Alone In the Universe

Began a sunny, windy fall day with volunteering at the Oaklyn Library. This time, I went for a full two hours and organized five shelves of children's picture books. They badly needed it. More than half the books weren't in the right places, some were in the wrong section entirely, and there were even non-fiction books mixed in. Frankly, it looked like a blind man had shelved everything. The librarians said they hadn't really organized the kids' section in a while; it looked it.

I did, however, discover something I've been seeking for literally decades. One of my favorite picture books as a child was a Cinderella tale about a young seamstress who is forced by her stepmother and stepsisters to constantly add more and more ornamentation to their lavish ballgowns, neglecting her own. I loved looking at the gorgeous illustrations of the gorgeous outfits those silly siblings wore! I couldn't remember who wrote it or what the title was until I saw another book, A Birthday For a Princess, written by Anita Lobel, that had the same style of illustrations.

Apparently, the book is called The Seamstress of Saltzburg, and alas, according to Amazon.com, is long out-of-print. Maybe I'll keep looking for it online or at yard sales...

Headed home around quarter of one and listened to the CD of the original cast recording of Seussical: The Musical that I took out of the Haddon Township Library. Lynn Aherns and Stephan Flahtery, the composing team behind the music for the animated Anastasia and the Broadway Ragtime, wrote the songs for this crossover between some of the most famous works of Dr. Seuss. While it mainly revolves around lovable elephant Horton and his attempts to hatch an egg and save the city of the Whos, we also see the stories of vain Gertrude McFuzz, who just wants Horton to notice her, daydreaming Who kid JoJo, and careless Mayzie the Bird, among many, many others.

I remember hearing when this came out that it was something of a mess onstage (it flopped on Broadway), but the songs are sweet and the cast is a lot of fun. It's had a life as a popular regional production for families; I think the near-by Ritz Theater Company did it a few years ago. The gentle Alone In the Universe, for thinkers Horton and JoJo, was by far my favorite song from the CD.

Work called just as I was about to start editing this month's Monkees role play. Could I come in early and stay late? I had no problem with the "come in early" part. Editing could wait. That "stay later" was the trouble. It would be dark by the time I was done at 8PM, and the later I would be, the harder it would be to get home on my bike.

Tonight was annoying, anyway. I still keep forgetting to give out those darn stickers for that free pots and pans promotion, and people are still talking about the possible strike like it's already happening. And my schedule next week is downright annoying. While I appreciate the extra hours, they're all very early or late, which means I won't get anything done. I was really hoping to start volunteering at the Collingswood Library and get some cleaning done. I at least have Thanksgiving and next Saturday off; we'll just have to see what I can finish.

Incidentally, the union and Acme have extended their talks through the weekend. We'll check back in with that on Monday.