Rushing In the Rain

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. "Collossor Awakes" when Skeletor creates a ship that can turn people into stone...or bring stone to life. While Teela and Battle Cat protect Castle Greyskull and He-Man figures out how to reverse the spell, Skeletor animates a massive one-eyed stone creature to do his bidding and capture the castle.

It had looked cloudy since I got up this morning...and of course, the moment I left the house, it started showering. It didn't last long, disappearing even as I crossed the White Horse Pike to pick up the bus. The bus arrived on time, and I had no trouble getting off at the office next to Amy's Omelette House in Somerdale.

The former diner with the seaside decor (Amy's started at the North Jersey Shore town Long Branch) surprisingly wasn't that busy for 11:30 in the morning. I was able to eat my bacon and aptly-named Peanut Butter Bliss pancakes in peace. One of the "Lite Bites," this was two chocolate chip pancakes spread with peanut butter and topped with bananas, caramel, and more chocolate chips. Yum! Nice and fluffy and just the right size. 

Ate them quickly, then dashed out the door to the Cinemark. It remained cloudy, humid, and relatively cool as I headed down the White Horse Pike, but the rain held off. I rushed to the Dollar Tree next to the theater to pick up a small bag of popcorn and a Pepsi Zero. I saw wooden crates there for $10. I'd go back for that later. I'd never get away with hauling that around in a theater.

As it turned out, I was too late. I thought Moana was at 12:35. Nope, it was at 12:10. The next regular showing was 2:35. By the time I got in, they would have been a quarter of the way through the movie. Darn it. I'd have to come back.

Strolled up to Walmart on the hill overlooking the Cinemark shopping center instead. Found last year's Superman movie on DVD for $9.99. They're one of the only places around here I can find Junkless granola bars. Got the strawberry flavor. It's also the only place I've ever seen the Sprite + Tea in a 20 ounce Zero version. (Which was...ok. It tasted like Sprite Zero and bottled tea, anyway.)

Even when I headed back down the hill to the theater, I still had a half-hour left. I just bought my ticket, used the bathroom, found a bench, and watched all the summer camp pre-teens running around. I heard them arguing over whether to see Minions & Monsters or Moana. The boys all wanted the Minions and the girls all wanted Moana. (Considering the summer camp kids who did end up seeing Moana barely made a peep the entire time, I'm presuming the boys mostly won out.) Even with all that, I was still in the theater 15 minutes early.

There's still a lot of interesting family movies coming out late this year and early next year. Illumination's next big movie Not Alone, about two NASA workers who fall for each other and help really goofy aliens get home, looks really sweet (especially for them). Disney's Thanksgiving movie Hexed, about a young witch learning to use her powers, also looks really interesting. I'm far less interested in another Ice Age film. Didn't they exhaust that particular franchise over a decade ago? The Cat In the Hat in November could be really cute...or really annoying really fast. (At least it looks a heck of a lot better than the Mike Myers live-action film, starting with being in more appropriate animation.) Forgotten Island is coming out when I'll be on vacation with Lauren, and unless I can talk her into it, I'll probably have to wait for that one on streaming. I'm still not all that eager to see Paw Patrol on the big screen, especially since I haven't seen the other films on Paramount Plus yet. 

As for Moana, I'll go further into that on Thursday at my Musical Dreams blog.

The clouds were getting thicker and thicker by the second, and the wind was blowing fiercely. I went back to Dollar Tree, got a crate for my bulging holiday records, and went back to the movie theater. I initially called Uber, due to concerns about the weather...but the prices were so high, I hurried to Taco Bell at the White Horse Pike instead. 

I made it there just as the storm finally began. It was really coming down as I ate my (yummy) taco, my (spicy and so-so) quesadilla, and quickly drank sugar-free Gatorade. I was originally going to take the bus home, but the weather now made that impossible. There's no bus shelter at the Taco Bell stop. I just spent the money and called Uber. The driver arrived in 15 minutes and thankfully had no trouble getting me home despite the flooding alerts that popped up when we were going through Lawnside. (It must have been in Cherry Hill. I didn't see any flooding on the White Horse Pike.)

Organized my records and the bears sitting on the crates when I got home, then watched Match Game '75. Tonight finished up the week with William Shatner and Julie Harris. Early on, a young woman was so excited, her bouncing around supposedly put a crack in the floor! In a later show, a young woman with a wide, gleaming toothpaste smile was so pleased when she gave a sexually-charged answer, the panelists couldn't help joking about it. In the last episode, Fannie Flagg was enamored with a handsome young man who was perfectly happy being single.

Finished the night at Tubi with Jinx Money. Sach and Slip think they've found the answer to all their money woes when thousands of dollar turns up in a rolled-up newspaper on the street. To the guys' consternation, the original owner was a gangster who won the money at an illicit poker game and was killed before he could enjoy it. Every gangster who follows him and tries to get the dough from the Boys ends up dead, poisoned or stabbed by a man carrying an umbrella whom only Sach keeps seeing. Slip sets himself up as bait when one too many gamblers die on their doorstep, but for once, it's Sach who turns out to really be right about who's doing the killing. 

Only a Northern Song

I had breakfast quickly, then called Uber. It was getting late by that point, almost quarter of 12. That may be why I had a hard time getting a driver. The first one canceled. Fortunately, the second arrived in 8 minutes. He dropped us off at The Nerd Mall in Woodbury within 15 minutes, with no problems on the road.

Woodbury is a lovely little town in Gloucester County, not far from Deptford. It's one of the oldest towns in the entire area. Some of the buildings date back to the Revolutionary War era. The Nerd Mall is in one of the Victorian buildings downtown. It's shelves and shelves and boxes and boxes of comic books, collectible action figures, board games, vintage video games, role playing games, and stuffed toys related to all of the above. I was hoping to find Match Game or Family Feud among the board games, but I only saw the Feud DVD game. I saw vintage Password games (two of them going back to 1962), but none of the others.

Though there's no longer an arcade in the back game-playing room, they do still have small arcade cabinets there. Some of them are small enough for the pre-school kids from Thomas Sharp to have no trouble reaching the controls! I did mildly well on regular Centipede. At least I got to the second round, which isn't something I could ever pull off as a kid. 

While Lauren finished buying wrestling Nintendo games and a collectible figure at The Nerd Mall, I found a tiny little deli-variety store next door. It was so small and family-owned, it had one of the widest varieties of drinks I'd ever seen in a store. I ended up with Sunkist Zero. Lauren got the limited edition Berry Blue Powerade when she joined me. 

Our next stop was 2nd Chance Thrift Boutique in the next block over. They're always something of a mess. I couldn't find anything I wanted in the jammed-full racks of old clothes and piles and piles of toys, CDs, and DVDs. Lauren had more luck and picked up a few shirts.

We did better at the Woodbury Antiques store on the next block. Situated in what appears to have once been a Woolworth's, this has more in common with a one-story Haddon Heights Antique Center than with 2nd Chance. For one thing, they sell actual antiques. Unfortunately, a lot of what they sell is very expensive. Lauren found three mini Beanie Babies still in their McDonald's Happy Meal bags that were a reasonable price. Their records are way overpriced, but I picked up two CDs:

Elton John - Ice On Fire

Grover Washington Jr. - All My Tomorrows

LC's Family-Style Restaurant was on the next block. They specialize in Latin American cuisine...but I suspect they didn't have a lot of help today. I never saw anyone besides the one girl behind the counter and a woman having lunch with her baby. We watched two and a half episodes of Spongebob Squarepants on the TV in the side room, including "Bubble Boy" (Spongebob's bubble friend annoys everyone in Bikini Bottom), "Something Smells" (Spongebob and Patrick think everyone is running away from them because they're ugly - it's their breath that's the problem), "Big Pink Loser" (Patrick takes a job at the Krabby Patty, then imitates Spongebob to win awards), "Bossy Pants" (Pearl's new ideas for the Krusty Krab are losing her dad money...and Spongebob has to fire her), and "Spongebob BC." (SpongeBob and his crew are cave sea-dwellers.) At least Lauren's Cubano sandwich and my grilled chicken sandwich with thick fries were pretty decent when we did finally get them.

After lunch, we headed across the street to On the Record. This time, Lauren didn't make any finds, but I grabbed two records and two CDs I really wanted after I dodged a couple of music-lovers searching the local band albums. The records were:

Beryl Berney Tells Your Favorite Stories: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Dick Whittington (I have no idea who Beryl Berney is. I do know I've never seen a record retelling of the British folk tale "Dick Whittington.") 

Ben Bagley's Cole Porter Vol. III (Cost me $25, the most of anything today besides lunch, but I love these Ben Bagley collections.)

The CDs were something I've wanted for a while. Yellow Submarine was the last regular Beatles album I didn't have. I've been looking for a good price on it for ages. Not only did they have it on CD for $6, but they had the blue "Songtrack" CD from 1999 for the same price. I bought both. 

The original SNTM Thrift Shop is next-door to On the Record. They're more like 2nd Chance with slightly better merchandise...but apparently, they're moving to better digs in November. They've already moved some things to a charming Victorian building about two blocks down Broad Street. I didn't find anything at either location, but Lauren picked up tank tops for her and shirts for her father. 

We hiked back to The Nerd Mall to pick up Uber. By 4 PM, it was hot, humid, sunny, and hazy, probably in the upper 90's. Thank heavens the driver didn't cancel this time, even if it took a little longer than the listed 13 minutes for him to arrive. We weren't going far, anyway. He dropped us off at the Deptford Goodwill in a little over 5 minutes.

The Woodbury Goodwill moved to The Plaza at Deptford back in March...and no wonder. The store was enormous, easily three times the size of the Woodbury building. It took me 20 minutes just to sift through all of the records piled on a bottom shelf, but I came up with:

Sesame Street Story Time

"Mama" Cass Elliott - Dream a Little Dream of Me

Walt Disney Presents the Story of Robin Hood (Which, ironically, I also saw at On the Record for $10 - a slightly less-pristine copy at Goodwill was $2.49.)

