Though my knee still felt sore, I just couldn't put off going to work any longer. In addition to having already lost two days, I needed to refill my blood pressure medication. Thankfully....and rather surprisingly, given the ongoing cold and icy weather...I had no trouble at all with Uber today. The morning driver arrived in 5 minutes and got me there right on time.
Yes, I did end up pushing carts, but not many of them. It wasn't easy, though. There was a huge icy patch in front of the store I had to push them around in the morning. (It melted by early in the afternoon.) We weren't busy at all, and the carts still kept disappearing. It was a little cloudy and still cold and icy, though thankfully not windy or with any threat of more snow. Other than I had to do some cold returns at one point and was late getting outside, there were no major problems.
After I finished and changed into a regular shirt, I went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication. Since I had 10 minutes, I also grabbed cookies on the clearance rack and pads. By this point, the Acme was quiet as can be. I didn't have to wait at the Pharmacy or even in line for the self-checkout registers.
Had lunch at Applebee's on the other side of the building, near the Octopharma health office. They were fairly busy for such a cold afternoon, probably with people looking for a hot lunch with friends. I ordered hot tea before I even sat down. It came with lemon and honey, perfect for a cold day. I stuck to a simple bacon cheeseburger and fries. Oh yum! The cheeseburger was perfectly cooked, if juicy and messy. The fries were delicious, nicely seasoned.
I didn't feel like doing a lot of running around in 20 degree weather, so I waited to call Uber at Applebee's. Thankfully, it only took them 7 minutes. There was no traffic on the Black Horse Pike, and once again, I got to work at exactly the right time.
Things were pretty much the same they were yesterday...and likely will be for quite some time. The playground and blacktop are still covered in ice and snow. It may be weeks before the kids can play outside again. Once again, my group was well-behaved, maybe because there were only 6 of them. They helped clean up the magnetic tiles and didn't make too much of a fuss in the bathrooms.
The trouble started in the library. The kids dragged out chairs to see the head teacher read a book...which she said not to do. They take up too much room. Since my knee still hurt, I ended up in the back again. The boy who draws all those wonderful rockets and robots fell off his chair. He was so engrossed with turning a Minecraft character into a robot, he didn't even say ouch! His father later said he falls a lot, not surprising given how caught up he can get with his art. One of the little girls said she thought my artwork of Betty, Scott, Maple, and Victor at the ball in Land of WENN was bad. I said I know it is. I've spent the last 40 years of my life being told by Mom and my sisters what a lousy artist I am. I think she thought she actually insulted me and was being funny. We've been talking to her for weeks about being nicer to the other kids and listening to the teachers, neither of which she's been doing.
By 5:15, enough kids had left that I could go home. I wasn't expecting to get an Uber driver in 4 minutes at the height of rush hour...and I walked out the door before I realized I forgot the bag with everything I got at the Acme today and there wasn't time to go back for it. I'll have to get it tomorrow. At least the driver did come in 4 minutes and took less than 5 to get me home.
Put on Match Game Syndicated during dinner. The first week brought in Bonnie Franklin of the original One Day at a Time and Peter Marshall, the first host of Hollywood Squares. Marshall was a good friend of Gene Rayburn's and would appear twice on the show out of respect for him. (Gene apparently did at least one week on Squares as well, but alas, it has yet to turn up online.) Holly Halstrom of The Price Is Right made her debut the next week, along with towering, boyish Jim Staal of Mork and Mindy.
Moved to Remember WENN next. "Nothing Up My Sleeve" was a big deal when it debuted in the summer of 1997. Seinfeld was nearing the end of its run at that point, and anything involving its cast was big, big news (as Scott would say). Mentalist Alan Ballinger (Jason Alexander) impresses most of the station with his mind tricks, especially a vulnerable Hilary Booth. He falls for her and gets her to reveal a big secret. Maple, however, says that his other big trick involves his getting the confidence of a local female big shot and revealing her secret on the air. Hilary decides to make him look as foolish as she feels, but it turns out he's more enamored of Hilary than she thinks. Meanwhile, a jealous Mackie keeps attempting his own mind card trick for anyone who will or won't listen.
Writer Betty Roberts is indispensable to the station. She not only writes the shows, she deals with sponsors, settles disputes between the cast, and knows where everything is. She's excited when she gets a job offer from The New Yorker. The others try to push her towards the big time by proving they can run things without her. They all learn "The Importance of Being Betty" when Pruitt (Jonathan Freeman) ends up doing the writing and wrecks havoc on Betty's favorite show, This Girl's Kinfolk.
Finished things off with the last disc on the Disneyland: Legacy Collection set. This one represents music from the controversial Disney's California Adventure and from their big nighttime parades. California Adventure was Disney's attempt at an "adult" park, with more educational than thrill rides. You can imagine how well that went over, especially after the events of September 11th, 2001 damaged the tourist economy. It did so badly, they totally revamped it after barely a decade of existence. The films Seasons of the Vine and It's Tough to Be a Bug haven't been shown in years. A Bug's Land was their kiddie ride area and is now a part of Avengers Campus. The Boudin Bakery is still there, though, along with Cars Land and its hit slot car ride Radiator Springs Racers.
My favorite part of this disc by far was the last three titles. We get the full recordings for the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade and the big fireworks show Fantasmic. Both already have fabulous music. The Electrical Parade features the bubbly "Baroque Hoedown," while Fantasmic has its own lush orchestral score. They're the full original recordings, complete with the narration from Main Street Electrical Parade and the dialogue from Fantasmic that has villains trying to manipulate Mickey Mouse's dreams. The "Closing" had Jimmie Dodd of The Mickey Mouse Club announcing that Disneyland is shutting down for the night, as Mickey and his friends sing the Mickey Mouse Club theme (and Donald complains that it's not about him). It's so cute and funny, I hope Disneyland and California Adventure still use it to close their parks.
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