Sleepy Day In the Rain

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Visits School" and worries that they won't have the things he loves, so he brings his drum, a book, and his favorite block along with his stuffed tiger Tigey. As it turns out, Teacher Harriet shows him that yes, they have musical instruments, blocks, and books for him to read...but he's still welcome to bring Tigey. "Daniel Visits the Doctor" for a check-up and a shot. Doctor Anna and his mother talk him through each step, making sure he knows what's going on and that, other than a little pinch on the shot, it won't hurt him.

Headed out to work after the cartoon ended. No problems here. I arrived on time. It was quiet all morning, despite it being the beginning of the month. Everyone must be waiting for Labor Day Weekend. It didn't start picking up until noon, and I was almost done by then anyway. The weather didn't help. It was cool, cloudy, and thickly humid. 

I originally wanted to pick up a stuffed pretzel for lunch, but it turns out that A&A Pretzel Shop on the White Horse Pike is closed for their own summer break. I doubled back and had lunch at Common Grounds Coffee House instead. Enjoyed a chai latte (slightly spicier and less sweet this time, slice of crumb cake, and slice of spinach-feta-tomato quiche while watching a mother and her three children try to decide what treats they wanted. 

Maybe I shouldn't have doubled back. It started to shower heavily the moment I stepped out of Common Grounds. Good thing I wasn't that far from home. I just rode back across Oaklyn and got wet.

Dried off when I got home, changed, and went down for a much-needed nap. I won't have time for many naps after school starts tomorrow! Settled down in bed at 2 PM and didn't get up until almost 5. 

Watched Remember WENN after I finally rolled out of bed. "You've Met Your Match" is WENN's proto-Love Connection dating game. Hilary wants to get a date on the show and make Jeff jealous, but her plans backfire when Maple suggests they all go on the show. Jeff uses Betty to make Hilary jealous, only to upset her even more, while Scott has to explain to Betty that his relationship with Maple is long done. The other dates go much smoother. Mr. Eldridge and Gertie always enjoy each other's company. Maple's delighted to be in the arms of a slightly bemused Victor. Mr. Foley and Eugenia have so much fun on their date, they're the last to come back!

"And If I Die Before I Sleep" is my favorite episode of the entire show. Victor turns Betty's enormous blending of Shakespeare's Italian-set plays into a mammoth 52-hour, three-day marathon to beat the record set by a station in Philadelphia. Scott's suspicious of Charles Abernathy (John Ratzenberger) and Nurse Brumpton (Marceline Hugot) when the coffee they keep drinking does nothing to stay awake. The others do everything they can to keep from falling asleep, including Betty somehow passing out horizontal on a chair. It's Victor, Mr. Eldridge, Gertie, and a sick Maple who finally catch them in the act...and figure out who they're really working for.

Switched to Match Game '76 after dinner. They finished out the week with Soupy Sales and Madelyn Rhue as Brett complained about there being two men on the upper tier not wearing socks. (Apparently, Soupy didn't wear them, either.) Ron Pallio of Welcome Back, Kotter joined in the next week, along with sweet Joyce Bulifant and crusty Mary Wickes.

Watched Paw Patrol at Paramount Plus next. "Pups Save the School Day" when they all help Alex find his lost red backpack and who snitched his tuna fish sandwich. "Pups Turn Off the Lights" when they're setting up for Chase's birthday party and one of the wind turbines outside of Adventure Bay breaks. While Chase directs traffic and Marshal and Rocky help Ryder fix the turbine, the others find party games they can play in the dark.

Stayed at Paramount Plus to finish the night with The Love Boat. A couple celebrating their 20th anniversary (Lynn Redgrave and Robert Mandan) argue when "The Anniversary Gift" turns out to be her desire for a baby. Gopher's not saying "Honey Bee Mine" when Julie claims he's her boyfriend to keep her from chasing her current boyfriend, a ship officer (Richard Bergman). Captain Steubling is "Bewigged, Bothered, and Bewildered" and wears a toupee around his old high school classmate (Phyllis Diller). He finally finds the best way to be himself at a movie star-costume party where he shows up as one of the coolest bald men ever, Yul Brunner. 

(Oh, and I'm guessing the rain must have slowed down shortly after I got home. It was long gone by the time I finished my nap. It only just started pouring again.)

At Home In the Rain

Got a quick start on a cloudy morning with breakfast and a couple of shorts featuring the entire Disney gang. They're all excited to be on a "Hawaiian Holiday" as Mickey plays the ukulele and Minnie practices her hula. The others have less luck on the beach. Goofy just can't seem to figure out surfboarding, Donald sits on a starfish, and Pluto does battle with a very crabby crab.

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy leave the shores of Wakiki to hit the road in "Mickey's Trailer." This state-of-the-art (for 1938) RV has everything an animated animal could want in a modern trailer...except a driver who can take over while Goofy eats. When he rushes to take control of the vehicle, he accidentally sends Mickey, Donald and the trailer back down a busy and treacherous Hill.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. Considering the weather, the drivers arrived surprisingly fast. The one this morning came in 4 minutes, the one going home in 10 despite the heavy rain. No trouble either way other than ongoing road construction and some flooding in Oaklyn.

Work was no trouble, either. I spent the morning cleaning deli displays and the large cases for seafood and chicken and dusting the latter. We were pretty quiet for almost my entire shift. Sometimes after my break at 11, the sky finally opened, and it started pouring. It was pouring when I called for a ride home, and it would continue pouring and storming off and on for most of the day. 

Went straight into lunch and Remember WENN when I got home. "From the Pen of Gertrude Reece" has the station's receptionist (Margaret Hall) showing Betty her magnum opus radio script, Rendezvous In Rabat. This turns into a hilarious spoof of Casablanca, with Scott in the Rick Blaine role, Betty as Ilsa, Victor Comstock as Victor Lazlo, Maple as the cafe singer and the refugees, Mackie as Major Renault, C.J as the bartender and a German officer, Mr. Eldridge as Carl the waiter, Hilary as Rick's rejected girlfriend, and Jeff as the waiter. As with the real Casablanca, Gertie's having a hard time figuring out an ending. Nothing that she or Hilary suggests passes muster. Betty types out her own idea of whom Ilsa should end up with before insisting to Gertie that she should really figure out her own ending.

"Eugenia Bremer, Master Spy" is the station's kindly organist who is delighted to be dating British secret agent Desmond Quist (Daniel Davis). He claims there are still secret codes going out over the airwaves and makes the cast "paraphrase" their scripts to keep them out of enemy hands. Eugenia's been receiving mysterious calls and speaking German words, but it turns out there's a far more benign reason for her behavior than spy capers.

