Rat Pack Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Bluey. After Bandit ignores Bingo's domino heart, "Fairies" suddenly appear and wreck havoc. Bandit has to make it up to Bingo and outsmart the fairies. Bandit is initially the boss of "Work." When Bluey takes over and fires him over dancing, he ends up outside, selling drainpipes with Bingo...until a "ballerina" (Chili) sees them dancing and decides he's her perfect partner.

Not only was it late by the time I got dressed, but my heel is still sore. I called Uber. That might not have been a bad idea. The one going to work came in 6 minutes. It took me a while to get a car going home, but when I did, they arrived in 3 minutes! No trouble going to work. The driver had a few nervous minutes edging around the bus on Nicholson Road, but other than that, there were no problems.

Work didn't begin well. Cleaning up a leaky soda cooler put me behind with the carts, and I never did get to sweeping that hour. Things went better once I had more help and it slowed down after around 1. One college boy arrived around 11 AM. The other came at 2. They took over the sweeping and trash. By 2 PM, it was so quiet, and there were so many carts, I spent the last two hours inside putting away loose items. 

When I got home, I changed, took a shower, made a tuna sandwich and cherries for dinner, then made use of that Cherry Coke Zero I bought the other day to have an ice cream soda for dessert. When I got back upstairs, I watched Paw Patrol. "Rescue Knights: Pups Save a Dozing Dragon" when Claw and the Duke of Flappington steal a cauldron that can create a sleeping mist if a dragon breathes on it. Claw gets Sparks to create the mist, but he doesn't consider what would happen if he fell asleep while in the air...

Spent the rest of the night watching the Saturday Match Game marathon. Joey Bishop was long past his days with the Rat Pack when he made his first Match Game appearance in mid-1976. He was a cranky contrast to some of the snarkier or more upbeat panelists. 

He was there for the New Year's Eve week with Charles' friend Elizabeth Allen and saw sweet George keep winning games. He and Mary Wickes made jokes about Gene's green and yellow plaid coat (Joey was right - it did look like it came off of a car seat) and the infamous red coat mentioned last weekend. To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure he got the show's humor. He kept trying to kiss contestants, even when they didn't get their answer from him. The ladies were happier with the handsome white-haired contestant who somewhat resembled Allen Ludden. Brett and Mary in particular seemed pretty interested in him. The guys were more interested in the cute woman who wore shirts that said "Glamour" and "Foxy Lady." 

To give Joey credit, he had a point about some of his complaints. There was the time Ira, the show's judge and producer, wouldn't pass "wipe" for clean. He also would call out audiences that were unruly by even the show's standards, claiming there was one guy booing him who kept moving around. I believe he was also the first person to point out that there were three standard answers for Match Game - women's chests, Howard Cosell, or relieving oneself. 

Get to know the mind with the dirty man in these festive and hilarious episodes!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Joey Bishop Marathon

It's Really Truly Spring, Charlie Brown

Began the morning with breakfast and The Bernstein Bears' Easter Surprise. I went further into this 1981 special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog for Easter 2023.

Easter Short Subject Special - The Bernstein Bears' Easter Surprise

Headed out to run errands after the Bears ended. For one thing, it was too gorgeous of a day not to. It was sunny, breezy, and warm as could be, in the upper 70's by noon. I strolled down Johnson and up to the big WaWa on the White Horse Pike to get money for the rent. Tried a Raspberry Chip Smoothie, too. It was delightfully tart and cooling, with real raspberry and chocolate chips mixed in. Stopped at Family Dollar on the way home to get Easter cards (and forgot two - I'll pick them up after work tomorrow). 

Put on Yogi the Easter Bear while I got the cards ready. Ranger Smith is incredibly nervous about this year's Easter Jamboree. The super-tough park commissioner is bringing his grandchildren, and he expects them to have the time of their lives. He's really furious with Yogi when he doesn't act "smarter than the average bear" and eats all the Easter candy. Yogi and Boo Boo go off to find the Easter Bunny so he can replace the lost eggs and candy and end up having to save him from a pair of truly bizarre plastic-obsessed villains who want to replace the Bunny's real eggs with their fake ones.

