Ghosts, Grapes, and Grocery Store "Yard" Sales

The weather remained dry and sunny but very hot when I got up this morning. It was just as hot on the American Top 40 re-run as we boogied our way into early June 1976. Hits that sent our feet to the disco in that late spring included "Silly Love Songs" by Wings, the lovely "Misty Blue" by Dorothy Moore, "Boogie Fever" by Sylvers, "Right Back Where We Started From" by Maxine Nightingale, "Welcome Back" by John Sebastian, "Shannon" by Henry Gross, the theme from Happy Days by Pratt & McClain, Hall & Oates' first hit "Sara Smile," and "Shop Around" by The Captain & Tenille. Diana Ross continued her successful solo career with that week's number one song, "Love Hangover."

I squeezed in a few music-oriented cartoons before heading for work. One of the most famous episodes of Tiny Toon Adventures is "Toon Music Television" from the first season, which showcased classic videos for the They Might Be Giants songs "Particle Man" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"and the 60s rock songs "Money (That's What I Want)" and "Respect." There was also an updated spoof of the Mickey Mouse Sorcerer's Apprentice featuring Buster and Bugs.

Speaking of Mickey, he had his own encounter with pioneering music broadcasting. One of his more obscure black and white shorts is The Barnyard Broadcast from 1931. Commercial radio was in its infancy, and Mickey, Minnie, Clarabelle, and Horace were jumping onto the musical band wagon with a classical concert over the air waves. They also accidentally broadcast a mother cat and her kittens, which brings a noisy Pluto in...and brings down the house!

I worked unusually early today, but given how hot it was, maybe it was just as well. I wasn't happy about having to miss Collingswood's Town-Wide Yard Sale...but the Acme inadvertently made it up to me. The store had a "yard" sale on our front patio area to raise funds for a local family who lost relatives. I bought a widescreen DVD copy of Catch Me If You Can and a really cute stuffed purple grape. I named the grape "Fanta," after Coke's fruit soda brand. Hey, it sounds better than "Welch!"

Otherwise, work wasn't a huge problem today. It was really crazy-busy during the noon rush hour. Otherwise, it was on and off. It slowed down enough for me to leave a little bit early with no relief. I forgot cheese and fruit concentrate yesterday.

Stopped at Rose's first to see if anyone was around, then went down to Leo's Yum Yums. Yes, they were finally open. I could buy my first small cherry-vanilla Yum Yum (a grittier, creamier-tasting water ice) of the year. I even gave my change to a little boy who didn't have enough for a water ice.

When I got home, I went straight in the bath tub. Ahh, I so very needed that. My legs were sore, and my right knee hurt badly. I soaked for over an hour while listening to jazz interpretations of George Gershwin songs and reading books on being positive about making money.

After I finally climbed out of the tub, I threw together leftovers for dinner while watching Scooby Doo and the Boo Brothers. Shaggy has inherited a huge, spooky old plantation from his Uncle Beauregard. He, Scooby, and Scrappy head down south to check it out. They begin to wish they hadn't when they're spooked by a screwy sheriff, a goofy gorilla on the run from the zoo, and a pair of hillbillies who don't take kindly to strangers related to Beauregards. Shaggy hires the "Boo Brothers" to get rid of his uncle's ghost...but the Boo Brothers turn out to be not only ghosts themselves, but less than helpful. Shaggy's on his own if he wants to find out where his uncle hid a fortune in jewels and come out of the mystery alive!

Hanna-Barbara did three made-for-TV movies featuring Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy in 1988. Other than marking Scrappy's final appearances in animation, none of them were really all that popular. The irony is, for all the playing up of the Boo Brothers in the opening credits, they really don't do a whole lot besides occasional slapstick. (I have no idea why the hillbillies were there, either, other than as filler. In fact, they disappear completely by the end of the movie.)

This is Shaggy and the dogs' show, and they handle a decent mystery surprisingly well. Even Scrappy isn't nearly as annoying as usual. If you like Shaggy and Scooby or the late 70s and 80s incarnation of the show, this isn't great, but isn't as horrible as it could be, either.