Appreciated Harts

Began the day with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus. "The Late, Late Show" has nothing to do with Stephen Colbert. Mickey and the others want to stay awake and see a meteor shower, but they keep falling asleep! Donald in particular spends the episode nodding off. They have to find ways to stay awake before the big celestial event hits.

Thankfully, work wasn't really much of a problem today. The head bagger was there, but though she did sweep during my break, she mostly helped the floral department manager. Not that I really needed her much anyway. We were dead the entire morning. There were barely any carts to do. I'm guessing everyone is waiting for Mother's Day weekend.

I'm less happy with my schedule. Other than a later day on Sunday. it's the exact same schedule as this week...up to and including working Wednesday and Friday. The head bagger took Friday and Saturday off.

Soon as I changed and grabbed pads, I headed out. I took my bike today, partially so I could ride up to the Legacy Diner for lunch. After the week I'd had, I needed pancakes rather badly. I had my favorite coconut-pineapple pancakes, bacon, and water. The pancakes were so huge, I'm glad I went with the short stack. The bacon was melt-in-your-mouth crispy. Though the waitress took a little while to get my order, the food came quick after that. I was out fast enough that I got to the Thomas Sharp School a little bit early.

On one hand, we had a lot fewer kids today. Some of the classes went on a school trip, so we only had 18 little ones and 14 older kids today. On the other hand, they got pretty crazy, especially in the bathroom. I had 7 at my table, but there were so few at the other tables, we ended up taking them together. Probably not a good idea, considering how crazy they were. I brought the one straggler back. 

When the kids finished their snacks, we gathered those interested at a table to do an art project. They drew cards for their mothers with colored pencils and the dot markers from the March St. Patrick's Day pot of gold pictures. The head teacher gave them colorful stickers for their cards, most of which ended up on the floor. The boys next to them playing with Hot Wheels cars and magnetic tiles were so noisy, they got lucky they were able to go outside at all. 

We finally were able to get the kids out around 4 PM. The sun had been in and out all day, but by that point, it was sunny, blustery, and maybe even a little humid. I did have to argue with one little girl about getting on the swings while there were still too many kids around. She and her friend wailed because one of the older boys wouldn't play with them. I tried to point out that he wanted to play with boys closer to his own age, but they weren't having any of it. One of them did finally get her way when he was briefly on the swings at the same time as her. The remaining 4 kids happily ran around and asked me to push them on the swings until I finished and the other teachers took them inside to get their things and clean up the remaining stickers and markers mess.

And...those kids and their families are such sweethearts. One little boy and his mother came in today just to hand out boxes of home-made white chocolate-covered strawberries and white chocolate-caramel pretzels and Target gift cards to the teachers. A little girl and her family gave us 5 dollar gift cards to Dunkin' Donuts. They're some of the only people right now who really do make me feel loved and appreciated, even when they drive me crazy.

Watched Match Game '73 when I got home. Most of the episodes were for the early week with Dick Gautier, his then-wife Barbara Stuart, and Oscar-winner Shelley Winters. Gautier and Stuart seemed to do decent enough playing off each other (though one episode from this week is banned due to an offensive answer from Dick and the contestant). I'm not sure Shelley entirely got the humor. Robert Culp didn't do much better next week. Pat Carroll, on the other hand, seemed to have a great time, and it's a shame she never came back.

Finished the night with Hart to Hart. "The Hartbreak Kid" is Reilly, the little girl who gives Max tips on the horses at the stables. She's close with the Harts, their filly J.J Hart, and his trainer. Reilly ends up in big trouble when she accidentally overhears two men who have money on another horse try to get him to throw the race. The Harts bring Reilly home with them for Christmas and to find her grandmother. Even when Granny turns up, she's not what she seems...and the Harts have to rescue Max and Reilly and figure out how they can win the race without anyone getting hurt. 

Birthday Lady's Blues

Began my birthday with breakfast and The Yogi Bear Show. Kellogg's wants "Yogi's Birthday Party" to be a huge TV special with all his friends. Ranger Smith tells Yogi it's going to be one of the variety specials that were popular in the 60's and 70's. Yogi takes lessons (from thinly veiled spoofs of then-popular entertainers), but takes off when he discovers he's not more talented than the average bear. It takes a picnic basket to lure him back and reveal it's a show with all the Hanna-Barbara funny animals who had been created up to the early 60's.

Switched to Paw Patrol while making the bed (and removing several blankets it's now too hot for). "The Pups' Great Race" will be all around Adventure Bay. They're sure one of them will win...but when they're called to rescue Mayor Goodway after her hot air balloon flies away, it's Alex on his trike who proves slow and steady does win the race. "The Pups Take the Cake" when they help Mr. Porter replace the cake he burned and make the perfect edible recreation of their Lookout Tower that will beat Mayor Humdinger's entry in the Tall Cake Contest.

Headed out after the cartoon ended. Originally, my first stop was Peak Secondhand, a new thrift shop in Audubon, but I forgot they don't open until noon on Tuesdays. I was there a little after 11. I didn't want to hang around, so I dodged traffic going across Audubon and down Nicholson and Cuthbert to Westmont. At least it was a nice day for a ride. It was sunny, breezy, and humid even at 11:30, already in the upper 70's-lower 80's. 

When I got into Westmont, I first went across the street to Samaritan Thrift, but they didn't have anything that interested me. Stopped at Koupa Espresso Bar for an iced drink when I went back across Haddon Avenue. Had a Chai Cherry Latte. Oooh, spicy and very sweet...and very cherry! I downed that pretty fast. They were pretty busy for almost noon, mainly with people getting drinks and reading their phones.

Phidelity Records down the block had a lot more of interest. In fact, I found two out of four of what I picked up right away in the New Arrivals bins. The others came out of the $2 bins or were in CDs and DVDs: 

Bette Midler - Broken Blossoms (Which it turns out I already have - I'll donate it to Goodwill.)

The 1977 K-Tel collection Stars

A Peter Pan Superman book and record set from 1978 with the stories "The Myzptlk-Up Menace" and "Alien Creatures"

The Who - Hooligans (2-disc greatest hits collection)

The one CD was Carole King's Greatest Hits. (Which I also already have and will also be donated.)

The DVD was the 1959 Lil' Abner, which means yes, I'll be reviewing that on the Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog sometime in the next few months. I've had the original cast album since college, but I haven't seen the movie.

Rode down to Collingwood for lunch. Made up for the line at Sabrina's Cafe on Easter by having them for my birthday...and boy, am I glad I did! The lemon-raspberry poppyseed pancakes off their seasonal menu were incredible, soft and swirled with raspberry lemon cream. The turkey bacon was a little more limp than the Westmont's thick bacon...but probably a lot better for me. I washed it down with a tart (and much-needed) lemonade. They were busy, but not so much that I couldn't get a table in the back.

Walked around in Collingswood for a little while after I ate. I didn't linger too long here. Not only was it past 1 PM, but a lot of Collingswood stores are closed on Tuesday. Collingswood is holding their big Green Festival on Saturday, too, and it's also Record Store Day. I'll hold off on Innergroove until Saturday, but I did pick up a few things from Collingswood Music:

Two vintage children's albums, Strawberry Shortcake's Exercise and Fun Album and Sesame Street Happy Birthday! (Not only did the Sesame Street album have the wrong record in it, but it was badly scratched. It goes in the donation bags.)

Beach Boys - Smile (I think it's a bootleg, but it has two of the Beach Boys' best songs, "Heroes and Villains" and "Good Vibrations.")

I heard my phone go off when I was in Collingswood Music. I called it back when I got outside. It was Allyssa from Camden County, telling me she was having trouble getting me through that loan. They don't count the Healthy Kids job because I've been there slightly less than a year, and I don't make enough at the Acme job to pay for a loan. That really hurt. I assumed that getting a second job, and one that I loved, would be enough. I feel like nothing I do will ever be enough for these people. She said she'd keep trying, but I was bitterly disappointed when I headed across the street and back to my bike. It was late, and I had to dodge kids coming out of Collingswood High School. I ended up being five minutes late to Thomas Sharp.

I felt much better when I arrived and got settled in with the kids. I had many happy birthday greetings, from kids and adults. One cherubic little miss gave me a bag with candy, a fruit bar (which I appreciated - I forgot a snack), rubber bracelets, and a card she drew herself of her and me together. (I think her parents wrote "Happy Birthday." They have very nice printing.) Later on, one of the boys gave me his own artwork. 

We started off in the library due to the music class taking place in the cafeteria. I'm glad I took my 10 kids to the bathroom first. They were all antsy, though they generally weren't that rowdy. They were better once they had their snacks and a lot of water. We waited a little while until the big kids were outside before we took the little ones out. It was beautiful, but so hot! Most of them either looked for ants or people walking dogs under the big shady trees or hung out in the shade of the slide equipment. Those who ventured into the sun danced to "Sharks In the Water," "The Big Pink Tiger," the theme from Bluey, "Try Everything" from Zootopia, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, "Pink Pony Club," and songs from Moana 2 and KPop Demon Hunters.

Jessa's car has a bike rack, so she said she would pick me and my bike up at the school. What she didn't add was Mike was with her again. I was once again very disappointed. I was hoping we could spend time together on my birthday. Don't get me wrong, Mike is a nice guy. He's funny and he tells good stories...but I was hoping it could be just the two of us. He did pay for dinner at Carraba's Italian Grill in Maple Shade, which was pretty pricey. I had ravioli stuffed with chicken, spinach, and cheese. Jessa had grilled chicken in a wine sauce with broccoli and mashed potatoes. Mike had chicken Parmesan with mashed potatoes. We all had salads. They had Caesar. I had the "house," lettuce, carrots, and red cabbage in a creamy dressing (with olives and banana peppers that I picked out). I had a tasty peach-blackberry fold over tart for dessert.

