My Sharona

Born September 30 in the early 1960s, businesswoman Sharona Alperin is head of her real estate firm that focuses on luxury properties in Los Angeles, in association with Sotheby’s. This photo is from her Instagram. 

She was 17 and working as a clerk in a clothing store when 25-year-old Doug Fieger, frontman of the rock group The Knack, fell head over heels in love with her. Declaring his devotion (which she didn’t at first reciprocate), Fieger went on a two-month streak of songwriting. One of the songs was, of course, the joyously libidinous “My Sharona.”

Fieger and his songwriting partner said that they wrote the song from the perspective of an obsessed teenager, and that the tom-tom beat and guitar riff were inspired by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ song “Going to a Go-Go.” Don't forget the great guitar solo! 

Alperin began to hang out with Fieger and the band and to accompany them on tours. She posed in her white tank top for the photo on the cover of the single. Released in June 1979, the song was a big hit in several countries, significant in the early New Wave, and still gets a lot of air play.   

Alperin and Fieger dated for a few years but never married. They stayed close friends. She supported and visited him as he struggled with cancer until his death in 2010. She embraces her unanticipated rock immortality and features the song on her company website.

The Berenstains

Stan and Jan Berenstain created the popular children's book series The Berenstain Bears. We certainly had many of their books when Emily was young.  Stan was born 100 years ago---September 29, 1923! He died in 2005.  Jan was born July 26, 1923, and died in 2012.

Photo from: https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/authors/profile/view/url/stan-berenstain

Michael the Archangel

Michaelmas, or the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, is a Western Christian festival on September 29, near the fall equinox. In the Eastern church, the archangels are honored on November 8. Michael was the Archangel who defeated Lucifer and is one of the greatest angelic protectors. Michael figures in the Tanakh, the New Testament, the Apocrypha, and the Qur’an as well. In Christian tradition he is the angel who guards Christ's earthly kingdom and ensures safe passage for souls passing into Heaven. Since he is the angelic leader, all angels are honored on this day. This painting is by Raphael.

 

Blue Star Memorial Highways

 I'm putting this here so I can find it later: an article about the Blue Star Highways.  I see those plaques in rest areas when we're traveling. 

https://gardenclub.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/blue-star-program-history.pdf

Hank Williams Centennial

 Hank Williams was born September 17, 1923. Dad enjoyed his classic songs! 

Trail of Tears Commemoration Day

From a Navajo friend's Facebook post, I learned that today is National Trail of Tears Commemoration Day. I found this Indigenous site that gives some history. As this says, other tribes had their own trails of tears of forced removal and long walks West. 

https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/a-brief-history-on-the-trail-of-tears

Here also is a site concerning the trail across Southern Illinois. 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5156722.pdf

Francis Parkman Bicentennial

Historian Francis Parkman was born on this day in 1823. Among his works are "The Oregon Trail" and the seven-volume "France and England in North America." The literary quality of his work has been praised, while he has also been criticized for his characterization of Indians as "savage" and his sometimes sexist depictions of women settlers. He anticipated the importance of the frontier in American identity. He also traveled widely for his research, even though he had a neurological condition that sometimes left him unable to walk and to see.

(from: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/268362)