The Rains of Spring

My day did not begin well. I awoke to see my alarm clock said 7:42...and I had to be at Cooper Bone and Joint in Cherry Hill at 8! It was showering and gloomy, too. Even rushing breakfast and dressing didn't make things go any faster. I called for an Uber...and they couldn't arrive for 19 minutes. Between all of that and heavy traffic on Cuthbert, I was almost a half-hour late. 

Thankfully, things picked up considerably from there. It was only about 10-15 minutes when they did get me into the x-ray room, and another 5-10 minutes after that when I talked to the kindly older Asian doctor. He confirmed what I'd suspected since my knee first started hurting in January - I have mild arthritis in my left knee. Thankfully, it wasn't bad enough to need anything removed or done surgically, but it would need help. I got an injection and a list of exercises to do when I was up to it and made an appointment to follow-up in late June and see how it was doing. 

Since it was cold and cloudy when I got out but not raining, I treated myself to the Dunkin' Donuts next-door to the Cooper Bone and Joint building. Considering it was almost 10 by that point, I'm surprised they were so quiet and had so many donuts. I went with a simple jelly donut and a Chocolate Strawberry Refresher, which turned to be a very sweet strawberry drink topped with chocolate foam. A little odd, but not bad. 

Called Uber from there. Ironically, considering all the trouble I had getting there, I got a ride back in five minutes. This time, there was no traffic. I was home within 10-15 minutes, even with light rain starting up again. 

Put on Pirates of Dark Water, which I hadn't had time for before I left, when I got in. Ren smells "Victory" when he and Nibbler manage to escape Bloth, and Tula realizes Bloth has no intention of rewarding her for betraying the others. She gets the compass and first treasure back, while Ren confronts Bloth, and Ioz brings The Wraith back. 

Switched to The Moonspinners on Disney Plus after the cartoon ended. Teenager Nikky Ferris (Haley Mills) and her Aunt Frances (Joan Greenwood) arrive on Crete to continue her aunt's work gathering folk songs. They're not exactly welcome at the Moonspinners Inn, where the owner Sophia's (Irene Papas) brother Stratos (Eli Wallach) doesn't want guests beyond a wedding party, but her young son Alexis (Michael Davis) wants them to stay. She encounters young Englishman Mark Camford (Peter McEnery) at the wedding and falls for him. 

She's disappointed when he seems to have checked out the next day, but it turns out there's a lot more here than it appears. Stratos is a jewel thief who intends to sell jewelry Mark was supposed to bring to a client to Madame Habib (silent star Pola Negri in her last role). He first beats Mark, then kidnaps Nikky. After Mark and Alexis rescue her, she and a badly hurt Mark flee to British consul Anthony Gamble (John Le Mesurieir). Gamble, however, has secrets of his own, and after he drugs Mark, Nikky realizes that she's the one who will have to warn the Madame and make her realize that she's taking part in international smuggling.

I remember this turning up quite a bit on The Disney Channel during my childhood. Rose loved it. I thought it was a little weird. I like it slightly better now, but it's not my favorite Disney movie from this era. Wallace and Negri are the stand-outs as the tough fisherman who wants to make more money than he ever could catching seafood and the mysterious lady. In fact, I really wish Negri had more to do. She only appears in the last 20 minutes or so. Though Davis is funny, McEnery is dull as the love interest, and Nikky comes off as a bit naive until she finally takes matters into her own hands. Still worth a peek if you love Mills, jewel capers, or international action movies from the early-mid 60's. 

Spent most of the morning looking up government agencies that might be able to help me buy a house. Most of the ones I found were intended to help people with mental difficulties rent or live in a group home. I did eventually get the general idea of some non-profit and government organizations that might be more helpful, and even get me loans. I'm just doing research this week. I'll go further tomorrow.

Switched back to cartoons for Paw Patrol during lunch.  "Pups Save the Butterflies" when purple monarchs seemingly attack the town. Turns out Mayor Humdinger stole their bush to beat Mayor Goodway at a local flower competition. The pups have to find the scout butterfly and get Humdinger to put the bush back where it belongs. He's the one causing trouble again when he steals a statue of Goodway's beloved pet chicken Chickaletta to melt it down and make a statue of him in "Pups Save an Underground Chicken." The pups chase him through the underground sewer system to catch him.

