Patterico's Pontifications

3/31/2021

“It Was Long Ago. Seems Like Yesterday”

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 10:21 pm



When Pat Dinizio of The Smithereens passed, I told a story about my first date with my wife:

The first time I went out with Mrs. P in what could be considered a date, she wanted to dance. I hate dancing. But I told her that I would dance with her if “Behind the Wall of Sleep” by the Smithereens came on. It did. We danced, and later that night we kissed for the first time.

Except, as I had to sheepishly admit in an update, I got the song wrong when I initially related the story in the post. The actual song in question was “Blood and Roses.”

UPDATE 12-30-17: How awful. Mrs. P. reminds me that the song was “Blood and Roses” and not “Behind the Wall of Sleep.” (Actually, the way it worked is that I related the story to my brother-in-law, but citing the relevant song as “Behind the Wall of Sleep.” Christi told me I got it wrong, and that I had three more tries before I was “locked out’ — you know, the way one gets locked out of their iPhone upon guessing the password wrong . . . but with presumably more dire consequences. I got it right on the next try.)

So anyway, the day we first kissed was 30 years ago today.

I told this story to Dana and John earlier and thought I’d share it with you:

Although our first kiss was March 31st, 1991, that was only because it happened after midnight. Our first dance was earlier in the evening . . . on March 30th. Christi pointed this out last night. So, I put on “Blood and Roses” as she was making her dinner, and we danced again, albeit more creakily than we had danced in our early 20s, exactly 30 years earlier.

The first line of the song is: “It was long ago. Seems like yesterday.”

No kidding.

15 Responses to ““It Was Long Ago. Seems Like Yesterday””

  1. Lookin’ in the mirror, I’m goin’ back 30 years

    Patterico (e349ce)

  2. So which one of you arranged it so the song “just happened” to come on?

    🙂

    Dave (1bb933)

  3. That was a lovely, lovely story. In the end, those memories are all we have, and are so precious. Everything else doesn’t matter.

    I bought this for my wife, many years ago. It’s so true.

    https://www.storypeople.com/products/late-night-prints?variant=31224806998127

    Best wishes to you and your wife, Patterico.

    Simon Jester (47a7bf)

  4. Cheers to an enduring romance.

    (You could have smoothly asserted that you were so overwhelmed by her nearness that the name of the song was irrelevant. It was what happened when the song came on that mattered most!)

    Dana (fd537d)

  5. You don’t like to dance? That’s sad. Dance is, as an art, the ultimate expression of romance, a couple moving together intricately and in harmony.

    May I recommend a movie? Strictly Ballroom, it’s a quirky comedy, but the final dance scene is incredible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk-nWE9yeG8

    Better yet, may I make a suggestion? There is a way for you to redeem yourself, Patterico. For her anniversary–and it is her anniversary–enroll yourselves in a ballroom dance class. I’m sure there are many in LA. Some dances are more complicated than others, of course, and take weeks, months, even years to master, but a simple Waltz will do.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  6. Such a romantic guy; setting the bar way too high for ordinary schlubs.

    I kind of wish the song at the center of this story was “I Remember You” by Skid Row, so when I write the screenplay and direct the movie version of your life I hope you don’t mind me taking that liberty.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  7. You don’t like to dance? That’s sad. Dance is, as an art, the ultimate expression of romance, a couple moving together intricately and in harmony.

    Oh fiddlesticks.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  8. I’m just saying, there is nothing more romantic and exquisite than dancing with a partner.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niLt1rsZrdE

    Of course, it takes a while to learn how to Tango.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  9. Thank you for that video of Fred Astaire, JVW. Many, he was a whirling dervish!

    My only gripe is that he didn’t dance with the pretty woman.

    norcal (01e272)

  10. Man, not many.

    All I want for Christmas is an edit feature.

    norcal (01e272)

  11. Bummer. A Girl Like You is still one of my favorites.

    Paul Montagu (26e0d1)

  12. So which one of you arranged it so the song “just happened” to come on?

    We both deny it.

    Patterico (0b695f)

  13. JVW, that’s the only Skid Row song I’ve heard. Pretty it’ll be the last one too. I was distracted by the video and trying to determine whether the lead singer was a feminine-looking guy or a masculine-looking gal…

    GG, beautiful tango. I’m sure that’s what P and the Missus were doing.

    This (from a sci-fi film) is one of my favorite dance moments. There are not any real dancing skills on display but it doesn’t matter when there is the sheer power of romance and love.

    Dana (fd537d)

  14. Last time I danced with my wife, she fell and broke her arm. Her second surgery is 8 weeks away. (someone else took her down, but my lack of ability seems to have been stong enough to induce spasms)
    My dancing style has been characterized as a slow jogger going nowhere

    steveg (02d731)

  15. Omg, steveg, your poor wife. Prayers for this being the last surgery and a quick recovery therein.

    Lol over your “slow jogger going nowhere” description. I think men don’t realize that you don’t need to be a *good* dancer – you just need to be close and holding on tightly to that woman you love. That’ll speak volumes. Certainly far more than smooth moves.

    Dana (fd537d)


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