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Earworms, Music, and Mutts

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https://lindaghill.files.wordpress.com/2018/08/stream-of-consciousness-saturday-2018-19.png

Here’s today’s prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “earworm.” Talk about your latest earworm, or one that habitually haunts you. Enjoy!

The first thing that came to my mind was the earworms in Star Trek, the Wrath of Khan that Khan put in Chekov’s ear and the ear of Admiral/Captain? I don’t remember his name but he resisted the effects of suggestibility and sacrificed himself instead of killing Captain Kirk. Very heroic. I would show you a clip, but they are gory creatures these earworms.

Then I looked up the term, earworm and discovered it means a song that gets stuck in your head. My husband had not heard the term used that way either so I don’t feel so bad. We are very familiar with songs being stuck in my head because I sing them all the time. Whatever the last song was we sang in church or choir practice, or heard on the radio, I keep on singing in until something else knocks it out.

There are also some songs that I sing all the time to myself for self soothing, or just to entertain myself without even thinking. One of them is “Chances Are.”

“The chances are your chances are awfully good.”

I started singing those words over 25 years ago when I reminded myself that even though I was having a baby at age 37, the chances were still better that she would be okay than not. It works for a lot of things. I know it’s a romantic love song and not a having a baby song, but the sound was and is very soothing.

 

Then there’s “Summertime,” which is almost over. I think my husband is secretly glad I won’t be singing that much longer.

And of course there’s the song I sing to Marigold, my 16 year old mutt.

Mary Moodle, you’re not a poodle,

Mary Moodle, you’re just a mutt.

Mutts are the best kinds of dogs. They are lovable and need rescuing. They are often healthier I think than most purebreds. Having diversity in the gene pool is usually a good thing.  Don’t get me wrong, I think German Shepherds and huskies are gorgeous and majestic, but if I ever go looking for another dog, it’s going to be a mixed breed.

And that’s my stream of consciousness for today.

For more streams on earworms and wherever they may lead, visit Linda’s blog:

https://lindaghill.com/2018/09/07/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-8-18/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The,’” or will simply be a single word to get you started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

Author: JoAnna

An open minded, tree-hugging Jesus follower, former counselor, and life-long lover of animals, I'm returning to my creative roots and have published my first book: Trust the Timing, A Memoir of Finding Love Again as well as the short version: From Loneliness to Love.

18 thoughts on “Earworms, Music, and Mutts

  1. That’s a good song, and I hadn’t heard it in years.
    I don’t remember that episode of Star Trek, but keep thinking about other horror film worms, like sandworms in Beteljuice , and the ones in the movie Tremors. Ugh!
    Fun topic for SOCS today, isn’t it! 🙂

    • It was the second Star Trek movie which was a follow up of one of the classic episodes. Ricardo Mantalban played Khan who had been a product of earth’s earlier genetic engineering programs. He and his tribe were launched into space in suspended animation until Kirk and team woke them up and ended up leaving them on a planet which turned out to be a mess. The movie is about Khan trying to get revenge on Kirk. Yep. I’m a trekker. I didn’t mention it was a movie in my post cause SoC didn’t tell me to. 🙂 Worms are good it they’re just the regular old earthworms. But you know, now that I think of it, these things in the Wrath of Khan didn’t look a lot like worms. They were more like miniature scorpions.

      • Interesting. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all the Star Trek episodes on TV and the movies, but it’s been so long ago, I forget. Earthworms are good for the soil. We have lots that come up out of the ground after a lot of rain, too. Scorpions…not a fan. My daughter got stung by one when she was little. Very painful!

  2. You mentioned Gershwin’s “Summertime,” but this one sprang to mind, and now I can’t get it out of my head…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYItTXsOlcw

    Mom was 43 when she had Pat (my youngest brother, who in turn turns 43 tomorrow).

    • That’s sure a peppier song. Hard to sit still listening to that one. 43! Wow! I bet you helped out a lot with Pat, in your own special way. 😉 Happy Birthday to Pat.

  3. It was hard to avoid the scene in Wrath if Khan. I like the song you sing to the dog. We used to sing one to our first cat.

    • Yes, it is hard to avoid. I wanted a scene that just showed the effects. Isn’t it fun singing to our pets. Mary Moo is pretty much deaf and can’t hear me anymore, but I sing to her anyway.

  4. I love that Johnny Mathis song too! And, I agree with you on the dogs – I had a golden retriever that I loved, but he was an independent pain in the butt and he was sick from the day we got him. I loved every challenging minute with him, but my little mixed-breed dog has been much easier to raise, train, and he’s been mostly healthy. Happy Saturday to you! Enjoy a walk with your dogs!

  5. Hi JoAnn, an interesting post since I learned something new. I had no idea that a song stuck in ones brain is called an earworm. I hate when a song is stuck in my mind. I don’t sing it aloud but sing it in my mind. The last that stuck in my brain were, The Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful. I have no idea how those improbable songs came to mind. Maybe because of all the political unrest here in our country which has me very worried about the direction our country has been taken in the past two years.

    I believe as you do, that mutts are likely superior to purebreds. I have had mainly mutts but now have two border collies and one chocolate lab. My other four dogs are mixed breed. They are: border collie x Australian shepherd, Jack Russell terrier x rat terrier, petit Brussels Griffon Verdean x poodle, border collie x great Pyrenees. Yes I have a pack of dogs. I have always had a pack of dogs and these were either adopted from kill shelters or rescued by me.

    • Your pack sounds lovely. I’ve always loved the beauty of a great Pyrenees and that sounds like a great mix. Thank you for rescuing them. My husband and I had a pack of five dogs and are down to two now since the others passed over the rainbow bridge. America the Beautiful is a good song to sing. Hopefully we can hold on to the beauty in our country (and planet) and remember that we are all brothers and sisters.

  6. The Khan worm is an intelligent parasite that enters a person’s ear and takes control over their actions as well as gaining access their memories. After it leaves its host’s body, a black, gooey substance is deposited in the person’s ear.

    • Access to memories. That could lead to all kinds of sequels. Another reminder not to judge a species by it’s appearance or similarities to those we think of as less sentient. Thanks for the additional info!

  7. Wow, this just brought me back to the OLD days! When I was a little girl, before my mom moved out, I would come home from school and she would be downstairs working on her upholstery work, listening to Johnny Mathis. Chances Are reminds me of feeling loved…thank you💕

  8. Oh my, yes, I adore a mutt. And what a lovely song for yours!

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