Switched to Clue after lunch in honor of Tim Curry, who passed away two days ago. Based on the board game, six strangers are called to a dinner party at the spooky Hill House by Mr. Boddy (Lee Ving). They're each given a weapon and reveal that Boddy has been blackmailing them. After the lights turn off, Boddy is found dead, and everyone has a means and a motive. Butler Wadsworth (Curry) tries his best to explain it all as they try to figure out who did it "in the hall, with the revolver," before they become the next victims!

This is an old favorite in my family. We taped it somewhere around 1987 and watched that tape for over a decade. Mom used to call it our "stormy weather movie." I can still quote most of the dialogue. Curry is delightful as the supercilious butler, but the entire cast of some of the 80's best comedians has a blast. 

The movie starts slow with the set up, but give it time. By the end, you'll be breathless just watching Curry run around summing up all the murders! There's also the gimmick of having multiple endings that baffles critics to this day, but makes it the perfect rainy-day DVD watch. (The DVD lets you choose a random ending, or watch all three, as in the video and streaming versions.) Highly recommended for your own stormy day viewing if you're a fan of Curry or any of the comedians or love a good ensemble comedy.

Moved to The Gong Show next at YouTube in honor of singer Jaye P. Morgan, who died yesterday. Morgan was a staple on the wackiest amateur show to almost be live from Hollywood, at least until she bared her breasts in an episode. She was joined in the show I saw by Steve Martin and Arte Johnson. The tuba players were surprisingly fun and a guy playing his lips was honestly pretty nifty, but the singer attempting to ape Neil Diamond was terrible, and I had no idea what the guy with the dog was doing there. 

Went to Disney Plus for Morgan's episode of The Muppet Show. You'd think a lady who frequently judges the weirdest amateur show on television would have no problems with the Muppets, but first she's not happy when she ends up in a bird costume for the cutesy "Tweedle Dee," then gets hit with bombs all over the place. She finally bonds with Scooter's crotchety uncle JP Gross, the owner of the Muppets's theater, and gets a pretty nifty rendition of  "That Old Black Magic" with the Electric Mayhem.

Stayed at Disney after a shower for The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in honor of Peter Cullum, who did the voice of Eeyore in this show. The second episode of the show kicks off with "Friend, In Deed." Rabbit is so fed up with Pooh borrowing his honey, he makes him think he's moving. The others really think he's moving and try to get him honey from a hive so he'll stay. Piglet sees Eeyore sitting on the cliff side and thinks he's sad. The others try to be a "Donkey for a Day" and make him happy, but they do what makes them happy, not him. It isn't until Piglet admits he doesn't know what makes Eeyore happy that the gloomy donkey shows Piglet what he was really doing on the cliff.

Moved to Match Game '76 as I made nectarine-banana pancakes for dinner. Gene wears a very, very bright red coat in the first episode that prompted a lot of cracks from the panelists, including Mary Wickes telling him to stay out of the bullring. The first episode of the next week with Bill Daily and soap ingenue Bennye Gatteys was rather important, as it kicked off with Gene announcing that Richard is going to host a new show called Family Feud in the fall...

Finished the night at Tubi with Blue Valley Songbird. I discuss this Lifetime musical drama from 1999 featuring Dolly Parton as a troubled singer at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

A Salute to Dolly Pardon - Blue Valley Songbird

Rainy Afternoon at the Library

Started my day with breakfast and He-Man. The "Song of Celice" is the only thing that can tame a monster named Yog that terrorizes the Kingdom of Tahryn. Skeletor kidnaps the beautiful singer to hypnotize her and have her bring Yog to Castle Greyskull and attack the Sorceress. He-Man and his friends have to break her out of it and remind her that her music is intended to be peaceful.

Headed out on foot after the cartoon ended. I had originally intended to take my bike into Collingswood, but it had already rained. In fact, the rain was just ending as I made my way down East Clinton. This was not a biking day. Collingswood isn't really that far on foot anyway, not more than 10-15 minutes. 

When I got to Haddon Avenue, I made a brief stop to browse in the brand-new housewares store Twelvetrees before making my way down to the Collingswood Library. Other than a couple of kids and their parents in the children's area and the librarians, they were utterly quiet. Everyone must have been at lunch. I spent a pleasant hour and a half relaxing in a plump scarlet chair with a book I haven't read in almost 30 years or more. 

I forget where I first found the original 1978 print of American Musical Theater: A Chronicle by Gerald Boardman. It was either the Cape May Library, the Villas Library, or one of the school libraries. This jumps much further back than most books that cover the history of musical theater, all the way to the 1866 extravaganza The Black Crook. It goes into detail about early musicals in particular that are practically forgotten now, like Harrigan and Hart and their Mulligan Guards' Ball, A Trip to Chinatown that sounds like a trial run for Hello Dolly over 60 years later, the comic opera Robin Hood, the Weber and Fields music hall comedies, and Victor Herbert's beloved operettas. This is how I know about these shows at all. I certainly hadn't heard of them before I read this, other than watching Yankee Doodle Dandy every 4th of July and the Disney Babes In Toyland on the Disney Channel. 

(The entries are less detailed after the 1940's. I don't think Boardman appreciated the musicals of the mid and late 20th century the way he did the late 19th and early 20th century shows. He seemed to find most of them to be too dark and leaned too heavily on rock and newer forms of music.)

I would have lingered longer, but I wanted to have lunch before the weather turned. My original plan was Sabrina's Cafe, but I know how busy they get at lunchtime. Palerma's Restorante was practically empty other than a couple on the other end near the window. I had a lovely and quiet meal, enjoying a slightly spicy breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, black beans, bacon, and avocado and the best darn restaurant home fries I ever tasted while admiring the large, lovely, and very real yellow roses on the table.

Made one last stop at Haddon Culinary to grab a Diet Dr. Pepper for the walk home. I also enjoyed a matcha latte and bought a slice of Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake with cannoli icing to eat at home later. The matcha latte was ok. It really tasted more of oat milk than green tea. The pound cake was nicely dense and just sweet enough, especially that cannoli icing!

(Oh, and it did finally rain...at 3:30, almost a half-hour after I got in. And when it rained, it monsooned. Lashing winds, heavy downpours, the whole nine yards. Some areas even reported tornadoes, though I don't think that was a concern here. The rain has continued off and on for the rest of the evening.)

