High Hopes

Began the morning with breakfast and Charlie and Lola. He has to remind his sister that "This Is Actually My Party," and he wants a monster theme, loud music, and a scary cake. Lola would rather he had pink cupcakes, classical music, and a ballerina theme. He's not happy with the changes, but she goes too far when she starts opening his cards and his presents for him. When he argues with her, she decides she has to make things right. 

Hurried to work soon as the cartoon ended. We were steady off and on for most of the morning. That was a bit of a surprise. There's really nothing going on right now besides sports. Maybe everyone wanted to dodge the weather. It started showering lightly around 12:30, which cleared out our customers. Thankfully, it was never heavy enough to make me more than damp. By the time I rode home, the rain was vanishing, though the clouds remained.

Watched Press Your Luck as changed and had a snack. Whammies slammed everyone in this episode. The two women hit two each in the first round. They didn't get the guy until the second, but then they got him three times. He Whammied out on his last turn, allowing the champ to come out on top. Her prizes are likely the reason this was included with Buzzr's Spring Break marathon - trips to New York and Hong Kong.

Rested while watching The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Queen Elizabeth I (Bette Davis) is more than a little worried about Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (Errol Flynn). Sure, he's one of her best fighters, but he's also ambitious and wouldn't mind having the throne for himself. She praises everyone but him, which angers him enough to leave for his estate. She calls him back to route an uprising in Ireland. 

He thinks she's scorning and ignoring him when she doesn't answer his letters. Turns out the letters were intercepted by Lady Penelope Gray (Olivia De Havilland), who also loves Robert. Elizabeth equally thinks he's ignoring her and calls him back to London. He leads an army against her, then assumes they'll rule together. But Elizabeth isn't the type of woman to share with anyone, and Robert's more likely to lose his head than rule beside her.

Strong acting from everyone here, from Davis playing Elizabeth for the first of two times to Flynn as the nobleman who is too caught up in his own ambition to realize the queen has no desire to let him sit on the throne. DeHavilland gets to play a slightly stronger character than usual in these dramas as the lady-in-waiting whose love for Robert leads her come between him and Elizabeth. Look for half the character actors on the Warners lot at the time as members of the Queen's court, including Vincent Price as Sir Walter Raleigh and Donald Crisp as Sir Francis Bacon.

The Elizabeth and Essex DVD came with several extras, including the Warners musical short The Royal Rodeo. John Payne, still a few years away from his Fox musicals, here plays a singing cowboy whose wild west show delights a boy king (Scotty Beckett) when it visits his country. He and his sidekick Shorty (Cliff Edwards) rescue him and his Aunt Marianne (Lucile Fairbanks) from conspirators who want to take over the country. 

Jessa texted me during work. She apparently had extra tickets to the Phillies-Rockies game this evening and couldn't find anyone to go with her. Did I want to come? Sure, why not? Beat sitting at home, messing around on the laptop. 

She picked me up at 5:30 to catch the 6:05 game. Fortunately, the traffic wasn't bad, not even around the stadium. Once we actually got into the parking lot, it was a different story. The Phillies weren't the only team playing this evening. The Sixers were at the Wells Fargo Center as well, playing the Miami Heat. Jess parked in the back, which means it took a while for us to dodge cars and people heading to both venues.

Citizens Bank Park is huge, with tons of food and shopping options. We walked around a bit before getting in line at a Shake Shack. She wanted a hot dog later, so she just bought fries and the "MVP Shake" - vanilla ice cream with various cookie bits and red, white, and blue sprinkles. I got the Shake with a single burger. 

We sat at the tables next to the booth as the game began. The Phillies couldn't have started off stronger against a team that's currently one of the worst in the National League. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner hit home-runs almost as soon as the game began. The Rockies couldn't get anywhere near them. By the time we'd joined 35,000 screaming fans in the stands, the Phils were up 2-1.

Jess got great seats, too, 108 on the right outfield. I could clearly see all the pitching and current batters. That was actually the last scoring anyone did for a while. At least the game moved quickly. I worried it would drag on, especially given it remained cloudy and windy all evening. Far from it. Pitcher Cristopher Sanchez struck out most of the Rockies up to bat...until a disastrous 7th inning, when he allowed 5 guys to make it through. 

Maybe the weather distracted him. The clouds that had hung on since I got home from work finally burst around 8 PM. At least the rain was neither heavy, nor did it last long. It showered lightly for about twenty minutes. By that point, it was almost the 8th inning, too late to call the game. Thankfully, the Phils managed to hang on and win the game 7-6.

The crowds were a lot of fun, too. Considering tonight is a school night, I'm surprised how many families with kids I saw in the stands. If the kids were ecstatic, the adults around them were even more so, especially once they had a few dozen yards of beer in them. The guys two rows behind us kept yelling at right fielder Nick Castallan. (Frankly, considering some of it wasn't complimentary, I hope he didn't hear them.) 

I got up during the 7th inning stretch to use the bathroom and get a snack. Jessa had done a similar run about two innings before. I liked the nifty souvenir cup she brought back, so I thought I'd get one, too. I also wasn't leaving a Philadelphia sports venue without having a soft pretzel. I found a booth that sold Aaron Nola Coke Zero cups and huge pretzels in the shape of a P.  

It once again took us a little while to get out of there. Jessa stopped for a second bathroom break before we headed out for good. When we got into the parking lot and found Jess' car, everyone was trying to leave at the same time. We pulled out at the same time as two other cars, and everyone was inching along.

Once we got away from Citizen's Bank Park, it was smooth sailing. There was no traffic anywhere going home, not even in South Philly. Jessa's husband Joe even called and gave us the play-by-play on the Sixers game, which was literally in its last seconds. Oh, yeah, and the Sixers also just barely won over the Heat by one point, 105-104, which apparently gives them the seventh seed in the playoffs. 

On the Road Again

Began a beautiful and sunny morning with Green Eggs and Ham. "The Sam Who Came In From the Cold" is proud to deliver the Moo-Lacka-Moo to the Dooka (Hector Elizondo) with his mother. Even though he's glad to be eating green eggs and ham with her again, he's not as thrilled when he learns that the Moo-Lacka-Moo will be used to destroy the Yookia...and by extension, his friends. Meanwhile, Guy makes up with E.B by helping her to get Looka out of the dungeon.

Did some things online, then headed out. After I got sunburned on my arms and took a longer walk than planned yesterday, I debated taking a long ride today. The weather was just so nice, though, I couldn't bring myself to sit inside.

I was cutting through Audubon and across from Haddon Lake Park when I got a phone call. It was the Camden Housing Authority. They wanted to do a virtual interview with me and several other people...but they wanted to do it tomorrow morning, when I had work. And apparently, they hadn't gotten my college transcripts, even though I sent them. I said I'd try sending them again, and that we'd have to reschedule my interview for next week. I had so few hours this week, I really couldn't call out.

After checking Google Maps on my phone, I finally made my way through Haddon Heights and down to the Black Horse Pike. As I rode down the Pike, I saw a huge black horse statue with Del Buono's Bakery painted on it that was very hard to miss! In fact, the plain white building was surrounded by huge statues of the Blues Brothers, Pinocchio, a pink pig dressed as a baker, and enough animals to start a farm. 

The inside was equally interesting. An enormous machine in the very back spit hot, fresh rolls onto a conveyor belt. Shelves were jammed full of rolls, soft bagels, butter and chocolate chip cookies, cake, cannoli, soft pretzels, eclairs, and pastries. There was a deli in the main room as well. I ended up with a bag of two soft bagels and a raisin roll and two containers of Italian butter and chocolate cookies buy-one, get-one.

It took me a few more wrong turns (including my nerve-wracking cross over busy i-295), but I finally made it to Bellmawr around quarter of 1. After getting turned around near their massive library, I finally found what I'd come to see. The Community Thrift Store was tucked away in a random shopping center with a Mexican restaurant and dry cleaners. Frankly, they were a total mess. The clothes on the racks didn't look bad, but every other piece of junk had been dumped onto shelves every which way. There were only a few DVDs and no books, and all of the records were 12-inch-singles or damp and ruined. I was barely there for five minutes before I walked back out again with nothing.

It wasn't a total loss. In addition to the bakery, I passed the Club Diner on my way up the Pike. The red, blue, and chrome building was worth crossing the street for. I slid into a small booth and had a tasty Monte Cristo ham and turkey sandwich on French toast, with fries, an iced tea, and a salad. (There was also a tiny cup of cole slaw, but it was kind of sour.)