Plato's Closet is on the other side of the Plaza from the Goodwill. It's another local thrift shop chain, this one specializing entirely in clothes and accessories. It's so big, there's two floors. The guys' clothes are on the lower level. Neither of us had any luck here...but I'm glad to know it is there the next time I do need clothes for a decent price.

We finished up at Mt. Fuji Hibachi Restaurant a few doors down from the Goodwill. We didn't go for the hibachi. As Lauren said, we just wanted dinner, not dinner and a show. Lauren was fine with sushi and a large salad. My shrimp with udon noodles, vegetables, and a small salad were yummy, too. We enjoyed them at the quiet, dark-paneled room with the fish swimming around a tank in the lobby. (A mother's tired little boy was utterly fascinated by those goldfish as we were heading out.)

Another thing I like about the Plaza is it has ample seating. We settled down at one of the wide benches as I called Uber. Thank heavens after the last two, there were no problems here. The driver arrived in the advertised 8 minutes and got us home in 15 with no trouble.

Put on Match Game '75 when I got home. This was the last of three weeks to feature Cuban bombshell Louisa Moritz, and the only one with producer and character actor Sheldon Leonard. I'm not sure Leonard entirely got the humor, but at least he took all of the gangster jokes like a good sport.

I finished the night watching News Hounds on Tubi. Sach (Huntz Hall) and Slip (Leo Gorcey) are working for a newspaper again, as a photographer and copy boy respectively. Slip would do anything to have his story in the paper, especially after he turns up evidence of gangster Dapper Dan Greco (Anthony Caruso) fixing boxing matches. Sach gets photos of the gangsters, but loses the camera with the pictures when they figure out who the guys are. Slip never intended for his story to be published, but his friend Gabe (Gabriel Dell), who was working with the gangsters but got thrown out, has it published under the name of the sports reporter John Burks (Tim Ryan) anyway. The gangsters slap the newspaper with a four million dollar lawsuit. Now the guys have to find those pictures, or everyone will lose their jobs...and the paper will get into a heck of a lot of trouble. 

Ain't No Stopping Us Now

Had breakfast around 11, then Lauren and I strolled down to the Collingswood PATCO. It wasn't a bad day for a walk around Old City Philadelphia. It remains sunny, breezy, and bright blue, if warmer and slightly more humid than yesterday. The PATCO is a far more efficient beast than the NJ Transit. The train to Philly arrived within two minutes of us buying tickets and hurrying upstairs. (Oh, and the remodeling is now focused outside. They've long finished the escalator and elevator.)

We got off at the Franklin Square station and went straight around the corner to Franklin Square. I've been wanting to show Lauren this beautiful park since I visited here last August. The Chinese Lantern Festival was even more beautiful this year than it was last year! Flowers were the theme. We were greeted by towering daisies, sunflowers, lily pads, and gorgeous purple fabric blooms. I saw a soccer and baseball-themed "Philly" display near one of the entrances, and fabric horses who looked real enough to jump over the fence.

The fountain wasn't running and none of the food booths were open at quarter of 12, but everything else was ready to go. We played the mini-golf course. It was a lot of fun! The obstacles are all based on Philadelphia landmarks, like Elfreth's Alley, the Ben Franklin Bridge, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (they even have Rocky's footprints next to the course). Lauren got two holes in one, one of them right through the Chinatown Friendship Arch. There's even one with "records" representing hits from Philadelphia International Records, like "Me and Mrs. Jones" and "Ain't No Stopping Us Now." The last course has the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Lauren won, but only by a few points. We were flanked on one side by two middle-aged gentlemen who gallantly allowed us to go on ahead of them, and three college students who laughed a lot and seemed to really enjoy themselves.

After we finished, we headed down Race Street to the Race Street Cafe for lunch. Despite its name, this small brick-and-wood-paneling watering hole is really more of a local bar. Lauren had tilapia tacos she said were delicious. I tried them when I ate there last year and found them to be too spicy for me. I went with a nice, simple grilled chicken sandwich and slender, salty fries.

The Race Street Cafe is just steps away from 2nd Street. Our first stop here was A Four Foot Prune, which specializes in Muppet memorabilia, character toys and media from the 50's through the 90's, and anything Liza Minnelli ever did. Lauren found two cute bags - one with Snoopy, one with a scene from The Monster at the End of This Book that matches a shirt she has - and some pins and patches. I found a small Dakin Bear dressed as a pilgrim girl, with a turkey on a ribbon, for only $2. I think the kids will love Jim Henson's Muppet Babies Big Book of Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales, with its adorable illustrations depicting Rolf as Humpty Dumpty, Skeeter and Scooter as Jack and Jill, Kermit as Wee Willie Winkie, and Piggy as Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. I only dug up one record, but it was one of the Tale Spinners for Children series from England, Sinbad the Sailor.

We crossed 2nd Street to check out Brave New Worlds, a popular local comics book shop. This is a lot more organized than the book stores, a long, dark room with shelves and shelves of comic books, manga, and toys. I didn't get anything here. Lauren got a figure for a friend and Marvel Meow, with Marvel characters hilariously interacting with cats and other pets.

The Book Trader is two blocks down from Brave New Worlds. It's a wonderful used book store, with rickety shelves filled from floor to ceiling with books, records, CDs, DVDs, and videos. This time, Lauren didn't find anything. She spent the time relaxing by the fiction and foreign language sections on the second floor. I did dig out two cast album LPs:

The original Broadway cast of Little Me with Sid Caesar playing the seven loves of a Hollywood starlet

The original London cast of Salad Days...which I was kind of shocked to find. Though this charming small-scale musical was a huge hit on the West End in 1954, it played off-Broadway in 1958, didn't do well, and hasn't tried the US since. 

And four books:

Standing In the Rainbow and The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg

Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies by Ted Chapin

The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey (I did take this one out of the Haddon Township Library about 15 years ago, but that copy is long gone.) 

Last year, I wandered around in Old City until I found my way back to Franklin Square...but that wasn't going to fly this time. For one thing, we were both carrying heavy bags with books, records, toys, and other items. For another, Lauren wanted to hit up Fashion District Mall. Not to mention, while not killer humid like it's supposed to be later in the week, it was much hotter than yesterday. I called an Uber driver, who arrived within 7 minutes and got us to Primark in less than 5.

Lauren briefly explored Primark, an Irish department store, when we arrived. They don't really carry my size, so I just waited in the main mall until she came out and admitted she didn't find anything she wanted. We walked around a bit and got sodas before going upstairs to Round 1 on the third floor. Even newer spaces in Philly can be deceptively small on the outside. Though this doesn't have some of the games seen at other arcades in South Jersey - no skee ball, no ring toss - it does have pinball. I ran from Star Wars pinball to The Munsters pinball (did really well with that one) to Bust-a-Move to Space Invaders. Came in second with a sweet cherry-red Lamborghini on Crusin' Blast. I earned over 2,500, but just decided to save most of it for when we go to Deptford tomorrow. I went with a darling white Beanie Baby kitten named Amelia. 

By that point, we were tired, hungry, and sore. Time to take the PATCO home. I got us turned around a bit, but we did manage to make it to the 8th Street Station by 5:30. We took a jammed-full rush hour train back to South Jersey, getting off at Westmont.

I thought we'd try something different for dinner. The Haddon Diner is just two blocks from the Westmont PATCO Station. I figured it would be less busy and closer to the station than the Collingswood restaurants. (Not to mention, a lot of them aren't open on Mondays.) They were busy, but not so much that we didn't quickly get one of the sweet stenciled wooden booths. Lauren had a BLT and a Yankee Bean Soup she loved. I had banana and pecan pancakes that were so fluffy and tasty and fat turkey sausages. 

I also thought it would be easier to pick up Uber here than in Collingswood...and I was right. It took me a while, but I finally got a driver who came in 15 minutes and got us home in less than 5. No traffic here or, thank heavens, in Philadelphia.

I took the recycling out and we put our laundry in the washing machine, then put on Match Game '75. I came in time for the first day of Carol Bartos' run. Dr. Joyce Brothers and Bill Daily got to match one of her more peculiar answers, one that had Gene wanting to drag Dr. Brothers to her own couch! The next week was Game Show Host Week, with Bob Barker, Arlene Francis, and (ironically) Fannie Flagg. 

Moved to Tubi for Hard Boiled Mahoney. Slip and Sach are at a private eye's office, trying to get the money he owes Sach, when Salina Webster (Betty Compson) comes in and mistakes them for the detective. She offers them $50 to find her lost sister. Slip trails the sister, only to see a man shot. Turns out the two women in question aren't related. Phony medium Armand (Dan Seymour) has incriminating letters that are blackmailing them. Slip, Sach, and their buddies have to dodge the police (who think Slip did it) to bring Armand to justice...but first, they have to get off Professor Quizard's (Bryan Foulger) radio show by driving him crazy!

Finished the night with more of Daredevils of the Red Circle. By the time of chapter 5, "The Ray of Death," former prisoner Harry Crowel (Charles Middleton) has gotten the idea that there's someone tipping off the trio of Daredevils. He intends to kill off anyone in the household he talks to regularly, starting with Granville's granddaughter Blanche (Carole Landis). The boys have to restore the electricity on an old mine and get Blanche and several workers out of there before it's flooded...and before Crowel's goons electrocute the entire lot of them. 

Walk In the Rain

Began a gloomy, rainy morning with breakfast and the Shirt Tales. "Digger's Three Wishes" has him dreaming that his new lamp can produce a genie who grants him all the wealth he wants. He, Tyg, and Bogey are delighted, but Pammy and Kip think there's something up with these sudden riches. Turns out they're right when the genie swipes the money and the girls. Digger has even more trouble when he goes out of town and "Digger's Double," a rat who has been stealing cheese, impersonates him. The others figure it out when the rat is a little to eager to go out on assignment with Tyg and Bogey.

