Antiquing Harts

Began the morning with a quick breakfast and two more Minnie's Bow-Toons. The girls' planned pet fashion show turns into "Minnie's Fashion Emergency" when a goat eats the outfits. Minnie figures out a way to use the balloon decorations to make truly unique pet fashions. Minnie and the girls have to figure out how to make "A Good Sign" when the bow sign over their door keeps falling down.

Called Uber again, as I had errands to run after work and it remains frigid here. I guess a lot of other people were trying to avoid the cold weather too. It took 8 minutes for them to arrive. No traffic once they did, though.

No trouble at work today, other than I had to rush and put away some cold returns. It wasn't busy. The weather is cold, gray, and blustery, and we're between holidays. There simply isn't much going on right now. 

Instead of going straight home, I changed into a regular shirt and grabbed something I wanted to try. Coke just put out an Orange Cream flavor and Dr. Pepper has Blackberry. Since they did have the Orange Cream in Zero, I took that. Fever Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit Soda is supposed to be a mixer for cocktails. The Acme had boxes of tiny cans on clearance for $2.07, so I thought I'd try them. 

(And they both turned out to be excellent. The Orange Cream really does taste like a creamsicle. The sparkling pink grapefruit resembles an even-better, tarter Fresca.)

Had lunch around the corner at Applebee's. They were relatively busy for 1:30, with several couples and friend pairs enjoying a meal on their late lunch break. I had the same crispy chicken ranch sandwich and fries I got at the Applebee's in Somerdale back in December. They were just as good this time, with juicy chicken and well-seasoned fries.

I thought it would be quicker and easier to take Uber up to the T-Mobile in Lawnside. The gentleman picked me up in 9 minutes. There thankfully was no traffic on the White Horse Pike whatsoever. We arrived at the T-Mobile in less than 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, I had no more luck here. On one hand, they did tell me that my cell phone's pre-paid service was ending because my debit card expires next month. Unfortunately, not only were they unable to fix my account that won't let me in no matter how hard I try, they wouldn't let me upgrade my phone, either. Apparently, you can't upgrade phones on a prepaid account. And they were all kind of grumpy about it, but that might have been because they were oddly busy for the middle of the week.

Frankly, I'd had enough of them. I felt like a complete moron. I left in tears. No more T-Mobile for me. I'd been considering switching carriers for some time. The only reason I still used T-Mobile was because Jessa used it. Later research and talking to a friend revealed that Boost Mobile does let you upgrade your phone with a prepaid account. There's a Boost Mobile literally around the corner from me on the White Horse Pike. I think it's time I gave another carrier a try.

The House of Fun is two blocks from T-Mobile, so I walked there next to make myself feel better. Dug another Wuzzle out of the big stuffed animal bin. Neon pink and yellow Rhinokey is a money with wings and a yellow and pink-striped horn on his nose. He was the show's prankster, always playing goofy jokes on the others. His arms seem kind of flat, but he was otherwise in perfect shape. He cost me $35, the same as the other two Wuzzles I bought from the House of Fun, Hoppo and Eleroo.

Walked another two blocks down to the Barrington Antique Center. They're a huge barn of a building filled with tiny rooms that are stuffed to the rafters with everything from Depression glass bottles to 60's hats to recent DVDs and Barbies. I didn't see a whole lot that I wanted. Just picked up a bag of chocolate cookies from the front and two vintage kids' records:

Great Children's Stories: Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel (Looks like MGM's kids LP series. If I like this, I might look for others in the series, including The Wizard of Oz and Babes In Toyland.)

Walt Disney Presents the Stories of Hans Christian Andersen (Interestingly, of the four Andersen stories included here, the only one Disney would later adapt was "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" as a short in Fantasia 2000.)

Strolled 15 minutes down Barrington and West Atlantic Avenue to Haddon Heights. I hadn't been to Doc's Finds, a record store and thrift shop, for a while. At the very least, Doc did finally get all of the soundtrack and comedy albums that had been thrown under the racks in bins. Though I didn't dig up as much as I did the last time I shopped here, I did come up with a cast album for a rare flop and a soundtrack for a lost TV musical:

The original cast for the 1967 flop Hallelujah Baby! (Despite only running 10 months, this chronicle of African-American life in the 20th century won a Tony for best musical and made a star out of Leslie Uggams.)

The soundtrack for Olympus 7000 (This 1967 TV musical features Donald O'Connor as the god Mercury who attempts to help a hapless football team and let its coach Larry Blyden earn enough money to marry his sweetheart. Despite also featuring Phyllis Newman as Blyden's fiancee and Joe Namath as his quarterback, the only place anyone seems to be able to find this nowadays is at the Paley Center in New York.)

By the time I got out of Doc's, it was past 4:30. I already took Uber twice today, so I hiked across the White Horse Pike to pick up the bus. It was almost 10 minutes late, not a surprise during rush hour. Thankfully, it took five minutes to arrive back in Oaklyn, and there was another woman getting off with me.

Watched Match Game Syndicated when I got home. They ran the episodes where Kirstie Alley was a contestant tonight. Gene spent the entire time drooling over her, but to tell the truth, she seemed rather bored by the whole thing. At least she did win money with Jamie Lee Curtis on the Head-to-Head. The episode before and the beginning of Kirstie's first episode featured a totally hapless contestant who just could not get any answers. She took so long to answer a question, Gene lay down at one point and took a nap!

Switched to the rediscovered Match Game Syndicated episodes on YouTube after I got out of the shower. The first one has Charles going up to the Audience Match board to prove his answer for "__ and Needles" will be there. Bart shows off his frequent flyer pins in the second, and we get a cheery fan of Brett with the highest hair I ever saw.

Match Game Syndicated #187 - Charles Pine Needles Answer

Match Game Syndicated #188 - Bart's Flight Pins

Ended the night with Hart to Hart. The Harts are horrified when a Middle Eastern king who is a friend of theirs is almost killed by an assassin, and then has the golden lion that represents his throne stolen out from under him in "In the Hart of the Night." Jennifer overhears a plot by his second-in-command and his wife to overthrow the sheik, as they find his leadership to be too old-fashioned. Jennifer and Johnathan first attempt to switch the fake lion with the real one. After it turns out the two schemers anticipated this, Jonathan recruits Max to help with a scheme of his own. 

Jazz on a Winter's Afternoon

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the Disney short "On Ice." Mickey shows off for Minnie while skating on a frozen pond, while Goofy attempts ice fishing. Donald would rather pick on Pluto and get him to skate, until his own showing off almost ends with him going over the falls!

