On September 1, the day my book was officially released, I could be found cooling my heels at a dealership, waiting for my car to be repaired. The stereo had decided to stop working after it had eaten my “Best of Frankie Yankovic” cd.
I suspect this was God’s way to keep me humble. “So you think you’re a big shot author, eh? Well, now your mechanic knows you listen to polkas. Not such a big shot now, are you?”
No, Sir.
It took a couple of hours, but Mr. Mechanic fixed the cd player and sent me on my merry way.
And then the radio stopped working. So this week I was waiting around the car dealership once again.
I get it, God. I’m humble now. Really!
As some of you may know, when I’m forced to humbly sit in a waiting room, I like to doodle for your enjoyment. So here you are! A doodle for you!
Unlike my other doodles, this one indicates what I’m going to write about in my next post. Wanna take a guess?
If not, feel free to tell me a car repair story!
Or feel free to tell me about the most embarrassing cd in your record collection!
Or tell me whatever you like. I enjoy hearing from you!
Hey, Look! A Writer Fellow! 
I detest repair shops…thank God for men, my hubs gets to do all that dirty work of sitting and waiting :). NIce doodle…i can’t draw a pencil…so i am very impressed. I have Weird Al Yankovic on my playlist but no one knew that until now lol
Oh, I used to own the complete Weird Al collection on vinyl: from his self-titled debut to “Even Worse” (a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad.”)
Great way to spend waiting time! Probably Bros on vinyl 🙂
I had to look that band up!
Your doodle reminds me of having to take my glasses off to get my new DMV picture — for the first time since I started driving in 1979.
I would say the most embarassing CD I actually listen to is my copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s musical episode, “Once More with Feeling.” And my endless replaying of True Blood soundtrack music. I also have an extensive collection of chakra tuning Cds.
You music doesn’t exactly surprise me, Viking.
What, not even the chakra tuning? Pffft!
You struck me as a chakra tuning kinda gal.
I like the doodle and I’m looking forward to seeing the post it relates to! What you call a “humble” doodle I call real talent – even my stick figures are unrecognizable! 😉
Glad you like it, Ms. Daisy! Do feel free to check out my “Sunday Sketches” category for more doodling goodness:
https://mikeallegra.com/category/sunday-sketches/
Um, you’re going to write about a woman who discovers she’s lost her nose after her glasses fall off?
Right now, the most embarrassing songs “we’re” listening to are the ones my almost-9-yr-old son is playing nonstop: sung by Kidzbop, Glee cast, and Miley Cyrus. If I hear “Party in the USA” one more time, I’ll have to play “Bohemian Rhapsody” VERY LOUD!!!!! Or maybe “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.” A little Aretha can make anyone feel better.
Every night my son wants to have a “dance party” before he goes to bed. He decorates the living room with twinkle lights and black lights, and then blasts the Kidzbop sanitized versions of “Party Like a Rock Star” or “Fire Burning” from our stereo. He’s even planning on making a disco ball. I close my eyes and recall the era of the BeeGees, Donna Summer, and Gloria Gaynor, on the heels of the Beatles, the Stones, and the Who. Maybe I’m feeling like I want to listen to a little Tom Waits or Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds right now. I am longing for the 60s…70s…80s
Your guess is not too far off the mark, Jilanne!
I hear you with the kiddie cover bands. Painful.
When my son, Alex, was born, I made a point to introduce him to the original artists. He is now six and loves both Aretha Franklin and Queen — which, I must tell you, fills me with pride.
Hmmm…looks like auntie was playing “Who’s Got Your Nose?” with the baby and lost…hence the inability to wear her glasses anymore.
I was so hoping that the accordion meant you were listening to Buckwheat Zydeco…oh well.
Pretty good guess, Cathy!
New Kids on the Block – the Christmas album.
That is worse than Frankie Yankovic. Much worse.
I know. I’m so ashamed.
I would take someone finding Frankie Yankovic in my cd player to Britney Spears any day, but that never happened to me.
And thank goodness for that!
I’ll swap your wonky radio for a set of struts that are “feathering” my tires. I don’t have any Frankie, but I’ll throw in my Weird Al.
That doodle is excellent! Let’s see . . . a book about Lilliane Dupree, the inventor of spray air freshener?
Your guess is not correct, but you got my gears turnin’!
I love love love your doodle and I want you to illustrate my book!
Why, what a nice thing to say! But, don’t worry, I won’t hold you to those words.
What, by the way, is your book about?
It’s a lighthearted look at parenting; non-fiction.
I’m not really sure if it needs illustrations, but if it does, that type of one you’ve done here would be just the thing! I’ll keep you in mind if it goes down that road.
Your All Bran reference will be in the book, yes?
Love polkas. Used to go polka dancing every Sunday when I was a teenager! xoM
Oh, Margarita, I would so love it if you could teach me some dance moves.
Any time, Mike…I’ve still got some in me! lol xoxoM
Awesome.
“The Lady Who Couldn’t Wear Glasses Anymore Because Her Nose Fell Off”? OK, titles aren’t my strong suit. Great doodle, Mike! I’d call it ART!
Thank you for your very kind words on my little doodle!
And that title of yours is so descriptive you don’t even need to write the book! I think you might have stumbled upon the next trend in publishing!
I’d tell you it was a cool doodle, but then God would think you’d need to be humbled (more) and thus your refrigerator, or TV, would stop working, and it would be all my fault. So I won’t praise, I’ll just repeat Vanessa’s plea – you could doodle for my bird (children’s) book anytime.
And, I will not let anyone, ever, discover the Barry Manilow CD in my car.