Soon as I got home, I went straight into Camp Rock 3. I cover the newest Disney Channel original musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On TV - Camp Rock 3

Switched to Remember WENN after the movie ended. "In the WENN Small Hours" kicks off the third season as Victor Comstock explains what he's doing at the station and how he managed to survive the Blitz. Meanwhile, station organist Eugenia Bremer (Mary Stout) interviews explorer Cutter Dunlap (Malcom Gets) for her late-night show, and wonders if it was such a great idea when he starts spouting nonsense Betty and Victor fed him after he caught them together. Victor can't let anyone but Betty know he's alive...including Scott, whom it seems he may not know all that well after all.

Betty's still trying to figure out what's going on with Scott and his arrival at the station in the next episode "Prior to Broadway." His letter of introduction from Victor sounds awfully familiar, including using Scott's familiar "Oh, would you look at the time?" catchphrase. Hilary's more interested in getting her and Jeff back on the stage. They perform a play written by the handsome Euripides Moss (Harry Hamlin), but can't decide if it's a comedy or a drama before it goes on the air in front of their sponsors the Sweets (Peggy Cass and Louis Zorich). 

Went straight into Match Game '76 next. Darlene just kept winning and flirting with Richard, straight into the next week with Jimmie Walker and Fannie Flagg. Jimmie thinks that the person who plays Snow White in a question should look a lot more like him. Richard and Fannie find what they claim to be the key to that infamous Encino motel room that's a running gag between Brett and Gene.

Finished the night with The Polar Bear King on YouTube. I used to see this Norwegian fairy tale fantasy a lot at local video stores throughout the 90's. It's based on the Scandinavian stories "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" and "The White Bear, King Valedmon." A lovely young princess (Maria Bonnevie) marries a polar bear, only to discover he's the King Valemon (Tobias Hoesl), who has been cursed into that form by an evil witch (Anna-Lotta Larson). If she can hold out not seeing his face for seven years, he can avoid marrying the witch. Unfortunately, the princess uses a candle given to her by her silly sisters to look at his face. The witch takes him away, and the princess must find him with the help of Valemon's mother (Monica Nordquist) and her children, whom the queen took away to protect from the witch.

I remember liking but not loving this as a kid. On one hand, the bear was actually created by the Jim Henson Company, and he's pretty realistic-looking and moves really well. The movie's pretty cheap for a romantic fantasy, though, and some of the dubbed dialogue in the English language version is stiff as heck. Still worth checking out if you're a fan of fairy tales like I am (especially considering "White Bear" isn't often adapted in North America). 

Outdoor Games

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Diamond Head Game (1975)

Star Games (1985)

Wild and Crazy Kids (1991)

Wild West Showdown (1995)

Destroy Build Destroy (2010)

Race Against the Tide (2023)

Come On Down and Match!

I got up so late, I had just enough time to eat and call Uber before going to work. At least that went well. The driver took 8 minutes to arrive in the morning. I got to the Acme just in time. I got off at 5 and had a harder time finding a driver. It took 17 minutes for the driver going home to arrive. No trouble either way.

Today was my 8 hour day. I spent most of it sweeping and gathering carts. The older man was around in the morning, and I showed him how to restock the toilet paper in the men's bathroom. After he left, I was on my own. It wasn't busy in the morning, but it did pick up in the afternoon, to the point where I had a hard time keeping up with the carts. The weather didn't help. It was sunny, humid, and really hot for most of the afternoon...except for around 2 PM, when the clouds gathered. I was pushing carts when it started showering. I even saw a bolt of lightning at one point. Needless to say, I hurried in the store after that!

After I got home, I changed, had dinner, and spent the rest of the night watching tonight's Match Game marathon. Announcer Johnny Olsen was a fixture on Match Game since he announced the 60's version. The sweet, slightly pudgy gentleman in the glasses was as much of a regular as Brett and Charles. The episode in 1974 where Burt Reynolds turned up to visit his friend Charles Nelson Reilly had a joke about what Johnny does to his tongue to prepare for his job. 

There was also a crack in 1975 about him saying his famous line from Price Is Right, "Come on down!" in his sleep to his wife Penelope. Sometimes, Gene would just bring him out to tell him what a wonderful job he was doing. In a syndicated episode, Gene brought him to check a question and make sure he was reading it right. Another time in 1974, he ran down to say "Come on down," only for Gary Burghoff to run down jumping up and down in imitation of a typical Price contestant. In 1979, he heard a question about what it would be very strange for Nipsey Russell to sell on TV.

Johnny's last time announcing Match Game was four weeks subbing for Gene Wood on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. The first week, he witnessed the antics with Bill Rafferty (who was still hosting Real People at that point), Marcia Wallace, Charles Nelson Reilly, Alfie Wise, and legendary voice artist and satirist Stan Freberg. Bob Eubanks was on a later week. 

Come on down and match with one of the great game show announcers in this surprising and sweet marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Johnny Olsen: "Come On Down!" Marathon

Rainy Day In Cherry Hill

Began the late morning with breakfast and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Skeletor and Tri-Clops use an Infinity Stone to create a "Time Corridor" to go back into the past and assure that Castle Greyskull will never be built. He-Man, Battle Cat, Orko, and Man-at-Arms follow him. Skeletor turned one of the original Eternian clans, the Ape People, against the Snake People. He-Man must rescue the female head of the Snake Clan and prove to Skeletor why it's never a good idea to mess around with time. 

Called Uber after that. I was originally going to take the train and bus down to Church Road, but though it was sunny at that point, it was also thickly humid, sticky, and hot. The first driver canceled, but the second only took 4 minutes to arrive. The driver going home took a normal 7 minutes. There was a little traffic in Pennsauken going there and on the highway going home, but nothing horrible.

I told the driver he could drop me off anywhere in King's Croft and spent the next hour or so wandering around the sidewalks there. King's Croft is a huge, sprawling series of townhouses and condos between King's Highway and Church Road. The whole area is surrounded by lots of green fields and trees and gardens. Parents walked their small huskys and sweet-faced bulldogs with their children. I could see a huge pool and tennis courts as I strolled. Everything seemed to be in good shape, not a speck of trash anywhere. The townhouses were well-kept and maintained, and there was nothing but furniture and plant pots on the patios and balconies. 

That huge, sprawling layout proved to be a problem. I kept getting lost. It took me forever to find my way back to the map at the King's Highway entrance. Most of the buildings are townhouses, and thus, are much bigger than I need. I only need one or two rooms, not something large enough for families. They're also far more expensive, thanks to all that extra room, and thus have a higher Home Owner's Association fee. There's also the fact that many of the loops lack sidewalks, or sidewalks all the way around. The smaller buildings near Church Road looked like condos, though they were still a bit bigger than something like Playa Del Sol.

