Oh Yeah, All Right ...

(For Flashback Friday / Memory Monday)


You're looking kinda lonely girl
Would you like someone new to talk to
Oh yeah, all right
I'm feeling kinda lonely too
If you don't mind
Can I sit down here beside you
Oh yeah, all right
If I seem to come on too strong
I hope that you will understand
I say these things 'cause I'd like to know
If you're as lonely as I am
And if you'd mind...
Sharing the night together, woah.. yeah
Sharing the night together, woah.. yeah
Sharing the night
We could bring in the morning girl
If you want to go that far
And if tomorrow find us together
Right here the way we are
Would you mind...
Sharing the night together, woah.. yeah
Sharing the night together, woah.. yeah
Sharing the night
Would you like to dance with me and hold me
You know I wanna be holding you
Oh yeah, all right
'Cause I like feeling like I do
And I see in your eyes that you're liking it
I'm liking it too
Oh yeah, all right
I'd like to get to know you better
Is there a place where we can go
Where we can be alone together
And turn the lights down low
And start...
Sharing the night together, woah.. yeah
Sharing the night together, woah.. yeah
Sharing the night together ....

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some music just makes you grin when you hear it.

One of the CDs I took to keep me company on my road trip was Dr. Hook’s Greatest Hits. YES, I love cheesy 70’s music, so what? And this is it at its finest … Sylvia’s Mother, Only 16, When You’re In Love With a Beautiful Woman, Sexy Eyes, Better Love Next Time … Come on! That’s great stuff! But the greatest Greatest Hit has got to be Sharing the Night Together.

I have always liked this song, even when I was too young to understand the sensual reference. But it’s R’s fault that it makes me smile so much to this day. R and I worked at the steak shop together while we were in college, and we were the kind of friends who could know what the other was going to say (usually smart-a$$ed at that) just by looking at each other. He would probably remind the casual passerby of Jon Lovitz’s cousin – or maybe Ron Jeremy’s thinner little brother, but I don’t want to say that out loud because then I am indirectly admitting that I know who Ron Jeremy is, so nevermind.

One time our boss switched provolone cheese companies and the new stuff was gross. After a while he switched back. I told R that it was a good thing, and he said, “I know, that other sh*t’s nasty … Hey, that would make a good advertising slogan …” (he grabbed a log of provolone, held it like a beauty queen holds a bouquet of roses and donned a pompous expression) “… Always use Paul’s Pride Provolone Cheese. That other sh*t’s nasty.” From that time on, all he had to do was gesture to provolone and give me a smarmy face, and I’d bust up.

Another time, we went out to dinner to celebrate our close-proximity birthdays. Our waiter went out of his way to create a romantic setting and suggest romance-inducing menu selections – which, being buddies, amused us to no end. I don’t remember who started it but one of us made some reference to us being siblings, and whenever our waiter was within earshot, a discussion reminiscing about being caught in incestuous encounters during various family gatherings ensued. Our waiter was horrified, and we laughed about it for months.

Okay, so you had to be there, on both counts. My point is, we had a lot of laughs. We “got” each other’s sense of humor so much that we could fall into each others’ BS footsteps without breaking stride. Likewise, a mere glance or crooked smile was all that was needed sometimes to break us up, and we were constantly goofing in our oft-unspoken communiqué.

R and his housemates, a bunch of typical late 80’s slash early 90’s hippies in hemp shirts, shared my love for cheesy music. When we weren’t watching our ball club play a phenomenal season and ultimately win the Series that year, we used to all sit on his porch on the old funky couches - same as a hundred other couches on porches on the campus houses - chill and listen to music like John Denver and The Babys and especially Dr. Hook. R would chime in (in perfectly replicated tone and pronunciation) on the “Oh yeah, all right”, even if he had to interrupt himself to do so. In our collective minds, it became a part of the song.

In typical fashion, R and I lost touch after we graduated. We ran into each other a few years ago and hung out a couple of times with the spouses. The Hub loved R, and I loved R’s wife. We all had a great time and shared a lot of laughs, but ultimately drifted apart again after a few gatherings. Can’t say as I know why, other than maybe you just can’t go home again.

But to this day, “Sharing the Night Together” makes me grin. Thanks for the laughs, R - These many years later, I hope I return the favor!