Called Uber after the pups ended. Thankfully, no trouble here. I had to wait 13 minutes for a ride to the Thomas Sharp School, but I called early enough that I was right on time. Though the rain was long gone by 5:15, it was damp, windy, and cold. I got lucky again here. The Uber driver going home once again took 5 minutes to arrive. I would have walked, but my knee was still sore from the injection and wasn't up to it.

Good thing I got there when I did. We had 24 kids today, 10 at my table, and they couldn't go outside again. This time, they couldn't even use the library for most of the afternoon. There was some kind of school function going on in there. Though it hadn't rained in a while, the playground was still wet, and it was too cold and windy for running around outside. My kids mostly cleaned up fine and weren't that bad in the bathrooms. I had a harder time with the second round of kids going to the bathrooms, including one poor girl who fell down, hurt her knee, got very upset, and needed band aids. Another girl was even angrier when one of the little boys knocked over the magnetic tile house she was working on...but as I tried to explain, knocking over his train wasn't going to make the situation better.

The library didn't clear out until almost 5 PM. Maybe it's just as well. There was plenty of space for 7 kids to dance to "I'm Still Standing," the themes from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bluey, and "Your Idol" from KPop Demon Hunters. By the time I was done, there were three kids left, and they were moving back to the cafeteria.

When I got home, I took out the recycling, put the laundry downstairs, and grabbed dinner. Watched Match Game Syndicated while I ate. Most of the two hours were devoted to that wild week with Sharon Farrell, Richard Paul, Betty White, and McLean Stevenson. Though they skipped the episode with Betty turning up in that short red dress for some reason, we did get to see more of the contestant with the crazy laugh and see everyone miss the obvious answer on what a samurai baker watches. 

Finished the night and continued Women's History Month honoring the original Price Is Right models and watching other shows they appeared on. Probably the most famous and long-running of the Price Models from the 70's through the 90's would be Janice Pennington. She was on for so long, she debuted with the show in 1972 and didn't leave until 2000. My favorite of her appearances on another game show was the utterly hilarious episode of the 1972 I've Got a Secret where Charles Nelson Reilly "painted" her belly as his secret...and Gene Rayburn sure liked what he was doing! Janice also appeared on Hollywood Squares in 1988, doing their Christmas show with Debbie Reynolds, Joan Rivers, Chris Lemmon, Jm J. Bullock, and Jason Hervey of The Wonder Years, among others. 

Janice was one of three models who appeared on Match Game during its 1973-1982 run. Anitra Ford turned up a few weeks after Janice in 1976, shortly before she left the show. Richard Dawson spent the entire time flirting with a gorgeous blonde contestant who kept on winning. Holly Hallstrom was a semi-regular in her own right from 1979 through 1981. I have one of her later appearances here, where Gene shows off her fashionable (and incredibly short) ruffled blouse and shorts.

Janice, Bob Barker, Rod Roddy, and Dian Parkinson played their fellow CBS daytime stablemates The Young and the Restless on a very funny week of Family Feud in 1991. Gene Wood even called the Price cast to "come on down" instead of having them turn up in a pose in the sampler entrances. (Kathleen Kennedy replaced her when they played each other in syndication.) Not only did they play well, but they won every Fast Money too, making a ton of money for their (animal-related, given who their boss is) charity, too.

Anitra, Janice, Holly, Kathleen, Dian...come on down! Let's honor the ladies who keep the refrigerators and cars humming on America's favorite game show in these hilarious episodes!

I've Got a Secret (1972)

Match Game (1976)

Match Game Syndicated (1981)

Hollywood Squares (1988)

Family Feud (1991)

Family Feud (1991)

Baking Matches

I woke up at 7 AM...and promptly called out. My knee was too sore for pushing carts. If I had worked in the morning, I might have reconsidered, but I wasn't supposed to be in until 1:30. Working in the afternoon means I'm just helping with the carts. They'd live without me today. 

Went back to sleep after that. When I got up for good, I had a nice, warm breakfast while watching winter-related animated specials. Frosty's Winter Wonderland brings Frosty the Snowman (Jackie Vernon) back, to the delight of all his kid friends. Frosty's lonely when they're inside at night, so they create a "snow wife" (Shelly Winters) they dub Crystal to keep him company. Trouble is, they can't figure out how to make her "all livin'" at first. Meanwhile, Jack Frost (Paul Frees) is jealous of Frosty's popularity and would love to blow those snow people right off the map.

