Spring Cleaning

I began an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day with this week's American Top 40 re-run. Disco was all over mid-March 1978, as the Bee Gees and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack continued their domination of the charts. They had six of the top hits that week, including "Stayin' Alive," "How Deep Is Your Love," and "Night Fever." That week's #1 song was the first of two smashes from solo Bee Bee Andy Gibb, "Love Is Thicker Than Water." Hits from other acts included "I Still Go Crazy" by Paul Davis, "Happy Anniversary Baby" by The Little River Band, "Lay Down Sally" by Eric Clapton, "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel, "Dance, Dance, Dance" by Chic, "Can't Smile Without You" by Barry Manilow, "The Name of the Game" by ABBA, and "Thunder Island" by Jay Ferguson.

Went into spring cleaning after the show was over. I did some things in the back room, then scrubbed the bathroom. Surprisingly, the bathroom was not that bad. I was mainly cleaning the shower and sink. The kitchen took a while longer, especially around the counter and stove.

Ran a couple of Easter specials while I got the kitchen done. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did a real oddity late in the original 80s series. When Shredder turns all humans in New York into timid creatures, the Turtles split up to find a crystal hidden in a fairy tale dimension. They first encounter a giant...then tangle with a rabbit who thinks they want to race with him. The rabbit turns out to be instrumental in stopping pink alien brain Krang from using sonic waves to turn the entire world timid!

Yogi the Easter Bear made at least a little more sense. Yogi eats all the candy intended for Jellystone Park's big Easter Jamboree. The Ranger is furious! The Jamboree is a big deal. Not only will local kids be disappointed, but the head Commissioner is bringing his grandchildren, and he's a tough customer. Yogi and Boo Boo find themselves rescuing the Easter Bunny and Mildred the Easter Chicken from a strange pair of villains who are obsessed with giving the world plastic eggs in place of the Easter Bunny's real ones.

It was such a nice day, I went for a walk after I finished the kitchen. Given the long week I had, I figured I deserved a treat. I certainly got one from Mother Nature. It was about as perfect a day in early spring as one could wish for. The sky was a soft blue, without a hint of clouds. The sun was bright and gold in the sky. It was the nicest it's been here since probably October, up to at least the mid-50s. I strolled past garden with green stems shooting through the soil and kids playing outside. Saw the first yellow crocus of the season in a yard across from the Oaklyn Library.

I ended up with a tasty Lucky Mint Coolatta - probably Duncan Donuts' equivalent of McDonald's famous Shamrock Shake. I waited in a fairly long line for it, and it was worth it. Like most Coolattas, it was too sweet, but it had a nice vanilla-mint flavor that was refreshing.

Put on one more Easter special while eating the last of the Tuna Casserole for lunch. The First Easter Rabbit was the last spring special Rankin-Bass did, and the only one in regular 2-D animation. It's pretty much Frosty the Snowman crossed with The Velveteen Rabbit. A stuffed bunny named Stuffy who was beloved by a sick little girl is turned into a real rabbit by a fairy who says he's to be the representative of spring. With the help of Santa Claus, he brings Easter to his favorite girl and her mother and dodges grouchy Zero, who wants all of April Valley to be as cold as the North Pole.

My sisters and I adored this as children and would repeatedly ask to watch "Stuffy" over and over again, even at other times of the year besides Easter. Nowadays, I'm wondering why. It's charming, but not up to even the other two Rankin-Bass spring tales. The story shows its twice-told origins plainly...and it would be nice if the hero and the villain could have met more than once in the last few minutes.

Headed to work after First Easter Rabbit ended. Work was, despite the glorious weather, very busy all night. Many people were taking advantage of some really big sales this weekend. Others were stocking up for birthday parties or impromptu outdoor dinners. It was so busy (and I'd had such a long week), I was dead tired and hurting by the time I finally finished. Thank heavens it had slowed down enough by then that I was able to leave with no relief.