sway her first.

We have quarter bets on everything and according to my math, I’m winning.

***

Speaking of winning. Yesterday I was surprised to discover that I was nominated as one of the Top 25 Best SF Bay Area Mom Blogs. So if you like what you read here, please vote for papoe, once a day until July 29th. I'm going to let Jocelyn pick my winning outfit.

P.S. There is not actually a ceremony, or a prize. But I think this sort of thing just screams Dress Up.

We got the beat

Nothing says Friday night like punching the air and shaking your booty to some of the finest (or worst) 80's songs. Jocelyn likes to tell me when to stand up, when to sing, when to march, and when to spin her around. Her favorite part is a combination of dance and chase, which results in all of us running in circles and me collapsing and unable to breathe. 

Months ago I realized that Jocelyn was a fan of dancing and she was fascinated with a local show called Dance Party on KOFY. For years they showed reruns of their 50's version. Now they're back, and they're celebrating the 80's. Dancers dress up in their best gear, they pop and block, and perfect their version of Molly Ringwald's dance/snap/kick from The Breakfast Club. Jocelyn's favorite song from last nights show: We Got the Beat by The Go-Go's. My favorite part: when she imitates my moves and tries to sing along, a beat after me. A two-and-a-half-year-old trying to sing Pat Benetar's Heartbreaker is my idea of good fun. Meanwhile, Aja stands to the side doing side-bends with her hands in the air. Her favorite song: any song that has clapping.

Our moves might be questionable (as Khary likes to say) but they are determined, and we are enthusiastic. Wait, that's what someone told me about my karaoke skills. Either way, we got the beat.

Celebration

The picture says it all: YES!

But there’s more to the story. First of all, I wanted to get married in Vegas. Khary said that wasn’t proper, so I agreed to go ahead with the big broohaha whoohaha and do it in San Francisco. It is where we met, so it seemed fitting to the occasion. Since we were doing everything ourselves, and I was finding ways to make the ceremony personal, I suggested that we have Burning Love play during the recessional. Khary’s exact response: “Do you really want ‘hunka hunka burning love’ playing as we walk out?” To which I replied, YES!

I did not get my way, but I soon found a better option. We had already ruled out cliché wedding songs for the reception, but there was one that I had to have: Celebration by Kool & The Gang. They play this song when the A’s win, and we are huge fans. When I first suggested it Khary just laughed. Then he realized that I was serious. He said that he’d only agree to it if I yelled “A’s Win!” when the song started playing.

And so the stage was set. Seconds after we kissed for the first time as man and wife, the music started and  I lifted my arms in the air and yelled, “A’s Win!” No one actually heard me because people were already hootin’ and hollerin’ and we didn’t have a microphone. But we knew, and we laughed.

For some added nostalgia, here it is:

This is the last in the Five for Ten series by Momalom. The topic is YES!

Baby Names?

It's a coincidence that our daughter's have albums that bear their names. Which got me thinking. If we were to have a third baby, should we keep the trend going?

For a girl: Sunrise.

For a boy: Revolver.

But if we really want to get crazy, we could just give a shout out to the 80's:

Slippery?

Wet?