Two recent moments in the car with the Boyf.

While on the way to Los Angeles (to, I believe, the recent Ringo Starr and His All-Star concert that we attended): I related to Lamar that I had fallen asleep while watching 1974 version of The Great Gatsby, which starred (among others) Mia Farrow, Robert Redford, and Bruce Dern. I had been surprised to see a clean-cut and somewhat square-seeming Dern.

After falling asleep, I told Lamar that I dreamt that I was watching the same movie, but that Bruce Dern was looking and acting like later-career, freakier, long-haired Dern.

After a pause, Lamar started to ponder.

Lamar: What’s Laura Dern’s mom’s name?

Becky: Oh, yeah, blonde lady. They acted together. Married to Bruce at some point, but different last name.

Lamar: Gloria, Gina, Gee gee gee

Becky: No, you’re thinking of Gina Rowlands. Oh! Eeeeeeeee …. Eh.. Ellen Burnstyn? That’s not right.

Lamar: Let’s not look it up, and see how long it takes us to figure it out.

Hours later. I’m driving. Lamar is quiet, lost in his own world. 

Becky, suddenly: AAAAAH!!!!! DIANE LADD!!!!

Lamar [blank with startled terror]: Jeezus, baby.

And then last weekend, on the way back from our odd Bay Area vacation, Lamar was driving, as was the deal — I did all the driving while in the Bay Area, he did the whole drive back to our town. We were on about hour 5 of what turned out to be a 7-hour drive back, thanks to Sunday traffic. Brutal.

The car rental people promised us a sound system that had a jack so we could hook up our iPods and phones, but no. We were slaves to Sirius XM, new to us and we were utterly bewildered at the bounty of bad music available to us. Where was the good music?

I did discover that there was a Broadway station, but Lamar has always been quite clear that anything Broadway is a big fat VETO on his end. Lamar is a sweet and easygoing sweetheart, but something about musicals raises his hackles, no lie.

This did not stop me from occasionally surfing back to the station and trying to sneak in some great white way goodness from time to time. Lamar did allow me to listen to “Tradition” from Fiddler on the Roof, but he stipulated: one time allowance.

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We then settled in to an hour of the “Soul Town” station, music that was generally agreeable to the both of us. However, my inability to NOT STIR THE POT forced my fingers, once again, towards the dial and toward the Broadway hits.

Lamar only needed 30 seconds of “Children Will Listen” from “Into the Woods” before he very calmly spoke.

Lamar: Oh, no, no, I am going to run this car into the back of the car ahead.

Becky: C’mon baby, it’s Sond-

Lamar: Serious! Crash! Now!

Becky: Oooh-kee dokee, Soul Town it is.

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