South of the Border Day

It was already hot and sunny when I had my breakfast around quarter of 10. I began my Cinco Del Mayo with Saludos Amigos. The first of two Disney ventures into Latin America is basically a series of shorts based around the animators' travels in South America. Though Donald's adventure at Lake Titicaca and the tale of the little mail plane are cute, my favorite shorts are Goofy's attempt to be an Argentine gaucho and the watercolor finale that introduces parrot Jose Carioca.

My first stop of the day was the laundromat. Surprisingly, though it was fairly busy when I arrived, the TV wasn't on. That was fine by me. I was able to study the notes for my story and read The Little Spark in peace. I do wish the men there hadn't hogged the laundry carts. They had their laundry baskets in them! You're supposed to use them for your laundry, not to push the basket around. The counters are for the baskets.

When I got home, I put everything away, finished Saludos Amigos, and headed out again. In honor of the day, I opted for lunch at Jalapeno's Grill. I wasn't the only one who decided it was a good day for Mexican. For once, there were a couple of people there as well, including the older woman. Pinatas waved in the breeze on the edge of the roof outside. They even managed to set up outdoor seating. Most people opted for the air conditioning. I had a nice, soft chicken burrito with a simple salad of shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, and a cup of black bean soup.

Made a short trip to Dollar Tree on my way to the Haddon Township Library. I needed a card for Mother's Day and sponges. I wanted to buy a new laundry bag, but they only had the mesh ones. They rip too easily. Thankfully, the line wasn't too long.

The Haddon Township Library was surprisingly busy for such a nice day. While the adult titles were still overloaded (especially the M through Z side), I actually managed to shelve almost all of the kids' titles for once. There were also plenty of audio titles and new books to put away. I didn't take out anything this week. I didn't see any animated titles that interested me, and I have plenty of live-action movies to watch at home (not to mention the rest of Remember WENN).

It was so hot, I practically required a stop at Phillies Yummies. I wasn't the only one. It was around 3, and school had just let out. Groups of kids and their parents sat at the benches, cooling off. I tried the birthday cake ice cream. A little too sweet, but at least it had lots of big cake pieces and real sprinkles.

I spent the next two hours working on my story. The entire staff was just invited to a ball at the Governor's Mansion. Scott just discovered that the man who publishes Elizabeth's stories, Kurt Holstrom, is involved in some shady dealings with the English. Hilary is more concerned with where her husband is going at night. Elizabeth is wondering the same thing. They both vow to keep an eye on their men's comings and goings at the ball. At the ball, they encounter the nasty, oily Governor Pruitt for the first time...and yes, the guys do elude their ladies. Mackie can't find Maple, either....

Decided I needed a break around 6 for dinner. I did The Three Caballeros while eating scrambled eggs with asparagus. The surreal animation on this one makes Saludos Amigos look positively tame by comparison. Donald gets a box filled with south-of-the-border themed gifts, including appearances from his buddy Jose Carioca and a new friend, excitable Mexican rooster Panchito. Though we do get more shorts, the real highlights are the musical numbers that blend live-action and animation (I love Donald and the guys joining in on the folk dances in Mexico) and the surreal free-for-all of Latin American images that ends the film after a trip to the beaches at Acapulco got Donald's libido going.

While I personally prefer the more creative Caballeros, those of you who like their Disney a little tamer may want to start with Saludos Amigos first. Either way, these are required viewing for Donald fans, and also fun for animation nuts who like their movies a little outside the box.