Leave the World Behind

Began the morning with my first Sunday pancakes in my new home. Had blueberry pancakes while listening to By the Beautiful Sea. I've owned this 1954 Broadway vehicle for Shirley Booth for over 20 years. It was one of the few cast albums I could find at the music store in North Cape May in the 90's. Booth plays Lottie Gibson, a vaudeville actress in 1907 who comes home to visit her father's Coney Island boarding house for show folk and falls in love with singer Dennis Emry. The singer has a teen daughter whose stage mother dresses her as a child, and the singing waiter she has a crush on regards her as a kid. Lottie has to figure out how to help the girl grow up and earn money to give to Dennis

There's a couple of songs here I really like. Booth's big song "I'd Rather Wake Up By Myself" amusingly describes her many disastrous romances. "Alone Too Long" is a lovely ballad for baritone Wilbur Evans as Lottie's beau, and "Happy Habit" is a cute cheer-up number for Lottie's maid Ruby. Two of the chorus numbers, "Coney Island Boat" and "The Sea Song," aren't bad...but there's too many of them, and most don't have anything to do with the story. They never did figure out what to do with Baby Betsy; she doesn't even get a song. There's some nice numbers, but I mostly recommend it for fans of Booth or 50's musicals.

Started out by unpacking anything that belongs on the desk. I don't think there's too many other places it can go, and I wanted to get it set up so I could write. Stacked two milk crates next to it to hold my accordion and school folders.

Spent the rest of the day emptying boxes and bins and filling shelves with books and linens. The plastic bags in my bed room were mostly stuffed with towels and wash cloths, but I did find the checked flannel blanket I usually put on my chair, the red rag rug, and the green knitted afghan that now goes on the futon. All the towels went in the bathroom closet.

As it turned out, I had no problems fitting my books anywhere. I moved the oak shelf into the living room and loaded the books on media history and the children's picture books on it. The shelf Rose gave me at Thanksgiving joined the black shelves in the hall. They don't begin to hold my children's books and adult paperback novels. There's tons of room on all three.

The adult hardback novels and large Star Wars books went on two shelves in my bedroom. I moved the narrow shelf from the bathroom back into my bedroom...but it was too close to my desk chair, so it ended up going across the room. I may move it somewhere else tomorrow.

Had more luck finding a place for my big comfy chair. It's now between the antique table and the closet. It is kind of close to my bed, but that's not so bad. I can put up my feet!

Broke for lunch around 1:30. Had quick yogurt and fruit lunch while listening to Steel Pier. This unusual 1997 musical takes place in Atlantic City in 1933. A mysterious stunt pilot joins a professional dancer at a grueling dance marathon on the famed pier run by her sleazy promoter husband. All she wants to do is go home, but he sets up a fake wedding after he sees how much the pilot has fallen for her. The pilot, however, isn't what he seems...and he ends up teaching her a lesson in believing in yourself and making the most of the time we have on this Earth.

This was a huge flop in 1997, and despite some good numbers, I can understand why. The story is way, way too complicated. Either "ghost on Steel Pier" or "dance marathon on Steel Pier" would have worked. Throwing them together just makes things too awkward, with too many characters to keep track of. Songwriters Kander and Ebb did put in some good work, though. I'm especially fond of the dancer Rita's introductory number "Willing to Ride," the dreamy "Leave the World Behind," the big ballad "First You Dream," and Debra Monk's ribald comedy number as a former cook in a lumber camp, "Everybody's Girl."

This is really for Kander and Ebb fans. I bought the cast album when it came out because it's pre-New York try out was a big deal in Atlantic City. The Press of Atlantic City ran several articles on its creation and arrival in New York. After all that publicity, I had to hear it.

Switched to writing around 4:30. Charles is really pepping up the crowd as he dances around Ira. He finally lets Ira lunge himself into a crowd and knock over a fat woman. Meanwhile, Gene has escaped his attackers and has gone to tend to Richard's wound.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. I was originally going to make stove top tuna casserole, but then I remembered those rolls Rose gave me yesterday. Made a tuna salad sandwich with cucumber and tomato and a bag of apples instead.

Went back to unloading boxes after dinner. The Christmas books went on the long shelf to my left next to the bed; the comic books went on my right. The Christmas books will probably stay where they are. I may move the comic books into the hall and put some of my dolls or more folders there. Cassettes went on the smaller dark-stained shelf and one space of the long shelf.

Finished the night online with four Match Game syndicated premieres at YouTube and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Minnie Red Riding Hood" wants to bring her famous Minnie-strone soup to Goofy, who has a bad cold while on a camping trip. Mickey helps her dodge hungry Big Bad Pete and find her way past a boulder and up steep hills to Goofy's tent.