Thank you, Pam. I shall doodle a bird just for you.
Congratulations on the officially released book. 🙂 My car was in the shop two weeks ago because it needed a new starter. I was not planning on that expense. Embarrassing CD collections . . . I think I got rid of the. And if you see any Tom Jones CDs in my car, it’s not mine. It belongs to my parents.
There is nothing uncool about Tom Jones. Shame on you!
You have shamed me.
To make amends I will play What’s New Pussycat loudly and with pride.
Well done.
And your comments reminded me of one of my favorite standup routines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rqQujx9vk0
I’ve never seen a routine by John Mulaney before. Great stuff!
We love read and write in our family. Congrats on your new book.
Many thanks!
Congrats on your book release! Next post is about Marsha Brady?
Your comment made my morning.
We did the repair shop circuit last week when there was a purple puddle under the car, which generally is not good. I have a flashy new radiator now. The good thing is the kids seem to think the repair place is an amusement park.
The kids should really stay off the car lifts, Lauri. Just sayin’.
Congratulations on the book! I am so glad for you to give some press to the amazing Sarah Hale. (wait, does she have an ‘h’? can’t remember) I knew someone who had a mild heart attack in his car driving home from work. He pulled over and passed out. A colleague from work happened to see it happen, and pulled over to check on him. To this day, the colleague says he almost left him there because he was SURE it was just the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton Christmas CD that had rendered him helpless. Of course, it was July, and for that and many other reasons, he was mortified.
Oh, and I forgot about the sketch! It looks like MY illustrations because I hate to draw noses, soooo….perhaps you have a protag who is trying to convince her creator, her illustrator, to give her a nose, even though he is hesitant to draw them. She wants to lose herself in the aroma of her rose garden, detect her dog’s errant potty habits, smell the neighboring farmer’s leaf burning, and know when the first snow is coming….so she begs and pleads for a nose–no matter how awful. The illustrator tries different noses, and while she is grateful for all of them (no matter how horrible and ill-fitting), he eventually finds the perfect fit.
I love, love, love that idea. Do write it.
I just read Julie Hedlund’s interview with you. Priceless! The best “he did what” journey to publication story I have read! Plus, it’s a great book! I hid out at the car dealership recently for a “warning” light that wouldn’t go off. It gave me an opportunity to do homework. Looks like a fun doodle-in-progress too.
Stacy, I said it on Julie’s website and I’ll say it here: Your ongoing support for my little book has been so wonderful and unexpected. I am very touched by what you have done. Thank you.
That is not a doodle! That is really good, you should put one up with every post. I have never had to sit at the mechanic’s ever so I am totally unenlightened in that matter and wish to remain that way forever. The most embarrassing thing I had in my music collection was when I was a teenager and I don’t even want to remember it. It was by a Greek-American model. That is all I am going to say, anyone around it the eighties will know my shame :p
Pardon me. I must now run off to Google to unravel your musical mystery.
Meanwhile I will go drown in a handful of water 🙂
I can’t believe the timing of reading this post! I returned from the car dealership one hour ago. My “check engine light” was on. After an hour’s wait, the doctor, I mean mechanic, gave me his diagnosis. “You do know engines need oil, right?” Me: “Yes sir.” Him: “Then why is it your car does not have ONE DROP OF OIL in it? Did you try to kill your car?”
I thought for a moment he was going to call Car Protective Services and have me busted for car abuse.
I admire your mechanic’s passion, but I think he coulda been a little less of a jerk about it.
That is a great, great story, though.
Just LOVE the doodle:-)
Thanks! There are a few other doodles scattered around this site. Take a peek if you wish:
https://mikeallegra.com/category/sunday-sketches/
Nice doodle! But I’m not sure what it indicates for your next post—you need glasses, maybe?
I don’t have a car (or a driver’s license) so I have no car repair stories. But probably my most embarrassing album purchase was the soundtrack to the movie “Roller Boogie.” Yeah.
Roller Boogie. Check and MATE!
Well played, Weebles; well played.
Most embarrassing CD?
Spice Girls.
Nuff said. -_-
‘Nuff said, indeed! 🙂
Love the doodle. 🙂
Sorry your car isn’t providing you with the music you need. I can understand your frustration. My car hasn’t been very reliable lately, either, except my problems have been power-related. I short in one of my light relays has been draining my battery. Hubby disconnected the relay, but my lights will work if I remember to switch them on. The one sunny morning I forgot to put them on, the cops pulled me over and gave me a warning for faulty equipment because my day-time running lights were not working. Bah! We can’t afford a newer car until we pay off my Hubby’s new truck. (sigh!)
I hope you will soon have all the music you want, no matter how embarrassing you think your tastes are. (I like John Denver. There, my secret is out!)
John Denver is a good one!
I do have a soft spot for Denver, though. Not for his songs, but for role in the wonderful movie, “Oh, God!,” and his fraternization with Muppets.
Good luck with the car of yours!
You’re a talented doodler. And I like these humbling moments — they keep me balanced.
If I were the type, I MIGHT be embarrassed by my Paul Mauriat cd featuring Love is Blue. I might also be embarrassed by A Tramp Shining by Richard Harris. It features the original MacArthur’s Park — but I love that entire cd unapologetically. Oh yeah, there are cds I bought advertised on tv with music from the fifties, sixties and seventies…
So be proud and go on ahead and enjoy your Best of Frankie Yankovic cd — don’t worry about what THEY think is what I say!
Excellent advice, Ms. B!
My name is Mike and I am a proud polka lover!
And I’m gonna learn some polka dancin’ moves from Margarita!