I finally turned off at Church Road. There were at least two more condo areas I wanted to check out. Crofton Commons looked like smaller versions of the condo buildings at King's Croft. The buildings at Clusters of Lexington were light brown with angular dark roofs and narrow rectangular strip windows. They were so 70's, I expected to see Charles Nelson Reilly and Brett Somers drinking and exchanging quips by the pool. Trouble was, there were heavy black clouds gathering on the horizon, and I didn't especially want to get caught in storms again. I ended up admiring the condo buildings from the sidewalk, opting to hurry past them and Thomas Paine Elementary School instead. 

Just beyond the Robert Mills Apartment Complexes were two small, older-style brick and wood shopping centers. I ducked into Gallo Bakery just in time. I'd barely been there for two minutes when it started pouring buckets. The Gallo Bakery in Cherry Hill is far less lavish than the one in Marlton. It's basically three glass cases filled with cookies, pastries, and cakes and a couple of brass chairs and tables. That was enough for me to enjoy a quiet half-hour nibbling on an apple-filled hamataschen while watching the rain fall heavily and listening to the nice young woman behind the counter take orders. There was even a small rumble of thunder at one point, though I never saw any lightning. 

The rain held off long enough for me to duck down to the next shopping center over. They had a Tony Soprano Pizza, smaller than the stand-alone building in Somerdale, but also a bit nicer. I had some trouble using their self-order kiosk, but I finally managed to get a slice of cheese, a slice of tomato-broccoli, and a can of Coke Zero. Enjoyed lunch while listening to a poor old man talk on his cell phone about a car accident to what was likely (I hope) his sympathetic lawyer.

Hurried down the block to a small WaWa after lunch. I grabbed a small toasted coconut pineapple milkshake and a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero before calling Uber. I timed it well again. The showers had just started again when the driver pulled up in the parking lot. 

Soon as I got home, I went straight to bed for a nap. Even though I hadn't done a ton of walking, I was still tired. This has been a busier summer than usual for me! I went down at 3 PM and didn't get up until 5:30. 

Watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse after I rolled out of bed. Prince Pete is cranky because he can't get comfortable in his favorite chair. The others help him figure out why his chair is so uncomfortable, so he can get "Prince Pete's Catnap" and finally drift off to dream land. 

Moved to Remember WENN next. "Sight Unseen" is the first of three episodes in the series to deal with minority and disability relations in the late 30's and early 40's. Angela Colton (Molly Ringwald) is a blind young woman who wants to meet her favorite character, the Vagabond. "The Vagabond" is played by short, balding character actor Mackie Bloom (Christopher Murney). He has her dance with Jeff to preserve the illusion, but Angela is disappointed. She doesn't care what he looks like, only that his voice is filled with nobility and integrity. 

Went straight into Match Game '76 after WENN ended. Most of tonight finished up the week with Elaine Joyce, Fannie Flagg, and Jimmie Walker admiring a pretty lady who made her own lovely clothing. She was gone by the next week with goofy Avery Schriberer and acerbic Jo Ann Pflug. 

Finished the night with more WENN. "The Emperor Smith" is George Smith, a black waiter whom Betty recruits to take the role of Lord Branley, Elizabeth's new love interest on The Hands of Time after Mackie gets laryngitis. His deep, resonant voice makes him an absolute sensation. There is one small problem. George is a black man at a time when minorities were still looked down on by most people. Betty has to figure out how to hide him from a particularly persistent reporter without the help of Victor Comstock, who was called away on a top secret mission. 

(And note Victor being called away. His top secret work is a major plot point from the later first season onwards.)

I've Still Got My Health

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Going Global Games

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Double Your Money (1955)

3-2-1 (1978)

Chain Letters (1987)

Going for Gold (1990)

Small Talk (1994)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks Premiere (1996)

Rushing In the Rain

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. "Collossor Awakes" when Skeletor creates a ship that can turn people into stone...or bring stone to life. While Teela and Battle Cat protect Castle Greyskull and He-Man figures out how to reverse the spell, Skeletor animates a massive one-eyed stone creature to do his bidding and capture the castle.

It had looked cloudy since I got up this morning...and of course, the moment I left the house, it started showering. It didn't last long, disappearing even as I crossed the White Horse Pike to pick up the bus. The bus arrived on time, and I had no trouble getting off at the office next to Amy's Omelette House in Somerdale.

The former diner with the seaside decor (Amy's started at the North Jersey Shore town Long Branch) surprisingly wasn't that busy for 11:30 in the morning. I was able to eat my bacon and aptly-named Peanut Butter Bliss pancakes in peace. One of the "Lite Bites," this was two chocolate chip pancakes spread with peanut butter and topped with bananas, caramel, and more chocolate chips. Yum! Nice and fluffy and just the right size. 

Ate them quickly, then dashed out the door to the Cinemark. It remained cloudy, humid, and relatively cool as I headed down the White Horse Pike, but the rain held off. I rushed to the Dollar Tree next to the theater to pick up a small bag of popcorn and a Pepsi Zero. I saw wooden crates there for $10. I'd go back for that later. I'd never get away with hauling that around in a theater.

As it turned out, I was too late. I thought Moana was at 12:35. Nope, it was at 12:10. The next regular showing was 2:35. By the time I got in, they would have been a quarter of the way through the movie. Darn it. I'd have to come back.

Strolled up to Walmart on the hill overlooking the Cinemark shopping center instead. Found last year's Superman movie on DVD for $9.99. They're one of the only places around here I can find Junkless granola bars. Got the strawberry flavor. It's also the only place I've ever seen the Sprite + Tea in a 20 ounce Zero version. (Which was...ok. It tasted like Sprite Zero and bottled tea, anyway.)

Even when I headed back down the hill to the theater, I still had a half-hour left. I just bought my ticket, used the bathroom, found a bench, and watched all the summer camp pre-teens running around. I heard them arguing over whether to see Minions & Monsters or Moana. The boys all wanted the Minions and the girls all wanted Moana. (Considering the summer camp kids who did end up seeing Moana barely made a peep the entire time, I'm presuming the boys mostly won out.) Even with all that, I was still in the theater 15 minutes early.