Frosty Returns from 1992 was one of the last cartoons made by Bill Melendez, and as such, comes off as more of a cross between Rankin-Bass and a Peanuts holiday special. This time, Frosty (John Goodman) appears to two kids in a town whose winter carnival is threatened by an industrialist (Brian Doyle Murphy) who created a spray that quickly removes snow. The kids know that the kind of magic winter needs can be found in good friends and cozy days, not quick ideas.

I went further into another Rankin-Bass winter special, Jack Frost, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2020. 

Jack Frost

After that ended, I switched to YouTube for Dot and Keeto. I also go further into the fourth movie in the long-running Dot series from Australia at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Dot and Keeto

Spent most of the afternoon looking over my Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN story. With The WENN Nutcracker Suite having stalled and it being past Christmas anyway, I thought I'd double back and take a look at this Game of Thrones-esque fantasy I've been working on for a decade. I started it in August 2015, worked on it off and on through early 2016, then dropped it after I got into Star Wars. Started it again last May, but ultimately switched to Hilary and the Beasts instead. 

It's the early 4th season, between "And If I Die Before I Sleep" and "Hilary's Agent." Betty is writing a new series for a sponsor who was inspired by her When In Rome script and asked for a deeper fantasy story than usual for a radio show. As usual for Betty, her problems, including the three men in her life, intrude...and explode into the story of Elizabeth Roberts (Betty) who discovers her destiny as the Light Guardian even as she deals with the two men in her life, noble King Victor (Comstock) who is currently a spy, and former Prince Scott (Sherwood), who now steals from the rich in the woods and leads the rebel faction. 

After Dot and Keeto ended, I decided to try something downstairs. I still had buttermilk and coconut leftover from Christmas baking. I made Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread from The Taste of Home Baking Book, adding coconut to the batter and sprinkling it along with the cinnamon sugar between the layers. Oh yuuuummm! It came out perfectly, sweet and spicy and moist, and smelled amazing in the oven. I haven't made anything this good in ages. And it only took me about 10-15 minutes to put together, too. 

Finished my night with a late lunch-early dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. I'm not the only one who loves good food. Despite Gene Rayburn's frequent admonishment that they weren't supposed to be eating on the air, food was often consumed in front of the cameras by panelists anyway. Charles brought a burger with him during a syndicated episode. In a 1974 show, Richard stole an apple given to Brett by an audience member. Also in syndication, opera singer and avowed pasta lover Diana Sorvino handed plates of spaghetti and meatballs to the panelists. Gene once let everyone try out caviar. There was the contestant who brought kiwi from his farm for everyone to test, too. There were also all of the jokes about the "Russian" club soda Brett and Charles imbibed, and the time Bill Daily spilled water and ended up out of his chair to wipe it up. 

Food also turned up in Audience Matches and Head-to-Heads. Betty helped a Naval officer in a nighttime episode whose answer to her Head-to-Head was a brand of beer. Another one in 1975 had "Pie __." "Mama" Cass Elliot got teased quite a bit about her weight and what she ate during her one week in 1973. There was also the obvious answer to "Club __," given how much of it the panelists (supposedly) consumed. 

Enjoy dinner and a show with the Match Game panelists in this tasty and rib-tickling marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - What's for Dinner Marathon - Featuring Food & Drink Items On Match Game

Oh, and at press time...it still hasn't snowed, iced, or done anything but look ugly and be cold. It hasn't all day. I don't think it's supposed to arrive until later in the morning. 

Heaven Help the Fighting Woman

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Little Bear wants to stay "Up All Night" and see the sunrise, but he ends up dreaming about it instead. After he gets muddy, "Little Bear's Bath" turns into an adventure where he meets a mermaid caught in a net. "Father Bear Comes Home," and Little Bear and all of his friends are excited about the surprise he's bringing them. They think it might be a mermaid, but he has something that's even more fun.

