TERRE HAUTE —
Ronn Mott calls it “an ear worm.” He ought to know. He has given me plenty of them in the past and he’s doing it again on the morning drive at WPFR.
According to Ronn, an ear worm is a song you can’t get off your mind. It runs over and over and often out loud to the annoyance of friends and loved ones.
I have been driving my Best Friend to the brink of violence by my latest ear worm. I don’t even know the name of the song, and I don’t know all the words. All I remember is that Judy Garland and Fred Astaire sang and danced to something featuring the words: “We’re a couple of swells. We stop at the best hotels, but we prefer the country far away from the city smells!” I’d be glad to sing that much for you if you’re interested.
Picture how annoying this could get when those are the only words you remember and you croon them again and again — out loud!
The number was performed by Judy and Fred dressed as “gentlemen of the road” and, in my estimation, it was classic. Both have long been favorites of mine, Fred especially. My BF has always taken it poorly that I carry a picture of Fred in my billfold. Maybe that’s why this latest ear worm annoys him especially.
Every Christmas, Ronn and his sometime-cohort, Mickey Burk, play holiday favorites and for weeks I break out in song — “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” Actually, I don’t, but the mini-recording in my head plays it over and over. One Christmas I protested and received — anonymously — a stuffed hippo in the mail. My mental CD was off and running for days after that.
Not long ago someone asked if I remembered Elmo Tanner and his whistling rendition of “Heartaches.” I do. I did, and I got an ear worm lasting for about a week. I was even accosted downtown by an irate reader who announced that he had a bone to pick with me. My column on “Heartaches” gave him an ear worm.
Actually, I seem to remember part of a second chorus of the Judy and Fred number. It began, “We’re a couple of sports, the pride of the tennis courts.” I think it involved a bit about how good they looked in shorts, but I’m not sure.
My BF says, “Look it up on Internet.” I suppose I could, but maybe the ear worm will die a natural death if I don’t.
Liz Ciancone is a retired
Tribune-Star reporter. Send e-mail to opinion@tribstar.com.
Liz Ciancone
MS. TAKES: A worm in your ear, a song in your heart
- Liz Ciancone
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LIZ CIANCONE: Another beloved dog goes to heaven
We are short one granddog. This past week, “Indy” could no longer use her back legs and she went to that great dog kennel in the hereafter.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Withdrawn society not very social any more
My Best Friend and I went out for lunch the other day. It was a sit-down place with our own “server” (in my day I was called “a waitress”) and everything offering personal attention. The manager even came over to ask if everything was all right.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Technology, new fabrics made ironing much easier
As surely as Tuesday follows Monday on the calendar, ironing day followed wash day on Mom’s housekeeping chart.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Looking back at memories of ‘history’
I was reading a whodunit the other day. The protagonist was trying to solve the mystery of what had happened to a local citizen soldier who had disappeared during the war.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Smell of fresh air gave way to dryers
Remember when clean clothes smelled like fresh air and sunshine rather than fabric softener and dryer sheets?
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LIZ CIANCONE: Courts see a different appearance than cops
Have you ever noticed the transformation between the arrest of an accused lawbreaker and the first appearance in court?
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LIZ CIANCONE: We always want more than we need
Washington seems more preoccupied with the unemployment rate than they are about the constant stalemate. Still with thousands out of work and the unemployment rate hovering somewhere between 7 percent and 9 percent, it does deserve more than a passing nod.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Old age is in email of the beholder
My Best Friend isn’t much for writing letters, so email has opened a new world for him. He can dash off a few words to a high school friend or his college roommate — now living in Florida and Washington State,
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LIZ CIANCONE: A memory test from the oldtime radio days
For some reason, I seem to be the go-to source for all sorts of obscure information out at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Friskey no doubt was in favor of gun control
I once owned a gun. Actually, it was Dad’s gun and I was allowed to use it. He bought an air gun which shot BB’s to protect our home — in a way.
