Saturday, July 12, 2014

Peach-y Keen Harvest

Started off another hot, hazy day with this week's American Top 40 re-run. We jumped ahead almost a decade to mid-July 1983. I would have been about 4 when this round of pop, hard rock, dance tunes, and duets were new on the charts, and I know them very well. Hits that summer included "Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant, "Time" by Culture Club, "1999" by Prince, "Stand Back" by Stevie Nicks, "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo, "Come Dancing" by the Kinks, "Our House" by Madness, "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John, "Is There Something I Should Know?" by Duran Duran, and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" by Michael Jackson. The number one hit that week would go on to be the smash song of the year - Police's biggest hit, "Every Breath You Take."

The farm market was bustling when I arrived, with long lines everywhere. And  no wonder. The summer harvest is out full force. I saw eggplants, yellow summer squash, and English (seedless) cucumbers for the first time this week. The orchard booth finally has the smaller peaches I like. I eventually ended up with a cucumber, two heirloom tomatoes, the peaches, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, a spring onion, two ears of corn, and my favorite Chinese (long) beans.

Work was just as busy. We were once again short on help, too. While it's hot and hazy, probably in the upper 80s, it's not really that humid. A lot of people probably took off for the Shore or the Poconos as soon as they could, or they're on their way. It did slow down enough by 5 that I was able to get out on time.

I was originally going to go out to dinner, but I stayed up late with Lauren (who had off today) last night and got up early this morning. I decided I wasn't up to much more than making flounder with sauteed peppers, onions, and mushrooms and cucumber-tomato salad for dinner while watching the Scooby Doo: Fields of Screams set. This one had a sports theme to coincide with the World Cup soccer tournament in Brazil. Ghastly Goals is a new special that has Scooby and Mystery Incorporated trying to retrieve a special soccer ball from the World Cup stadium for two little boys. It turns out that the ball has been covered with a special formula to make it very bouncy...and a trickster demon wants that formula for himself!

The next episode was also recent, one of the last from Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated, "Night On Haunted Mansion." Two soccer players are scared out of their wits by a female demon searching for something in the canyons. Now back together, Mystery Incorporated is determined to find out what she's after...though Velma thinks there's something familiar about her...

The remaining stories are all "Scooby and the gang finds a monster" tales from the 70s and early 80s. Scrappy joins in for a couple of them, notably "The Demon of the Dugout." The crew is in Japan for a big Japanese/American baseball game. By the time they arrive, the game is called on account of a demon who doesn't want baseball players on his sacred turf! While Shaggy and Scooby explore sushi options, the others try to figure out what he's really after.

They return to their own home turf for "The Ghost That Sacked the Quarterback." The ghost of a hated player is kidnapping star quarterbacks before the Hawks' big game. Shaggy and Scooby would rather sample quarterback-sized sandwiches than be decoys on the field, but Velma and Fred think there's something else going on.

I'm glad Warners is putting out these sets. Scooby really brings me back to my childhood. The original late 60s and 70s Scooby shows would have been in re-runs on cable when I was a kid, and I do remember watching A Pup Named Scooby Doo in the late 80s. I always liked Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma the most. They all made me laugh, in different ways - Shaggy and Scooby with their slapstick and huge appetites, Velma with her sarcasm and common sense compared to the others.

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