All Quiet On the Oaklyn Front

Started off the morning with breakfast and Monchhichis. Moncho and the others visit "Cloud City" when it arrives over Monchia and won't stop raining. An old magician friend of Wizzar's was accused of stealing the magical key that drives Cloudy City and produces its weather. The real thief is the owl king's buzzard prime minister, but he keeps saying everyone else did it. The Monchhichis have to rescue their magician friend, then find the key and convince the king that they're no thieves.

Headed out on my bike after Monchhichis ended. It was a gorgeous day for a ride up to Haddon Heights. I did have to dodge some sidewalk and street repair in between Audubon and Haddon Heights, but otherwise, it was a lovely ride. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It remains sunny, breezy, and dry, probably in the lower 80's. 

My first stop was the Haddon Heights Library. I've been there a few times, but I've never really explored them for very long. Their non-fiction books are in a loft-like area upstairs. I found a book written in 1991 on the Broadway musicals of the previous decade, including long-forgotten flops like Tintypes, Rags, and Dance a Little Closer. 

I dug up another Images of America book in the history section that proved to be even more interesting. I didn't know the Coast Guard base at Cape May went so far back. It started as a Naval base during World War I and would be one again in World War II. In between, the Coast Guard used it to catch rum runners and train recruits. In fact, Cape May is the recruit training ground for new Coast Guard trainees. No wonder I have fond childhood memories of seeing young guys in Coast Guard sweatsuits jogging down Ocean Avenue, past the Beach Theater, chanting sea shanties as they followed their sergeant. (The houses where most of my friends on the base in the 80's lived are brand new, though. In fact, they'd just been built when my friends moved into them.) 

I had lunch a block down the street at Ralph's Pizza. I made it there just in time. I no sooner ordered a brownie, an unsweetened iced tea, and two mini stromboli (pepperoni and cheese steak), than a pack of elementary school-age boys came barreling in behind me. All six of them managed to slide into one booth with their pizza while I enjoyed my meal at a smaller one. Honestly, far from being offensive, they were really funny (other than they did block the sidewalk with their bikes as I was trying to leave).

Stopped at the big CVS down the White Horse Pike on my way home. They didn't have the Listerine Gum Protection mouth wash that I wanted. I had more luck buying those Nature's Valley vitamins buy one, get one, and bags of small toys for my Trick-or-Treat Mystery Bags next month. 

There was a package waiting for me when I got home. I ordered one of those Radio Spirits clamshell sets of a specific old-time radio show from the 90's on eBay, in this case Let's Pretend. I know it's a kids' show, but it does retell fairy tales that don't often turn up elsewhere, like "The Yellow Dwarf," "Princess Moonbeam," and "The Donkey, the Table, and the Stick." I started off with something better-known. Their version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" starts off pretty normal, with a slightly older Jack climbing that stalk and taking his father's hen and gold back from the giant. Where this one diverges is in the end. Jack has to rescue kid cousins of his who were taken by the giant, too. 

Headed off to Thomas Sharp after "Jack" ended. We all started off in the library, due to the first music class of the year in the cafeteria. This time, we had 19 younger kids, 6 at what would normally have been my table. Other than one young lady being pokey, I had no trouble with them in the bathroom. In fact, it ended up being a rather pleasant afternoon. They drew on a paper taped to a table and played with Barbies and magnetic tiles after lunch, then went outside. I was able to get them to wait long enough this time that there was less arguing about the swings. They all took their turns while running around and dancing to "Zoo" from Zootopia 2 and songs from The Lion King, Encanto, Trolls, Moana, and Frozen 2. 

When we got back inside, the remaining five kids had new toys to play with. The older kids came in from the blacktop as they set up atom-shaped building toys and plastic farm animals with a fenced enclosure, a tractor, and hay. There were only two younger kids and five older kids left by the time I went home, and one of the younger kids headed out at the same time I did.

Took a shower when I got home, then had dinner while watching Match Game '76. Tonight finished out the week with Dick Gautier, Fannie Flagg, and Della Reece. There was a lot of joking about Dick's artwork on his cards, including a really nice caricature of the champ he gave to her. Fannie's attempt at artwork wasn't quite that...developed. There was also Richard hugging another contestant after she won and refusing to let go, even when Gene tried to separate them.

Moved to the final three episodes of Remember WENN next. Gertie's writing again in "The Sunset Also Rises." This time, it's a TV script about a fading radio star (Hilary) who wants a writer (Scott) to create one last big show for her...but the others butt in with their own ideas. Hilary would rather play the ingenue, Eugenia and Mr. Eldridge think they'd make great divas, and Victor...is there, too.

"At Cross Purposes" starts with a woman walking in...who turns out to be Jeff in costume for Charley's Aunt. Jeff's outfit ends up inspiring everyone at the station to jump into drag in order to avoid process server Cribby Menlow (Ray Ianncelli), who has marriage papers for Jeff and is familiar with Scott and Maple, too. It's newsgirl Betty, however, who runs in with the real "big, big news" - Pearl Harbor was bombed. The US has just entered World War II.

Which takes us into the series finale "All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front." Victor claims there's a "captain" coming to take care of military business at WENN, but it's not likely to be the lunatic in camouflage gear (J.K Simmons) who thinks he's Amazon Andy. Scott, who has enlisted, and Victor get Betty up against the wall about who she really loves, Eugenia asks Mr. Foley to marry her, and Hilary claims she's married to someone else...

And that, sadly, is that. The show was supposed to get a fifth and final season, but was canceled instead when the new head of AMC wanted to focus on movies instead. The abrupt ending of the series still hurts, even after 30 years. At least AMC is acknowledging its existence now. It can be found in full on AMC Plus. The first two seasons are free on Plex, and most of the first two seasons and a few scattered episodes of the fourth are currently on the Internet Archive. Even with the truncated ending and off-and-on 4th season, I still recommend this for fans of period shows or sitcoms that go way outside the box. 

Finished the night with I Taut I Taw a Puddy Tat. Surprisingly, the Looney Tunes songs are actually really good. The title song, as you can guess, is on Sylvester and Tweety's relationship. "Daffy's Rhapsody" shows how he feels about being the resident miser and oddball. "Yosemite Sam" tells us why he loves his guns and chasing after Bugs. "That's All Folks" is a charming ballad for Petunia Pig as she wishes Porky would pay more attention to her. Too bad the other side is given over to songs about Bozo the Clown, whom I have no interest in whatsoever, and frankly gets annoying. The Tunes' numbers are honestly pretty fun, especially Porky and Petunia's sweet "That's All" number. 

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)

Sweet Cream Summer

Began the morning with breakfast and the third season opener of Little Bear. "Owl's Dilemma" is he can't find a quiet place to sleep. Birds chirp at his treehouse. Frogs croak at the pond. Mother Bear and Little Bear make too much noise moving dishes around. Owl finally settles things with two cupcakes. Emily and Little Bear open their own "School For Otters." The goofy otters don't seem to show much interest in learning, but they reveal just how much they were listening when they show them what they love to learn. Little Bear and Father Bear goof off a little too much while "Spring Cleaning," so they make Mother Bear a picnic.

Finished my grocery list, then headed out to run errands. Made a brief stop at the Oaklyn Post Office to send a bill before dodging noon traffic on Cuthbert and riding down to Haddon Ave. I wanted to find a record I saw listed at Phidelity, but...they were closed for the day. I was really disappointed, but then I looked across the street. Groups of people were gathered around the entrance to what had been McMillan's Bakery before they closed last year. I finally decided to cross Haddon Avenue and check it out.

I crossed even as official-looking men cut a wide scarlet red ribbon. Turns out DiBartolo's Bakery, another recently-closed family bakery, and Mt. Ephraim bakery Del Bueno's bought and heavily remodeled the building. Talk about the best of all possible worlds. I parked my bike and joined the crowds checking out the new digs. It was twice the size of the old McMillan's, taking over the entire first floor of the building. Everything was white and chrome and shiny and clean. Even the floor had a unique satiny silver-gray finish. One door led to bins and bins of rolls and shelves of Del Bueno's Italian butter cookies. I think the famous Del Bueno's machines spitting out fresh rolls may have been in the other I didn't explore. 

I couldn't decide, so I went with a plump cream donut. Oh yuuuuumm! Turns out one of the grandsons of the original McMillan's is working at the bakery. He must have shared his family's recipe for the best darn cream donuts in South Jersey. It was so full of thick, buttery cream, it came out the sides. Totally amazing, and it more than made up for Phidelity's day off. I stopped at WaWa for a Cherry Cream Float Coke Zero to wash it all down.

