Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Put a Little Love In Your Heart

Noisy pounding on the roof woke me up around 8:30. I have no idea what Charlie and his men were doing up there. Replacing old shingles, I guess. He didn't mention anything about fixing the roof to me. I wish he had. I might have been more prepared for the racket. The hammering was so hard, it shook two ornaments off the tree (thankfully, they didn't break) and a picture off the wall.

I ate a quick breakfast while running The Little Drummer Boy to drown out the noise. Aaron is an orphan who plays his drum for the animals out in the desert. He hates other people after bandits killed his parents. He's captured by a cunning show master (Jose Ferrer) who wants him to perform for him, first in Jerusalem, then for three kings following a star. The showman sells Aaron's camel to them. Aaron goes after them...and learns the importance of faith and kindness when his beloved lamb is hurt, and only a certain babe in a manger can help him.

Worked on writing for an hour. Started a short Christmas addition to my "Resistance Kids" series about the Sequel crew in the late 40's-early 50's. It's actually inspired by a real-life incident with my late stepdad in the mid-80's. Hank Solo takes Rey and Finn out to the wilds of the Adirondacks to get a real live Christmas tree. It's cold and snowy, and the kids aren't too sure this is a good idea...

Broke for an early lunch at 11. Since I did The Little Drummer Boy earlier, I went right into its sequel, The Little Drummer Boy Book II. One of the Three Kings asks Aaron for his aid in retrieving three silver bells that are to be rung in the honor of the birth of Jesus. The bells end up in the hands of a Roman legion, lead by a greedy soldier (Zero Mostel) who wants to melt them into bricks. Aaron stops his plans, but the price is high for him...

Work was a little busier than it has been the past few days, but still nothing overwhelming. I have the feeling most people will probably start coming out of the malls over the weekend. Not to mention, the weather's still beautiful, sunny, windless, and slightly warmer. I got stuck in the register twice, once for almost an hour, but that had less to do with crowds and more to do with a lot of morning people calling out sick. Otherwise, I did the outside recycling and the inside trash, gathered baskets and carts, and bagged.

Had scrambled eggs with mushrooms and the last of Jodie's Italian salad when I got home. Watched one of the two Christmas episodes of Moonlighting as I ate. "''Twas the Episode Before Christmas," and all through the Blue Moon Agency, we hear Maddie yelling at David over his most recent brainstorm, a Santa hotline. Their secretary Agnes DiPesto has more pressing matters. She found a baby in her laundry basket. Her bosses try to find the mother while arguing over the idea of children and parenthood.

Switched to Scrooged after a shower. Frank Cross (Bill Murray) may be the head of a major network, but he's really a huge jerk. He fires one of his employees (Bobcat Goldthwait) for saying his commercial for their live Christmas Carol show is too dark, forces his secretary Grace (Alfre Woodard) to work late on Christmas Eve, and refuses to come to his brother's (Joel Murray) Christmas party. He's also dealing with a new assistant (Julian Glover) who really wants his job. He changes his tune when four ghosts, including that of his first boss (John Forsythe), along with his encounters with his ex-girlfriend Claire (Karen Allen), prove to him that Christmas is a time for giving...and for forgiving.

We used to watch this one a lot in the late 80's-early 90's. Critics didn't know what to make of it at the time and called it too mean-spirited. Nowadays, I've seen a lot worse - and actually, the ending is really rather sweet. The special effects still hold up pretty well; the makeup and hair got an Oscar nod. Murray especially is firing on all cylinders as the TV executive whose sour attitude hides a boatload of insecurity and frustration. If you're looking for a modern take on A Christmas Carol or are a fan of Murray's, this one is highly recommended.

There was a package waiting for me by the mailbox when I arrived home. It was my annual Christmas box from Lauren. I waited until she came online to open it. Her parents gave me 50 dollars, two crossword books, and boxes of maple Cookie Buttons and fruit slices from the Vermont Country Store. (They visited in October, about a month after Lauren and I went up there.)

Lauren gave me a cute Our Generation outfit with a gold skirt and a cat sweater. I might let Ariel wear it as her Christmas outfit - the gold skirt is sparkly enough. They also gave me lovely cards (apparently purchased by Mrs. Miller). One is a snowman hugging a deer; the other shows packages in a mailbox with a festive scene behind it. They're all so good to me! I thank all three of them. (And Lauren says there's another package coming tomorrow.) :)

Finished up the night with Perry Como's Early American Christmas on YouTube. From the late 60's through the mid-80's, Perry Como did a long series of holiday specials that usually had him visiting some exotic foreign locale, like Hawaii or Austria. For this 1978 show, he stuck closer to home and went to Williamsburg, VA. I loved seeing the shopkeepers at work and a ball with dancers doing minuets. There were even two girls in red and blue cloaks who reminded me of Felicity and Elizabeth in the American Girl books.

If nothing else, this is notable as the final appearance of John Wayne, who died six months after it was filmed. I have no idea how the Duke ended up here, but he did get to speak with the shopkeepers and join Como and a group of other revelers singing carols and drinking grog in the tavern.

Perry Como's Early American Christmas

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