Last night I took Dolphin and her family to dinner to celebrate her birthday. SIL had read somewhere that "Happy Birthday" is the most-often sung song in the US, and "The Star Spangled Banner" is second. We all agreed that no one can actually sing the national anthem. SIL said it was an old drinking tune, and meant to be sung by a large group of people; presumably, some could hit the high notes, and some could hit the low. This triggered a dim memory in me, and I said tentatively "There used to be a pizza parlor..."

"Shakey's Pizza!" Dolphin burst in. Obviously she had gone to the same memory; her eyes were shining and you could see the happy feelings written all over her face.

"It was like group karaoke" I said, "with a big screen..."

"And you followed the bouncing ball. They had root beer in little mugs, and the very best part of all was that they had a window where you could watch the guys make the pizza and throw the dough in the air. There was a step so the little kids could see it, too. You know" Dolphin said "that may be my earliest childhood memory. I don't think Guppyman was even born then."

Her memories are far more crystal clear than mine, but I think she's right on every bit of it.

The conversation drifted back to the national anthem. I said I've always thought "America the Beautiful" should be our anthem because it's a lovely melody and celebrates the country, while "God Bless America", which seems to be most people's choice, is such a martial tune. Then Dolphin said "You're just an aging hippie. You want to tell everyone 'Let's take off our shoes, and hold hands, and run through this field of wildflowers'." She didn't sound approving. Too bad, because it sounded wonderful to me.

It's time to stop writing now. I have to go find my love beads, my peace symbol button and my "Make love, not war" bumper sticker. Later, dudes.