Puppy Love Matches

Started a gloomy morning with breakfast and the Elton John album Ice On Fire. The lovely Cold War ballad "Nikita" was the big hit here, but honestly, this is a pretty dark album. Wikipedia talks about this having a rhythm and blues sound, but I think it's very mid-80s dark blues. "This Town" explores economic decline, "Cry to Heaven" is vaguely anti-war, and "Shoot Down the Moon" is a dark ballad. The other hit "Wrap It Up" and the upbeat ballad "Soul Glove" are more fun.

It had just started to shower by around 9. I ended up calling Uber. I called them early, and they arrived in less than 5 minutes. Had less luck going home. The original driver canceled, and their replacement didn't arrive for 13 minutes. 

Honestly, work was unusually quiet for the Eagles' first 1 PM Sunday game. It was busy right before the game started, but it was relatively quiet before that and died quickly afterwards. The weather didn't help. It remained cool, rainy, and humid off and on for the entire afternoon. I had plenty of help, too. The Sunday bagger and one of the college boys took the indoor chores and did carts, though I did end up doing the outside trash. No trouble whatsoever.

(I didn't see the game, but the Eagles apparently started well, then stumbled against the Tennessee Titans in the second half. They got a last minute pass that won them the game 24-20. It was a good Philadelphia sports day all around. The Phillies killed the Mets too, 7-2.)

Went straight down for a nap when I got home. I was up way too late last night, and I'm still really tired. I've been busy lately! Hit the sack at 4, and didn't get up until around 5:30.

Good thing I woke up when I did. Tonight's Match Game YouTube marathon had just started. Questions and jokes about our friends from the animal kingdom abounded on this show. Though they were mainly about what mean widdle kids do to animals, two real animals did appear on syndicated episodes. Blind man Glenn made history as one of the first disabled contestants, with the help of his beautiful service dog Princess. Betty White adored her, and she was sweeter and better-behaved than most of the panelists. 

Betty also helped with Trotter, who belonged to Gene's daughter Lynne. Trotter was a dear sweet old mutt who stayed right with Aunt Betty and Grandpapa Gene. Charles kept talking about her being a vicious dog, but he later said he had dogs himself. I think he realized that Trotter was probably smarter and better-looking than any of them.

The other "animal" who turned up on an episode wasn't real, or quite as pleasant. An extremely ugly paper-mache eagle Charles dubbed "The Goody-Toddy Bird" dropped a Match Game '77 egg at the start of the New Year's Eve 1976 episode. Later on, Gene gave the egg to the contestant George when he gave a bad answer on the Head-to-Head. Mark Goodson turned up to praise the job they were all doing before the balloons dropped for the New Year and the new sign.

Celebrate our animal friends with two of the sweetest real dogs around!

Match Game Sunday Classics - We Love Our Animals Marathon

Perfect Indian Summer

Started off a busy morning with breakfast and the Monchichhis. Moncho is thrilled when they inadvertently awaken his hero, the Mighty Manfred. He's really more of a "Helpless Hero" who would rather eat pies and brag than face danger. The others let him take the glory when they're the ones who stop the Grumplins from chasing them, but he really learns a lesson in bravery when they go on a quest to find a banshee's treasure.

Hurried out the moment the cartoon ended, but it wasn't fast enough. I had to dodge a lot of road work I forgot about, not to mention the traffic on Haddon Avenue. Considering the road work, I'm probably lucky I was only about 5 minutes late at SJRA Radiology on the border of Haddonfield and Westmont. Thankfully, it didn't take long to sign in and get my mammogram done. I went in, changed into my wrap, they squeezed my chest, and I left. 

Continued down Haddon Avenue next to the Haddonfield Library. On one hand, heavy remodeling a few years ago left this as one of the largest, most modern, and best-looking of the local libraries. It also left it a maze. There's more tiny rooms in that building than there is in your average haunted house. I had to ask where the non-fiction was. Turns out it was in the basement. 

Once I got down there, I spent a pleasant 40 minutes or so looking at a guide to Disneyland. Why Disneyland? Well, for one thing, I've never been there. I've never been to California, period. Closest I've gotten is a brief stop over in Salt Lake City. I've been to Walt Disney World, but not since 1990. For another thing, I used to like looking at Disney World guides at the Haddon Township Library when I first moved here 20 years ago. Thought I'd give the other coast a try.

I was originally going to eat at the Bistro, but it was getting kind of late when I finally got out of the library. Opted for the Haddon Diner instead, which is on the way home. I had two very large, fluffy banana pecan pancakes. Yum! They were huge, full of thick banana and pecan pieces. I did manage to eat most of them and drink half of a glass of iced tea. 

There wasn't much time when I finally got home, so I read a chapter of Cookies and Clairvoyance by Bailey Cates while listening to the soundtrack from K-Pop Demon Hunters. This was a huge hit on Netflix last year, and the music is a big part of why. "Golden" was the hit and won the Oscar, but my favorite is the dynamic "Takedown" as Huntrix challenges their male rivals. The boys respond with the moody "Your Idol" and almost annoyingly catchy "Soda Pop."

Went back out to the Thomas Sharp School, and yes, I made it on time. The kids were all standing in the hall when I arrived. The music classes expanded to Monday and Tuesday. We did get them into the library for some coloring. I joined a few of the kids at my table to draw a rainbow. 

Once we got back into the cafeteria, there was some confusion. They started eating their snacks, but most of them hadn't used the bathroom yet. One boy refused to leave his snack for anything, but I did get the rest of my group down the hall to the bathrooms. Thankfully, no trouble there. They all got in and out relatively fast.

We weren't inside for very long after snack time anyway. It was just too darn nice to spend the day inside! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was sunny and dry, with a nice, cool wind. It wasn't too hot for them to run around the slides and draw with chalk this time. Maybe it's just as well that there were fewer kids who wanted to ride the swings, because I had trouble with some of the ones who did. A few of them just would not get off once they were on, even with a five minute limit and other kids who wanted to ride. One girl threw a fit when she couldn't ride with her friend and hid behind a tree, and that was after she'd already been on the swings three times. Thankfully, by 5PM, there were two left, and we'd moved them around to the blacktop to play with the three remaining older kids.

Made a short stop at CVS on the White Horse Pike to use the bathroom and buy Ibuprofen. I didn't realize I was out yesterday, or I would have gotten it at the Acme. At least CVS wasn't busy, and I was able to get what I needed quickly.

Went right into Match Game '76 and dinner when I got home. Didi Conn, later of Grease, made her first of two appearances on the show this week. She was joined by the ever-creative Patti Deusch and by lovably nutty Dick Martin. 

Finished the night at YouTube with some of the most unique game shows ever created. Unfortunately, unique ideas don't always translate to big ratings. Canadian show Pitfall from 1981 started out like Family Feud, with two contestants guessing how the audience will vote on four answers in a certain category. Winner goes on to face the dreaded bridge. They have to guess questions on a hydraulic lift set. The set might go up and down randomly. If it does go down, they lose time to answer. Not only was this awkward to watch, the lavish up and down set proved to be so cumbersome to sustain, it bankrupted its producers. Neither the contestants nor host Alex Trebek ever got their money or prizes. 

Not all creative flops had fates that were that dire. Most of them were more like The Money Maze from 1974 and The Magnificent Marble Machine from 1975. Money Maze had two couples answering questions, with the husband guiding the wife through the title labyrinth to prizes. Magnificent Marble Machine was a giant pinball machine that contestants played to win prizes and cash with the help of a celebrity teammate, in this case Florence Henderson and Roddy McDowell. A young Nick Clooney hosted Money Maze. Art James was in charge of the Marble Machine. 

Both shows ran into the same set problems as Pitfall, though in this case everyone did get their cash and prizes in the end. That lavish Money Maze was difficult to set up, cost ABC a bundle, and the show ultimately did badly in the ratings. The Marble Machine was cool to look at, but cumbersome to play and not all that exciting to watch. 

Whew! from 1979 may be the ultimate big-set crazy idea. One person sets up blocks on a board filled with goofy puns surrounding a topic. The other contestant is the "charger" who answers the puns and figures out what the real word that belongs there is. Winner answered questions while running through a "gauntlet" of Hanna-Barbara-designed baddies. It's too bad this doesn't ever seem to have worked, on CBS in 1979 or when it re-ran on Buzzr a few years ago. Buzzr's commercials were right that it is as fun to watch as it is to say.

Not every big set or unique idea went over that badly. Press Your Luck and The Joker's Wild are two beloved shows that find ways to make their big sets work without getting dull or cumbersome. Press Your Luck has people answering questions to earn spins, then going around on that famous board in the hope that the animated Whammies don't steal their cash and prizes. Joker's Wild does something similar, but this time it's answering questions on a huge slot machine. 

Game Show Network had its own problems with big concepts in 2002. Russian Roulette has six contestants standing on trapdoors. One contestant asks another a question. If they answer correctly, they earn money. If they don't, they may end up sliding through that trapdoor and out of the game. Though this one did manage two seasons and is fondly remembered by Game Show Network fans, it proved to be a little too unworkable (host Mark L. Walhberg and several crew members accidentally fell in those trapdoors too) to keep around beyond a year. 

See which big idea worked and which didn't with these creative explorations into some of the most imaginative game shows of all time!

The Money Maze (1974)

The Joker's Wild (1974)

The Magnificent Marble Machine (1975) 

Whew! (1979)

Pitfall (1981)

Press Your Luck (1984)

Russian Roulette Pilot (2002)

A Couple of Characters

Began a rainy morning with breakfast, the last chapters of Sonnet of the Sphinx, and Julie London. The heavy showers and gloomy, gritty clouds seemed especially appropriate for The Unforgettable Julie London. "Cry Me a River" is only the tip of the iceberg in her many melancholy ballads. "A Cottage for Sale," "Little White Lies," "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You?" "What Is This Thing Called Love?" and "No Moon at All" go into similar dark turf. "Cuddle Up a Little Closer," "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," "Daddy," and "Hot Toddy" are a bit more upbeat.

