Jersey Dolls

Thank heavens I didn't oversleep again, like I did last Sunday. I awoke to a perfectly pleasant, breezy July morning, with plenty of time to have Double Berry Spice Pancakes and a handful of cherries for breakfast while listening to the CD of movie theme songs I bought last month. Most of the songs were from the 90s (with the exception of Billy Joel's "Modern Woman" from the 1986 comedy Ruthless People). For some reason, throughout the 90s, there were a plethora of movies - mostly action films and romantic comedies, but also serious dramas, family movies, and animated films - that featured theme songs that could compete for Oscars and attract another market to the film. They were mostly syrupy ballads like "For the First Time" from One Fine Day or "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic, but an occasional rap number (Will Smith's title song for Men In Black), heavy rock ballad ("Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen from the hard-hitting drama Philadelphia), or uptempo song (Sophie B. Hawkins' sweet "As I Lay Me Down" from the otherwise so-so coming of age tale Now and Then) would sneak in.

Work was on-and-off steady through most of the afternoon. Despite the nice weather, we had quite a few cranky customers, including chop-shop people who buy up sales to sell at marked-up prices in Camden and one of those people who somehow think 60 dollars will cover a 90 dollar order. I was so happy when it slowed down enough by 5 that I was able to leave despite my relief being late.

When I got home, I had leftovers for dinner while listening to the original cast album of Jersey Boys. If you're a fan of the Four Seasons or 60s rock, you'll want to at least give this a listen. Narration helps you get some sense of the story of how four guys from North Jersey met and formed a group in the late 50s and spent several years as backing musicians before hitting the big time with "Sherry." The narration has some adult language, so this is for grown-up Four Seasons fans only. Still...as realistic as this sounds, you're probably better off getting the real group first. Their records, CDs, and downloads can be found easily on and offline.

Since I had some time after dinner, I decided to change the dolls. The patriotic outfits were swapped for bathing suits or lighter gowns. Whitney wears the Springfield Collection navy polka-dot bathing suit and white espadrilles. Jessa sports the lavender floral bathing suit from the AG Island Luau set and holds the adorable pineapple-shaped ukulele. Molly wears her peach 1944 Bathing Suit and holds the towel that came with it. Samantha's 1904 Bathing Dress was layered over black Springfield Collection stockings. Felicity's in her lavender "Traveling Gown" (the second "meet" outfit) with the lovely hat from Elizabeth's Summer Gown. Josefina is cool as a cucumber in the beige Party Dress and her rebozo.

Ran Sail Away in honor of the late Broadway legend Elaine Stritch as I changed the dolls. This musical from 1961 about the social director on a cruise ship who falls for a wealthy millionaire was old-fashioned either then, and despite being Noel Coward's last show, sounds even more dated now. Stritch still has some good material, though, including the eleven o'clock number "Why Do the Wrong People Travel?"