Switched to the Bowery Boys while working on yesterday's blog entry. Slip (Leo Gorcey) is In Fast Company when Father Donovan (Charles D. Brown) guilt trips him into helping an independent cab company after its owner is run off the road by Steve Trent (Douglas Fowley) of Red Circle Cab. Slip would mind helping less if it didn't mean he constantly has to break dates with his girl Mabel (Judy Clark) or explain what's going on to her uncle Louie (Bernard Gorcey) who owns the ice cream shop where they all congregate. When his friend Chuck (David Gorcey) is hurt by Trent and his goons while on duty, Slip and the others take it on themselves to tell the company's owner Mr. McCormick (Paul Harvey) what's going on.

By quarter of 2, I was bored and tired of sitting inside, and the showers were slowing down. They weren't slow enough for me to walk around in Cherry Hill like I originally planned, but I could run a few errands in Oaklyn. I grabbed my umbrella and headed out for a walk...then went right back inside and got my raincoat when I realized how cold it was! It wasn't even in the 70's. I think it might have been mid-60's. No wonder it felt so nice in my rooms.

My first stop was Family Dollar. I think they might be in the middle of remodeling. The baby items were all in bins instead of shelves. Good. That place is a mess. It could stand with a redo. I picked up trash bags and more of the cheap Pure Kick hydrate mix packs (in Arctic Wave this time), then moved on.

Since it's the closest restaurant that was actually open on a Tuesday, I went to Jalapeno's Mexican Bar and Grill for lunch. Needless to say, they were dead quiet at 2:30. The only other people there were two women chatting in a booth. I had delicious, full, and messy fish tacos and watched the Poland Vs. Uzbekistan World Cup soccer game on their TV in peace. (Later research revealed that Poland won, 5-0.)

I wanted to treat myself to WaWa in honor of the end of the school year yesterday, but I took Uber to and from the school and didn't want to run into storms afterwards. I ended up with a soft pretzel and a tasty Raspberry Chip Smoothie made with real raspberry puree. Watched cats play with volunteers at the Calico Cat Cafe a block down as I passed by them.

Took out the trash and brought it down to the curb when I got home, then went straight into bed for a nap. I was so tired. I stayed up too early Sunday night and couldn't sleep the next morning, and then there was all the craziness at Thomas Sharp. I went down at quarter of 4, got up at 6, and was still tired.

Put on Buzzr after I got up...only to find something called Buzzr's Top 10 instead of Match Game. This seems to be a special featuring big moments from the shows Freemantle owns that has shown up randomly all month. Incidentally, #2 is the introduction of Plinko on The Price Is Right. The top great moment is so infamous, a movie was released about it last year, Michael Larson amassing over $100,000 on Press Your Luck.

Watched Match Game '75 while I ate dinner after that finally started. Bert Convy, Mary Ann Mobley, and Betty White returned for the last episodes taped in 1974. Bert was amused by a question that asked what he did with the ladies, while everyone teased Brett over another question that joked about her wigs.

(Oh, and Buzzr has two big announcements for next month. First of all, their next marathon will be "Buzzr Goes Global," featuring two Freemantle shows from England and Family Feud Canada. Their other new show, Family Feud Moments, is less welcome. This just looks like it's "best segments from the current Steve Harvey Feud." It's probably in honor of Feud's 50th anniversary this year, but while I have no problems with Steve Harvey or his show, it doesn't really fit on Buzzr.) 

Moved to YouTube after Match Game ended. Did two Hungarian Folk Tales first. "The Giant Beanstalk" is "Jack and the Beanstalk" with the Giant playing a hurdy-gurdy instead of a singing harp. The mother also doesn't throw the beans out the window. Jack just plants them. "The Princess Three Pigs and Three Birthmarks" gets a little ribald when a young pig herder who can make his porcine charges dance agrees to let the Princess have them, if she'll lift her skirt for him. Turns out he has his reasons for this when the king announces that the man who marries her daughter will be the one who knows where her birthmarks are.

Finished the night with more of The Swamp Fox. Marion and his men have been wrecking havoc on the road, including capturing Mary Videux's father and sending him to prison. Colonel Horry's "Redcoat Strategy" is to have two of his men infiltrate Marion's group and learn the location of his hideout. Marion, as usual, is two steps ahead of them, including rescuing Mary, her maid Delia (Louise Beavers), and his friend Oscar (Smoki Whitfield). 

Rain Is In, School Is Out

Slept in, then had breakfast while watching Paw Patrol. We find out just how the Pups got their powers in the hour-long special "Mighty Pups." They're the first ones on the scene when a meteor lands on the beach in Adventure Bay. The moment they get close to the meteor, they discover it's granted them all superpowers! Unfortunately, the second people on the scene were whiny Mayor Humdinger and his bratty nephew Harold. Harold now has the ability to build anything...including a giant robot that steals the meteor, kidnaps Ryder, and terrorizes Adventure Bay. Speedy Chase has to step up as leader, before Harold smashes all of the town and their floating base ends up crashing.

During the second half of the special, I went through my rock records. I only cleared out one, and most of them were in pretty good shape organizational-wise. I was hoping to clear out more, but some of these, I've wanted since I was a kid! And some of them I had when I was a kid.

I didn't really trust the weather today. It wasn't raining at quarter of noon, but there were going to be storms later. I called Uber. Thankfully, no trouble there. I got one in 8 minutes going to the Thomas Sharp Elementary School. Only took 5 minutes for the one going home to arrive, and that at the start of rush hour. No trouble either way. 

On one hand, there were 8 younger kids on the last day of school, 3 at my table (one went home within ten minutes of her arrival), and 10 older kids. There were so few younger kids, we condensed it down to two tables and took them all together to the bathroom. Good thing they ate pretty fast. We wanted to get everyone outside to the blacktop before the storms came. It certainly looked like rain as the kids played kickball, drew with chalk, and chatted along the chain link fence under the shady green trees. It was gloomy and warm, with air thick enough to cut it with a sharp piece of chalk. We had them out for about a half-hour before the first tiny drops hit our noses. The drops got fatter and fatter as we grabbed the balls and the Lego bin and dashed inside.

On the other hand, they got pretty crazy once we were inside, and not just because of the loud storm. The head teacher broke out Play Doh, but the older boys kept throwing them around, and one of the younger boys got upset when a younger girl grabbed his color and mixed them. The little girl kept wrapping her Play Doh in paper and coloring her "dumplings," even when we told her not to. Two of the older boys fought and wouldn't listen to anyone all afternoon. The head teacher pulled out the projector and tried to run Rio. No sooner would we get the kids sitting down and watching it than the internet would cut out, or the head teacher would be called somewhere and would take her phone and its power with her. 

(Incidentally, I reviewed Rio at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in August 2024. I go further into the film itself there.)

Rio

The storm finally subsided around 3:30, long enough for us to get the kids back on the blacktop again. I was supposed to be done at 3:30, but I stayed a little longer to help with the remaining younger kids. Fortunately, by that point there were only two younger kids left. I watched the boys shoot baskets and the other kids draw with chalk on the rapidly-drying blacktop. When the last two younger boys left with their mothers and older siblings, I left, too.

I was originally going to watch Superman: Doomsday when I got home. When the DVD I bought from Goodwill didn't work, I ended up going with another Bowery Boys movie instead. The guys are Ghost Chasers when Whitey and Sach become interested in spiritualism. Slip makes use of this to convince Louie that his deceased Uncle Jake wants him to give the Boys $100. He then uses the $100 to expose a phony medium who was conning one of the ladies in their neighborhood. The medium ends up pointing the finger at another phony female spiritualist. The guys go after her while Sach gets help from a real ghost (Lloyd Corrigan) whom only he can see.

Switched to Match Game '75 during dinner after the Boys ended. They're well into the New Year now. Cool cat Greg Morris joins Brett and Gary on the top tier. Richard wonders what he's gotten himself into when he finds himself between daffy Joyce Bulifant and whimsical Fannie Flagg on the lower tier.

Finished the night at YouTube after a shower. In honor of Buzzr running a long-lost episode of Password Plus from 1982 with Lucille Ball and Dick Martin, I ran a few other episodes of shows that are mostly lost or not well-known now. Plus isn't the only game show with episodes missing. Before videotape became cheaper in the mid-80's, game shows were among the genres mostly likely to be wiped and reused by networks. NBC wiped the entire run of the original 60's The Match Game, before CBS revamped it to the wacky format that's still in use today. This all-star episode from 1964 featuring Betty White, Bennett Cerf, Robert Q. Lewis, Henry Morgan, Joan Fontaine, and Peggy Cass is one of three surviving shows currently online.

The Richard Dawson Family Feud is missing a lot, too. ABC erased shows into the early 80's. Episodes before 1982 are sort of scattered, including this one from 1981 where Johnny Gilbert does the announcing. Poor Gene Wood had an accident with a chainsaw and was out for several weeks.

Individual producers didn't do so well with keeping their shows around, either. NBC had ended erasing tapes by the time Sale of the Century debuted in 1983...but producer Reg Grundy would erase them until the end of the decade. That's why you're more likely to see a syndicated episode from 1985 or one of the episodes from the show's final year in 1988-1989 on Buzzr than an early episode...and probably why the premiere episode seen here is in such horrible shape.

Some later flops are hard to find as well. Nickelodeon still has most of its older shows around and has re-run them on its channels and on Paramount Plus. Splat! is one of the few that's mostly missing. Between shows in 2004, kids at Nickelodeon Studios in Universal Florida would compete at messy tasks. Winner got slimed. It was cute and the kids look like they're having fun. Too bad the interstiles only lasted five months, and this was the last show to be filmed at the Nick Studios before they shut down. Only two episodes and a lot of fragments exist today. 

Not everything that's lost stays missing. Within the last six months, someone posted almost all of the episodes from the long-vanished 1975 music game show Musical Chairs on YouTube. This one is significant in several ways. It boasted the first black game show host, super-hip singer Adam Wade, and an all-star array of performers on their way up, like country singer Linda Hargrove, or down, like Bobby Rydell and Broadway star Gretchen Wyler, along with an extremely mid-70's geometric set. Too bad it only lasted a few months. The game play is complicated, but there's some great songs here. 