Backtracked a block to Royal Farms. They're pretty much identical to WaWa, down to the gas station and the exact same set-up for their self checkout kiosks. They even have identical sales. I bought a Strawberry Lemonade Propel for the ride home and the buy Mountain Dew Zero and Baja Blast Zero, get them for 2 each for later.

This time, I stuck to the Black Horse Pike going home. Checked out a party store in Mt. Ephraim on my way down the road. They were better-organized, with what amounted to a dollar store in front and a party store in back. Once again, there was nothing interesting.

Followed the Black Horse Pike all the way down to the exit into Oaklyn. Thought about getting ice cream, but Phillies Yummies was two and three deep with kids just out of school. I opted for a tart elderberry hibiscus iced tea at Common Grounds Coffee House instead.

Went straight into today's movie for review when I got home. I go further into the Paramount early sound musical Honey at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Honey (1930)

Rebought the transcripts while the movie was on. This time, I send them to my e-mail, then e-mailed it to the Camden Housing Authority. I hope it worked this time. I haven't heard otherwise, at any rate.

Switched to writing after the movie ended. Kathleen can't help noticing that all of the spring flowers and leaves retreat when Lady Jacqueline and Lord Jerrick appear, and the temperature drops at least ten degrees. She wonders where Sir Michael is, as he's nowhere to be found in the coach. Jacqueline claims he'll join them at a later date.

Broke for dinner and Match Game '73. Buzzr is now on the wild week that introduced "Dean of Game Shows" Bill Cullen to the show. We also have Loretta Swit, and one of the few rock stars to appear on the show, jovial Cass Elliot. I really wish Cass could have turned up again. Despite the barrage of weight jokes she got from Richard and Brett, she was laid-back, very funny, and a good player. It's too bad she passed away before she could come back.

Finished the night listening to some of the record collections I acquired this weekend, starting with Make Believe Ballroom Time. As I mentioned a few days ago, I first heard this in college, when someone donated a pile of old records to the Stockton Media Center.  I'd only read about songs like the movie theme song waltz "Jeannie, I Dream of Lilac Time" and the sweet "I'll Always Be In Love With You" in books before I found this. Other songs are less obscure today, including the original "Charleston," "The Sheik of Araby," "Me and My Shadow," and "Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye." (And one, "Happy Days are Here Again," is actually a cheat - it's from the 1930 movie Chasing Rainbows.)  

Lovely to Look At is MGM's 1954 version of the 30's musical-operetta hybrid Roberta. It wasn't a hit at the time, but some of its songs live up to the title. Ann Miller has fun with "I'll Be Hard to Handle." Howard Keel does well by the title song and is joined by a supremely sarcastic Kathryn Grayson for "You're Devastating." Grayson also gets this show's major standard, the ballad "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," while Marge and Gower Champion do a lively "I Won't Dance."

Brigadoon is also an MGM Broadway adaptation from 1954 and also wasn't a hit at the time. Otherwise, this bittersweet Scottish fantasy is about as different from Lovely to Look At as you can get. Though you can't see Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse's stunning ballet to "The Heather On the Hill," you can hear Kelly sing my favorite song from this score, "Almost Like Being In Love." 

Hot In Springtime

Began a sunny, hot morning with being startled away by the phone. It was Karen. The only day she can get together this week is Friday, and that's my day in the floral department. I'm not going to miss that. We're going to attempt getting together next week instead.

Jessa also texted me. Turns out she wanted to get together today after all. Could I meet her somewhere we could eat outside? She originally suggested Sonic, but that would be too far to walk. I mentioned Collingswood. Many of the restaurants and cafes there have outdoor seating. 

Read Death by Dumpling, then hurried out. At least it was a nice day for a walk. Almost too nice for mid-April. It was hot, windy, and sunny, already in the upper 70's at 11:30. I'm surprised there weren't more people in the park, but they might have all been at work or on their way to lunch.

Jessa met me near the PATCO station with her fluffy little black dog Midnight. Turns out she'd ridden her bike all the way from Deptford, with Midnight in the back. It took her over an hour to get there on the back roads. She hadn't mentioned that when she texted me. No wonder she wanted to meet by a place with bike racks and eat outside. 

I suggested Collingswood because it's closer to me, but the truth is, most stores in town are closed on Monday. Haddon Culinary is one of the few that's open all week. In addition to selling overpriced gourmet food and produce, they also have small meals, sandwiches and salads and soup and the like. Jessa had soup and a chicken sandwich. I had the Haddon Sunrise egg sandwich, with bacon, melted cheddar, tomato, scrambled eggs, and spicy aioli on multi-grain bread. I was still a bit full from yesterday, so all I had with it was a bottle of unsweetened iced tea. 

There's wooden benches all along Haddon Avenue next to the market and their next-door neighbor, a juice shop. Midnight curled up in the shade under the table while we had our sandwiches. Yum! Mine was really good, a nice blend of flavors. Jessa seemed to enjoy her sandwich and especially her Italian Wedding Soup, too. Midnight came out from under the table when a man came by with a young black lab and a couple passed walking their little king's spaniel.

We talked for a long time after we ate, probably for almost an hour. She told me about her job at a warehouse and running the Broad Street marathon in Philly. I told her about my vacation days and my enjoyable weekend off. 

I originally suggested taking Midnight to Knight Park, but we talked for so long, she ended up walking me home across Collingswood. We walked down Lees Avenue until we saw the park, then turned on that. They were even more busy than Collingswood with people and their dogs and children out enjoying the warm, sunny day. When we got to my house, I filled her water bottle, so she and Midnight could wet their whistles before they started back on their long ride home.

After I got in, I did job hunting while watching Match Game PM. I enjoyed the episodes I saw last night so much, I decided to keep my usual birthday Match Game marathon going another day. Brett is delighted when an older man with a twinkle in his eye is sweet on her. She's nervous when he chooses her for the Head-to-Head, but everyone's delighted when things work out - most of all him!

The first season of the nighttime shows ended with an episode where Gene demonstrated his ability to do push-ups. Brett then showed off hers, which weren't bad, either. Soap star Janice Lynde managed to steal the spotlight from both of them by doing "push ups" on her stomach!

At that point, I was tired and not really having much luck with job hunting. I went down for a nap instead. Fell asleep at 4:30 and was so out of it, I didn't get up until almost 6:30.

To my annoyance, I realized after I wrote in my journal that I forgot to take my laundry downstairs earlier. I did that, then put on Match Game '73 while eating dinner. Ran straight into the infamous episode where Gene turns up in a red and green plaid suit that was so butt-ugly, even for the early 70's, the panel wouldn't look at him when he came out. Comedian Jack Carter even said he looked like "a station break in Poland." Near the end of the episode, everyone is so excited when the contestant wins, Bert, Jack, and Fannie Flagg ran into the audience and gave random people hugs and kisses.

Brought my last birthday present to myself up after I ran the laundry downstairs. Make Believe Ballroom Time was among the records and videos the Stockton Media Center received from a donor when I worked there around 2000. I enjoyed listening to the charming 20's songs so much, I actually recorded the two-disc set onto a cassette. I still have it, but alas, it's in storage, and I'm trying to replace my cassettes with other formats as much as possible anyway. I finally found it again on eBay. (There's a 30's collection under the same title I may eventually pick up as well.)

Put my laundry in the dryer, then brought it up again as I finished the night with more Match Game PM. Gene wasn't happy in one Season 2 episode when he had to open his own door because the stagehand forgot to do it. Another classic episode had Richard pretending to be Brett and Betty White playing Charles when they already matched the contestant and had to sit out a round. Brett brought her elegant fan to a long-lost episode that Buzzr restored to the line-up in 2021. Gene's comments to an Asian man who was in World War II may have had something to do with its disappearance.

Gene wasn't the only one who said things he probably regretted on the nighttime show. Marcia Wallace's answer to a question about where a guy lost a few inches got censored in a 1977 episode. Another infamous episode from a year later featured a bored Richard and two of the most hapless people to ever play the game. They just could not match anyone. The only reason the guy made it to the Audience Match was Charles matched each of them once, then matched him in a tiebreaker.

Some of the later episodes after Richard left were pretty fun, too. I wish Buzzr still showed them. Gene brought his daughter Lynn's sweet old dog Trotter to the show in one 1979 episode, to Betty White's delight. Charles was a lot more skeptical and teased Gene about his furry friend throughout the show. Debralee Scott flashed her bare leg in heels and stockings in another show. Bill Daily quickly covered it with his coat! A few weeks later, Charles kindly gave his toupee to a balding but personable young man who frankly looked a lot better with it.