Though thankfully my stomach is feeling a lot better, it's still windy and cold out there. I called Uber. No trouble there today. The one in the morning came in 6 minutes. The one going home arrived in 7. No traffic either way or problems on the road.

Work was a lot busier today than it had been yesterday, and it was harder to keep up with the carts. Tuesday is our senior discount day. There's a senior housing apartment complex less than a block from the Acme, and it tends to bring them by the droves. I had to put away a lot of cold items and clean up the messy back lounge area, too, and I forgot to sweep the floor in the lounge area. I was very happy to get out of there.

Went straight upstairs and changed after I got in. Made a fried egg sandwich for lunch while watching The Scooby Doo Show. "The Creepy Creature of Vulture's Claw" is the Mantis, a huge man-sized preying mantis who is stalking the area around a botanical garden. The professor who is about to buy the place, the caretaker, and another man who wants to buy it all warn the kids away. Fred and the girls are determined to stay, especially after they discover oily footprints and suspect there may be oil on the property.

Switched to Tubi for All Night Long after the cartoon ended. I go further into this 1962 jazz take on Othello from England at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

All Night Long (1962)

Watched Match Game Syndicated while eating dinner and doing job searching (didn't find anything). David Doyle, Debralee Scott, Dick Martin, and Patty Duke figured into the second week of the show. The first episode featured a funny older lady with a charming English accent who claimed she wrote poetry and "dirt," as she put it. The second had David trying to do imitations for Charles and Brett, who just couldn't figure out what he was doing.

Listened to the soundtrack from Rocky IV while I worked on the All Night Long review. I've never been a fan of the Rocky films, but I'd be the first to admit that there's some terrific (and very 80's) music on this CD. "Eye of the Tiger" and "Burning Heart" by Survivor were the major hits at the time, but my favorite number is one of James Brown's best later songs, "Living In America." There's also the duet "Double Or Nothing" by Kenny Loggins and Gladys Knight and two good instrumental numbers, "War" and "Training Montage."

Finished the night with more Match Game Syndicated, this time genuine rediscovered history. Jimmie Walker finally fixed the red tape that kept his syndicated weeks from being seen. The first of them is running on GSN this week, starting with an episode from the previous week with George Kennedy and Dick Martin. Martin starts stripping when Gene points out that he doesn't usually wear a tie on the show...which inspires Betty White to do the same, not once, but twice. 

Jimmie joins in for the next episode, along with Debralee Scott and Bart Braverman. Jimmie is honestly pretty subdued for him. Charles has more trouble when his name falls off the Star Wheel and he attempts to walk out, then makes snide remarks about how cheap the whole darn thing is. 

Here's the episodes, so you can see how all this came out for yourself!

Match Game Syndicated #185 - Dick Martin Strips? 

Match Game Syndicated #186 - Charles' Name Falls Off Star Wheel

Roots and Games

Began the morning with breakfast and two Minnie's Bow-Toons shorts on Disney Plus. When the propeller of a little boy's remote control airplane breaks off, Minnie learns that the solution to fixing it is "In Plane Sight." "Bow Bot" is a little bow-tying robot Daisy buys to give them a day off...but then it overloads and makes a mess in the store.

Since it continues to be gale-force windy and cold, I called Uber. The one going to work arrived in 9 minutes and got me to work just in time. The one going home arrived in far less than the 7 minutes she claimed. No problems getting where I was going either way.

No trouble at work either, other than having to stop and put away a few cold items when I was trying to do other things. We were dead for most of the morning, and even when it did pick up a little around 11, it was nowhere near overwhelming. Either everyone was out enjoying the last holiday Monday off until May, or they did all their shopping over the weekend. 

Switched to PAW Patrol while I got changed and did a few chores. "The Pups and the Big Freeze" end up calling Everett the Husky when Mayor Goodway is caught in a snow bank, a branch has to be removed from the train tracks, and the streets need to be cleared and salted. "Pups Save a Basketball Game" when Mayor Goodway begs them to create a basketball team to beat Mayor Humdinger's team. Marshall's afraid to play when he keeps tripping over his paws, but he doesn't have a choice after Humdinger's cheating ends with two pups out of the game.

Decided to join my customers and go out and enjoy the day, wind be damned. It was cold, but also sunny and bright...and I'm tired of sitting around inside. Was hoping to find mouthwash or the new Orange Cream Coke Zero and Blackberry Dr. Pepper flavors at Dollar General. I did see the Blackberry, but not in Zero. I left with nothing. Got a chicken gyro from Crown Chicken and Gyro instead.

Ate my lunch and moved the jazz and soundtrack CDs to their new books while watching the first two episodes of Roots. The entire mini-series is currently on Tubi. I remember hearing about this as a kid, but I never saw it until now. Thought it would be interesting for Black History Month. Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) is a teen African warrior brought over to the US on a slave ship in 1765. He's part of an uprising aboard-ship, but that's squelched. When he does arrive in the US, he's purchased by John Reynolds (Lorne Greene) and is placed under the eye of Fiddler (Louis Gossett Jr.) and given the name Toby. Kunta is determined to escape and return to Africa, even if it means compromising Fiddler's position as head of the slaves. Even when Reynolds beats him, Fiddler assures him that he should remember his name and keep trying to get home. 

I can understand why this was such a monumental hit in 1977. An all-star cast brings a harrowing story of survival in some of the worst parts of American history to life. This is rough stuff. The N word is tossed around with abandon, and given the place and time, I think it goes without saying that women and minorities do not fare well. You'd never guess this was LeVar Burton's first role from how wonderful he is. Other stand-outs include Ed Asner as the conflicted captain in charge of the slave ship, Gossett Jr. as the mentor for Kunta who can turn from tough to servile on a dime, and Lloyd Bridges as Asner's thoroughly reprehensible first mate. 

Not for kids, and despite the gorgeous costumes and outdoor shooting, the language and abuse may make this a hard watch for those who can't handle physical abuse well. If you can deal with the violence, this is worth checking out for that incredible cast alone.

Took a shower, then switched to Buzzr for Match Game. Looks like they've returned to Match Game Syndicated. This time, it's the first week with Bart Braverman, Eva Gabor, and Bill Daily, which they have shown on the channel many times before.

Moved to YouTube to finish the night with more game shows that premiered on cable. Cable game shows have their roots in the unaired pilots for How Do You Like Your Eggs? Bill Cullen hosts this interactive game that has people in the Columbus area using their cable set to vote for the answers on certain subjects. Two married couples have to figure out how they voted. It's a cute idea, sort of a cross between Family Feud and the later interactive Trivial Pursuit. Too bad that, according to the Bill Cullen biography, the owner of the cable company decided he preferred a more old-fashioned kiddie host show.

