The Road to Westmont

I awoke to another gloomy, unseasonably cold morning. Ran the Tom and Jerry cartoons Chuck Jones did as I worked. My favorite is "The Cat Above and the Mouse Below." In a variation on "Long Haired Hare," Tom is an opera singer performing a solo. Jerry, who lives under the stage, just wants peace and quiet...and no more "Figaro!"

Got the laundry done around 11. I had a lot to do this week, too, including towels. It's probably just as well that it was fairly quiet. The weather likely scared a lot of people off. I watched a dad and his adorable toddler daughter and listened to The Price Is Right and the local news.

After I put everything away, I headed right back out. Alas, it was raining by that point, I ignored the weather and decided to have lunch at the Legacy Diner to celebrate finally finishing my epic WENN fanfiction last night. I had Coconut Pineapple Pancakes. I very rarely have pancakes when I'm out at any time besides New Year's Day. After writing a story that turned out to be 133 pages, I thought I deserved them. They were yummy too, sweet and tangy.

(Oh, and here's the page at my website for The Adventures of the Crimson Blade. And there will be more coming tomorrow!

http://www.angelfire.com/nj/homewenn/crimsonblademain.html )

Headed to the Haddon Township Library next, taking the long way down Merchant Avenue, across Audubon. Surprisingly, despite the weather, they weren't busy. This time, I mainly concentrated on the kids' DVDs. There was quite a bit that needed to be organized, though this time only a small stack of S titles didn't fit. I guess more people wanted to read - there were lots of new release books to shelve.

Made a brief stop at Rite Aid for conditioner, milk, and Sparkling Ice Cherry Limeade (it had a coupon on it) before heading home. I went nowhere else today. It's rained on and off, sometimes heavily, for the rest of the night.

I really needed to continue my spring cleaning. I put it off while I was working on my story. I vacuumed under and around everything I could, washed the windows, and dusted in the dining and music areas.

Ran The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen while I cleaned. This crazy piece of whimsy involves the title German folk hero (John Neville) in his dotage, telling stories of his many adventures to an acting troupe putting on a play about him. The city where the troupe is performing is under assault by the Turks. The Baron claims he caused the war by taking all of the Sultan's treasury. No one believes him except for Sally (Sarah Polley), the pugnacious daughter of the head of the troupe. As Sally and the Baron travel from the moon to the belly of a whale looking for his friends, they learn that people can stand together and fight, no matter what age they are, that it's ok for everyone to be a little bit exceptional, and that fantasy can sometimes be the greatest weapon anyone can have.

One of the most famous of Terry Gilliam's nutty fantasies, this is an old late-childhood favorite of mine. As a storyteller myself, I especially appreciate the many layers surrounding the Baron's fantastic tales. If you love fantasy or Gilliam, this is very recommended.

I moved on to less to a less elaborate fantasy during dinner. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby are off on The Road to Morocco, one of the most famous of their Road To series movies. This time, they're shipwrecked in North Africa without a dime to their names. Bing sells Bob into slavery...not that Bob's complaining when native princess Dorothy Lamour is the buyer. The princess wants to marry Bob, but it turns out she has alternative motives besides being interested in him, and then she falls for Bing. Sheikh Mulay Cassim was her original intended...and let's just say he doesn't take it well when she decides she'd rather be with the crooner instead.