Betty White and Allen Ludden made one of their last appearances together in a 1981 syndicated week, and the only time Allen sat in the "smart guy" seat next to Betty. Alas, the full week is currently unavailable, but the nighttime version survives. Jimmie Walker and Jonnelle Allen join in to see how much Betty and Allen clearly loved sitting next to each other, happily teasing and helping one another.

Here's all of the episodes I watched today (including today's YouTube "premiere" chat episode and the one I watched on Buzzr), so you can enjoy lots more Match Game after dark too!

Match Game '73 80- Gene's Wild Suit

Match Game '76 651 - Joey Bishop's First Show

PM 33 - Hose Down Brett

PM 39 - Brett and Gene's Dueling Push-Ups

PM 51 - Gene Opens His Own Door

PM 66 - Richard Plays Brett and Betty Plays Charles

PM 74 - Gene and the Japanese Contestant (Formerly Skipped Episode)

PM 91 - Marcia Gets Censored

PM 119 - Worst Contestants Ever?

PM 201 - Meet Trotter the Dog

PM 207 - Debralee's Leg Flash

PM 210 - Betty and Allen Together

PM 215 - Charles Rips Off His Toupee

Birthdays and Matches

Started off my birthday with breakfast and Match Game '73 on YouTube. Brett and Charles made their first appearances on the show's third week, while Bert Convy and Betty White appeared outside of the pilot for the first time. It's also the first of many, many times Brett chides Charles for not wearing socks, and the first time Betty and Brett trade quips.

Headed out after that. The Uber driver didn't even need a minute to arrive. Thankfully, there was very little traffic as he headed down the highway and turned off to Deptford. He dropped me off at the front Boscov's Deptford Mall entrance around 11 AM.

Explored Boscov's first. I didn't see any clothes I liked, but they were having good sales on socks. They always have a great selection of decent socks. I walked out with a 3 pack of tan and brown cotton Goldtoe socks that came to $12 with 25 percent off.

FYE is a few doors down from Boscov's. While they no longer have the wonderful selection of DVDs and CDs they once did, they do have a decent pile of records. I found jazz group The Charlie Hunter Trio's Bing Bing Bing for $15. 

Made my way down to the other side of the mall and into Round 1 Arcade. They were a lot busier than usual, with far more small kids running around with parents. The ring toss and Lane Master bowling game were down, but everything else worked. I ran from the Monopoly dice spin to the Nerf Arcade to the giant Pac Man game to skee ball to the spinning pirate wheel to Mario Kart Deluxe (I ended up with Luigi). Came up with over 2,900 points. Normal-sized Beanie Babies were only 400 points each. I got fluffy Tundra the Snow Leopard and sweet Chopper the Dalmatian, along with two tiny popping candy bags and one of those Chinese yo-yos for 10 and 30 points each. And I still have over 2,000 points left for when Lauren visits in June.

It was past 1:30 when I finally had lunch at the food court. I really loved Pitas and Salad, the Greek food booth where I had lunch when Lauren visited last year. Had a delicious lamb and beef gyro with thick, dry fries and big tomato chunks. 

Bubble Bear Tea literally just opened a few days ago. Thought I'd finally give bubble tea a whirl. Tried their coconut milk tea. The "bubbles" were tapioca pearls, and they had a rather strange, gummy mouth feel. The coconut milk tea was good, but the bubbles were weird. I think I'll stick to green tea from now on when I want to do an exotic tea drink.

JC Penney is right behind the food court, so I went there next. They were having big clearance sales, including buy-one, get-one free on any items with a pink label. It took me forever to decide, but I finally came up with brown jeans (my old pair are starting to go in the thighs - I don't know if they'll survive another winter) and a gold cable sweater. The buy one, get one was more like buy one, get them half-off. With the sale, I got both for about $8 all together.

Peeked at the toy and accessories stores Box Lunch and Miniso, but it was past 3:30 by that point. If I wanted to check out Barnes and Noble too, I figured I might as well get going. Besides, the mall wasn't getting any less busy. I could barely move around in the toy stores. Went out the main entrance door, around Macy's, and past Dick's to the parking lot.

I originally tried to cross at the corner, but it was too crazy. As I headed down the street to cross closer to my destination, I saw something small and dirty laying in the street. It was a little Beanie Baby giraffe, all covered in dirt and bits of leaves. I couldn't just leave him there sitting next to the curb, so I brushed him off as best I could and stuck him in my bag. 

Ducked past the abandoned shopping center that once held Christmas Tree Shoppes and Bed Bath and Beyond before making it to Barnes and Noble. They were also busy, but there's also more room to spread out. I dug two mysteries out of the cozy section and found a book on game shows on the entertainment shelves. Deptford does have a music and DVD area, and they too now sell records.  

My Barnes and Noble finds were: 

The soundtracks for Encanto and The Three Amigos (and I never thought I'd see a soundtrack for the latter - apparently, it's exclusive to Barnes & Noble)

Dim Sum of All Fears - Vivien Chien

Rhythm and Clues - Olivia Blacke

Game Show Confidential - Boze Hadleigh

Stopped in at the Starbucks there to wet my whistle. This time, I went with a small Green Tea Frappuccino. It was cold and I was thirsty. I went through my finds while downing my drink.

Soon as I got outside, I called Uber. It took the young woman about 9 minutes to pick me up, but it was the height of rush hour on a Sunday. At any rate, we once again hit no traffic, and I was home in 20 minutes.

Put everything upstairs, then went right back out again. It was too nice of a day to sit inside. The weather was gorgeous. It remained windy, but was also sunny and warm, probably in the upper 60's. I originally wanted to get a treat from Los Amigos, but it turns out that they close early on Saturday. I considered Dunkin' Donuts, but they didn't have much left, and I didn't feel like hiking all the way to WaWa. I just went home after that.

As it turned out, someone already took care of that. A friend, two neighbors, and their daughter made a pineapple-upside down cake for me. I love pineapple upside-down cakes! I've made them myself a few times. My friend also gave me a card and a huge bouquet of pale pink roses that smell so nice. 

I heard from my family, too. Jessa texted late last night to see if I wanted to hit the Cherry Blossom Festival in Philly with her. I didn't get to it until late, and she didn't read it until much later. We decided to go bowling tomorrow or Tuesday instead. Rose texted me, and I had a nice chat with Mom (who also sent a lovely card). 

Soon as I got home, I took that poor little stuffed giraffe to the sink and gave him a good scrubbing. I hope I got all the dirt off. It took me forever just to pull the needle-like leaves stuck in him. Since he didn't come with his tag, I had no idea what his name was. My friend suggested Geoffrey, after the Toys R Us mascot. I think that will do just fine. At any rate, he now looks much better, or at least, is less dusty.

Watched more Match Game episodes after I went upstairs. One of the most famous early episodes was from the only week where Bobby Van and Elaine Joyce got to sit side-by-side (and the only time Elaine was in Brett's character actress seat). The contestant's answer to a question about Batman and Robin's relationship now has this episode banned from the airwaves. 

Switched to favorite episodes of the night time show after that. Two of the show's best early episodes has Gene questioning Richard's seemingly unusual answers in the Audience Match...and in the case of "Burns and __" and "Admiral __," let's say Richard was right both times. Another show begins with several panelists standing up and saluting a Scottish officer in full regalia. 

The Match Game Sunday Classics marathon began around 7:30 and ran until past 3:30. Ira Skutch, the show's producer and judge, was in the spotlight tonight. A tall gentleman with high cheekbones and a fondness for leisure suits, Ira generally appeared on camera when he had to replace a question that had been compromised in some way with a new one, or to explain his rulings. Among the time he had to do the latter was during the week Donald Ross and Patti Deustch played together. Donald said "a little yellow spot" as to what a dog did on the floor and it was passed. Two other people said "spot," and it was buzzed. Ira told them he passed yellow spot because it was specific.

Ira's rulings could cause a lot of trouble, most notoriously during the infamous "School Riot" in 1977. Ira let "college" and "scuba diving school" slide as answers to where Dumb Dora took her cultured pearls to, but not "finishing school" or "night school." Debralee Scott and Richard Dawson threw a fit. Patti Deustch was so scared, she could barely show her "night school" answer. Brett and Charles tried to defuse the situation by showing Charles as "the first victim of the school riot," but the damage had been done. The lower tier kept their answers up in protest for what little remained of the episode.

On the other hand, his decisions could benefit the contestants. When one woman struck out completely in the Audience Match in a 1976 PM episode and couldn't do the Head-to-Head, they let her match the panelists for 100 dollars each. She ended up going home with 600 dollars and a smile on her face. 