Learn more about our TV history with these long-lost episodes that are finally out of the vault for all to enjoy!

The Match Game (1964)

Musical Chairs (1975)

Family Feud (1981)

Password Plus (1982)

Sale of the Century (1983)

Nickelodeon Splat! (2004) 

Freedom of Adventure

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "Bogey Goes Ape" takes us into the second season, with a new opening theme and a new Shirt Tale, spunky little Kip Kangaroo. Bogey's more interested in following a lovely lady orangutan about a cruise ship and saving her jeweled necklace than his friends, until he finds out she's not alone. Pammy proves to be a mechanical whiz in "The Rain, the Park, and the Robot" when she creates a robot to help them do their chores. Kip's not as impressed with him, until he saves her from a flooded ditch in a construction site. 

Switched to The Backyardigans on Paramount Plus while getting organized. "Race to the Tower of Power" is the first of six times the show parodied superhero tropes. Here, super heroes Weather Woman (Uniqua) and Captain Hammer (Austin) must beat villains Yucky Man (Pablo) and Dr. Shrinky (Tyrone) to the top of the Tower of Power. The pair that gets there first will be able to grab the key that will allow them to rule the world!

Briefly put on Buzzr as I wrote my grocery list. Double Dare is very different - and far more short-lived - than the familiar Nickelodeon stunt show. This one is a quiz where two contestants in isolation booths Dare each other to answer tough questions. I came in just as someone else went on for host Alex Trebek! Turns out it was the long-time champ, who figured he could get some air time. Alex was mildly amused.

Headed out to run errands next. Started at Target, since I had more time than usual. They didn't have the mouthwash I wanted, but I was able to get five individual pairs of underwear. Considering two pairs got holes in the tops when I pulled the tags off, I don't think they'll last all that long, but they look more comfortable (and breathable) than the ones I bought at Marshalls'. I also tried an Iced Blue Coconut Matcha Latte from Starbucks - a matcha latte with blue foam. Not bad. Really fruity. Tasted more like mango than coconut or green tea.

Sprouts was next on the list. They didn't have good soda sales, but their oat and nut milks are cheaper than the Acme's. I got my oat milk there, along with Annie's Homegrown chocolate chip granola bars on clearance and a box of oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies off the baker's rack. My best find here also came off clearance. Low-cost bags and plastic containers of bulk items were on clearance displays throughout the store. I found a small container of mixed dried berries and pineapple listed for $5.99...but it came up as 99 cents!

Had lunch at the Westmont Bagel Shop after I finished at Sprouts. I was surprised that they weren't too busy for 1 PM. I was able to sit down and enjoy my spinach and feta omelet, toasted multi-grain whole wheat bagel, hash browns, and Diet Coke in peace. As it turned out, the bagel and omelet were more than enough. I didn't have close to enough room to finish the hash browns. (Oh, and surprisingly, there were no bikes on the rack when I arrived. All of the kids must have been swimming at Roberts Pool or skateboarding elsewhere.)

Passed by the library, McDonald's, and the Haddon Township High School (which is now closed for the summer) before ending up at the Westmont Acme. Restocked granola, yogurt, low-salt canned tuna, and soda. Found no-salt canned organic black beans and chick peas. I need more protein, but there was no low-salt canned chicken, and the bagged chicken I've been buying is awfully salty. Finally found the Listerine Gum Protection mouthwash I use in the smaller size on sale with an online coupon. Grabbed olive oil and organic mayo (which was lower in salt than the light mayo) to use for tuna and bean salads. 

Took the long way home across a busy Newton Lake Park. It was a nice day, sunny, breezy, slightly humid, and much cooler than yesterday, in the lower 80's. A lot of people wanted to enjoy it before the weather turns nasty on Monday. I ended up riding uphill to avoid the folks out for walks and jogs (and to get around the work being done on the path near the stone steps going up to East Clinton). The park is in full flower now, green and shady, with a wonderful, earthy smell.

Switched to the only early Bowery Boys movie not currently on Tubi as I put away my groceries. The guys are saying Hold That Baby! when they discover an infant abandoned in their laundry service. Turns out he's the grandson of a recently deceased millionaire whose mother (Anabel Shaw) left him there when her aunts, who want his inheritance, have her committed to a sanitarium. The aunts hire thugs to keep the baby from the reading of the will, and they in turn hire the Boys to keep an eye on him. Sach and Slip manage to dodge the thugs and rescue the mother in the guise of having Sach committed. (Oh, and I suspect a brief blackface gag when Sach attempts to hide the baby from a cop is the reason this one can't be found on streaming.)

Spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening watching The Man Who Would Be King. Sach and Slip are hardly the only best-friend pair to cause mischief. British ex-soldiers Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine), after trying to rob author Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer), take an expedition into Afghanistan in search of Kafiristan. There, they arm the locals with rifles, help them defeat their enemies, and take over the very wealthy country. When an arrow fails to pierce Dravot's chest, they think he's immortal and makes him their king. Peachy thinks they should grab the money and run, but Dravot has found he likes being a ruler and helping the people with their problems...until the princess Roxanne (Shakira Caine) inadvertently reveals that he's far from immortal.

John Huston apparently wanted to make this for 20 years, and it was worth the wait. It was Connery's favorite role and remains Caine's, and it's not surprising, given how much fun they have as the rogues who go looking for money and end up with a heck of a lot more than they bargained for. Stunning cinematography in Morocco and France, too. Maurice Jarre wrote the rousing Indian-style score. I'm also impressed with how relatively close this is to the book, which I have read. My only complaint is how long it is. It takes a while to actually set up - the first half in particular drags. Other than that, if you're a fan of two-fisted adventure tales, Kipling, or the leading men and have time on your hands, you'll want to grab your partner in crime and join the expedition. 

Returned to Buzzr for Match Game '74 next. We're getting close to the end of the year as they finished off Avery Schriberer's first week. Phyllis Newman also appeared but, to tell the truth, she was kind of annoying and took a lot of Brett's teasing personally. No wonder Avery became a semi-regular, but she never came back. James Darren and Juliet Mills had a lot more fun during New Year's week. 

Got my schedule at this point. It's pretty much what I expected and had hoped for. I'm back to weekend afternoons and early on Wednesday at the Acme. On one hand, that means I will be able to hit the Collingswood farm market next week. I'll just move the Cherry Hill trip to earlier in the week, maybe Tuesday or Thursday. 

Watched The Swamp Fox after dinner. The series gets mildly dark for "Day of Reckoning." Francis is determined to find his nephew Gabe's killer. His men not only don't share his obsession, they're sick, worn out, and want to start fighting Tories again. Mary Videux (Joy Page) manages to sweet-talk Colonel Peter Horry (Myron Healy) into giving her medicine for the men. Meanwhile, Francis not only finds Briggs (Robert Douglas), but learns there's someone else who has sworn vengeance against him - Gwynn (Hal Stalmaster), whose family was killed by a man in a mask who called himself the Swamp Fox.

Finished the night with more Zorro at Disney Plus. Don Diego is more than happy to spread the story of "The Ghost at the Mission" to scare Garcia and his men off. It works pretty well with Garcia, but Monastario isn't as impressed. 

It's a Most Unusual Day

Began the morning with breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. "Sister of the Sword" introduces Ioz' pickpocket sister Solia. She steals gold from her brother and the compass from Ren, figuring she can sell it. She ends up selling Bloth's mate Konk on finding the treasure instead. The crew of the Wraith follow the duo to Arakna Island, the most dangerous island on Mer, to keep her out of trouble.

Switched to Paw Patrol while organizing my clothes and pulling out ones to donate. "Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups Stop a Big Bad Bot" when Harold finds another piece of meteor and creates an even bigger robot to steal buildings and make his own Haroldville. The Mighty Pups follow him, before he takes off with Mayor Goodway and City Hall! "Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups Vs. the Dome" brings back Copycat, who creates an energy dome around Adventure Bay to keep the Pups out. It also keeps many of the residents away from their loved ones, including Chickaletta and Wally the Walrus. The Pups find a way to crack the dome and stop Copycat from wrecking more havoc on the town.

Headed out shortly after the cartoon ended. I arrived at Thomas Sharp School just in time...which was a moot point. We had four pre-schoolers and kindergartners today, and two of those left relatively early. The other kids went home with their parents after the pre-school "step up" graduation ceremony. 

Once the kids ate, we didn't even try to separate the younger ones from their older peers. Everyone went outside on the blacktop together. It was sunny, bright blue, and breezy, but not too hot, the perfect day to run around and play ball games. I spent most of the time on the blacktop refereeing a kickball game. I hadn't laughed so much in ages. I cheered on both teams until the only girl playing (who set up the game in the first place) complained that the boy rolling the ball wouldn't let her do it and dropped out. Most of the boys followed. 

I ended up taking a group over to the playground instead. The older kids were even more eager to swing than their younger counterparts...and thankfully, most of them didn't object to standing in line. I had more trouble keeping them away from in front or back of the swings while kids were going really high. The others tossed a ball around that belonged to one of the boys while dancing to "Ghostbusters," several songs by Taylor Swift, and music from Moana, Trolls, Sing, Shrek 2, and KPop Demon Hunters. By 3:15, we were down to one younger kid and 10 older ones. When another teacher arrived to help with the older kids, they let me go early.

Since I had more time to relax, I came home, took out the trash, and watched Bowery Buckaroos. The last Bowery Boys movie to feature Bobby Jordan takes the goofballs from the Lower East Side out west, where they hope to clear sweet shop owner Louie Dumbrowski's (Bernard Gorcey) name. Louie was accused of killing his partner Pete Briggs to get his share of their gold mine, but the real killer was Blackjack McCoy (Jack Norman). Turns out Louie has the map to the mine tattooed on his back. Whitey (Billy Benedict) draws the map on Sach's (Huntz Hall) back, but it washes off. Meanwhile, the Boys' friend Gabe (Gabriel Dell) was sent to scout ahead...and scouts himself cowgirl Catherine Briggs (Julie Gibson), a tough-shooting lady who knows more about Pete Briggs than the Boys could guess.