Doubled back to the Westmont Plaza for lunch. I hadn't eaten at the Westmont Bagel Shop in a while. Kept things simple with my favorite spinach and feta omelette, a toasted everything whole wheat bagel, and home fries. Oh, this was yum, too. I finished everything but half of the home fries. Bought two bagels for lunch this weekend on the way out.

Did my grocery shopping next. I didn't really need a whole lot at either store. Picked up oat milk and dried mango slices. Cookies and soda were buy one, get one 50 percent off. I'm so glad their ginger molasses cookies are out again! I had to get two. One of the Nixie diet sodas came with a coupon, so I got two of those. 

Dodged more traffic and road repair on Cuthbert going down to the Westmont Acme. They were only slightly less busy than Sprouts. Grapes and large containers of blueberries are on really good sales. Restocked yogurt, prebiotic soda, granola, and granola bars. Had good online coupons for the Acme's generic organic blue corn chips and an online rewards coupon. I also got my $60 for the week here, instead of waiting for Sunday.

The road work on Cuthbert was such a pain, I cut across Collingswood to the park instead of going straight there. Newton Lake Park is largely in better shape. I think they're just adding railings to the new fishing piers now. It was a hot, sunny, incredibly humid day. There were only a few people out walking dogs as I made my way past children playing at the playground on my way back to East Clinton.

When I got in, I put everything away while watching Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a MerPup" when Cap'n Turbot insists he saw one during the Mystical Merpup Moon. Chase the cop thinks they're just stories. The others, especially Skye and Zuma, believe the stories. Zuma and Skye stay awake to see a merpup...and get their wish when one not only comes to them for help, but turns them into merpups so they can go under the sea. The Merpup's baby is trapped in a shipwreck that may collapse any minute! They have to call the others to help out, then to help Zuma when he's trapped. 

Got my schedule at this point. It's thankfully back to weekends and early Wednesday. There's enough hours on the weekend that my paycheck shouldn't take too much of a hit, but not so many that I'll be overwhelmed. School starts next Thursday, too. I put in for my late September-early October vacation time with Healthy Kids, too. (I'll put in for the Acme vacation time next week.)

Went down for a nice, long nap at 3:30. I was so tired, I didn't get up until 5:30. Spent an hour finishing Reel Murder by Mary Kennedy, then watched Match Game '76 during dinner. Most of the night finished out the week with Bennye Gattleys and Bill Daily. Fannie Flagg stuck around for the next week, joined by two cute, funny, and diminutive actors, Sarah Kennedy and Gary Burghoff. 

Finished the night with Remember WENN. Hilary is "Courting Disaster" when Jeff's supercilious lawyer Drake Stanley (Andrew Seear) claims his client is suing her for $100,000 in damages. Maple and Betty know something isn't right and get Stanley to appear on their court show Tell It to the Judge. While Scott defends Hilary, Gertie helps the ladies get through to Jeff and find out what's really going on.

The cast says "And How" when they're chosen to broadcast the last episode of the network western The Strange Loner featuring it's original stars. Unfortunately, when the Loner himself turns up drunk and unable to perform, the others have to figure out how to replace him. Betty's more worried about helping Joseph Greyhawk, the kindly Native American man (real Native American activist Russell Means) who plays the Loner's Native sidekick, keep his role. Meanwhile, everyone's thrilled with Eugenia's new discovery, an Italian pie called pizza. 

Listened to the soundtrack from Casablanca after the episodes ended. I pretty much had to after "Pen of Gertrude Reece" yesterday. This Rhino CD includes all of the music and a lot of the dialogue, along with an alternate version of "Knock on Wood," a Dooley Wilson number that was cut from the film ("Dat's What Noah's Done") and the full, gorgeous rendition of "As Time Goes By." 

Summertime Games

Began the morning with breakfast and the Monchhichis. Wizzar feels every bit of his hundred years on his birthday when he can't get his spells to work right, even for a coconut-opening machine. He forgets where he puts his magic staff, which brings a cookie shaped like him to life. It becomes "Dueling Wizzars" as the other Monchhichis first have to retrieve Wizzar when he thinks he's not needed, then show him that he can do magic with or without his staff.

Switched to Remember WENN while taking my laundry downstairs, making my bed, and going through my clothes. Hilary and Jeff become "Strange Bedfellows" when they both join the race for Pittsburgh's city council. Scott sets up a big debate on the airwaves, which also brings in Luke Langley (David Canary), a laid-back former baseball player running for a smaller group. Meanwhile, Scott has the others taking political polls, Mackie and Maple take an informal one of their own, and Enid can't seem to stay neutral while polling.

"Close Quarters" has the entire cast in quarantine at the station when paranoid Dr. Bickman (Michael Jaye) thinks the sick Mr. Foley has a rare disease. The others enjoy their confinement on the first night, as they share a dance and dinner...but the longer the quarantine continues, the more they get on their nerves, until it starts to show on the air. Good thing Mr. Foley's infectious disease isn't quite what Bickman thinks.

Put the laundry in the dryer, then went out to run errands. My first stop was at the post office to drop paperwork in the box. Dollar General is just around the corner, so I went there next. Finally found the moisture eliminators. Bought two of those and two packs of hair bands. 

Cut across Newton Lake Park next to Shamrock Deli. I thought a picnic might be something fun and different. They weren't that busy at quarter after 2, when I ordered a small roast beef hoagie, a Snapple Diet Peach Tea, and a small bag of Charles Chips. (Hadn't had those in years. Mom had a tin we used for cookies in the 80's.) I had no sooner ordered my sandwich when suddenly people started appearing. By the time I left, there was a long line waiting for sandwiches or Door Dash orders.

Headed back to the park for lunch. I ate at one of the new picnic tables by the playground, the one under a shady tree. It wasn't bad when I went out, but by 2:30, it was sunny, hot, and killer humid. At least there was a nice breeze this time. I enjoyed my quiet lunch by the sparkling green lake (when I wasn't brushing away ants), listening to the breeze rustle the emerald trees. I finished and made my way back to the main path just as two women came with the cutest little girl. Even did a little swinging.

Cut back down to Cuthbert Road and rode all the way up to La Mortense Plus on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike. Needless to say on a hot afternoon, they were busy. I'm just glad there wasn't a line. I had a gelati - in this case, dulce de leche ice cream layered with horchata water ice. Oh, yum! I think there was bits of what I think was the actual candy in there. (Either that or rice.) Either way, it was delicious. I ate while watching three ladies chat and three kids, two in soccer uniforms, enjoy water ice together.

Went straight home after that. Brought the laundry upstairs and folded it, then spent the next two hours listening to records. I picked up the original soundtrack for the Disney Babes In Toyland on eBay last week. I've only found the book and record in this area. Even here, a lot of the songs don't sound like the originals. The kids only sing on "Go to Sleep, Slumber Deep." You don't even hear them on "The Work Song." "Just a Whisper Away" and "Just a Toy" are entirely different. At the very least, I'm sure that's the actual adult cast doing the singing. Ray Bolger is unmistakable on "Castle In Spain." 

The soundtrack for Snow White and the Three Stooges not only includes all of the narration, but it also has a song for the Stooges, "Looking for People, Looking for Fun," that was either cut from the film, or recorded but not used. Most of the songs are for Carol Heiss as Snow White (including the lovely "Place Called Happiness"), Mel Blanc as the voice of ventriloquist's dummy Quatro, or the chorus ("Once In a Million Years"). I think both the soundtrack and the film are underrated in the Stooges filmography. There's a lot about this that's really enjoyable.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is an old favorite of mine. It used to show up frequently on local stations in the 1980's, and we'd rent the movie quite a bit, too. I consider this to be one of the best scores the Sherman Brothers wrote outside of Disney along with Charlotte's Web. Though the catchy title song got the Oscar nomination, I like the charming "Truly Scruptious" for the lady by that name and the kids and two hilarious numbers for Grandpa, "Posh!" and "The Roses of Success." 

Moved to Match Game '76 even before Chitty ended. The entire two hours covered the week Ron Paillio of Welcome Back, Kotter debuted on the show. He always seemed to have a great time, and probably played better than anyone else from that show besides Debralee Scott. Joining him that week were Jo Ann Worley and her trills and Fannie Flagg and her apple t-shirt.

Finished the night after dinner and a shower putting the spotlight on host Jim McKreill. Most people nowadays probably know this native Texan better as a reporter in Gremlins or in movies like Annie Hall and Defending Your Life than as a game show host. He started out hosting the Chuck Barris personality-test-based The Game Game in 1969 before landing what would be his only hit in 1974. Celebrity Sweepstakes is a comedy panel show that's basically a cross between Match Game and Jeopardy. The audience would give odds on whether a panelist could answer a certain question. Contestants made bets based on those odds. Too bad this show is hard to find today. McKreill is charming, the premise is really fun, and the panel is hilarious.