See if you can match answers with the show's infamously finicky producer and judge! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - Featuring Producer Ira Skutch On Camera

And here's the other episodes I watched today!

1973 - First Appearances of Brett, Betty, Bert, and Charles

1973 - Batman and Robin are What?!

1975 PM - Burns and Cuts

1975 PM - Stand Up To Salute!

1975 PM - The Admiral TV Incident

Oh, and the nice weather didn't last forever. The rain returned somewhere around 10:30. It rained hard for a while, but thought it remains windy, I don't think it's rained since. 

Blown Into Matches

Started off the morning with breakfast and the first episode of Match Game '73. Along with the musical for review, I intend to spend my weekend off watching Match Game episodes for my birthday. And as someone once said, the beginning is a very good place to start. Richard Dawson appeared on the show from the start, joined for the first week by Michael Landon, Anita Gillette, Jo Ann Pflug, Jack Klugman, and Vicki Lawrence. Of those six, only Landon, frustrated by the new rules, would never return. (And it's a shame. He was charming, and he did play well.) 

Did a few things online for a half-hour before I finally headed out for a long bike ride up to Barrington. There are several collectible or antique stores up there that I wanted to check out, starting with the Barrington Antique Center. This sprawling warehouse has everything you can imagine jammed into its tiny rooms, from depression glass and genuine antique furniture and clothes to relatively recent DVDs and Barbies. 

Normally, I love prowling around there, but they were incredibly busy today. I couldn't move without running into someone who wanted to riffle through the same shelf as me. I also rarely find records there. It's not that they don't have good ones. It's just that their records tend to be twice the price of anyone else's. I wasn't paying $10 for a rock album I could find in the dollar bin at Innergroove, but I would pay $10 for a double disc set of the MGM musicals Lovely to Look At and Brigadoon. I also found the soundtrack for The Aristocats for $5. It was scratched, but playable. Found small loaves of bread on a plate near the door for $5; grabbed a chocolate chip loaf for breakfast tomorrow.

Had no luck anywhere else. The House of Fun, a collectible toy and DVD shop in a shopping center near Lawnside, had nothing of interest. Past and Present Vintage mainly sold vintage sports shirts and jerseys. For the prices they were asking, I could buy something new. 

Besides, the weather wasn't much fun, especially for a long ride. It was cold, much colder than it has been, probably in the upper 50's-lower 60's.The sun kept hiding behind clouds. Blustery winds whipped down the streets of Barrington and Haddon Heights, nearly blowing me over at one point. I hurried down Atlantic Avenue, under King's Highway and into Audubon.

Had lunch at the Legacy Diner. It's been a while since I've eaten there. Even at well past 2 PM, they were busy. It took 10 minutes to get a waitress, but they did bring my lunch quickly. I do like their pancakes. Had coconut-pineapple pancakes with bacon and unsweetened iced tea. The pancakes were tasty, if slightly dry. The bacon could have been cooked more, but I like mine crispy.

I was originally going to try the new ice cream parlor on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike, but despite the sign out front claiming they open at noon, the young man behind the counter said they weren't opening until 5. Oh well. I went back across the street to WaWa for a treat instead. Pineapple is the flavor of the summer there this year, so I tried a Pineapple Pie Milkshake. Not bad. Very pineapple, with crunchy bits sprinkled on top, if a bit too sweet.

Soon as I got home, I put Alice In Wonderland on as I got organized and rested. I go further into this all-star musical miniseries from 1985 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Alice In Wonderland (1985)

Finished the night online after a shower with tonight's Match Game marathon. Bill Cullen, the Dean of Game Shows himself, knew more than a little bit about panel shows...but he seemed to do better on more typical examples of the genre like To Tell the Truth. He was mainly there because he and Gene Rayburn were good friends. For all that, he played relatively well, and he certainly seemed to enjoy himself.

He's another one who turned up almost from the beginning in 1973. He was on the week with "Mama" Cass Elliot, including the episode where Brett's insulting response to a question now has that show banned from the airwaves. He joined Patti Deusch in 1974 to meet a sweet lady who wore those thick yarn ribbons in her pigtails and in 1977, saw a man be so happy to win, he did bell kicks Gene Kelly would envy. 

He turned up sporadically through 1981, well into the syndicated run, by which time he was announced as being from Blockbusters. He was on the all-game show host week mentioned during the Peter Marshall marathon on Easter with people who had either been hosts, or would be one. His last appearance was during a 1981 episode where Gene showed up wearing a white old man wig, claiming to be Mr. Perriwinkle. Actually, it was the wig he wore as Scrooge when he and Bill did A Christmas Carol in Boston. His last appearance on Match Game was Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1983 to promote his new Hot Potato on NBC. 

Join the Dean of Game Shows and make a few blockbuster matches yourself in this wild marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Featuring Bill Cullen On the Panel

Celebrate the Quiet Times

Began a gloomy, rainy morning with breakfast and "Yogi's Birthday Party." In the series finale of The Yogi Bear Show, Ranger Smith tells Yogi he's going to appear on a TV special. Yogi takes singing and dancing lessons from thinly-veiled spoofs of then-popular entertainers. He tries to run away when he realizes he really doesn't have any musical talent, but he's brought back. Turns out the "variety special" is really a birthday party with Smith, Cindy, Boo Boo, and most of the Hanna-Barbara funny animal characters created up to that point. 

After I finally re-signed in (again), I switched to Disney Plus for two birthday-themed episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's "Minnie's Birthday," and Mickey wants to hold a surprise party for her. The others help bake a cake and set up the decorations while sending Minnie off to do other things. When she gets frustrated that no one remembers her birthday and starts leaving, they have to bring her back.

"Happy Birthday Toodles!" celebrates the day Professor Ludwig Von Drake built the flying computer thing that holds the mouseketools. It's also the episode where Toodles gets the big smiling face and the (slightly annoying) voice he'll retain for the remaining two seasons. Once again, the others hold a surprise party and have to figure out how to keep Toodles from finding out. There's more emphasis on the party this time and seeing how a flying computer thing pulls off pinning the tail on the paper elephant and doing limbos.

Moved to Press Your Luck next. The lady never had a chance against the two men. She only got one spin in the first round and hit a Whammy and didn't get much money in the second. It was all about the guys. The younger man came up with over $17,000 in cash and prizes before he decided he'd had enough and passed his spins to the champ. That proved to be a wise decision. The champ hit two Whammies, and though he did make some money, it wasn't anywhere near $17,000.

Split Second was even more exciting. A young man who worked on music videos barely beat two smart ladies in the first episode, then hit the car on his first try. The gentleman in the second one had a lovely Scottish accent and less trouble with the two ladies. Though he beat them easily in the regular rounds, he just got past them in the countdown round and ultimately decided a trip to Bermuda sounded way more fun than a car.

By 2 PM, the rain had taken a temporary leave of absence, and the sun was barely out. I was tired of sitting around inside doing nothing and opted for a quick walk to the newly-remodeled Dollar General. It was windy and chilly, or at least cooler than it has been, barely in the 60's. The rain has really helped the local plant life, though. The daffodils are largely done, but the tulips and hyacinths are out now, and the irises are coming up. The trees have pale green leaves under their creamy white and pink flowers. 

The biggest change at Dollar General was the addition of a produce section. Oranges, apples, onions, and bananas lined the wall next to the coolers as you come in. The prices aren't really all that much better than the Acme, but that might be useful in a pinch. Only the seasonal aisles remained largely the same. The food was now scrunched into two aisles instead of three, and everything else had been moved and/or reorganized. I did manage to find two pillows to replace my old, flat ones I've been using for a couple of years.

Put on the second half of Let's Make a Deal as I got organized. I came in just as one man turned down appliances for $800. Two ladies were smarter. One turned down the money and got living room furniture. The other turned down the box on the floor for the money and missed a zonk. Two ladies, a bunny and a jester, traded in prizes for the Big Deal of the Day. The bunny ended up with kitchen appliances that were a slight comedown from her earlier furniture. The Big Deal went to the joker, who laughed all the way to the bank with an upright piano and a trip to the Bahamas.

I also got my birthday presents from Lauren at this point. She sent me the first and third season sets for the original The Odd Couple, since those were the ones I couldn't find around here. I'll be taking a better look at them next week.

Went online to do job searching and get my schedule. I have even fewer hours than I did this week. In good news, I put in for Sunday and Monday as vacation days to celebrate my birthday, so once again, I'll still get something of a paycheck. Friday is my first floral department day in probably over a month, since well before Easter. 