Finished the night listening to old favorites from my childhood and teen years. I've had The Wild, the Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle on CD for so long, I forget when I got it now. I think Mom may have had the LP when I was a kid. This and Greetings from Asbury Park always hit the hardest of Bruce Springsteen's albums because...what he's describing was my world, from the time I was born through my college years. "The E-Street Shuffle," "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," "Incident on 57th Street," "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"...that's the Jersey Shore I remember. There's a reason Springsteen is called "the Boss" in his native New Jersey. Even though he's from further north (and I believe still lives up there) and Cape May and Wildwood were in largely better shape than Asbury Park in the 70's and 80's, it still sounds and practically smells like my childhood and adolescent memories.

Elton John's Greatest Hits Vol. III features the John songs I grew up with. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" and "Little Jeannie" used to play constantly on the jukebox at the Ugly Mug in Cape May during the 80's. "Mama Can't Buy You Love," "Sad Song (Say So Much)," "Empty Garden," and "Blue Eyes" were heard constantly on the radio. I think it's hilarious that the kids seem to have fallen in love with Taran Egerton's recording of "I'm Still Standing," given that came out around the time I was their age and I loved it just as much. 

Cold Spring Matches

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the 2018 Disney Muppet Babies. "Kermit and Fozzie's Egg-cellent Adventure" sends them around the back yard to find more eggs before the other kids. Fozzie keeps rushing ahead before Kermit can make a plan. When Fozzie loses two eggs, Kermit quits. Talking to Miss Nanny makes Fozzie realize just how important it is to take things slow and plan first. Animal puts off using the bathroom, then regrets it when they travel to the city of Ratlantis. Animal discovers how important it is to go when you need to when "Animal and the Little Accident" doesn't make it back in time. The others assure him that it's happened to all of them.

Switched to PAW Patrol while getting ready for work. "Pups Save the Easter Egg Hunt" when they color and hide eggs for Mayor Goodway after she breaks her arm. Alex contributes a huge colored egg, but an eagle steals the egg, the basket, and Rusty and Chickaletta in it. Turns out the egg was the eagle's baby, and she wants it back. The others have to rescue them and the basket without harming anyone, including the eagles.

Called Uber after the pups ended. No trouble here at all. The driver going to work arrived in 8 minutes. I got to the Acme just in time. The one going home surprisingly only took 4 minutes, despite it being the height of rush hour. 

It wasn't busy when I got to the Acme or when I left, but it got really crazy in between. There were long lines for a lot of the afternoon. The head bagger took over a register during the second hour and would remain there for the rest of the evening. I had a hard time keeping up with the carts until things finally died down in the last hour. It didn't help that, though it was sunny, it was also cold and windy, barely in the upper 40's. 

There was a package waiting for me when I got home. That was a surprise. I hadn't ordered anything. It was my Easter gift from Mom. She sent me scones and a big jar of blueberry preserves from Wolferman's Bakery online. There were twelve varieties of scone, two each. I tried Apple Cranberry. Yum! Nicely crumbly and not too sweet. And I was worried about what I'd take for lunch at work tomorrow. 

Took a shower and grabbed leftovers for dinner, then finished the night with today's Match Game marathon. When 1978 began, Match Game was just starting to slide in the ratings, thanks to ill-advised schedule changes and more conservative tastes. Richard Dawson had noticed, too. He wanted a bigger salary and either equal billing with Gene Rayburn or to be let go. He was by far the most popular of the regular panelists on the show, and he was hosting the huge hit Family Feud. Goodson-Todman said yes to the salary, but no to the build-up or letting him go. 

That and his burnout from working on two shows with frantic schedules didn't improve Richard's mood. He spent most of mid-1978 acting like a grouch. Gene Rayburn did not appreciate his behavior at all. At one point, he even tried to push at Richard's face to make him smile. He did laugh, but the whole incident was disturbing. 

The arrival of the Star Wheel was the last straw. Richard had always been the go-to panelist for the Head to Head bonus round. The Star Wheel was supposed to assure that all of the panelists would get a turn on the Head to Head. Richard saw it as encroaching on his territory and was furious. Ironically, it landed on him the first time they used it, prompting everyone but Scoey Mitchelll (including Richard himself) to walk out. Richard lasted a few weeks after the set was revamped, but the writing was on the wall. By late June, he was barely reacting or doing much of anything. His wearing glasses during his last two weeks to cover an infection (he wore them on Feud during those weeks too) didn't help matters. After June 25th, he left and never looked back. 

(Oh, and though Richard apparently tried over the years, Gene was so offended by how Richard acted in those last weeks, he never spoke to him again.)

At any rate, see how all this went down for yourself in these hilarious and heartbreaking episodes!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Richard's Downfall On Match Game & Exit Marathon

Night of the Warm Winter

I overslept this morning and had just enough time to write in my offline journal, eat breakfast, and call Uber for a quick ride to work. No trouble there. The one going to work arrived within 7 minutes. The one going home came in 4. There was no traffic either way, and I made it to work with no time to spare.

To be honest, I could have been infinitely late. We were quiet the entire morning. Most people are probably waiting for Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend to do their shopping. I was in and out with no trouble whatsoever. I even had the chance to grab more cough drops, a two-pack of snickerdoodle cookies on the bakery clearance rack, and a lunch pack with a turkey-pretzel roll slider, pretzel chips, and grapes. 

Changed when I got home, then had lunch while watching more Remember WENN. Betty Roberts is devastated when they learn that, though Jeff Singer survived the bombing of the building they were broadcasting from, Victor Comstock didn't. She drowns herself in writing scripts where nothing remotely bad happens to keep from thinking of why she never admitted her feelings for him. She even insists on "Radio Silence" every hour. It takes a frustrated Scott and a returning Jeff to remind the grieving woman that the best way to honor someone is to live your life. 

Hilary and Jeff are thrilled to be together again, and their baby-talk is starting to bleed onto the airwaves in "I Now Pronounce You Man and Wife...Again." Betty's about ready to throttle both of them, and the sponsor isn't much happier. They insist on getting re-married, but it doesn't go as well as they hoped. Meanwhile, we learn that Ceila got big movie role and has left the station for good (this is last time we see her, though she's mentioned a few times), and Scott recruits sweet organist Eugenia for his new late-night Agitato Alert program.

Oh, and the last of my Christmas presents to myself from Amazon arrived around this point as well. I used the kids' Amazon gift cards to get the soundtrack from Wicked: For Good on CD and the Mercedes Lackey Elemental Masters Sherlock Holmes story The Case of the Spellbound Child. The first two Sherlock Holmes Elemental Masters books are now the only ones I haven't read, mainly because I can't seem to find them anywhere. I might end up getting those online, too. 

Headed out to the Thomas Sharp School after the second episode ended. Good thing I got there slightly early, because we were swamped today. We had 28 pre-schoolers and kindergartners, and some of the older boys joined us on the playground as well. Even in the cafeteria during snack, when I was just reading kids who had finished eating a book about spiders, it was rowdy. 

The playground was a recipe for insanity. Despite the cloudy day, it was warm for January, in the mid-50's. I could understand why the kids took off their jackets. Many of them already wore heavy sweaters or thick long-sleeved dresses. They kept trying to take off their shoes or boots, too. It wasn't THAT warm! They kept throwing mulch and putting it on the slides when they know they're not supposed to and arguing over the swings. That game of tag got so wild, one of the teachers had to end it. And we even let them stay out a little longer than usual, due to the warm weather.

They weren't even able to calm down in the library. One of the teachers spread paper out on two tables, only for the older boys to rip it, press too hard on colored pencils I just sharpened, and draw death faces and scary figures that the little kids should not have been seeing. Other kids annoyed those who were reading or playing quietly. I was honestly not unhappy when I finally finished. 

Went straight home after that. Had dinner while watching Match Game Syndicated. The new-to-Buzzr episodes continue with the only week to feature game show host Tom Kennedy, during his tenure hosting Password Plus. It was also the second of two appearances for Gail Farrell, the only member of The Lawrence Welk Show brave enough to join the lunacy. Considering Tom Kennedy played really well and Gail Farrell wasn't bad, I wish they both had come back. McLean Stevenson had become the third regular by this point, too, taking over as resident sarcastic smart guy.

Finished the night with The Wild Wild West. "The Night of the Howling Light" takes James West to a remote lighthouse, where a mad scientist (Sam Wanamaker) attempts to condition him into assassinating a Native chief who is trying to gain peace for his people. Artemis Gordon knows there's something else going on here, especially when school-educated Native speaker Ahkeema (Scott Marlowe) pressures him into getting a response from President Grant on what will happen to his people.

Happy Holidays With Family

Began the morning with the Colliers Harvest of Holidays book Linda Young sent me years ago. My favorite of the short stories here is "Miss Flora McFlimsey's Christmas Eve." An old doll stored in an attic manages to walk downstairs and see the tree on Christmas Eve. The other dolls make fun of her when Santa puts her aside to give to a little girl, until her mouse friend and the tree angel bring down her trunk and remind her of how beautiful and loved she really is. There's also the story of "Barney and the Wee Cap," as an Irish miser tries to escape his neighbors begging for charity by taking a leprechaun cap that allows the wearer to travel wherever they want. He discovers that poverty and charity are everywhere, and it's not so bad to help your fellow man out.

Since we're supposed to get snow later this weekend, I put on The Snowman while eating breakfast. This dreamy British special has a young boy creating a snowman who comes to life. He introduces him his home and room. The snowman rides a motorcycle, then takes the boy to the North Pole, where he meets Santa Claus and dances with other snowmen.

Switched to The Little Drummer Boy as I got organized. I went further into this classic Rankin-Bass religious special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog on Christmas Eve 2020.

The Little Drummer Boy

I first opened gifts with a friend and her teen daughter. I had gifts for them, for her adult son and his girlfriend, and for their cat. They gave me fluffy pink sleeper socks and candy, including a bag of peanut brittle, a box of chocolate truffles shaped like shells, dark chocolate "wave" candy shaped like potato chips, and chocolate-covered gingerbread.