Spent the next couple of hours checking the schedule for adult programs at the Cherry Hill Library and watching the 2011 remake of Footloose, which I go further into at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Footloose (2011)

Watched Remember WENN during lunch. Elderly janitor Mr. Eldridge (George Hall) is excited when his old friend and former vaudevillian Pepper Carnasie (Eddie Bracken) visits the station. Unfortunately, he's there with Blair Foley (Michael Patrick McGrath), an overbearing hearing aid salesman who uses Pepper as a shill. They're more "Like a Brother" than Blair is with his younger brother, the silent sound effects man Mr. Foley (Tom Beckett). It's Scott and Foley who use the laugh track machine Foley made to bolster Mackie's comedy act on the real joke - Blair's puffed-up opinion of himself.

There's "Magic" in the air at the station when sponsor Kurt Holstrom (David Leary) comes to see Hilary and Jeff's mind-reading act on their show Magic Time. Scott's more concerned about the decoded messages on their Amazon Andy kid's show not making sense. As it turns out, those codes are a lot more than just "be sure to drink your Ovaltine," and Holstrom is more than just a sponsor. It's a night of mayhem, memories, Scott revealing a hidden talent, and Mackie being nervous when Hilary says "someone at this station will pass through the doorway between life and death." She's right, but not in the way she thinks when, alone late at night, Betty has a visitor she never expected to see again...one who supposedly died in London months ago...

The second and third season are by far my favorite of the show. Scott's in his element as the fast-talking station manager, and this is probably the season where Hilary and Jeff get along the best and have some of their wittiest lines. The classic hour-long Christmas episode is far and way my favorite of the season, along with "Scott Sherwood of the FBI," "Close Quarters," and the touching "Radio Silence." Take note of the events of "Magic" and the return of a certain supposedly dead former station manager, though, because things will be getting very messy from here on in...

Called Uber soon as "Magic" ended. Yes, I know it was much warmer today, but my knee has been really sore, to the point where I put a wrap on it. I have no idea why it would have been so busy at 2:30, but I couldn't get a ride for 17 minutes! I was 15 minutes late to work. I had a hard time getting a driver going home, too. At least the second driver arrived in a mere 2 minutes after the first canceled.

And my being late was not a good thing. Though we only had 20 younger kids today, they're all rowdy from being cooped up all week. I didn't have any really major problems with my group at the bathrooms. I enjoyed reading to a few of the kids while the others finished their snacks. The real trouble didn't start until we moved the kids to the library. They wouldn't listen to the head teacher read them stories. One girl threw a tantrum when another grabbed rubber ducks from her and just would not stop crying, for nearly ten minutes. When I scolded the other girl, she lay on the floor and ignored me. (After I talked to her yesterday about using her words.)

The same girl begged me to read a book about wolves and grizzlies attacking their prey that was really for older kids. I read it...until the very end, when I refused to read the last few paragraphs about the wolves overwhelming the grizzly or show her the blood. I kept asking her if she really wanted to read it and pointing out that it wasn't appropriate for her, but she kept insisting on it. The boys just kept running around and crawling on the floor when they explicitly told not to. It was a major relief when we finally moved the kids back to the cafeteria shortly before I left.

When I got home, I went straight into dinner and Match Game Syndicated. We finished off the week with Stephanie Edwards, Fannie Flagg, and Robert Pine. Brett spent the week alternatively mourning Charles going away to Broadway for a role the next week and being glad him and his poky writing were going.

Finished the night working on my Footloose review while listening to the 2-disc Starburst set. The title sounds like something K-Tel put out in the late 70's, but it's actually from 1969...and boy, is it from 1969. This is one of the most eclectic assortment of songs I've ever seen on two records. You get rock numbers like "God Bless the Child" by Blood, Sweat, and Tears and "This Girl Is a Woman Now" by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, vocalists like Tony Bennett singing "I've Gotta Be Me" and Johnny Mathis's version of the "Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet," instrumental covers of rock numbers ("Up, Up, and Away" by Terry Baxter and His Orchestra, "Spinning Wheel" by Moog Machine), and even country numbers from Tammy Wynette ("Stand By Your Man") and Johnny Cash ("Daddy Sang Bass"). If you want to hear a little bit of pretty much everything the late 60's had to offer, this is worth digging up for the variety alone. 

Spring Out Of Holiday Blues

Headache or no headache, I had to get the Christmas tree and garlands down if I was ever going to get any cleaning done. I did it this morning. Took me two hours to do the tree and an hour to get the remaining items, including the garlands and nativity. I also hung the winter-themed decorations I bought yesterday (including tissue paper snowflakes I was glad to get, because I forgot to finish making my paper ones).

