Escaping the Heat

I evaded today's mid-90s temperatures by sleeping until 10. I got up just in time to hear Brunch With the Beatles. Today is Ringo Starr's birthday, and in his honor, they played songs he either sung or did some really amazing drumming on. Starr's songs from his Beatles years included "Boys," "Act Naturally," "With a Little Help From My Friends," and "Octopus' Garden." He was really big in the mid-70s with solo hits like "Oh My My," "Back Off Boogaloo," "The No-No Song," and remakes of "Only You" and "You're Sixteen."

I made delicious Raspberry Spice Pancakes and tried calling Mom; got Dad, who was on his way out the door to go for a motorcycle ride. I got to wish him a happy (and very belated) Father's Day and have a short chat with him. I haven't talked to him in a while.

Went online for a couple of hours after I talked to Dad to mess around. I did finally get a hold of Mom. She was babysitting my nephew Skylar again. He was playing Wii. She was about to grind her own coffee. Mom spent her 4th of July quietly at home, but Skylar got to go to a very busy Wildwood Boardwalk with his brother Collyn, Collyn's dad Mike, and a couple of their friends to see the fireworks.

(Some of my few fond memories of my days in Wildwood are of my boardwalk strolls. After work on the 4th of July, I'd walk the two blocks to the boards and just hike around the couple of blocks between my place and Wild Wheels and watch the tourists go crazy. Wildwood always had the best fireworks displays, too. Only Collingswood's have come close. My most memorable 4th of July was 2004, the year I won a big stuffed Tenderheart Bear from a crane under the Great White wooden roller coaster at Wild Wheels. He was the only Tenderheart in the machine, and he was pretty far down. I honestly didn't think I'd get him. I still have him, too.)

I did need to run to WaWa around 4 for milk and eggs. I also bought a mocha chilled cappuccino. I took the bike. Normally, I'd walk if I were going to WaWa, but it was too hot and I didn't have enough time. Though it was still very hot and humid then, a stiff wind kept it from feeling even worse. I was just able to grab what I needed and run home.

I ran two patriotic-oriented records throughout the afternoon. George M! was Joel Gray's first starring vehicle on Broadway and a somewhat more honest look at the life of George M. Cohan than Yankee Doodle Dandy.  Bernadette Peters also appears as Josie, Cohan's loyal sister. It's a shame this one is currently only available as a download. It's an awful lot of fun, with some lesser-known songs like "Oh You Wonderful Boy" and "The Belle of the Barber's Ball" that didn't make it into the movie.

Disney had fun with Cohan's music and other patriotic tunes in the 80s. Yankee Doodle Mickey includes "You're a Grand Old Flag," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," and several other all-American songs. My favorite was the Armed Services Medley. Mickey represents the Air Force and the Marines. Goofy gets the Army. Naturally, Donald represents the Navy - he's the one in the sailor suit, after all! ; )

Work wasn't nearly so enjoyable. It was mildly busy when I arrived. By the time of my break at 6, it was so quiet, I spent almost the entire second half of the night doing returns. Dark clouds started gathering as early as 6:30, but they waited to burst until 8...which effectively cleared out the store. It was a ghost town when I left at 9.

The rain was long gone when I rode home. It was wet, but the ground was rapidly drying, and it wasn't nearly as hot as it had been earlier. The blacktop was still so hot from the day's boiling temperatures, I could clearly see steam streaming off the streets when I passed cars and streetlights!