There's still a lot of interesting family movies coming out late this year and early next year. Illumination's next big movie Not Alone, about two NASA workers who fall for each other and help really goofy aliens get home, looks really sweet (especially for them). Disney's Thanksgiving movie Hexed, about a young witch learning to use her powers, also looks really interesting. I'm far less interested in another Ice Age film. Didn't they exhaust that particular franchise over a decade ago? The Cat In the Hat in November could be really cute...or really annoying really fast. (At least it looks a heck of a lot better than the Mike Myers live-action film, starting with being in more appropriate animation.) Forgotten Island is coming out when I'll be on vacation with Lauren, and unless I can talk her into it, I'll probably have to wait for that one on streaming. I'm still not all that eager to see Paw Patrol on the big screen, especially since I haven't seen the other films on Paramount Plus yet. 

As for Moana, I'll go further into that on Thursday at my Musical Dreams blog.

The clouds were getting thicker and thicker by the second, and the wind was blowing fiercely. I went back to Dollar Tree, got a crate for my bulging holiday records, and went back to the movie theater. I initially called Uber, due to concerns about the weather...but the prices were so high, I hurried to Taco Bell at the White Horse Pike instead. 

I made it there just as the storm finally began. It was really coming down as I ate my (yummy) taco, my (spicy and so-so) quesadilla, and quickly drank sugar-free Gatorade. I was originally going to take the bus home, but the weather now made that impossible. There's no bus shelter at the Taco Bell stop. I just spent the money and called Uber. The driver arrived in 15 minutes and thankfully had no trouble getting me home despite the flooding alerts that popped up when we were going through Lawnside. (It must have been in Cherry Hill. I didn't see any flooding on the White Horse Pike.)

Organized my records and the bears sitting on the crates when I got home, then watched Match Game '75. Tonight finished up the week with William Shatner and Julie Harris. Early on, a young woman was so excited, her bouncing around supposedly put a crack in the floor! In a later show, a young woman with a wide, gleaming toothpaste smile was so pleased when she gave a sexually-charged answer, the panelists couldn't help joking about it. In the last episode, Fannie Flagg was enamored with a handsome young man who was perfectly happy being single.

Finished the night at Tubi with Jinx Money. Sach and Slip think they've found the answer to all their money woes when thousands of dollar turns up in a rolled-up newspaper on the street. To the guys' consternation, the original owner was a gangster who won the money at an illicit poker game and was killed before he could enjoy it. Every gangster who follows him and tries to get the dough from the Boys ends up dead, poisoned or stabbed by a man carrying an umbrella whom only Sach keeps seeing. Slip sets himself up as bait when one too many gamblers die on their doorstep, but for once, it's Sach who turns out to really be right about who's doing the killing. 

Harvests and History

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "Pleasure Valley" seems to be the ideal amusement park to all of the Shirt Tales but Pammy. Turns out she's right to question this seemingly innocent carnival when she learns that the barker has a far more sinister plan than feeding them too many hot dogs. "The Ghost Out West" is trying to drive the group from an abandoned ghost town. They decided to turn things around and get to the bottom of the mystery by playing ghosts themselves.

Headed out to the Collingswood Farm Market as soon as the cartoon ended. It was late by the time I got there, almost 11:30. There wasn't much left out. The summer produce is out in full now. Berries and peas are gone, replaced by enormous purple eggplants, Chinese beans, red plums, grapes, corn, melons, and every kind of summer squash that ever existed. I bought fat peaches and small, tart red plums, and picked up a cold, minty Chocolate Mint Cream Bar from the Bubba's Creamery cart. Surprisingly, while the Farm Market was busy, it wasn't jammed like usual. The cloudy, thickly humid day and threat of storms might have scared some folks off, plus there was how late it was. They were starting to close as I finished my chocolate mint bar.

Headed down Atlantic Avenue to the PATCO station. Parked the bike there, bought my ticket, and headed up to the tracks. I was surprised to see one of the kids from Thomas Sharp and her family on the platform. They were going in the opposite direction to Philadelphia for a walk around the Independence Hall area. I told them I was going to Haddonfield. I wanted to take another look at the actual Cherry Parke Condos. Her mother asked if I would be staying at the school. For now, yes. I like working with the kids, even if sometimes they overwhelm me when they're all together.

They left before I did. I had to wait another 12 minutes for the train. When it came, there were no problems, and it was fairly empty. It pulled into Haddonfield less than 5 minutes later. 

I got turned around when I got off. Ended up wandering down one of Haddonfield's tree-lined streets past many lovely old Victorian and Edwardian homes. Finally found my way to Haddon Avenue, then down to Tanner Ave to the Bistro for lunch.

The Bistro is my favorite restaurant in Haddonfield. Their breakfasts are amazing! I sat in the nice, chilly, dark-paneled main room and ate thick multi-grain French toast topped with fresh strawberries and whipped butter. Had bacon with that and washed it down with unsweetened peach ginger iced tea. Yum! I'm glad they were able to get me a seat. It was pretty busy in there, mainly with what looked like families and groups of friends out on the town for lunch.

Peeked around in Happy Hippo Toys next. They were even busier than the Bistro with kids and their parents looking for gifts or new toys. Good thing I saw something I wanted right when I walked in. There was a bin of 9-inch Care Bears. I was surprised to see Bedtime Bear and Birthday Bear, whom I've never run into anywhere else. They were a bit expensive, but I ended up with Bedtime Bear. I'd save Birthday Bear for my actual birthday in the spring, but Bedtime will be out all year. (And probably sleeping through most of it.)

Walked down King's Highway next, reading signs about Indian King Tavern, where the Council of Safety met during the Revolutionary War, and Greenfield Hall, the home of the Haddonfield Historical Society. (Both are currently closed and under heavy remodeling.) Found a mid-90's edition of Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace in a book kiosk. Passed the enormous Haddonfield High School and the lovely yellow Victorian building I hope they are remodeling. Turned left at Clements Bridge Road, across from the lovely Wallworth Park. This time, I went down a block to the Cherry Parke Condo buildings.

The condo buildings are pretty identical to the rental apartment buildings further down, with no shutters or balconies. (Though I did see fire escapes on some condos in the back.) It does have what looks like a well-maintained pool. I'm guessing they were all built in the early 50's. They have a charming two-story Colonial design, but they're all showing their age (though Cherry Parke seemed to be in slightly better-shape than the apartment buildings) with junk and old furniture piled against the dumpsters and no landscaping besides patchy green lawns surrounding narrow sidewalks. 

This probably wasn't the ideal day for exploring condos. It wasn't that hot, but it was cloudy, breezy, and thickly, murderously humid. I was soaked as I hurried back down King's Highway, desperate for a drink...and despite the clouds, it hadn't started to rain yet. I finally rested at the smaller Haddon Culinary two blocks from the PATCO Station. I grabbed a Coke Zero and a soft pretzel, then saw that they had coffee and tea drinks and got a very milky chai latte. After I finished, I hurried down to the PATCO and caught the train back to Collingswood, then rode my bike home.

