The Trouble With Turkeys

Started off a cloudy morning with Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost. In the second direct-to-home-media Scooby animated movie, the gang is invited to a small town in Massachusetts by horror writer Ben Ravenscroft, who wants some time off to recharge. When they arrive, they discover that the town is anything but quiet. There's talk that the ghost of Ben's ancestor Sarah, who may or may not have been a witch, is terrorizing the town. While Shaggy and Scooby clear out a restaurant's entire inventory and Velma and Ben search for Sarah's lost journals, Daphne and Fred discover the Hex Girls, a goth band that seems very suspicious. The Hex Girls turn out to be the least of their problems when they find out what Sarah really was, and why Ben wants her journal.

With references to both Halloween and Thanksgiving, this makes a nice way to transition between the fall holidays. Though it's not quite as spooky as the previous Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, it's still pretty scary for this franchise. It also introduced the Hex Girls, who proved so popular, they would turn up in a later movie, as well as episodes of What's New, Scooby Doo? and Scooby Doo Mysteries Incorporated.

Spent most of the morning working on fanfiction. "The Leader" is caught between the magic explosions from the Flying Fortress and Holstrom, who isn't a magician and has no idea how to work the Fire Talisman. His arrow shots go wild, thanks to the explosions, sending the bar up in flames. Betty's trying to help save the others. She gets quite a surprise when she sees what happens to "The Leader" after the fire starts...

Added canned chicken and fresh carrots to leftover chicken and rice soup for lunch. Did some episodes of Schoolhouse Rock that related to government or voting while I ate. "The Preamble" goes into the Constitution and its importance. "Sufferin' 'Til Suffrage" shows how women finally got the vote after years of protests. "Three Ring Government" compares the government to how a typical circus is run. "I'm Just a Bill" describes how a bill becomes a law, and how long that process can often take. "Tyrannosaurus Debt" from Money Rock is a rather pointed commentary on the US debt and how it keeps growing. The more recent "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College" uses a college fight song spoof to explain how the Electoral College works.

Headed to work after the shorts ended. I wish I hadn't. Though we were really only busy during rush hour, work was a pain and a half. People were rude, obnoxious, and ignorant. They wouldn't help bag and gave me trouble over the free turkey coupons.

Those turkey coupons have never been anything less than a major difficulty for all concerned. The coupons for a free turkey if you spend over 100 dollars is supposed to come in a flyer in the mail. We don't have them in the store. This sounds fine on paper, and it is better than waiting to save anywhere from 200 to 400 dollars to get a free turkey. Most people have either never understood how it worked and assumed they could save a hundred and get a free turkey, or forget their coupons, or just don't get a flyer in the mail. I wish they'd drop the darn things all together and either have people save a hundred and get the freebie, or just sell them really cheap and forget saving anything. Besides, it's just a turkey. The darn things aren't made out of gold. One woman got so upset that we wouldn't just give her the freebie (she forgot her coupon and couldn't come back), she walked out without buying her order. She was "only getting it for the turkey." That's silly. You buy food because you need food. Free turkeys are supposed to be a nice bonus.

I was about ready to tear out my hair when I got home. I calmed down with spiced chicken cutlets and roasted broccoli for dinner while watching a few more political-oriented items. Married couple Hilary Booth and Jeff Singer find themselves on the opposite ends of the political divide when they both run for office in the second season Remember WENN episode "Strange Bedfellows." Meanwhile, the other staff members take a survey on Pittsburgh's mayoral race. Station manager Scott Sherwood doesn't seem to be taking the elections seriously.

The Three Stooges throw their hats into the political ring in "Three Dark Horses." They're hired by a corrupt political group to vote for their man. Even the Stooges aren't that dumb and end up changing their votes.