Though the rain had slowed down considerably by 9 AM, it was still raining. I called Uber. No trouble there. The driver going to work arrived in 8 minutes. It took me a while to get a ride going home and cost me a bundle, but when I did, they came in 7 minutes. No trouble either way, not even with some flash flooding in Oaklyn in the morning.

It's probably a good thing it did stop raining. Though I did have to return cold items for a half-hour, I spent most of the morning and early afternoon outside. In fact, the sun came out later on, and it got hot and murderously humid. It was really busy from about 11 AM onward, too. People were getting ready for the first Eagles game of the season against the Commanders at 4:25. It wasn't until almost before I left that we managed to corral the carts again.

Stopped at the pharmacy after work to get my Covid vaccine. I don't want the kids getting sick or making me sick. I've been meaning to get this done and kept putting it off. Talked to the pharmacist. She figured out my insurance. I waited a minute, then went in the room next to the pharmacy. They gave me the injection and covered it with a Band Aid, and I moved on. 

When I got home, I changed...and went straight into bed for a nap. I was up way too late last night and had to get up early this morning (and will for most of this week.) Put my head on the pillow at quarter after 3 and didn't get up until 5:30.

I originally woke up just in time for tonight's Match Game marathon...but YouTube kept giving Match Game Productions a hard time. It blocked two marathons before we found out that the YouTube Studio was glitchy and blocking all new uploads. 

(At least things went better for the Eagles. They hit the ground running to start and were up 14-9 when I checked at half-time. The Commanders caught up in the second half, but it wasn't enough. The Eagles finally outran them 24-22.) 

I finished up the night with CDs featuring two true characters of American film and theater instead. Jimmy Durante may not have been traditional leading man material, but darned if he couldn't put over a ballad almost as well as Julie London. His "As Time Goes By" on As Time Goes By: The Best of Jimmy Durante was so iconic, it's on the Sleepless In Seattle soundtrack. That also features his delightful version of "Make Someone Happy." As Warners Archives says on the back of the CD box, only Walter Huston did "September Song" better. I've also never heard "Try a Little Tenderness" done as a jazz ballad.

Elaine Stritch was an entirely different type of character, but one who was just as memorable as the gentler Durante. I remember hearing great stuff about her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty when it opened on Broadway in 2002, and no wonder. The 2-disc cast album was recorded live at the original off-Broadway show. Stritch is obviously having a ball telling her life story. And what a life it was! She really had been there, known everyone from a young Marlon Brando to Noel Coward. 

I kind of wish we could have gotten one song from the charming flop Goldilocks, where she played a silent film star and Don Ameche was her exasperated director and ex-husband. Her other famous roles were far better represented. In addition to her first song "Civilization" from the 1947  revue Angel In the Wings, "The Ladies Who Lunch" from Company, "Zip" from Pal Joey, and "Why Do the Wrong People Travel?" from the Coward show Sail Away, there were bits of "There's No Business Like Show Business," "I Want a Long Time Daddy" as she recalled getting into trouble for sneaking out to see a drag queen in Detroit, "Broadway Baby" (which she sang in the 1986 Follies concert), and the Coward song "I Went to a Marvelous Party." 

This may be a party of one, but no one can party like Elaine Stritch can. If you love her or just want to hear someone tell a few great, slightly drunken stories, this is an absolute must-find. 

Where No Harvests Have Gone Before

Began the morning with breakfast and the Monchichhis. "Moncho's Gift" is what he thinks is a beautiful bracelet for Kyla. The bracelet is really magic and grants the wish of the wearer. It belongs to a sand witch, who turns herself into a Monchichhi and Wizzar into a frog to get it back.

Headed off to the farm market soon as I finished eating. It was still sunny, breezy, and a bit humid at this point. The fall harvest is out at the Collingswood Farm Market. The tables were laden with pumpkins, winter squash, pumpkin and squash blossoms, peppers, Chinese beans, eggplants, grapes, pears, and apples. It was teeming with people buying produce and meat for their weekend barbecues and picnics. I even ran into two of the kids from the after-school program and their parents enjoying lemon popcicles from the Bubba's Creamery cart. I picked up tiny, sweet Gala apples, seedless Concord grapes, a spinach and feta empanada for lunch, and my own strawberries and cream popcicle from Bubba's Creamery.

Hurried home and spent the remaining hour before work eating lunch and listening to more Let's Pretend. "The Yellow Dwarf" is a new one on me. A queen is forced to promise her daughter's hand in marriage to the repulsive title character. An evil fairy helps him claim his bride, while she claims the daughter's prince suitor. The prince makes his way back to the princess, only for both of them to die. A mermaid who had befriended them convinces a good fairy to turn them into two palm trees entwined with each other. 

"The Goose Girl" is a princess who is forced to trade places with a treacherous lady-in-waiting. While her servant marries the prince, the princess becomes the title character and her beloved horse is killed. The male servant who chases her isn't too happy when she keeps making his hat fly away. The prince knows something's up, but he has to put her in a room by herself to get a confession.

Headed to work after "The Goose Girl" ended. I spent the entire time pushing carts. The head bagger was sweeping and doing inside work. There was a college boy doing the trash and pushing carts. In all honesty, we probably didn't need the extra help. It wasn't really that busy. Everyone must be waiting until tomorrow before the Eagles game. I was in and out with no trouble.

Listened to records after I got home. The "Musical Repertory Theatre" Guys and Dolls isn't technically a cast album in the traditional sense. It's more a collection of songs from the musical sung by some of the most popular performers at Reprise Records. In fact, only Frank Sinatra, would actually appear in the film version of Guys and Dolls. Debbie Reynolds tries too hard and just sounds annoying on "Adelaide's Lament," "Take Back Your Mink," and joining Allan Sherman for "Sue Me." Sinatra does better by "Luck Be a Lady" and "I've Never Been In Love Before" and joins Bing Crosby and Dean Martin for "The Oldest Established" and "Fugue For Tinhorns." The McGuire Sisters have fun with "A Bushel and a Peck," while Sammy Davis Jr. really throws himself into "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat." If you love Guys and Dolls or any of the singers in question, this is worth hearing at least once for some decent performances. 

My sisters and I had Raggedy Ann and Andy's Happiness Album when we were really little in the early 80's, and we used to listen to it a lot. It's a rainy day, but Raggedy Ann and Andy find ways to cheer everyone up, including dancing to a number from the Hansel and Gretel opera. In fact, their "Brother, Come and Dance With Me" is the highlight of the album, and just too adorable. The original song "Happy Is" and a jaunty version of "This Old Man" are basically there to pad out the album, but they're so catchy you don't mind a bit.

Finished out the day with dinner, a shower, and today's Match Game Marathon. Today, we honored the 60th anniversary of Star Trek with the two weeks featuring William Shatner and questions revolving around Star Trek or space. Shatner first appeared on the show in 1974, when he'd just done the controversial TV movie The Tenth Level. He found himself dealing with a slightly flustered Anne Meara next to him, while Brett sat in the ingenue seat next to Richard Dawson for the last time. 

By the time Shatner turned up again in mid-1975, he was starring on the short-lived spy western Barbary Coast. His second week also featured soft-spoken Broadway star Julie Harris, a close friend of Charles Nelson Reilly. One of the contestants that week jumped around so much, Gene claimed she actually broke the set. There was also the lady who cheerfully gave a point-blank answer as to what everyone was excited about Lola the stripper getting prints for. 

There were occasional references to Star Trek later in the series, too. Nipsey Russell nearly took off his clothes to show that he was hardly unattractive in one episode. Another friend of Charles, Elizabeth Allen, made her only appearance on another. There was also the 1979 episode with Darryl Anderson of Lou Grant, Donna Pescow of Angie and Out of This World, and a question about what came to a point on Spock's sister.

Space, the final game show frontier. It's your mission to boldly go where no game show has gone before with these hilarious out-of-this-world episodes!

Match Game Saturday Classics - William Shatner & Star Trek Marathon on Match Game

Kids and Memories

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel's Babysitter" is Prince Tuesday, who watches him while his parents are out dancing. He's happy to join Dan in his homemade "jungle," to get him into his pajamas, and to help him find his stuffed Tigey when he's missing. "Daniel Goes to School" and is worried when his dad leaves. Dan Sr. reminds his son that he'll be back at the end of the day...and Daniel Junior likewise reminds Miss Elania that her mommy will be back when her locket with her parents' picture goes missing.

Let Family Feud run on Buzzr as I made my grocery list. Started off with the second half of a John O'Hurley episode. They jumped back to early 80's Richard Dawson as I got my backpack together. The episode was actually a special week from 1985 showcasing then-Olympic winners like Greg Loughanis and Evelyn Ashford. (Incidentally, I've seen the full week...and the ladies wiped the floor with the guys.) 

Headed out as the episode got started. I had a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it in. Started at the Target Starbucks. Though it was cloudy and cool, it was also a bit on the humid side. I got a Pumpkin Cream Matcha Latte. Not bad. A little on the fruity side. 

Finished it at Sprouts. Mainly wanted to restock oat milk and more of that Nektar Pop there. (The latter is still buy one, get one free.) The ginger molasses bakery cookies weren't on sale, but they're so good, and they only come out during the fall. The deli container I picked up called the shredded turkey "turkey carnitas." I don't think it tastes like that, but it doesn't taste bad, either, and I figured it would be fine for salads and sandwiches this week.