Most of his hosting seemed to have been limited to pilots that weren't picked up for a series. His last hosting gig to date has been the short-lived 1978 revival of Quiz Kids. This is a pretty standard questions-and-answer game with kids under the age of 10 instead of adults. If the kids answer wrong, they lose points. If they answer right, they can get a certain amount of points. Other than a colorful set and it filming in Boston, this wasn't anything enormously special and barely lasted half a season in syndication.

McKrell seems to have done better on other people's shows. He appeared twice on Celebrity Bowling. In the episode shown here, he and character actor Vince Edwards are playing against the comically mismatched team of Peter Bonerz and Pat Moriata. He does much better in 3 for the Money. This is another quiz show, this time with two adults and a celebrity captain. McKrell is joined by Barbara Felton as the team captains. I give him credit. Not only did he and the two women on his team pull off a comeback, but they did really well in the bonus round, too. Too bad this show only lasted two months, and this is one of four episodes known to exist.

Towards the end of his career, McKrell switched to announcing. He took over for Joe Alasky near the end of Couch Potato's short-lived syndicated run. Marc Summers hosts another quiz show, this one taking place in a cartoon living room and revolving entirely around TV trivia. They even frequently had guests to help with the questions, like when Janice Parkington from The Price Is Right turns up on the episode listed here. (Oh, and at press time, McKrell is still living, but has been retired since 2016. Couch Potatoes was his last game show to date as a host or announcer.)

Celebrate this cowboy's career with celebrities out of the gate, quiz kids answering tough questions, and learning about more TV trivia than you can shake a potato chip at in these delightful episodes!

Celebrity Sweepstakes (1974)

3 for the Money (1975)

Celebrity Bowling (1976)

Quiz Kids (1978) Part 1 Part 2

Couch Potatoes (1989)

Fairy Tale Harts

Started off a late morning with breakfast and more brand-new episodes of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Grandpere helps Daniel get ready for his swim lesson. Daniel wants to go right away, but "Daniel's Morning Routine with Grandpere" means he needs to get dressed, eat, brush his teeth, and put on his shoes first. Likewise, Miss Elania is excited about the zither her dad Music Man Stan brings back from his store, but "Miss Elania Gets Ready for Bed" and takes her bath before he can play her a good-night song.

Watched the tail end of Family Feud Canada while making my grocery list, then headed out. My first stop was Dollar Tree. I'm still trying to find charcoal moisture eliminators for my attic rooms. I didn't see them there either, or at Target. I did get a quick Iced Orange Matcha Latte and spinach, tomato, feta, and egg wrap at the Target Starbucks for lunch. They were surprisingly quiet for noon. The kids must have been at the pool or riding around on their bikes.

Did my grocery shopping next, starting at Sprouts. I mainly wanted oat milk and dried mango slices here. Nixie sodas were on sale, and the cream cans had coupons attached with rubber bands. I'd been wanting to try their new strawberry cream flavor anyway. Their bakery chocolate chip cookies had a half-price sticker on them. Italian plums weren't a bad price, and I love the ones the farm market sells. Found shredded rotisserie chicken in a container for meals this week. 

Dodged road repair on Cuthbert that blocked the entrance to the auto parts store next to the Westmont Acme. They were slightly busier than Sprouts, and I needed a lot more here. I restocked granola, peanut butter, yogurt, tuna, chick peas, and bagels. Had online coupons for Icelandic yogurt and Popwell soda. Raspberries and small containers of blueberries were on sale for a dollar each. PopCorners weren't on sale, so I grabbed the Acme's generic organic blue corn chips instead. They didn't have Fresca this time, so I grabbed another bottle of Sprite Zero & Tea.

I did cut through Newton Lake Park going home, but I went past the playground and the stone gazebo rather than down the back path (which is still partially being worked on). I could see some of the improvements that had made the park hard to navigate for the last few months. There was a sidewalk that now led from the street to the park path. The park itself is gorgeous, too. All that rain has made it largely emerald green and lush. The trees waved in the breeze on a hot, humid day as children and their parents ran around the new playground equipment.

Watched Remember WENN as I put everything away. Betty and Scott are eager to set up their own gossip show after a popular gossip columnist trumps their soap The Hands of Time in the ratings. Sponsor's wife Dusty Foxx (Rue McClanahan) claims she absolutely wants Hilary to star in her own gossip show...but what she really wants is Hilary off Hands of Time. Hilary is no Rona Barrett. Her gossip is all about her. When that show's canceled, Hilary becomes "The Diva Who Wouldn't Die" as she does everything she can possibly think of for her character Elizabeth to stay away from death's door.

"Behind Every Great Woman" also starts with a joint Scott-Betty idea that goes awry. This time, Betty wants to turn their arts magazine show into a music show featuring Hilary singing the latest hits of Monogram Records. Hilary, however, has stage fright at the last minute, prompting Betty to jump in and sing for her. She does so well, Hilary and Scott insist on her being Hilary's voice permanently. No one is happy about this, least of all Betty...especially when Broadway star Ruth Getty (Donna Murphy, the last of the three Broadway divas who guest-starred on WENN) turns up at the station and wants to sing with Hilary. 

Got my schedule at this point, too. In good news, more hours and two days off this time. In bad news, I'm working most of the week again, including another 8 1/2 hour day next Saturday. Either the head bagger is on vacation again, she's finally retiring, or she's doing a lot of cashiering this week. 

Spent the rest of the afternoon listening to quieter retellings of popular fairy tales on record. The Peter Pan Alice In Wonderland may be my favorite of their recordings that I have. Alice is hilarious, the characters are funny, and there's some nice songs. I especially like the dreamy title number and "The Queen Has Commanded" as Alice comments on the Queen of Hearts' crazy croquet game. (There's also the nifty book whose art style looks more like "Alice as interpreted by Marvel Comics in the 70's.") 

Douglas Fairbanks Jr provides the deep, resonating narration for Beauty and the Beast and Other Stories. Though "Beauty," based on the original Villenveuve French tale, is lovely, the stories on the other side are a bit more interesting. The Norwegian "The Princess On the Glass Hill" is a male Cinderella story that has a put-upon son gaining three different armor from three golden apples that allow him to ride up the title hill and save the royal lass. "The Boy Who Kept a Secret" from Hungary is the most unique of all. A young boy refuses to tell his secret for so long, he's shut up on a tower. The King's daughter takes pity on him and helps him out, but her father isn't as happy about it. 

Snow White and Rose Red and The Goose Girl starts with a charming musical retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales. Two sisters rescue a bear from a curse and try to help a fussy, mysterious gnome whose beard keeps getting caught everywhere. Celia Johnson of Brief Encounter narrates The Goose Girl. A servant forces a princess to trade roles with her and insists on her tending the geese. She keeps making the boy who works with her lose his hat, until he gets fed up, tells the prince she was supposed to have married, and convinces her to tell her confession to him behind locked doors.

Switched to Match Game '76 after dinner. Buzzr started with the last episode from the week featuring Bill Cullen and long-time Price Is Right model Janice Pennington. I swear, both the original and later sets of this show have minds of their own. At one point, the turntable with the contestants went the wrong way as it switched around to the Audience Match. Gene had to push it himself to fix it. The rest of the night was devoted to the week with Joey Bishop and soap star Janice Lynde, including Gene giving an eager Lynde her welcome to the show kiss.

Finished the night with Hart to Hart. Jennifer finds herself caught up in a "Highland Fling" when she interviews the elderly head of a Scottish clan, only for the man to supposedly die of a heart attack the next day. The ruthless head of an American corporation is awfully eager to become the head of the clan and get his hand on the crumbling family castle. The head of the Scottish Society nominates Jennifer to take over after it's discovered she might have a Scottish great-aunt. Jonathan smells a Scotch rat, especially after two more people attached to the Highland Games and the nomination for clan leader end up dead.

Outdoor Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Monchichis. Wizzer sends the Monchichis to the underground to visit his friend, the king of a valley city, and use his golden disc to power his potion. To their shock, they land in a swamp that covers the city. Neither the current king nor his subjects claim to remember the disc, but one little rebel helps them reveal the "Swamp Secret" and rescue their king from the Grumplins.

Made a quick errand run after the cartoon ended. I thought it would be easier on my heel to do it on the bike. Not to mention, the weather wasn't really appropriate for lingering. It was cooler than yesterday, but a bit cloudy and still humid. I wanted to get cheap moisture eliminators with charcoal, but I couldn't find them at Dollar General or Family Dollar. I did get pads at Family Dollar, but other than that, I picked up nothing else.

