80s Song of the Week: Huey Lewis and the News "If This is It"

ahhhhh: those San Fran working boys of Huey Lewis and the News. The girls in my family all loved Huey. How could you not? He was so ruggedly cute, with a raspy voice (unexpected for a white guy) and he always portrayed a great sense of humour in his videos. In fact: this was the first concert my mom (begrudgingly) let my sister Sara and I go to - with our older sisters who bought us tickets as a Xmas present. I was in 9th grade, we went to the horrible acoustics of the SD Sports Arena venue and screamed and danced and then I even wrote a review on it for the school newspaper that I was involved in.

Back to this song. The year was 1985, it was from their "Sports" album which had a string of Top 10 hits. I chose this video because it was sweet and showcases totally 80s bathing suits (girls wore those high French cut 1-pieces that looked horrible on anyone with a butt or hips); I also point out at the very beginning of the video the 80s boombox that they play - - kids nowadays probably won't even know what it is!!

The video is sweet but it always bugged me that Huey wanders around Venice Beach completely dressed in cords and polo shirt - the only one there amidst the tanned, half-naked bodies - he stands out so much and isn't he hot???!!! But then: I can't imagine him with his shirt off and in shorts anyway... :)

Simple Pleasures

I once wrote a blog (see previous) about simple pleasures. Nowadays one can get very caught up in the many gadgetry, technical toys to play with. Perhaps it's a good thing to be reminded that quality time with loved ones doesn't require anything more than simply getting outdoors.

A couple weekends ago I told Patrick and his daughter, Ciara, that I was taking them to one of my favorite places in the afternoon. Ciara was bouncing around pleading, like any 8-year-old would, for me to tell her where I was taking them. I ignored her and told her after we did some chores around the house we would go.

Eventually I corralled everyone into my Scion car and I drove us to La Jolla Cove. I have always loved this place. It's great. You can go down into the sandy cove to the beach if you like, or stay dry and have a picnic in the grassy park. Or perhaps you choose to climb around the big rocks on another part of the beach or simply stroll along the sidewalk along the top of the cliffs and enjoy the view of the waves and people from above. Ciara had a blast and of course opted to go running into the water. Then we searched the tidepools while Patrick took some great shots of the big waves crashing. It was such a lovely afternoon - reminded me of my childhood when Sundays after church were always Family Day and my mom would pack a picnic and we'd drive the 8 of us to the beach, park, mountains or somewhere in nature. We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful city with nice weather and I was so pleased to share it with my special ones.

At the end of the day I commented to P, "Wasn't that a lovely afternoon?" And he answered, "Yes... it was all about simple pleasures."

Simple Pleasures

Click to watch on slideshow :)