A Day In Philadelphia

I slept in this morning. Didn't get to the laundromat until past 11:30. I was lucky to get a washer or a dryer. There were several couples and college students there doing huge loads.

When I got home, I put everything away as quickly as I could. I gulped down beef stew, then headed out again. I've been wanting to make a quick trip into Philadelphia to look at the large FYEs in the Gallery Mall and on Broad Street for a while now. I'd like to clear out as many videos as possible before the end of the year.

Made a quick stop at the bank to change a $20 into a smaller amount for the train trip, then rode to Collingswood. It was a nice day for a stroll around the city. Yesterday's humidity had been replaced by lower 80s temperatures and sunshine.

I did very well at both stores. FYE is having a buy two used DVDs or CDs, get a third for a dollar sale. With my Membership Card, I dropped Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed In at the House of Mouse and the TCM Greatest Films Collection with the Marx Brothers Movies A Day at the Races, Room Service, A Night In Casablanca, and At the Circus down to $13.50 each. Grabbed the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Vol. 4 for $25 and Pooh's Grand Adventure for 10 from the Broad Street store. The dollar movies ended up being Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones and a musical I'd been wanting.

Took a surprisingly not-full train home around 5:30. Since I was already in Collingswood, I stopped at the Pop Shop for dinner. While most of the families around me were dealing with small children ordering chicken fingers and oversized burgers, I had "The Bettlewood," a grilled Swiss cheese sandwich on ciabatta bread with chicken and onions. (All of the Pop Shop's grilled cheese sandwiches are named for streets in Collingswood, Oaklyn, and Haddon Township, which I thought was pretty creative.) The sandwich was not only delicious, but for once, not too big. The Pop Shop is notorious for its family-sized portions, but I was able to finish this one without a stomach ache later.

Headed home after that. Put all of my DVD finds away, then ran At the Circus. Harpo and Chico are performers in a circus owned by a young man (Kenny Baker) who was disinherited by his snobbish mother (Margaret Dumont). When a couple of thugs hire performers to help them steal the money needed to keep the circus going, Chico brings in lawyer Groucho to help out.

No, it's not the best Marx Brothers movie, and probably not the place to start for newcomers. (That would be Night at the Opera.) It does, however, have Groucho singing "Lydia the Tattooed Lady," which makes up for a lot of things, including the wooden Baker and his corny love songs.