It was so late when I got downstairs, I took Uber. Even with the guy arriving in 7 minutes and minimal traffic, I was still two minutes late. It wasn't bad when I arrived, but by 11 AM, it picked up to the point where I had a hard time keeping up with the carts on my own. I'm the only one who works Wednesday mornings. The head bagger has Wednesday off, and none of the other baggers work mornings. At least it was only four hours, and I was in and out.
Wanted to pick up a few things, since I'm not sure if I'll get out tomorrow due to the ice storm. Had an online coupon for Cream of Wheat. Haven't had that in years. The Acme had more Slice flavors, including a grape that I hadn't seen online, and it was on sale.
My other reason for sticking around after work was to upgrade my cell phone and renew my pre-paid service. There was a T-Mobile in the back of the Acme, or so I thought. Turns out it was Metro by T-Mobile, which is something totally different. It must have switched carriers when it moved to a larger store further down in the mall about two or so years ago. I don't see the difference. It's still owned by the same company. If it's not the same company, it shouldn't have "T-Mobile" in the name. They sold me my service and phone in 2021. Though the lady was fine, I was still embarrassed for not figuring it out. I ended up walking back to the Acme and picking up Uber from there.
(The lady said I'd have to talk to a regular T-Mobile office. The closest are in Lawnside and the Market Place shopping center in Cherry Hill. Honestly, I wonder if I ought to keep them as a carrier. I only have them because Jess did when she gave me that phone years ago and the T-Mobile had their office in the back of the Acme. There's now an AT&T and a Cricket back there, too, and a Boost Mobile on the White Horse Pike. Maybe I should do some research and see if I can find someone cheaper who'll give me less hassle.)
Got off at the Oaklyn Municipal Building across from the pretzel shop on the White Horse Pike. I figured it would be easier for the driver to drop me off in a parking lot than the tiny parking spaces on the street. They were a lot less busy than the Acme was! I had no trouble buying a cheesesteak stuffed pretzel and two regular pretzels for lunch, then walking home.
Changed and had lunch, then relaxed while watching the serial Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. This time, Ming (Charles Middleton) is spreading something called "The Purple Death" across Earth. Flash (Buster Crabbe), Dr. Zarkov (Frank Shannon), and Dale Arden (Carol Hughes) visit their friend Prince Barin (Roland Drew) at Arboria to seek solutions. Apparently, only Polarite from the planet Frigia will counter the Purple Death. Flash and Barin do manage to get Polarite and use it to stop the Purple Death, but Ming gets his hands on Dale and Zarkov. Flash and his Arborian friends return to Mongo to rescue them, then to plant a laser that will take down Ming once and for all...if they can get around the primitive Rock Men who live in the Land of the Dead and the treacherous Lady Sonja (Anne Gwynne).
I get a real kick out of these early space opera serials. Obviously, the special effects are dated and the dialogue is cheesy as heck, but that's part of the charm. Buster Crabbe so much looks like someone's idea of a square-jawed hero, it's hardly surprising that he'd play these types of roles well into the 50's. This isn't my favorite of the three, but they're all worth checking out if you love vintage science fiction or the more out-there serials.
Worked on the fairy tale next. Sir Michael doesn't trust Kathleen, who has no magic. How can she help them? Kathleen is somewhere between annoyed and starstruck - she's had a crush on Sir Michael for years. Mother Nature insists that she knows what she's doing.
Watched Match Game '90 as I worked. The next week spotlighted General Hospital. My parents loved that show in the 80's, but I couldn't tell you much about it now. Soaps bored me even in 1990. I wish I remembered Stuart Damon and his co-star Lynn Herring, as both played very well and seemed to enjoy themselves. Charles was joined by comedians Bill Kirkenbauer and Pam Stone, the latter of whom tossed out many southern jokes.
Finished the night after a shower and game show premieres on YouTube with more Mystery Science Theater 3000. Tormented from 1960 is unusually quiet for this show. Jazz pianist Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) lets his ex-girlfriend Vi (Juli Reding) fall off the railing of a dilapidated lighthouse rather than interfere with his marriage to wealthy Meg Hubbard (Lugene Sanders). He keeps seeing her everywhere after that, from footprints in the sand to a disembodied head in the lighthouse. He gets so paranoid, he'll literally kill to keep anyone from finding out...but things really get sticky when Meg's little sister Sandy (Susan Gordon) finds out and almost ends up as another victim.
Wow, this one gets dark for a 60's horror flick. They almost let a little girl and an old blind woman die. Even Joel and the robots comment on it. Like Flash Gordon, this one loses some effectiveness due to the rather ridiculous special effects that make Vi's disembodied head look more comic than scary. It doesn't help that neither Vi nor Tom are especially pleasant people who deserve pretty much everything they get. Even producer Bert I. Gordon's daughter Susan as Sandy doesn't always come off as the nicest kid. Even with the special effects problems, this is still worth seeing for those who like their horror on the quiet and creepy side, with or without robot wisecracks.
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