The Sunny Side of Life

Started today with this week's grocery trip. The Acme was massively busy with Good Friday shoppers when I arrived. I was lucky to find everything on my grocery list. Good thing I didn't need a really big trip. I mainly needed peanut butter. I ended up with the Natural Smuckers. It wasn't on sale, but it was the cheapest "natural" brand they had. They were having a huge seafood sale; I bought a small container of fresh mussels and three packs of fish fillets. I bought things to make cupcakes for Easter dinner. Got ground chicken and a lamb shoulder steak on sale.

When I got home, I put everything away, then decided I'd have a decent lunch for a change. I used the mussels to make Pasta Salad with Mussels and Spring Vegetables while running Sally. The real-life Marilyn Miller made three movies in the early talkie era. Two of them were based after her much-loved stage hits, including this one. Miller is the title character, a waitress who dreams of being a Broadway dancer. She's devoted to her goal and to flirting with a young man she keeps seeing in the window (Alexander Gray), she can't concentrate on her work. Her fortunes pick up when she meets the young man at her newest job, and he recommends her to the cafe's owner (Ford Sterling) as a performer. Turns out the young man is a millionaire and the goofy waiter with lots of society friends is a former Count (Joe E. Brown). When an agent (T. Roy Barnes) and his girlfriend (Pert Kelton) discover the Russian dancer they hired for a Long Island party has backed out, they hire Sally to replace her. Can Sally pull off the ruse...and even become a star?

If you enjoy early talkie musicals as much as I do, this is a must-see. Miller is a so-so actress and not much of a singer, but something special happens when she dances. This is especially notable in two delightful numbers, her adorable duet to "Look for the Silver Lining" with Brown and the "Wild Rose" chorus number. (The latter is partially in Two-Strip Technicolor. The entire movie was originally in color, but the color prints were apparently lost except for this segment.)

I went for a short walk to WaWa after lunch, around 1:30. It was still a beautiful day at that point. There were clouds on the horizon, but the sky was still mostly blue, and it was far less windy and cold than it has been. It felt more like spring. This was reflected in the gardens that had suddenly erupted in jonquils, daffodils  and crocus, and in the wildflowers popping up in lawns. It was also reflected in how busy it was. I waved to Richard doing chores around his front lawn and to Linda, my landlord Andrew's wife, on her porch. Kids chased each other on their own front lawns; parents chatted amid pastel wire Easter decorations.

Treated myself to a Cherry-Coke Icee from WaWa, then headed home. Ran a few cartoons after Sally ended. Felix the Cat owns "The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg" in the 1936 Van Beuren short. He gives her gold to the poor of the town, but ends up having to defend her when pirates want the eggs, too! The Three Stooges have more luck stopping a robber who is after toys in their 60s "Toys Will Be Toys" animated short.

Much to my surprise, given how busy work was this morning, it wasn't that bad when I got in. Everyone must have shopped in the morning and early afternoon. It was pretty much the same as last night, on-and-off steady with no major problems.

Oh, and I have a fairly decent schedule this week. Yes, I have Easter off...but after that, I don't get a day off until next Saturday! A lot of people went on vacation this week. Not only are most schools on spring break, but our vacation cycle starts over in May, and anyone who still has time left will probably want to use it soon.