Put on Care Bears Family as I looked at my schedule and did some job research. The Bears and Cousins are so intent on celebrating their defeat of No Heart, it looks like they may have forgotten Birthday Bear's big day. He's not the only one with "Birthday Bear's Blues." Birthday Bear is sent to Earth to help a wealthy little boy who is celebrating his birthday alone. His boasting about his big party and toys drove away his classmates and nearly does the same to the Bears and Cousins. It's not until No Heart gets everyone lost in a maze of thorns that the little boy realizes his reliance on his toys made his friends think he was bragging. He finally asks for help, just as Birthday Bear begins to understand how truly important his friends are to him.

I thought of making myself a cake, but I was too tired. After the Bears ended and I got offline, I just went down for a nap instead. Slept for a blissful hour and a half on my fluffy new pillows, with the window open to catch those cool winds.

Went straight into writing next. Handsome but arrogant young Lord Jerrick's sister is Lady Jacqueline, an elegant middle-aged woman in white who looks like an older version of him, with her gold hair and translucent complexion. Kathleen is so flustered by her beauty and her intimidating airs, she can barely stammer out directions to town. She also notices that the air drops nearly ten degrees when they're around...

Broke for a late dinner and Match Game '73 at 7:30. Bert Convy, Mary Ann Mobley, and Ann Elder join in, while Nipsey Russell sits in for Charles. Gene starts the show by bringing out Johnny Olsen, who announced the show from the 60's through the end of the syndicated run to praise the job he was doing. The others have a harder time with "__ Booth" in the Audience Match.

Moved to Dailymotion for the last of the three epic historical road race movies of the 1960's. Monte Carlo or Bust, or Those Daring Young Men and Their Jaunty Jalopies, was a direct sequel to Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines that debuted in 1969. This time, we've skipped ahead a decade to 1922 and the real-life Monte Carlo Rally. The eccentric British inventor (Peter Cook) just back from India and his lackey (Dudley Moore) want to show off their gadget-laden vehicle. Two German thieves (Gert Frobe and Peer Schmidt) use the rally to escape with the jewels they purloined. A pair of horny Italian cops (Lando Buzzanca and Walter Chiari) spend most of the race chasing three attractive French doctors (Mireille Darc, Marie Dubois, and Nicholetta Machiavelli). 

Sir Cuthbert Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas), the son of the villain from the first film, wants to avenge his father, who lost half of the family car factory to nerdy American Chester Schofield (Tony Curtis) in a poker game. Like his father in the air race, he lies and cheats his way across Europe. Schofield eventually picks up a pretty British lass (Susan Hampshire) who is supposed to distract him, but falls for him instead. It's a wild race to the finish to see who will be the winner of the silver cup...if Schofield can stay awake after being drugged to drive!

Just as much fun as previous entries, with a cast that's even better. Curtis trades his white-clad Douglas Fairbanks type for something quieter and a lot dorkier, but just as much fun. Hampshire makes for a funny and spirited love interest. Some of the Italian guys/French girls subplot gets into slightly racy territory, including Darc running around topless briefly. Cook and Moore get the top honors here as the strange English twits whose creations are more likely to blow up in their faces than actually work.

While the previous film and The Great Race are a bit better, all three are worth checking out for fans of 60's comedy, historical comedies, or epic race films. 

Sailor Moon has an even more action-packed birthday. "Usagi In Tears: A Glass Slipper for My Birthday" has her upset because she thought Mamoru forgot her big day. Turns out she never told him to begin with. Even when they make up, the glass slipper she badly wanted turns out to be cursed into a monster by nasty witch Kaorinite, who steals Usagi's broach in order to get her pure heart and captures Tuxedo Mask.

Usagi is determined to rescue him in "The Stolen Pure Heart: Usagi's Crisis." Older teens Haruka and Michiru pick her up while she's on her way to the TV tower where he's being held. They're generally sympathetic towards Usagi's insisting that she would rather save everyone than sacrifice lives, but they have their own secret...one that may involve the pure heart crystal Usagi holds and Kaiorinte wants. 

Rhythm In Oaklyn

Began the morning with breakfast and Green Eggs and Ham. Guy sets himself up for a "Guyfall" when a careless word from him gets Looka captured by the wall guards. E.B blames him for spilling the beans and refuses to discuss it. Sam and Pam kidnap them and bring them to their home, but Guy distrusts Pam, pointing out that she still hasn't made green eggs and ham for him. Sam, however, loves his mother and ends up following her to deliver the Moo-Lacka-Moo to the Yooks.

Let Family Feud run as I made my grocery list. Though it was a little late, Buzzr ran a Valentine's Day special featuring the ladies of All My Children playing the ones from General Hospital. I rooted for General Hospital - my parents were big fans of that show in the 80's - but All My Children took an early lead and emerged victorious in the end. Ran into a few familiar faces here, including Emma Samms, Jacklyn Zemen (who would later be hilarious on Match Game '90), and Dorothy Lyman from Mama's Family. 

Headed out around 11 to make a quick grocery run. I didn't like the look of the weather. It was cloudy and windy, but also warm and humid. Wanted to get everything done as soon as possible. Started off at the Westmont Plaza. Sprouts had the Bobo's oat bars and Gold Nugget bumpy oranges on sale again. Found peanut butter cookies on the bakery clearance rack. Grabbed coconut milk here, too. Hit Dollar Tree really quick for soap before I moved on.

The Acme was only slightly busier than the pin-drop quiet Westmont Plaza had been. Mainly needed to restock yogurt, apples, and mozzarella cheese to snack on here. Made use of a $2 off baked goods online coupon to pick up a tub of coconut macaroon bites after I enjoyed the bag of coconut macaroons from Marshalls. 

Newton Lake Park wasn't much busier than the stores. I think I just missed the lunch crowd. It's beautiful down there now. The hill I pushed my bike over was covered in a thick golden carpet of buttercups, and the trees are just starting to turn the most delicate shades of lime green. Only the wind could be heard whistling over the treetops.

My last stop was the pretzel shop for lunch. Picked up two pretzels, a pepperoni-stuffed pretzel, and a can of Diet Pepsi. Unlike the stores, they were busy. I waited in a short line for a few minutes before I could get my orders.

Had lunch at home while watching Split Second. The first episode was really close. The young man who backpacked across Europe to see his favorite tennis star at Wimbledon barely got an early lead, but the two women kept catching up with him. He had fewer problems with the Countdown Round. He opted to return and try for the car again...then was beaten in the Countdown Round by a lady who had been behind the entire game. She figured she wouldn't get that lucky twice and opted to take a nice fur and money instead of the car.

Switched to Rhythm on the River while putting my groceries away and going through more things to donate. I go further into this 1940 comedy with Bing Crosby and Mary Martin as songwriters who don't realize they're ghostwriting for the same man at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Rhythm On the River

Listened to records while doing job hunting. Nevada Fighter is probably the best of the albums Mike Nesmith made with his own band after he left The Monkees. "(Propinquity) I've Just Begun to Care," my favorite of his ballads, is on this album. He also does a nice recording of the Roy Rogers song "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." Other good numbers here including "Grand Ennui," "Rainmaker," and the title song.

(Oh, and somewhere around 5 PM, I looked out the window and realized Johnson Avenue was very wet. It must have rained sometime before then. Thankfully, the real storm wouldn't arrive until nearly midnight. It's been going hard off and on since then.)

Worked on writing for a while after that. While searching for flowers on the path going through the woods, Kathleen encounters a majestic snow-white horse ridden by a handsome young blonde man in a fine royal suit. He condescendingly asks her where the town is, as he and his sister are late to a meeting with the Town Council and have no time to spend with peasant women. His sister is a beautiful golden-haired woman slightly older than her in a white and black carriage who, to Kathleen's surprise, claims to be Sir Michael's fiancee.

Broke for dinner at 7 PM. Watched Match Game '73 while I ate. Some interesting outfits in this one. Gene sports an ugly couch-cover plaid tweed coat, while Loretta Swit goes for a black halter top and red bow tie. Things get really wild when the contestant wins the Head-to-Head. Charles runs out and throws confetti, and Betty grabs Gene for a kiss!

Finished the night with more records after a shower. Most of the songs on Perry Como's Easy Listening two-disc set are from the late 50's-early 60's (though the set itself seems to date from 1971). "Make Someone Happy" is from a minor hit musical of the early 60's, Do-Re-Mi. We also get Como's biggest and most familiar hit, "Dream Along With Me." Other familiar numbers include "Over the Rainbow," "Girl of My Dreams," "Hello Young Lovers," and "Sleepy Time Gal."