I stuck my head out as I ate a simple lunch of Dannon Light Cherry Vanilla Yogurt, Triscuits, and a banana...and was rewarded with a blast of cool breeze and warmth! It had to be at least in the mid-60s. It was really too nice to stay inside, so I took some cold medicine, threw on a sweater, and went for a nice long walk.

My first stop was my friend Erica's to finally deliver the Christmas cookies I made for her and her mom and kept forgetting to bring over. I saw her car, but didn't see her. I thought she might have been somewhere with her mom or sister and left the cookies on her doorstep.

(I didn't find out why her car was there but she wasn't until later. I thought of knocking, but if she was napping, I didn't want to disturb her...and as it turns out, I did the right thing. Erica left me a message on my answering machine, and through much coughing, I discerned that she'd found the cookies but was feeling absolutely horrible and wouldn't have been able to ask me inside anyway. She sounded horrible, the poor dear. I thought my headache was a pain; in addition to coughing, she sounded raspy, stuffy, and slow. I'll get back to her in a few days when she's hopefully feeling better.)

After I left Erica's, I wandered down Newton Avenue and over the bridge across Nicholson Road into Audubon. It was just such a wonderful day, sunny and cloudless, with the hint of a lovely breeze. There were quite a few people out, too, especially for a Tuesday in January! I saw older people eating lunch in their back yard, and many parents with little kids not ready for school yet. I kept walking, past Market Street, down three or four more blocks to Pine.

I originally visited Act Two Collectibles last summer, but I haven't been able to get back there since. Act Two is an awesome collectibles store, filled with everything from Depression glass to 80s Happy Meal toys. As tempting as some of the toys were, I wound up with three very different books - a 1977 book-and-record for the first Star Wars movie, a 50s German/Viennese cookbook to add to my collection of vintage International cookbooks, and my favorite find, the 1980 children's novel The Adventures of Holly Hobbie. Holly Hobbie isn't a character I'd normally associate with Indiana Jones-style globe-trotting, but this story seems to involve a girl whose professor father has disappeared studying the Maya, and she and Holly, an ancestor who suddenly appears after the girl sees her portrait in a New England farmhouse, go after him. Sounds like a Holly Hobbie version of the Lloyd Alexander Vesper Holly books, which I love!

I went next-door to a lovely little gift shop and found that they had a wonderful selection of WebKinz, including four brand-new ones I hadn't seen yet, the big and Lil'Kinz Penguins, the Turtle, and the Love Frog! They also had a small display of the January "Pet of the Month," the Lil'Kinz Golden Retriever. That tiny yellow pup was just too cute, and I thought the little penguin would go well with my newly-hung winter decorations.

So...meet the babies of the family, Debbie the Golden Retriever and Elvis the Penguin! Debbie is shacking up with Sundance the Raccoon, who'll help take care of her. Elvis is on his own in the winter-themed room, The Igloo, for now. (The room that came with Debbie was made into a conservatory for the Sparkle Plant and Venus Fly Trap, and any other rare plant item I end up with.) Debbie is our girlie-girl; Elvis is the family goofball who loves jokes.

I spent the morning listening to 80s pop and classic rock, so the Lil'Kinz got classic rock names. Deb was named after 80s teen favorite Debbie Gibson and "Blondie" front woman Deborah Harry. Elvis...well, I think most of you know where HIS name came from. ;)

I stopped by Abbie Road on Market Street on the way back to say "hi" to Bob, the sweet owner who is a friend of Erica's. I caught him just in time; he said he was going to leave in 20 minutes to see his teenage grandson play hockey. I chatted with Bob and bought The Best of Linda Rondstat on CD. I've liked Linda Rondstat since I was really little, but I've never had much from her besides my two jazz cassettes.

After a quick stop at a bakery down the street to treat myself to a small but tasty chocolate cupcake, I headed home. My head was back to pounding by then, so I read and listened to jazz for a little while before doing yoga and making chili for dinner.

My knee is getting so much better. I can bend so much further now, and I can almost do that "Simple" Sitting Pose (which isn't simple for someone who's injured her left knee twice in the last two years). I can ride my bike normally, without using just one leg (pushing with one leg until the pedal is almost up, then pushing down part-way with the bad leg - not the fastest way to ride a bike, but serviceable while the knee healed). I haven't worn the knee brace since October.

