Spent most of the early afternoon looking up local museums in South Jersey. It's occurred to me that I've lived here for 20 years next month, and I don't really know that much about the area. I had heard about the Barclay Farm Museum in Cherry Hill, but not the American History Museum in Deptford. I'm not all that interested in 19th century farms, but the grounds at Barclay might be worth a walk in the spring. The American History Museum, on the other hand, sounds like it would be something great to do in the winter when I'd like to check out something besides a mall.
Stayed at YouTube while eating lunch for the Goofy cartoon Freewayphobia. The first of two looks at driving on those then-new highways from 1965 featuring Goofy has him showing off three types of drivers - the nervous Nellie who isn't used to big highways, the impatient guy who just wants to get where he's going and isn't thinking of anything else, and the careless guy who is doing anything but paying attention to the road. Goofy representing these drivers is not only both hilarious and kind of scary...but if the comments on YouTube are any indication, not much has changed on America's freeways in 60 years. In fact, from what they say, this was apparently a common sight in driver's Ed courses in the 60's and 70's. I remember both Goofy driving shorts turning up frequently between programs on The Disney Channel in the 80's.
Hurried off to the Thomas Sharp School just as the cartoon ended. I'm so glad we were able to get the kids outside again today! They were really rowdy, with several running into each other and other objects while running around. Thankfully, I had an easier time with the swings. I only had to argue one little girl off and try to distract another from teasing a boy she liked. Most of them turned the swings over to their friends when they saw the game of tag going. I drew with them when I got inside. The little girls in particular were fascinated by the picture of Scott, Betty, Hilary, and Jeff I drew as I tried to explain old-time radio and Remember WENN to them. We were down to only 3 when I headed out.
Got home in time to take the trash out before Jessa picked me up for dinner. We stayed closer to home to try Jersey Kabobs, who just took over the old Pop Shop/Stardust Cafe spot in Collingswood. They kept the gold, white, and black remodel leftover from the Stardust Cafe, adding many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean knick-knacks. They were also busy as heck, and no wonder. My gyro was incredible, with flavorful, perfectly-roasted chicken and yogurt-cucumber sauce. Jessa had a plate of shaved beef, cubed tomato and cucumber, and rice that was even yummier. (And bigger - she took most of the beef and rice home.) We shared plates of various kinds of baklava. I had the variety (including pistachio and chocolate), she had chocolate-filled. They even gave me free baklava for the road (and Jessa kept most of hers). Our Turkish tea was free, too.
Finished the night at home after a shower with Remember WENN. Scott is "Popping the Question" when he comes up with a quiz show on the night Betty has a date with the station's sweet lawyer Doug Thompson. Scott wants to fix it in favor of the sponsor's obnoxious son, but a frustrated Betty and the cast end up teaching him a lesson in ethics and honesty.
"World of Tomorrow" brings Ceila back in for the first season finale. Scott's once again excited about his latest idea, this time a huge Wizard of Oz-style show that coordinates with the end of the 1940 World's Fair in New York. Hilary is more concerned about Victor calling Jeff to broadcast in war-torn London. Scott shows Betty he really does care about more than his own interests when he finds a way to make Jeff's touching London broadcast a part of their World's Fair show...and then Jeff's voice is cut off by static...
Though I prefer the second and third seasons, there's still no shortage of good episodes to be found in WENN's initial outing. "Rock and a Soft Place" and "Armchair Detectives" are my favorites of the episodes from before Victor left...but I think the show really picked up with Scott's introduction. Cheerfully amoral Scott is frankly a more interesting character than the frequently distracted and rather wordy Victor, and he really gives those last three episodes a shot in the arm. Note that static in "World of Tomorrow," however. This show thrives on cliffhangers, and Jeff and Victor getting cut off is a mere portent of what's to come...
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