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LIZ CIANCONE: A robin stops to welcome the spring
I saw a robin the other morning. It was not the first robin of spring, of course. A few of the more daring robins had opted to spend the winter and, although they looked pretty sorry about it on a few occasions, it was a fairly mild winter.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The mystery of the small animal mascot
I hope you won’t think I’m picking on small animals, but I’ve been thinking about Easter and the Easter bunny.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Rising up to defend the poor groundhog
I read in the newspaper the other morning that Punxsatawney Phil is being hauled into court and charged with falsely predicting an early spring. I am volunteering my services as counsel for the defense.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Keeping eye out for signs of spring
The problem with expecting a groundhog to predict the arrival of spring is that there are groundhogs scattered all over the country. The Pennsylvania groundhog may not see the same kind of weather as the groundhog out here in Dobbs Park. In this way, false hopes are roused and the groundhog loses credibility as a meteorologist.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Not every other name smells sweet as a rose
It was either Romeo or Juliet who said, “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
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LIZ CIANCONE: Innocence appreciated when you’re growing up
I grew up rather stupid. I didn’t realize it at the time. Neither did my teachers who seemed to think I had “promise.”
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LIZ CIANCONE: Years along rivers make them feel like home
I’ve been following plans for celebrating “The Year of the River” with interest. Rivers have played such a role in my life that I’ve celebrated a good many rivers. The Wabash River is merely the most recent example.
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LIZ CIANCONE: There are always cat stories to be told
I was asked the other day why I write about dogs I have known, but never about cats. “What’s the matter?” they asked, “Don’t you like cats?”
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LIZ CIANCONE: Sharing the family history
My Grandmother lived with us. Ed and I were eager audiences for her family stories about the Cooks. Mom also shared her memories of growing up with three brothers.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Do we want our privacy or not?
We Americans are a strange bunch. We insist upon our right to privacy, yet we neglect few opportunities to parade our personal business in public.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The low humor of Mickey Mantis
I’m told that a pun is the lowest form of humor. I guess that typecasts me! I love them, but then, I like any type of word play.
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LIZ CIANCONE: For now, justice is served in Bball Hall
News this past week brought justice of a sort. The folks who decide these things have declined to pick anyone to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame this year.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Well, what would you do with only 1 sock?
Let me ask you something.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Movie memories don’t include many of the lengthy variety
There has been lots of reporting lately about how long movies are becoming.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Resist that big ‘let down’ on the day after Christmas
Today is the big day. That makes tomorrow a sort of let down — rather like “What have you done for me lately?”
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LIZ CIANCONE: No thanks to getting mags delivered via the Internet
I am a creature of habit. I like to know what I’m doing and I need to know how to do it. That’s why I am annoyed when corporate America seems determined to drag me, kicking and screaming into the age of Internet.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Everyone has a favorite holiday
I suppose everyone has a favorite holiday. My guess is that, for most of us, that holiday is Christmas. It's a holiday with a miracle no matter how old we get.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Christmas season puts time back into focus
It’s a funny thing about time. It can speed along so that you cannot believe that your kids can possibly be old enough to have good sense, or it can drag its heels while you wait for that first grandchild or while you are saving up for something really special.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The bottom line is what drives ‘Black Friday’ sales
Why is it called "Black Friday"?
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LIZ CIANCONE: Have we lost the meaning of holiday?
I’ve been considering a lost-and-found ad to see if anyone knows what’s happened to Thanksgiving.
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Hunt for Ex-Teamster Boss Hoffa's Remains Ends
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3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter
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Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail
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Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions
Failed Cuba-to-Florida Swimmer Won't Try Again
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Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin
Rihanna Hits Fan With Microphone
Exclusive: Locklear & Seymour Lock Lips
Miami Heat Wins in Overtime
Fists, chairs fly in restaurant brawl
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Spurs' Popovich has no problem with Spurs' intensity
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Video: worst way to load cargo onto a plane
Never-before-seen footage of '08 Times Square bomber
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WATCH IT: Lil Wayne tramples American flag
Mariah Carey Looks Beautiful in a Tiny Cut-Out Swimsuit
Out of Control Boat Throws Passengers Overboard
