Blondie "Call Me"

Here's a leftover story from New Year's . . .

For the last several years, during the week around New Years, my wife's family convenes in Newport, Rhode Island for a few days at a timeshare.  Prior to having kids, my wife and I might go out for New Year's Eve, but in these last few years, we've generally stayed in.

That was the case this year.  As midnight approached we found ourselves watching Ryan Seacrest as he did the Dick Clark thing.

At some point, Seacrest brought out Debbie Harry and Blondie, who chatted for a few minutes, and then launched into a few of their hits.

My wife's family was remarking how good Debbie Harry both looks and sounds, though she is approaching 70 years old.

My mind suddenly jumped back nearly 20 years.

In the mid-90s, when I was living in Virginia, my roommate was a Virginia Tech grad, and a football fan.  When the Hokies made it to the Sugar Bowl, we decided to hit the road.

New Orleans for New Year's Eve?  Hell yeah!

The football game was exciting.  Tech won.  We were in an upbeat mood as we headed down to Bourbon Street, trying to decide where we'd go to celebrate midnight.

We noticed that at one of the clubs, the headliner for the evening was Debbie Harry.

"Debbie Harry!?!!? C'mon!" I remember exclaiming.

Harry hadn't had a hit in years and years.  I presumed she was old and washed up and why would I want to spend New Year's Eve with that?

So there I was, back in 2013 on New Year's Eve, sitting in a timeshare sipping some wine in my pajamas with my wife and my In-Laws waiting for the clock to hit midnight so I could go to bed, while I watched Debbie Harry rocking out on National TV, whipping the Times Square audience into a frenzy, looking fabulous as she neared 70. . .

I looked at the TV.  I looked at my pajamas.  I looked at the TV and said out loud:

"Who's washed up now, Debbie Harry?"


Hear the song on Youtube.


Hear Blondie on New Year's Eve 2013 on Youtube.