Put on Remember WENN after I got home. "Popping the Question" has Scott Sherwood recruiting Betty to help him set up his new game show...which he wants to fix in favor of the sponsor's son. Betty and the others show him the importance of keeping their shows honest. Meanwhile, the other male staff members grill sweet-natured lawyer Doug Thompson (Matthew Bennett), who is waiting (and waiting) to take Betty out.

The first season finale "World of Tomorrow" has Scott and Betty creating a big Wizard of Oz-inspired show for the end of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. The cast is so excited about being heard in New York, they refuse to cooperate or speak their roles as written. Meanwhile, Victor called Jeff away to broadcast with him in war-torn London. Scott does manage to find a way for Jeff to be a part of their show...shortly before the signal from London is cut off by static...

While there are episodes I like from before Victor left, notably "Armchair Detectives" and "A Rock and a Soft Place," I think the show really picks up with Scott's introduction. Scott and his cons are frankly a lot more interesting than the well-meaning but often distracted and standoffish Victor, and he really gives those last three episodes a major shot in the arm. That heartbreaking cliffhanger ending on "World of Tomorrow," however, is a taste of what's to come as the pace picks up in the second season...

Made pancakes for lunch downstairs after WENN ended. I still have plenty of buckwheat mix left. At least I found the eggs this time! I accidentally put more dried cranberries in than originally planned when I meant to sprinkle them in, and ended up dumping almost the whole container. At least they still tasted nice spread with peanut butter and honey.

Went upstairs after I cleaned up from lunch to watch White Heat. Psychotic gangster Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) would do anything to be "on top of the world," including leaving his own man for dead after he's scorched by steam during a railroad robbery. His Ma (Margaret Wycherley) is the only one who can calm his headaches and his hare-trigger temper. His wife Verna (Virginia Mayo) certainly can't. He barely listens to her. After he gets himself into prison for a smaller crime, he's rescued from an attempt on his life by Vic Pardo (Edmund O'Brian). He trusts him so much, he lets him tag along when he breaks out after he learns his mother was killed. He wants to pull one last heist, but Vic isn't what he seems. Cody, however, has no desire to go down anywhere but on "Top of the world, Ma"

Cagney gives one of his best performances in this dark and intense gangster film. He's genuinely terrifying, especially when he suddenly screams and has a breakdown after he learns about his mother's death and in the action-packed finale. Virginia Mayo proves she's more than a cute blonde from Goldwyn musicals as his conniving wife, while Wycherley is appropriately witchy as his adoring mother. This isn't for kids, but if your teens on up are fans of Cagney or crime movies, this is one of the best in the genre.

Needed something lighter after that, so I switched to One Crazy Summer. Hoops McCann (John Cusack) joins his best friend George (Joel Murphy) at Nantucket Island in Massachusetts for some fun in the sun and  inspiration for Hoops' romantic comic. Hoops falls for musician Cassandra Eldridge (Demi Moore) on the way to the island. She's trying to make enough money to buy her grandfather's boarding house before obnoxious seafood restaurant owner Aguilla Beckerstead (Mark Metcalf) tears it down to build luxury condos. Hoops first ends up on a date with Cookie (Kimberly Foster), the girlfriend of Beckerstead's spoiled, lazy son Teddy (Matt Mulhern), but things really pick up when he and his friends promote Cassandra's big show. After Beckerstead buys the boarding house anyway, they enter the local regatta to win the trophy and prove that the misfits who work together, kick jerk rear together.

This old childhood favorite is a bizarre variation on the "slobs vs snobs" comedies of the 1980's and early 90's. Some of it occasionally borders on black comedy at times, including where George constantly ends up while the others pursue women on the beach, Hoops' decidedly unromantic comics, and George's Uncle Frank (Bruce Wagner) who has literally been driven crazy trying to win one million dollars on a radio call-in show. If you have older kids and teens around, they might be the best audience for the wacky hijinks on this weird take on love, boating, and wild summer vacations.

Moved to Match Game '76 during dinner. Susan Howard, now best-known for her appearances on Dallas, made her first appearance here. Scoey Mitchelll has a rougher time in the first seat, even as he admires the lady contestants. Fannie Flagg and Brett Somers have more fun teasing each other.

(Oh, and it also rained at this point. I even heard a rumble of thunder. I don't think it rained too heavily, though, just enough to make it a little wet.) 

Finished the night on YouTube with game shows that were filmed or set outdoors. Usually, when one thinks of game shows, they think of massive indoor sets and bright lights and neon. Occasionally, a show, usually a stunt show, would take the games outdoors to the fresh air. Wild and Crazy Kids on Nickelodeon, for instance, had kids (and sometimes parents) competing in stunts around two different locations. Though they are in a mall in this episode, they're also outside, trying to get their remote control cars to avoid being smashed and being hit in the face with cream pies.

The Diamond Head Game from 1975 may have been one of the first game shows to film outdoors. Bob Eubanks asks contestants (three in this early episode from before the format changed) quiz questions. The winner earns the right to climb Diamond Head while remembering items Bob mentions on a list. The winner steps into the "Money Volcano," where they grab at dollar bills blown up at them. They might grab money or even prizes. Bob lets them keep the money or keep going for more.

Um, yeah. No wonder this only lasted 7 months in syndication and went through two different formats. The attractive outdoor filming is pretty much all this one has going for it. Even Bob Eubanks later admitted on Card Sharks in 1988 that he hated doing it.

Kids did better outside. Destroy Build Destroy is one of two live-action shows to survive the bloodbath that was the short-lived CN Real on Cartoon Network. Two teams of kids design and build a vehicle, using scrap from a car they blew up earlier. Winner gets money and to blow up the losers' vehicle. No wonder they kept this one. Not only is it every kid's fantasy to blow up a vehicle, but watching the kids design, build, and drive their own vehicles is fascinating and hilarious. 

The Canadians took a quieter approach to outdoor game shows. Race Against the Tide pitted ten teams of artists against one another to build the most beautiful and creative sand sculptures at the New River Beach Provincial Park in New Brunswick. As someone who grew up watching artists make equally elaborate sand sculptures on the beaches in Cape May and Wildwood, it was really cool to watch these people at work and see what they came up with. 

Wild West Showdown is my favorite of the many mid-90's American Gladiators imitators. This syndicated action show pits three cowboys and cowgirls against each other to see who can do the best cleaning up a fictional western town. Honestly, watching would-be sheriffs stop runaway stagecoaches, compete in paint-ball shootouts, and try to dodge outlaws while jumping on logs is a heck of a lot more interesting than watching two muscle-bound jocks try to knock each other off a platform.

Star Games from 1985 was very similar to the Battle of the Network Stars specials from the 1970's. Teams of celebrities from various games of the time compete in outdoor events like swimming, tennis, cycling, and track and field. Not only is it fun to watch these folks compete outside of their usual setting, but you get to hear about shows like the short-lived Miami Vice-esque newspaper drama Impulses that don't often get mentioned nowadays. The guys from that show are joined by two Miss Universes; they play teams from Different Strokes and Growing Pains. 

Take a summer vacation to a dude ranch, the beach, the mall, or Hawaii without leaving home in these hilarious and unique shows!

The Diamond Head Game (1975)

Star Games (1985)

Wild and Crazy Kids (1991)

Wild West Showdown (1995)

Destroy Build Destroy (2010)

Race Against the Tide (2023)

I've Still Got My Health

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Rescue Knights: Pups Save a Tournament" from Claw's attempts to cheat when he competes against Sweetie and a "mystery knight." "Rescue Knights: Pups Save the Baby Dragons" from Claw and the Duke of Flappington attempting to kidnap them. The Pups have to rescue the little ones before their mother gets there and wrecks even more havoc.

After the cartoon ended, I called Uber. Not only was it getting late, but I didn't like the look of the weather. It was cloudy, cool, hazy, and heavily humid. No trouble getting there or home. The one going there came in 8 minutes. The one going home came in 5. 

Got to Riverwalk Dental at the Westmont Plaza with five minutes to spare. Thank heavens after I got that tooth pulled in late April, there was no trouble here. It was just a routine cleaning. I was in and out within a half-hour, and I won't be going back until early November. 

Went next-door to Target after my teeth were squeaky clean. I was hoping to find more heel gel inserts or dividers for my record collection, so I know which letter in which crate and genre, but...nope. I did pick up nectarines, cheaper anti-bacterial wipes than I've seen elsewhere, and more of those Nature's Valley wafer bars for a decent price.

Since it still wasn't raining, I walked down the hill, past the Haddon Township Library, and down to the Westmont for lunch. Tried their garden omelet, along with more of those cheesy grits and soft mulit-grain toast. The grits weren't bad, but the omelet was watery and tasteless without the vegetables. Having enjoyed their chocolate cake a while back, I gave their carrot cake a shot. (Good thing I did. The waitress said they were already out of the chocolate cake, and I was there around 1:30.) Yum! Huge (seven layers!), thick and so moist, filled with raisins and lots of cream cheese frosting. 

