They All Laughed

Started a chilly, windy morning with breakfast, making coconut macaroons, and watching one of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musicals, Shall We Dance? Fred is renowned ballet star Petrov, aka Pete Peters, who just wants to tap dance. Ginger is Lynn Keene, a musical star who wants to give up the rat race to get married. Pete says he's married to get a woman he isn't interested in off his back, but everyone starts assuming Lynn's the secret wife when they're seen together. They finally decided to actually get married, then divorced to get everyone off their backs. By the time their agents (Edward Everett Horton and Jerome Cowan) are putting their shows together, they're starting to wonder if the calling off the calling off is a good idea...

The great Gershwin brothers music is by far the best thing about the seventh Astaire-Rogers vehicle. There's some really nifty numbers, including Fred's dance in an Art Deco ship's boiler room to "Slap That Bass," the roller skating routine to "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," and the finale to the title song as Fred searches for the real Ginger among ladies wearing masks. As with most of the Fred/Ginger movies, the story is light as air,  and the whole marriage thing gets a little complicated after a while. Fun for fans of Fred, Ginger, or 30s musicals, but newcomers will want to go to Top Hat or Swing Time first.

As it turned out, we got less than an inch of snow. It never stuck to the street at all, and the rest of it was half gone by the time I went to work. I think the coast got the worst of the weather this time - the storm was off-shore. The real problem here wasn't snow, but wind. The wind was heavy and very cold! It didn't make it easy getting to or from work.

My long 8-hour work day was on-and-off busy for most of the evening. Even the 4 to 6 rush hour was never more than steady. Most people may be waiting for closer to the beginning of the month. I spent the down times shelving candy. Other than some annoying customers, there were no major problems. It slowed down enough by 7 that I was able to get home with no major problems besides the still-heavy wind.

I ran a couple of the 40s Superman cartoons as I made Italian Breaded Chicken Sandwiches with braised Brussels sprouts for dinner. Superman saves Lois Lane when she's hot on the trail of "The Mechanical Monsters," robots who have been programmed to rob banks. "The Arctic Giant" is a massive dinosaur that was found frozen in the north. When he accidentally defrosts in Metropolis, Superman has to keep him from playing Godzilla with the citizens of the city over a decade early.