Rode past the Haddon Township Library and High School to the Westmont Acme next. Restocked granola, blue tortilla chips, soda, Swiss cheese and yogurt. I'm almost out of razors, and I found a good brand of shaving lotion half-price. Went back and got a pack with turkey sliders, green grapes, and flat pretzel chips after I realized I forgot to pick up lunch.

Took the long way home across Newton River Park. It remains green and beautiful there. The breeze whistled through the big green leaves as the sun finally broke through the clouds. I pushed my bike up the path over the hill, ducking under a thin tree that broke and bent over. 

Put everything away, then had lunch and watched The Rockford Files. "The Countess" (Susan Strausburg) hires Rockford to handle a blackmailer (Dick Gautier) who was threatening to turn incriminating photos over to her husband (Art Lund). Rockford sees the blackmailer shot on the beach, only for the cops to think he did it. The gangsters the blackmailer work for have their own reasons to be after him.

I got my schedule at this point, either. I am not happy at all. The days I took off for my mammogram, eye exam, and housing counseling appointments are my only days off. I have three double-shift days, two in a row. On one hand, the eye appointment is on Saturday, which means I have that day fully off. On the other hand, I have a lot to do to prepare for the housing appointment, and when am I going to get my grocery shopping done? 

Headed out to Thomas Sharp School after the show ended. I left so early, I had the time to ride around and enjoy a day that had become sunny, warm, and only slightly humid. I need to be more careful where I ride, though. I ended up on Route 70. There's no sidewalks bordering West Collingswood on Route 70. I stepped in a grass-covered hole and almost really hurt myself. Thankfully, no harm done other than surprise, but I do know to stay away from there now.

We had the same 20 kids we've pretty much had all week, 7 at my table. I did have trouble getting them to clean up, but they were better in the bathroom. This time, we got everyone outside early. It was just too nice of a day for them to not hit the playground this time. Yes, they kept asking me when they could on the swings until I let them on. Two of the boys got into such a fight over where they were in line and when they could go on, we had to separate them. The other kids were happier dancing to "The Best of Both Worlds" from Hannah Montana, "Pup Pup Boogie" and the theme from Paw Patrol, the title song of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, and songs from Moana and Encanto. 

Things went much better once more kids went home. By the time the last girl who hadn't gone on the swings was taking her turn with a friend who loves the swings, there were five younger kids left. We took them inside around quarter of 5. I spent the remaining time drawing Victor, Jeff, and Celia in their "Captain Power" outfits and Grace Cavendish as "The Queen of Darkness" and admiring their coloring in pictures of ice cream cones and unicorns. When I left at 5:15, there were two older kids and one younger one remaining. I stopped briefly at Speedy Mart for a bagel and a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi on the way home before heading back.

Watched the end of The Price Is Right when I got in. Came in just in time to see the lady who won the second Showcase Showdown. I'm a bit surprised they were playing the Christmas episode in early September. The first "Showcase" was the simpler theme of how to prepare for the holidays. It included Christmas records played on a stereo, Christmas shopping money, and a station wagon to haul gifts. The second one was the "story" Showcase, as ditzy secretary Holly used the prizes (including a sports car) instead of office equipment to create memos.

Let it run into Match Game '76. The second half of the night brought in Greg Morris, Elaine Joyce, and Fannie Flagg. Elaine spent most of the time either flirting with Gene or sniping with Brett, whose quips seemed to really get on her nerves sometimes.

Finished the night with some fond childhood memories on YouTube. Someone uploaded a marathon of two BrainGames episodes from 1983, including commercials and the full version of the famous HBO opening with the camera panning over those miniature buildings as the music builds to a crescendo. BrainGames was usually a half-hour show (though I seem to remember some episodes turning up occasionally between shows) that ran six different funny mini-games based around history, memory, animal trivia, and recognition. 

"Tales of Wrongovia" teaches history as it invites players to spot the bit of history that wouldn't have existed in the time period depicted. "Safari Solitaire" showed four different animals (and one nervous narrator with a Texas accent) and asked viewers to guess which animal lived or did something differently from the others. "Uninvited Guests" had four figures at a posh party. The viewer has to decide which party guest is the gate crasher. "Memory Rock" has viewers trying to remember the details of a rock band scene. "The Riddler" is pretty much standard jokes. "Aceps Gevoya" and "Splatnart" were word scramble games. The first had an alien trying to get home, the second a nurse and mad scientist building a monster. "Whosamawhatchamacallits" is a long word for a guess the person, place, or thing from clues and a distorted picture. "Museum Mistakes" has viewers trying to help a cop figure out what's fake in classic artworks.

We used to love playing along with the games on this one! Some of the information on the trivia games and a lot of the art style is pretty dated...but on the other hand, other games like "Animal Solitare," "Uninvited Guests," and the word scramble mini-skits remain hilarious and fun to this day. Here's the marathon if you also loved to crack open your mind back in the day or think your kids will enjoy this (and can get around the cheap animation). 

HBO Braingames Marathon 

And yes, I do remember the events of September 11th, 2001. Twenty-five years ago, I was beginning the first day of my final semester of Stockton College. I go into further detail at my blog entry from September 11th, 2023. 

Games and Memories

Hot Weather Harts

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. "Little Bear Sing a Song" has Little Bear and all of his friends singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." After they exhaust that, they make up their own song with very silly lyrics until Mother Bear calls Little Bear to bed. They want to build "A House For Mitzi" in the treetops, but Mitzi would rather sleep in the branches. "Up a Tree" has monkey Mitzi teaching Little Bear the fine art of tree-climbing and jumping into fall leaves.

Called Uber next. Today was my first double shift of the school year, and my heel simply wasn't up to three long rides. Fortunately, no trouble with my rides. The one going to work came in 10 minutes and got me there literally with no time to spare. The one going to Thomas Sharp came in 8 minutes. I had a harder time getting a ride home from Thomas Sharp at rush hour, but they eventually came in 10 minutes as well.

The Acme was dead as a doornail for almost the entire morning. Once we get past Labor Day and the kids go back to school, the only thing going on until mid-October is Eagles football on Sundays. One of the managers did fuss at me to try to figure out how to make the women's bathroom smell better. This may be nearly impossible. It's a bathroom with no ventilation in a 60's era building. I sprayed it with Glade and hoped for the best. Otherwise, I spent the day just sweeping and putting cold items away and gathering the few carts. It was finally starting to pick up just as I left.

Changed shirts quickly, then went around the corner to Applebee's. I hadn't eaten at the one near the Acme in ages. They were even quieter than the Acme when I arrived, despite it being just past 1. I think I saw a few people eating on the other side of the room, closer to the bar. I got a cheeseburger, salty fries, and Diet Pepsi as part of a $10.99 lunch offer where you could buy certain items with fries or bread sticks and a soda for a fixed price. 

After lunch, I quickly returned to the Acme. Needed to use the bathroom, and I forgot to bring a snack to eat with the kids. Grabbed mouthwash, too. Perodontax was on sale. Called Uber a little early. I just sat at the tiny circle garden outside of the school before it was time to join them.

On one hand, we were a lot busier. There were 20 younger kids all together, 7 at my table. I only had trouble in the bathroom with that one pokey girl again. We didn't give them much chance to misbehave in the cafeteria after snack time. We ended up taking them out early, but...that might have been a mistake. It was dry and sunny but much hotter, in the upper 80's. They spent most of the time looking for ladybugs under the shady tree and begging to ride the swings, then arguing when they got on them. It's probably just as well that we decided it was too hot to keep them out and brought them in early.

I think they actually had more fun inside. The head teacher cut out apples, leaves, and stems. They glued the leaves and stems on the apples, then colored them any way they wanted. There was even cut-out shapes and feathers to decorate them with. Some kids just colored a red apple. Some made rainbow apples. Some forwent the coloring and covered them in bits of tissue paper and cut-out hearts and stars and feathers. Even I got to join in. My apple was a rainbow of fall colors - red, red-orange, orange, yellow. I glued the little heart and star cut-outs on the border.

When I got home, I went right into The Price Is Right. A young lady and a sailor had made it to some peculiar Showcases. The "regular" showcase started off with the usual furniture, but ended with a car, rare for the non-story Showcases. The models as "Prize Busters" turning Johnny Olsen's ugly old furniture into a lavish TV and couch and his house into a brand-new trailer puts this episode firmly in late '84-early 85. 

Match Game '76 got even goofier. Scoey Mitchelll spent the week encouraging and ogling a pretty, plump contestant. At one point, he even got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of a round. He returned riding on the turntable before the Audience Match! He also pointed out to the audience when they booed him that he could be doing much worse things with his time. 

Switched to Hart to Hart after dinner. Jennifer gets caught up in "The Shooting" when a very particular British commercials director insists on her being the perfect model for his latest opus. She objects at first, but enjoys being the center of attention...until the casting director is killed and a model who resembled Jennifer is nearly run over. Jonathan is the one who discovers that a man Jennifer put in prison is out for blood, and isn't adverse to blowing up the entire production if it'll take out Jennifer, too. 

Moved to Let's Pretend next. "The Six Swans" is pretty much a standard retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson story. "Thumbelina" gets slightly more creative. The frogs and beetles who find her in the story are replaced by bumblebees in the version on the cassette - I guess bees come across better on radio than frogs or beetles. The rest of the story goes as usual. (Although I never did like how quick Thumbelina is to throw off her name or the woman who raised her.) 

Finished the night with a few Hungarian Folk Tales at YouTube. A young girl will buy "The Cursed Castle" if she can make enough money after a year. She gets help from a friendly black cat who is definitely not what he seems. "Martin and the Cursed Princess" is "The Enchanted Frog or Cat" elsewhere, up to and including him working for the frog for three years and her giving him beautiful clothes and embroidery. "A Talking Vine, a Smiling Apple, and a Jingling, Tingling Peach" is a variation on "The Singing, Springing Lark." This time, it's the title objects that a father cannot find for his daughter and a pig who insists on marrying her. As with "The Cursed Castle," this little piggy is a lot more pleasant than what he seems.