I have a couple of George Benson albums I haven't gotten around to hearing yet. Thought I'd sneak In Your Eyes from 1983 in tonight after Perry Como finished. "Lady Love Me" and "Being With You" were the hits here. Other songs I liked include the title song, "Late at Night," and "In Search of a Dream." 

The Wacky Races

Began the morning with breakfast and Spring for Strawberry Shortcake, one of the specials that kicked off the 2003 series. Strawberry and her friends are upset that spring seems to be running late this year. If it doesn't show up soon, they won't be able to plant their crops, tend their flowers, or bake their goodies. Huckleberry Pie is more interested in goofing off with Custard the cat than planting anything. Strawberry and her dog Pupcake go off in search of spring, and learn how, if we work together, work can be fun in its own right. 

Headed off to work soon as the cartoon ended. Work didn't start off busy, but we got a huge spurt around 11. Huge and messy. I had to clean up a soda spill on one of the electric carts and put away a cartful of cold items that had been left laying around the store. That put me behind on doing the carts, which meant there were none up front by the time I did get to them. Thankfully, I was able to get them finished just minutes before I left. 

At least the weather was gorgeous. It remains sunny and warm, if humid. The breeze had picked up a bit by the time I hurried home. So did the traffic on Nicholson Road. No wonder we were busy earlier. 

(Also, I noticed as I cut through Oaklyn that Heartbeat Nutrition seems to have closed. There's no sign indicating hours on the door, the tables and chairs are pushed against the wall, and everything else is gone. On one hand, I'm not surprised. Given how overpriced they were and the competition across West Clinton and on the White Horse Pike, they're probably lucky they lasted as long as they did. 

On the other hand, they said nothing about closing when I bought that Irish potato milkshake there two weeks ago. I wish businesses would start giving people notice when they shut down and remember how it affects the community.)

Went straight home and into Let's Make a Deal when I got home. Monty started off acknowledging a group of people in similar pink, brown, and white striped outfits and scarecrow makeup in the audience. Turned out they were Baskin Robbins employees attending their "Ice Cream University." Two of them were in the costumed audience, though they didn't do well on a game that required them to price items and missed a car. The Big Deals of the Day went to a young woman dressed as an Arabian beauty and a guy in a fuzzy hat and poncho. I'm not sure he was too thrilled with a microwave, knives, and a small color TV, but I don't think she was complaining about a trip to Florida and the Bahamas.

Put on The Great Race while I rested and had a snack. The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis) and Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon) are rival daredevils in 1908 New York who constantly scheme to one-up each other with fantastic stunts. Fate hopes to finally get the upper hand on Leslie during a (real-life) car race from New York to Paris. Also taking part in the race is liberated journalist Maggie DuBois (Natalie Wood), who is driving for the New York Sentinel to get the inside story. 

Professor Fate's constant sabotage eventually leaves only him and his lackey Max (Peter Falk) and Leslie, Maggie, and Leslie's partner Hezekiah (Keenan Wynn) in the race. They have to dodge many obstacles, from a bar brawl out west to an epic pie fight and a Prisoner of Zenda takeoff at a small European country, in order to see who really is the most daring man around.

This wasn't a huge hit at the time, but for all the weirdness, I think it's worn pretty well. Lemmon and Falk put in some of their best performances as the silent screen villains who just can't win unfairly. Also look for Dorothy Provine and Larry Storch out west, Vivian Vance as the strong-willed wife of the newspaper editor who is the one that actually sponsors Maggie, and Ross Martin as the Rupert of Hentzau-esque Baron Rolf Von Stuppe in the Ruritania segment. He and Curtis even get into a bare-chested sword fight. If you love very goofy slapstick comedies or the cast and don't mind the 2 1/2 hour run time, you'll have a great time traveling with these wacky racers.

Sent the City of Camden my college transcripts for the clerk job I put in an application for, then worked on writing. Mrs. Rowland sends Kathleen to retrieve the few remaining flowers from the garden after she cuts a bouquet too short. Turns out rabbits got there first and ate the last of the flowers. She has no choice but to disobey Mrs. Rowland's orders and go into the forbidding dark forest for flowers...

Put on Match Game '73 while eating dinner. Brett sits in the ingenue seat next to Richard, while Loretta Swit is in the character actress seat this week. Charles returns, and Nipsey and Betty join in. In fact, this would be Nipsey's first week on the show. Nipsey's rhyming prowess comes in handy during a question about where a man who is no longer in the pink landed. The contestant said "Pokey"...and of course, there is a word that rhymes with pink and is another word for jail. There's also Gene's microphone breaking down suddenly. He and the contestant have to use the smaller wired mike on his tie. We also get our first Cleopatra question...and our first of many times we hear the same answer

Finished the night with another historical race set in the early 1900's. Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines take to the skies in a somewhat similar race from 1910. This time, everyone's competing to see who can get from London to Paris over the English Channel first. Noblewoman Patricia Rawnsley (Sarah Miles) wishes her stubborn father Lord Rawnsley (Robert Morley) would let her go up in a plane. She generally settles for admiring her handsome boyfriend Richard Mays (James Fox) and his feats.

Mays is the one who suggests the cross-Channel trip for publicity purposes. He's really hoping to earn enough money to marry Patricia. She, however, finds the rugged American entrant Orvil Newton (Stuart Whitman) far more to her liking. Italian aviator Count Emilio Ponticelli (Alberto Sordi) keeps getting new planes and wrecking them. The German entrant Colonel Holstein (Gert Frobe) enlists an entire army to keep his plane in the air, while Frenchman Pierre Dubois (Jean-Pierre Cassel) keeps seeing what seems like the same woman with different accents and national costumes (Irina Demick). Japanese flyer Yamamoto (Yujiro Ishihara) is the nicest guy there, while the other English racer Sir Percy Ware-Armitage (Terry-Thomas) is determined to win the race by any underhanded means necessary. 

I give them credit for at least letting actors of the appropriate nationalities portray the flyers. No fake accents here. They did dub the Japanese guy, but otherwise, they're all the real thing...which makes the satire of national stereotypes even funnier and a lot easier to take. Whitman is a bit more interesting than Fox as the cowboy who spends his last dime to enter the race, but it's the supporting cast who really shine here. 

Cassel and Frobe in particular have a great time needling each other in the first half, and the gag with Dubois seeing the same woman everywhere in different outfits and accents is pretty funny, too. There's also Terry-Thomas as the spoiled nobleman who wants to win just because he can and Benny Hill as the fire chief. Miles has a great time as the strong-willed noblewoman who just wants to fly, and wishes Newton would quit tearing off her skirt.

Honestly, if you can handle the 2 and a half hour run time on both movies, this might make a nice double feature with The Great Race. I think Race is slightly better, but both are a lot of fun if you love comic period pieces, epic comedies, 60's comedy, or either cast. 

On the Sunny Side of the Mall

I slept so late, Press Your Luck was on by the time I got moving. Watched that while I had a quick breakfast and rounded up everything I wanted to drop off at Goodwill and elsewhere. It was a battle between the female champ and the other lady today. The young man kept hitting Whammies. The older lady finally came out on top with cash and a motorboat she said she intended to give to her husband for their anniversary to fish in. They were just starting the second episode when I headed out on my loaded bike.

First up were a few very quick stops. Dropped a bag of clothes into the bin behind Dollar General. Two books went into a children's kiosk in front of the Lutheran church and another one near the end of Kendall Boulevard.

When I got to Audubon Crossings, I locked my bike at the rack on the Acme's patio, then hauled the larger bag to the back of the Goodwill. After I dropped that off, I went around front to check out Ross and Marshalls. No luck at Ross, but I did find a few things at Marshalls. They always have a great selection of unusual snacks and goodies in the back. I chose a bag of confetti coconut macaroons and a small container of honey. They had big colorful microfiber cloths I thought would make a nice replacement for using up paper towels. Grabbed a strawberry-themed journal for when the one I got from Linda Young runs out.

Headed to Goodwill next. Didn't do as well here as I have the last couple of times I hit them, but I did come up with a few things. Grabbed a green LL Bean sleeveless polo shirt off the sleeveless shirt rack that was practically new. Dug a two-disc DVD set for It's a Wonderful Life off the shelf with the DVDs and CDs and the original cast of the off-Broadway rock adaptation of Twelfth Night, Your Own Thing, from under a pile of records.  Found a recent American Girl cookbook with recipes from around the world with the books. 