By the time the Canadian revival of Jackpot! aired on USA Network in 1985, cable had gone from a few scattered Midwestern lines to big business available in half of all households. I used to watch game shows on USA all afternoon, Jackpot! included. One person would be up on a pedestal, guessing riddles with dollar values assigned read by a group of people across from them. If they missed someone's riddle, that person would be up to bat. They could keep building the jackpot, or go for it if it was big enough. Biggest winner at the end of the week got a trip.

I have vague memories of this being a fun show, and that is borne out here. The set is colorful (if a little on the cheap side), but the riddles are between cute and hilarious, and it's cool to see that jackpot growing. Considering it ran into trouble with competition and executives who wanted a more straightforward question and answer show during its original 70's run, I'm glad it got a second chance here.

I didn't just watch game shows on USA as a kid. Having seen the success of Nickelodeon's game shows, The Disney Channel took a crack at their second game show with Teen Win, Lose, or Draw. It's played the same as the adult versions of the time, only with teen celebrities helping out and a more informal setting in front of someone's garage. We enjoyed seeing young people our own age run through a game we actually owned. We had that Win, Lose, or Draw Junior game the announcer held out for years. Mayam Balik (more than a year before her breakout show Blossom) and Danny Ponce of The Hogan Family are the celebrities here. 

The most popular game show on cable in the early 90's was also a revival. Supermarket Sweep let people run "wild in the aisles" and brought a lot of viewers to Lifetime who otherwise wouldn't have had the slightest interest in their drama-of-the-week movies. The episode I have here is from early in the Lifetime run, when David Ruprecht still wore weird sweaters and the only bonuses were the big ones people grabbed from random spots and a list Dave gave out.

Family games continued to be popular well into the new millennium. Family Game Night was an early hit for the Hub (what's now Discovery Kids). Two families play wild mini-games based on Hasbro board games like Yatzhee! and Bop It. No wonder this wound up being a four-year hit, and by far the most popular of the Hub's game shows. It's hilarious to watch the families play these huge games. Check out how intense the two moms who are last women standing in the Bop It-agon game get!

Relive your own fond memories of cable's most beloved game shows and enjoy a genuine piece of cable TV history!

How Do You Like Your Eggs? (1977)

Jackpot! (1985)

Teen Win, Lose, or Draw (1989)

Supermarket Sweep (1991)

Family Game Night (2010) 

Wild Wind Matches

Slept in so late, it was well into afternoon before I finally got moving. Had brunch quickly, then took the laundry downstairs. Listened to the original cast of The Wiz while I ate. While not as funky-urban as the subsequent film version, there's many charms to be had here. Stephanie Mills makes a charming Dorothy with her lovely "Be a Lion" and "Home," Mabel King really dives into "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News," and Andre De Shields' Wizard crackles with sleazy desperation.

Put the laundry in the dryer, then worked on moving the remaining cast album CDs to the case I bought from Amazon while listening to The Wiz and the original cast of Dreamgirls. I do wish they hadn't cut so much of the score for this cast album! You do get some good songs, including Jennifer Holliday's Tony-winning performance of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," but not a great sense of what this was like onstage. You do get a few numbers that didn't make it into the film, notably "Ain't No Party" for Lorrell (Lorette Devine). 

Brought the laundry upstairs, then finished the night with dinner and the second half of that Match Game Black History Month marathon. Nipsey Russell is probably the most popular black performer to appear on the show. He was known as the Poet Laureate of Television for the witty poems he would toss out, usually at the beginning or end of a show. Along with George Kennedy, he's my favorite man to have sat in the first male ingenue seat regularly. He played well and had no trouble dealing with Brett's flirting. 

Clifton Davies, who is about to play the patriarch in the new CBS daytime soap opera Beyond the Gates next week, was another frequent favorite in the first seat. He was probably the most laid-back semi-regular. Very little ruffled his feathers, including Gene's occasional "back of the bus" comment and the bad Confucius jokes that now has the second nighttime episode banned from the airwaves.

There were other black panelists on the show, too. Comedian George Kirby showed off his hilarious collection of voices in 1974. Gail Fisher, the secretary from Mannix, also turned up early in '74, as did goofy Laugh-In comedienne Chelsea Brown and Good Times mother figure Esther Rolle. Rolle's screen son Jimmie Walker relished the rare chance to sit in Charles' seat when he was late for two tapings in 1975. Mabel King appeared on a rather underpowered week in 1978, and didn't seem overly thrilled to be there despite getting to show off her terrific voice. Arsenio Hall always had a great time on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, whether he was needling Gene or jumping into the "canal" behind the risers. 

Tough Scoey Mitchilll was a regular from 1974 until 1981. Truth be told, he didn't always look like he wanted to be there. In fact, he often seemed downright grumpy. He did get to show off his splendid physique in 1981 when Gene tore the T-shirt he wore that advertised an LA radio station before he realized he was giving both the women on the panel and in the audience a free show. They ended up taping the shirt back together. No wonder Brett always enjoyed flirting with him.

Celebrate more of the best black performers in Hollywood with this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Celebrating Black History Month with Special Celebrity Moments (Part 2)

And...whew! I'm glad I was off today. The weather was crazy. It was sunny when I got up, but by the time the marathon was going, clouds had moved in, and the wind suddenly whipped into a frenzy. At one point, the lights blinked, and we lost the internet. Thankfully, nothing like that has happened since then, but I can still hear the wind howling outside and rattling the house. 

Sculptures In the Snow

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Backyardigans. Tasha, Pablo, and Uniqua are the Do-Gooders, a band of nice bikers who like the help people. This includes mail-moose Tyrone when he loses his "Special Delivery" Valentine's Day mail. He believes all the cliches about biker gangs and tries to outrun them, but they're determined to stay on his trail and get the mail back to him. 

Took Uber this morning, partially due to concerns about the weather, and partially because Jessa was picking me up later. It only took five seconds for me to get a ride and five minutes for the gentleman to arrive, confirming my suspicions that it was just too darn busy yesterday to get any kind of public transportation.

Work went perfectly fine. I spent the morning sweeping and gathering carts. I did end up behind on the carts when they kept getting me to put cold items away. Unless it's meat, the cold stuff can go in freezers or coolers until I have time for it. The carts kept emptying. They needed to be done first. 