Labor Day Games

Started off the morning with the Labor Day material in my Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. The longest piece is a biography of Samuel Gumpters, the long-time head of the labor union movement in the US. We also had poems on working and jobs, including "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman and "The Village Smithy" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

Switched to Paw Patrol during breakfast in honor of those first-responders who have to work this Labor Day. "Pups Save a Giant Plant" when Mayor Goodway brings a Venus Fly Trap to the swamp and plants it in what she thinks is a nice spot. She's less thrilled when it grows to six times its original size and tries to eat her beloved pet chicken Chickaletta. The Pups have to figure out where it really belongs in the swamp. The "Pups Get Stuck" when Marshall seems to magnetically pick up metal items all over Adventure Bay. The others put the items back and try to figure out what's going on here.

It was so late by the time the episode ended, I just called Uber. Think I did the right thing. The one going to work arrived in 7 minutes and got me there on time with literally no time to spare. The one going home came in 8 minutes. No trouble either way.

Work was a lot busier. I suspect people who would normally shopped when they got their beginning-of-the-month money last week saved it for the holiday weekend instead. Not only did I have a hard time keeping up with the carts, but this time, I was totally alone. Almost every other bagger had the holiday off, including the head bagger. At least the weather remains gorgeous for all the running around. It's still sunny, warm, breezy, and not humid at all. Pushing carts was a pleasure before it got really crazy later in the morning.

Soon as I got home, I went right down for a nap. I was up way too late for the last two evenings. Passed out at 2:30 and didn't get up until almost 4:30. 

I read Sonnet of the Sphinx in bed for a little while, then went out to Dollar General. I had those two boxes of Chocolate Fudge pudding I picked up at the Acme for 70 cents a while back and had been wanting to do something with them. I couldn't remember the last time I made a pudding pie. Bought milk and a graham cracker crust, along with the Nature's Valley wafer bars (they're much cheaper at Dollar General)...but of course, I forgot the Cool Whip. The other reason I went out was, of course, to enjoy the stunning day. It was still beautiful at 5 PM, probably in the lower 80's, not a cloud in the perfect bright blue sky.

Didn't have as much luck with the pie. I added cocoa and topped it with chocolate fudge sauce, but...I didn't have enough milk. It ended up being kind of gloppy. At least it was edible and set up pretty well. 

Watched Remember WENN after I got back upstairs. Considering the holiday, it's rather appropriate that I began with one of my favorite fourth season episodes, "Work Shift." Smarmy self-help guru Arden Sage (Greg Germann) arrives at the station and dares the staff to walk in each other's shoes for a day. That works about as well as can be expected. Hilary can't handle the switchboard, Maple can't type, Betty can't play the organ, and Mr. Eldridge and Gertie aren't actors. They finally all learn that the station works best when everyone does what they do best...like take down obnoxious self-help gurus. (If nothing else, this episode finally ends the running gag with what Mr. Eldridge does at the station. He's the janitor and go-fer who makes the coffee and does all the little chores no one else has the time or inclination to do.)

Betty tells Maple and Scott about her first day at WENN in "Past Tense, Future Imperfect" as she tries to explain her relationship with Victor. Victor did explain to her the rules of radio writing, but his tendency to sound like he swallowed a dictionary made Betty think he was in love with her. The others all think she's after every other man at the station.

Moved to Buzzr for Match Game '76 next. Richard Dawson and Ed Asner were not happy to meet Lyle, a go-getting contestant from Las Vegas with a smarmy attitude and the worst toupee this side of Howard Cossell. Thankfully, Lyle didn't continue too far into the next week with Dick Gautier, Della Reece, and Fannie Flagg.

Finished the night at YouTube with vintage dance shows and talent competitions. Most people think of long, drawn-out reality show competitions like Dance With the Stars when they think of talent shows nowadays, but that wasn't always the case. Judge for Yourself from 1953 was a much simpler affair. Fred Allen (who frankly seems a bit out of place) is the host as three expert judges (one is songwriter Jules Styne) decide which of three acts is worthy of the big prize. First of all, although the dancers here were great, my favorites were the duo who actually made the harmonica sound elegant and beautiful. Second, this early effort would be one of the templates for pretty much every show I mention here with celebrity judges. (Look for the introduction by Orson Bean.)

The Gong Show made fun of such amateur contests in the 70's and early 80's. I actually went with one of the less-outrageous episodes from 1977. The country singers won here, but I thought the guy doing an amazing routine to "Ease On Down the Road" from The Wiz was even better. I can understand why the guy doing the flamenco cape dance got gonged (he was pretty stiff), but not the Elvis impersonators (they were a lot of fun). 

Your All-American College Show from 1968 and Dance 360 from 2004 are two variations on the same theme - young people strutting their stuff and winning money for it. College Show has college students showing off their singing and dancing talents for money. With Dance 360, the focus is on hip-hop dancing. College Show lasted two years, slightly longer than the one-year-wonder Dance 360, but both would produce stars that are still relatively well-known today. Karen Carpenter and her brother Richard got some of their earliest TV exposure as the winners of College Show (I forgot how amazing Karen was on the drums), while dancer Caity Lutz, who would later appear in the Bring It On films, won Dance 360 . 

My sisters and I loved Dance Fever when we were kids. This long-running dance show started out as a disco dance competition, which is evident in this 1981 episode. By the time we were watching around 1985, it had branched into other forms of dance. It's pretty much a prototype Dance With the Stars, only here, the stars are just judges, rather than dancers. Eddie Mecca (himself a dancer in real-life), Scatman Crothers, and Jane Sawyer are the judges, with Danny Terrio as the first host.

Dance and talent competitions aren't limited to long-form shows. Dance Battle America was a one-off special that appeared after the season 21 premier of Dance With the Stars in 2015. Judges Alfonso Ribiera and Jordyn Sparks each picked four groups who danced against each other in goofy choreographed numbers. Personally, I liked the older ladies and admired their moxie for just making it and the hilarious trio who called themselves "Dancing Feet" and included a big guy myself. In fact, the dancers had so much fun, and Riberia and Sparks so clearly enjoyed showing them off, I wish this had made it to a series. Everyone really had a great time here, and the numbers are infectiously adorable. 

Dance your way into the fall with these delightful episodes that showcase the best and worst of five decades of amateur performance on TV!

Judge For Yourself (1953)

Your All-American College Show (1968)

The Gong Show (1977)

Dance Fever (1981)

Dance 360 (2004)

Dance Battle America (2015)

Ring-a-Ding-Ding Matches

Started the morning with breakfast and Doo-Bop. This jazz-hip-hop-R&B fusion would be the last Davis album released during his lifetime. In fact, "Fantasy" and "High Speed Chase" were recorded with unused trumpet solos after he died. Davis wanted to capture the sounds of the streets he heard from his New York apartment. This must have mostly been electronica and rap, since these songs definitely have rap beats to them. This album is very, very 1991, and to be fully honest, it hasn't aged that well. Some of the songs aren't bad - I liked "Chocolate Chip" and "The Doo Bop Song" - but mostly, they just sound alike.

Didn't even finish the album before I headed to work. Work was...kind of boring. There were two other college-age baggers there who did everything inside and a lot outside. That didn't leave me with a lot of cars to push. At least it was a gorgeous day for it. It was even nicer than yesterday, sunny, bright, breezy, and dry as can be. It had been busy off and on all day and was just starting to pick up when I finished.

Changed into a regular shirt, then headed across Audubon to the Legacy Diner. It was almost 2 PM at this point, and they surprisingly weren't that busy. I enjoyed my three enormous coconut-pineapple pancakes and crispy bacon. In fact, the pancakes, tasty though they were, were also a little too big. I didn't end up finishing them.

Stopped at the Oaklyn WaWa on the way home. They just rolled out their fall flavors, including their basic pumpkin spice smoothie. In all honesty, it tasted more like spices than pumpkin. It was also cold and wet, which is what I really cared about after riding across Audubon and down the White Horse Pike.

The Match Game marathon had just begun when I got home. I spent the rest of the evening having dinner and watching Jerry Lewis and the Rat Pack on various game shows, Match Game included. Jerry Lewis' famous Labor Day Weekend telethon wasn't the only TV show he appeared on. He turned up on an early episode of What's My Line as a member of the panel...and needless to say, that episode was hilarious and especially wild for that show. Frank Sinatra was the first of two guests on a Line episode from a decade later...because the other Mystery Guest was his then-wife Mia Farrow, just after making Rosemary's Baby from her super-short hair. 

That wasn't the only game show the Rat Pack turned up on. Password was so wildly popular in the early 60's, even members of the Rat Pack wanted to play. Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. played Polly Bergen and Janet Blair in a black and white episode...and to the ladies' chagrin, the boys mopped the floor with them. Lawford proved to be such a great player, he joined the equally good Carol Burnett for a "Tournament of Champions" in a later color episode from 1966. 

Richard Dawson was friendly with several members of the Rat Pack, especially Sammy Davis Jr. Sammy appeared at the start of a classic 1978 episode of Family Feud, and even got to host a question. I don't know who had more fun, the contestants, Sammy asking the questions, or Richard laughing hard as he watched his friend's antics.

Cranky Joey Bishop was the only member of the Rat Pack to appear on Match Game. I'm not entirely sure how much he understood the humor, but he did seem to play well enough. He was less appreciative of the audience and their perpetual booing. He claimed one guy in the audience booing him kept moving around. Most of the Rat Pack references on Match Game involved Dean Martin and his perpetual drinking spree. Even Foster Brooks made a comment on it during his first episode. Charles Nelson Reilly, who worked with him for years, was quick to point out that he'd cut down by the time of the late 70's. 

