I adore Free to Be, You and Me. I don't have the DVD, but I do have the CD soundtrack and all the kids have listened to it.

My grandmother always worked, which was unusual enough in the fifties, and she worked in the trucking industry. My grandfather always cooked and cleaned right along with her, so my dad grew up that way, too, which was great (my mom was diagnosed with lupus when I was thirteen, but had been ill for years before that) because he never had a second thought about housework or cooking.

Only one of my friend's mothers worked when I was a kid, though. Suburban New Jersey, 1970s, and Ann was practically the only kid I knew whose mom worked.

Did Michael Jackson go all Men-in-Black on your CD too? I'm just fascinated by that.

I am back from teaching and from Full Force

with Cult Jam?

Heh. I got an SSN when I was 10 or so. I think it was when I got a savings account. My brother and I got them at the same time. I was disappointed that our numbers weren't sequential. I still have the card.

Both my parents worked my whole life, except when my dad took a leave to work on his 6th year degree (and then he got to take care of me during the day since I was an infant). Of course, given that they were making about $15K a year combined as teachers, they didn't have much choice. Stupid old payscale for teachers.

the incredibly-bizarre-to-the-modern-listener track of You Don't Have to Change At All,

That's the one with "And I don't care if you're pretty at all/And I don't care if you never get tall/I like what what I look like, and you're nice small," yeah? Not completely irrelevant...

Yep. And it's really a kind of gorgeous song, but it's kind of hard to divorce from the meta, nowadays. ETA - but it's way weirder with MJ erased. (I think IIRC there's just some background singers oooh-oohing to fill up the holes instead. My friend, never having heard the real version, didn't know there was supposed to be anything else there besides Roberta Flack.)

Did Michael Jackson go all Men-in-Black on your CD too? I'm just fascinated by that.

You know, I have no idea. I actually don't remember the special very well, but I did have the album as a kid, and I knew it by heart. It had been years since I listened to it when I got the CD for (I told everyone else) Jake, but it didn't seem different to me.

I'd like to get the book, too, so I could read some of the stories to Sara, because it would be SO FUN to do Ladies First and Atalanta.

what the hell is Jeremy Irons wearing. ug-ly.

And it's really a kind of gorgeous song, but it's kind of hard to divorce from the meta, nowadays.

Oh, that bizarre part! Not the actual song. I have completely divorced little-cutie Michael from freaky grown up Michael in my head. My children will never need to know they are the same person.

Helen Mirran again, GORGEOUS!