Is it called the “Super Bowl” because bowls of food are always involved?
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: The Super Bowl may be THE most anticipated sporting event of the year, but although Red isn’t a football fan, she used to watch it with her daughter Sawyer before she left for college (Sawyer focused on the game, Red the singing of the national anthem and half-time show); while for Black it’s always been about the commercials, but this year …
As an empty nester, Red hadn’t planned to watch the Super Bowl. There’s an assortment of shows she’d rather watch (all, of course, would include a bowl of freshly popped popcorn). Until she received an email a few days ago from a friend with the subject line, “Popcorners on TikTok,” and included a video that was about two of her favorite things … Popcorners (once she discovered them a few years ago, she became an unpaid spokesperson, touting them to anyone who’ll listen) and the lead characters from Breaking Bad. (Red admits that even though the series is over 10 years old, she’s only recently started watching it, actually, “binge-watching” would be more accurate.)
The funny thing is, for years, Black has always gone to a Super Bowl watch party that was only a handful of dear friends. And while some would “demand” quiet and no side conversations during the actual game, Black would “shhh” people during the commercials. Now, with most of the commercials available in advance, she only does that for her favorite commercials. Although she impatiently awaits the premiere of one commercial,
Given all the controversy over M&M’s and the company’s decision to sideline (pun intended) its spokescandies, supposedly in response to cultural backlash, including changing the green M&M’s shoes, I want to see if it was merely a brilliant marketing ploy. If so, it worked.
At first, Red could not believe the drama surrounding the M&M’s, but now that she started watching sneak previews of some of the Super Bowl commercials, she understands how they’re such an important part of the game. And has decided that she might have to watch the Super Bowl after all. Or, technically, the commercials. With the added bonus of hearing one of her favorite singers, Chris Stapleton, sing the National Anthem.
Red started to write warm and fuzzy Christmas and holiday greetings, but Black said some things are worth repeating … like our simple Christmas post from 2023 (check out the movie clip) …
No matter what holiday you may celebrate, Red can’t help but quote a line from one of her favorite Christmas songs, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on, your troubles will be out of sight.”
And Black can’t help but point out that the song wasn’t introduced in a Christmas movie but in the movie "Meet Me In St. Louis."
Wishing you a merry everything and a happy always!
Sadie Hawkins Day … some may find it sexist. Some may find it inspirational. Others just nostalgic. Our take on it hasn’t changed since we first issued this post. But if you asked Black for a car analogy (she always has one), she’d tell you it’s about taking the wheel and leading the way …
Comic strip or reality show: A group of bachelors participates in a foot race, and whoever's caught by the single woman in the race will become her husband.
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: We may be sisters, but except for growing up with the same parents in the same house in New York, that may be where the similarities end; especially in terms of dating "protocol" as Black never thought twice about asking boys (and later men) out on a date, while Red never gave it any thought, accepting the convention that boys did the asking. (She did make an exception for her senior prom but was shocked when he accepted.)
When it comes to Sadie Hawkins Day, we both agree it's a quirky holiday that makes it "acceptable" for girls to ask out boys, but of course, we have very different perspectives. For Red, it conjures up images of Sadie Hawkins Day dances, although she never went to one and doesn't even remember how she knows about them. While Black's fascinated by how it all began with the cartoonist Al Capp and his popular "Lil' Abner" comic strip and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon.
Now, over 80 years later, if you were to analyze Sadie Hawkins Day, you would probably find it outdated and sexist. But why not just laugh at its silly beginnings and enjoy the day. The funny thing is Red still thinks men should ask out women, while Black always believed that every day's Sadie Hawkins Day.“A Dictator & His Mistress” might have been a catchier title, but that doesn’t change the fact that the combination of history and food makes this one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites. While Black loves the leadership lessons (from a dictator?!). Curious? If so, read on …
Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.
Which is what got Red to realize, much to her surprise (shock, if truth be told), that even as a straight-A student with a love of history, that when it came to Julius Caesar, a famous historical figure and possibly one of the greatest generals and statesmen of all time, she couldn't tell you dates or battles or anything "historical" associated with him.
Even as a theater major in college, she never read Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," although she knew just enough about the play to know that it was where the fortune teller warned Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March." Instead, her knowledge of Caesar came from her love of movies.
My first, and probably my most enduring, memory is of a brilliant general who not only commanded armies as he conquered lands far from home but was a great statesman who was also involved with one of the world's most beautiful women. And while he was Julius Caesar and the woman was Cleopatra, to me, they'll always be Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, a movie almost as controversial as the general himself.
And Black? Besides knowing that Caesar Salad was invented by a different Caesar, she appreciates Julius Caesar's leadership skills and way with words,
There is much we can learn about leadership from Julius Caesar, whether on the battlefield, in politics, or in business (start small, take risks, communicate well), including what ultimately led to his death (always consider worst-case scenarios, never get complacent or arrogant). Many of his quotes speak (pun intended) to his powerful way with words, and the ability to not only deliver a message but to inspire (and story tell), with my favorite being, "I came, I saw, I conquered."
Staying Real … On Social Media?