Watched It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown during lunch and as I got ready for school. Each of the Peanuts crew prepare for spring in their own way, from Peppermint Patty and Marcie's hilarious attempts to color eggs to Sally going shoe shopping and Snoopy getting Woodstock a new birdhouse. Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle does that. Sally's more than a little skeptical after the Great Pumpkin incident at Halloween, but Easter Sunday brings more than one surprise for the kids!

Despite the nice day, I called Uber for a ride to Thomas Sharp. Jessa was picking me up later. Considering how late I called, I surprisingly got a ride in 6 minutes. I even had a little time to rest in a little garden before I went inside.

Good thing, because it was crazy today. We had 24 kids, 10 at my table. My kids behaved just fine. They all cleaned up this time, and they weren't that bad in the bathrooms. It was after snack time when the trouble started. They were absolutely wild in the cafeteria, running around, screaming, calling each other names and then tattling on each other. Even worse, one of the teachers called out so late, they didn't have time to replace her. It was just the head teacher and me today. The head teacher had to gather a rather large group of them to tell them that name calling isn't nice, tattling is for emergencies, running around and climbing under things is for outside, and they need to remember that we're all in a small space without a lot of room for all of that.

Things went much better once we got outside and the kids were able to enjoy that hot weather. To be honest, it was too hot. It was almost in the 80's by 4 PM on the last day of March. I had to take several kids inside to use the bathroom, and then to fill their water bottles, but they behaved much better when there was only a few of them. When they were on the playground, they happily ran around, looked for tiny pinecones on the ground, and danced to "Try Everything" from Zootopia, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, the theme from Bluey, "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" from Lilo and Stitch, "Ghostbusters," and songs from The Little Mermaid, Moana, Tangled, Encanto, and KPop Demon Hunters. 

By 5 PM, we moved the remaining 6 kids to the blacktop to play with the 9 remaining older kids. I stayed slightly longer to help with them, since Jessa didn't arrive until 5:30. They were down to 3 older kids and 2 younger ones when Jessa arrived with a newly cleaned-out car.

We had no idea where we wanted to eat, so we drove around a little. Jessa originally suggested Freddy's, a burger-and-hot-dog fast food chain in Cinnaminson, but we spied something far better behind it. Hibachi Grill and Buffet's enormous size belies its location in a generic shopping center. It was huge and gorgeous in there. The bright center area with the food counters are between rows of warm dining areas hung with Japanese paper umbrellas and separated by graceful wooden trellises. I had sushi, a spring roll, salad, two pan-fried pot stickers (I gave one to Jessa), a meat skewer, coconut shrimp, two steamed mussels, a spring roll, fried rice, a little bit of baked white fish, chicken and broccoli, and for dessert, a slice of white cake with tasty vanilla ice cream.

After we got home, I watched the last episode of Match Game '90, then finished the night with Spring for Strawberry Shortcake. Strawberry is worried that winter is taking much too long to recede. If spring doesn't come soon, she won't be able to plant her berries, Orange Blossom's trees won't bloom, and Ginger Snap won't have grain and eggs to make her delicious cookies. Huckleberry Pie and Custard the Cat are more interested in goofing off than helping. Strawberry, Orange, and Ginger go in search of spring...and learn a lesson about putting duty before pleasure, the importance of spring's place in the calendar year, and that working together not only gets the job done faster, but is a lot more fun. 

I'm Always Chasing Rainbows

Began the morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. Scooby witnesses "The No-Face Zombie Chase Case" when he sees a faceless apparition steal a supposedly cursed coin. They follow the zombie to the Dilly Dally Dolly Company, where they encounter the owner and a gorilla who is determined to keep them from finding that coin.