After work, I changed into a normal shirt, then grabbed a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero to get money for the Girl Scouts. I tried to get cookies from them last week, but forgot the money. I always buy cookies from the Girl Scouts. I remember when my sisters were Girl Scouts in the late 80's and early 90's and had a hard time selling cookies to the few people who were actually living on the northern end of Cape May in January. I got peanut butter sandwiches, Lemonades, and Caramel Delights. 

Jessa was already there when I was buying the cookies. We went straight out to the sculpture garden in Hamilton from the Acme. The drive was mostly on highways until we hit Hamilton, a suburb of Trenton. One of the premiere attractions in the area is Grounds for Sculpture, an enormous sculpture garden featuring works by many different modern artists. We stopped and bought the tickets and used the bathroom at the sprawling modern visitors center, but we'd explore it more extensively later.

Grounds for Sculpture is a rambling sculpture park, featuring many types of statues in a natural, woodsy setting. We followed paths under arbors, through random small doors, and over Monet-style wooden bridges. Statues of artists painted by a gurgling waterfall. A statue of a woman in red flaunted her gown on the placid pond. More provocative and less family-friendly statues and house-art could be found wandering around in the woods and on the path around the lake. We ended up at their restaurant Rat's at one point, but it would seem they were closed for the season.

In addition to the realistic artists, my favorite statues outside were the duo in the courtyard. One reclined on a bench. The other reached to the heavens. Snow began to fall as we arrived in Hamilton, allowing a strange, magical hush to fall on the area and giving the statues an otherworldly air. I was actually grateful for the snow. It made the place seem even more supernatural and gave the statues a unique perspective that was far different than a sunny day. The tangle of woods and house-like "scream" buildings with bodies popping out of every corner looked even weirder with a frosting of white.

We were going to have lunch at the cafe, but they were only selling drinks and small snacks. The cafe that sold meals was also closed for the winter. The gift shop wasn't terribly interesting, either. We did admire a huge gallery of the work from Seward Johnson, the artist who founded the park. My favorite indoor statues was the realistic jazz band "playing" in the gallery. Apparently, Johnson had been a huge jazz fan in his youth, which explained the jazz music piped in around Rat's, too. The statue "house," complete with furniture you could walk in and look at, was neat too.

Here's the link. It's worth checking out if you're ever in Central Jersey and are interested in learning more about sculptures or modern art, or just want a nice, relaxing walk in a tranquil setting. 

Grounds for Sculpture

Our next stop after we left the Grounds for Sculpture was a huge thrift shop a few blocks away. We thought the place looked intriguing. It was, and it did have a lot of neat stuff...but it was either having a sale, or the residents of Hamilton had nowhere else to go on a snowy Saturday. The place was so mobbed, there was a line half-way around the store. We came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth the long wait and left with nothing.

Jessa recommended a diner not far from where she lives for a late lunch/dinner. The Piston Diner was a small but nicely remodeled local watering hole with great prices. Soup and sandwiches are their specialty. We both had iced tea and Italian wedding soup. She had a tuna melt and strawberry shortcake. I had a crab melt and peanut butter cake. Yum! The sandwiches were tasty and used real seafood, the fries were crispy and perfect, and the cakes were huge. My still-settling stomach regretted the indulgence later, but it sure felt good going down.

By the time Jess dropped me off at home, the snow in Hamilton had given way to all rain. It looks like it'll stay rain all through tomorrow. Not even snow here this time.

Watched Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale while changing and getting organized. I go further into this independent family film from 2010 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale

Finished the night with the Saturday Match Game Classics marathon at YouTube. We celebrated Black History Month with some of the most beloved black stars to appear on the show. Later angel Della Reece was the first to appear on the second week in 1973. She'd turn up sporadically through 1977, usually sitting in the fourth ingenue seat. Comedian Stu Gilliam also appeared on two memorable weeks in 1973. Nipsey Russell was one of the most popular semi-regulars, tossing out his poetry on and off from 1973 through 1979. He even turned up in the week with Valernie Bertanelli that was rediscovered a few years ago. Isobel Sanford was a calming, motherly presence on two weeks in 1976. Her first screen son Michael Evans had his only appearance on the show in 1974. Round and jolly Johnny Brown had a lot of fun on his only week in 1974. 

His Good Times cast mate Jimmie Walker got far more out of the show. Walker was a semi-regular from 1974 straight through into the 1990-1991 run. I honestly thought he was at his best in the 90's, where he was a bit more subdued and less annoying. Nell Carter and Roger E. Mosely also had fun on the 1990-1991 series. Arsenio Hall and his wild antics was one of the best things about The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. You never knew what he'd do, including jump into what Gene dubbed "the canal" in the area behind the risers. 

Celebrate Black History Month with some of the best African-American panelists around!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Celebrating Black History Months with Special Celebrity Moments

Happy Sister-tine's Day

Began the morning with Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You. I went further into this bittersweet Pooh holiday special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2023. 

Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You

I tried to call Uber after the cartoon ended, but I just couldn't get through to anyone. Not to any Uber driver, not to any taxis. Everyone was either taking people to the Eagles parade or at the Eagles parade. I ended up taking the bike, but I was 20 minutes late getting in.

The floral department manager was frantic when I got in. She was desperately trying to fill buckets that were constantly emptying. I ran around, gathering buckets, setting flower arrangements on the table, and gathering bouquets for Door Dash orders.

I was loading buckets with huge double-sized bouquets of roses when I ended up being pulled to do carts. The head bagger was needed in a register to handle all the people on their way to the Eagles parade. I wasn't happy about it. They told me I was in floral today. They said they had no one else...until someone came in at noon, of course. He took over the sweeping, but I still did the carts, and cleaned up a spill and put cold items away, too.

Not really thrilled with my schedule next week. On one hand, still a lot of hours (if not to the degree of this week), a rare Sunday off, and all early four-hour days. Trouble is, Sunday is my only day off. The head bagger always takes the week following President's Day for her last vacation until our cycle starts over. I don't know why one of the guys couldn't have worked one morning. It wouldn't have killed them. The early hours should still give me the time to do some things, including get a cell phone.

Oh well. At least it was a nice day for all of this. Though it was chilly and blustery, it was also sunny, with a radiant blue sky. If we could only have one nice day this weekend, I'm glad it was the day of the parade. The floral department manager even gave me and the other two employees who helped her this week $5 off reward coupons for doing a good job.

And that coupon couldn't have come at a better time. I needed groceries. Restocked yogurt, granola bars, pads (had an online coupon), and prebiotic sodas. The store has just started to stock more Poppi flavors. Decided to try root beer and cherry cola. Thought bananas would be easier on my stomach than apples or citrus fruit; had another online coupon for the organic ones. Grabbed a bouquet of red carnations as a Valentine's Day gift for a friend who loves flowers. 

