4 September 2021

Welcome to Saturday 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) John Lennon sings that he's been working like a dog. What's the hardest job you've ever had? What made it so difficult?
I was office manager for a doctor's office.  But I was also the bookkeeper, the transcriptionist, the medical assistant, and the janitor.  I took care of the plants, learned how to do bone density exams and cleaned the equipment.  I was paid $10/hr and the doctor didn't believe in 8 hour days or 5 day weeks.  When he was out of the office, I attended business meetings for him.

2) Despite the hard work, he likes his life and asks, "So why on earth should I moan?" What's the last thing you complained about? Who were you talking to?
We were talking about the new Texas abortion law at dinner last night, so I was talking with Ned and Walt.

3) John was raised by his Aunt Mimi. She meant well when she told the teen-aged John, "The guitar's all right, but you'll never make a living out of it." What's the worst advice you've ever received?
My father told me I should study to become a teacher because teachers had an easy job -- they only work until 3 p.m., they have 3 months off and they make a great salary.  (Yes, I know all you teachers are laughing at this.)

4) This week's song was co-written and also sung with Paul McCartney. Paul's father was more supportive of the lads' show business aspirations than Aunt Mimi was, but he still worried that his son wouldn't be able fully support himself as a musician. To please his dad, 17-year-old Paul worked over the Christmas holiday season as the "second man" on a delivery truck. Paul would be the one to hop off the truck and drop off the packages while the driver could keep the motor running and the heat on. Where was the last package you received from? (Extra points if you share what was in it.)
I got a package from Amazon that had stamps in it.

5) After Christmas was over, Dad insisted Paul get a full-time, year-around job. He ended up at a factory, winding heavy coils to be used in electric motors. He hated the work but enjoyed the lunch hours, eating jam sandwiches and, weather permitting, kicking a soccer ball around the yard with his coworkers. What's for lunch at your house today?
We don't have a regular "lunch."  Everybody does their own thing.  I  look in the refrigerator and decide then what I want to have.  Often it's something having to do with tortillas.

6) In early March 1961, the Beatles accepted a booking to play lunch hour gigs at Liverpool's Cavern Club, and so February 28, after less than two full months, Paul said goodbye to factory work. What's the shortest you ever stayed at a job?
I went to work for Suicide Prevention.  They decided after a couple of weeks that I was not the person they wanted to have in their office.

7) Enough about these Brits! Labor Day was introduced to celebrate the achievements of the American worker. How many different employers have you had?
It's hard to count the number of employers.  I worked in seven different offices (plus the newspaper), but in most places I had more than one "boss."

8) This weekend may offer a golden opportunity for napping and sleeping in. Do you snore?
I don't know.  I have never listened to myself.

9) Labor Day traditionally marks the beginning of the new school year. When she was a kid, Samantha was crazy for her brand new box of 96 Crayola Crayons. It even had a sharpener in the back! What do you remember about preparing to go back to school? If you're an educator, let us know how you get the classroom ready for the kids.
I went to Catholic school for 12 years and my preparation for school was to get a new uniform.