Celebrate Labor Day playing games with the members of the Rat Pack and remembering Jerry Lewis and his long-running telethon in these classic episodes!

Game Show Sunday Classics - Jerry Lewis & the Rat Pack Marathon

The Password Is "Legend"

Started the morning with breakfast and Mckey Mouse Clubhouse. The gang is excited about a "Masquerade Party" being held at the club house. Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, and Donald have to find what happened to knight Goofy's boot, then help Pete decide on a costume.

Called Uber after that. No trouble here! In fact, the one going to work arrived in 4 minutes. The one going home came in 8. I got to work on time, and there was no trouble whatsoever.

No major trouble at work, either. I spent most of the day pushing carts, except for the one hour I was supposed to be cleaning the women's bathroom. Trouble is, that room isn't ventilated. It's never going to smell like roses, no matter how hard you scrub. They wanted me to mop the floor, but then everyone walks on it and leaves dirty footprints, and it ends up messy anyway. I did better outside. It was too nice to be inside, anyway. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for early September. It was sunny, breezy, and in the upper 70's, not a hint of humidity in sight.

Went straight home after work. Today's game show marathon started on YouTube shortly after I arrived and changed. (Had dinner later in the evening.) Though Dolly Parton was really only mentioned once on Password Plus as the subject of a Password, Match Game Productions dug around for references to other things associated with her, like butterflies, pink, and charity work. For Password Plus, there were references on one of the episodes from the 1979 holiday week featuring Bert Convy and Carol Burnett (when the latter wiped the floor with the former) and in at least three different weeks featuring Dick Gautier. There was one during the hilarious week where Betty White played Sue Ann Nivens around Richard Pine's CHIps cop and Denver Pyle's Uncle Jesse from Dukes of Hazzard and the episode where Betty White proudly got to model the very first Password Plus jacket. 

Super Password had somewhat fewer references. One did turn up on the very first day of the show, with Pat Sajak and Gloria Loring. There was the time when for once, it was a technical problem with the board and not Bert that inadvertently gave the answer away. There was also one during the only week Charles Nelson Reilly played, joining Abby Dalton. They also had references on all-star weeks, notably the one with Harry Anderson, John Ratzenberger, and soap stars Emma Samms and Jack Coleman. 

The password is...Dolly! Say the word and celebrate everything about one of the most beloved country stars of all time in these all-stars, all-hilarious episodes!

Password Saturday Classics - Dolly Pardon- Password Plus and Super Password

Oh, and I bought my train tickets tonight. I'll be on vacation from September 26th through October 4th. Yes, I'll bring my laptop and will be updating the blog then (though I will take a break from the Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog). 

Be True to Your Pre-School

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. It's "A Whale of a Tale" when Father Bear tells Little Bear how he helped Mighty the Whale when he was trapped on the beach years before. Mighty and his own baby get to return the favor when Father Bear's fishing ship is caught in a storm. "Mitzi Arrives"...bubbly Mitzi the Money, that is. She wants to fit in with the others, but Emily and Duck don't appreciate her jump rope rhymes that make fun of them. Mitzi finally makes it up to them with a rhyme that admits she was wrong. "Granny's Old Flying Rug" can seemingly take Little Bear, Emily, and Tutu the dog anywhere, until they're stranded on a deserted island. Little Bear's mermaid friend helps them out.

Listened to CDs while I worked online and made the bed. Hot! Hot! Hot! is a collection of tropical-themed songs put out by Pier 1 Imports, of all places, in 2002. There's a lot of familiar songs here, from the infectious title number by Buster Poindexter to Elton John's hit "Island Girl" to the darker "Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean. Of the more recent songs and covers, I liked Baha Men's spicy version of "Kokomo" and the appropriately titled "Feel Good Island Music" by Ho'omu'a.

Rewind is one of the many, many Rolling Stones greatest hits collections. I believe I have the original US CD version that starts off with "Miss You" and includes "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" and "Hang Fire." I bought it mainly because it has two of my favorite Stones songs, "It's Only Rock and Roll" and "Brown Sugar.

Didn't even finish the Stones before I headed out. I wanted to have lunch before the after-school program started. Since it's down the street from the school anyway, I ate at Crust N' Cravings on Collings Avenue. Had two slices of cheese pizza and a can of Diet Dr. Pepper outside at the picnic tables on their patio. It wasn't really that bad of a day. It was hot, yes, and killer humid, but there was a really nice wind that helped cool things off considerably.

As it turned out, there wasn't much to worry about at Thomas Sharp, at least not today. We had 12 kids all together, 9 pre-school and kindergarten, three older. I suspect most of the kids went home with their parents or are still on vacation. Two older kids and two younger ones left within a half-hour of their arrival. We had to start in the library, due to a gym class running late. By the time we moved the kids to the cafeteria for lunch, we were down to one older kid and 8 pre-schoolers. They played with magnetic tiles and bristle blocks and brand-new Barbies for about an hour and a half while listening to "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" from Lilo & Stitch and songs from K-Pop Demon Hunters and Encanto. 

There were six kids left when we took them out to the playground. Since they all ran to the swings anyway and there were so few of them, we let them use the swings from the outset. In fact, there were so few kids, there wasn't even much arguing over them. One girl was initially upset when she couldn't go on right away, then probably had more fun finding bugs in the mulch anyway. She found what I believe to be a bug's outer exoskeleton and chased one of the boys with it. The head teacher came out around 3, by which time we were down to three kids, two younger girls and the one remaining older boy, and his dad was on his way. They let me and the head teacher for the older kids go early. 

Since I got out earlier than expected, I decided I deserved a treat. I thought of riding to WaWa for a smoothie, but it really was getting hotter and a lot more humid by that point. Stopped at Dunkin' Donuts instead for a Berry Daydream Refresher. Turns out that basically meant "mixed berry drink topped with marshmallow foam." As such, it was a little sweet, but not that bad. 

Put on Remember WENN after I got home while writing down all of the qualities I wanted in a friend. "Hilary's Agent" is looking for a new job after he fails to realize she's gunning for one of the title roles in a Broadway production of Caesar and Cleopatra that's trying out in Pittsburgh. Hilary poses as her own fictional agent to get said role, then drives everyone crazy with her demands, even producer Rex Noble (Daniel Benzali).

"The Birth of a Station" was considered controversial in the WENN fandom when it first debuted. Cora (Debra Wiseman), a very hungry expectant mother, turns up at the station looking for Dr. Talbot. Trouble is, he's a character on their medical drama Young Dr. Talbot. Jeff poses as the doctor for her, while the others try to figure out how they can get her to the hospital during a transportation strike.

Finished Rewind next, then switched to records. Fire Into Music is a unique collection of instrumental jazz/R&B fusion tracks. Fun, funky numbers like "Supership" by George Benson and "Such a Night" by Esther Phillips sounded like nothing else I ever heard. Deodato turned out a truly epic jazz version of "Also Sprach Zathura," while Stanley Turrentine's "I Told Jesus" has mild gospel overtones.

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner. We finished out the Ron Pallilo/Mary Wickes week tonight. A cheerful contestant with a mile-high Afro didn't end up getting his money (rumor has it he may have been related to a CBS employee). Richard was far happier to help a very pretty and very pregnant young woman.

Moved to Wake Up and Live on YouTube next for Labor Day Weekend. I go further into this adorable Fox comedy with Alice Faye and Jack Haley at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Labor Day! - Wake Up and Live

Finished the night with more records I picked up during my July vacation with Lauren. Dave Grusin did the atmospheric score for Murder By Death. To hear atmospheric, moody pieces like "Broken Bridge" and "Gather at Table," you'd think this wasn't a hilarious parody of mid-20th century murder mysteries. The farce is clearer when the music picks up in the Main Title or at "I'll Park the Car/Cobwebs" and "Lockin' It Up/Twain Tango." Probably not the most necessary thing in the universe, but if you love this movie like I do, the score is worth having.

No one does the classic American songbook like Ella Fitzgerald. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Songbook kicks off with a gorgeous, bluesy "But Not for Me." Her "The Man I Love" and "He Loves and She Loves" are also lovely. She has more fun with "Nice Work If You Can Get It," "Clap Yo' Hands," and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off."

Dolls Rock On

Began the morning with breakfast and Monchichhis. Melmot is a "Misfit Grumplin" who is too gentle and friendly to fit in with his fellow nasty Grumplins. He helps Thumkii escape from Grumplor, only for the other Grumpkins to follow him and in an attempt to invade Monchia and make it look like he did it. Thumkii knows better. Melmot finally reminds them that it doesn't matter what you look like if you're a good guy at heart.

Ran a few errands after the show ended. I was hoping to find more moisture eliminators at Dollar General. Nope, but I did pick up the smaller yellow bottle of Tide there. Wanted to see if they had my gum toothpaste at CVS, but they were too expensive. Stopped at Common Grounds Coffee House for a sweet chai latte instead. I just barely got there in time. I had no sooner sat down with my drink than hordes of college kids came in and the line was nearly out the door.

It was too hot and humid to linger outside for long. Besides, it kept saying it was supposed to rain. (It still hasn't at press time.) I headed home for lunch. Ate while watching Paw Patrol. "Pups Save an Elephant Family" when Marshall spies a lone baby elephant near their camp on a jungle safari, then it strands Cap'n Turnbot and Francois in their tree house. After they rescue them, they have to get the elephant back to its mother. "Pups and the Mischievous Kittens" introduces the Kitten Catastrophe Crew, Mayor Humdinger's spoiled kittens whom he's dressed like the Paw Patrol. They help him wreak havoc on Adventure Bay when Mayor Goodway is competing for a Cleanest Town award. Chase's allergies help him figure out what they're doing...and stop the naughty mayor and his kitty friends from causing more trouble.