Soon as the episode ended, I dashed out. Left Welcome to the World, Baby Girl in a book kiosk, then rushed down Johnson and Cuthbert to make my appointment with Abilities Solutions. I arrived at the Haddon Township Library five minutes late. As it turned out, the counselor said she hit traffic and would be late as well, and then she didn't realize the bikes are parked at the back entrance and I'd gone in that way. 

Dawn proved to be an amiable older lady who enthusiastically greeted me when I figured out she was out front. We sat down, and I explained my problem. It's the same one I've had for twenty years. I don't really know what I want to do. I'm not good at math, and I don't want anything to do with medical offices. I wouldn't mind working in a school if it was year-round. Trouble is, I'm not sure what that leaves. My skills need to be upgraded, too. I probably would have gotten six jobs by now if I knew more about Excel and Word.

She did spot a library assistant job for Rutgers University on Indeed that didn't say anything about needing special training. I'm still not sure, but I did send her better copies of my resume and the cover letter Karen wrote when she asked. I also explained about the bike and my transportation difficulties, and how badly I want to find a job and make enough money to buy a condo or apartment. I'd also prefer to stay in South Jersey, or at the very least in eastern Pennsylvania. Cape May and Atlantic Counties don't have year-round economies and are frankly too isolated for me, and North Jersey is too expensive even by Jersey standards.

Needed something at Target after I left Dawn. Thankfully, the kids must have all been at Dollar Tree. I had no trouble getting what I wanted and an Apple Hint water and getting out. Had a quick but tasty lunch of spinach and feta omelet, hash browns, Diet Pepsi, and a raisin French Toast bagel at the bagel shop and picked up a few bagels for later this week.

Went straight home after that. It was sunny, warm, and humid. I heard it was supposed to rain later. It never did, but it remained steamy enough for me to spend the rest of the afternoon working on the inventory. I started the Cast Albums this afternoon. Considering how many I have, that's going to be a job and a half. On the other hand, with the exception of a few CDs I picked up in high school and college, I haven't had most of my cast albums for years like I have the rock records and soundtracks. Titles I added today included Ain't Misbehavin', the original 1946 Annie Get Your Gun, the 1969 London Anne of Green Gables, Allegro, Ambassador, the 1962 off-Broadway Anything Goes, The Apple Tree, Applause, the stage Back to the Future, Baker Street, Barnum, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, Bells are Ringing, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, and Big River. 

(Incidentally, Beautiful, which I picked up from Amazon in 2015, was the first record I bought brand new since the late 1980's.) 

Listened to three more of my new soundtracks while I worked. The Band Wagon is one of my favorite movies, and the soundtrack is pretty awesome, too. MGM's surprisingly full album has most of the songs, plus "The Girl Hunt Ballet" in its entirety, with Fred Astaire's narration. Astaire and Jack Buchanon define elegance with "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," Astaire romps through "A Shine On My Shoes," and he, Buchanon, and Nanette Fabray have fun with the macabre "Triplets."

Hello, Frisco, Hello was one of Alice Faye's last movies before she gave up stardom for her family, and one of her biggest. This later soundtrack recording includes all of the songs, some incidental music, and even a song for June Havoc that was cut, "I Gotta Have You." Faye had one of the biggest hits of her career with the standard "You'll Never Know," which won a much-deserved Best Song Oscar.

Part of the reason Faye left was 20th Century Fox now had Betty Grable as their major pin-up queen. Movies like The Dolly Sisters with June Haver cemented her stardom and her popularity with the boys in blue in 1944. "I Can't Begin to Tell You," introduced by John Payne in the movie, was the hit ballad here. The album includes Grable and Haver's goofy "We've Been Around" number and the rather ridiculous chorus routines to "Powder, Lipstick, and Rouge" and "Darktown Strutter's Ball." 

Had dinner early, around 5:30. Watched Match Game Syndicated while I ate. Gene praised a pregnant contestant whose hairstyle made her look a little bit like Farrah Fawcett and her voice sounded a bit like Joyce Bulifant. (Which Joyce herself pointed out.) David Doyle is more nervous to help the contestant with "__ Your Dog" in the Head-to-Head.

