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Swinging on a Star

In my car, I treat myself to SiriusXM Radio and one of my favorite channels is 40s Junction. It just makes me smile. I know the 40s was war-time and Many, many songs spoke about our soldiers abroad and their sweethearts at home. Entertainers knew they had to reflect the times, at the same time being uplifting and positive.

The Andrews Sisters sang "Three Little Sisters" "each one only in her teens", about their respective beaus:
            One loved a soldier
            One loved a sailor
            And one loved a lad from the marines
... and how they would stay true until
            The boys marched back one day    

A similar theme was covered in "Don't Sit Under the Apple tree" that concludes:
            I know the apple tree is reserved for you and me
            And I'll be true till you come marching' home!"

All positive, uplifting and entertaining, which brings me to the point of this post. 

Some songs from the 40s make me scratch my head and ask, "Who would ever think of such a thing?" The first one that truly registered with me was "Mr. Five by Five" about a guy - 

            He's five feet tall and he's five feet wide
            He don't measure no more from head to toe
            Than he does
            From side to side.

He's "Got fifty chins" and
            The only trouble is there's no way of knowin'
            Whether he's comin' or ... or goin'

If anyone wrote this today, they'd be drummed out of the business or strung up by their thumbs for political incorrectness.

And who, in their right mind, thought of writing a song about a "Cement Mixer" let alone these lyrics:
            First you get some gravel, Pour it in the vout
            To mix a mess o' mortar you add cement and water
            See the mellow roony come out, slurp, slurp, slurp

And someone had ... ...nerve enough to record and air it! Now that's bravery in my book. They must have become hard-pressed for new and entertaining song ideas as the war went on. 

But one song that I have come to appreciate is a little silly song that very cleverly makes the point that school is important and should be embraced or else ... "you may grow up to be a mule".  

Bing Crosby sang "Swinging on a Star". Get a load of these lyrics:

        Would you like to swing on a star
        Carry moonbeams home in a jar
        And be better off than you are
        Or would you rather be a mule

        A mule is an animal with long funny ears
        Kicks up at anything he hears
        His back is brawny but his brain is weak
        He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
        And by the way, if you hate to go to school
        You may grow up to be a mule

        Or would you like to swing on a star
        Carry moonbeams home in a jar
        And be better off than you are
        Or would you rather be a pig

        A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
        His shoes are a terrible disgrace
        He has no manners when he eats his food
        He's fat and lazy and extremely rude
        But if you don't care a feather or a fig
        You may grow up to be a pig

        Or would you like to swing on a star
        Carry moonbeams home in a jar
        And be better off than you are
        Or would you rather be a fish

        A fish won't do anything, but swim in a brook
        He can't write his name or read a book
        To fool the people is his only thought
        And though he's slippery, he still gets caught
        But then if that sort of life is what you wish
        You may grow up to be a fish

        A new kind of jumped up slippery fish

        And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo
        Every day you meet quite a few
        So you see it's all up to you
        You can be better than you are
        You could be swinging' on a star

Oh those were the days! Hope this made you smile, giggle, nod or even shake your head. Click on the links to each song. Sorry about the intro-ads, there's just no way around them these days. These songs, in my book, are nothing, if not, entertaining.

Happy Sunday.

Happy Spring!

Snowdrops - First sign of Spring

Finally, there are signs of Spring and the days are now longer than our nights. Before long, the chill in the air will be replaced with those lovely warm breezes that coax everything to bloom and we humans outdoors for hours basking in the warmth of the longed-for sun.

First Spring Morning ©2021 Claudia Ward

Happy Spring everyone!

Bourbon Bacon Roast Beef Sliders

What to do with leftover Roast Beef? Peter and I picked up a boneless ribeye roast at Costco last week. My challenge, once that first meal is done, is to find full-flavored ways to use the leftovers. Surfing the net, I stumbled upon a site called Bread Booze Bacon ... and lo and behold, there I found this amazingly delicious sandwich, the Bourbon Bacon Roast Beef Slider. I am not a sandwich lover and never have been but I dreamt about this sandwich last night! Jack Daniel's Candied Bacon, roast beef, and cheddar cheese on a buttered roll - this sandwich is the best I have ever had. Note: Make extra candied bacon because it's hard to resist and you might just find that there's none left and you haven't assembled the sandwiches yet!