Went back out after the movie ended. It was too nice to sit inside all evening. I dropped the bag of clothes in the donation box behind Dollar General, then went across the street to the White Horse Pub for dinner. They were pretty quiet when I arrived. Most of the barflies were watching the Pirates-Athletics game (Pirates won, 6-5) or analysis on the Knicks' big win the other day. I enjoyed a turkey bacon wrap with very yummy, thick, crispy bacon and very crunchy tater tots, along with a pitcher of Diet Coke.

Rode across Oaklyn to the Yummy Palace on West Clinton Avenue next. Treated myself to a cookie butter ice cream milkshake. Oh, yum! Cold and sweet, with plenty of ground Biscoff cookie pieces. I sipped it outside, then rode home.

Took a shower right when I got in, then watched Match Game '74. I came in just to see the last episode of the Jack Carter/Louisa Moritz week. I really like Jack. He was hilarious, and not a bad player. Wish he'd been on the show more often. 

Since I enjoyed Bowery Buckaroos so much, I finished the night with one of the older Boys movies that's currently on Tubi. Bowery Bombshell is the third movie in the series, and the first to establish many of the running gags that would be prevalent in them for the next decade, from them hanging out at Louie's to them owning a dilapidated jalopy to Slip being the leader. Louie needs $300, so the boys try to sell their jalopy Lucy. When that doesn't work, they go to the bank to get a loan. Of course, the bank is robbed just as they try to go in. Cathy (Teala Loring), a local on-the-street photographer who is a friend of theirs, takes Sach's picture...just as he hands money to the real bank robber. While Sach hides from the cops who think he did it, Slip, Cathy, and the others dress as a rival mob to scare the bank robbers into confessing. 

The Thin Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Bluey. "Calypso" is Bluey's Afghan Hound teacher. She encourages her students to play together by finding  a way they can all help each other, from Bluey offering Indy a job in her fish and chip shop to the Terrier Brothers defending Honey's gnome village. Speaking of Honey, she's been waiting...and waiting...for "The Doctor" Bingo to notice her in the waiting room. Bingo keeps finding other injuries more interesting, until Honey finally makes up her own weird disease.

Called Uber after I ate. I was running late, and I didn't like the sound of the weather later. The driver going to the Acme came in 8 minutes. I arrived just in time. The one going home came in 10, not bad for 4:30 on a Saturday. No traffic either way.

Work wasn't terribly busy when I arrived. In fact, it didn't get really bad until the rain finally arrived at 2 PM. It had been cold, blustery, and cloudy all day. By the time it finally started to shower, we had picked up a little. I had to clean up a small soda spill and fell behind on the carts. Thankfully, it slowed down slightly by the time I finished work. I grabbed callus remover - I have one on my left pinky toe that really hurts - vitamins, and water. 

(And I'm glad I got home when I did. The rain picked up while I was shopping, becoming a much heavier shower. It's continued to shower off and on for the rest of the evening.)

Watched Angels In Disguise on Tubi when I got in. This unusually dark Bowery Boys movie starts off with Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall), copy boys at the New York Chronicle, hearing their cop friend Gabe Moreno (Gabriel Dell) has been shot. Gabe survived, but another long-time policeman, Officer Murphy, wasn't so lucky. Horrified, Sach and Slip take it on themselves to find the group responsible for the raid - the Loop Gang from Chicago. They get friendly with a pool-playing tough guy (Joseph Turkel) and convince him to take them to his boss. Turns out the head of the Loop Gang is young, brilliant, well-read Carver (Edward Ryan), who has been using an outside man to get information on where their next job should be. Slip and Sach realize they're in over their heads when they bring the rest of the Boys, including soda shop owner Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey) in to infiltrate the gang and send Gabe information about the next robbery.

Finished the night with dinner, a shower, and tonight's Match Game marathon. For every joke on the show about chests and curvy figures, there were two about stick-straight ones. Slender British model and actress Twiggy was just coming off the height of her popularity when the show began in 1973. Most of the jokes tended to compare her boyish figure to more voluptuous ones belonging to Raquel Welch, and later in the run, Dolly Pardon. If it wasn't Twiggy who was the butt of skinny jokes, it was Skinny Minnie, who was compared to everything from a string bean to a blade of grass.

There was a skinny joke in the hilarious episode in 1978 that introduced the Star Wheel and saw most of the panel but Scoey Mitchelll walk out when it landed on Richard Dawson. Brett Somers wasn't too happy when her own boyish figure came in for jokes on at least two separate occasions, one of which compared her to her chesty friend Fannie Flagg. A handsome, slender young gentleman from Maine turned Brett and Barbara Rhodes' heads in another episode from 1979. There were two skinny jokes on the week featuring game show host and comedian Robert Q. Lewis in late 1973 that also introduced Joyce Bulifant. Morey Amsterdam made a funny but slightly macabre skinny joke in an episode from early 1974.

Folks of any weight can enjoy these hilarious episodes with Gene and his wacky weirdos, no matter how big the peaks and valleys on your shirt may be.

Match Game Saturday Classics - Twiggy and Skinny Minnie Marathon

Lucky Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Bluey. Chili explains what a quest is to Bluey as they crochet, narrating a "Curry Quest" as Bingo becomes the hero of her own story and helps her father bring curry to a swap with friends. Bluey and Bingo are delighted to hold "Magic" over their father and his friend, then try to force Chili to play with them when she was busy...but Chili reminds her daughter that magic should never be used for mischief as Bingo begins to question what they're doing.

Called Uber after the second episode ended. No trouble here. In fact, I got the same chatty man both runs. He picked me up for work in 9 minutes and got me there just in time. Took 10 to pick me up going home. No trouble either way other than part of East Clinton was closed for tree removal.

No trouble at work, either. I did accidentally knock over a glass vase with a hyacinth bulb at one point and had to clean it up, which put me briefly behind on carts. Otherwise, we were off-and-on steady. The next major holiday is St. Patrick's Day, which not everyone celebrates. The only other thing going on right now is March Madness. By the time it started to pick up later in the day, I was almost done.

Had a lot of groceries to pick up after work. Restocked granola, granola bars, yogurt, soda, chicken, and cans of tuna. Had online coupons for apples, a free bag of Acme generic sliced Swiss cheese, Poppi probiotic soda, and brownie cookies. They still had those dollar bags of oranges leftover from last week. They were so delicious and juicy and sweet, I had to get another bag. 

After I got home, I changed, then put everything away while watching two Bowery Boys movies on Tubi. Slip and Sach are Lucky Losers when their broker boss supposedly commits suicide and they want to know why. The duo learn he had heavy gambling debts to the owner of an illegal gambling house who had been cheating to take money from wealthy patrons. They learn how to cheat at gambling themselves from a street busker in order to help their friend Gabe Moreno take him and his sexy moll down.

Fighting Fools from a few years earlier is even darker. This time, the Boys search for the brother of a friend of theirs who died from a hit in the boxing ring. He dropped out of boxing when he wouldn't take a dive, but Slip convinced him to rejoin the game to help his family. His original crooked manager still wants a piece of him, and even kidnaps his younger brother to force him to take that dive. Slip, Sach, and the other boys make sure the match goes on with no shenanigans. 

Finished the night at YouTube with tonight's Match Game marathon. Many contestants on this show hit some very lucky answers, from handsome gym teacher Ron Valenti to the funny older lady who insisted she was a "new kid on the block" and requested a kiss from Gene. Others brought along good luck charms. One lady had a pet rock and gave another to Richard Dawson. Pretty Chris had a tiny stuffed bear. There was the lady who brought a whole pile of tiny toys from her children, and the one with a little stuffed duck. The lady on a recently-rediscovered nighttime episode definitely thought Richard was her good-luck charm when she barely beat a genial Asian man and he helped her win big money. 

You'll have good luck watching this delightfully hilarious marathon full of shamrocks and shenanigans! 

Match Game Saturday Classics - St. Patrick's Day Marathon 2026

Still the One

We got an early start this morning after I ate a quick breakfast, driving through Lee and Stockbridge and onto the Mass Pike. This time, we had no trouble anywhere, not even in West Springfield. There was no traffic on the road or near the fair. Lauren set her GPS to take us to the Price Rite shopping center, where the parking is cheaper. We dropped the car there, then made the five-minute walk to the fair grounds. 

The Eastern States Exposition, aka The Big E, is one of the biggest state fairs in the US. The moment you enter, you're immediately assaulted by a farm market building, booths selling everything from solar panels to hot tubs, and stands with bright boardwalk-style signs selling every possible kind of food that can be fried. (And a few that you can fry but probably shouldn't, like Kool Aid.)

We spent the first few hours wandering around, seeing the lay of the land. Decided to hit the Avenue of the States first, before they got too busy to walk around in. The Avenue of the States features recreations of each New England state's original government house. Massachusetts boasted wild honey, fresh lobster rolls, and Boston sports teams memorabilia. Vermont's included its fresh cheeses and a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream stand. Connecticut had the New England Air Museum and Mohegan Sun Casino. People stood in a long line to wait for Poland Springs water and baked potatoes in Maine. New Hampshire had beautiful jewelry and thick slabs of fresh fudge and maple candy.

Next up was after a quick bathroom break was the Young Building, one of the two shopping buildings at the Big E. We made our way right to the booth that sells clothing and stuffed animals made from alpaca wool. Lauren found a fluffy lavender winter hat. I bought an adorable little lion I named Mack, after Betty's stuffed lion in The WENN Nutcracker Suite. We saw nothing else of interest there, so we headed out again. Took another stroll in the Better Living Building, but bought nothing there.

By this point, it was finally lunchtime. We spent another half-hour walking around, trying to decide what to eat. There were way too many choices! Lauren, who loves Mexican food, finally found a tiny Mexican stand. We both had quesadillas. Hers was beef. Mine was chicken. We enjoyed them at a table between booths.