After I got home, I was so tired, I just spent the next few hours listening to music. Beaches, with Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey as close but unlikely best friends, was a huge hit melodrama in 1988. I remember how big it was during my late childhood. The inspirational ballad "The Wind Beneath My Wings" was everywhere on the radio all through the late 80's and early 90's. Though "Wind Beneath My Wings" is pretty, I prefer some of the more upbeat numbers. Midler has a lot of fun with "I've Still Got My Health" from the Cole Porter show Panama Hattie and two hilarious chorus number spoofs Midler wrote herself, "Otto Titsling" and "Oh Industry!" She also does well by Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today," but the duet "I Know You By Heart" is so 80's it hurts. (Oh, and there was a stage musical version on Broadway earlier this spring, but it was said to be terrible and didn't last a month.)

Cole Porter Vol. III is one of the later releases in Ben Bagley's long-running Revisited series of little-known numbers by beloved songwriters. There's some really hilarious performances here. Elaine Stritch gets to tear into "Find Me a Primitive Man" and "When Love Beckoned." Lynn Redgrave does surprisingly well by "I Want to Be Raided By You" and a medley of marriage-themed songs from Let's Face It and the original Gay Divorce. Dolores Gray gets the ballads "You're Too Far Away" and "Who Would Have Dreamed," while I can't help but wonder if Bagley was right and sweet Georgia Engel didn't quite understand what was going on with "I Like Pretty Things."

Little Me is an even goofier satire. Hollywood star Belle Potrine (Nancy Andrews) recalls how, in her younger years (Virginia Martin), went from Belle Schlumpfert from the wrong side of the tracks who was determined to win wealthy Noble Eggleston (Sid Caesar) to a performer who had everything but her true love. Caesar played almost every man she pursued or married, from the aptly-named wealthy young man she adored to the miser whom she begged to save her family's home to a Maurice Chevalier-esque entertainer and a doomed flyer on his way to World War I. Wild though the satire is, the Cy Coleman-Carolyn Leigh score actually produced two standards. Caesar got to introduce the charming "Real Live Girl," while Sven Swenson, as a gambler who also loved Belle, pointed out "I've Got Your Number." Most of the other songs don't get close to those two, though Martin's "Poor Little Hollywood Star" and her "I want" song "The Other Side of the Tracks" are fun. 

(A revival with Victor Garber and James Coco in 1983 barely lasted a month and wasn't recorded. The second one from 1998 with Martin Short taking all the Caesar roles and Faith Prince as Belle didn't do much better run-wise, but both stars were said to have been excellent in the leads. Bruce Forsyth was an even bigger hit as Belle's lovers on the West End.)

Switched to Match Game '76 while making a quick dinner. The first hour finished out the week with Jody Donovan, including Dick Martin getting his first right answer. The first full week of 1976 brought in Isobel Sandford at the start of The Jeffersons' long run and songwriter Martin Hamlisch, just as A Chorus Line was starting its own long run on Broadway. Hamlisch brought along a small toy piano and spent the week creating songs on it, including one he called "Fog Cloud" after a nervous contestant's answer to the Head-to-Head Fog __.

Finished the night at PBS Kids with more Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Margaret and Jodie's little twin brothers are upset when their dads go to the Clock Factory while they take lessons from Music Man Stan. Stan, Daniel, and Jodie remind them that "Grown Ups Come Back to the Music Shop," especially to join a dance party! Katarina enjoys playing with O and eating X's soup, but she misses Henrietta when she goes out for the evening. The two owls do their best to cheer her up and remind her that "Katarina's Mommy Comes Back Home." 

Oh, and the storms didn't finally arrive until around 8 PM. They were coming down pretty good for a while, but they seem to be gone for the moment. 

Going Global Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Monchhihis. This is another Hanna-Barbara cartoon I watched as a kid, mostly during its later run on the USA Cartoon Express. I have no idea how they turned Japanese monkey dolls into little monkey-like creatures who live in trees and need Tickle Crystals to run their Happy Works, which makes them happy. The first episode, "Tickle Pickle," seems more like the half-hour specials for characters like Strawberry Shortcake. After the grump gray monkey-monsters the Grumplins attack their treetop kingdom and shatter the tickle crystals, five of the young Monchhihis take it on themselves to find more before the Grumplins do.

Headed out on the bike after the show ended. Ran some brief errands on the White Horse Pike first. My nephew Skylar's 22nd birthday is Friday. I picked up a card for him and a Propel at Dollar General. Neither they nor Family Dollar had much in the way of foot or heel aids. After the fuss in Dollar General the last time I went in there, at least a lady was nice enough to let me go on ahead.

There was no more putting it off. I rode up to Cooper Urgent Care in Audubon to finally get my heel looked at. I've had a bump on my right heel for weeks that's been fairly painful. I was hoping it would go away, but...it hasn't. Thankfully, unlike when I went there in early March, they only had three other people in the waiting area. After signing in and telling them about my heel, they brought me in within five minutes. 

After they took my blood pressure, I watched Lilo & Stich: The Series (a clumsy alien Lilo dubs "Whoops" wrecks havoc on Pleakley's Domino Rally game) and Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (Ladybug deals with her friend Kagumi's frustrations over her mother being strict with her and a pair of mud-flinging villains called "The Dirtifyers") on The Disney Channel before the doctor came in. I explained my problem. My heel has had that lump for weeks, and it gets worse when I use it for a long time or push it hard.

After she felt around my foot, a sweet young woman took me to the x-ray room. I sat on a table so they could take shots of my heel. Returned to the room and to watching Ladybug and her buddies until the doctor returned. Verdict - heel spur and Achilles tendinitis. I'm to get antibiotics, continue to wear the heel lifts in my shoes, and go to Cooper Bone and Joint next week for a follow-up appointment.

After I got out, I went next-door to WaWa. I had considered eating out, but I didn't like the look of the weather. It was sunny when I started, but by quarter of 2, clouds were gathering, and it was humid and much hazier. It's a good thing I did settle for buying a roast beef and provolone wrap, a bag of PopCorners (popped corn chips that taste like a cross between rice cakes and tortilla chips), and a matcha pineapple smoothie. It started showering lightly almost the moment I stepped out of WaWa. I was just heading down East Clinton when I arrived and the showers got heavier.

(Thankfully, they didn't last long after that. There would be some pretty noisy storms later around dinnertime, but they seem to have subsided for the moment.)

Watched rain-themed cartoon episodes during lunch. Minnie and Daisy are dismayed that there's no rain for their flowers in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Professor Ludvig Von Drake gives them the formulas to make clouds the right shape for their gardens that would rain on them, so they can have their flower show. Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy end up saving them when the Glove Balloon gets stranded on a cloud and they need help to create "Minnie and Daisy's Flower Shower."

Switched to PBS Kids for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Katarina and O and their parents and uncle sleep over the Tiger Family's house when they're evacuated due to "A Storm In the Neighborhood." The loud rain and thunder scares the kids, but their parents assure them that they have a plan to keep them safe. "After the Neighborhood Storm" everyone pitches in to clean up, including the firefighters who help remove a tree from in front of the Clock Factory.

Listened to records while doing the laundry and resting my foot. The Broadway revival of The Boy Friend from 1970 was supposed to be headlined by Judy Carne of Laugh-In as sweet Polly Browne. Sandy Duncan was the one who got the lion's share of good notices as Maisie, the boldest of Polly's friends who sings "Won't You Charleston With Me?" and "Safety In Numbers." Jeanne Beauvais as the girls' teacher Madame Dubonnet also does well by "Fancy Forgetting" and "Poor Little Pirouette." 

Put the laundry in the dryer as I moved on to children's albums. Beryl Berney was apparently a journalist, artist, and puppeteer who worked on children's shows in the 1950's and 60's when she did a series of storytelling albums for kids-based Rocking Horse Records. Snow White and Dick Whittington are pretty much the traditional version of those stories, other than Snow White has a unique ending. The Wicked Queen turns so ugly, she destroys her mirrors when she looks into them, including the magic one. 

The Story of Robin Hood is a condensed retelling of the 1952 live-action Disney movie of the same name. The movie itself is good but not great, and that's reflected here. I do like the build up for Prince John and King Richard's mother Queen Eleanor as Maid Marion's boss, and some of Robin's men can be pretty funny. This is nice to hear if you love Robin Hood stories or Disney's 50's and 60's movies, but far from essential. Dal McKennon narrates here. 