Dressed the dolls for school and lessons next. Molly wears Kit's School Skirt Outfit, which is really too pink for Kit. She prefers her original blue School Outfit with the plaid jumper. Samantha is in her 2015 BeForever "meet" outfit, the pink Swiss-dotted dress with the wide lace collar and burgundy velvet sash. Felicity will take tea in her yellow Tea Lesson Gown with the embroidered roses. Jess is dressed for after Catholic school her original striped "meet" outfit shirt with jean capris and teal jelly strap shoes. Ariel is in the pale blue Swiss lace sundress with the crocheted vest I found her in. Josefina is ready for the end of summer in her orange and yellow striped Summer Dress. (Unfortunately, the boots that went with it fell apart last year.) Whitney looks chic and ready for class in her "Sweet Memories" purple checked poodle skirt and turquoise scarf. Barbara Jean's nubby pink and gold minidress came from eBay.

Listened to records while I worked. Bless Its Pointed Little Head was the first live album from Jefferson Airplane in 1969...and boy, did they get into this! They really push some of their best-known songs, especially "Plastic Fantastic Lover" and "Somebody to Love," to their absolute limits at the time, going nearly into hard rock. "Fat Angel" and "It's No Secret" also benefit from the harder approach. Apparently, this did well at the time despite critics not knowing what to make of it. Definitely worth looking for if you're into the band's early sound.

Eric Clapton did even better by Slowhand in 1977. The first three songs on this album are among his biggest hits, the hard driving "Cocaine," sweet "Wonderful Tonight," and rollicking "Lay Down Sally." "Next Time You See Her" is a darker bluesy number, while "May You Never" and "Peaches and Diesel" lighten things up a little on side B. One of Clapton's definitive albums is a must if you're a fan of his. 

Moved from Eric Clapton and the blues to the Commodores and R&B for their 1985 album Nightshift. This was their second album after original lead singer Lionel Richie went solo, and it featured what would be their biggest hit after he left. The driving title song was a tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson, both of whom had died the year before. I remember it being on the radio a lot during the mid-80's, and it still turns up fairly frequently on oldies and 80's radio stations to this day. I vaguely remember "Janet" being fairly popular at the time as well. Most of the other songs aren't at their levels. This album is extremely of its time, with electronic dance riffs like "Animal Instinct" and "Play This Record Twice." You may be better off looking for "Nightshift" and "Janet" on 80's playlists unless you're a huge fan of the band.

Switched to Remember WENN while vacuuming and Swiftering the floors and dusting the rooms. "The Ghost of WENN" seems to be walking the halls of the station when Hilary hears a mysterious voice during a late-night horror broadcast. Betty joins her in trying to figure out what's going on, and why this ghost has a thing for cranberry jelly. Meanwhile, Mackie is more nervous about the broadcast and the old story that an actor died when reading his lines on page 13.

"Caller I.D" distills the magic of radio better than any other episode of the series. Mackie's running records for a late-night music show when a secretary named Jane Smith (voice of Alice Playten) calls in and says she's sitting on the edge of a building, ready to jump. Seems she's tired of her humdrum job and is convinced that if her life can't be like the glamorous radio shows she listens to, she doesn't want to live. The WENN staff throw together some of their most popular show to talk her down...then realize that they're now the "passionate listeners" who care as much about Jane as she does them.

The third season ends with the literal bang that is "Happy Homecomings." Betty worries about Victor's safety when she hears another voice performing Jonathan Arnold on the shortwave and spends the episode trying to open that strongbox. When she finally does, Victor's contact isn't who she expects...and Victor isn't what he seems to be, either. Meanwhile, Jeff comes home as well, but Hilary is still furious about the Pavla mess and refuses to work with him, and Scott has discovered that yes, there are still codes going out over the airwaves, but not in what they've been performing. He's about to tell Betty when he walks into the Green Room and ends up with a gun in his face...held by Victor Comstock...

Hoooo boy. This is the cliffhanger that left the entire WENN fandom, including me, screaming for six months straight. Longest six months of my life until the housing fracas in 2021-2022. All I wanted from December 1997 to June 1998 was to pass my college classes and find out the endings to those blasted cliffhangers! This is why the third season is far and away my favorite. On one hand, Jeff is missed, and this is a lot darker than the seasons that came before it or after it. That's why I like it. This is where the show dares to go places that sitcoms don't often explore even now, from betrayal to death to the importance of the imagination. "Who's Scott Sherwood," "Happy Homecoming," "Caller I.D," and "From the Pen of Gertrude Reece" are my favorite episodes here, though I also love "Mr. and Mrs. Singer," "In the WENN Small Hours," and "A Girl Like Maple." Those cliffhangers signal a lot of changes for the fourth season, not all of them welcome...

Moved to Match Game '76 after I took a shower. By the time I got to there and dinner, they were finishing out the Pat Moriata week. Robert Hedyges of Welcome Back Kotter made his only appearance on the show the next week, joined by Fannie Flagg and Broadway legend Ethel Merman. Richard was more interested in kissing and hugging the contestant, whether she won the Head-to-Head or not.

Finished the night with quiz shows for children, teens and college kids. Quiz shows for kids go back way further than you might imagine. One of the most popular game shows on radio in the 40's and 50's was Quiz Kids. A panel of five children answered questions sent to host jovial Joe Kelly by listeners. The kids were chosen for their high IQs, personalities, and poise in front of a mic, or later camera. It wound up being one of the most popular game shows on radio in the 1940's, endlessly parodied and praised. Though it was one of the earliest game shows moved to TV, it never did as well here. I have an episode here from 1949, one of the earliest surviving episodes of a TV game show. I can see why this was so beloved. The kids are genuinely funny and smart, and substitute host Fran Allison seems to genuinely enjoy listening to their answers.

GE College Bowl was almost as much of an institution in the 50's and 60's. This is about as simple of a quiz show as you can get. Teams from two colleges play answer tough questions in a heated battle of the minds. It's a battle to prove size doesn't matter in the colorized episode I have, as small private New York University squares off against big state college University of Oklahoma.

College Bowl became the standard against which every high school bowl game was set. Practically every local public broadcasting station in the 70's and 80's ran some variation on College Bowl with local high school teams pit against one another. Many of those shows proved to be so popular, they're still running to this day. The version I have here, High School Challenge, started in 1984 on the Flint, Michigan PBS station and has apparently been running there ever since. 

Producers Barry and Enright noticed how popular their kids' weeks were on their The Joker's Wild and created the kids's-only Joker! Joker! Joker! in 1979. Kids get to spin the famous wheel and answer questions from subjects like "Disney Characters" or "Superheroes" tailored to them. I really wish the current owners of the show would do something like this again. The kids are hilarious, and host Jack Barry really seems to enjoy guiding them and their parents through the show.

Jeopardy would do something similar for Game Show Network almost two decades later. Jep! from 1998 had kids tossing out the questions to the answer. However, two wrong answers, and they get something dropped on them, like colorful balls or socks. Three wrong answers, and they're pulled out of the game for a turn. This pretty much screams "late 90's." I will say that, while not great, it is better and a lot more fun than Merv Griffith's too-cheesy attempt to make a kid's Wheel of Fortune around the same time. 

Nickelodeon did better by Make the Grade in 1989 and 1990. Though there are stunts in the form of "Fire Drills" that allow them to switch seats and get more squares, most of the emphasis here is on what the kids know. Three kids answer questions from school related topics like math, science, English, phys ed (sports), and current events. There's also one random "elective" topic usually revolving around Pop culture (in the episode I have here, famous redheads). The kids have to answer one question from each topic and from grades (difficulty levels) 1 through 12 to win. This is one of my favorite game shows Nick did in the late 80's along with Double Dare. It's almost refreshing to see a show on Nick put emphasis on what the kids know, rather than how well they can throw a gunk-filled balloon. 

Teens had their own fun in syndication in 2000 with Pressure 1. An offshoot of an earlier syndicated show for teens Peer Pressure, this one emphasized questions rather than stunts. Four kids answer questions. Those who answer two right move on. The one who don't has to relate their most embarrassing moment. In the next round, the first winner gets to choose a subject with a punny title from which to answer questions. The winner gets to pick the next topic. Two move on to the final round, where they have to answer the most questions correctly in 60 minutes. Interesting idea, but a bit on the cheap side - you can tell this was intended for syndication. The kids do seem to get into it, though, especially in the lightning round. 

Go back to school with these hilarious quiz kids as they try to make the grade under pressure and show they have what it takes to really rule the airwaves!

Quiz Kids (1949)

GE College Bowl (Colorized) (1960)

Joker! Joker! Joker! (1979)

Make the Grade (1990)

High School Challenge (1996)

Jep! (1998)

Pressure 1 (2000)

Larger Than Life Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and the soundtrack to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This was Tim Curry's big break, and one of his first major roles for most American audiences. And what a way to debut! He gets one of the big numbers from this, "Sweet Transvestite," as the mad scientist who thinks they've created the perfect man. The chorus numbers are probably even better-known today, including "I Can Make You a Man" for Curry and his hangers-on, "Wild and Untamed Thing," "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a Touch Me," and of course, "The Time Warp." This is probably more fun at a midnight showing, but the music is good enough to rate a listen around Halloween or whenever you're feeling in the need for some really, really unique dance music.

Called Uber after Side A of the record ended. It was hot, humid, and supposed to rain later. I think I made the right call. The driver going to the Acme arrived in 11 minutes. I called early enough that I got there in plenty of time. The one going home arrived in 10 minutes. No trouble either way.

No trouble at work, either. I swept and pushed carts for the entire six hours. I was on my own during the morning. One of the college boys came out to help me after about 1 PM. Good thing, too. It wasn't busy when I arrived, but it picked up around 11 and stayed busy the rest of the day. We're coming up on the start of September and the school year, and Labor Day is next weekend.