Went across the parking lot to Tu Se Bella's Pizza next for a late lunch. Given it was past 3 by this point, they were totally empty except for the employees. The TV wasn't even on. I enjoyed my two slices of broccoli, shrimp, and cheese pizza and a bottle of Diet Pepsi in total peace and quiet.

The main reason I wanted to do this today was to get my hair cut. Great Cuts is a few doors down from Tu Se Bella's. I picked the right time to do it, too. There was only one guy in front of me, and he was just getting his buzz cut trimmed. I got it cut and layered much shorter this time, to chin length. I absolutely love it. My curls are so bouncy and cute now, and a lot less frizzy. I can't let my hair get too long. It frizzes badly even just at shoulder length.

My last stop at Audubon Crossings was Lane Bryant. Having had good luck with their bras, I wanted to see what their underwear was like. I wasn't paying $35 for five pairs, but $3 per pair was more reasonable. I dug through a $3 bin and walked out with six. 

Made my way down Nicholson and over to Merchant Street and downtown Audubon next. I needed a cupcake from Desserts By Design. They were busy with people picking up treats after work, but I did manage to order a "whipped brownie cupcake" from the sweet young woman behind the counter. It turned out to be a moist, rich dark chocolate cupcake with whipped topping mixed with brownie bits and a chunk of brownie on top. Oh, yum. Sweet and fudgey and super-chocolatey. 

Besides, it was too gorgeous to head home right away. The weather was even nicer today than yesterday. Sunny, windless, and very warm, into the mid-70's. I wore shorts for the first time since early last October. 

Rode by Family Dollar and saw they were opened, so I figured I'd stop in this time. Finally got the pack of underwear I'd wanted all along. Also grabbed two packs of hydrated electrolyte drink mix in berry blue and lemon lime. They too were busy with people on their way home from work, but I managed to get out by quarter of 5.

Went straight into Rhythm on the Range when I got home. I go further into Bing Crosby's only western vehicle that also introduced Martha Raye to movie audiences at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Rhythm on the Range

Did some job searching for a while, then watched Match Game '73 while eating leftovers for dinner. Jack Klugman was nervous as heck when he was called on to do "Baked __" for the Head-to-Head...then proceeds to surprise himself and Brett by doing much better than expected. This is from around when the questions were getting slightly racier, leading to some interesting answers from the panel.

Took a much-needed shower, then finished the night with Johnny Mathis: The First 25 Years. Sadly, this two-disc set proved to be disappointing in more than one way. While it did include hits like "Misty" and "Chances Are," it also had more recent songs like "It Doesn't Have to Hurt Every Time" and a remix of "The Way You Look Tonight" that were made to sound more like the disco music just going out of fashion in 1980. They're glaringly out-of-place among songs like "Wonderful Wonderful," "When Sunny Gets Blue," and even the more traditional hit duet "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" with Denise Williams. 

If you're a fan of him like I am, you'll want this for some of the more unusual tracks, but casual fans and newcomers might be better off looking for earlier or later greatest hits collection with a more traditional sound.

Eclipses and Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Takes His Time" to tape the drawing he made to welcome Grandpere on the door. He learns more about the importance of going slow when an overeager Prince Tuesday spills flour when they go shopping for ingredients to make raisin bread, and then he gets bread batter on Grandpere after mixing too quickly. "Sometimes, It's Good to Go Slow," especially on a school nature hike. Daniel tries to rush sewing the pocket intended to carry things he finds on the hike and ends up losing what he finds. Miss Elaina rushes around so much, she misses the butterfly she badly wanted to see.

Switched to the Bob Eubanks Card Sharks as I got ready to head out. I believe the episode was from 1987, by which time the hostesses had stopped wearing those cute majorette-like uniforms and contestants could win a car along with cash from the Money Board. We had a sweet young Asian woman and a cocky college student in a mullet playing the game I saw. She kept getting the right answers, but he finally made it all the way to the end of his board and won the game.

Headed out before the show ended. I really wanted to run a few errands on the White Horse Pike. My first stop was supposed to be Dollar General...but I arrived to discover workers moving in and out with paint cans and nails. Signs on the door indicated they were remodeling until Thursday.

Didn't have any more luck with Family Dollar three blocks down. They should have been open, but they weren't. There was a sign on the door that claimed due to "unforeseen circumstances," they were closed for the day. Peering in the store window revealed nothing out of the ordinary or amiss. I suspect those "unforeseen circumstances" were likely so many of their workers called out to see the eclipse, they had no one to run the store.

I ended up walking back into the other direction to CVS, mainly because I had no idea where else to go. They had the underwear I was looking for, but not in the sizes I wanted. I did find the most adorable stuffed bunny half-off for $4.99. She's pure white, with super-soft lop ears, large black button eyes, a stitched-on flowered jacket, and a green shirt with a blue Peter Pan collar. I named her Violet, after the flowers on her jacket. I also picked up pads and a Mountain Dew Zero for later.

It was such a gorgeous day, I went for a walk in Newton Lake Park across the street. I couldn't help thinking how right Daniel and his friends were. Sometimes, it is good to go slow. I enjoyed the warm sun and cool breeze on my face and the sound of mimosa pods crunching under my feet. A mother pushed her toddler daughter in a stroller, while a little boy ran around the patio on the water. Had fun going down that wonderfully bumpy roller slide, too. 

Saw five turtles and a fat duck sunning themselves on a thick branch stretching into the water near the little stone bridge. Two fishermen taught their sons how to catch the big one as I strolled by. Another thick log further along the path had no less than fifteen turtles basking in the sunshine. The banks of the lake are a heavy carpet of emerald green and golden buttercups and sunburst dandelions. 

And yes, it was gorgeous today. You'd never know the weather was so horrible last week. Fresh breezes and soft sunshine in a radiant blue sky. It was much warmer, probably in the mid-60's, about as perfect as one could wish in early April.

Went straight into peanut butter and jelly, a tangelo, and tortilla chips for lunch when I got home while watching Split Second. The woman who definitively won the first show had a far harder time in the second. In fact, it was a really close game. Anyone could have won. She just barely pulled ahead in the Countdown Round. I guess she figured one close call was enough. She ended up taking a lovely tan fur coat home instead of trying for the car again. 

Left it on Let's Make a Deal as I started to go through everything in the house. I'm going to take one more bag to Goodwill and deposit a clothes bag in one of the collection bins tomorrow. Started with clearing out more than half the pens I keep acquiring from job fairs. Ditched all of the soft balls but two squishy foam fruit from Wonderful Citrus and Sprouts that I keep on my desk to relieve stress. Cleared out all but four note pads and two cups. Pulled three books for the kiosks and a small pile of records and CDs I didn't want.

Stripped the sheets and six blankets off the bed. It's time to turn over the mattress and put on the lighter sheets I use for spring and fall. I only need two blankets now too, my blue and tan striped comforter and the green afghan Mom knitted me years ago. I couldn't find the bag I originally used for the blankets, but I did find the plastic container with old cards. I cleared out all of them but two. (And I did find the bag in the larger closet where I keep the cleaning supplies and doll clothes.) 

After I took the laundry downstairs, I put on The Brass Bottle while taking old boxes and cards downstairs and going through the closets. Architect Harold Ventimore (Tony Randall) picks up an antique Arabian bottle at auction. His fiancee Sylvia (Barbara Eden) and boss William Beevor (Philip Ober) thinks he got gypped, but he wants it to impress Sylvia's father Professor Anthony Kenton (Edward Andrews). He gets a lot more than he bargained for when he forces it open and releases a genie, Fakrash (Burl Ives), who can give him his every wish. 

Things go haywire almost immediately. No one believes Harold when he tries to explain who turned his apartment into an Arabian Knights palace, made a dancing harem girl (Kamala Devi) appear, or transformed the Professor into a donkey. Fakrash has been in a bottle for 3,000 years and has no idea how life in the early 60's works, or that normal people no longer believe everything they see. Harold just hopes he can square things away with Sylvia, before he ends up in a loony bin. 

I had no idea this was based on a British novel that goes all the way back to 1900. It would also later inspire I Dream of Jeannie, which featured Eden as the genie who grants unwanted wishes. It's not all that far removed from Jeannie or Bewitched in this era, with its obvious backlot sets, green-screen backdrops, and cast of TV comedy veterans. Randall gets a rare chance at the spotlight here and plays well off the folksy Ives as the most laid-back genie you'll ever meet. If you love the cast or the fantasy-oriented comedies of the 60's, you might get a kick out of this modern Arabian Nights fable.

