Happy Valentine's Day!

This live version of "Sad and Blue" is one of my favorite Valentine's Day songs. It always evokes images in my head of dining along the banks of the Seine, with Notre Dame in the background and a bottle of wine on the table.

February 14th is a very special day at my house. Not only is it Valentine's Day, but it's also my daughter Sarah's 28th Birthday!

This is me holding Sarah about 2 days after she was born. She was a handful!

Valentine's Day Classic Clips and a Song

I wasn't really sure what to post for today. It's my daughter Sarah's 25th birthday, and that's special. But I wanted something more universal to post, something that would appeal to the romantic in all of us. So, I hit You Tube, looking for Classic Valentines Day Films. I got a compilation of love scenes from 41 different films. I did pretty good, identifying about 2 dozen of the clips correctly. I did have to do it twice, my mind doesn't run as fast as the compilation does.

See how many you can identify without looking at the list provided by saraismyname, who posted this to You Tube last year. The answers are listed below the following video of the Bangles doing their 1989 hit song "Eternal Flame";



These are the films in order of appearance:

Wife vs. Secretary
Made for Each Other
Family Honeymoon
Random Harvest
Love Crazy
Mrs. Miniver
The Palm Beach Story
Conquest
Adventure
Two-Faced Woman
When Tomorrow Comes
Mrs. Miniver
Never a Dull Moment
Remember the Day
Two-Faced Woman
You Can't Take it with You
Penny Serenade
Sitting Pretty
Conquest
Adventure
Stamboul Quest
Remember the Day
Sentimental Journey
If You Could Only Cook
Rebecca
We Were Dancing
The Palm Beach Story
A Night to Remember
Four's a Crowd
Over 21
Random Harvest
Wife vs. Secretary
A Night to Remember
Forsaking All Others
The Gilded Lily
Arsenic and Old Lace
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Mr. Blandings Builds HIs Dream House
Adam's Rib
Julia Misbehaves
We Were Dancing

And while I'm on the topic of Valentine's Day, let me wish a very special and heart felt Valentine's Day to all of the women in my life who make the world so much more than it would be without them. Of course, that starts with my wife Sue; pictured here with our friend the Frog; and my daughter Sarah. (Quick thinking and a nice save by me on that!)

"Sad and Blue" by Melvern Taylor

This is one of my favorite songs, and videos, by Melvern Taylor. The unrequited love aspect, explored through lyrics such as "gas staion roses and some screw top wine", touches me for some unknown reason. Maybe it's because I've been there and done that. What makes any song worthwhile? The connection of the lyrics to your own reality? Or just the poignant beauty of the words strung out so plaintively over the music? I don't know. But ever since I first heard this song in 2006, it has become a part of me.

"Sad and Blue" by Melvern Taylor

Sad and blue
I've never known no one as lost as you.
Wandering aimlessly the way you do,
Darlin' you astound me

Valentine, paper hearts
that wish that you were mine.
Gas station roses and some screw-top wine,
Darlin' I'm just wastin' time.

And it don't matter if you break my stupid heart
I've got no place else to go.
And it don't matter if you break my stupid heart
I've got no place left to go.

www.melverntaylor.com/music.html

Happy Valentine's Day - and a Birthday, too!

Happy Valentine's Day to my wife of 24 years, Sue. Without her I would walk into walls, sleep in theaters, and sometimes find myself face down in my dinner. Well, maybe I still do, but not quite as often as I would without her in my life. We still annoy one another in small ways, as most married couples do, but we also still enjoy one another. And that is the secret of being in love.

We had a rough beginning, and probably didn't get it right for the first few years, maybe we still don't. But we have always clung to one another on this rocky ride we all call life. We have had a daughter together, raised two sons, and lived to tell the tale. And that's no small feat! So, Happy Valentine's Day, Sue, you will always be my partner in life, even if I am a grouch...

And that brings me to my daughter, Sarah. Here I am, holding her at about 3AM in the morning on Valentine's Day 1987, which just so happens to be her birthday. We tend to do things around holiday times. We were married on the Fourth of July, had Sarah on Valentine's Day, and she got married on Halloween. Go figure... But she has bought much joy into our lives, and so I just wanted to wish her a Happy 24th birthday. As I told her last night, "May you never lose direction, and all your horizons lay just beyond your reach. In that way you will always strive to be more." We now return to our regular broadcast.