Whiskey Candied Bacon
(10 pieces)

10 slices of bacon, left whole or cut in half
½ cup Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne
_____________________________________

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a small saucepan, bring ½ cup Jack Daniel's to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Remove from heat and pour into a shallow bowl.
4. On a plate, combine the brown sugar and cayenne.
5. Dip bacon into the Jack Daniel's and then press each side into the brown sugar mixture to coat. (I found it easiest, to spread the sugar mixture out wide on the plate, place a piece of bacon on it and then spoon the sugar on top. When its completely covered, then press down to get the sugar to stick. When you pick it up, some of the sugar will fall off, that's not a problem.)
6. Place bacon on the prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake for 7 minutes, then flip and bake for another 5 minutes. (Note: the sugar will have melted and you'll find the bacon sitting in a pool of melted brown sugar. Be VERY careful taking the sheet pan out of the oven - hot sugar is not only sticky but it burns. The bacon will have a shiny lacquered look.
8. Remove the bacon to a plate coated with non-stick cooking spray to cool completely.
9. Allow the sugar mixture in the sheet pan to cool some but NOT completely because it will become hard, brittle and difficult to remove. Slowly pull the sides of the foil in toward the middle, carefully making a lake of melted sugar, that can they safely be removed to the garbage.

Bourbon Bacon Roast Beef Sliders

Thinly sliced cooked roast beef
Thinly sliced cheddar cheese
Whiskey Candied Bacon
Slider buns, cut in half
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Poppy seeds or dried minced onions
_________________________________

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Please the bottom half of each slider roll in a greased casserole dish so the rolls are touching.
3. Place a thick layer of roast beef on the bun-bottoms.
4. Top the beef with a layer of cheddar cheese.
5. Finish layering by topping the cheese with a layer of Candied Bacon slices and adding the bun-tops.
6. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the foil, brush the slider bun-tops with butter. Then sprinkle with poppy seeds or dried minced onion flakes.
8. Continue baking for another 10 minutes.
9. Remove sliders from the oven and serve warm.

YUM!!

Appreciating the Ages

Working for an Historical Society, you might think I'm speaking about "the ages" ... Prehistory, Ancient, Middle, Modern, and Contemporary. But I'm not.

I've been living amongst the ages all my life. The contemporaries, the olders, and the elders.

To learn to "socialize", as contemporary toddlers we were placed together to learn how to "play well with one another". We learned from each other ... skills, words, behaviors, and possibilities.

But we were always taken care of by the olders ... parents, older siblings, cousins, teachers, and even neighbors. These olders taught us good behavior, principals, morals, standards, mechanical techniques, communication, and esthetics; and, they gave us nourishment with love, food, music and belief in our potential.

And if we were lucky, as I was, you spent time with the elders ... those I always thought the most interesting and entertaining when I was young. Granted, they had limited input into my behavior, but a single cross word from my grandmothers could bring me to a full stop, and I knew I'd crossed a line ... not to be done in the future. (Message received Gram!)

Claudia Danforth Ward

Helen Hardee Husted

One grandmother spoke French, the sound of which I have been in love with to this day. She opened my mind to a broader world. As I learned of my grandparents' lives, the canvas of life broadened and became so colorful. Visiting my grandmothers in their respective homes, they shared parts of their lives with me, in quiet conversations: challenges, heart breaks, and a few exhilarating moments. In the background was always the way the world had changed during the span of their lives ... governments around the globe became dictatorships and some democracies, economies climbed and crashed, and social behavior relaxed more and more. Through all the undulations, they held to the constants in their lives:  family and love and affection for those they held dear.  It made me look in awe at these elders with tremendous love and respect.

I have been appreciating the ages since I was very young. You learn from each one and can only hope to be a good example to the next ones to come.

God Bless All Ages