Began my day with my first of two early work days in a row. Spent most of it outside, trying to gather carts. I just couldn't keep up with them! I'd get them full, go inside for a minute or go do the trash and recycling, and they'd be empty again. The other bagger who was in this morning mostly stayed inside. I got called in for the last hour to sweep the store and clean up two spills in a row. Used Monopoly coupons to treat myself to a Bai Coconut drink and a Snickers on the way out.
It was actually rather pleasant this morning while it was still cloudy and breezy. By 1 PM, the clouds had cleared, leaving a hot sun and a searing blue sky. It was dry, but it was also sizzling, probably in the 90's. It was no day for long rides. As soon as I got home, I changed into far cooler clothes and made myself a Tropical Smoothie (with mandarin oranges, strawberries, a banana, and coconut yogurt).
Listened to Wildcat while I had lunch. This 1960 Broadway show was a vehicle for Lucile Ball, then just coming off the success of I Love Lucy. She plays Wildcat Jackson, a rough and ready con woman in 1912 Oklahoma who has come out west with her lame sister to strike oil. She buys land from a hermit prospector and lies and has a drilling crew foreman (Keith Andes) arrested, then released into her custody so he'll work for her. He doesn't appreciate that and believes her land is dry. She tries to show him she can be the kind of woman he wants, but she's just too goofy. She's ready to destroy the oil well...but maybe the land isn't as dry as it looks...
The book comes off as a cliched clone of Annie Get Your Gun and Calamity Jane, but there's some decent music to be found here (an early effort by Carolyn Leigh and Cy Coleman). "Hey, Look Me Over" was the big hit and is still a bit of a standard to this day, but some of the other songs aren't bad. "Tall Hope" and "Corduroy Road" are nice chorus numbers for the oil drillers, and Lucy has fun wooing the old hermit in "What Takes My Fancy." Fun for fans of Lucy or 50's musicals.
Played Lego Pirates of the Caribbean for the next few hours. The first few rounds of Dead Man's Chest were even more complicated than the ones for Curse of the Black Pearl. The third round with Will working with his dead father Bootstrap Bill on Davy Jones' ship took so long and was so hard to figure out, I finally gave up on it.
Opted to make burgers and sauteed zucchini for dinner instead. Switched to Jamaica while I ate. This one has a lot in common with Wildcat. It's a vehicle for a popular female star of the late 50's-early 60's, has a decent score, is a pretty typical example of a musical of the era, spun off one hit song, and is hard to revive today due to a dull book. As far as I can tell, lovely Savannah of the title Caribbean island (Lena Horne) wants to go to New York. Her boyfriend (Ricardo Montleban) is a fisherman who likes his job and island living and wants to stay. That's pretty much it. Too bad the story isn't much, because E.Y Harburg and Harold Arlen came up with some good music. Along with finally finding a place for "Ain't It the Truth," Horne gets to sing the lovely "Coconut Sweet" and my favorite song from this score and the big hit, the biting satire "Napoleon." Once again, it's pretty much for fans of the musicals of the 50's and 60's and Horne only.
Finished the night with writing. Senator Patricia Amidala, Leia's mother, is the unknown "White Queen" and the head of the Rebel League. Leia is one of the few members who reports directly to her. Patricia first tries to find out more about Luke and Harris. Leia admits that Luke seems...familiar...somehow, and Harris drives her crazy. Patricia notices Leia's interest and tries to nudge her about him, but she's not quite ready to acknowledge her attraction yet. She's more willing to discuss her abduction by Vader. There's something about him that seems familiar, too...especially given how close his powers are to Leia's...
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