Tell Everybody I'm On My Way

Did my first chore in over a week today. I decided to test my knee by returning a book that needed to go back to the Oaklyn Library. It was so hot, I stopped a Doria's Deli on West Clinton Avenue on the way back and picked up a diet soda as a treat. (I seldom drink soda anymore. It's not good for your bones, and I'm not really that big on diet soda. It has an awful aftertaste.)

My knee was sore, but not bad; certainly better than when I hurt it last year. It's not fun, but I can walk on it. This will be the last day I have it on the heating pad. The doctor said to have it on the heating pad and rest it as much as possible for a week, then exercise it. He even gave me a couple of pages of simple knee exercises to do.

Work was busy, but went fast, and nothing worse happened than a couple giving me attitudes because their food stamp card wouldn't work. Tomorrow's my last day of work before vacation; I also need to run to the bank and do my laundry.

Rest I Need, Yes

Spent all of today inside, resting my knee. The most I did was make up a list of things I need to pack, work a little on my Monkees fairy-tale fanfic, and (finally) take out the trash. I took it out at the right time, too. About 20 minutes after I got in, the thunderstorm that had threatened all day finally rolled in. It was noisy and violent; we even briefly lost power at one point.

I'm going to continue to rest the knee tomorrow until (and after) work. I'll test it on Friday with a quick trip to the Oaklyn Library down the street (I need to return a book that's actually due the Monday I leave for New England).

A Day With The Monkees, A Night With My Sister

I did end up spending most of the day pretty much the way I figured I would - watching Monkees episodes with my knee under a heating pad. (In fact, the knee is back under a heating pad as I write this.) To stretch and keep the knee from getting stiff, I did little things around the apartment I've been meaning to do - make my bed (which I only do once a century - who's gonna see it?), glue the bottom part onto a small red shelf I bought from the thrift shop that fell off the nails I had it on, pick up a hundred small items I left on tables and shelves.

I did see Rose today...around 6:30PM. May have been just as well. I finally got her to visit Uncle Ken and Bruce (she hasn't been over there since last fall), and I ate a pleasant meal of Cornmeal-Battered Tilapia, green beans, and jambalaya with her, her boyfriend Craig, and their puppies Toby and Kelsey and their cat Bob. (I didn't see much of Bob - he was understandably avoiding the frisky dogs.)

Rose and I are going to get together again tomorrow so she can return something to Old Navy and I can buy sandals to replace the flip-flops that I slipped on. (Flip-flops are probably not the best things for a klutz to be wearing anyway.)

What's Goin' On

I went to the doctor's office this afternoon. The knee just hurt too much to ignore it this time, and I wanted a professional opinion. I called Uncle Ken, who took me to the doctor in Haddon Heights that Bruce and Jessa use. He was a pleasant, youngish Asian fellow with an almost shy manner. I also had a small check-up - found out I've lost another pound since I last checked my scale (which means I've now lost 23).

The verdict - sprained knee, probably a torn ligament. I'm to put heat on it and try to stay off of it as much as possible for a week, then exercise it the week after. I called out of work (I only had four hours today and the extra Fourth of July money should make up for it somewhat) and spent the rest of the day watching Monkees episodes (they never fail to cheer me up) and reading that Summer of Love issue of Rolling Stone with my knee under a heating pad. I made a simple dinner (grilled turkey with tomato and spinach, no cheese) and a low-fat chilled dessert (Peach-Apple Sorbet).

(I don't normally read Rolling Stone, partially because I disagree with their treatment of the Monkees. They're some of the only people who still write them off as just a made-for-TV band. I say...guys, they only started out as a TV band and were really talented, so give credit where credit is due, please. The only times the Monkees turn up in any of the Summer Of Love articles is when Peter Tork discusses his very popular home in Laurel Canyon in the LA piece, in a reference to Jimi Hendrix quitting the tour, and in the last page, despite their being one of the number-one bands in the world and having the top albums and two of the top singles of the year. Not to mention Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz were among the musicians attending the Monterey Pop Festival.)

I'm not going to be able to take the whole week off, especially since I'm still going on vacation the week after. (Lauren and I discussed it last night; it's fine, we'll just have to revise our schedule somewhat.) I'll just have to stand on one leg a lot, rest the leg when I get home, and try not to eat too much junk, since I can't exercise for a while. I hate to do it, but I'll probably need rides to work until I go away, too.