Went straight home after that. Changed, put everything away, and went right back out again. I texted Jessa two days ago and offered to take her out for a combination Valentine's Day/early birthday gift. (Her birthday is next week.) I know she loves Asian food, so I gave her a gift card to Benihana, the Japanese hibachi restaurant in Cherry Hill. I'd never tried them before and thought they'd be something different for dinner. They were busy when we got in, with a relatively long line, though it only took us about 15 minutes to be seated.

We ended up at a long, wide table with two dads and their adorable six-year-old son and a young-ish couple. You ordered either five or six course meals at a fixed price. I went with a five-course and got chicken with vegetable fried rice, shrimp, and veggies. Everyone got a delicious mushroom broth soup. The kid got chicken fingers. Everyone else waited for a chef in a tall hat and white coat to quickly chop, dice, and slap meat, rice, vegetables, an egg, and Jess's noodles (she had a salmon dish that came with noodles) on a long metal grill. He was hilarious, making quips and flipping bowls of rice to us. The kid was amazed, and everyone else had a great time, including me. Everyone but the kid had green tea after dinner, and then everyone but us had ice cream. My chicken was slightly dry but not bad, and I ate everything but the grilled onions and a little of the rice and chicken.

Jessa and I were the only ones who declined dessert. She's not that into sweets, and a friend of mine gave me a big heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. Besides, it was getting late, and the line was now three times as long. It was time to head home.

(Oh, and I think I've finally figured out where the stomach problems came from. I don't think it's a bug. I suspect that peri-menopause is to blame. Apparently, fluctuating hormones can create stomach distress. Oh swell. I hope this won't be a regular thing now.) 

My Valentine's Day gift to myself was three more disc media cases from Amazon. The big one will hold  cast album CDs. Soundtracks and jazz artists will go in the smaller ones. I started moving discs from the smaller cast album binder to the book while watching Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. Linus is so smitten with his teacher Miss Othmar, he buys her a huge box of chocolate for Valentine's Day. Sally is convinced the box is for her. Meanwhile, Lucy wishes Schroeder would leave his piano and acknowledge her existence, Charlie Brown waits in vain for any kind of a Valentine, and Snoopy is putting on melodramatic and messy puppet shows. 

A Charlie Brown Valentine spends its first half watching Charlie Brown desperately attempt to give the Little Red Haired Girl a box of candy, or at least try to drum up the nerve to talk to her. When he actually does call her, he accidentally ends up inviting Marcie and Peppermint Patty to the school dance instead. Sally tries to make a Valentine for her "sweet baboo" who wishes she'd disappear off the face of the planet, while Snoopy tries to keep up with the kids' demand for love notes and poetry.

I went further into the charming and very funny The Bernstein Bears' Comic Valentines on the same review as Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You back in 2023.

The Bernstein Bears' Comic Valentine

Finished the night with the Pink Panther. Pink at First Sight has him searching for a special pink panthress to spend his Valentine's Day with, but coming up short in the funds department. He buys a pile of tapes and a player and becomes a "singing" delivery cat. His Valentine's gets even crazier than mine when he has to dodge a jealous husband who thinks he's after his wife, an angry violinist who doesn't like what he did with his prize instrument, and gangsters who wants his tail after he innocently delivers a bomb. 

Here's even more specials on the funny side of love, for your late Valentine's enjoyment!

Alvin and the Chipmunks: I Love the Chipmunks Valentine's Day Special

Disney's DTV Valentine 

The Popeye Valentine's Special: Sweethearts at Sea

The Smurfs: My Smurfy Valentine

The Woody Woodpecker Valentine's Day Special: I'm With Cupid, Stupid

Buttons and Rusty In the Honey Bunch (A Chucklewood Valentine)

For Better or For Worse: A Valentine From the Heart

Cathy's Valentine

A Special Valentine With the Family Circus

From Disney With Love

A Goofy Look at Valentine's Day (Educational Short) 

And I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day, with a sibling, a significant other, or anyone else who's special to you! 

Heartburn Waltz

Began the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. When a soccer ball knocks a bird's nest out of a tree, "Huckle's Feathery Friends" prove to be quite a handful after he ends up taking them home. "The First Valentine" is written by a shy bear in ancient Greece in an attempt to court the Emperor's daughter. Dennis the elephant is nervous about "The Sleepover" in Sprout's barn, until his big trunk is able to sniff out a fire in the orchard and catch it before it spreads.

It was originally supposed to rain later, and while my stomach is feeling a bit better, it's not a hundred percent there yet. I called Uber again. No problems whatsoever. The guy who picked me up this morning arrived in less than a minute. The one coming in the afternoon took 12 minutes. No traffic or anything on the road.

Though the Acme wasn't busy today, I worked hard all morning and afternoon helping the floral department manager and two other employees set up the flowers for Valentine's Day. I dusted shelves around stuffed animals and vases. I twisted pink and red silk ribbon around vases to make fancy "corset" vases. I helped a nice lady who was looking for a small bouquet for her daughter's last basketball game of the season. I wiped down two tables, then loaded them with bags of candy, flowers, and stuffed animals and mason jar flower arrangements. I helped make smaller arrangements of red roses and baby's breath and larger ones of a really pretty red, yellow and orange flower mix that included roses and sunflowers. I gathered bouquets that had wilting or broken flowers to be thrown away or used for smaller arrangements. 

Soon as I got home, I got changed and organized while watching Happy Days. Joanie's excitement over her first real boyfriend leads her to a series of romantic musical daydreams in "Be My Valentine." Ralph croons "My Funny Valentine" to his clown date. Sailor Potsie insists "Save the Last Kiss for Me" to his island girl. Lori Beth and Richie do an Apache dance (and do very well with it, too). Chachi does a cane and top hat bit with chorus girls to "Thank Heavens for Little Girls." Fonzie recites his idea of romantic poetry to several swooning co-eds. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham pretty much steal the show with their hilarious and spot-on rendition of "I Remember It Well." 

Switched to Porgy and Bess for a more tragic and romantic Valentine tale. I go further into this troubled version of the beloved Gershwin opera at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

My Tragic Valentine - Porgy and Bess (1959)

Moved to Match Game '91 during dinner. Charles Nelson Reilly directed Jo Ann Worley in a version of The Mikado, which led to a round of Mikado and Gilbert and Sullivan jokes that week. Meanwhile, Bruce Baum is slightly subdued compared to usual, and we have Bill Kirkenbauer, Gloria Loring, and voice actress Pat Musick. 