Our next stop was the Midway. Lauren's not much for rides, and I did rides at Philly and Atlantic City this summer. Not to mention, the last time we played games, Lauren spent over an hour trying to win a big stuffed toy. We stuck to the cranes. I won nothing, but Lauren picked up a Captain America doll for her guy friend Rico.

We headed back out to the main concourse. I was hot and sweaty, and Lauren was sunburnt. It was a gorgeous day, sunny, blue, breezy, and dry, but it was also hot, probably in the lower 80's. I'd seen "mix and match slushies" booths all over the fair and thought I'd try one...until I saw all the bees buzzing around the booth! I had wondered where all the bees that seemed to be everywhere had come from. They must have flown over from the landscaping. I figured getting a pumpkin spice mocha frozen drink from a donut stand was safer. 

While I tried to decide on a cold drink, Lauren was looking over a leather goods store. I joined her just as she was admiring a table filled with every kind of cowboy hat in existence. She was trying on a fuchsia cowgirl hat with a pink and silver ribbon. I had to agree with the saleslady. Lauren looked really cute, and it was on sale. She not only bought it, she wore it for the rest of the afternoon.

After Lauren picked up a strawberry lemonade frozen drink from the donuts stand, we decided it was time to get out of the heat. Since we were in that area anyway, we sat down at the Court of Honor Stage. There were musicians gathering and a drummer practicing even as we settled on the yellow benches. Turns out the 2 PM concert was a yacht rock - aka soft rock from the 70's and 80's - cover band. They even had a guest who had sung the hit "Brandy, You're a Fine Girl" in the 70's and wrote the theme from Lizzie McGuire. They weren't half-bad. We had an enjoyable hour or so in the shade listening, resting, and clapping along.

I needed to use the bathroom, so we went back to the Better Living Building. We explored there after I finished, but once again, we saw nothing we really wanted. Lauren looked at socks with cute or unique patterns and looked for superhero toys for Rico, but we ultimately moved on with nothing.

There was one last thing we wanted to do at the Big E, and one ride Lauren didn't mind doing. An adorable little blue and yellow train picks up across from the Massachusetts Building at the Avenue of the States, driving down the streets nearby and back around the States Buildings. It's technically for kids, but we get a big kick out of it. It's like being in a parade. Everyone waves to the train as it goes by. (Although the conductor did have to shoo one person off who tried to get on without a ticket.)

By that point, it was almost 4:30. We had been walking for six hours, much of it in the hot sun, and were tired and sore. It was time for dinner. Lauren considered getting McDonald's, but we both ended up at Chipolte. She had sofritos with white rice, black beans, tomato salsa, corn, and cheese. I replaced the white rice with brown, the sofritos with chicken, and threw in lettuce with the other things. Yum! It was all good, but the bowls were so big, we ended up taking part of them home.

We headed back out again around 5:30. Same deal going home. Once again, no traffic, not even around the fair or as we passed by Springfield. The sun was just sinking behind the Berkshire Mountains when Lauren finally pulled into her garage. 

Since the Match Game marathon never materialized, I watched the Lawrence Welk Show episodes I didn't get the chance to check out last night. There's at least three on YouTube with a county fair theme. The earliest is from 1967. I thought Jo Ann Castle as the bearded lady and Jack Imel as a carny singing "Anything You Can Do" was a riot! In the 1971 show, Arthur Duncan dances "Meet Me In St. Louis," and Cissy and Bobby naturally get a country fair song from the original Mickey Mouse Club, which Bobby appeared on. Tanya Welch is a psychic who wonders "Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair?" The 1975 show was the last time country singer Clay Hart was a regular. This time, Norma Zimmer got to sing "Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair?"

Here's all three episodes, so you can visit the fair with Lawrence Welk and his musical family, too!

County Fair (1967)
County Fair Show (1971)

County Fair Show (1975)

Finished the night at Tubi with News Hounds. This is one of the earlier Bowery Boys movies, from when the group was still jelling. Slip and Sach are a copy boy and a photographer, respectively. Slip dreams of being a real reporter, going undercover with Sach to expose a sports gambling ring. Their friend Gabe, who works for the ring, finds Slip's story against his bosses and inadvertently has it published. Thing is, Slip was about to give up the story due to lack of evidence, and now the paper is slapped with a huge lawsuit. Gabe agrees to help the guys find Sach's camera and bring in the photos as evidence. 

Kids and Whammies

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. In the second season finale "Reunion," we meet Bow's fathers, two scholars who run a library devoted to First Ones artifacts. They want Bow to be a librarian like them, which is why Bow has lied and told them he, Adora, and Glimmer go to an academy. He finally has to tell them the truth when he and the girls have to fight off a First Ones monster Adora accidentally unleashed. Meanwhile, Catra faces major punishment from Hordak for letting Shadow Weaver go.

First thing on the docket was a walk to Dollar General. It was too nice of a day not to! It was sunny, warm and a little humid, but not too much, probably in the lower 80's. I mainly just needed pads. Got a Coke Zero, too. Grabbed birthday cards for Lauren, Amanda, and my littlest niece Aurora and a thank-you card for Lauren and her parents for having me visit them. 

Went with the Bowery Boys after I got in. Slip and Sach are horrified when they learn their boss, a Wall Street broker, has committed suicide. After they learn he had a massive gambling debt to a certain local mob boss, they learn the fine art of flim-flam from a local con man and become Lucky Losers when they set up their own illegal casino to lure the gangster out of hiding. They become a bit more concerned after their buddy Gabe Moreno, a TV journalist with his own show, is beaten for naming names. They call in soda shop proprietor Louie Dumbrowski to pose as a high-rolling cowboy and help make sure they don't end up in the hospital too.

Worked on Maplepunzel for most of the day. It takes several days of driving through the swamp, sweeter-smelling woods, and past industrial factories, but Scott, Maple, and the others do finally arrive in the small but attractive kingdom of Wennaria. Scott gets directions from a rather motley Army regiment (MASH cast members in a cameo) to small but cozy Wennaria Castle. Miss Mary, the head housekeeper, hires Scott as the gardener and Maple as an upstairs maid. She's too tired not to! She's yawning the whole time she interviews them and finally passed out at the table. She mentions the coffee that the household is drinking while preparing for Prince Victor's wedding. Scott and Maple know there's something fishy here and decide to investigate. 

Switched to Storybook International during lunch. "The Squire's Bride" is a variation on "Clever Gretel" from Scandinavia. Gretel does not want to marry the fat, greedy old squire, no matter how much her father needs to be released from his rent. Instead of agree to their wishes, she sends a furry pony over to be dressed in her bridal clothes and teach the squire a lesson.

Headed to the Thomas Sharp School after the episode ended. The children were pretty rowdy today, probably because they were excited about having tomorrow off. Even though one of the other teachers read Horton Hears a Who, they still had a hard time sitting down at lunch. I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon with the older kids. The teacher took most of them outside to play Red Light, Green Light. I drew with the rest and watched after those who built with magnetic tiles or Legos. The kids admired my drawings of Eugenia and her sisters from the upcoming Four Dancing Princesses, Eugenia, Foley, Scott, and Betty in the ballroom, and Eugenia trying to pet the enchanted puppies on Pruitt's leashes. When it was down to three kids, we put out connecting foam mats and let them strut their stuff in various poses on a "runway." 

When I got home, I had dinner while watching Match Game Syndicated. They're on the hilarious week where McLean first takes over reading a question for Gene, so Gene can answer the questions himself. In fact, McLean hosted the rest of the episode, and didn't do too badly, either. Brett scolded him for his lack of fashion sense in the last episode.

Finished the night with a salute to game show producer and director Bill Carruthers, whose birthday would have been Saturday. Bill started out directing game shows in the late 50's and early 60's like Ernie Kovacs' Take a Good Look and Chuck Barrios' The Newlywed Game. By 1968, he was producing his own game shows...but he never seemed to have much luck. Neither Give n Take with Jim Lange nor the retooled You Don't Say! with Tom Kennedy lasted more than a few months. 

Second Chance from 1977 didn't last long, either...but its lightning-fast game play and huge flashing board provided the bones for what would be Carruthers' only hit. Press Your Luck debuted on CBS in 1983. Three players answer questions, earning spins for each correct answer, three if they buzz in first. Those spins give them turns to play the huge board and win money or prizes. If they hit a Whammy, the annoying animated red guys (designed and animated by "Savage" Steve Holland) take everything they've accumulated. Four Whammies, and they're out of the game. 

Which happened in the very first episode. The one guy whammied out, leaving the ladies to battle it out. They do better on an episode from later in the run, though the episode included from 1985 had its own weirdness. At any rate, Press Your Luck is by far Carruthers' most popular contribution to game shows. He only did one more game show, Designated Hitter for ESPN in the 1990's, before retiring in 1996 after a stroke. 

Take a good look as the Whammies snatch your cash in this salute to the man who gave all those hit by the annoying red guys a second chance!

Take a Good Look (1959)

The Newlywed Game (1969)

Give N' Take Pilot (1975)

You Don't Say! (1975) 

Second Chance (1977)

Press Your Luck Premiere Episode (1983)

Press Your Luck (1985)

In the Heat of the Morning

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus. Mickey and the gang are going on a picnic, but Donald accidentally knocks over Spike the Bee's hive. They'll keep chasing him, unless he and the others can figure out how to "Please the Bees" and give them what they want.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. Not only was it way too hot to walk to work, I needed to get there and home quicker. The one going there took 9 minutes. I was almost late to work. Got luckier going home - the afternoon driver didn't even take 3 minutes. No traffic either way.

Work was pretty much the same it's been since the week after the 4th of July. It was quiet all morning. Got slightly busy a little before noon, then went right back to being quiet. I swept the store, put away carts, and ignored the heavy humidity and heat. 

When I got in, I changed, then had lunch while watching What's New, Scooby Doo? It's a "Recipe for Disaster" when Shaggy and Scooby win a contest and immediately want to tour the Scooby Snacks factory. Shaggy and Scooby are in high heaven, or would be, if there weren't concerns about industrial spies and two monsters covered in batter scaring off workers. This is one time Shaggy and Scooby insist on solving the mystery, before the home of their favorite food is shut down for good.

