Sweet

I hardly ever listen to the radio. When would I? I walk to work, I'm not the type who plays a radio while I'm working, and I just don't listen to it at home. In fact, half the time when I'm at home, 14 stories up, I just open the window and listen to the pleasant ambient noise.

The radio in my disposable car no longer works. Have I ever talked here about my disposable car? No? Ok, it's a 1992 Buick Le Sabre with 184,000 miles on it. I bought it last April for $1,100 and just shrugged and said however long it lasts, it lasts. It's lasted almost a year. It drives beautifully, has no body damage, and I have a feeling it will last at least another year or two. The radio is starting to go, but given a choice between that, and driving virtually for free, I can live with that.

A few weeks ago, when the radio still worked, a song came on that I'm pretty sure I hadn't heard in at least 20 years. It was like running into an old friend. You're going to laugh when I tell you the song: "Action" by The Sweet. I've since downloaded "Desolation Boulevard" and listen to at my desk all the time. It makes me unreasonably happy. "Set me Free"? How could I have forgotten that song? It's...beautiful. It is, really, amidst all its hard-driving misogyny.

As mentioned, when "Action" came on the radio it just slayed me. As many people have pointed out to me (in a nice way, thank God), I have a story for everything. And yes I have a story associated with that song. A memory, actually from the archives. My friend Nancy was in the front row of some talk show (Merv Griffin? Someone of that 1976-ish ilk). The featured guest was some big, bloated bodybuilder in a red speedo. His claim to fame was that he could blow up a rubber hot water bottle until it burst. So in the tape Nancy showed me of the show, there was Mr. bodybuilder in all his blonde, blow-dried glory, heaving back and forth to the song - you guessed it- "Action". Yes, the bottle burst before the end of the song. I have no idea what the point of all this was supposed to be. Maybe his next trick was to put out a campfire with a mightily- gushing arc of pee. Who knows. When his performance ended, the camera panned to Nancy applauding. She thought she looked nerdy since she sort of bounced in her seat in a "Gee, that was so fabulous!" sort of manner. When you look like a cross between Cher and a supermodel you can get away with such things.

So that's my "Action" story.

My friend Christy often jokes with me "And you remember this...why?"

Good question. I just do.

In 16 more days I wiil be finished with my masters degree. I can not begin to tell you how happy this makes me.