Finished the night after a shower with LPs that dug a little further into the romantic side of love. Heartbeat of the 80's is just that, a collection of ballads and soft rock from K-Tel Records in 1983. There's some big hits on here, including "Never Gonna Let You Go" by Sergio Mendes, the duet "Baby Come to Me" by Patti Austin and James Ingram, "Just Once" by a solo James Ingram, "Heartbreaker" by Dionne Warwick, "It Might Be You" from Tootsie by Stephen Bishop, and another hit duet, "You and I," by Eddie Rabbit and Crystal Gaye.

The soundtrack for Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown was finally released on physical media late last month. "Heartburn Waltz" and Snoopy's jangly "Paw Pet Overture" are the standouts here, but we also get the charming "Music Box Dance" that's a variation on Chopin. "Woodstock's Mambo" and "There's Been a Change" are also fun listens, and there's the extra jam in the finale "Last Call for Love." 

Night of the Floral Panic

Began the morning with breakfast and Sheriff Callie's Wild West. It's "The Heartless Valentine's Day" when bandits steal the town's Valentines. Sheriff Callie has to track them down and rescue them, then convince Farmer Stinky that he wasn't forgotten on his favorite holiday. Dirty Dan and Dusty have their eyes on a pair of attractive young lady pigs, until they all find the same gold boulder at once. They say "Mine, All Mine" and refuse to share, until they almost end up going over a cliff in the mine with it.

Though the streets were perfectly clear by quarter of 9 AM, I wasn't taking chances. Plus, my stomach is still off. I called Uber. No problems here. The driver going there arrived in 9 minutes. The one going home got there in 4. No traffic, no trouble anywhere.

The trouble was at work. I began the day sweeping and pushing carts, since this is the head bagger's day off. I was supposed to help the floral department manager when the afternoon bagger arrived at 1. First of all, the floral department manager is in panic mode. We're desperately trying to get as many bouquets and bags of flowers and plants up front as we can before Valentine's Day. 

Second, they kept trying to get me to do cold returns, even with the afternoon bagger there. They did that before when I was in the floral department. When I'm in the floral department, I'm working for that manager, not up front. They had someone to help them. I watered plants, cleaned up spills, deflated two football goal balloons leftover from the Super Bowl, took trash in the back, and helped the college-age guy who had also been recruited for the floral department this week fill buckets with roses.

When I got home, I put on The Wild Wild West while I changed and got organized. Jim West and Artemis Gordon investigate "The Night of the Vicious Valentine" when four wealthy industrialists are murdered shortly after having married young brides. The brides were all groomed by Washington DC society woman Emma Valentine (Agnes Moorehead), who intends to take control of their late husbands' wealth and thus control the entire country. What she didn't count on was the girl she's currently grooming actually falling for the industrialist she's to marry, or Jim and Artemis interfering with her plans...

Switched to Match Game '91 while doing job hunting. I arrived just in time to see Fred Travelena doing his full-on Elvis imitation, up to and including sunglasses and a sequined jumpsuit. He stayed that way for most of the episode. The next week brought in Vicki Lawrence, who argued with Charles Nelson Reilly over her outfit being too conservative for the show. 

Finished the night with dinner and more comic looks at love. What's New Scooby Doo? features the franchise's only Valentine's Day episode to date. Mystery Inc. is happy to return to their native Coolsville, Ohio for "A Scooby Doo Valentine." Well, except for Shaggy, who is dismayed to see his ex-girlfriend is now dating a rock star. They're all intrigued when they get secret admirer Valentine's, but the holiday is a lot less fun when teenagers start disappearing and they're accused of the crime.

Moved to Amazon Prime for Night Court. "Billie's Valentine" is a tall, dark, and handsome man whose list of accomplishments is as long the courthouse. Trouble is, so is his rap sheet. Billie's in denial when he breaks up with her behind bars. Harry talks to the guy to understand why he did it.

"Valentine's Day" doesn't go much better for The Golden Girls. They're all disappointed when their dates call out, so they spend the night eating chocolates and ice cream and recalling some of their more memorable Valentine's Days. Sophia talks about when she and her husband Stan were stranded in Chicago in 1929, and the other three recall their Valentine's spent at a nudist resort and defending their right to purchase contraceptives for a cruise. 

(Oh, and it started raining somewhere around 9 PM. I think it's supposed to rain and/or snow for pretty much the entire rest of the week except for Friday.)

Pink Cookies for a Blue Lady

Began the morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. Lambie gets jealous when Doc pays more attention to her new heart toy Val than her on Valentine's Day in "My Huggy Valentine." Doc assures her that she'll always be her favorite girl, no matter how many toys she gets. As a teddy bear collector with allergies, I really appreciate "Dusty Bear." Doc can't figure out why her brother Donnie won't play with his beloved bear Teddy B, until she realizes how dusty he is. A good spin in the wash eliminates the dust and keeps Donnie from sneezing.

Pluto is frustrated when no one at the garage will play with him in Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures. Mickey accidentally tosses his Frisbee into a tree in the park, knocking out a bird's nest. The three baby seagulls become attached to their "Papa Pluto." Pluto quickly learns a lesson in responsibility when  he has to keep the trio from wrecking havoc in the garage, then find their mother. The Happy Helpers are "Happy Valentine Helpers" when they roll out their trailer to make Valentines for everyone. Daisy thinks that a huge order is from Donald and uses the Super Charger to make him something incredible. They both learn it's the thought that counts when he rescues her after her gift goes out of control.

I wanted to make the strawberry-white chocolate chip cookies for Valentine's Day next, but I put too much oil in. They ended up spreading too much and looking more like strawberry pancakes. Oh well. I'd still give them to my niece and nephew, to a neighbor's daughter, and to a friend and her daughter. 

Rounded up my Valentine's cards that go out in the mail and the treat bags for Khai and Finley (along with the pet treats for their dogs and cats I forgot at Christmas) and headed out for a short walk. Dropped the cards in the mail box, then strolled down West Clinton to Common Grounds Coffee House. By 4 PM, they were full to capacity with college students doing homework and friends chatting over lattes. I ended up in a chair by the door. At least I was able to eat my small spinach feta pastry and most of the banana, and the Violet London Fog tea drink wasn't too sweet and did indeed taste of violet. 

Headed back to the White Horse Pike after I dropped the bag of goodies at Rose's front steps. I realized I'd forgotten three cards, so I stopped at Family Dollar. Thankfully, there was no trouble this time, despite it being almost as busy as the coffee house. I went in, got three cards for my neighbor, my friend, and her daughter, and got out.

