Bath Sunday

Began a hot, sunny day with Strawberry Oatmeal Pancakes and my America the Beautiful LP set. I picked up this two-disc Reader's Digest collection about five years or so ago, I think from a thrift shop. It's pretty much instrumental patriotic-themed music like "On the Trail" from The Grand Canyon Suite and "American Patrol," though we also have a vocal "This Land Is Your Land" and Kate Smith's famous version of "God Bless America." My personal favorite number is a medley of George M. Cohan songs performed by the Boston Pops. I'm not the only one who liked it, either. You can hear people singing along with the more famous tunes in the background.

Work was very busy for most of today, much busier than yesterday. We're normally busy on Sundays anyway, and it's still the beginning of the month. People who weren't able to have barbecues yesterday may have been having them today, too. I had a short shift that went quickly, with no major problems. My relief was a college girl who is usually on time.

I took the long way home down Nicholson Road. I saw firetrucks just a block from the Acme on Nicholson. There had been a car crash - one truck was nothing but dents on its driver side. Yikes! I hope everyone got out ok.

When I got home, I relaxed in the bath. I needed one after a very long week. I read fairy tales and stories from the Walt Disney Storybookland anthology book and listened to my CD of various interpretations of George Gershwin's music. It was mostly jazz and vocals, but it does include the Janis Joplin version of "Summertime."

Spent the rest of the evening having shrimp and steamed peas for dinner while listening to By the Beautiful Sea. This 1953 vehicle for Shirley Booth was the tale of a vaudevillian on vacation at Coney Island who falls for a singer while living at her father's boarding house. The story's nothing special, to the point where the liner notes for my 90's Angel CD indicate that the book kept getting re-written prior to Broadway. In fact, most of the numbers are random chorus routines that, while cute, having nothing to do with the story. The solo numbers are much better. I like Booth's comic song "I'd Rather Wake Up By Myself," the jaunty "Happy Habit" for her maid, and the lovely ballad "Alone Too Long" for her singer love interest. I think this is currently out of print on CD; not really worth going out of your way for unless you're a huge fan of Booth or the Broadway musicals of the 50's.