Saturday, February 21, 2015

Snow White and the Blizzard

It was still just cloudy when I finally finished the first few chapters of The Four Story Mistake and wrote in my journal. I finished Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, then watched a fantasy-themed episode of The Backyardigans while I ate breakfast and got ready for work. Wizards Tyrone and Pablo have "A Giant Problem" when Tasha the Giant turns up in their kingdom. Her stomping keeps awakening Queen Uniqua from her royal nap, which makes her royally cranky! Tyrone and Pablo want to get Tasha out of the area, but she's really a friendly giant who wants to play, and they're not very good wizards.

I had work at 11:30 today. The sky was still cloudy when I left, so I just rode there. It was mobbed through about 2:30. The lines were insane, even with everyone open who could be, including managers. We were supposed to get another four inches of snow this afternoon, then sleet tonight, then rain tomorrow morning. Thankfully, it died rather quickly by 4:30, enough that I was able to leave easily with no relief. (I also got to enjoy cake with thick buttercream icing in the back. Both of our head managers are moving on. The new guys look like middle-aged gentlemen and seem pretty decent, as far as I can tell. Hopefully, they'll be a little tougher than the younger men.)

No wonder the Acme died so quickly. I walked out into a snowstorm. It was up to 2 inches when I unlocked my bike, and more was coming down. I didn't want to call for a ride. My dad can't drive in snow (and there's his back), I didn't want Rose dragging Khai out in the bad weather, and I wasn't sure who else was home. I just walked the bike home. It was really bad on the Black Horse Pike, which hadn't been plowed that well. The ramp into Oaklyn, which is technically still under repair (but was open today), hadn't been plowed at all. I had an easier time from Kendall Boulevard onwards, but it still took me nearly an hour to get home.

It was still coming down when I got home. I hung up anything that was wet, then made leftover Tomato-Vegetable Soup with broken-up meatballs while watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Disney's landmark first feature-length animated film is a fairly simple version of the beloved fairy tale. Snow White is driven from her home by her jealous stepmother, the Evil Queen. She encounters seven goofy little men who work in a mine. They're not sure about this interloper who loves cleaning and cooking at first, but they warm up to her once they taste her cooking. The Queen, however, is still jealous. She turns herself into an old woman and dresses up a poison apple for Snow White...but the dwarves won't let her get away with it! There's a prince out there for Snow White, and he's going to make her fondest wish come true.

While most adults appreciate it for the history and beautiful animation, kids tend to gravitate towards the dwarves, Snow White's cute animal buddies and their antics, and Snow White herself. Alas, her prince doesn't really have much to do besides introduce "One Song." (Though, to be honest, that's actually pretty true to the original story.) There are some scary sequences with the Evil Queen and Snow White's flight through the forest that may upset some younger or easily frightened viewers.

All in all, while this isn't my favorite Disney movie, it is a piece of history, and one that I recommend for adults and kids alike.

Oh, and the rain has finally started at press time. It's supposed to continue into the morning - we'll see how things go.

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