Headed out to Rose's shortly after at around quarter of 1. As at Thanksgiving, Finley and their dogs Oreo and Cider met me at the door. Jessa arrived just a few minutes after I did. Though she seemed to like the dinosaur book, Finley was mostly excited about the Pokemon cards I gave her, especially the ones I found in the parking lot of the Acme! Finley is also crazy about magnetic tiles. She had made a massive castle with her new set and had spent her morning trying to keep the dogs from knocking it down. 

I got some pretty nice gifts from them, too. Rose and her family gave me a small but elegant box of Godiva chocolates. My present from Jessa was a lovely glass popcorn ornament and a gift card to AMC Theaters. (Good, I want to see the new Hugh Jackman movie Song Sung Blue sometime next week, probably Tuesday. I'll go to the Deptford theater - it's nicer than the AMC in Cherry Hill.) 

I spent most of the afternoon chatting with Rose and Jessa. It was nice to be able to talk to adults! I don't get to see Rose that often, and we don't really get to talk as sisters. We discussed our jobs, how happy I was to be off of both my jobs this week, and why Rose and her family stayed in South Jersey for the holidays instead of going to New Hampshire. Rose had a huge spread out. In addition to most of the same things she had at Thanksgiving - the shrimp cocktail, vegetable tray, plate of grapes and berries, platter of cheese, and bowls of chips, rolls, and crackers - there were wet, tasty steamed clams. Rose said she should have soaked them longer before she brought them out, but they tasted fine to me.

Craig spent most of the afternoon watching the Cowboys-Commanders game. Considering the Commanders are not great this year, this was a lot closer than I thought it would be. In the end, the Cowboys finally outran them 30-23.

Jessa finally drove me home around 4. I spent the next few hours eating a ham and cheese wrap and watching game shows on YouTube, starting with the annual Match Game Christmas marathon. I came in for the 1975 episode. In 1976, Charles complained about not getting to dress as Santa again. (He did that once, in 1973.) He got his wish in 1977, where he pretended to be a drunk Santa complaining about appearing on all the other networks. (At least, I hope he was pretending to be drunk.) He and Brett had more fun in 1978, where he dressed as Santa, and Brett was a little girl sitting on his knee.

The only Christmas Syndicated episode ended with the entire panel singing "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Christmas on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour featured Jon Bauman in a Santa hat and beard, while Nedra Voltz dodged sexual and age-related questions and Marty Cohen reminds everyone that Hanukkah ended a few days ago. Match Game '90 got even more into the holiday, with lavish decorations and Rip Taylor and his confetti replacing an on-vacation Charles. Marcia Wallace spent her week explaining her increasingly wilder injuries, while Taylor hit Fred Travalena over the head with his toupee for doing a bad imitation of him.

Wait, there's more! The 1977 Match Game Christmas episode, with Charles dressed as a drunken Santa, was run separately later. We also had the 1982 Christmas episode of Family Feud, Bert Convy and Carol Burnett doing battle on Password Plus during Christmas week 1979, and the 1987 All Star Super Password with the cast of Father Knows Best not doing very well guessing words. It's a riot of ho-ho-ho holiday game show hilarity!

Match Game Merry Christmas 2025 Blank-a-Thon

Family Feud (1982)

Match Game (1977)

Password Plus (1979)

Super Password (1987)

Finished my night at Amazon Prime with The Christmas Toy. I go further into this classic Jim Henson holiday special from 1986 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Merry Christmas! - The Christmas Toy

And I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend, surrounded by all the people you love to match with! 

When You Believe

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey's Christmas Carol. Actually, Mickey plays Bob Cratchit in this classic Disney featurette. Uncle Scrooge is the real star, playing his namesake miser who cares more about profits than giving. He learns his lesson from a diminutive Ghost of Christmas Past who acts as his conscience (Jiminy Cricket), a sweet, huge Ghost of Christmas Present (Willie the Giant) and a terrifying cat of a Christmas Future (Big Pete), who show him what will happen if he continues on his present path.

Switched to Journey to Bethlehem at Disney Plus while making my bed and doing chores. I go further into this pop retelling of the birth of Christ at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Journey to Bethlehem 

It had been raining all morning. Not hard, just enough that it was too wet and chilly for the bike. I called for Uber to get me to the Thomas Sharp School. Fortunately, no trouble getting where I was going either way. They took 13 minutes going there, but I called early enough that I still arrived right on time. They came in 4 minutes going home.

On one hand, I don't think you'll be surprised to hear the kids were really rowdy today, especially in the first hour. On the other hand, there were just 12 pre-schoolers and kindergartners to start with, and only slightly more older kids. After lunch, we first settled them down to color and play with magnetic blocks. I gave them papers from my old Sesame Street coloring book that I've had for almost 20 years and really want to get rid of. After they got bored with that, a couple of the girls requested stories. I read Frozen and my own copy of The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas. 

The kids spent most of the second half of the afternoon doing crafts. The younger ones resumed making pipe cleaner and bead jewelry and ornaments. The older children created cards for their parents by gluing beads and squares of colored tissue paper onto construction paper. We initially listened to Christmas songs while we worked. Later on, someone found a sheet and a projection machine, allowing one of the teachers to run The Polar Express. 

They were all really excited when Santa came to the cafeteria about mid-way through the day, bearing a box covered in Mario wrapping paper with presents for all of them. Actually, I think the presents were fancy pencils or crayons, but that was enough for most of the kids. (Don't tell them, but I'm pretty sure "Santa" was a custodian or male Healthy Kids worker wearing a red shirt, suspenders, and a Santa beard and hat. I might be wrong, of course.)

The kids can be so sweet. They've done more for me this year than they'll ever know. Two gave me Amazon gift cards. Two more gave me WaWa gift cards. One gave me a smaller gift card to Dunkin' Donuts. One of the parents praised how we'd gotten her son to work with beads - in fact, he'd been working on bead ornaments for most of the afternoon - when his teachers said he needed to do more with his hands. It really made me feel appreciated and realize how important we are to these kids.

Ran the first Christmas episode of MASH when I got home. "Dear Dad" is Hawkeye's letter to his father about the wacky goings-on at the 4077th during the holiday season. Frank and Klinger get into a brawl that Father Mulcahey has to break up and hide from the police. Hawkeye and Trapper play pranks on Hot Lips and Frank in her cabin before one of their dates. Henry tries to give his troops an awkward lecture on sex, with predictably goofy results. Hawkeye and Trapper also catch Radar sending a jeep home to his family in boxes piece by piece.

Jessa picked me up around 6:20. She originally wanted to hit the Cherry Hill Mall to buy something for clients...then we saw the traffic around the mall and the full-to-bursting parking lot. We just ended up eating across the street at a much safer Silver Diner instead. This time, she had a tuna melt and fries. I had a tasty California omelet with egg whites, chicken, cheddar cheese, scallions, tomatoes, and whole wheat toast. She had her office party today and wasn't up to dessert, but I tried their tasty, sweet apple-walnut bread pudding topped with vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle.

Finished the night at home with the Remember WENN Christmas episode. Everyone at radio station WENN is gearing up for "Christmas In the Airwaves." The arrival of Rollie Pruitt (Johnathan Freeman) puts a crimp in their plans. He's the financier for the station's owner, singer Gloria Redmond (Betty Buckley), who lost her husband last Christmas. Gloria is grieving so much, she doesn't want any Christmas shows or references to Christmas at the station. Pruitt, who just wants her to write the station off and get the tax benefits, agrees. It'll take teamwork, a bit of holiday subterfuge, and a really sweet speech to make Gloria understand that Christmas is wonderful time for a heart to start healing. 

Making Spirits Bright

Began my morning with breakfast and The Backyardigans. Uniqua wants to know "The Secret of Snow" and travels to the frozen north to ask Ice Lady Tasha about it. Tasha has no time for her queries and first sends her to the desert, then to the jungle to get rid of her. Uniqua just comes back with Cowboy Pablo and Tyrone of the Jungle, who want it to snow, too. Tasha makes them work in her ice factory, and are shocked when they and her assistant Austin enjoy being together. In the end, the kids finally come to the conclusion that there's no real "secret of snow," and that if you're with your friends, it doesn't matter what the weather is.

Hurried out to work after that ended. It wasn't busy at all when I arrived. There was plenty of help, too. The head bagger swept the store. By 12, a college student had arrived to help me with the carts, too. Even when it picked up a little bit later, it still wasn't bad. In fact, it was a little bit boring. I was in and out with no trouble. At least the weather was nice. It was chilly, but sunny and windless, probably in the upper 30's-lower 40's. 

After I got home, I changed and had lunch while watching vintage sitcom and food show Christmas episodes. "Bah Humbug!" is the second WKRP In Cincinnati Christmas show. Nobody at the station is happy with Arthur not giving out bonuses. Arthur claims there isn't the money, but he's really just afraid of what his mother will say. He learns a lesson in giving when he eats one of Johnny Fever's brownies, passes out in his office, and dreams that four familiar ghosts show him what will happen if he doesn't change his stingy ways.

Alton Brown is having an even stranger Christmas Eve on Good Eats. Santa shows up, insisting on "The Cookie Clause." Seems he's tired of all the cardboard, store-bought cookies kids have been leaving him. Alton shows him how to make simple cut-out sugar cookies, then use sugar cookie dough to make chocolate-peppermint whirl cookies that need to be chilled, then sliced.

Headed to the Thomas Sharp School after Good Eats ended. We had 17 younger kids to start, more than I thought we would the day before Winter Break begins, but not an overwhelming group. After snack time, half of them settled down with Duplos, plastic dinosaurs, and Barbie dolls. The other half joined in for a really fun project. We showed the kids how to thread beads onto pipe cleaners to make candy canes, wreaths, and ornaments. I think most of the girls were more interested in making necklaces and bracelets for themselves. I helped one little cherub get her beads on her pipe cleaner and made sure one of the boys had enough beads, since the three of us were on the other side of the table from the bead bin.