Finished the night after a shower with more stunt-based game shows. Stunt shows go back further than any game show genre besides quiz shows. Truth or Consequences actually started on the radio, but if there was ever a game show genre that was made for TV, the stunt show was it. The show was way more fun when you could see the guys riding unicycles and the ladies dressing in Asian Indian garb to surprise their son. Bob Barker was the host from 1956 through its demise in 1975. The show made a lot of firsts, including the first network game show to jump to syndication with new episodes. 

Treasure Isle in 1967 crossed the Beach Party movies with Beat the Clock. Couples play stunts (that often involved swimming and kissing) in order to earn more time to open treasure chests on the title island. Kind of goofy, and to tell the truth, the stunts seemed less romantic and more like early Double Dare.

Double Dare brought stunt shows back with a vengeance in the late 80's and early 90's, this time usually made for kids. The simple premise of kids daring kids to answer questions and doing stunts when they can't, leading up to the big, messy Obstacle Course was heavily imitated, including by Nickelodeon themselves. Their most creative take on Double Dare was likely Legends of the Hidden Temple. Here, four teams of kids hear the tiki statue Olmec tell the story of a fictional lost object that the kids have to find. The last group standing after the mini-games gets to run through the Temple and search for the object.

Double Dare was so huge in the late 80's, the formula spilled over the northern border and into Canada. 5-4-3-2-Run played two rounds. Four kids would sit behind a monitor that held a possible answer to a question. If the kid guessed right, they moved on. If they didn't, they'd get  hit with slime or rice and would exit with a board game. The two remaining kids would play each other at the end of the episode to see who could take home the biggest prize. Creative and cute, no wonder this was a two-year hit on CTV in Canada and in syndication here in the US.

England had their own fun with stunt shows in the 90's. The Crystal Maze had a team of six intrepid explorers led by an eccentric host - Ed Tudor-Pole in this later episode - through four themed rooms filled with difficult challenges. If they won a challenge, they'd get a crystal. The more crystals they got, the more time they had to gather gold certificates at the end of the episode and avoid silver. If a teammate ran out of time or got locked in a room, they could buy them out with a crystal. This is delightfully creative and crafty, with some nifty sets and genuinely difficult challenges. I'm glad I ran across this show.

The success of American Gladiators in syndication in the 90's spawned many imitations. Wild West Showdown pit three would-be sheriffs against the roughest, toughest paint-wielding outlaws this side of Dodge City. Money was given as a "reward." After each challenge, a pretty reporter would ask questions from the trio to see how they felt and how well they did. As a western fan, I will admit, I got a kick out of this. The three sheriffs know what they're doing, and everyone is all-in on making this a semi-authentic western experience. 

Join the original slime time games with these hilarious looks at stunts past!

Truth Or Consequences (1966)

Treasure Isle (1967)

5-4-3-2-Run (1988)

Family Double Dare (1990)

Legends of the Hidden Temple (1993)

Wild West Showdown (1994)

The Crystal Maze (1995) 

Blue Skies

Plip, plop, plip, plop. 

Awoke to the sound of water running off the roof. The sun shown brightly outside the big window in the front of my bedroom, melting the snow all around it. I celebrated the first full sunny day we've had in ages with breakfast and Sheriff Callie's Wild West on Disney Now. Callie's woodpecker deputy makes "Peck's Prisoner Promise" after they catch the leader of a group of bandits who are after gold in town. When the other bandits return for their leader, Peck vows to stay with them, no matter what. "Toby's Two-Step Trouble" is what happens when he agrees to judge the town dance contest. Everyone in town gives him bribes to consider their moves, until Toby has to figure out how to appease all of them. 

Worked on writing for an hour or so after the cartoon ended. Richard Dawson distracts the sailors and Charles by bringing out Gene, then trying to force Charles onto the plank. Gene's livid; Charles is just shocked he's alive.