Headed out to the school after lunch. Needless to say, the kids were inside today. It was too hot to be doing anything more than riding four blocks outside! I walked in on the second round of "The Detective Game." After snack time, I built airplanes and attempted to make Maple's tower with the builders at the Lego table and drew Hilary and Jeff's confrontation in his room with the artists at the coloring and drawing table. 

Later on, they requested more help with the little kids, so I went down to the smaller cafeteria and played Candy Land with some of the pre-schoolers. That really brought me back. My sisters and I played Candy Land in one form or another throughout the 1980's, and then played it for another five years in the early-mid 90's after Keefe was born. We used to have so much fun with that one. We'd make up stories about the characters as we scooted our little colored gingerbread men along the path. 

Soon as I got home, I went straight into writing Hilary and the Beasts. No one is happy the next day. The ladies take their meals in Hilary's rooms, Troll and Eagle in their rooms. Maple and Hilary finally go downstairs to the music room to play songs with Miss Organ. That does it. Their music first brings in Betty and Bear, then Eagle, who had been getting his lunch. They're all dancing together when Troll comes rumbling downstairs. Hilary teases him about being too above the others to dance. He grabs her to show her that, yes, he can dance just fine (and he's certainly better at it than the other two). Hilary tries to ask him about Jeff again, but he continues to insist he owns the house...and some of his gestures, his movements, are just a little too familiar for Hilary, who finally runs out in confusion.

Watched Remember WENN while I worked. Hilary is "Courting Disaster" when Jeff's obnoxious lawyer Drake Stanley (Andrew Seear) comes to her claiming Jeff wants a $100,000 lawsuit. Maple and Betty trick him into appear on their "Tell it to the Judge" show. Scott plays lawyer for Hilary to prove that there's something wrong here...but it's Gertie and Betty who finally find a way to bring in Jeff for the last word.

The cast is saying "And How!" when the station is chosen to broadcast the last episode of the network show "The Strange Loner" before its star leaves for a Hollywood role. Trouble is, the star is a womanizing jerk who passes out the moment he gets to the station. The real Native American man who plays his sidekick (real-life Native American activist Russell Means) proves to be far more charming (if a bit stiff on the air). Meanwhile, the others are far more excited about Eugenia's recent discovery - pizza!

Switched to Match Game '76 during dinner. Pat Moriata seems like an unlikely fit for this show, and indeed, this would be his only week. Lee Merriweather and ever-creative Patti Deusch have a lot more fun. 

Finished the night online with the Bowery Boys. Sach is thrilled when he discovers $10,000 in a rolled-up newspaper on the sidewalk. Slip takes control of their cash, literally laundering their money and even offering it to charities in their neighborhood. It turns out to be Jinx Money when they learn it came from an illegal card game. Each of the gamblers who try to steal it from the Boys ends up dead. The cops don't believe Sach's story about a man carrying an umbrella doing it, until one of their molls goes after the boys, and they almost end up being "the Umbrella's" victims. 

A Smurfing Good Time

Got a quick start today with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Adora's a little fed up with the ancient technology not giving her much information beyond "let go." Catra has followed her and steals a data crystal, which unleashes holographs of memories, as the girls recall their childhoods in the Horde. Adora made a "Promise" to always look after Catra, which she broke when she left. Catra finally decides she'd rather be the only one in charge at the Horde and literally leaves Adora hanging on a ledge...after which she really does literally and figuratively let go.

Switched to the Bowery Boys movie Jinx Money next. Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) and his buddies are thrilled when his best friend Sach (Huntz Hall) discovers $50,000 in a rolled-up newspaper. Turns out it originally belonged to gangsters who won it from an illicit poker game. Each gangster from the game tries to retrieve it, only to end up dead, shot or poisoned by a man carrying an umbrella. Sach keeps seeing the umbrella, but no one believes him...until the gorgeous moll (Betty Caldwell) of one of the gangsters goes after them, and they almost wind up as victims of "The Umbrella" too.

Called Uber even before the movie ended. I wanted to see The Smurfs, but I was going to need to eat lunch first. The driver took 8 minutes to arrive, then proceeded to hit almost every light going to Somerdale. At least there was no traffic going there. I got off at Amy's Omelette House in 15 minutes.

Which proved to be a bad idea. I forgot Amy's closes at 2, and it was nearly 2 when I arrived. I went to the pizza parlor across the street and got two not-bad slices of tomato-basil-mozzarella and sausage instead. Washed it down with a Diet Pepsi as I hurried past empty lots and emptier buildings and new dispensaries to the Cinemark 16. 

Thankfully, I was only about 20 minutes late to the movie. I think I missed the first couple of minutes and a Spongebob Squarepants short, but it could have been worse. I'll be going further into The Smurfs at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog this Saturday.

Considered a stop at Wal Mart, but I really don't need anything right now. Just took the bus home instead. It was on time, but I didn't realize the button to make it stop was broken. The bus driver yelled at me for not yelling to her and telling her to stop. I'm not yelling over people's heads. The buttons should have been working. 

At least the weather was gorgeous for all of this. It's still a little humid, but it was also off-and-on cloudy, breezy, and far cooler, probably in the lower 80's. Made the walk to the movie theater and the brief walk home a pleasure.

Went straight into Remember WENN when I got in. Victor Comstock returns "In the WENN Small Hours." Turns out he's really working as a double agent in England and Germany, broadcasting propaganda with a bad Texan accent under the name Johnathan Arnold. No one but Betty can know he's still alive...which proves to be a problem when Eugenia's guest for the Agitato Alert, explorer Cutter Dunlap (Malcom Gets), catches them. Good thing he's been gone for the past three years and Betty can give him some very unique insights into how things have changed...

"Prior to Broadway" switches the focus to Hilary and Jeff. Hilary is tired of Scott's harebrained ideas and wishes she could appear on a real stage play. She gets her chance when a playwright from the Giels Aldrych Academy, Eurpedes Moss (Harry Hamlin), presents them with a play he claimed was written for them. They convince the kindly Sweets (Peggy Cass and Louis Zorich) to sponsor the play as well, but they never can decide whether it should be a comedy or a drama. Meanwhile, Betty re-reads Scott's letter of introduction from Victor and realizes it sounds a bit like Scott wrote it himself...

Moved to Dames after WENN ended. I go further into this Busby Berkeley extravaganza that introduced the standard ballad "I Only Have Eyes for You" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Dames

Worked on Hilary and the Beasts while Dames was on. Hilary and Troll do watch the fireworks together as the fountain tinkles in the background, but they end up making their own fireworks when Hilary admits that she's not crazy about Eagle and Bear running around with her sisters. She wants them to marry humans, not animals. Troll angrily argues that they weren't always like that, and it's his fault that they got hurt. He didn't want to divorce his first wife, but did it to save his friends, something Hilary sees as absurd. Even after their argument, Hilary still agrees to help him plant more roses. 

Had dinner while watching Match Game '76. We skip ahead to spring 1976, joined by Dick Gautier, Mary Ann Mobley, and Betty White. Mary Ann's just thrilled she's actually getting the right answers for once. Dick's happier making goofy voices. 

Finished the night listening to more new record and CD acquisitions. Dolly Pardon and Burt Reynolds are the stars of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas and get the lion's share of the songs, including a new one, "Sneaking Around." Pardon sings all of "Hard Candy Christmas" here (the girls sing it with her in the film), and she tossed in her "I Will Always Love You." The real stand-out here, as in the film, is Charles Durning's utterly hilarious "Dance a Little Side Step." It's just as much fun here as it is in the movie.

The Manhattan Transfer brought the 30's and 40's into the 70's and 80's, adapting and interpreting earlier standards like "Tuxedo Junction" and "A Gal In Calico" for modern audiences. Those can be found on The Manhattan Transfer Anthology, but my favorites are the newer ones written in the style of 30's and 40's big-band hits. The live "Heart's Desire," sultry "Mystery," and charming "Sing Joy Spring" are all equally fun. 

Fairy Tale Angels

Began the morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. The kids want to "Party Like Kiki!", their bubble-blowing caterpillar friend, but she's to tall to explore Fergie's garden or to play many games with them. Alice and her friends show her how special her height is when Dinah gets stuck on a tall mushroom and she's the only one who can get her down. Hearts Palace becomes "The Puff Pastry Palace" when Rosa's attempt to make guava puff pastry for Mother's Day gets literally out of control after she puts too much puff powder on it.

Headed out after the cartoon ended. For once, I got to work right on time. Good thing, too. We weren't busy at all, but that didn't mean there wasn't plenty to do. I had to return a lot of cold items today and put toilet paper in the bathrooms. Good thing the carts weren't really all that bad. It's the middle of the week and the middle of a month that's not traditionally busy once you get past the 4th of July. Not to mention, while it was sunny and a bit cooler, it was still killer humid. Most people were likely at work in their air conditioning or on vacation. 

Needed a few things on the way home. Since I had to refill my blood pressure medication, I grabbed the Acme's generic granola. (Went with cinnamon bun this time.) 20 oz Coke were two for four; I got cherry and regular zero. Stopped at the pretzel shop for a pepperoni-stuffed pretzel and two regular ones.

Had lunch while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "A Goofy Fairy Tale" is the two-part series finale. Goofy is upset when he accidentally makes all the fairy tale stories in the Clubhouse vanish. Professor Ludvig Von Drake manages to make a portal open to a storybook world where the Golden Storybook holding their stories can be found. Only Goofy is able to make it through, so he is the one who must search for the book with the help of Donald the Pied Piper, Hansel Mickey and Gretel Minnie, Princess Daisy, Chip and Dale the knights, and grouchy Beast Pete.