The kids are such sweethearts. One girl and her family gave me a $10 Amazon card and a brown-painted snowflake she made herself. Two more kids gave gift cards to WaWa. Another girl and her family gave me a lovely card, an oven mitt embroidered with a pretty cardinal, lovely kitchen towels, and those chocolate-hazelnut cookie sticks. 

When I got home, I took the recycling outside, took the laundry downstairs, then had a shower. Ate dinner while watching more sitcom holiday shows. It's "The Best Christmas Ever" for Ricky Stratton and his father Edward on Silver Spoons as they gear up for their first Christmas together. Ricky thinks he's just doing a favor when a boy asks him if he has any work for him. Turns out the kid is having a far rougher holiday than Ricky could ever imagine...but he and Edward find a way to help the boy and his family, making sure more than their Christmases are brighter. 

Barney Miller and his men aren't happy to be working Christmas Eve on their "Christmas Story." Yemana feels better when he asks a lady on a date, only to discover she's not working...because she's an, um, "lady of the evening." Fish gets recruited to dress as Santa to find out who is stealing from department-store Santas. After Wojo gives everyone gifts, the others all feel compelled to give gifts too, despite Barney saying they wouldn't give gifts this year.

Finished the night back at YouTube after I got the laundry out of the dryer with more Christmas game show episodes. Christmas goes far back on game shows. I've Got a Secret brought in their youngest contestants for their 1957 holiday episode. The mother of a sweet infant revealed that her grandfather was seeing her for the first time on TV. An utterly adorable toddler miss turned out to be the godchild of two of the panelists. Two teen girls brought in a fruitcake with a far longer lineage than one expects to find in pastries.

Match Game celebrated its first Christmas in 1973 with Charles Nelson Reilly playing Santa Claus in a fake beard and an odd southern accent. Jack Cassidy made his first appearance here, with the late June Lockhart turning up for the first and only time. Family Feud also celebrated its first Christmases in 1976 and 1977 with fake garlands, hyped-up families, and holiday-oriented questions.

Classic Concentration was more elegant in 1989, with its gold and silver decorations, diamond and ruby jewelry, and trips to Paris. The young woman who was ahead the entire episode wasn't able to get the puzzle in a sudden-death round. The young man who beat her didn't do a whole lot better with the match-the-car bonus round. Marjorie Goodson tried to get reindeer antlers on her little dog, but he didn't seem too happy about it.

The Price Is Right also had a rough start in 1990, with contestants losing the first three Pricing Games. Things picked up in the second half when a young man who closely resembled a blond Michael J. Fox picked up furniture in The Clock Game. The Showcases were too adorable. The models dressed as little girls to give away Michael Jackson Moonwalker arcade games and too-cute giant stuffed pandas. Big sis Janice got a car. The second Showcase had the adult models getting huge projection TVs and microwaves. Holly got the big gift here, a motorboat. 

Here's more Christmas game show episodes to play along with at your holiday parties this week! I'll even throw in two bonus episodes from the weekend Password marathons. 

I've Got a Secret (1957)

Match Game (1973)

Family Feud (1976)

Family Feud (1977)

Password Plus (1979)

Super Password (1984)

Classic Concentration (1989)

The Price Is Right (1990) 

A Merry Bear-y Christmas

Began the morning with breakfast and Sheriff Callie's Wild West. Toby wishes he could have an animal to ride, like Sheriff Callie and Deputy Peck. After he gets carried away by animal rustlers who steal Santa's reindeer and gifts, he gets help escaping from one of the reindeer. He thinks Comet is "Toby's Christmas Critter," but there's an even cuter (and equally horned) critter waiting for him at home. It's "A Very Tricky Christmas" when Tricky Travis and Oswald the Bear set up a marching band for the town, then steal their tree. They think it'll make them happy, but their hearts grow three sizes when they see that what really makes the citizens of Nice and Friendly Corners happy is being together for the holidays.

Hurried out as soon as the cartoon ended. The Acme surprisingly wasn't busy early-on, though it picked up at noon. The head bagger took the sweeping for the first half of my shift. By the time my break rolled around, it had picked up enough for her to take a register. I swept and gathered carts for the rest of my shift.

Went straight into grocery shopping after work. I'm hoping this will be my last big trip before Christmas. There was a buy two, get two sale on Nature's Valley granola bars. Tried a slightly more expensive brand of granola that had made a Christmas cranberry pecan flavor. Bought bagels for lunch this week and restocked clementines, apples, and yogurt. Grabbed that White Cranberry Spiced Sprite Zero, along with Orange Cream Coke Zero. Picked up treats for Rose's dogs Oreo and Cider, which were the last Christmas gifts I needed to buy. 

Hurried home, then changed and watched Yogi's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper while putting everything away and getting organized. Yogi and Boo Boo head off to the big city to see all their Hanna-Barbara funny animal friends, not realizing their friends had gone to Jellystone to see them. While they're in the city, they dodge animal control officers by playing Santa in a department store. When a little girl thinks Yogi really is Santa, they do their best to give her a nice Christmas...until her wealthy father sends cops to find her.

Headed back out around 3. My first stop was the Dunkin' Donuts on the White Horse Pike. This isn't normally the first place I'd go out for lunch, but I did get that $25 gift card from one of the kids in the after-school program. Not surprisingly for quarter after 3, the place was pretty quiet when I came in. It was just me, the workers, and two teens getting snacks. I had a hot chocolate, a chicken wrap, and a green-frosted donut drizzled with vanilla glaze. Yum. The chicken wrap was small, but surprisingly tasty, hot and dripping with cheese and red peppers. I enjoyed my donut so much, I got a cream-filled one on the way out, too.

I was on the other side of Oaklyn to deliver Christmas presents to my old neighbors on Hillcrest. Brought cookies to two older single women with small families and a larger family whose mother just died of cancer a few months ago. They live next-door to what was Dad's house, and the mother was supportive and very helpful during the trouble I had finding a home in late 2021 and early 2022. Delivered cards to a single mom and her son and a female couple a little further down Hillcrest.

Besides, it was too nice to be sitting inside all day. Yesterday's in and out clouds and strong winds had been replaced by radiant blue skies, fresh breezes, and normal lower 40's December temperatures. Even most of the puddles had disappeared by 3:30. If it wasn't for a few puddles and the saturated ground, there would be no indication we had huge rain and snow storms at all this week.

Went straight into Santa and the Three Bears when I got home. I go further into this charming short animated movie from the early 70's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Santa and the Three Bears

Switched to Christmas Eve On Sesame Street while working on the Three Bears review. I went further into the first Sesame Street holiday special on Christmas Eve last year.

Merry Christmas Eve! - Christmas Eve On Sesame Street

Finished the night with something different on YouTube. Instead of Match Game, we looked at Password and Password Plus Christmas and New Year's episodes. The only 60's Password holiday episode had Peter Lawford and Lee Remick playing with a revolving door of stars, including director Otto Preminger and songwriter Stephen Sondheim. 

Password Plus got somewhat more into the holidays. They really did it up right the first year in 1979 for two weeks, starting with Barbara Rhodes and Bill Anderson. The lavish decorations and beautifully decorated tree continued into a hilarious week with Bert Convy and Carol Burnett. Burnett in particular is a great Password player, and Convy certainly wasn't bad. They both won their contestants quite a bit of money that week. Brett Somers played her only Password Plus week at New Year's 1979 with Ross Martin...and showed why she would never do Password again when Martin wiped the floor with her. 

After the ailing Allen Ludden was replaced with his friend Tom Kennedy, fancy decorations were replaced by star power. Christmas week 1980 was dominated by the all-star quartet David Doyle, Debralee Scott, Gina Hecht, and Dick Gautier. The ladies did far better than the guys did. Debralee, in fact, just won the week over Gina. Susan Richardson and Bill Cullen joined in for the rare New Year's 1980 week. Betty White and Pat Sajak visited for Christmas 1981 and got nifty Password Plus jackets, while Tom Poston and Edie McClurg saw the New Year's out with streamers and party hats.

The Password is...holidays! Celebrate the holiday season with these classic guess-the-word games!

Game Show Saturday Classics - A Very Password Plus Christmas

Oh, and the Eagles started slow, but they eventually out-ran the wayward Washington Commanders 29-18.

I've Got My Matches To Keep Me Warm

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Mickey Saves Santa" when the jolly old man in red is stranded on Mistletoe Mountain and only Mickey and Donald can help him get off. Donald is upset that he loses his Christmas list before he can get it to Santa, and Mrs. Claus has to constantly admonish him to be nice, but there's a big surprise for him and the others at the Clubhouse when they do figure out how to help Santa.

Hurried off to work the moment the cartoon ended. The head bagger was actually sweeping and pushing carts instead of cashiering today, freeing me up to focus entirely on the carts and returning cold items. It did get busy later, but with the head bagger there, we didn't have much trouble keeping up with the carts. Nice weather helped here, too. It was chilly but not nearly as cold as it had been the past few days, windy and off-and on cloudy. I had no trouble whatsoever and was in and out quickly. 

Which was a very good thing, because today was the Acme's employee holiday buffet. My gingerbread bars couldn't have come out better. They were perfectly moist and spicy and just sweet enough. They were joined by home-made marshmallows dusted with powdered sugar that vanished quickly, an enormous pound cake, a fruit tray from the produce department, bagels, and huge donuts. I had a roast beef sandwich, and there were meatballs, tacos, hot dogs, and spicy sausage, too. Sides included real macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and pasta salad. 

Since I had planned on lingering at the Acme for lunch, I did my grocery shopping there. Mainly needed to restock apples, clementines, granola, soda, and yogurt. Got butter and eggs for cookies this week (and because eggs were on a good sale). Grabbed granola bars and found Welch's Berry fruit strips on clearance. Picked up sugar cookies from the bakery clearance racks. They had the Winter Spiced Cranberry Sprite Zero and Diet Coke With Lime, too.

