Saturday, November 14, 2020

Kicking Off the Holidays

Began a sunny morning with breakfast and the other Peanuts Thanksgiving special. The kids become The Mayflower Voyagers when they play Pilgrim children and animals on their way to the New World. They survive the dangerous crossing, only to deal with death, loneliness, and inclement weather once they arrive at Plymouth in what's now eastern Massachusetts. The native Squanto and his chief Manosset befriend them and teach them how to farm and live in their new home. Grateful for their friendship, they hold a huge celebration for both groups.

Headed off to work shortly after. We were on and off steady, but as several customers pointed out, it could have been a lot worse, especially on a Saturday. First of all, we're between holidays. Most people probably won't start doing the rest of their Thanksgiving shopping until next weekend. Second, the weather was gorgeous today, breezy and cool but not cold, in the lower 60's. It was too nice to be spending a lot of time inside, even if people were supposed to be doing that right now. This time, there were no problems getting in or out.

Had plenty of time to do my own grocery shopping after work. Used an online coupon for free butter and others for yogurt. Found blackstrap molasses and more of those yummy sandwich bars on clearance. Picked up chopped pecans and multigrain tortilla chips for two separate recipes I intend to do this weekend. Grabbed the first bag of fresh cranberries I've seen at the Acme this year. Restocked frozen vegetables, mandarin oranges, cereal, milk, wheat flour, toilet paper, ground turkey, bananas, mandarin oranges, buttermilk, brown sugar, and a green pepper. Found Christmas presents for Lauren on the magazine/activity book shelves.

Watched Classic Concentration when I got home. Buzzr's marathon honoring the late Alex Trebek consisted of this, the Card Sharks game show host tournament, and one To Tell the Truth episode from 1991. Got in just as they were playing the "guess the car" bonus round. The woman gave the last pair just as the buzzer sounded. They had to review the tape, but yes, she got the car. 

The next episode was pretty exciting, too. A young man and a newly-married woman were neck-in-neck throughout much of the game. He won the first game; she won the second. It came down to a tie-breaker match. This was also one of the rare times we didn't see prize model Marjorie Goodson, who was on her honeymoon. Several staff members took over for her.

Worked on writing for a while after I got everything put away. Charles goes off on his own, hoping to find out why Richard went to the Navy officer's club and what he has in mind. Gene's more interested in enjoying their last night together. He and Brett set as elegant a table as pirates can get away with, while Richard brings the rum for Charles and Brett and tea for him and Gene.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Watched that Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular DVD Lauren sent me a few days ago while making black bean dip to go with my tortilla chips for dinner. Santa himself hosts this elaborate stage show representing Radio City's 75th anniversary. Along with traditional bits like the Rockettes doing their perfect kicks while dressed as toy soldiers, there was a sequence with Santa driving to New York done in 3D, and another with everyone dancing on a New York double-decker tour bus and doing ice skating routines in Central Park. The big finale had the Rockettes dancing as stars, with a huge living nativity with live animals representing the more spiritual side of the season.

My favorite segment involved Santa. A bell-ringing sidewalk Santa encounters two boys trying to find a gift for their sister. The elder of the two scoffs at the idea of Santa and magic, until Santa shows how he can be in two places at one time, then takes the boys to the North Pole to pick up that gift. The crazy, colorful costumes at Santa's workshop reminds me a lot of the equally wild designs on the live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with the Rockettes dressed as strange rag dolls in flouncy bright pink and green dresses.

Moved on to Trolls when I went online. I go further into the original 2016 story of Princess Poppy and her quest to rescue her friends at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.


Finished the night on Buzzr with To Tell the Truth. Ron Masak and Kitty Carlisle were joined by soap actor Frank Runyeon and earthy advice columnist Mother Love on this one. Everyone was about ready to adopt a trio of adorable kids who claimed to have written First Gulf War military leader General Schwartzkopf. Three ladies had even more impressive literary credentials - one wrote a romance novel that was eventually published by none other than Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis. An audience member tried to figure out whether a young man with a slight Irish accent was a mushroom grower or the world's fast tap dancer. Turned out he was the latter...because he was Michael Flatley, later of Riverdance/Feet of Flames/Lord of Dance fame. He proceeded to show how he got those names with an amazing blazing fast tap demonstration. 

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