Though it was only cloudy, windy, and cool at quarter of 9, I wasn't sure what it was going to do later and wasn't willing to take chances. I called Uber. Must not have been the only one, either. The first driver took 9 minutes to arrive. The second took 12 minutes. At least there was no traffic either way.
Work wasn't bad when I came in, but this time, it picked up around 11 and was off and on busy. The weather didn't help. It started showering lightly as I came out shortly after 10 and would continue to rain in some form, sometimes heavily, until right before I finished at 4. At least I was able to sweep, gather carts, and do the inside trash with no trouble.
Got my schedule during the second half of my shift. In good news, I continue to have more hours. I just wish next Saturday wasn't another early 7 hour day. I'll have to miss the farm market.
Did a little grocery shopping after work. Siggi yogurt was on sale with an online coupon. Got that and the low-sugar Chobani. Jones Probiotic, Nixie, and Popwell sodas were also on good sales. The two-packs of Secret Gel Deodorant were $3.75 at 75% off. Picked up strawberries on a good sale with an online coupon as well. Decided to try the strawberry vanilla generic Acme granola.
Put on Bullitt when I got home and tried to figure out things online. San Francisco cop Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen) and his partners are supposed to be protecting mobster Johnny Ross (Felice Orlandi). After he's killed on their watch, Senator Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) holds them responsible. They dive into the seamy underworld of San Francisco's waterfront and suburbs, dodging hitmen in one of the wildest car chases on record while Bullitt tries to keep his bosses from finding out the guy's dead and him on the case. His devotion to his work is pushing away his girlfriend Cathy (Jaqueline Bissett) too. But Ross wasn't what he seemed, and he may not be quite as dead as originally believed...
This movie oozes cool. It is the definition of cool. It's about as realistic of a cop film as you can get in 1968 and not be a documentary. They use real detective methods and filmed in and around actual San Francisco locations. The dynamic car chase is still considered to be one of the great chases in cinema history. The plot is slightly on the slow side nowadays, but otherwise, if you love McQueen or crime dramas, you'll want to join the chase in the city by the bay, too.
Switched to Match Game '76 after the movie ended. The first episode started with George Kennedy, Lee Merriweather in a "Raggedy Ann" sweater, and Mike Douglas walking in with Gene's microphone. Gene stumbled in afterwards, claiming he'd hit him on the head! The second brought in Clifton Davies, Patty Duke, and a rare strike-out from Richard.
Finished the night back in Pittsburgh with more Remember WENN. A smack on the head from a microphone turns the station's diva into "Hilary Booth, Registered Nurse" right before a big coast-to-coast broadcast of their soap opera Valiant Journey. Hilary thinks she's Jane Timmons, the kindly World War I nurse she plays on their military show. Betty and the others have to get Hilary back to her old self, once again without the help of Victor Comstock, who leaves for war-torn London after this episode.
The spotlight falls on Hilary's (sort of) husband Jeffery Singer when a director turns up at WENN claiming he just found a lost Valentino movie and wants to finish it. "Valentino Speaks!" and Jeff gets a swelled head from all the attention until he realizes how difficult movie acting is. He finally realizes he'd rather have the freedom to play many different roles than stardom.
Things pick up considerably with the arrival of the brash new station manager in "A Capitol Idea." Con-man Scott Sherwood is full of ideas and full of himself, in approximately that order. He gets Betty to weave commercials into the shows. It doubles their revenue (and inadvertently creates infomercials), but now the shows all sound like ads. When Mr. Eldridge walks out and Betty threatens to quit, the others make a mockery of the shows...and Betty and Scott realize that there's more to both of them than meets the eye.
(Incidentally, "A Capitol Idea" was the third episode I saw, once again while babysitting during the summer of 1996. I took to Scott right away. I always did have a soft spot for Han Solo types, and I loved his interactions with Betty and the cast. I went to bed that night dreaming of a budding relationship between Scott and Betty...)
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