Goin' Downtown

It was cloudy, humid, and cool when we made our way to Collingswood around 11AM. We had decided to eat in New Jersey and just grab a snack in Philadelphia. Lauren wanted to have lunch at Tortilla Press, a popular Mexican restaurant on Haddon Avenue, a block from Yogawood. We arrived well before the lunch hour; it was so quiet, we got a choice table next to the corner window where the Christmas lights and the (not working, but still kind of cool) fountain are. Lauren had cheese and chicken enchiladas with Mexican rice and refried beans (she didn't eat the latter - neither of us are fans of refried beans). I had a delicious chicken, cheese, and avocado quesedilla with fresh salsa and cilantro slaw.

We went straight to the PATCO station after lunch and took it into Philadelphia. I know what we both like; we got off at 12th Street and walked to the big FYE on Broad Street. I couldn't find the fourth DVD for the buy three used DVDs, get one free sale, but I did get some interesting items. I've read about SyFy's mini-series Tin Man and Alice online. I love seeing favorite old stories get fresh hearings and thought these sounded unique. You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown is one of two Peanuts DVDs I wanted for the summer. Chuck and the gang join a motorcross race. Maybe for once, Chuck won't end up with the short end of the lollypop, if he can get past Peppermint Patty and "The Masked Marvel!" Scooby Doo: Winter Wonderdog is a collection of episodes from the original and late 70s series with winter or Christmas themes. Scooby is one of the only characters I like that I didn't have something holiday-related for.

Lauren did even better. She bought three sets of Red Skeleton show episodes for her parents, a Three Stooges set, three Three Stooges movies she didn't have, and a new pair of headphones for her trip home (apparently, her old ones were flickering).

Our next stop was the Macy's on Market Street. I badly needed a new pair of jean shorts and a pair of khakis. We took the escalator to the second floor, and after a series of twists and turns, finally found the women's plus size department. I didn't see a pair of jean Bermuda shorts I liked; I ended up with a relatively short pair of capris. I did get a nice, light pair of khaki cargo Bermudas that worked. (And I discovered later, to my dismay, that the grumpy girl behind the counter forgot to take off the plastic bit from the jeans! I'll see if I can get Jodie to swing by the Cherry Hill Mall on our way back from taking Lauren to the trains station on Thursday.)

We were going to use the bathroom in Starbucks, since we intended to leave that way, but of course, it was closed. We both just bought iced teas (Lauren's was green tea) and went back up to the third floor to find the bathroom. This time, we took the elevator, which turned out to be much faster. Lauren finally found the entrance to the bathroom, which was hidden in the back of the girls' dresses racks. The hall between the entrance and the actual stalls and the entrance was so twisty, it must have taken us three minutes just to get there! At least after all of that, it was plain but very clean.

The Macy's Starbucks opens onto 13th and Chestnut. We hiked down 13th Street to the awesome used music shop I found on my birthday, Rustic Music. I knew the moment I went in there that Lauren would love it. We browsed around while listening to the older men working behind the counter talk about their bands and recording studios and local bands. Lauren ended up with five CDs, a video copy of Robin and the 7 Hoods, and a DVD copy of the comedy Without a Paddle. I bought a video copy of Maytime I hope I can dub (2 dollars is a lot cheaper than the Warner Archive's 25 with shipping), one CD, and three records. The CD was Rod Stewart's The Great American Songbook Vol. II, this time in the correct case. I love his duet with Cher on "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."

The records were:

Paul McCartney - Pipes of Peace (My mom had this when my sisters and I were little; we listened to it all the time)

The soundtrack for That's Entertainment, Part II

A Peter Pan Records version of Alice In Wonderland. Peter Pan was a children's record company that mostly specialized in versions of fairy tales or kid's stories, though they did a few licensed characters as well (I saw Star Trek and Bugs Bunny listed in the inside cover.) My sisters and I had a Peter Pan record with Hansel and Gretel and Thumbelina as kids; I can still sing some of the music. The cool thing about the Alice LP is the book that comes with it. It's done in the style of a typical 70s comic book; Alice sports Malibu Barbie blond locks and a red jumper over a puff-sleeved blouse and looks more like she should be cavorting among Wolverine and Storm than the Mad Hatter and March Hare.

We were pretty worn out after the long walk. Fortunately, they seem to like to put used media stores near PATCO stops in Philly. Rustic Music was only a few blocks from the 13th and Locust PATCO station. We took a semi-full train to Collingswood, then walked straight back to my apartment. The weather was nice enough to hold out. The sun was in and out all afternoon and it did get much warmer, but otherwise, it remained cloudy and humid.

We showed each other what we'd gotten in Philly, then had the chicken legs I threw into the crock pot before we left and various leftover salads and vegetables for dinner. We ran movies as we ate, and then when we went online.

Robin and the 7 Hoods was the last "Rat Pack" movie and their only out-and-out musical. I dubbed it for Lauren, who hadn't seen it, and will dub it for me probably sometime next week. Sinatra is the title character, Robbo, a big-time gangster in Chicago in the late 20s whose mentor (Edward G. Robinson) was just rubbed out by Guy Gisbourne, a hood looking to move up in the rackets (Peter Falk). Marian (Barbara Rush), the daughter of the dead man, tries to move in on Robbo, but he smells a female rat and shoves her off. With the help of his men Will (Sammy Davis Jr.) and Little John (Dean Martin) and the silver-tongued secretary Allan A. Dale (Bing Crosby, in one of his last films), he uses a series of charities as a front for his criminal activities. Gisborne is mad as heck when he sees the money rolling in...and Marian's not much happier when she can't reel in Little John. Rob's going to need all of his cunning and cleverness to make sure he doesn't end up in a cornerstone in the new police station!

This is required viewing if you're a fan of Sinatra or the Rat Pack; Crosby has quite a bit of fun as the well-spoken, fashion-challenged Allan A. Dale, too. Not the best musical in the world, but there's some decent numbers, by far the most famous of which is Ol' Blue Eyes telling his fellow Windy City dwellers why "Chicago" is his kind of town.

We switched to one of Lauren's Stooges movies after Robin ended. I have fond memories of seeing Snow White and the Three Stooges on cable and broadcast TV in the afternoons during my childhood. Tin Man and Alice are far from the first attempts to "re-imagine" popular stories. In this variation, the Stooges are traveling performers who are renting the seven dwarves' cottage, joined by their adopted son Quatro (Edson Stroll). The quartet are discovered by a young lady named Snow White with a fondness for ice skating (possibly because she's played by Olympic figure skating champion Carol Heiss) who takes their offer to stay with them. Can they save her from the wicked queen (Patricia Medina) and her henchman (Guy Rolfe), especially when it's discovered that Quatro isn't what he seemed?

I remember thinking this was a really cute movie in the vein of the Disney Babes In Toyland. It's surprisingly less cheesy than I remember. There's really not enough Stooges, the music is not great, and the lovers are stiff as boards, but if you're a fan of unusual fantasy tales, figure skating, or are looking for some slightly more kid-friendly Stooges than usual, this is really quite charming. (And get the recent Fox DVD with the white background - it's a restore widescreen copy with gorgeous color.)