I thought I was running late when I ate a quick breakfast and waited for Jessa outside just after 10 AM. She didn't turn up until past 10:30 with her boyfriend Mike. He's a cheerful fellow, a bit on the chatty side. To my surprise, it snowed a little bit last night, enough that the ground was frosted white like a New Year's cake. Unfortunately, while the roads in Oaklyn had been cleared, the ones in Collingswood had not. Jessa skidded a few times before she finally pulled into the PATCO parking lot.
We took a barely-full PATCO into Philly and made it to Broad Street by 11:30. It was a beautiful, if fridgid, day for a parade. The sky was a full-bodied, brilliant blue that almost hurt to look at, without a cloud in it. The wind, however, remained icy and so strong, some of the fancier string bands had to leave behind their props. It didn't dampen anyone's spirits. The Mummers strutted just as wildly as ever, and the crowds were even more enthusiastic, cheering, dancing along, and calling out the Eagles victory cheer.
The first group I saw as we made our way through the crowds were one of the Wench Brigades, this one wearing candy-print outfits and pulling a small "gingerbread house." The next group in red and blue were pirates, complete with a huge wooden "ship." Another had black and white outfits with an eye test print of large and small letters. Freddy Kruger wenches had red and green striped dress outfits, wore green tinsel garlands and Freddy's hat, and had clawed gloves. There were at least two Revolutionary War wench brigades in honor of America's 250th anniversary this year. A local used car dealership tossed its bear mascot in with characters representing Philly sports mascots and the Liberty Bell. Magician wenches wore red, black, and white and sported cards and long scarves. A yellow and black wench group were bees pulling cardboard hives.
I loved the comic Toy Story group, with a dad and mom Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, a male Little Bo Peep, Buzz Lightyear, teen aliens, and the most adorable kid Trixie and Rex. A group of animals included eagles "soaring" on roller blades who got quite a reaction from the crowd! The first fancy brigade had a garden theme, with massive pink and green flowers and enormous Venus fly traps fluttering in the wind. The next was an amusement park. There were kids dressed as a roller coaster, a ticket booth, and even a giant ice cream swirl cone. Guys and girls twirled in fluffy cotton candy dresses.
During a gap in the program, I got cold and bored standing there and headed down Broad Street to see what else was there. The wind and cold had scared off many people. There weren't quite as many people watching the parade live as there usually is. It was still fun to watch all of the drunk college kids screaming and (trying to) dance and the kids handing their parents beads while their parents taught them the Mummers Strut.
There's a Dunkin' Donuts further up Broad Street near the Sprouts Market and the Philadelphia High School for the Performing and Creative Arts. Though it was busy inside, the line surprisingly wasn't long. I made use of those gift cards from the kids to get a medium hot chocolate and a blueberry donut. There wasn't as much going on down by the school, so after I finished my donut, I followed the crowds back to Locust Street.
We finally decided by quarter of 12 that we'd seen enough and were too cold to stick around for the rest of the fancy groups. We took a largely empty PATCO (except for one really loud and drunk guy in a pink bunny outfit who thankfully got off at Broadway in Camden) back to Collingswood, getting in by just after 1.
I usually have my first meal out of the year at the Westmont Diner. With the Westmont Diner still under renovations, I suggested the Haddon Diner on the border of Westmont and Haddonfield instead. Jessa had a hard time parking in the tiny, full lot, but they weren't that busy when we got in. The Haddon Diner is a lovely little spot with hand-stenciled wooden booths and reasonable prices. Mike had a huge chicken wrap. Jessa's turkey club sandwich was so big, she could only finish half of it. She and Mike both had chicken soup. Mike ordered mozzarella sticks and chicken quesadillas with curly fries. I had apple-raisin pancakes that were smaller, more moist, and more manageable than the ones at the Silver Diner on Tuesday, along with bacon and hot tea. Everything was so tasty, and the other two seemed to really enjoy theirs.
After they dropped me off at home, I went straight into Holiday Inn. I went further into this classic 1942 musical that introduced "White Christmas," "Happy Holiday," and "Let's Start the New Year Right" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back on New Year's Day 2019.
Moved on to Sesame Street Stays Up Late after the movie ended. I also go further into this charming special on how different cultures celebrate the New Year at my musical review blog.
Switched to the Match Game New Year's Day Celebration Party marathon after dinner and a shower. The first episode of 1974 began with the arrival of Dorothy Zinni, an overly enthusiastic contestant who was so excited, she accidentally hit the laid-back guy next to her and scared the panelists to death. Even Richard was too terrified of her to kiss her! Richard's girlfriend Jodie proved to be far more palatable for him in 1976. Dick Martin kicked off 1976 by getting an answer right for the first time. Fannie Flagg enjoyed sitting in Brett's seat while she was out doing a play on the first day of 1978. Gene stumbled into the first day of 1979 draped with streamers from the previous episode and looking more than a little bleary-eyed. Jon "Bowser" Bauman played with rubber chains on the first episode of 1980, while McLean Stevenson had permanently taken over Richard's spot by 1981.
Dick Martin carried over to The Match Game-Hollywood Square Hour's first episode of 1984. Alison Arngrin showed off her stylish black dress and hat, Vic Dunlop dodged fat jokes, Arsenio Hall tossed out quips, and we have a young David Ruprecht when he was hosting Real People. Brad Garrett continued to imitate the on-vacation Charles Nelson Reilly on the first Match Game episode of 1991. Bruce Baum showed he could do more than create goofy and slightly disturbing "inventions" by actually doing pretty darn well at Match Up.
Party on in the new year with Match Game in these hilarious episodes!
Wait, there's more! We also have bonus episodes of Family Feud, Password Plus, Super Password, and a repeat of the Match Game '77 New Year's Eve episode. It's more bang for your game show buck in the New Year!
Finished the night working on the Sesame Street review while listening to My Favorite Things. John Coltrane digs into songs by three masters of American standards, starting with the Rodgers and Hammerstein title song. There's two gorgeous renditions of Gershwin brothers numbers, "But Not for Me" and "Summertime," and a darker Cole Porter "Every Time We Say Goodbye."
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