Rode home after that. Changed when I got in and put everything away, then watched The Nutcracker on Tubi. I go further into this low-budget, direct-to-video 1995 retelling of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Nutcracker (1995)

There was a package waiting for me when I got home. I got my Swiss Colony box from Mom yesterday, with small cake torte sticks and little cheeses, sausages, and a container of cheese spread. My gift from Lauren was the full series of The Rockford Files, an old favorite of mine. I'll start in on it the week after Christmas.

Finished the night with a reprise of last week's Star Wheel Marathon. Match Game Productions was able to fix the glitches and edits that had plagued the original version. There's even more fun stuff here, from the very first episode featuring the Star Wheel where everyone, including Richard, walks off the stage when the Star Wheel lands on him to the first episode with the new set to the classic PM episode where Joyce Bulifant helps a gentleman all in blue figure out "Mill __" to win $20,000.

Check out more from the era where contestants could win big money in the improved version of this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Star Wheel "Special Moments" Replay (1978 - 1982) 

Oh, and I peered out the window about an hour ago...and yes, it is snowing. Not heavily, at least, not right now, but it is sticking to the streets. We'll see what it's like tomorrow. If there's a lot on the street by 12:30-1 PM, I might stay home. 

Sky Full of Rainbows

Slept in, which meant it was past 11 when I had breakfast and put on "A Nutcracker Scoob." The series finale of The New Scooby Doo Mysteries brings Fred back in to help Daphne, Shaggy, and the dogs put on a Christmas pageant for a poor orphanage. When the Ghost of Christmas Never Was interferes with the show, the kids are initially convinced that the miser who is after the orphanage did it. At least, until he's at the pageant too when the Ghost steals the true star of the show...

Got ready for work while watching Supermarket Sweep. Caught the first half when they were still playing games. This was an older episode, probably from around 1993. David Ruprecht wore colorful sweaters and pushed the new "super-sized" cans that contestants could grab and the sandwich they could make to get extra money.

Headed out a little early. I wanted to finish my Christmas shopping and pick up gift cards at CVS, since it's on my way to the Thomas Sharp School. I needed two for older friends, two for my nephews Collyn and Skylar, and one for Keefe and his wife Julia. Grabbed them, paid for them, headed out.

Thankfully, it wasn't anywhere near as chaotic at school today as it was yesterday. For one thing, we only had 14 younger kids, down from 25 yesterday. I suspect most of the kids probably went home with their parents after conferences. We even took them to the bathroom as a group with no major trouble. 

It also helped that we got them outside today. It was a gorgeous day, sunny, breezy, a bit chilly but nothing like yesterday. One of the little girls even spotted a small rainbow in the clouds over the school while she was swinging. The kids all gazed at it in wonder until we called them inside. I spent the rest of the evening building with wooden blocks with one group, then watching another play card games until there were only two pre-schoolers left and they let me go.

Hurried home, did chores, then went back out with Jessa. We had dinner at the Silver Diner at the Hillview Shopping Center across from the Cherry Hill Mall. They're a 50's-style diner with decidedly modern takes on old favorites. Jessa had your basic turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry chutney dinner. I had a small burger with their amazing sweet potato fries. Yum. The burger was good despite its size, and their fries are always amazing. Jess let me try a bit of her turkey dinner, too. She had sourdough bread under the turkey instead of stuffing. We had to try dessert. She had pecan pie and a fancy s'mores-themed coffee drink. I had an enormous slice of chocolate cake with fudge filling topped with chocolate and vanilla sauce and smothered in mini chocolate chips. Jess even let me try some of her pecan pie, too.

I finished the night with Vogues of 1938 when I got home. I go further into this gorgeous 1937 backstage confection that introduced the ballad "That Old Feeling" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Walter Wanger's Vogues of 1938

Keeping Cool With Kids

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus. "SPOTS the Beagle-Bot" is a robotic dog Professor Ludvig Von Drake invented as a companion to Pluto. Pluto and the others try to teach SPOTS how to do all the things real dogs do, but he's more interested in the Professor than in learning new tricks. 

Spent the rest of the morning finishing up the wrapping. This time, I did get everything done, including Jessa's and all of Lauren's. That ends my gift shopping. Anyone else who turns up unexpectedly will get cookies or a gift card. I'll get the gift cards tomorrow or Wednesday. 

Watched My Little Pony: Best Gift Ever on Tubi as I worked. Hoping to lighten their workload, the Mane Six do what they call a "Hearth's Warming Helper" (or a Secret Santa to us humans) and choose one pony to give a gift. Spike desperately changes recipients with Fluttershy in order to impress Rarity, then can't figure out what to give her. Fluttershy falls for a cheap toy being sold by resident con-ponies Flim and Flam as the "must have gift for Hearth's Warming." Applejack helps her get back at them, but they spend all their money doing so. Discord pesters Rainbow Dash into catching a seemingly cute little critter for Fluttershy, not realizing it isn't so cute at night. Pinkie Pie is sent north to get her gift from a trio of flying reindeer who claim she'll understand what it is later. Twilight desperately tries to make Pinkie a certain magical pudding, but her little niece Flurry Heart adds a few too many ingredients, and it floods everywhere. In the end, after they figure out how to fix the pudding and Fluttershy tames the critter, they realize that the real "Best Gift Ever" is their friendship, not something that came from a store.

Had a quick lunch while watching The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas, which is also on Tubi. Most bears hibernate through the cold months, December included. Ted E. Bear, however, is a curious little fellow, and he's most interested in Christmas. He's heard stories about it and wants to see all the colors and lights, but can't seem to stay awake long enough to see it. His girlfriend leaves him over it; he loses his job when he talks about it to the press. He finally stumbles to the big city, where he learns that Christmas isn't just a time of year. It's a feeling...and one that's best spent with someone you love.

Called Uber after I finished eating. It was way too cold to even consider the bike today. It barely got into the 30's! To my shock, the driver arrived in less than a minute. I was at the school in less than five.

Things did not begin well today. The Collingswood elementary schools are on half-days this week, thanks to parent-teacher conferences. The kids were all rowdy and full of energy, and not being able to take them outside due to the cold didn't help matters. Even the big kids stayed in today. They were especially crazy in the bathrooms, bouncing off the walls, running around in the bathrooms, and refusing to listen to anyone, including me. I tried to read to them after lunch, but they would sit down. The head manager kept having to move them further and further back into the music offices/storage area. 

They weren't all that happy when the head manager told them they had to stay at their assigned tables and play with what was there, either. They're used to being able to go to whatever table interests them. That said, I did have some nice conversations with some of the children at my table, including a little girl dressed as Alice In Wonderland who looked like something out of Tenniel. The kids at my table played with magnetic tiles. I made geometric shapes and a "skirt" with the young lady until she was allowed to join the coloring table. I then chatted with the remaining boys until enough kids went home to move them and the tiles to the front of the cafeteria. By 4:30, it was down to three younger kids and eight older ones, and it had calmed down enough for me to go home.

Instead of calling Uber right away, I walked the brief five minutes a couple of blocks down to Speedy Mart on Collings Avenue. Picked up four bagels for lunch this week and a Propel water for later. Once again, the Uber driver arrived quickly - six minutes at the height of rush hour - and other than some traffic on Collings, got me home even faster.

I took the recycling outside, then put the laundry in the washer and watched The Price Is Right. The wheel was hot this evening! A handsome young Air Force pilot and a pretty lady both hit $1,000, and he got $10,000. He did make the Showcases, but way underbid on a donut-themed Showcase with a trio of trips to Solvang, California, Mexico, and Germany. The other lady ended up winning.

Let it continue into Match Game '73 during dinner. They jumped way, way back tonight, likely to honor Bob Barker, whose birthday would have been this week. Barker made his first appearance on the show during its second week, along with Arlene Francis, Della Reece, Michael Lerned, and Richard Thomas. Thomas and Lerned would be the only actors from The Waltons to appear on any version of Match Game. Learned seemed to have a great time, but Thomas looked like a deer caught in the headlights and didn't really seem to get the humor. 

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite next after I put the laundry in the dryer. Mr. Eldridge continues to tell the story of how Queen Mouserinks took her revenge on King Alexander and Queen Lana of Toyland when they trapped all of her sons but one, the equally greedy and mean Prince Rollie. When their daughter Princess Pirlipat refused to marry Prince Rollie, his mother cursed her into an ugly monster who could only be cured by the meat of a certain very hard nut. Scott gallantly cracked the nut for her, restoring her beauty. The furious Mouse Queen bit him and cursed him into the form of a Nutcracker...but not only did he crush her falling over onto her, Prince Rollie stole his Christmas Star Sword, a family heirloom that could help restore him. Pirlipat refused to marry a Nutcracker and banished him and Mr. Eldridge forever.

Finished the night after I brought the laundry upstairs with game shows featuring host Bob Goen. Goen came in late to game shows, having gotten his start as a California-area correspondent for ESPN in the early 80's. He started out on game shows with Perfect Match, a Newlywed Game clone, in 1986. Basically the same deal, only the contestants get to bet on what their spouse will actually say, and there's more fill-in-the-blank games. Though the spicier stories could be funny, it mostly came off like the cheap syndicated imitation it was. It was gone in eight months.

In fact, Goen is another host who never seemed to catch a break. He always ended up hosting flops like Blackout or summer replacement shows like The Hollywood Game. Blackout from 1988 was the more creative of the two. In fact, I have fond memories of watching this one. Two contestants joined two celebrities to solve pun-filled puzzles. One would record the description of a word. The other would push a plunger and "black out" parts of the recording, making it harder to figure out what was being said. I enjoyed it as a kid and was disappointed when it only lasted four months.

The Home Shopping Game from 1987 was much worse. This syndicated show had people playing a word game somewhat similar to Wheel of Fortune for prizes that a contestant from home could call in and win, too. Goen is charming, but the game is dull, and the home shopping aspects are more confusing than exciting. 