Broke at 11 to get organized, change, and get to work early. Not only did I want to avoid being late again, but I needed to pick up something for dinner. The Uber driver showed up in less than 10 minutes, and there were no problems getting there. Had more than enough time to pick up a bowl of Caesar Salad. 

Spent the entire day outside with the carts. We were on-and-off busy, especially as rush hour drew nearer. I'd no sooner bring up carts than they'd disappear, and people would start taking them before I could put them out. No help this time, either. The other two baggers were inside cleaning or cashiering, and the night bagger got recruited to put together a new rack for our weekly flyers.

Didn't get as lucky with Uber going home. Once again, it took me ages to get a ride, and then I had to wait 20 minutes for them to arrive. I think a big part of the problem is almost all of the drivers live in Philly. Most of them have no idea where anything is around here, even with a GPS and their phones. It takes forever for them to find Audubon and Oaklyn when there isn't 5 inches of snow on the ground. 

It was so late when I got home, Sale of the Century was on. Changed and had a snack while watching that. They went back to the regular adult contestants today, though I believe they skipped ahead. The last regular episode had a male champ, and the champ was female in this episode. At any rate, though the other two gave her some competition early-on, she went on to fly through the Speed Round and just barely miss the Bonus Round money.

Finished the night online with Boarding House Blues at Tubi. I go further into this B musical about a boarding house that puts on a show to save their beloved building at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Boarding House Blues

Take Me Out to the Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Uses His Words" when he's angry because his mother moved his farm animals and Miss Elaina threw his beloved stuffed animal Tigey. He's growling angry at first, until his mother insists that he can't tell people what's bothering him if he doesn't talk. Dan and Katerina say "All Aboard!" when they pretend to play train at school. Dan growls when he wants to be the conductor, and Katerina meows angrily when Dan puts other animals besides monkeys in the cars. Teacher Harriet reminds them to use their words and actually talk to one another.

Worked on writing for an hour or so after the cartoon ended. Goodson taunts Jack, telling him that he has Richard Dawson under his thumb. He also claims he has his brother and his crew, which Jack doesn't believe. Tom wants to throw Goodson out a window right then and there, but Richard has a better idea...

Broke with just enough time to change, pack muffins and a banana for lunch, and call Uber. Got to work on time, thankfully. I was outside the entire day. Other than it being freezing cold (barely in the 30's) and gale-force windy, there were no problems whatsoever. I was on my own outside until around 4, when more baggers arrived and joined me to help push and wipe down the few carts that needed to be done. No problems whatsoever. Called Uber and got home without a fuss.

Called Rose as soon as I got in, changed, and put on leftovers for dinner. Yes, she's still in quarantine, but they're almost done. She wants me to order a bike from a company or a shop and send it to the shop to put together. She says I'll have more choices that way. 

Whether we buy it from the shop or order it online, I really do need to figure out what I want. The trouble is, unlike with the cell phone, I have no idea what I want, other than a simple women's cruiser for between 250 and 400. The brand of bike I had before is not only expensive, but they don't make that line anymore. While I'm not getting something super-cheap from WalMart, I do want something decent. I just can't decide what that is. I have a couple of ideas. Rose suggested I take until Wednesday morning to figure it out.

Switched to YouTube while eating dinner. Hall of fame Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and long-time announcer for the Atlanta Braves Don Sutton passed away earlier this week. Sutton was by far the best of the few professional athletes who occasionally appeared on the 1970's-80's Match Game. He was charming, funny, and not bad at the game. He first turned up in 1977 and proved to be so popular, he made occasionally appearances through the show's second syndicated season in 1980. 

Here's the marathon, so you can honor this fastball favorite!

Don Sutton - Match Game Tribute 1977-1980

Finished the night on Amazon Prime with Happy Feet 2. I go further into this sequel to the 2006 animated hit at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Happy Feet 2