(I do have three errands I really do need to pull off, though. I need to go grocery shopping, I need to go to the bank, and I need to buy new sandals.)

When You Scream, Nobody Hears You

It happened again.

I was going to Uncle Ken's to do my laundry. It was raining, but not hard. I put on flip-flops and got moving, figuring I wouldn't take too long anyway.

On my way down the steps from my apartment, I slipped. The bad knee turned, and the next thing I know, I'm sitting on the third-to-last step, screaming and crying, with a badly bruised right thigh, a knee shrieking in pain, a bare foot, and laundry everywhere. (Good thing I put that copy of Rolling Stone in a plastic bag. It cost me almost 8 bucks.)

I live in an apartment in the back of a house, on a dead-end side street in a small town in New Jersey. I kept screaming "No! No! Not again!" and sobbing. Like last year when I fell off my bike, no one heard me. No one ran to help me or to find out what the commotion was. No one offered aid, or asked what was wrong. No one was there. It was just me with one bare foot and a re-twisted knee, sitting amid a pile of (really) dirty socks, underwear, shirts, Acme uniforms, sheets, and pillowcases.

I did finally get to Uncle Ken's. He wasn't angry (he never is), but he did scold me for not telling him when I was going to come. I thought I was coming earlier, but I slept in and then it started pouring. I did get the laundry done; put my knee on ice while it ran, read Rolling Stone, and watched black and white sitcoms on TV Land.

(My favorite of what I saw was an extremely weird I Love Lucy episode with Lucy dreaming she was in Scotland, she and Ricky were in kilts, and Fred and Ethel were a two-headed dragon that was going to eat her. You've never lived until you've seen a Cuban man in a kilt attempting a Scottish accent and two middle-aged comedians in a very fat and very silly dragon costume with "his" and "hers" bibs. Oh, and it was a musical, too. Bizarre but hilarious. The Paris episode, with Lucy getting into trouble after buying counterfeit Francs, was also fun, though more typical of the show.)

I guess I'm still in shock a little. I can't believe this happened again. It's just like last year; I hurt myself, maybe for good, and no one helps me. Where are people when you need them? Uncle Ken was so doped up on his diabetes medication, he spent most of the time I was there zonked out. Everyone else is probably at work, on vacation, or hiding from the rain.

I'll call Rose and Mom after I get off. I had to get online now; normally I wait until around 8PM (I have dial-up and I prefer to wait until I'm less likely to get phone calls), but if I didn't get all this off my chest, I'd go insane.

I'm afraid to call Mom. I'm afraid she'll either get mad at me for doing this again and getting upset (she hates it when I cry) or worry too much. Rose has been sooo flaky lately, although I think part of that has to do with the wedding of one of her best friends a few weeks ago. I wonder if I could get her to come over here, instead of me going there. I think her dogs Toby and Kelsey and cat Bob are adorable, and her boyfriend Craig is a really nice guy, but her house is crazy with two puppies around. I don't think any of us would get much rest. Besides, I still owe her for helping me out last year. Maybe we could finally talk.

I just had Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on. For me, Sgt. Pepper is nostalgia of another kind. When I hear it, I think not of the summer of 1967, but of the spring of 1993. I'd just gotten my first CD Walkman, which I plugged into my stereo and turned into a kind of portable CD player, and Mom bought me two CDs for my birthday. I think they both came from Vibrations, a now-defunct music store in North Cape May, since I'd seen both there - Sgt. Pepper and the 1952 original cast album for the Cole Porter musical Can-Can, best known for the debut of New York stage diva Gwen Verdon. Yes, I still have both. (In fact, I believe the copy of Can-Can I have has since gone out of print and is considered collectable.) I listened to them all summer long. I knew the Beatles in crazy Day-Glo military uniforms long before I knew them in plain gray suits, and I still prefer their later music (from about Revolver onwards) to their earlier stuff.

I just don't understand it. Why did God let this happen to me - once again right before a vacation that means so much? What is it the Gods (all of them) have against me? What am I going to do now? What about cleaning and my yoga and pilates? How will I lose weight if I hurt when I move? How will I even walk down the stairs again without dreading it?