Took a much-much needed shower, then finished up with dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. In honor of the World Cup ending this weekend, the theme were "countries around the world." Usually, it was jokes about Richard Dawson being from England or Fannie Flagg dressed as Swedish Greta Garbo. Gene attempted fake Japanese with real Japanese character actor Pat Moriata, who just looked at him weird. There would be an Audience Match question like "Made In __." Another time, Gene spent an episode substituting the "blank" in the questions with "Schnick Schnack," which apparently they do in the German Match Game. This led to a round of German accent jokes, especially from Richard, who worked with real Germans and Austrians in Hogan's Heroes. 

One of the most notorious episodes of Password Plus also snuck in. Dick Martin wasn't too happy when he used "France" for "French" and was called on it. He complained so much, Tom Kennedy almost walked off the set twice. The episode went completely off the rails from there. Dick got so goofy, it felt more like an episode of Laugh-In than of Password Plus, and Betty White ran with the lunacy. 

Celebrate matching around the world in the spirit of competition (and learning the difference between "France" and "French") with these wacky episodes!

Match Game/Password Plus Saturday Classics - World Cup Edition (Celebrating Our Countries Finale) 

(Oh, we finally got that thunderstorm about 20 minutes after I got out of the shower. It was noisy, but it didn't linger for long. It returned about two hours later and didn't linger for long then either.) 

Rainy Day Women

Got a quick start today, heading out around quarter of 11. We couldn't cut through Newton Lake Park like we normally would. They're working on a new fishing pier, and the path is blocked by cranes and building materials. At least it was still sunny at that point. It was warm, not hot, but still sticky and very humid. We passed the spraying fountains in the lake's green waters and people walking dogs on their way to Collingswood.

The Collingswood Farm Market was in full swing when we arrived. Peas are gone, but summer produce abounds now. The booths groan with corn, blackberries, watermelons, cucumbers, peppers, green beans, zucchini, and every type of tomato known to man. Surprisingly, strawberries are still out, too. I didn't want to smush strawberries or haul peaches around, so I just bought blueberries and cherries. Lauren considered blackberries, but we just ended up moving on.

We had lunch at Jersey Kabobs. Having had breakfast the last time I was there, we went with brunch and lunch sandwiches. I had the Gyro Bagel - gyro-seasoned chicken and veggies on a bagel. (Sesame seed, in my case.) Lauren had gyro meat and veggies on an enormous hoagie roll. It was so huge and dripping with meat and cheese, she took half of it home. Half of the chicken on my sandwich ended up in the basket. I ate it with a fork. We had the most incredible soft, buttery white rice, too. And of course, we had to share a plate of their amazing baklava. We liked the regular honey-pistachio and the chocolate the best.

Spent the rest of the afternoon in and out of stores in Collingswood and Westmont. Lauren bought Beavis and Butthead figures and a wrestling action figure she wanted at Time Passages. I found a small Care Bear I'd never heard of. Thankful Heart Bear is a pretty orange and lavender girl with a lovely tummy symbol of turquoise paws reaching for hearts. She'll come out at Thanksgiving. I got a birthday card for a friend's teen daughter at Occasionette. Lauren got fruit drink mixes. She didn't get anything from a very busy Innergroove Records. I got three records: 

Soundtrack from High Anxiety (The most expensive record I bought today at $17, and I dropped it and chipped it when I was outside. Hopefully, it'll still play.)

Eric Clapton - Slowhand

Rockin' Easy - Two-disc Warners collection of light rock and ballads from 1975

We started towards Westmont after I got out of Innergroove, making a short stop at Secret Origins Comics. Lauren picked up a couple of Captain America titles. Normally, I have little interest in the comics shops, but the last thing I expected to see was a new DC Superhero Girls comic book! The line ended around 2017-2018, but they just put out another one, High School Reunion, last month. I grabbed it to go with the two I have at home.

Heavy clouds were building on the horizon as we rushed down Haddon Avenue to the WaWa on the corner of Haddon and Cuthbert. She got a soda. I got a Propel water. After we got out, we dashed across Haddon to Phidelity Records as thunder rumbled in the distance. We got inside just in time. Five minutes after Lauren followed me in the door, it started pouring. It rained just long enough for us to search the boxes of dollar CDs and and $2 records without interruption. By the time the rain started slowing down, she found three CDs. I picked up two CDs:

The cast for the 2008 Broadway revival of South Pacific

The one-woman show Elaine Strich at Liberty

And three records: 

George Harrison - Somewhere In England

Bing Crosby - A Bing Crosby Collection Volume 1 (Some of his earliest recordings, new on LP when this was released in 1978.)

Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Songbook

The rain vanished all together as we made our way down Cuthbert Road, past the Acme and the fast food restaurants and the Westmont. By the time we made it to Sprouts, it was back to being humid and sunny, though not very hot. We both got prebiotic soda. I got peanut butter cookies, oat milk, yogurt, and  chocolate fudge coconut-covered almonds from the bulk bins.

We were too tired to walk the rest of the way home, and hauling way too much stuff! I tried to call Uber, but it took over 15 minutes just to get a driver, and another 20 for him to arrive. It was 5:30 at that point, the height of rush hour. At least there was no traffic and no trouble getting home when he did arrive.

We put everything away, then went back out for dinner. Lauren's friend Rico got her eating sushi, and now she loves it. I thought she'd enjoy Sakura a few blocks down on the White Horse Pike...and she did. They were quiet as can be when we slid in. She had sushi. I had teriyaki shrimp with brown rice and vegetables. We both had Arizona green tea to wash it down. She loved hers and wants to eat there again while she's here.

Dessert was at La Mortense Plus on the other side of Oaklyn. They have the most unique ice cream flavors. Lauren had chocolate banana with peanut butter, calling it her "ode to Elvis." I had orange cream with cookie pieces that was very citrus-tasting and absolutely delicious. We timed things right, too. There was only a mother and her two sons when we arrived. By the time we were seated at a blue outdoor metal table with our ice cream, the place was swarming with families and college kids and had a long line.

 After we got home, we finished the night on YouTube. Tonight, Match Game Productions honored Family Feud's 50th anniversary with the best episodes of the original Richard Dawson ABC run. Family Feud began in July 1976 as a spin-off of the Audience Match on Match Game. Richard had proved so popular there, he was tapped to host. Two families square off against each other, answering survey questions. The first family to earn 300 (later 500) points goes to the Fast Money bonus round to win $5,000. 

