Soup Is Good Food

This was a far quieter Columbus Day than the traveling I did last year! Started off with selections from Colliers' Harvest of Holidays book. They have an essay on Christopher Columbus that's surprisingly honest about what he did (and didn't do) for 1944, especially his treatment of the natives he encountered in the Caribbean.

(And incidentally, I've decided to save my last vacation week for the winter, probably somewhere between mid January and late March. Lauren's talking about coming in May instead of June next year, and Easter is two days after my birthday. I'll just ask for my birthday off and use my last vacation week for a quiet winter break instead.)

Listened to the LP soundtrack to the 1962 film version of State Fair while eating a quick breakfast. This one has the opposite problem from the 1945 movie - this time, Margie (Pamela Tiffin) and Pat (Bobby Darin) are the stiff ones, while Emily (Ann-Margaret) and Wayne (Pat Boone) crackle with electricity. The parents (Tom Ewan and Alice Faye) are just as fun. Richard Rodgers wrote some new songs on his own (Oscar Hammerstein having died in 1960). None of them are terribly memorable, though "More Than Just a Friend," sung by the farmers to their prize hogs, made it into the 1997 Broadway stage show.

Work was insanely busy for most of the day, not surprising on a holiday most people had off and the end of a huge 4-day sale. One of the cashiers called out, which meant I got stuck in the registers a lot more than I would have liked. I did get to some returns, but I never got outside.

I made up for being inside all day by taking the long way home down Nicholson Road. It actually wasn't that busy. (Getting off at 3, just before the rush hour, may have been part of the reason.) It was a great day for a ride. The air was cool and crisp and the sky was a brilliant blue. It was windy, likely leftovers from Hurricane Matthew.

Worked on the story a little bit when I got in. The kids try to goad Hank into talking to Leia. They may be separated, but she's still his wife. They have more luck inviting him to the party. Poe's coming too, of course. They're all doing a Wizard of Oz group theme. Poe's going to be the scarecrow. His corgi pup Baby is Toto.

Dad and Jodie invited me over for dinner yesterday. Jesse and Sandy and her girls were chatting with Jodie when I arrived. Dad was still moaning about the Eagles' loss yesterday, fussing about how terrible they are. (Oh yeah, they're so terrible, they won three games in a row, one a blow-out against one of the best teams in the NFL.) Jodie was happier. She invited me over again for goulash tomorrow. I might have to take her up on it. Her ham and bean soup was amazing tonight, thick and rich and just salty enough.

Swung over to CVS as the sun was going down. I forgot to buy laundry detergent at work. Tried white chocolate Reeces Peanut Butter Cups for dessert, too. I just bought their store brand.

When I got home, I did a little Lego Star Wars. Didn't get far in either round I tried. The Free Play version of "Mos Eisley Spaceport" was so twisty and complicated, I never finished it. I couldn't out-run the Imperial walkers and kept losing money. "Rescuing Princess Leia" only went a little better. I did get some money out that, along with a few more pieces. Picked up the red brick in both levels.

And I hope you had a great Columbus Day, whether or not you did exploring of your own.