Moved to Match Game '75 as The Story of Robin Hood ended. Richard Dawson's then-girlfriend Jody Donovan was such a doll during the week of New Year's, I wish she had come back, no matter who she was dating. New Year's Eve 1975 was celebrated with noisemakers, balloons dropping, and hats for everyone. (Jody's glittering headband and short hairstyle made her look like she'd just walked out of The Boy Friend.) Charles popped a Match Game '75 balloon to reveal '76...then popped that one to show '77, then showed '78 drawn on his thumb.

Finished the night with game shows from Richard Dawson's native England, starting with the two that have been running on Buzzr this month as part of their "Buzzr Goes Global" marathon. Freemantle, Buzzr's parent company, is British, and thus has no shortage of shows from that country. Going for Gold had seven contestants from across the UK and Europe answering questions and playing against each other to see who would continue in the tournament. The show ran for a decade as people tuned in to see who would be moving on to the next week. The episode I have here from 1990 includes a blind contestant and his seeing eye dog who is not only introduced in the opening, but does quite well, making it to the end of the show.

Small Talk is probably one the most hilariously adorable game shows to come out of Britain. Three adults guess how a panel of 9 kids will answer a certain question in this variation on Child's Play. No wonder this ran for two years on the BBC and Buzzr chose it for their marathon. The kids are a riot, and jovial host Ronnie Corbett is obviously having a ball watching them. 

Double Your Money goes way further back. This hit from 1955 was apparently based on The $64,000 Question, but more closely resembles an early form of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Couples answer questions for escalating amounts, leading to the "1,000 Pound Treasure Hunt." This was an early hit for ITV and is one of the earliest surviving TV game shows in England.

3-2-1, based on a Spanish format, may be one of the most unique game shows ever in England. The first half starts as a straight quiz, with couples answering questions. The second half looks something like a cross between Monty Python, Let's Make a Deal, and Beat the Clock. The winning couple does stunts based on the theme of the day (cartoons, in this case), then watch a series of wacky skits and give answers based on clues given by an actor from the skit, a prop they bring over, and what they can remember from them. The winners from that have to choose between a series of prizes. The bad prize on this show will land them "Dusty Bin," the show's robotic comic mascot and official "klunk." Maybe we ought to try mixing variety shows and game shows more often over here in the US, because this was really fun, especially that wacky second half.

Chain Letters is a far more traditional game show. In this 1987 series, three contestants change letters on a computerized word to make another word. The second round had them trying to predict what word one of the contestants would make. The third round had them changing certain letters from a word on the screen. The winner would see how many words they could form by changing one letter in 60 seconds. This was also lot of fun, and pretty challenging. It was enough of a hit for ITV to pull it out again for two series starting in 1995.

The British get far more into their comedy panel shows than we Americans do. Case in point, the irreverent and utterly hilarious Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Two panels of rock musicians guess what will happen in a music video, facts about other musicians, and try to remember the next line of a song. Celebrity guests will pop in to help answer questions and sing the first bars of a popular rock song. The real attraction was watching all of these musicians make jokes about their fellow performers and be delightfully witty. They had such a good time, this ran for almost two decades on the BBC from 1996 to 2015 and was revived successfully for four years starting in 2021. 

Take a summer trip across the Atlantic to make letter chains, dodge moving trash bins, double your money, and watch some of the funniest kids and musicians on either side of the pond.

Double Your Money (1955)

3-2-1 (1978)

Chain Letters (1987)

Going for Gold (1990)

Small Talk (1994)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks Premiere (1996)

Dreamers Under the Sun

Started off the morning with the last episode of Shirt Tales. It's "Mayhem On the Orient Express" when the Engineer and his fawning partner who steal trains take off with the engine of the most famous train of all, with Bogey and Kip onboard. The others have to rescue them and keep the passenger cars from falling back. They're in Switzerland for "The Cuckoo Count Caper." The Count De Minuit wants to hypnotize the Shirt Tales and use them to finish his massive cuckoo clocks! Kip catches wise, then breaks Pammy out. It's up to the girls to save their guy friends and stop the Count from turning them into clockwork mechanisms. 

And that's that. Unlike Pac-Man, which started strong in the first season but degenerated into a mass of bizarre stories and useless additional characters in its second, the second season of Shirt Tales mostly improves on the first. The first season isn't bad, but never seems to figure out what it wants the Shirt Tales to be, and there's a little too much focus on Dinkel and outside characters. The writing is sharper in the second season (Pammy in particular gets some hilarious lines), and cheerful Kip is a welcome addition. I genuinely regret that they ended the show by mid-way through the second season. It's not the greatest thing ever, and some episodes (like "Saturday Night Shirt Tales") were dated even when the show came out, but it's charming and funny enough to get a recommend from Hanna Barbara fans and kids who love animal stories. 

Hurried out to work after that. There were at least two other baggers working with me, including the head bagger. I thought she wasn't going into a register until 11, but they put her there early. I had no idea she hadn't swept the store. On the other hand, it was only slightly busier today than it had been on Wednesday. It's the end of a month without a lot going on after the 4th of July. Most people are probably on vacation, or were out enjoying the beautiful, sunny, breezy weather. It was so dead by the end of the morning, and I had so little to do, I spent the last half-hour putting away items people didn't need.

Got my schedule while I was at work. I have fewer hours, which I expected for the reasons I mentioned above. We're well between major holidays, there's not a lot going on besides Phillies games, and most people are on vacation. However, I go in early when I do work, and I have 7 hours for some reason next Saturday. 

Did my grocery shopping after I finished. Restocked granola, yogurt, oat milk, soda, tuna, cherries, and cookies. Blackberries and the Acme's generic small trash bags were buy one, get one. Bought two bagels for lunches at work this weekend and a turkey-cranberry sandwich for lunch today. They had the Sprite Zero + Tea here, too, so I got that and a Coke Cherry Zero. Found tea cakes, little turned-over cupcakes covered in icing, on the bakery clearance rack. 

Changed when I got home, then had lunch while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Taking Turns at Show and Tell" is more complicated when O and Dan want to both use the same apron. Teacher Harriet suggests they take turns, with O using it to play restaurant, then Daniel using it for show and tell. The kids are restless, but they do have to wait their turn when show and tell beings. Daniel has to wait to use the bubbles when Miss Elania already has them. He learns about "Taking Turns at the Pool" when he has just as much fun playing with them as Elainia does blowing them. Likewise, Prince Wednesday has to wait to use a pool noodle. He pretends to be a fast fish with his mother Queen Sarah.

Went back out after the cartoon ended. Acme doesn't have the greatest selection of foot gel pads, and what they do have is overpriced. I've had a lump on the back of my right heel where the Achillies tendon is for weeks now. I hope the heel lifts and covering the back of my foot where the heel gets rubbed with callus cushions will help. 

I was home and finishing Mockingbird Court when the phone rang. It was Clarifi, calling to confirm my desire for housing counseling. On one hand, they're so booked, I won't be able to see them at Cherry Hill until noon on September 17th. That does give me more time to explore Cherry Hill and Voorhees and round up all the paperwork they required. 

Watched The Love Boat after I finished the book and put it away. The captain says "Take a Letter, Vicki" when he makes her his secretary after she complains she never gets to do anything useful. The others realize why when she's a little too good at her job, putting out endless memos and skipping meals to get it all done. A man (Jim Stafford) claims "The Joys of Celibacy" to defrost a frigid young woman (Carlene Watkins), but really ends up falling for her instead. The ladies of "The Floating Bridge Game" try to come between their fourth player (Nanette Fabray) and a charming dentist (Robert Alda), until they realize how much they love each other and play matchmaker instead.

The first half of Match Game '75 finished out the week with Rona Barrett and Clifton Davies and introduced a sweet, charming middle-aged lady named Dorothy. Dorothy, who sobbed whenever she won, became one of the bigger winners of the year. She continued into the week that introduced Ed Asner and brought in shy chanteuse Julie London. Gene gave Julie her welcome to the show kiss, while Brett got to kiss Ed.

Finished the night at Tubi with The Storyteller: Greek Myths. Jim Henson once again experimented with fantasy tales told by a human (in this case, Michael Gambon) to a Muppet dog. Only four were made before Henson's death, one of which was "Perseus and the Gorgon." Perseus (Jeremy Gilley) wants to stop mean King Polydectes (John McEnery) from marrying his mother Danae (Kate Buffery) and travels to find Medusa (Frances Barber) and cut off her head. On his way, he gives an eye to the Graeae to make them give him directions and tells Atlas, who holds up the world, that he'll find a way to make his burden easier. The King doesn't think this boy can do it, but Perseus is nothing if not determined, especially after he finds a way to keep Medusa from turning him to stone. 