Unlike Match Game, Feud was a smash hit right out of the gate. Audiences loved watching families give strange answers and win big money, not to mention see all the stuff they'd give Richard and how he'd react to the weirdest events. There was the lady who answered "fish" to "vegetable you fried," or the one who said "September" when asked during what trimester a pregnant woman started to show. Rich got some of the most unique gifts, too, including a goofy curly red wig from a redheaded family so he'd "blend in" with them! He looked more like a clown in a three-piece suit. There was also the family who sent in their audition via tape. Everyone was impressed, even though Richard told audiences that they didn't really need to do that. They also did a lot of celebrating on this show, including Richard's birthday, producer Howard Felcher's birthday, and the week of Christmas and New Year's. 

Celebrate 50 years of Feuding with these heartfelt and hilarious episodes!

Family Feud Saturday Classics - 50 Year Celebration Marathon

Shelter From the Storm

I didn't sleep well last night. I spent the entire time tossing and turning. I didn't sleep until 8:30 in the morning, and then for only two hours. I'd already had my breakfast by the time I met Lauren in the front room. I had no trouble getting a ride to the Maple Shade Goodwill. The driver came in 8 minutes and dropped us off in 15 minutes. 

We did start off at the relatively small Goodwill about two blocks from the Moorestown Mall. Lauren didn't get anything here. I finally found something I've been looking for. I wanted a better drink bottle to bring to school and on my bike, but the thinner metal one I was using got dented in my basket, and the heavier ones tend to be ridiculously overpriced. I found a lovely white and green lilac print that was heavy metal and only cost me $3.99.

It was just starting to shower lightly when we made our way down Route 38 to the shopping centers surrounding the Moorestown Mall. We started off at their massive Old Navy. I didn't find anything here, but Lauren got a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt, apparently the last they had in the store. She and a gentleman coming in admired each other's t-shirts as he told us about his class' project that used Mario characters. 

The showers picked up significantly as we put up our umbrellas and headed to Cava for lunch. This is basically "Mediterranean Chipolte." Lauren had a massive pita sandwich. I had a Create Your Own Bowl with "super" greens, grilled chicken, hummus, brown rice, cucumber, sumac slaw, and strawberry vinaigrette. The baked salted pita wedges that came with the meal were delicious, flaky and chewy. Half the fun of coming here is mixing and matching their sodas and juices. I made my own Blueberry Lavender Zero with their diet soda and blueberry lavender lemonade. 

By the time we made our way down the parking lot and across the street to Ross, the storms were out in full force. Our umbrellas were dripping when we finally arrived. I didn't find anything I wanted. Lauren ended up getting two more pairs of shorts. I suggested getting drinks at Shop Rite to wait out the storm, but...as Lauren discovered when she pulled up the radar on her phone, there was no "waiting out the storm." They'd be lingering for several hours. We just hiked back to the Moorestown Mall and got wet.

With construction on the new arcade over there having stalled, there isn't a whole lot to do at the Moorestown Mall proper. The new Cooper Hospital branch doesn't seem to have increased foot traffic or reversed the vacancy rate. We did look at Hot Topic, Go! Calendars and Games, Home Sense, and Boscov's. Lauren found a very pretty pair of workout shorts at Boscov's, but all I did was go to the bathroom. 

We finally decided that we'd just have dinner early. We both got slices from Brooklyn Pizza at the food court. She had pepperoni and mushroom. I had margarita (basil and mozzarella) and mushroom. While she used the bathroom, I got a wonderfully sweet coconut cream water ice from Rita's. 

Our last stop was the huge Barnes and Noble in the East Gate Shopping Center. Thank heavens the rain took a temporary leave of absence when we were walking over there, allowing us to arrive dry. Lauren didn't get anything, but I picked up Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly and three CDs, two on good sales:

The soundtrack from the 1989 Batman film

The Best of Bond...James Bond, a 2-disc collection of title songs up to No Time to Die (I do have a Bond CD set, but it only goes up to License To Kill. Oh, and all soundtrack CDs were 20 percent off.) 

Weird Al Yankovic - Dare to Be Stupid

I joined Lauren up front just as the storms returned in full force. Between the storms and it being 5:30 and rush hour, it took me so long to get an Uber driver, I canceled the first attempt, went to the bathroom, then tried again. It didn't cost me any less, but I did finally get us a ride who turned up in far less than the listed 16 minutes.

After we got in and put everything away, Lauren and I spent the next two hours playing dominoes and Pokemon Yahtzee. The dominoes is a typical black and white dot set I think I bought at a yard sale over a decade ago. Pokemon Yahtzee is an old family favorite. It originally belonged to Keefe. He, Mom, and I played it all the time in the late 90's-early 2000's. I walloped Lauren at dominoes 4 wins to 2. Lauren just beat me at Yahtzee.

Finished the night watching Girls! Girls! Girls! at Paramount Plus. I go further into the Elvis Presley vehicle that introduced "Return to Sender" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Girls! Girls! Girls!

Something In the Air

Awoke to more torrential rain and noisy storms. The rain was so heavy, East Clinton looked more like an extension of Newton Creek. It was just starting to slow down slightly as I ate breakfast. Watched Shirt Tales as I finished and Lauren got organized. Dinkel wants to dance at the cool new nightclub, but the Shirt Tales are more concerned about a DJ who uses his hypnotic music to keep people dancing, so he can rob them. Digger and Kip use Digger's love of classic music to stop these "Saturday Night Shirt Tales" from getting down so they can catch the crooks. "Dinkel's Buddy" is an archaeologist who has disappeared while investigating a supposedly cursed pyramid. Dinkel goes to rescue him...and the Shirt Tales follow to rescue both of them. 

By noon, the rain was just about gone, and the Uber prices were pretty close to normal. I figured it was safe to call for a ride. The driver arrived in 15 minutes, which wasn't bad, considering the weather. Good thing he was a really nice guy, because the roads were a mess. Half of Camden County was underwater. He had to turn around twice when spots on Route 38 was too heavily flooded to pass. He wasn't happy about it, and it took us almost 40 minutes to get to the Silver Diner, but...he may have done us a favor. I got to see a lot more of Cherry Hill, including a Dollar Tree that was set so far off the highway, I had no idea it was there, and a beautiful, green private golf course. 