By the time I was back on the White Horse Pike, snow had begun to drift softly down from the slate-gray sky. Though it wasn't windy, it was very cold, barely in the 30's. Between the weather and the fact that my stomach is still off, this was no day to linger. I went straight home. 

Went online and watched the 1947 movie New Orleans next. I go further into this historical romance about Louis Armstrong and the birth of the blues in the Big Easy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

New Orleans (1947)

Watched Match Game '91 when the movie ended. The first week of 1991 brought Charles Nelson Reilly back from vacation, along with Tom Villard and Pam Stone. Sally Struthers plugs her role as the voice of businesswoman and single mom Rebecca Cunningham in one of my favorite cartoons of the early 90's, the Disney action comedy Tale Spin. 

Got a call while the show was on. It was from the JC Penney at the Cherry Hill Mall. I'd applied for a receptionist job at their hair salon. Apparently, it was already closed, but they were interested in me for a saleswoman job. No. Absolutely not. Nice of them, but I want out of retail period. I don't mind manning their desk, but I'm not selling anything. I told her to keep me in mind if another receptionist job opened. 

Switched to Lost In Boston III while working on the New Orleans review. I love the Lost In Boston CD series, which covers songs that were cut from shows that made Broadway. By far my favorite here is the hilarious "Mama's Talkin' Soft" from Gypsy, performed by two little girls as in the original concept. This fast-paced number basically says Louise and June have seen their mother seduce guys and likely will again, and it's so good, it's since been restored to several productions. Other good numbers include "Travelin' Light" from Guys and Dolls, "Older and Wiser" from Bye Bye Birdie, "Big Fat Heart" from Seesaw, and the touching "Pink Taffeta Sample Size 10" from Sweet Charity. 

Finished the night with The Very Best of Vaughan Monroe. Though Monroe and his band were active well into the 50's, they did most of their best work during and after the war years. Among his hits were his theme "Racing With the Moon," the ballad "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," "Dance, Ballerina, Dance," "Ghost Riders In the Sky," and the later "The Duckworth Chant." Today, he's probably best-known for introducing the holiday standard "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" 

Oh, and as Monroe pointed out, it has indeed continued to snow for most of the evening. I was feeling a bit blue myself about the cookie mess, my upset stomach, the job rejection, and a few other things, which made the arrival of my tax return today very welcome. I probably won't have the time to do much with it until next week, but I do need a new cell phone.

And I have no intention of seeing the Eagles parade in Philly on Friday. I've taken enough time off work lately, the floral department manager will need the help, and I'm not up to wandering around among the crowds. Not to mention, I really have no desire to get crushed, and public transportation will probably be packed to the rafters. 

Flowers and Games

Started off the morning with breakfast and Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers. An Elmer Fudd-like Cupid spreads love among the Toons, sending an amorous dame after detective Daffy and Pepe Le Pew into the Foreign Legion. Bugs thinks he's meddling. He's just as good at marrying off the Tasmanian Devil and keeping Yosemite Sam from marrying Granny for her money. Cupid throws an enormous Hungarian bunny after him to prove his point.

Took Uber to work, since my stomach continues to be off. No trouble there. The morning drive arrived in 4 minutes, the afternoon in 11. No traffic on the road or problems getting anywhere. 

Considering the way my stomach felt, it's probably just as well that I spent the day in the back storage area, helping the floral department manager load bouquets for Valentine's Day into buckets. My biggest problem was figuring out how to load the huge sprayer machine we used to fill the buckets, and how much water to put on it. I couldn't get the nozzle on right. I kept getting myself wet. And no matter what I did, those buckets always seemed to have too little or too much water. 

Other than that, everything went fine. I'd fill the buckets, and the floral department manager or the other two women who are helping her this week would take them up front. After they all left, I hurried to bring the remaining flowers up to the front and finish everything before my shift ended. I mainly did roses, but in the last two hours, I also pulled out chrysanthemums, carnations, and dyed mums and daisies, which were all in the same large boxes together.

Needed a few more things after work that I didn't pick  up yesterday. In addition to grabbing more ginger ale and ginger lemon soda, I got real ginger and lemon to make into ginger lemon tea. Picked up two last Valentines to send out and a gift card for Jessa, whose birthday is Wednesday. 

Once I got home, I took the laundry downstairs, had dinner and watched Match Game '90. The week with Rebecca Arthur and Bill Kirkenbauer got really exciting when a guy picked up over $20,000. Jo Anne Worley joined Charles, goofy soap star Jacklyn Zemen, and a far more subdued than usual Jimmie Walker in the next week. If you grew up when I did, you'll remember stand-up comic Roger Behr as the voice of McDonald's mascot Mac Tonight and two of the original Transformers. 

(Oh, and while I've seen it on YouTube, Buzzr just posted episode 7 of Match Game '73 there in a much better quality with some of the buzzing issues that's plagued that episode for decades fixed and the last five minutes or so of the episode, including its original commercials, intact.)

Finished the night on YouTube after I brought the laundry back up with dating and relationship game shows. The gold standard for dating shows is The Dating Game. This Chuck Barris creation ran from 1965 through 1973 on ABC and has been seen frequently in syndication thereafter. The premise is simply one bachelorette asks three bachelors hidden behind a screen questions. The one whose answers she likes the most is the one she's going out with. Though later episodes became known for the many celebrities who appeared on it looking for dates (both before they were famous and during the height of their fame), I went with their early Valentine's Day special from 1967 that sticks with normal contestants and a better view of the original format.

Tattletales and The Newlywed Game were hit variations on "couples tell all" games. Main difference was celebrities played Tattletales, while more couples got involved in Newlywed. I remember catching the 1986 Newlywed Game revival occasionally when I was a kid, though I didn't understand much of it then. Check out the brief square dance one of the couples do! After having enjoyed seeing Get On Up again last week, I thought I'd watch an episode of Tattletales featuring the real James and Deidre Brown. The real winners here were regular couples George Hamilton and his wife Alana and combative Charlie Brill and his wife Mitzi McCall.

Kids tried to get in on the dating games in the NBC Saturday morning show Double Up from 1992. Here, two sisters and brothers ask the questions to find dates for their siblings. Whomever isn't chosen ends up in the dumpster. Um, no. Kids are way too young for this sort of thing, and frankly it's more creepy and obnoxious than fun. J.D Roth tries to make the whole thing a lot less offensive. 

