A few nights ago Mallory asked to take a shower rather than a bath. This was surprising – Mallory usually hates getting her face wet in any way, and the few times we’ve attempted to give her a shower have been disasters. “I don’t think you’ll like it,” I said dubiously, but she insisted (loudly and tearfully), so I relented.
And she did fine. “I really like showers!” she announced when she got out. “Hey Daddy!” she called across the house. “I like showers!”
I was chalking this up as yet another inexplicable whim when Chris said, “Hey, Mallory, let me ask you something. Do you like showers now because of the Sandy video we saw on TV?”
Mallory blushed, giggled madly, and said, “Um, yes. And I really like showers!”
This is what happened. She and Chris had caught the tail end of Grease on TV the other night, and for some reason the station played Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” video right afterward. As you may know, Olivia (or Sandy, as we know her) is in a gym with a bunch of guys and takes a shower (still wearing her 80’s headband) after doing her “aerobics.” And this was enough to spur Mallory to change her shower-hating ways. Since then we’ve found the video on Youtube and have watched it many, many, many times.
Yes, it is a bit disconcerting to hear my 5-year-old sing, “Let me hear your body talk, your body talk,” but overall I’m a bit pleased. She comes by her Olivia-obsession naturally. My big sister and I used to spend hours singing along with Olivia (after first tying towels around our heads to simulate her long, flowing hair). This was before Grease, in Olivia’s country stage. Our absolute favorite song was “Please Mister Please”:
Don’t play B-17
It was our song, it was his song
But it’s o-over.
We also liked Helen Reddy’s “Delta Dawn,” Charlie Rich’s “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” and B.J. Thomas:
Say, won’t you play
Another somebody done somebody wrong song?
And make me feel at home
While I miss my baby,
While I miss my baby.
A few years later we discovered Tony Orlando and the Dawn:
Knock three times on the ceiling if you love me!
Twice on the pipes,
If the answer is no.
Neil Diamond was a big favorite as well:
Money talks,
But it don’t sing and dance and it don’t walk.
Long as I can have you here with me,
I’d much rather be
Forever in blue jeans.
The Urban Cowboy soundtrack was also a hit:
I’ve been lookin’ for love
In too many places
Lookin’ for love
In too many faces,
Searching their eyes,
Looking for traces
Of what I’m dreamin’ of…
I guess you could say we didn’t have the most sophisticated taste in music, but we certainly had fun singing along.
And she did fine. “I really like showers!” she announced when she got out. “Hey Daddy!” she called across the house. “I like showers!”
I was chalking this up as yet another inexplicable whim when Chris said, “Hey, Mallory, let me ask you something. Do you like showers now because of the Sandy video we saw on TV?”
Mallory blushed, giggled madly, and said, “Um, yes. And I really like showers!”
This is what happened. She and Chris had caught the tail end of Grease on TV the other night, and for some reason the station played Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” video right afterward. As you may know, Olivia (or Sandy, as we know her) is in a gym with a bunch of guys and takes a shower (still wearing her 80’s headband) after doing her “aerobics.” And this was enough to spur Mallory to change her shower-hating ways. Since then we’ve found the video on Youtube and have watched it many, many, many times.
Yes, it is a bit disconcerting to hear my 5-year-old sing, “Let me hear your body talk, your body talk,” but overall I’m a bit pleased. She comes by her Olivia-obsession naturally. My big sister and I used to spend hours singing along with Olivia (after first tying towels around our heads to simulate her long, flowing hair). This was before Grease, in Olivia’s country stage. Our absolute favorite song was “Please Mister Please”:
Don’t play B-17
It was our song, it was his song
But it’s o-over.
We also liked Helen Reddy’s “Delta Dawn,” Charlie Rich’s “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” and B.J. Thomas:
Say, won’t you play
Another somebody done somebody wrong song?
And make me feel at home
While I miss my baby,
While I miss my baby.
A few years later we discovered Tony Orlando and the Dawn:
Knock three times on the ceiling if you love me!
Twice on the pipes,
If the answer is no.
Neil Diamond was a big favorite as well:
Money talks,
But it don’t sing and dance and it don’t walk.
Long as I can have you here with me,
I’d much rather be
Forever in blue jeans.
The Urban Cowboy soundtrack was also a hit:
I’ve been lookin’ for love
In too many places
Lookin’ for love
In too many faces,
Searching their eyes,
Looking for traces
Of what I’m dreamin’ of…
I guess you could say we didn’t have the most sophisticated taste in music, but we certainly had fun singing along.
Comments
Mom
I think your taste in music and the way you sang it rubbed off on Casey and me. We would sing along with Urban Cowboy, Elvira (our favorite! I loved to pretend to be the girl in the sunglasses on the front of the album) and Johnny Cash. Good times.