Saturday Nine: Son of a Preacher Man (1968)

This week's Saturday Nine:

1. This song was originally offered to Aretha Franklin, who turned it down. What's the most recent thing that you said "no" to? One of my staff asked if I wanted chocolate because she was going to Purdys and I said no, thanks, because I don't really like chocolate.
   
   
2. Two years later, Aretha recorded "Son of a Preacher Man." What's something you changed your mind about? Getting Netflix last year. I was like, "No, I don't need it, I don't even watch TV," and then they announced the Gilmore Girls revival, and I was like, "Yep, I'm getting it." But I'm glad I subscribed, 'cause even though I don't use Netflix frequently, there are some great shows on it that I totally love, like Sense8 and Riverdale. (And I swear, I will watch Stranger Things at some point. I will.)
   
   
3. This song tells the tale of Billy Ray, a young man who could be very persuasive. If we wanted to change your mind about something, would you be more easily swayed by an emotional argument, or with verifiable facts? It depends on what it is, and how much of an impact it has on my life. If it has a big impact on my life, like job, home, or car, then I'd be more swayed by verifiable facts. But if it's something minor, like my friend trying to convince me to go to a concert of a band that I'm indifferent to, or to go on a road trip to a location that I don't really have any interest in, she/he could probably convince me by an emotional argument.
   
   
4. If you ordered a "Son of a Preacher Man" in a bar, you'd get a cocktail made with peppermint schnapps, gin and lemonade. When did you last have lemonade? Was it just lemonade, or was it spiked with alcohol? I had a can of Lemon Lemon today. No alcohol for me, thanks.
   
   
5. Dusty had a thing for maps. She admired them artistically and enjoyed using them to take long car trips. Do you use printed maps? Or do you rely on technology, like GPS or Google Maps? When traveling, I believe in efficiency, so I use either Maps or Google Maps on my iPhone. I think the only time I'd ever resort to using printed maps nowadays is if someone stole my phone, or my phone was completely out of battery and I didn't have a charger with me. The only other situation I can think of where I'd use a printed map is if I was on a road trip with no time constraint and was feeling really adventurous and didn't care where the destination was, like that episode of Gilmore Girls where Lorelai and Rory just hit the road and ended up at Harvard.
   
   
6. As a girl, she attended convent school. There, one of the nuns discouraged Dusty from performing, telling her that if she would do better to be a mother or a librarian. When you were growing up, did the adults in your world encourage your dreams? Well, when I was a kid, I loved painting and I told my parents I wanted to be a painter when I grew up, and my dad just replied, "How are you going to make money from painting? You will be homeless!" My parents never actually discouraged me from painting, though, and still sent me to art classes and whatnot. My dad just drilled it into my head that painting was not practical to do as a career, at least if I wanted to be independent. Weirdly enough, when I was in my early 20s and wanted to become a makeup artist, which is essentially painting on faces, they encouraged me to go to school for it and follow that career path. So, I guess I still ended up following my dreams.
   
   
7. That nun inspired Dusty's first major act of rebellion. In an attempt to make herself look less like a future librarian or housewife, she bleached her hair platinum blonde. In school, were you much of a rebel? Or did you conform to the expectations adults had of you? I was neither here nor there. My school was very strict on physical appearances, so we weren't allowed to dye our hair an "unnatural colour," or wear obvious makeup (you could probably get away with foundation and possibly mascara, but nothing with colour like eyeshadow or lipstick), or get piercings aside from one in each ear lobe. I guess the most rebellious I got in that aspect was getting my ear cartilage pierced. (My principal actually noticed when I was in my senior year and told me I had to take it out, but I was two months from graduating so I said "okay" but just left it in there. So rebellious, right?) I think I was a relatively good kid, though. I mean, I guess like everyone else, I smoked pot, drank alcohol, and skipped the odd class, but I didn't do them often and I made sure none of those things got in the way of studying, graduating, or getting into university.
   
   
8. Early in her career, Dusty provided the entertainment at a family summer camp. She appeared on the bill with a clown, a fire-eater and a hypnotist. Have you ever been hypnotized? Nah, I don't wanna fuck with that shit.
   
   
9. Random question: Have you ever played matchmaker to your friends? If yes, did your efforts lead to romance? No, but my friend has played matchmaker to me, and I was in a relationship with that guy for two years.