Cartoon Holidays

It was cloudy and chilly when I got up this morning (after beginning my annual chapter-a-day reading of A Christmas Carol). I started with the remaining cartoons I dubbed off the vintage Walt Disney Christmas video. Mickey and the gang go "On Ice" years before Disney started their skating shows. While Mickey shows off for Minnie, Goofy attempts ice fishing and Donald teases Pluto by getting him on skates. "Donald's Snow Fight" gets even wilder when Donald knocks down Huey, Dewey, and Louie's snowman. The boys get revenge with an epic snowball fight. "Pluto's Christmas Tree" holds two unannounced visitors - Chip and Dale! Pluto tries to chase them out of the tree, but unlike Donald, Mickey doesn't mind them being there.

Moved to Popeye winter and holiday-related shorts as I prepared the package with Anny and her sons' presents and cookies. "Seasons Greetinks" is the Fleichers' Christmas offering. Popeye takes Olive skating on Christmas Day, but Bluto's interference leaves Olive on thin ice. "I Ski-Love Ski-You Ski" moves off the ice and onto the slopes. This time, Olive chooses Popeye for a skiing and mountain climbing trip. Bluto does everything he can to sabotage their winter fun.

My only errand planned for this morning was another run to the Oaklyn Post Office. This time, the long line was almost literally out the door, but it couldn't be helped. I wanted to get the packages going to Cape May County out today. I did have to use one of their boxes for Mom and Dad's cookies and get that ready. Other than that, everything went quickly. The line moved pretty fast (only two people were sending packages - most others were inquiring after their packages or buying stamps). A second line opened right as I was finally leaving.

After I got back to my apartment, I switched to the Tiny Toons as I prepared for work. "It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special" spoofs It's a Wonderful Life, right down to a faux black-and-white "clip" of the movie used about half-way through. Buster, upset after the Toons' Christmas show goes wrong and he's fired, thinks he doesn't matter to his friends. A very tall rabbit named Harvey with a familiar sounding voice shows him what Acme Acres would be like if he never existed.

Finished out the morning with a few more shorts. "Chip and Dale" officially named the two chipmunks who frequently annoyed Donald and Pluto. Here, they fight with Donald over the log he wants to use for his fireplace - it was once their home. "Toy Tinkers" was nominated for an Oscar in 1949. The chipmunks try to steal Donald's nuts from his house at Christmas, but he's ready to fight for them. "Gift Wrapped" is a holiday-themed vehicle for Tweety and Sylvester. The black and white kitty thinks Tweety is his Christmas present. Granny spends her holidays trying to keep Tweety out of Sylvester's mouth and Sylvester out of the mouth of a bulldog.

I left for work early in order to be able to enjoy the Acme's Christmas employee luncheon. It's more-or-less the same thing as the Thanksgiving luncheon, only with Christmas garlands on the tables, red-and-green tablecloths, and Christmas wrappers on the candy. Once again, there was tons and tons of food. In addition to the ham, corn, and meatballs that appeared at Thanksgiving, I saw coleslaw, pasta salad, deviled eggs, baked ziti, tortellini in spinach and olive oil, a delicious spaghetti casserole with cheese and sausage, roast beef, and baked beans and hot dogs. Desserts included a cheesecake variety tray, a tray of eclairs, pumpkin bread, a plain cheesecake, buttery thumbprint cookies with jam in the middles, peanut butter cup cookies, brownies, and my cookies. I had the spaghetti casserole, a roast beef sandwich with provolone cheese, corn, and deviled eggs before work. Tried the tortellini, bread, thumbprint cookies, and a thin slice of chocolate cheesecake during my break.

Work was the reverse of how it's been for the past week - crazy when I came in, steady-to-quiet when I left. The big Eagles-Washington game was at 4:30, and many people may have gotten off of work early. As soon as the game started, our customers stopped. It was just steady by the time one of the college boys came in for me at 6. I grabbed a roll of ribbon for wrapping paper (I'm almost out of mine) and headed out.

When I got in, I put on The Monkees. Their sole holiday episode debuted during the mid-second season, when the show was just starting to get stranger. This one was actually pretty normal in comparison to the rest of the season. "The Christmas Show" finds the groovy quartet looking after a snobbish young boy (Butch Patrick of The Munsters) when he doesn't want to join his wealthy aunt on her cruise. They try to show the child the Christmas spirit, but their efforts fail...until Mike Nesmith figures out what the kid really wants.

Oh, and darn it. Despite coming back in the second half, the Eagles just barely lost to the Redskins, 27-24. Now they really need to make a huge push if they want to make the playoffs.