Some adults had trouble with dating shows, too. Bzzz! from 1996 starts with a woman choosing a man from behind three screens, then asking them more questions to whittle down the choices to one. The two couples come back at the end of the show to answer a series of questions where they raise signs to see if they're compatible with one another. Certainly fast-paced, with a very late-90's in-your-face set and a rare energetic female host in Annie Wood. Wood, however, can get annoying fast, and the last round comes off as silly and unnecessary. This doesn't seem to have ever worked, not in syndication or when Buzzr ran it briefly during the first half of 2020.

The GSN show Baggage from 2010 could get even meaner. Here, the lady has to choose between three men carrying literal suitcases that hold their real-life secrets. When she decides on one, they have to decide if her secret is too much baggage to keep her. I suspect Jerry Springer being the host for this show was one of the primary reasons for its successful two-year run. It's not really that exciting, but if anyone knows how to keep a show about trashy secrets moving, it's a guy who used to host a show about trashy secrets for a living. 

Charles Nelson Reilly had his own problems dealing with Sweethearts in 1989. This is basically The Newlywed Game crossed with To Tell the Truth. Three couples claim to have met in unusual ways. The celebrity panel has to guess which is the real couple. Reilly was a lot of fun on Match Game and elsewhere, but his braying voice and mincing manner were all wrong for hosting a game show, and none of the couples or their stories were all that interesting or unique. Neither this nor its original British version from 1987 lasted more than a few months. 

See how crazy relationships can get with these outrageous and provocative episodes! 

The Dating Game Valentine's Special (1967)

Tattletales (1975)

The New Newlywed Game (1986)

Sweethearts (1989)

Double Up (1992) 

Bzzz! (1996)

Baggage (2010)

And here's the upgraded Match Game '73 episode from Buzzr, featuring the only Waltons actors to appear on the show, Michael Lerned and Richard Thomas! 

Match Game #7 (1973) 

Match Bowl Champions

Got a quick start today with breakfast and another Goofy sports short. Goofy shows "How to Play Football" in a hilarious take on gridiron rivalries that's one of his funniest shorts. It's Taxidermy Tech vs. Anthropology A&M in an absolutely insane fight to the finish. Taxidermy elects to keep its star player off the field until the last minute...but when he's run over by the competition, his coach has to revive him pronto!

Called for Uber. My stomach is still really off, even if the rest of me feels fine. Not to mention, I wasn't sure what the roads would be like by 4:30 or so on Super Bowl day. I'm actually glad I did. The lady going there arrived within 7 minutes, wore an Eagles jacket, was in a great mood, and said she'd given her family's vintage one to a nephew who appreciated it. The guy going home came in 11 minutes and at least dodged the traffic on the White Horse Pike. 

She wasn't the only one in a good mood. Everyone at work was really happy today, from my co-workers to the customers to the Girl Scouts who sold cookies by the front door. I saw every variation on Eagles gear existing, including on the Girl Scouts! It was awesome. This was the most cheerful our customers have been since Christmas. People really wanted this win. And there were a lot of them. We were really busy today. I needed help doing the front trash, which was overflowing because I hadn't had the time to get to it. At least the Sunday bagger and afternoon bagger were there to help out. The weather could have been worse, too. It was windy and cold, but the clouds that were out this morning had broken up by the time I finished.

I even ran into Rose and Finley around noon, the latter toting a stuffed black kitty. Rose invited me over to her house for the Super Bowl. I would have loved to, but I didn't think my stomach would be up to it. I declined and later texted her that I'd be bringing her kids Valentine's treats later in the week.

Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 4 PM that I had no trouble doing my own grocery shopping. In fact, I mainly went to work for Mylanta. Grabbed lots of ginger ale, ginger lemon soda, and lemon-lime soda, both prebiotic and regular zero Sprite. Restocked granola bars, yogurt, and bagels for this week. Bought white chocolate chips to make strawberry white chocolate chip cookies, which I intend to give out for Valentine's Day.

When I got home, I went straight into the shower, then got a little dinner and went upstairs. Puttered online while watching It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown is less concerned about the outcome of the big game and more about escorting the Little Red Haired Girl, the school's homecoming queen, after the game. Too bad he's the kicker and Lucy's holding the ball...

Switched to the game on Tubi after the cartoon ended. First of all, more Super Bowls ought to be in New Orleans. The National Anthems were played by Dixieland and jazz musicians, and they were terrific. Second, this was an amazing game. The Eagles took the reigns from the very first and ran with them. They sacked Patrick Mahommes six times, including a strip-sack, got five turnovers, and got points on two interceptions. In fact, I was disappointed that the Chiefs didn't really wake up until the third quarter. They're a genuinely good team. They did finally manage to get points on the board, but it wasn't enough to out-run the Eagles. The Eagles won the Super Bowl 40-22. 

(And I heard they literally flooded the streets elbow-to-elbow and climbed garbage trucks in Philly! All we got here in the South Jersey suburbs were fireworks and a lot of cheering.)

Went back and forth between the game and the Match Game marathon on YouTube after that started, then finished the night with the marathon. Gene Rayburn loved his fancy suits, and some of them could get pretty lavish. His two most (in)famous were likely the god-awful green and red plaid and the gray checked with the pink bow tie that Brett and Pat Harrigan joked made him look like half of a vaudeville team. There was also the tuxedo with the very flashy gold and black vest made from a piece of fabric he apparently got in China. He was especially proud of a pair of wingtip shoes he wore on several occasions.

Gene occasionally went casual, too, notably the episode when he sported a turtleneck and jacket. Betty White rolled up his pants legs, revealing plaid socks. He ended up giving them to a woman in the audience. Richard helped him with his shoes. He wore red suede shoes on a later PM episode. Brett sported a black velvet gown that Charles joked made her look like an opera diva. The Audience Match got really wild when Richard Paul, Brett, and Charles sang "The Eyes of Texas" as an answer to the "The Eyes of __" and the contestant ended up in Jamie Lee Curtis' lap. 

Some of the fashion on the syndicated shows could get pretty interesting as well. Ted Lange once came on an episode and demanded Fred Grandy give him his suit back, leading Fred to strip on the air. Gene stripped once, too, when the panelists complained about his bland gray suit. McLean Stevenson borrowed a suit jacket from Gene, and then a blue one when he didn't like the plaid. He didn't do much better with Ted dressing him in a white suit and cowboy hat that made him look like he'd gotten lost on the way to the set of Dallas. As Brett said several times during the suit coat incident, he had no flair for fashion. 

Check out some of the most fashionable suits and memorable fashion disasters of the 70's and early 80's in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Best Dressed and Fancy Suits on Match Game