Finished Rocky Horror when I got home while reading Topped Chef by Lucy Burdette, then switched to the original cast CD for the musical version of My Favorite Year. Curry got a Tony nomination in the Peter O'Toole role as the sozzled Errol Flynn-esque swashbuckler star. Lanie Kazan repeated her role as Benjy Stone's (Evan Pappas) mother Belle and also got a Tony nomination; listen for Mary Stout (Eugenia on Remember WENN) also reprising her role as Benjy's aunt in the "Welcome to Brooklyn" number. Lynn Aherns and Stephen Flahtery have an incredible opening number, Benjy's description of live television right before the show starts, "Twenty Million People," but most of the other chorus numbers are just there to give the chorus something to do. Neither Curry's "The Night Is Young" nor "The Gospel According to King" are all that interesting or have much to do with the story. 

The character numbers are better. Belle describes how she fell in love with her scrappy Philippine husband in "Rookie In the Ring," Curry tears into "If Life Were Like the Movies," and Benjy explains why he adores Swann's films in "Larger Than Life." Andrea Martin did get a Tony as the female sketch writer in an expanded role, including her big number "Professional Showbizness Comedy" with King Kaiser (Tom Mardrosian). I love this, but I'm also a big fan of Aherns, Flahtery, and the original movie. If you love Martin, Curry, or the film it's worth checking out just for those character numbers. 

Moved to YouTube for not one, but two marathons. Country singer "Whisperin'" Bill Anderson was just celebrated for being the oldest current member of the Grand Ol' Opry. He was also the only country star to be a semi-regular on Match Game. The self-effacing, down-home charm he brought to the Opry made him unique on Match Game amid the crustier or more urban panelists. He first turned up on Bonnie Franklin's second week in mid-1976, as she reminded Gene that he hadn't been able to kiss her the first time she was there. 

Bill's most famous episode came later in 1976. Brett and Charles dressed as cowpokes to be his back-up singers as he performed his own song for Debralee Scott, who sat under him that week. She was deeply touched, and I thought the whole thing was adorable. He was also on the week in 1978 with Brett and Jack Klugman after their divorce, including the PM episode where Jack said if you asked his ex the time of day, she'd tell you how the clock was made. (He was right.) He brought along a picture of his darling new baby boy in a syndicated episode. He appeared right until the end of the syndicated series in 1982, making his final appearance on a week with another country superstar, Irlene Mandrell. 

His last Match Game appearance was during a week of Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1984. He brought along a Casio keyboard to work on new songs while helping a man from Manchester, England get to the Hollywood Squares segment. Joining him that week were Edie McClurg in a tiara, Fred Travalena and his one-man White House, Linda Dano, Soupy Sales, and Joe Santos. 

Lift a twangy guitar to the man whose career has spanned six decades in this hilarious and tuneful marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Bill Anderson "Country Star" Special Shows

Jaye P. Morgan is best-known nowadays for her stint on The Gong Show, but she did do Match Game just as it started again in mid-1973. In fact, her one week introduced eventual series regulars Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly and semi-regulars Bert Convy and Betty White. Morgan is the only one that week who wouldn't come back, but she had a lot of fun anyway. She got to hear Brett claim for the first time that Charles wasn't wearing socks and had Bert flirt with her about "turning her on" when she complained that the light on her desk wouldn't turn on.

Bang the gong for this singer, actress, and talent show judge in one of the funniest early weeks of the show!

Match Game Sunday Classics  - Jaye P. Morgan Tribute

Finished the night with the all together quieter Miles Davis rendition of Porgy and Bess. This may have been recorded in anticipation of the 1959 Goldwyn film version of the landmark Gershwin opera, but it honestly came out better than that troubled movie did. In fact, this remains one of Davis' best-selling albums. His "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," "Gone," "Summertime," and "I Loves You, Porgy" capture the tough-tender feel of the opera far better than Goldwyn's overstuffed extravaganza generally does. 

Hard Candy Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Donald Hatches an Egg" when Goofy mistakes a unique long, slender egg for a rock and it gets attached to Donald. Mickey, Goofy, Daisy, and Don talk to birds and chickens in an attempt to find its mother, but it's really closer to a type of lizard egg.

Called Uber after that to get me to work quickly. It sure did the trick. The one going to work came in 7 minutes, and I actually arrived early for a change. The one going home was more of a problem. It kept fluctuating, but I think it finally took about 8 minutes. No problems on the road.

No problems at work, either. I spent the entire day scrubbing the shelves filled with Acme generic soda and chips that are the first things you see when you enter the store. Whatever was on there before made them grimy and sticky, especially under the soda! It was so bad, I needed Easy Off spray and at least five boxes of eraser sponges, and the last two shelves never did come fully clean. At least the head manager seemed to think it came out well. I ran a feather duster over end cap shelves in the back for the last half-hour.

Grabbed a few things after work that I forgot yesterday. The Westmont Acme didn't have the pulled rotisserie chicken from the deli, and I totally forgot that I needed Swiss cheese slices. Grabbed coconut macaroons off the bakery clearance racks.

Went straight in the shower to wash off all that grime when I got home, then put on the soundtrack from The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Honestly, it's a shame Dolly Parton didn't do more musicals. I've loved this version of the hit 1979 Broadway show since I was too young to understand what was really going on at the Chicken Ranch. It used to turn up a lot on cable in the early and mid-80's. Charles Durning, as a politician denying he was using the Chicken Ranch's services, has so much fun with his one number "Side Step," he got an Oscar nomination. Dolly does better by the one standard to come from this score, "Hard Candy Christmas," and her own additional "I Will Always Love You."

Speaking of Dolly, tonight's Match Game YouTube marathon honored Dolly with episodes featuring mentions of her or questions where she was an answer. By 1978, she'd replaced Raquel Welch as the du jour performer to make chest area jokes about. Almost every question where she was an answer got a chest joke in there somewhere. Some of the best episodes of the later series and syndicated run had Dolly references. There was a reference in the infamous episode where a contestant answered "Friend and Ollie" to "Cuckoo ___" and another during the Game Show Host Week with panelists who either were game show hosts (Bill Cullen, Peter Marshall) or would be in the future (Betty White, Elaine Joyce). There were references to Dolly as late as the first week of Match Game '90 with Joe Alasky and Sally Struthers. 

Celebrate the life and legacy of this beloved lady with this hilarious marathon you'll go "Cuckoo" for!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Dolly Parton Tribute

Finished the night with The Exciting Lena Horne. This one looks like it goes way back, probably to the early-mid 50's. For all the "exciting" claim, most of the songs here are pretty dark, from "Nobody Knows the Troubles I've Seen" to "Little Girl Blue." I prefer the slightly more upbeat "At Long Last Love" and "More Than You Know." 

Trouble On a Summer's Day

Began the morning with breakfast and Monchhichis. "Thumkii's Pet" is a small, adorable yellow creature that hatches from an egg Thumkii found at the jelly bean fruit orchard. The Monchhichis think it's an orphan and take it home. Not only does it have parents that are searching for it, but it keeps growing rapidly until it becomes too big to fit in Monchia. The Monchhichis have to get it back to its angry parents and dodge Grumplins that are trying to capture them and impress their leader.

Headed off to work after the cartoon ended. Thankfully, no trouble whatsoever. I arrived at work on time. Spent most of the day sweeping and gathering carts. The head bagger was cleaning the store. She did take the last sweep, allowing me to focus completely on the few carts there were. We were honestly dead the entire morning. It got a little busy around 11, then just cleared out again. The weather was too beautiful for anyone to be shopping. It was sunny, breezy, and dry, probably in the lower 80's. Perfect as it gets around here in late August.

It was so nice, after I went home, I changed and went back out for another picnic. This time, I bought a tilapia sandwich and fries from Crown Chicken and Gyro and rode my bike down to the other playground at Newton Lake Park, the one across from Parkview Apartments. This one had an even more dramatic improvement. Most of the rickety, rusty picnic tables had been replaced by brand-new fiberglass and metal tables and benches. I enjoyed my lunch at one of the tables, then went down the twisty slide on the larger set for older kids, and one of the short straight slides on the one for younger kids. 

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride. The park looks gorgeous now, with all the rain we've had. I've never seen it so green in August! Usually by this point, everything is dusty and brown. The waving green waters in the lake sparkled. There was a new meditation garden surrounding a small maze that attracted fluttering orange butterflies and a brand-new fishing pier some boys took their bikes on. The breeze ruffled the glossy emerald leaves on the trees overhead.

When I got home, I called the Union to see what was going on with my insurance...and promptly wished I hadn't. They hadn't processed my paperwork because I have to pay them a bundle for July. Apparently, I didn't make enough hours in June, probably because I took all that time off due to the half-days at Thomas Sharp. I have to pay Cooper a bundle, too. I didn't really take it well. I told the lady I'd pay, but I was furious and in tears when I let her go. 

I just sat there and spent a while calming down before I put on Remember WENN. Scott's first day on the air in "Two for the Price of One" does not go well. He's late, and he turns the elderly gardener character Betty wrote for Hilary's starring show Bedside Manor into a sexy suitor for Hilary. He's more of a help when Pruitt's snooty secretary Miss Cosgrave (Audrie Neenan), in an attempt to bump up revenue, has them making shows for rival station WEEP along with their own. Though Gertie does enjoy her gardening show, it not only ends up wiping out the staff and engineer C.J McHugh (C.J Byrnes), but WEEP's owner James Crawley (Lee Wilkoff) wants all of the shows for himself. Scott comes up with a way to cross the shows and keep Crawley's hands off of them.

The staff learns "The Importance of Being Betty" when she's offered a job at The New Yorker. She's excited, until she realizes the others are trying to do everything she does, and aren't doing well at it. Not only that, but Pruitt is doing all the writing, and he's turning everything into financial spreadsheets. It's not until he messes with her favorite show This Girl's Kinfolk that Betty realizes how much she's truly needed at the station. 