The Hollywood Game fared only slightly better. This summer replacement show from 1992 was basically "Jeopardy with movie trivia." Contestants even bet on how well they could answer a question. It wasn't unique enough to stand out at a time when game shows were falling out of favor and didn't even last a month.

Today, Goen is best-remembered as the host of the daytime Wheel of Fortune from 1989 through its demise in 1991. It was the closest he came to helming a hit. Alas, there seems to be no footage of his tenure online at all, other than a few ads and one badly-recorded tape of a tape recording. 

He didn't have nearly as much luck with Born Lucky from 1993. This was part of Lifetime's attempt to create a shopping-game block with Supermarket Sweep and Shop 'Til You Drop, and it was by far the least-successful of the three. Filmed in malls across the country, contestants had a chance to win "Mall Money" by playing various quiz games and silly stunts. Cute, but the mall setting couldn't disguise that it was basically a less-gross Double Dare with shopping components. 

That's the Question would seem to have more going for it. This 2006 GSN adaptation of a Dutch show had contestants answering questions that filled in letters on a phrase. The answer to the question was already shown. The letters would fill in the question, until one contestant could guess what the question was. Fast-paced and actually kind of fun. I wish this one had lasted longer than a couple of months. (And although Goen continues to host live game shows and hosted Miss Universe and Miss USA for several years in the mid-2000's, That's the Question is his last TV game show gig to date.)

Learn movie trivia, try to figure out what the celebrity is saying, and hope you're born lucky with this disc jockey and sportscaster turned game show charmer!

Perfect Match (1986)

The Home Shopping Game (1987)

Blackout (1988)

The Hollywood Game (1992)

Born Lucky (1993)

That's the Question (2006) 

Star Wheel Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and the rest of the Brian Setzer Orchestra Boogie Woogie Christmas CD. Switched to Merry Christmas From Sesame Street after that ended. As far as I can tell, this is the very first Sesame Street holiday album from 1975. A lot of what's here would be adapted for Christmas Eve On Sesame Street three years later, including Oscar's "I Hate Christmas," the cast number "Keep Christmas With You," and the entire Bert/Ernie/Mr. Hooper "Gift of the Magi" segment, complete with Bert and Ernie singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." 

Most of the other songs exclusive to this album are covers, but we do have a few unique items. "A Christmas Pageant" for some reason involves Bert posing as a Christmas tree and the other Muppets "planting" him. "The Night Before Christmas On Sesame Street" is David's solo, and it reads more as "a mid 70's New York hipster's version of 'The Night Before Christmas.'" Hispanic neighbors Luis and Maria sing two untranslated Spanish numbers, "Saludo" and "Arrurru." The Count gives us his...unusual...rendition of "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth."

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon wrapping presents. I managed to get through half of them, including all of the gifts for Mom, Keefe, and Keefe's family, all of Lauren and her parents' gifts, one of Finley's gifts, and one of Khai's gifts. I'll finish the rest tomorrow.

Listened to two more Christmas children's albums while I worked. My family had 4 of the 6 Little Golden Book Christmas Stories when I was a kid in the 80's. For all I know, Mom or Rose may still have "Jingle Bells," "Frosty the Snowman," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and "The Night Before Christmas." Of the two books narrated on the LP I don't recognize, "How Lovely Is Christmas" is the more interesting one. A young boy who wants an ax that's his size to clear trees for his pioneer parents dreams that American tall tale icons Johnny Appleseed, Daniel Boone, and Paul Bunyon give him gifts to help his family. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" isn't nearly as effective when the lyrics are recited rather than sung.

Dickens' A Christmas Carol from 1974 is the original version of what would become Mickey's Christmas Carol almost a decade later. There were quite a few changes from the LP to the big screen. Merlin from Sword and the Stone was the Ghost of Christmas Past. The Wicked Queen in hag mode from Snow White was Christmas Future. Gideon and Foulfellow from Pinocchio were the men collecting for the poor. The biggest change is the addition of six songs, none of which would make it to the animated version. To be honest, I suspect the reason for that is they're not that memorable, although I do like the delicious march "Money" as Scrooge explains what he loves most to Mickey Cratchit. 

I was just having lunch when I looked at my watch...and realized it was quarter after 2. I was supposed to have been at work at 2! I was thinking of the after-school program's schedule, not the Acme's. I usually work there in the mornings. I raced around like crazy after that. Took Uber because I thought it would be faster, and because I would be at work after dark. Even with Uber only taking 6 minutes to arrive, I was still a half-hour late.

It was really busy when I got in, much more than it has been. Good thing the Eagles aren't playing until tomorrow night, or it might have been even worse. I ended up getting help with the carts from one of the guys who were supposed to be cashiering. Thankfully, it slowed down enough by the end of the night that I was able to get the carts done on my own, though I never did get to the trash or the side by the pharmacy. Uber took 11 minutes to get me home, not bad for the height of rush hour.

Spent the rest of the night after dinner watching the Sunday Match Game marathon. The addition of the Star Wheel in mid-1978 was controversial from the outset. Admittedly, it did allow contestants to win more money, up to $10,000 on the daytime show and $20,000 on the nighttime syndicated run. It was also supposed to give panelists other than Richard Dawson a chance to play the Head-to-Head. Richard was furious, to the point where he only lasted two weeks after they changed the set to work better with the Star Wheel.

While the idea of giving everyone a chance to play may have been nice, it didn't always work. Some of the panelists weren't that crazy about doing the Head-to-Head, even the ones like Brett who were actually good at it. Sometimes, the Wheel would land on someone multiple times in a row, like it ironically did with Richard the first couple of times it was used. (In fact, the moment it landed on Richard the first time, most of the panel, including Richard himself, walked out!) I know it landed on David Doyle at least four or five times in a row one week during the syndicated era, too. 

Contestants had fewer problems with it, other than some of them weren't all that great at spinning it. It did allow them to win a ton of money. This was particularly true in the nighttime syndicated show. Joyce Bulifant got the chance to help a man dressed all in blue win $20,000. Charles made him his "code of arms" to remind him of a slip-up on the Audience Match and of his big win.

Spin that Star Wheel to get big bucks the Match Game way in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Star Wheel "Special Moments" (1978 - 1982)

O Christmas Matches

Got a quick start today with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus. "Mickey and Pluto Go Camping" at Friendship Lake. While they enjoy their time together, they also admit that they miss their friends. Turns out the others had the same idea and eventually join them.

Hurried off to work after that. Work was pretty much the same as yesterday. Surprisingly busy in the morning, slowing down as afternoon hit. The fact that it's still sunny, windy, and cold probably helped scare some people off. By the time I finished, I had no trouble whatsoever with the carts. I stopped on the way home to buy Finley one last Christmas gift. Saw these cookie-tart things filled with icing on the clearance rack and thought I'd try them.

The other important thing I did at work today was get my flu and Covid shots. I'm overdue for both. Since the pharmacist goes on break around 1-1:30, I couldn't get it after work. I scheduled the appointment during my break. It was worth losing the extra time just to get it over with. 

As soon as I got home, I changed, had lunch, and went straight into Standing Ovation. I go further into this cute but heavily cliched teen dance movie from the early 2010's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Standing Ovation

After lunch, I dusted my rooms, then started putting up the Christmas decorations. The miscellaneous items always come first. I hung the wreath with the gold foil stars and big red velvet ribbon on my door. The needlepoint magnetic poinsettia I bought from a church bazaar, the red and green coasters I crocheted myself, the poinsettia place mats, the huge old Nativity that once belonged to my grandmother went in the living room. The bows and tinsel Garland got hung up in the bedroom and draped over book shelves. Decorated the feather-style tree I bought from Dollar Tree a few years ago with tiny ornaments and chenille candy canes I found at the Vermont Country Store.

The tree went up next as I put on tonight's YouTube marathon. I'll do the ornaments with Amanda tomorrow, but I put up the tree itself, the lights, the star, and the garlands tonight. Watched tonight's game show marathon while I worked. Match Game is far from the only older game shows to have episodes missing or can no longer be shown on Buzzr. In addition to being sensitive about the word "midget," Buzzr also skips episodes where people use the word "Oriental," which is now reserved for things, not people.

Password Plus and Super Password were both hit with the "oriental" clues. Orson Bean's story about a middle-eastern cab driver he met in New York in one episode probably didn't help things, either. Other episodes have bad tape that can't be seen or replaced. A 1973 episode of Match Game with Nanette Fabray only turned up this year due to tape damage. A nighttime Match Game episode had fringing around the edges of the screen. 

See some of the rarest game show episodes of all in this unique and thought-provoking marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Fully Stuffed Marathon: Skipped Episodes of Family Feud, Match Game, Password, and Password Plus

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like the Holidays

Began the morning with breakfast and What's New, Scooby Doo? It's "Gentlemen, Start Your Monsters" when the car race Fred has joined is attacked by a skeleton in a monster truck literally destroying the competition. While Fred tries to figure out his modifications for the Mystery Machine and Daphne fends off a sexist older man who does not think a woman should be running a pit crew, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby wonder why two kids are so cagey about where their father is and who is really riding in the race.

Headed out after filling up one last bag with what will likely be my last Goodwill donations for the year. After I dropped them in the back, I rode around the front and did some Christmas shopping. Got a second pair of work pants and a book on British afternoon tea at Goodwill. Picked up a book for Lilah, a stuffed animal for Elijah, and a gift for Amanda at Marshalls, along with a huge, beautiful holly-print bag. Found cute lip glosses for Amanda and Lauren at Five Below. I was thrilled to find the new Holiday Creamy Vanilla Coke Zero there, too. I haven't seen that at the Acme in 20 ounce bottles yet. Went across the parking lot to Lane Bryant and took advantage of that $10 off Rewards coupon to get two pairs of jeans, one replacing my black pair that's starting to go in the thighs, one for work.