Moved to A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery after that ended and I put the laundry in the dryer. Hannah Swenson (Alison Sweeney) loves owning a cookie shop and cafe and baking up detectable treats for the residents of her small Minnesota town. She's not as happy when her delivery man Ron (Jason Cermak) turns up shot to death behind her store. The sheriff calls in Detective Mike Kingston (Cameron Mathieson) from Minneapolis to help solve the crime. Hannah has her own ideas of whodunnit, but Mike won't listen. There's also the cute and slightly dorky dentist Norman (Gabriel Hogan) whom her mother Delores (Barbara Niven) keeps shoving at her.

Honestly, it's been so long since I read Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, I have no idea I this is anything like the book. I do know that Sweeney is a charming Hannah and her adventures figuring out what's going on are enjoyable, even if her beaus are even more interchangeable here than they tend to be in the books (and the movies, of course, lack the tasty-sounding recipes ever book includes). 

Took down some old cards and notes outside to recycle at one point. I heard a bunch of people talking about the eclipse that was supposed to happen today. If there was an eclipse, it was hard to tell with the cloud cover that had appeared shortly after I got home. And of course, the clouds vanished not long after the eclipse happened. 

Did some job hunting, then worked on writing for a while. The renamed Sir Michael is said to be a handsome but quiet recluse who prefers the company of the books in his vast library to people, yet is bringing home a fiance from his country estates. Kathleen hopes she's as kind and gentle as Michael, but Mrs. Rowland points out that a shy man like Michael is vulnerable to the dark sorceresses who live in the country.

Broke for dinner at 7 PM. Buzzr leaped all the way back to Match Game '73. In fact, these were the earliest episodes I'd seen them run. It was the first of three weeks Brett and Jack Klugman were on the same panel, and the first of two where they sat next to each other. Robert Culp didn't play that well and didn't seem to get the comedy vibes, but Pat Carroll was so funny and seemed to enjoy herself so much, I wish she returned later in the series. 

Finished the night on YouTube running vintage word and spelling-themed game shows. Match Game and Password are the long-runner word association champs. Both were major hits in their original runs and in revival, and both continue to be revived today. There's a version of Password on NBC now that started in 2022. I went with a 1976 Match Game episode where a noisy Jimmie Walker sat in for a late Charles Nelson Reilly, and a Password Plus episode from 1980 with Ron Masak and Loretta Swit.

Their success spawned many imitation word association shows. You Don't Say with Tom Kennedy originally debuted in 1963. By the time it ended its run in 1969, it had been retooled as a blatant Password clone. Two celebrities describe a phrase or name using other words. Contestants have to guess what they're describing. This was honestly a pretty tough game. It's one thing to describe words with other words. It's something else to try to explain parts of them. I have to admire Don Grady and Tina Cole of My Three Sons for doing even remotely well. 

Blankety Blanks from 1975 has more in common with the later Whew! Two celebrities pair with contestants to help them solve punny fill-in-the-blanks puzzles. Bill Cullen would choose a card from a huge electronic wheel that would pick the point value. Though the wheel was admittedly cool, there's not much else here to distinguish this from other shows of the period. 

Chain Reaction, another Bill Cullen show, has an even rougher history. Cullen's original 1980 NBC version only lasted a few months before being yanked off the air and replaced with The David Letterman Show. Reruns proved popular enough on USA for a streamlined Canadian version without celebrities to turn up on that channel in 1986. This is the version I know best. I used to love watching people figure out which word in the chain came next. I'm more familiar with Geoff Edwards as the host, but Blake Emmonds hosts the early episode I have here. 

NBC did far better six years later with Scrabble. Chuck Woolery hosted this late 80's hit based on the popular board game. Two contestants compete to complete letters on a CGI Scrabble board. The winner would face off with the returning champion in the Scrabble Sprint and solve words as quickly as possible. I wish Sony would consider reviving this one. It's just as fast-paced and fun to watch as the actual Scrabble game and might make a nice companion for the current NBC Password. 

Wish NBC had been as kind to Wordplay. This only made a year in 1987, despite it being absolutely hilarious. Three celebrities give three different descriptions of words. The two contestants have to decide which is the real description. Tom Kennedy returns to keep Phyllis Diller, Clifton Davies, and Art McTrannell on track.

Another show I wish would return is The Cross-Wits. This is basically Crossword Plus. Gentlemanly Jack Clark presides over four celebrities who help two contestants figure out crossword puzzles that relate to a subject. The winners get a prize in addition to money. Their Crossfire bonus round has Jack reading clues, and them having to solve 10 words from the clues in 60 seconds. Vicki Lawrence, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Bobby Van, and Elaine Joyce are the celebrities here. 

Game Show Network's most recent venture into word games is Tug of Words. Based on tug of war, this one is sort of like a cross between Chain Reaction and Scrabble. Two teams have to make chains of words. The more chains they make, the more they "tug," and the more points they get. Too bad this only managed a year and a half on GSN. This is fast-paced and a lot of fun to watch. 

Leap into spring solving these complicated word puzzles with your friends and family! (And warning that the copies of Wordplay and The Cross-Wits are not in the best of shape, but there aren't too many episodes of those online. You Don't Say comes with its original commercials.)

You Don't Say (1969)

Blankety Blanks (1975)

Match Game (1976)

The Cross-Wits (1977)

Password Plus (1980)

The New Chain Reaction (1986)

Wordplay (1987)

Scrabble (1990)

Tug of Words (2022)

Sunshine Matches

Began the morning with breakfast, The Secret Garden, and the Over the Rainbow CD. This is a budget collection of mostly songs from what sounds like a Garland concert. Sounds of the audience are easily heard under - and sometimes over - most of the songs. The title number is the only non-live recording, likely one of her pop versions. "Too Late Now," "When You're Smiling," and "It's All for Me" don't sound too bad, but her belting doesn't work on slower numbers like "You Go to My Head." If you're a fan of hers and run into this, it's worth checking out, but casual listeners and those hunting for essential Garland will want to look elsewhere.

Didn't get the chance to finish the CD before I hurried out. Work was really busy when I got in. I had a hard time keeping up with the carts at first, especially when they kept throwing me into other things like taking cold items back or cleaning the bathroom when the only thing that needed to be done was the trash. The crowds began to subside around noon; the afternoon bagger arrived shortly after and took over the sweeping and trash. In fact, it died so hard by 2, I got the carts finished and spent my last hour returning unwanted items.

Made a very short stop on my way home. Today is Rose's birthday, so I headed a block or so down Kendall to drop off her gift card. I didn't see her around. She probably took the family out to enjoy a lovely day. I left her card in the mailbox and rode home. I hope they did get out. The weather was a vast improvement today over the past week. By 3:30, the wind had diminished, the clouds were almost gone, and it was much warmer, probably in the mid-50's.

Finished out the Judy Garland CD when I got home, then switched to The Commitments while eating dinner. I had the soundtrack on cassette as a kid, but it's long gone. It's as good as I remember it. "Mustang Sally" and "Try a Little Tenderness" were the hits, but my favorites came from the female singers. I've always loved their "Destination Anywhere," "I Can't Stand the Rain," and "I Never Loved a Man."

Ended the night at YouTube with that Bill Daily marathon Match Game Productions couldn't run yesterday. Comedian and character actor Daily was one of the more popular semi-regulars. He appeared pretty much throughout the entire run of the series, from late 1973 through The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1984. He switched between the first and fifth seats after Richard Dawson left, doing well with both. He was known for being very twitchy and for his oddball answers that matched Joyce Bulifant's in their strangeness (and lack of matching). 

When Bill was excited, he was inclined to do just about anything. He nearly took off his clothes when he landed a right answer on a Head-to-Head. Another time, he exclaimed "I'm gonna be kissed by a man!" after he hit a really big answer. (Patty Duke actually took over that duty.) He showed off the navy jacket Gene Rayburn gave him for his second wedding during the very last episode of the syndicated series in 1979. He and the rest of the panel barely survived a week during the later syndicated shows where the audience was so rowdy, Gene was right that they sounded like the cast of Animal House. 

Bill seemed to have a lot of trouble with chairs in later episodes. In one syndicated episode, his chair sunk below the desk. (The very same chair that broke on Bob Barker the year before, in fact.) He ended up sitting on a director's chair that was too high. Another time, he took off the chair to lower it, only to forget and sit on the pointy base! Needless to say, his voice was higher for a few minutes after that. Gene had to take him offstage to get him tended to.

Come fly the wacky skies with Bob Newhart's favorite neighbor and Alf's favorite psychologist in this marathon that's nutty as the man himself!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Featuring Bill Daily On the Panel