Went right into Match Game '76 after that. The first hour finished out the Avery Schriberer and Joyce Bulifant week. Dick Gautier turned up the next week, along with Betty White and Mary Ann Mobley and her very, very long and involved explanations of where her answers came from.

Finished the night with some much-needed comedy-oriented game shows. Match Game and Hollywood Squares are probably the long-runner comic panel game champs. Match Game has been reappearing off and on since 1961, Hollywood Squares since 1968, including their current incarnations on ABC and CBS respectively. I have the first Match Game episode following Richard Dawson's acrimonious departure in 1978 and an utterly hysterical Hollywood Squares from 1998 that brings together alumni from the Comic Relief specials, including Billy Crystal, Bobcat Goldthwait, and a really wild and crazy Robin Williams, here.

Families and soap opera stars could be even crazier than the comedians. Family Feud is celebrating 50 years of letting wacky families answer goofy survey questions.  The episode I have here is one of the specials from the original Richard Dawson run featuring the casts of General Hospital and One Life to Live playing for charity. (General Hospital gets extra points for their whole team going classy in tuxes.) 

Match Game and Hollywood Squares were far from the only comedy panel shows on the air in the 70's. Break the Bank from 1976 had celebrities sitting on two sides of a rectangular board. Two contestants turned over squares that had money on them. They had to guess which of the two celebrities had the real answer to a question asked by host Tom Kennedy. If they got three money bags, they'd get the bank. If they got a blank square, that's the end of their turn. It's too bad this doesn't seem to have ever worked, either during a brief run on ABC or a slightly-longer syndicated run. The celebrities can be hilarious, and honestly, it's a lot of fun to watch.

Ernie Kovacs may not have appreciated the show, but he ended up pioneering the comic panel show format anyway with Take a Good Look in 1959. A celebrity panel tries to figure out the (often obtuse and non-existent) clues to mystery guest's identity from hilarious sketches featuring Kovacs. I'm not sure either Kovacs or audiences got what was going on here at the time, but that didn't stop the sketches from being funny. 

MTV cranked up the laughs with their first game show, the truly unique Remote Control. Supposedly set in TV super-fan Ken Ober's basement, he asks three college kids trivia about TV shows or music videos of the time. The kid who has the least points by the end of the second round is literally yanked back behind the set. The two remaining contestants try to "Think Real Fast" and answering as many questions as possible in 30 seconds. Winner moved on to an adjustable bed and the bonus round, guessing the music videos seen in nine TV monitors. My sisters and I loved this show in the late 80's, and while the questions have dated, the laughs sure haven't. 

Even kids got in on the laughs. The Noggin show Sponk! from 2001 is basically Junior Who's Line Is It Anyway. Kids act out skits on vaguely suggested subjects and have to guess what they're acting out. Too bad this only lasted a year. The kids and energetic host Johnathan F. McClain really have a ball with the wacky gags and pantomime they come up with.

If you need a laugh as much as I do now, check out these hilarious explorations into comic game shows past!

Take a Good Look Premiere (1959)

Break the Bank (1976)

Match Game (1978)

Family Feud (1982)

Remote Control (1988)

Hollywood Squares (1998)

Sponk! (2001)

Dance Into the Matches

I got caught up reading Bayou Book Thief this morning and didn't have much time for anything else. Since it was sunny out this time, with no sign of rain, I wanted to take my bike. Unfortunately, I got too late of a start, which meant I was late to work.

Thank heavens that was the worst thing that happened all day. With the Sunday morning bagger around to sweep and do the trash, I was mainly outside pushing carts. It was a gorgeous day for it, too. Humid, yes, but also sunny, breezy, and searingly blue. I did bring back a few cold items inside, but other than that, I was out with the carts enjoying the weather.

I came up with an idea after work. I grabbed a Roar blueberry lemonade hydration drink and two slightly damaged boxes of chocolate fudge pudding mix off the clearance racks for half-off, mainly so I could take out money for the week. From now on, I'll take out $60 during the weekend, and that's what I have for eating out. If I spend it before the end of the week, I don't eat out anymore. I really need to start saving more money for vacation and to buy a condo.

Also, I've had enough condo-hunting when I can't go in them yet. I was going to check out condos in Voorhees, but first of all, that's further out and even more sprawling than Cherry Hill. Second, these walking jaunts tend to be rough on my bad heel. Third, I'm just getting kind of bored with exploring. I'll trade them with checking out libraries until I have a better idea of what kind of condo I can afford and where.

Stopped at the Yummies Palace in Oaklyn for a cool water ice treat after work. Their coconut water ice was deliciously sweet and creamy. It really hit the spot on a fairly hot day. I got to watch parents with two little girls decide what the young ladies wanted as I ate. The lady at the counter let them try their Fruity Pebbles ice cream flavor. The older girl went with a cone of that. Her little sister stuck to a vanilla cone with sprinkles.

Changed when I got home, then spent the next two hours finishing Bayou Book Thief while listening to Batman soundtracks on CD. The 1989 soundtrack was something of a comeback for Prince after his previous album and a concert film were flops. To be honest, most of the songs are more Prince than Batman and weren't in the movie. "Batdance" in the finale was just as big of a hit in 1989 as the movie, but I prefer his less goofy ballad "Scandalous" and the opening dance song "The Future." 

I actually think Batman Forever has the better songs. U2's hard rock raver "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" and Seal's classic R&B ballad "Kiss From a Rose" were massive hits in mid 1995. Other good ones here include "Where are You Now?" by Brandy, "Smash It Up" by the Offspring, and "Bad Days" by the Flaming Lips.

Finished the night after the CDs ended with today's Match Game YouTube marathon. Dancer Bobby Van was a friend of Richard Dawson's who made occasional appearances on the show from 1973 to 1977, with and without his wife Elaine Joyce. In fact, he and Elaine made their debut on the show together, sitting next to each other in 1973. That week is best-known now for the answer to a question about what Batman and Robin's relationship is that now has it banned from the airwaves.

Van would appear in less controversial episodes later on. One 1976 episode had a question about what he does when he can't get his toes to behave. That was also the one where Brett introduces her lovely grown daughter Leslie in the audience. He saw a very happy lady in 1974 win enough money to buy the piano her daughters had requested. Elaine Joyce sat under him in the ingenue seat for the first of two times that week. In 1975 there was Henry, the funny older man with a slight crush on Brett. Also in 1975, Betty White rolled Gene Rayburn's pants legs down to expose argyle socks. Somehow, a lady in the audience ended up with them. Prince Charming Richard put Gene's shoes back on. 

Several times he was praised for his work hosting Showoffs, the short-lived 1975 charades game show (that, alas, is mostly lost today). There were also several references to the notoriously bad Lost Horizon, where Van's dances were among the few stand-outs. 

Dance your way into the end of summer with these delightful episodes featuring one of the great "Showoffs" of musical film!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Bobby Van, Elaine Joyce's Husband, Marathon

Dress Up Your Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Bluey. "Zoo" has Bandit playing an ape who runs off with Bingo, with Bluey as the zookeeper and Chili as Bingo's concerned mother. Chili thinks Bandit will hurt her, but Bingo's befriended him and is reluctant to leave him. Chili and Bandit pretend to be "Backpackers," with Bluey, Bingo, and their cousins Muffin and Socks as their backpacks. 

Called Uber after Bluey ended. Alas, I called too late. It took them 13 minutes to arrive, and between that and the driver missing the entrance to the Acme having to do a U-turn, I was late. Thankfully, they only took 8 minutes to arrive going home.

It was showering when I left for work, but the rain stopped shortly after I arrived, and it would be cloudy, humid, and cool for the rest of the day. Good thing Mother Nature cooperated, because I spent almost the entire 8 1/2 hour shift sweeping and doing carts outside. It wasn't bad when I arrived, but it started picking up around noon. I fell behind on the carts after my half-hour lunch. I didn't have any help until 3, by which time the crowds had also started to thin out. The college kid took over the sweeping and doing the trash and helped with the carts. By quarter after 4, we were so quiet, I spent most of the remaining time putting away loose items.

I got home, changed, and spent the rest of the night watching tonight's YouTube Match Game marathon. Comedienne and writer Fannie Flagg started on the show late in 1973. She would be around pretty much for the entire run, but she did many of her most famous episodes between 1974 and 1976. There were the three episodes she spent flirting with handsome gym teacher Ron Valenti in 1975. She was so enamored with him, she danced with him after Richard Dawson helped him win big on the Head-to-Head the second time. In 1974, she was one of the ladies a frisky red-haired contestant kept chasing. Richard and Charles defended the ladies' honor (such as it was). Earlier in the year, she, Abby Dalton, and Brett Somers walked off the set when a lady answered "boobs" for a question. Something similar happened earlier in 1974, but in this case, everyone but Richard walked off after a "boobs" answer. (Fannie ended up flirting with the contestants!)

Fannie loved to dress in costume. At one point in 1976, she was a Girl Scout leader in the uniform of the time. Another time that year, she was Greta Garbo (who had been in retirement for thirty years at that point, and would remain in seclusion until her death in 1990) in a floppy hat, dark glasses, and Swedish accent. She turned up later in 1976 sporting a long red wig and a bad Brooklyn accent that made her look and sound like Maple LaMarsh. Among the decorated t-shirts that showed off her decolletage (which were so joked about on the show, Brett called women's chests "Fannie Flaggs") were one with two fried eggs in strategic places, another with roses, and one made to look like a mail carrier's shirt of the time. 

Dress up for any occasion with the author of Fried Green Tomatoes this weekend in these delightfully southern-fried episodes!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Fannie Flagg: Best Shows on Match Game (1973 - 1976)