Had lunch when I got home while watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Chuck's not happy when Peppermint Patty invites herself, Marcie, and Franklin over for Thanksgiving dinner. Chuck and Sally are supposed to be visiting their grandparents. Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock make a "dinner" of popcorn, sundaes, pretzel sticks, jelly beans, and toast to appease them. Peppermint Patty is furious, until Marcie and Linus remind her of what the holiday really means.

The Mayflower Voyagers goes even further into the history behind the holiday. The Peanuts, Snoopy, and Woodstock play pilgrim children and pets on their way to the New World. The trip is harsh, and life in New England is even harder when it turns out they've been blown thousands of miles off-course. It's not until spring and they make friends with Chief Massasoit and Squanto that they finally learn to farm the land. They have such a bountiful harvest, they invite the Natives for dinner too, creating the first Thanksgiving.

Headed out after Mayflower Voyagers ended. It had been cold and windy but sunny when I was at Audubon Crossings. It was clouding up again even as I rode to the Thomas Sharp School. We were getting the kids finished up with their snacks when the teacher for the older kids came in and told us it was raining and hailing. She pulled the older kids in early, and we would not be able to take the little ones outside.

The pre-schoolers, who had already been rowdy before that, were really noisy when they found out they couldn't go outside after we said they could. They ran around and chattered all through the two books one of the teachers read for them. One of the teachers played games with some of the kids. Those who didn't want to run around sat at the tables pushed to the back. They were supposed to be coloring or looking at books, but some of the kids had made their own play dough in art class earlier and insisted on playing with it, even when I told them not to. Other kids insisted on playing with it too, and yes, it all got mixed together, it dried out, and it made a mess I had to sweep up. I was rather grateful when we had few enough kids to move back to the cafeteria for the rest of the session.

(At the very least, the rain and hail were long-gone by the time I went home from work. It rained hard around 1 AM, but not before or since.)

Hurried right home after that. Jessa picked me up at quarter after 6 for dinner. I saw Red Lobster in Cherry Hill on our way to Olive Garden last week. That's another place I haven't eaten at in literally decades. My family used to eat at the (now closed) one in the parking lot of the Hamilton Mall whenever we'd go up there for a shopping trip in the 90's. I told her the infamous story of how Dad once put the container with all our leftovers from Red Lobster, including the cheddar biscuits, on the top of the car before we left...and didn't remember until he heard the thump and we all saw the container blowing down the highway. Only thing we saved from that was Rose's slice of key lime pie that she would not let go for anything. Jessa had a southwestern shrimp bowl. I had a tasty salmon-soy bowl. We enjoyed a quiet meal in a mostly-empty restaurant.

Finished the night at home after a shower with The Desert Song. I go further into the original 1929 film version of this romantic operetta at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Desert Song (1929)

At the Library

Started off the morning with breakfast and The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't. I went further into this cute holiday special from Hanna Barbara at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2023.

The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't

Called Uber after I got organized. Today is the first day of the final Cherry Hill Library book sale of the year. The driver going to the library arrived in five minutes, though for some reason, she kept cutting through meandering back roads and took forever to get where she was going. The driver going home didn't even take a minute to arrive and thankfully stuck to the highways.

I'm glad I went early in the afternoon of the first day. They surprisingly weren't that busy. I could actually walk around in the room where the children's books were sold without bumping into anyone or being trampled. The meeting room with the adult books was busier, but could have been worse. I was mainly looking for Christmas presents. I did end up getting a book for Finley and two for Khai. I also got two books for myself, one a novelization of an old favorite childhood movie, one a mystery set in Cape May:

Dick Tracy by Max Allan Collins

Midnight Snacks are Murder by Libby Klein

No records, but I did find three CDs, plus a two-CD set:

Soundtrack from A Goofy Movie

Christmas Eve With Johnny Mathis - Johnny Mathis

Christmas Portrait (Special Edition) - The Carpenters

Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (This is the 2-disc set. I have the concert recorded onto DVD from a tape, but this set has a lot more music that didn't find its way onto film, including more songs from Follies, Dick Tracy, and Into the Woods, along with a lesser-known movie song, "I Never Do Anything Twice.")

After I got home, I made my Christmas lists. No, it's not what I want. It's what I'm giving. I give physical gifts to all the kids on my list (who don't need the extra sugar), plus Jessa, Lauren and Amanda, who come from small families and don't have a lot of people giving them gifts. I also made my Christmas card list and baking list. I bake five kinds of cookies. If I have time, I might make pumpkin bread or some kind of sweet bread, too. (No candy this year, though. It came out so badly last year, I'm afraid to try again.)

Watched the Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Thanksgiving episodes as I worked and had lunch. Daniel's saying "Thank You, Grandpere!" when he comes to visit before the big Thank-You Day celebration. "Neighborhood Thank-You Day" has the Neighborhood of Make-Believe come together in the Enchanted Garden to hang Thank-You Cards and eat a big feast. Daniel doesn't know who he's thankful for, until Mr. McFeely saves the cards from being blown away.

Daniel may be even more excited for "Margaret's First Thank-You Day" than Margaret herself. As the youngest resident of the Neighborhood, Margaret gets to hang her thank-you card first. They do make it to the feast, but poor Margaret has a cold, and her father ends up taking her home. Poor Daniel misses his sister, so he and his mother take home a piece of the strawberry trifle they made for her.

Hurried out to the Thomas Sharp School after the cartoons ended. Everything went much the same as it did yesterday, only today was chillier and a little windier. I don't know why the kids kept taking off their shoes and jackets! For one thing, the playground is covered in mulch. As one of the older boys discovered, that's not much fun to walk on in your sock feet. For another thing, we're way past summer weather now. The coats were necessary, no matter what they thought. One of the younger boys claimed they couldn't find their coat. The teachers pretty much spent the rest of the evening looking for it. I comforted one of the girls who had almost lost a ring she liked and was still scared.

Went straight into Happy Go Lovely when I got home. I go further into this charming British backstage romance with David Niven and Vera-Ellen at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Go Lovely

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner. Comedian and What's My Line panelist Soupy Sales made his only appearance on the show during the week I saw. He was joined by Betty White and former Klingon Madelyn Rhue.

Finished the night with Music From the New York Stage Volume Three: 1913 - 1917 3-CD set I picked up on vacation in October. This is a British collection of songs recorded for American shows made during the second decade of the 20th century, many of them recorded in England with American voices. Probably the best-known come from Al Jolson, including his seminal recording of "You Made Me Love You." They also had more comic numbers for Jolson like "Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soliders" from Dancing Around and "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday on a Saturday Night?" from Robinson Crusoe Jr. Other comic numbers include Van & Schenick's "Hawaiian Sunshine" from The Century Girl, black comic Bert Williams declaring "I'm Neutral" in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1915, and Joseph Cawthorn claiming "You Can't Play Every Instrument In the Band" in The Sunshine Girl.

The other big genre in this era was the operetta. Most of them were imported from Europe, like The Lilac Domino and Miss Springtime, but there were popular ones made in America, too. Victor Herbert continued his run of hit shows with the charming fairy tale Sweethearts, while Rudolf Friml got a little more American with Katinka. Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin both got their starts writing comedy material for operettas. By 1917, they were writing music for their own shows, with Kern putting out small-scale shows in the Princess Theater like Have a Heart and Berlin doing the more lavish Watch Your Step. 

There were also revivals of older shows that hadn't done well on their first hearing. The operetta Rob Roy had gotten overshadowed by the similar Robin Hood on its debut, but it did prove to have some fine songs on a second hearing, including "Who Can Tell Me Where She Dwells?"

Wild Is the Wind

Started off my morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. "Count on Us!" say the kids in Busytown when they sign up for a bikeathon. Billy Dog has to earn money for a new bike when he leaves his original one in the driveway and his mother runs it over. He thinks he has to do it on his own, but the other kids in town help out. "The First Easter Egg Ever!" was a gift from a family of candlemakers who wanted to find a lavish present for their king, who had helped them out in their time of need. Hilda thinks Lowly is giving her a huge valentine. She learns that it isn't the size of the valentine that counts when she tries to make the biggest one ever in "Be My Valentine."

Headed off to work after the cartoon ended and I stopped at a mailbox to drop off the Easter cards. Work was pretty quiet for most of the morning. It did pick up around noon, by which time I was almost done. I gathered carts, rounded up the trash, swept the store, and dodged the heavy winds. It was off-and-on cloudy and chilly, though not to the degree of last week. There were no real problems, and I was in and out. 

Changed and had lunch while finishing The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Huckle, Billy, Hilda, and Lowly discover "A Message In a Bottle" while playing pirates. When Mr. and Mrs. Cat won't listen to them, they interpret the message and try to rescue the sailor shipwrecked on a near-by island...and then need saving themselves when they put a hole in their life raft. Hilda reads a story she wrote about how "Santa Needs Help" and she gives him her skis to fix his sleigh. Sally and her friends dye eggs and give them to Billy, Huckle, and Lowly in order to prove that "There Really Is an Easter Bunny!" Hilda has her own way of helping out.

My Amazon birthday orders were on the porch when I arrived. The cherry-red Studebaker CD/cassette player is a heavy piece done in Art Deco, with gleaming silver knobs and trim. I wanted to put it in my bedroom, but there's too many Easter decorations to figure it out right now, and it didn't fit where the old one was. I'll leave it in the living room until I can find a place for it. (The other order was New Balance sneakers for work.)

Set it up while watching Yogi the Easter Bear. Yogi's not smarter than the average bear when he ruins the Easter Bunny suit and eats all the candy for the big Easter Jamboree. Ranger Smith is furious and threatens to send him to Siberia. The head commissioner and his grandchildren are coming, and he could close the park if he isn't impressed! Yogi and Boo Boo set out to find the real Easter Bunny...but first they have to dodge a pair of very peculiar plastic-obsessed villains who want their fake eggs to be the only ones anyone uses. 

Listened to my Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street CD while doing some things online. This is one of the seminal Stones' albums, thanks to its party atmosphere and some of their best work. Songs like "Happy" and the hit "Tumbling Dice" were recorded in Keith Richards' basement in France during the early 70's, as the Stones were reaching the height of their early success. Other good ones here include "Sweet Virginia" and the gospel-inspired "Shine a Light." 

