Saturday 9: It's Late

It is Saturday, so I am again joining the Saturday 9 bloggers to answer questions related to a song that Samantha gives us to ponder.

Click HERE to join us and possibly answer the questions yourself.

I well remember Ricky Nelson and the song we are featuring today - 

"It's Late"!

Ricky Nelson was definitely a "teen idol" when I was growing up.  And what home in the 50's didn't wait for the "Ozzie and Harriet Show" to come on each week.

Okay, let's see what questions we have to answer this week.

It's Late (1959)

Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.


1) Ricky Nelson laments that he should have been home hours ago. When is the last time you stayed up later than you should have? What were you doing?

It could be most any night when I can't sleep.  A couple nights this week I was getting back in bed at 2:30 a.m. after being up a couple hours or so.  The alarm goes off at 5:30 so I didn't get much sleep those nights.

I wish I could be as sleepy at 11:00 p.m. as I am in church some Sundays.

I do different things when I can no longer stay in bed and fight sleep that seems ever evasive, but usually I walk around the house; do stretches; read or do something on the computer.

2) Compounding Ricky's problem is that he's nearly out of gas. How is your gas tank right now? When did you most recently fill 'er up?

It's on half a tank and I filled up over a week ago.  It will be filled up today in readiness for a long trip next week.

3) It gets worse! He can't call home because he doesn't have a dime for the pay phone. Have you recently been in a situation where you've been glad you had your cell phone handy?

Any time I'm on the road, I'm grateful to have a cell phone.  I haven't had a crisis, thankfully, but I do use my phone for WAZE directions and road hazards ahead.  That has come in handy several times.

4) The video for this song is from an episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Ozzie Nelson, Ricky's father, was in charge of the show and made the rules. One was that no one was allowed to smoke on the set ... except his wife, Harriet. Do you smoke? Have you ever lived with a smoker?

I do not smoke and other than experimenting as a young teenager, have never smoked.  My dad was a smoker for many years until he stopped "cold turkey."

5) Life magazine coined the phrase "teen idol" to describe Ricky's popularity. According to Tiger Beat, today's teen idols include Johnny Orlando and Ruby Jay. Johnny was born in 2003, Ruby in 2004. Sam admits that before today, she had no idea who these young people are. How about you?

No, they are new to me, so I looked them up.  Cute kids with fairly nice voices, so I can see the appeal to the younger generation.

6) While Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan have posthumously praised Ricky Nelson's music, 1950's music critics dismissed him as a lightweight. What's the last review you read? Was it written by a professional critic, or was it contributed by a consumer to a site like Amazon or Yelp?

I read several reviews on a book I was thinking about reading.  The reviews were written by other authors as well as folks who had read the book.

7) At the height of his popularity, Ricky tried his hand at movies, appearing in the western Rio Bravo with John Wayne. He turned 18 during the filming, and Wayne celebrated by playfully throwing Ricky into a sack of horse manure. Do you think pranks and practical jokes are funny?

I am not a prankster and do not normally appreciate when someone else is pranked.  I just don't find that sort of thing funny as a rule.

8) In 1959, when this song was popular, the St. Lawrence Seaway was completed. It connects Canada to our Great Lakes. Without looking it up, can you name all 5 Great Lakes?

Following the rules and not cheating, I can only name a couple - Lake Michigan and Lake Erie.  I have seen both up close and personal.

9) Random question – You drive past a local motel and see the car of a very married friend right there in the lot. Would you ask her about it?

I would not recognize a friend's car in the first place.  Secondly, I would not ask her about it because at my age all my fellow friends would have a justifiable, albeit interesting reason for being there.