The Room Where It Happens

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Mother Bear helps her son plant sunflowers in "Little Bear's Garden." He imagines that the sunflowers grow so big, they lift him and No Feet to the clouds. He's delighted by the vegetables that grow so big there, until they start getting a little too big and crowding him and No Feet out! In order to become "Prince Little Bear" and marry Princess Emily, King Owl declares that he must defeat a dragon...but when he helps his friends instead, he learns that kindness is its own reward. Little Bear makes "A Painting for Emily" of her beloved doll Lucy while he watches her and Emily's dog Tutu. Tutu, however, does everything she can to get in on the painting, too.

Worked a little online, then spent the rest of the afternoon vacuuming and deep-cleaning the attic rooms. I dusted under the books...and spent a little too much time reading them, especially the ones on musicals. I'll dust under the 4th of July decorations on Sunday, after the holiday. The back room was especially bad. I don't know why the bedroom always gets so dusty! Maybe it's because the one and only window is there. It was killer hot up there, too. The air conditioner was full-blast, and it was still hot. The fans did nothing but move hot air around.

Watched 1776 as I worked. I went further into this classic 1972 musical on the creation and signing of the Declaration of Independence at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in July 2019. 

1776

Had a very quick and belated lunch while watching Hamilton on Disney Plus. (I would finish it much later in the evening.) This could almost be called the flip side of 1776 as we switch our focus from firebrand John Adams to non-stop author and politician Alexander Hamilton. "The ten dollar Founding Father without a father" (Lin-Manuel Miranda) grows up in the Caribbean, but takes a slow boat to New York. He joins other firebrands in pushing for the American Revolution, becomes "Right Hand Man" to General George Washington (Christopher Jackson), and marries sweet and lovely Eliza Schuyler (Phillipa Soo). Her sister Angelica (Renee Elsie Goldsberry) loves him, too, but marries another man for her sister's sake. 

Hamilton continues pushing and writing after the war, eventually clashing with the more conservative Thomas Jefferson (Daveed Diggs). He runs into trouble when he has an affair and a furious Eliza burns his letters. The death of their son Phillip (Anthony Ramos) in a duel brings them back together after news of Hamilton's affair goes public. Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.) is furious with him for backing Jefferson for the presidency and challenges him to his own duel...one that Hamilton won't recover from. It's Eliza, however, who ends up preserving his legacy for generations to come.

First of all, you're probably wondering why I'm not reviewing this for the musical blog. Like Disney's London version of Frozen, this is a recording of a stage show, and it really falls under different strictures. That said, I can see why this is still running on Broadway at press time. The music is incredible (even if you're like me and aren't a fan of rap), the performers are dynamic, the dancing is fabulous. If you know anything about Hamilton and American history, you also know that this is a fairly dark show. The second half gets mired in its endless "Cabinet Battles" and moves about as fast as 1776 at times. Still, if you love Miranda or want to see a more modern take on American history, this is worth checking out for families with older kids and teens and stage aficionados. 

I got so tired of that endless second act of Hamilton, I cut it off early around 6:30 and went out to run errands. (I finished it later in the evening.) Stopped at Dollar Tree first. I mainly needed pads, but given the extreme heat, I picked up a bottle of Propel water, too. They were surprisingly busy for dinner time with mothers and families on their way home from work picking up their own little things.

Headed two blocks down to Crown Chicken and Gyro next for a quick dinner. They too were quiet for 7 PM on a hot day. I guess everyone stayed home in the air conditioning to eat. I enjoyed my tilapia sandwich, fries, and Diet Pepsi listening to classical music and watching glorious images of a green and glowing Canada on the TV over the dining area.

Walked further down to La Mortense Plus to get something sweet to cool off. Despite it being past 7:30, they weren't busy, either. I had no difficulty ordering a chocolate banana milkshake. Slurped it as I headed home. Even that late in the day, it was still sunny, hazy, killer humid, and hot as heck, in the lower 100's-upper 90's. The milkshake could only do so much. I was sweating bullets when I got home.

Which is why I relaxed a little bit, then went right in a much-needed shower. After I got out, I finished the night watching The Fleet's In on YouTube. I go further into this classic Navy musical with William Holden and Dorothy Lamour that introduced "I Remember You" and "Tangerine" at musical blog. 

Happy 4th of July! - The Fleet's In