Night of the Summertime Ride

Started off the late morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "T.J's Visit" wrecks havoc when Tyg's little nephew turns up and causes trouble. He does bond with Kip and convinces her to join him on a hot air balloon. The others go after them when they have no idea how to bring it back. "The Big Set-Up" is the Shirt Tales' attempt to sign Dinkel up for a pen pal dating service. Dinkel is nervous when the lady he's been writing sends a photo of a gorgeous blonde and wants to meet him. He sent her a picture of a handsome movie star. The Shirt Tales try to tone him up and show him how to be more romantic, but it turns out his girlfriend has been doing some fibbing of her own.

Let Tubi continue with the Shirt Tales as I got organized. "Kip's Toy Caper" gets her and Bogey into a heap of trouble after they discover toy shops have been robbed. She follows a remote control teddy bear and finds a robber intends to make them all robots who will steal money and priceless relics for him. The other Shirt Tales try to follow Bogey's broken signal and rescue them. "Dinkel's Gift" is a briefcase the Shirt Tales bought for his surprise birthday party. When the briefcase gets switched with one that holds a top-secret formula, the others have to switch it back while Digger keeps Dinkel busy.

Headed out after the second episode ended. Dropped a few books at the kiosks down the block, then made my way down to Collingswood. Grabbed a Bodyarmor drink at Haddon Culinary before heading across Collingswood to Cooper River Park, then over the bridge to Route 70, or Marlton Pike. It was too nice of a day to drop my bag of donations at the Audubon Goodwill and ride home again. The weather was stunning for mid-July, breezy, sunny, warm but not too hot, slightly humid but nothing overwhelming. There wasn't a cloud to be seen in the soft blue sky that beamed over the waving green Cooper River waters. Lots of people out on bikes or walking their dogs, too, including a lady in a wheelchair. Besides, I hadn't taken my bike over here since the last time I went to this Goodwill in April 2024. 

This time, I rode through the parking lot for the luxury apartments 202 Park before heading across the Marlton Pike to the Goodwill. After I dropped my bag in one of the boxes outside, I took a look around the main store. It's twice the size of the Goodwill in Audubon, but not even as slightly organized as that one. The books, CDs, and DVDs are all lined up or thrown every which way in a wooden bin as you enter. 

I didn't see any clothes I liked this time, but I did pick up a CD, the DVD for the Alfred Hitchcock comedy thriller Family Plot, and a Squishmallow. I've been wanting a stuffed shark since I started working at Thomas Sharp. Their mascot is a shark. Gordon the Shark is apparently one of the original Squishmallows released in 2019 (though the version I found has a 2021 tag). Ironically, Gordon's tag said he's a friendly fellow who loves to help others and wants to start his own nonprofit. So that's what he was doing at Goodwill. He was doing market research!

Oh, and the CD is:

Diana Krall - Quiet Nights

After that, I figured it was time for lunch. I originally rode a few blocks down to Kaighns Avenue. Not only was there not a whole lot there other than a florist and a liquor store, but I didn't feel like dodging traffic further down looking for the Cherry Hill Mall. Went back to the Marlton Pike and rode two blocks in the other direction, finally coming across a small, slightly dilapidated shopping center. Had enormous slices of cheese and Hawaiian (pineapple-ham) pizza at Gaetano's while watching The George Lopez Show. (George's teen daughter ran away with her boyfriend to San Francisco, and he was having nightmares about what she was doing there.) Gaetano's was a pretty typical hole-in-the-wall with Formica tables and counters, but the guy who worked there was really nice, and the pizza delicious, with giant slices and soft crusts.

Continued riding down to WaWa, until I realized that the highways crossed here and I could go no further on my bike. I just turned around, crossed at Goodwill, and headed past 202 Park and back over the bridge to Collingswood. I got turned around in the back roads of Collingswood, but I finally came out at the small park next to Grooveground. They still haven't finished remodeling (I would love to know what's the hold-up there - they started in April 2025), so I ended up at the Candy Jar after I used the library's bathroom. Bought a small bag of mini fruit slices (I usually get them at Peanut World in Atlantic City, which burned down last year) and a cup of Cherry amaretto gelato. Yum! Sweet, refreshing, and very cherry. Returned briefly to Haddon Culinary for a Diet Coke this time before I finally made my way back to Oaklyn.

Rested while watching Enchantment when I got in. This lovely 1948 romance starts with American ambulance driver Grizel Dane (Evelyn Keyes) coming to live with her great-uncle Rollo (David Niven). She falls in love with a handsome pilot (Farley Granger), but waffles on getting closer when he receives his orders and she worries about losing him. Rollo tells her not to give up on love so easily. Flashbacks reveal how he had fallen in love with his sweet cousin Lark (Teresa Wright) 50 years before, only to lose her when his manipulative and spoiled sister Selina (Jayne Meadows) lies about him taking a position overseas and she ends up marrying a Marchese (Sheppherd Strudwick) instead. Rollo never saw her again, and he wouldn't return home while Selina was there. He encourages Grizel to find her love, before she loses him the way he lost Lark. 

This is such a lovely, sweet movie. Though Niven, Keyes, and Wright are all good as the star-crossed lovers and the ambulance driver dealing with her own romance, Meadows steals the movie as the nasty sister who doesn't want to share her power over the household and her brothers with anyone. If you only know Meadows from her work on TV and cartoons, this will certainly be a revelation. Highly recommended for fans of doomed romances and the other fantasy-oriented romances from the mid-40's like The Enchanted Cottage and Portrait of Jennie. 

Switched to Match Game '75 during dinner. The entire two-hour stretch covered the week with Rona Barrett and Clifton Davies. Sweet single middle-aged aunt Dorothy was the big winner that week. Richard and Charles brought her tissues the first time she won. She also got to hear some of the hilarious answers to whom Richard Dawson wouldn't be happy to marry.

Finished the night with The Wild, Wild West. "The Night of the Watery Death" has James West investigating a "dragon" that somehow managed to blow up the ship he was on, and the mermaid at the bar (Jocelyn Lane) who led him there. Artie is pretty much the only person who believes him. Turns out it's a plot by a crazed sea-loving French nobleman (John van Dreelen) to destroy the US Navy and create his own country under the Pacific Ocean. 

Oh, and here's the review of the live-action Moana that I saw on Tuesday!

Moana

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

Started off the day with one of the new Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood episodes currently at PBS Kids. Daniel's excited when "Grandpere Sleeps Over," until he learns that Grandpere will sleep in his trolley bed. His father reminds him that he has to remember other people's needs, too. Likewise, when it's too dark in Margaret's room where he's sleeping, Grandpere finds a way to shed a little light on him. Daniel attends a "Tea Party at the Castle" with Chrissie and Prince Wednesday. They find a friend for him when they make it a stuffed animal tea party and he helps them clean up when they're done.

Listened to the soundtrack from the live-action version of Moana that's currently in theaters as I rounded up clothes to be donated. Other than a different Moana, most of this is pretty identical to the original animated film. They even have Dwayne Johnson singing "You're Welcome." There is one genuinely good new song, "Along the Way," and some of the chorus songs are expanded from the animated version. Otherwise, if you have the soundtrack from the animated version, you're probably fine just looking for "Along the Way" separately. 

I headed out to run errands after the episode ended. My first stop was the book kiosk down the block to drop off something I just finished. Found an interesting Halloween cozy mystery, 15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Breecher. I was originally going to buy a birthday card for a friend and hydration mix at Dollar General after I dropped off the bag of clothes in the back, but the line was so long after someone threw a fit over not being able to use a coupon, I left with nothing. I got a better card, a gift card, and hair clips and used the bathroom at CVS. 

It was a gorgeous day in the neighborhood. Though it was slightly warmer and more humid than yesterday, it still wasn't anything like last week! It was sunny, breezy, and perfectly clear. The haze had vanished with the storms on Saturday night. Couldn't have been more perfect for a long walk down the White Horse Pike. I had lunch at Dunkin' Donuts to finish up the gift card I got from one of the kids. Had a bacon and egg sandwich on a multi-grain bagel, very yummy mini hash-browns, a cream donut, and a "SunCloud Lemonade." Basically, this was lemonade with marshmallow topping, and it was sweet but not bad. 

Made a very short stop at Family Dollar after I finished lunch. I was hoping to find that hydration drink mix. Nope, they were out. I once again walked out with nothing and just went home.

After I got home and took the laundry downstairs, I spent the next few hours looking up housing counselors online. I'm going to need help to figure out what I can afford, what condos are right for me, and how I can get them. I narrowed it down to two companies, Clarifi and NJ Citizen Action. I'll decide which one to use and contact them on Wednesday after work. 