Watched Summer School on Pluto TV next. Freddy Shoop (Mark Harmon) is a charming Los Angeles phys Ed teacher who should be on his way to Hawaii. Instead, he's stuck teaching remedial English to a group of fairly typical slackers, including two boys (Dean Cameron and Gary Riley) who are the world's biggest fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. To tell the truth, he really has no idea what to do with them. He takes them on trips to the amusement park and petting zoo at first. After nerdy Alan (Richard Horvitz) complains about an allergy, he switches to promising them whatever they want if they study. He's the lamaze coach for the pregnant Rhonda (Shawnee Smith), teaches Denise (Kelly Jo Minter) how to drive, and lets Pam (Courtney Thorne-Smith) stay with him.

He finally snaps when they make a few too many demands and he reminds them that they need to study, especially after they trash his house during a party. Robin (Kirstie Alley), the history teacher he's been chasing all summer, sees how he's finally getting through to the kids and encourages him to stay. So do the kids, who finally see that he really cares. Vice Principal Gills (Robin Thomas) would be glad to fire Shoop, but the kids are determined to show him that, despite their antics, they've learned a lot more about English...and life...than he thinks.

Pretty typical 80's summer comedy. Harmon is likable enough as laid-back Shoop and Thomas is fine as the obnoxious Gillis, but the kids, other than Riley and Cameron's slacker horror fanatics, are pretty one-note, and Alliey's little more than a love interest. Not the worst way to pass an hour and a half during your own summer break if you or your teens are fans of wacky 80's comedies.

Moved to Remember WENN next. Victor Comstock takes the cast to a convention to sell his latest idea - shows recorded onto glass discs that can be played in place of regular programming. Betty's wondering "Who's Minding the Asylum" when Mr. Foley accidentally shatters the recordings of most of their afternoon programming...right before their fussy sponsor Mr. Medwick (Bob Dorian, who also introduced the episodes during their original run) arrives. Since his show was among those lost, Betty and the remaining staff first get him involved in an amateur show, then have to make him think they're the cast. 

(Look for the awesome version of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" near the end of this episode. And a personal note - "The Emperor Smith" and "Asylum" were the first episodes I saw. Caught them while babysitting during the summer of 1996.) 

My favorite episode from before Victor left is "Armchair Detectives." Jeff is Sherlock Holmes and Mackie Watson on WENN's mystery program, where they recreate and solve local crimes. They're all shocked when a butler escapes prison and holds them all prisoner, insisting that he's innocent and they need to reopen his case. It seems open and shut...until Jeff catches details that only those in radio would know.

Moved to Smuggers' Cove at Tubi after WENN ended. Terrance "Slip" Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) is thrilled when he thinks he gets a letter indicating that he inherits a fine mansion in Long Island. He takes the rest of the Bowery Boys, including his cowardly buddy Sach (Huntz Hall), out to see the mansion. Turns out, not only is it being used as the headquarters for European smugglers seeking a precious diamond, but it's not his. The real Terrance Mahoney (Paul Harvey) and his daughter Teresa (Amelita Ward) have also come out to the mansion for rest and relaxation. The Boys' private eye friend Gabe (Gabe Dell) follows them, smelling a case and hoping to get the goods on the smugglers and the mysterious mansion. 

Worked on Hilary and the Beasts for most of the afternoon. Even Hilary is ready to concede the need to stay and solve the mysteries of the house and its occupant after the second strange dream in a row. Betty thinks it revolves around Bear...or more specifically, whatever information is locked away in his brain. Someone doesn't want him remembering something. Hilary and Maple suspect it may have to do with Eagle's work on the growing situation in Europe and all the papers and radio transcriptions in his offices. Hilary also points out the need to talk to the rest of the household, including Mrs. Fox and the female organ Troll mentioned the night before. Betty says she'll call Doug and C.J and see what they've found out about Pavla and who owns the house, too.

Oh, and I now have my next long WENN fairy tale after Hilary and the Beasts. Maplepunzel begins with Victor walking feverish Maple home after the chaos of "And If I Die Before I Sleep." Maple is totally smitten with this handsome, sweet, well-spoken Prince Charming who actually listens to her and treats her like a lady...but she is upset that he can't remember their first meeting, when she saw him in that police uniform during "Some Time, Some Station." In fact, Victor has almost no memory of that night at all, nor any of his time in London. 

After she gets into bed, Maple listens to Betty's one-woman version of "Rapunzel" on "A Book at Bedtime" and admits that she wouldn't mind a guy like Victor getting her out of a tower. She dreams that she's Rapunzel, Pavla is the witch who trapped her in the tower, Victor is the valiant prince searching for his lost brother Jeff, Scott is her friend the woodsman guide who leads Victor to her, Hilary was Jeff's original intended, a queen bound by Pavla's wicked magic, with Betty as her enchanted ward and Mackie as the father forced to give Maple up after he stole parsley for her mother. 

I'm loving what I'm coming up with for this one, and it will absolutely be the next novella-length fairy tale after Gertie and Mr. Eldridge's comic short The Man Who Minded the House. 

Broke for dinner and Match Game '75 at 6:30. For some reason, they jumped to much earlier in the year. Robert Vaughn made his second and last appearance this week, while Mitzi McCall made her first. Mitzi wasn't the best player, but she was hilarious in the sixth seat, and I really do wish she'd turned up more often.

Finished the night with Charlie's Angels. It's the Angels' "Hours of Desperation" in the second season when two diamond thieves who were double-crossed by their boss take Sabrina and Bosley hostage at the offices. Kris and Kelly have to track down the thief and find the diamonds, before the bombs strapped to Sabrina go off.  

A Walk On the Cold Side

Slept so late, I started the day with breakfast and Match Game '75. Tough-guy producer Sheldon Leonard and Cuban belle Louisa Moritz (the latter in a provocative peacock feather top) joins the group, along with Fannie Flagg in a sequined stop sign sweater. The others do their best to help out with "Tongue __" on the Audience Match.

Headed out to run errands after the show ended. I didn't realize it got so cold overnight! The rain vanished, but it got cold and remained dull gray and gale-force windy. The rain coat I wore wasn't really appropriate. I dropped The Prisoner In the Castle at the book kiosk about a block away, then went back to the house to pick up my winter coat and use the bathroom.

After I grabbed the right coat, I picked up a warm, soft twist pretzel at the pretzel shop, then hit Family Dollar. I wanted to see if they had granola bars. They did have those Special K filled crisp bars, and I found a metal Valentine's Day wreath decorated with flowers I liked. Unfortunately, the line was backed up due to a woman having trouble with her order. I had enough of that yesterday. Finally decided I didn't need either item, put them away, and left with nothing.

After all that, I needed WaWa. Headed two blocks down and across the street for a drink. White chocolate mocha is their big winter theme this year. Thought I'd try the smoothie, along with some bananas and granola bars for later. Not bad. More caramel than chocolate of any kind. 

Went for a short stroll after that. Though the rain we had last night had long since vanished, it still wasn't a very nice day. Blustery, cold winds sent the few remaining Christmas decorations and a few Valentine's Day flags fluttering. Most folks settled for winter wreaths or their bare brown gardens. The gray, gloomy clouds lingered all afternoon.

Had lunch and rested while watching the Bowery Boys movie Spook Busters in honor of Friday the 13th.  Slip (Leo Gorcey) and most of his buddies have just graduated from exterminating school, except goofy Sach (Huntz Hall). They get their first big assignment cleaning up an abandoned mansion that once belonged to a magician. The duo and their buddies encounter all sorts of spooky tricks, from words appearing on a dusty mirror to an ax being thrown from nowhere. They're trying to figure out what's going on when they're joined by their old friend Gabe (Gabriel Dell) back from the Merchant Marines and his French wife Mignon (Tanis Chandler). Sach plays an organ that turns a wall around...allowing him to discover a laboratory in the back of the house, where a mad scientist (Douglass Dumbrille) wants to remove his brain and put it in his gorilla!

I nearly passed out towards the end of Spook Busters, so I went down for an actual nap for an hour. After I got up, I did a little writing. Betty White is the Snow Queen herself, and while she's happy to welcome them to her domain, she's not happy to announce that the wicked Mouse King has declared that he'll take over the Land of Sweets if the Princess isn't awakened and the Prince isn't found.

Broke for dinner at quarter after 7. Ate while watching Match Game Syndicated. The first episode revealed that the new bell and buzzer were a tad different than the original ones, and that Judy Landers was a lot smarter than people give her credit for when she helped the contestant with "__ Gravy" in the Head to Head. For some reason, we skipped two episodes after that to the end of the week. Richard Paul showed off his cowboy headgear, while the others helped with "__ ing Point" in the Audience Match. Richard matched with the audience at the end of the first episode to fill time, Charles in the second.

Speaking of Charles Nelson Reilly, in honor of what would have been his birthday today (and it being free on YouTube), I watched Cannonball Run II tonight. Sheik Abdul ben Falafel (Jamie Farr) starts the illegal Cannball Run race up again, since he lost the last time. He's joined by his faithful servant (Doug McClure) and a drunk doctor (Jack Elam). 

Stunt drivers J.J McClure (Burt Reynolds) and Victor Prinzi pick up Betty (Marilu Henner) and Veronica (Shirley MacLaine), who are dressed as nuns but are really dancers trying to get to New York. Jamie (Dean Martin) and Morris (Sammy Davis Jr.) are dodging mobster Don Don Canneloli (Reilly), who in turn needs pay off mob enforcer Hymie Kaplan (Telly Salvavas). There's also the Asian car filled with gadgets driven by a Chinese engineer (Jackie Chan!) and a gentle giant (Richard Kiel), the two gorgeous women (Catherine Bach and Susan Anton) who recruit a trucker (Joe Thiessman) to help them out, and the Cadillac driven by an orangutan and his human friends Mel (Mel Tillis) and Tony (Tony Danza). 

This is one of the most eclectic casts I've ever seen in any film. Is this movie great art? No. Is it even good? Probably not. But there's a lot of weird bits and a few great gags, especially once they get on the road. Yes, the Arab (and to a lesser degree, Asian and Italian) stereotypes are dated. Yes, the script is all over the place. It's still a wacky good time if you love a good car chase or are a fan of anyone in the cast.