"Where Are the Girls on Banana Seat Bicycles? The Ones With No Shoes on Their Feet?"
By way of introduction, I present to you the chanteuse and lyricist, Miss Jannie Funster, Yellow Rose of Texas. Jannie's tagline? Writing songs and singing for donuts and beer! How do you not like a gal like that?! Songbird Jannie brings to mind, in an instant, the bistro stylings of France's Femme Premiere, Mrs. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, with a little Disney princess tossed in to flavour. Miss Jannie and I became aware of each other one fateful, cyberday when her blog and mine rattled sabers on the subject of Mrs. Cindy McCain. In fact, the clash was sorely mistaken; for it came to be known we both shared an opinion of Miss Cindy and it was a favorable one: It's her beer money ... don't Cindy-hate!
Serendipitously, Miss Jannie and I found each other to be weird and unorthodox free spirits and though we have differing views on music (she-Rolling Stones/Bob Dylan; me-Weezer/Marilyn Manson) and SPAM (she-likes it; me-puke) we both agree having a wine drinking-tree is a fine idea and that pets and husbands make the best friends ever. We also agree yoga and Guinness are equally good for you, museums and book stores are an excellent way to spend a day and that a random row of yellow Mini Coopers is worth stopping to take a snap.
In the last five years, Miss Jannie and I have traded blog comments and, even better, the odd, traditional correspondence via actual U.S. Snail Mail: a carefully wrapped package of beach glass from CA to TX, Christmas cards and the occasional, simple Ciao! on a hand-pressed floral note card. Amidst these, Jannie proffers poetry, songs, stories and mondo pictures at her website. Hoffenlich, I proffer the same, minus the songs, to keep her and others as amused and bemused as she does her readers and Moi-meme.
So, Miss Jannie, in your latest musical offering, you ask Where are the girls on banana seat bicycles, who used to fly down the street? The song is an evocation of pretty childhoods and summer romances, of sparkly blue seats, matching handlebar streamers and magical flights. If you're not careful, the song will bring a wee tear to your eye ... menfolk, too.
Well, it seems to me the girls are everywhere fun and free spirit is to be found, wherever a life is free of concern, but full of care. They are in Austin, San Diego and Napa: NorCal home to Miss Bonney's girl, the one with the banana seat soul whom gifted me Miss Sadie Schwinn. Though they don't allow bicycles through the hallowed gates of Disneyland, when one is there the banana seat souls cycle down every sparkling inch of Magic Kingdom paths. If you have a banana seat bicycle soul, I urge you to join the odd and fantastical Janniverse. If your soul is not of the banana seat ilk, maybe Jannie and I can help you!
#summertime #songs #SPAM