Called Uber after that. At least I had no trouble getting to work. The one going to the Acme came in 8 minutes. The one going to Thomas Sharp arrived in 5! I got to both jobs on time. I didn't have problems getting a ride until it was time to go home. The first driver canceled, despite being very close to his destination. I had to wait 13 minutes for another one.
I could have been indefinitely late at the Acme. They were quiet for most of the morning. It was cloudy, cool, and windy, but it started warming up a bit later. We're between holidays, and the beginning of the month is next week. I was in and out with no trouble whatsoever.
Had a quick lunch at Chick Fil'A. They were busy, but I did find a table to sit down and enjoy my grilled chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and Coke Zero. They've already decorated for Halloween, or at least for fall. There were leaf garlands over the counter, "Hello Fall!" over the storage area near the window, and felt pumpkins on the windows around the kids' play area. Went back to Acme briefly to use the bathroom and buy carrot cake sandwich cookies on the bakery clearance racks before I called Uber.
Thomas Sharp was a lot busier today! We had 22 younger kids all together and 25 older ones. Thank heavens we got them all outside early this time. It was too nice to be inside for very long. By 3:30, it remained gale-force windy, but the clouds had vanished and it was much warmer, probably in the upper 60's. They argued a little over the swings, especially after I made them wait a few extra minutes because there were so many kids around, but those who wanted a turn did get one.
I was pushing one of the little girls on the swing when two more girls came careening around the swing set. One of the girls wasn't watching where she was going and ran smack into the thick, heavy old flag pole near the swing set in a corner. Poor baby! I yelled her name and ran over to her. She smacked her ear pretty good, though it did just seem to be bruised. We got an ice pack on it and went inside after a few minutes.
She settled down with the other remaining kids stringing colorful beads onto plastic string for bracelets and necklaces. I did tell her dad what happened when he arrived. There were six kids left when we went in at quarter of 5. By 5 PM, there were three. One of the teachers kept joking about the kids being invisible and the adults running out to get ice cream. One of the girls thought it was funny, and the one remaining boy was so involved with stringing beads, I'm not sure he heard them, but the other girl got upset. I put an arm around her, and we all assured her that she was anything but invisible! The last kid left at the same time I did.
Went straight into Price Is Right and Match Game '76 when I got home. Most of the night finished out Christmas week with Orson Bean and Mary Wickes. Charles complained about not dressing as Santa that year. Um, he dressed as Santa once at that point, in 1973. They skipped ahead slightly for the last episode to New Year's Eve 1976. Charles caught the paper mache egg from the very ugly Goody-Toddy Bird and head boss Mark Goodson came on to make a speech before the balloons dropped, announcing the start of Match Game '77!
Finished the night at Tubi with more vintage swashbuckler fun. The Bold Caballero from 1936 was the first Zorro movie to be made with sound and in color. It starts with Zorro (Robert Livingston) in prison, having been accused of murdering the Spanish governor. He does manage to escape and return to his day role as foppish nobleman Don Diego Vega, just as the new governor arrives. The previous governor's daughter, Lady Isabella Palma (Heather Angel), takes over her father's role running the colony. She's determined to follow in her father's footsteps and arrest Zorro for his murder. Don Diego seemingly encourages Commendante Sebastian Golle (Sig Ruman) to court Isabelle, but he really has his own reasons for pushing Golle at her. His real interest is in lowering the taxes on the Native American population and freeing their sons. Isabella starts to fall for him, especially as she begins to realize how unjust those taxes are. She's furious when she finds out who he is...but it turns out that the Commendante has his own secrets he'd rather not discuss.
This ended up being a lot of fun. Top marks go to Angel as one of the toughest women I've ever seen in a western or a swashbuckler. Isabella brooks no nonsense from anyone, not the Commendante, not the seemingly silly Diego, and certainly not this upstart Zorro. This may be the only Zorro story I've ever seen play the fat, foolish Spanish officer as the actual bad guy. Usually, as in the Disney TV version, they're the sidekick to sleeker, more conniving officer. The color is attractive, too, all soft blues and deep greens and flaming reds. I do wish Livingston had more chances to actually play Zorro. When we do see him, he's usually chasing Isabella as Diego.
All in all, this is still highly recommended for fans of Zorro films, swashbucklers, or those who want to see what Zorro looked like in color well before the Italians got to him in the 60's or the 90's Antonio Bandares films.
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