Listened to the Stage Door Canteen 4-disc record set as I worked and put the laundry in the dryer. I have no idea why the first three albums in this set were made by Heartland Records and the fourth was an RCA Special Products release. They're all the same idea, though - hit songs from the World War II years. Some of them, like the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Rum and Coca Cola," "It's Been a Long, Long Time," "I've Got Spurs that Jingle Jangle Jingle," and Frank Sinatra's version of "Saturday Night" remain iconic today. Others are definitely of their era, like "Mairzy Doats," "Pistol Packin' Mama," "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," "Chickety Chick," and "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen." 

Match Game '75 was starting as the last record in the set was ending and I brought the laundry upstairs. Most of tonight featured the hilarious week with Dick Gautier in his blonde wig for the Mel Brooks Robin Hood spoof When Things Were Rotten, ingenue Melinda O. Fee, and Betty White. Melinda got a standing ovation from the crowd when she finally gave a right answer! The ingenue in the next week was The Belle of Amherst herself, Broadway star Julie Harris. Harris was a close friend of Charles Nelson Reilly, and she was too sensible to deal with Gene Rayburn's amorous "new kid on the block" shenanigans or William Shatner panting over her.

Finished the night celebrating the 60th anniversary of Chuck Barris' first hit show, The Newlywed Game. Host Bob Eubanks asks four just-married couples questions to see how well they knew each other. It got a head start on the competition when CBS preempted Password to show a politician's news conference, but it ran as planned. The spicy innuendo between the couples and the questions about "makin' whoopee" made the show a hit right out of the gate. It was such a success, it even had a nighttime series that ran from 1967 through 1971. 

By the early 70's, daytime standards had begun to loosen considerably. Suddenly, "makin' whoopee" wasn't quite the big deal it had been a few years before. Not to mention, it had stiff competition from the NBC soap Days of Our Lives. ABC ended the daytime version in 1974. The show had more luck in syndication, where it ran from 1977 until Chuck Barris overstepped his bounds with the controversial 3's a Crowd and all of his shows were ended in 1980. 

The Newlywed Game returned as a series of specials on ABC in 1984, hosted by Jim Lange. To date, this is the last time the show has run on the regular networks. It returned to syndication in 1985 as The New Newlywed Game. Eubanks hosted until 1988, when he was replaced by Paul Rodriguez. Saturday Night Live comedian Garry Kroeger hosted a heavily revamped version of the show once again on syndication in 1996 that had the couples answering questions via videos. When the new format proved to be a bust, Eubanks returned with a more professional set and the original format until 1999. 

Carnie Wilson hosted the first season of the Game Show Network revival in 2009. Sherri Shepherd took over in August 2010, and would continue to host until the show ended in 2013. The Game Show Network version was based heavily on the original, with more of a modern neon set and the three couples from the syndicated show.

Make a little whoopee of your own watching some of the funniest newly married couples to ever grace a game show in these wacky, romantic episodes!

The Newlywed Game (1967)

The Newlywed Game Syndication (1979)

The New Newlywed Game (1984)

The New Newlywed Game (1985)

The Newlywed Game Syndication (1996)

The Newlywed Game (2010) 

Life Is a Highway

Started off today early as I had breakfast and Lauren finished packing to go home. We had some nervous moments when the first Uber driver canceled and the second took 8 minutes to arrive, then we ran into traffic in Pennsauken. Thankfully, the cars vanished long before the gentleman pulled up to the 30th Street Station. They were just lining up for Lauren's train when we arrived. I gave her a hug, told her to text me when she got to New York and to home, and left her to board the train.

(Oh, and other than her bus from Albany to Pittsfield being a bit late, Lauren apparently had no trouble whatsoever today on the road. She's now long at home, having had dinner out with her parents when she got in.)

After I let Lauren go, I went to the NJ Transit ticket kiosk I spied there when Lauren arrived and bought tickets, then got a donut and a matcha latte from Dunkin' Donuts. I have never heard of an ice cream cake-flavored donut. It...wasn't bad. A little dry. It was filled with very sweet chocolate cream. I walked around a little bit after I finished my treat until they announced the 9:14 NJ Transit train to Atlantic City.

Thank heavens, the train actually made it out of the station this time. It was busy with mostly people going to Atlantic City on a day that remained hazy, if not as hot. Other than going a bit slow after leaving 30th Street, I had no trouble on the train whatsoever this time. I got off at the Cherry Hill Train Pavilion around quarter of 10.

Since the train station is behind the big Shop Rite, I thought I'd save myself a trip and do my shopping there. That store is enormous, twice the size of even the Audubon Acme. It took me a while to find everything I needed. Restocked yogurt, soda, deodorant (they had Secret for a good price), and granola. I couldn't decide which cookies to get, so I got a variety pack with M&M, chocolate chip, brownie, and sugar. They had the Nature's Valley wafer bars on a decent sale, too. 

The reason I took the train to Cherry Hill is I figured it would be a lot easier (and cheaper) to catch an Uber home from there. The last three times I called for a ride home from 30th Street Station, the driver missed me or almost missed me. I was right. The driver arrived in 9 minutes and got me home in less than 10. 

Once I got home, I put everything away, changed shoes, made up a check for a bill, grabbed a book I wanted to drop in a kiosk, and headed out again on my bike. I had a lot of errands to run. Dropped the bill in the mail box outside of the post office and the book in a kiosk. It was much sunnier by the time I was out and about and slightly less hazy. At least it didn't smell like smoke anymore.

I had lunch at the Legacy Diner in Audubon. I needed pineapple coconut pancakes and a bowl of melon chunks and grapes. Yum! The pancakes were so huge and fluffy, I couldn't finish them. Surprisingly, given it was past noon by then, it wasn't really that busy. Maybe everyone was avoiding the haze.

Stopped at WaWa on the way home. I wanted to pick up money for the Collingswood Farm Market tomorrow. Tried a small banana bread smoothie. Yum! Brown sugar syrup, graham cracker crumbs, and real banana. It really did taste like banana bread milk. 

Soon as I got home, I went down for a nap. I've had a long couple of weeks! I went down at quarter of 1 and slept until past 2:30.

After I got up and got moving, I made the bed, then pulled out more things I didn't want or need or had replaced over the last two weeks for another bag that'll go to Goodwill. Listened to some of the many records I bought over the past two weeks while I worked. Although the jaunty Rascal Flatts version of "Life Is a Highway" was the hit from the original Cars, my favorite number is the sadder and more downbeat "Our Town" by James Taylor on the rise and fall of Radiator Springs. I also like "Find Yourself" by Brad Paisley and the Chuck Berry version of "Route 66." 

Thank heavens that chip on the High Anxiety soundtrack from when I bought the disc didn't impede it being able to play. We not only get the theme song and "If You Love Me, Baby, Tell Me Loud" from High Anxiety, but songs from every Mel Brooks movie made up until 1978. Which means, yes, we also get "Springtime for Hitler" and "Prisoner of Love" from the original Producers, "Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst" from the rarely-seen The Twelve Chairs, "The Ballad of Blazing Saddles," "I'm Tired," and the brief "The French Mistake" from Blazing Saddles, and "Puttin' On the Ritz" from Young Frankenstein. There's even a bit of the score from Silent Movie.

Radio Active and Images are K-Tel collections from the early 1980's. Radio Active from 1982 leans on harder rock like "You Better You Bet" by the Who, "Take It On the Run" by REO Speedwagon, and "Super Freak" by Rick James. Ballads are the theme on the quieter Images from 1980, including "Should've Never Let You Go" by the late Neil Sedaka and his daughter Dara, "Do That To Me One More Time" by the Captain & Tenille, and "Too Hot" by Kool & the Gang.

Switched to Match Game '75 next. The first hour was the second half of the week featuring Barbara McNair and Alex Karras. I think Alex had a bit of a crush on Lola Kiss, the lady wrestler from Transylvania, after she managed to pin him! He sure turned red when she kissed him for giving her a right answer on the Audience Match. The second hour brought in Scoey Mitchelll and a pair of goofy Pattys, Duke and Deustch.

I also got my schedule at this point. Good news, more hours. Bad news, they're all early. I was hoping they'd ease me back into work, but the head bagger and Sunday bagger must have taken time off again. 

Finished the night at YouTube with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Wizards of the Lost Kingdom is a more recent episode from 2017 diving into another low-budget 80's sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Young wizard Simon (Vidal Peterson) must find his way back to the castle to rescue the princess from the evil sorcerer Shurka (Thom Christopher) with the help of lone wolf warrior Kor (Bo Svenson). Ok, yeah, it's pretty obvious this one is a Roger Corman cheapie from his "made in Argentina" phase. There's ample stock footage from his other 80's fantasy films, the special effects are just light shows, Simon is an obnoxious little jerk, and most of the "monsters" are off-the-rack puppet suits. There are a few effective moments, though, notably when Simon is lured by a beautiful woman who turns into a genuinely scary giant insect! Otherwise, this one is for true lovers of cheesy 80's fantasy only.