I had hoped to stay awake, but I was nodding off as the CD ended. I was too tired to do anything else. I finally went down for a nap around quarter of 4. Didn't get up until past 6:30. 

Finished out Press Your Luck, then watched Match Game '74 while eating dinner. For some reason, Buzzr leaped to the end of the year, when Gary Burghoff was replacing Charles Nelson Reilly while he was directing a play on Broadway. Phyllis Newman made her only appearance on the show during Christmas week. I can kind of understand why she didn't come back. Though she played all right, she kept taking the jokes personally, including some of Brett's quips. 

Moved to YouTube after a shower for Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement. Daffy and an artist's brush that seems determined to make a fool out of him introduce three shorts with spring themes. He and Sylvester chase a golden egg in the first short. The second has him trying to keep Speedy Gonzoles out of a chocolate bunny factory. He's solo in the third as he tries to figure out how he can get south without flying.

Wink Martindale and Gene Rayburn did somewhat better during the second day of their week on Password Plus. Wink was so thrilled when he got his contestant through the Alphabetics, he fell on the floor in relief and cried. Gene has less luck, as he barely gets a chance to play at all the entire episode.

Adam Adamant Lives! is less shocked by the death of a young woman in a feather-trimmed costume than by the brief outfits worn by the waitresses at the Fluffy Club. Georgina climbs into those costumes as one of the waitresses, and discovers she's to seduce a handsome young Arabian prince. The owners of the club have him in debt, but they really want to use him to get to his father and kill the sultan to start a revolution as a reminder that "Allah Is Not Always With You." Adam thinks the woman who owns the club couldn't possibly involved, while Georgina befriends the prince.

You Say It's Your Birthday

Kicked off my birthday with breakfast and "Yogi's Birthday Party." In the series finale of The Yogi Bear Show, Yogi is thrilled at first when Ranger Smith tells him he's going to star in a big TV variety program. He tries to take dancing, singing, and music lessons from thinly-veiled spoofs of then-popular entertainers. Embarrassed when he realizes he really isn't a singer or dancer, he runs away, only to be caught by Smith and his men. Turns out that the "variety special" is actually a televised birthday party featuring all of the Hanna Barbara funny animals created up to that point, and all he has to do is sit back and listen to them sing a song for him and their sponsor Kellogg's.

Headed out after Yogi ended. My first stop of the day was Dollar General to buy an Orange Cream Coke Zero and make change for the bus. Turns out it was a moot point. They were using a larger bus usually reserved for longer trips of an hour or more, and the payment machine was broken. I got a free ride to Barrington.

I was in Barrington to check out the Antique Center. That huge warren of tiny rooms is filled with everything from antique china and glassware to relatively new DVDs and CDs...and it's one of the few South Jersey thrift shops open on Mondays. They were also surprisingly busy for a Monday. I had to dodge several people searching shelves for fancy glasses or vintage Easter decorations. I just ended up with two records: 

Unpublished Cole Porter (Another Ben Bagley album, this time featuring songs that were cut or never released.)

Peter Cottontail - The First Easter Record for Children (Songs about or related to either rabbits or the more secular side of Easter, performed by Rosemary Clooney, Gene Autry, and Art Carney. This comes from Columbia's Harmony label. There's a few more children's titles on the back I'm definitely going to look for, including Gene Kelly's performance of Peter Rabbit and The Pied Piper of Hamlin and two albums of fairy tales.) 

Fortunately, the closest bus stop is a block from the Antique Center. The bus to Deptford was right on time. I did have to pay, and it was one of the older, wider buses intended for shorter trips, but it got me to the Deptford Mall with a minimum of fuss and little traffic. 

Since it wasn't far from where I got off, I went in through Macy's and had lunch at the food court. I really like their Mediterranean Pitas & Greens booth. Had a messy chicken gyro with slender fries and a cup of iced tea that tasted home-brewed. It was almost 1 at that point, and the food court was relatively busy with college kids and parents taking younger children on a trip to the mall enjoying their lunches.

Spent the next hour or so at Round 1 Entertainment. The skee ball machines were down again, but everything else worked just fine. I played Princess Peach on Mario Kart Deluxe and came in second on a tougher course. I also got second on the Death Valley course in Crusin' Blast. Tried Tetris on a Japanese machine, too. Didn't do too badly shooting baskets. All in all, I ended up with over 2,500 points. I didn't see anything I liked, so I got a mini boom box from the same line as the mini-radio to give to my nephew. 

Explored stores for a couple of hours after that. Though I looked at Miniso, Otaku House, Rally House, Fan Treasures, FYE, The Loft, Hot Topic, and Box Lunch, the only place I bought anything was JC Penney. I dug a pale blue cable sweater and yellow three-quarters-length sleeve t-shirt on the clearance racks. The sweater came to about $8.50, the sweater to $5.50. Stopped at Ginny's Cookies and Ice Cream and treated myself to a wedge of chocolate chip cookie "cake" with green frosting.

Headed across the street past the abandoned shopping center to HomeGoods first. I looked at pots and pans, but didn't see anything I liked. I'll do more research there on what type of pots and pans I want. Had more luck at Old Navy. I picked up a pair of jean capris there.

I also just enjoyed the gorgeous day. The clouds had been in and out all morning, but by 4:30, they'd taken a temporary leave of absence. It was breezy and far warmer than it had been, into the mid-60's. 

Barnes and Noble was surprisingly busy, too. It was after 4:30 by then, and the high schoolers and college kids were out of school. I considered records, but I already bought two, and I didn't see any on sale that I liked. Found two CDs on sale and another that was just cheap, along with two books: 

The Essential Michael Jackson (2-Disc set of his best-known songs, including from before he went solo.)

Wicked soundtrack

The Very Best of the Electric Light Orchestra (This was the $8 one. The other two came to $14.40 each with 20 percent off.)

The Lies That Bind - Kate Carlisle

The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods

Mom called me when I was wandering around the children's section. I sat down in a quiet corner to chat. She wanted to wish me a happy birthday and was glad to hear I was enjoying my day. I told her about my trip and thanked her for the online Amazon gift card she sent me. Her card and Lauren's would pay for a new CD/cassette player. The CD player Dad and Jodie gave me in 2017 was skipping, too big for the room it was currently in, and I never liked that it was a front-loader. The CD part of my more than 15-year-old Emerson CD/cassette player hadn't worked in years. The cassette part did, but I didn't know for how much longer.

Met Jessa for dinner at the Outback Steakhouse in front of the shopping centers. I haven't eaten there in years. She had salmon, with broccoli and rice. I had a small steak with the same broccoli and a baked sweet potato. We shared brown bread and a Bloomin' Onion. Yum! It was all delicious, including the onion. I made sure to order a steak that was just the right size to finish in one go. Jessa did take home her rice and salmon, and I gave her the last of the bread and what little remained of my steak. I was more embarrassed when waitresses came up and sang "Happy birthday," but I felt better when they left a dish of velvety vanilla ice cream with a candle in it.

We went across the street to another shopping center and explored Hobby Lobby next. I'd love to take up another hobby...but I don't want to spend money on something and not follow through. I've dropped every single hobby I've tried, from crocheting to woodwork, because I'd get bored after a while or would tackle projects that were too large. 

I originally wanted to check out Hallmark, too, but it was getting late. Hallmark and Hobby Lobby closed at 8. Jessa just ended up driving me home, running the Beatles and other classic rock songs all the way back to Oaklyn. 

Finished the night after a shower, taking the recycling out, and bringing the cute T-shirt and box of Merci European chocolates a friend gave me for my birthday upstairs with my favorite episodes of the syndicated Match Game. Even after the CBS run ended in 1979, interest remained strong enough for the show to restart in syndication a few months later. 

Buzzr has ran a lot of the best early syndicated episodes, so I just stuck to a few of the ones that are my favorites or haven't been done to death. I couldn't leave out the time the contestant gave one of the most unlikely answers in game show history to "Cuckoo __" in the Head to Head, or the one where everyone but Dick Martin walked out while Gene droned on. 

There was also the time Gene seemed to get "electrocuted" by the question holder! Charles insinuated that someone would have to host, then said he'd never take over a part that badly acted. Charles was the one causing the trouble when he and Gene got into an argument over the merits of the original Sho Gun miniseries and he hit Gene with his card. Gene collapsed onto Jonnelle Allen while McLean Stevenson took over hosting for a couple of questions. Charles also got to clean up after Gene when people were throwing cards around.

Kirstie Alley wasn't the only later celebrity to win big on the syndicated show. Future talk show hostess Jenny Jones also made a big win on a week with Betty White and George Kennedy. Betty had her own fun on her next appearance flaunting her legs in a short red dress made by a friend of Sharon Farrell. That episode was wild in general. Sharon and Richard Paul inadvertently demonstrated mud wrestling to illustrate McLean's answer to a question about what should be an Olympic event, and McLean ran off after being scared by a contestant with a shrill laugh that he apparently used to wake his kids up every day.

Betty was there during the very last episode, along with McLean, Brett, Charles, Skip Stevenson, and Melinda O'Fee. Charles claimed he was dating the dummy used to test the color levels, while a curly-haired contestant asked to kiss McLean. Brett was right that he was blushing after that. He was the same color as his red sweater. Skip even rushed over and kissed the other contestant! Betty quipped that she should take some of that and send it to Richard Dawson.

Check out the best from one of the most underrated Match Game series! 

Episode 28 - Cuckoo Fran and Ollie?

Episode 42 - Panel Walks Out on Gene's Lecture

Episode 206 - Gene Gets Electrocuted

Episode 257 - Charles Cleans Up

Episode 302 - The Sho Gun Incident

Episode 395 - Jenny Jones On Match Game Part 2

Episode 442 - Betty White and the Red Dress

Episode 525 - Charles and the Dummy (Series Finale)