The rain had long ended by the time we did get to the Silver Diner. I wanted breakfast after I had lunch there last week, so I kept things simple with waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Lauren had a "smashburger" and a salad. The eggs were dry and the bacon was kind of limp, but the waffles were delicious, perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Lauren had "Berry Brave" blueberry lemonade. I had "Strawberry Spangled," which came in a little mason jar with lots of strawberry pieces. I finally got to try that huge "Star Spangled Banner Explosion" mousse dome. Strawberry and blueberry mousse on yellow and chocolate cake covered in white frosting, surrounded by strawberries and whipped cream. Oh wow! So tasty, but sooo decadent. 

We headed over the pedestrian walkway to the Cherry Hill Mall after lunch. Since it's closest to the entrance, Lauren went to check out Nordstrom. I don't like their prices, and I never find my size there. I peeked around Levi's and found nothing. Wanted to check out Soma Intimates, but not only were they having technical problems and closed early, but just a glance told me their prices were outrageous. Bought a tropical iced tea at Nordstrom's eBar instead. Lauren got a pomegranate iced tea and joined me at the wrought-iron tables outside of Nordstrom's, having had no luck either.

Spent the next several hours going in and out of stores. Macy's up escalator was broken. I had such a hard time finding their elevator, I never really did get to look around there. We took quick looks at Go! Calenders and Toys, Hot Topic, FYE, Old Navy, Famous Footwear, and the just-reopened and expanded Spencer's. (Trivia - the Spencer's at the Cherry Hill Mall is their first store, opened in 1963.) I was the only one who bought anything besides food today. I picked up dark Gloria Vanderbilt jean shorts and a long-sleeved burgundy t-shirt. The latter was on the clearance rack, marked down to $4.49. 

After we finished at FYE, we finally returned to the first level and had dinner early. Unfortunately, Saladworks had closed. They're my usual choice when I eat at Cherry Hill's food court. Their replacement, a kebobs booth, had not yet opened. I just ended up joining Lauren at Charley's Cheesesteaks. She had "The Italiano" (looked like vegetables and salami to me), cheese fries, and a Diet Coke. I went with half of a tasty chicken cheese steak, salty regular skin-on fries, and a sweet peach lemonade.

That pretty much exausted our plans for the Cherry Hill Mall. It was time to go home. We had far more luck with Uber. The driver arrived in 8 minutes, not bad for rush hour in Cherry Hill. By 5:30, it was just partly sunny, windy, and cool, barely in the 70's. The floodwaters had long since subsided. We got back to Oaklyn in 20 minutes with no incidents.

When we got in, Lauren went upstairs, changed, and puttered around. We took our laundry downstairs, and I took out the recycling and took a shower. When I got upstairs after switching the laundry to the dryer, I watched the second hour of Match Game '75. Bill Macy was still appearing on Maude as the title character's hubby when these episodes originally ran. I really wish he came back, because this week was hilarious. Brett and Betty White sniped at each other all week, culminating in everyone's hilarious answers on who would play the beast to Betty's beauty. 

Spent the rest of the night after we got the laundry upstairs honoring the 50th anniversary of Family Feud on Sunday. Feud actually began as a spin-off of the Audience Match on Match Game. Mark Goodson still liked the idea of people guessing survey questions, but instead of contestants and celebrity panelists, we have families playing. Richard Dawson was also carried over from Match Game as the show's first host. 

The show was a huge hit right out of the gate on ABC in 1976. Richard Dawson got so invested in it, he brought his older son and his wife on and started his own feud with producer Howard Felscher. We have the one of the pilots here (and a glimpse of how different the set looked before they expanded it) and a typical Dawson episode from 1981. 

The original Dawson daytime and nighttime versions finally succumbed to heavy competition in 1985. The show returned on CBS in 1988, this time with comedian Ray Combs as the host. I used to love the Combs show! I have fond memories of watching it and The Price Is Right back-to-back on Channel 10 in the late 80's and early 90's. I'm actually kind of grateful that Mom had the cable turned off before they started the notoriously weird Family Feud Challenge with the "bullseye" opening. Richard Dawson replaced Combs in 1994, but Richard was noticeably aged, and it just wasn't the same. The network show finally ended in 1994.

Feud shifted permanently to syndication in 1999. Baby-faced comedian Louie Anderson was the first host of the revived Feud. Though he does have his fans, I found him grating and the set of his version butt-ugly. Apparently, so did the producers. He was let go in 2002 and replaced by Richard Karn of Home Improvement. Though Karn had a better set, he otherwise had the opposite problem from Anderson. Where Anderson tried too hard to be funny and hip, Karn tended to fade into the woodwork. He worked out well enough to stay on until 2006. John O'Hurley came in after him, but he got fed up with the sexual nature of many of the questions and left in 2010. Comedian Steve Harvey, whose humor could occasionally border on the crass, had no trouble with entendres of every stripe. He took over the show in 2010 and has hosted it ever since.

Let's see how the Feud began 50 years ago and the men who kept the families feuding in these classic episodes!

Family Feud Pilot (1976)

Richard Dawson (1981)

Ray Combs Premiere (1988)

Richard Dawson Return Premiere (1994)

Louie Anderson (1999)

Richard Karn Premiere (2002)

John O'Hurley Premiere (2006)

Steve Harvey Premiere (2010) 

Riders On the Storm

Got a really quick start today. I got caught up reading Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man and had just enough time to eat, change, and call Uber. The one going there came in 9 minutes and got me to work in plenty of time. Had a hard time getting one going home. They took 15 minutes to arrive.

Work was a pain in the rear...or stomach. I'd been feeling queasy since yesterday. I didn't have a fever, but I did end up spending a lot of time in the bathroom, especially in the morning. (Which did some good - I was able to refill the toilet paper.) Mother Nature didn't help. It was cloudy and insanely humid this morning, but the sun came out around 1 PM and it got hot again. We were off and on busy, and I had a hard time keeping up with the carts until another bagger came in at 2. 

When I got home, I changed into cooler clothes, then listened to The Jack Sheldon Quintet while I took down the 4th of July decorations. I have no idea why they called the record Hollywood Heroes. Only one of the songs, "Lover," comes from a movie musical. (More specifically, Love Me Tonight.) My favorite numbers were lovely versions of Johnny Mercer standards - "Pardon My Southern Accent" and "I Thought About You."

Returned to reading Daisy Fay while resting, making the bed, and listening to The Best of Julie Andrews. As you can probably guess, the majority of these songs are from the original stage casts of My Fair Lady and Camelot and the movies The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. There's a few more obscure titles here as well, like "O the Days of the Kerry Dancing," "We'll Gather the Lilacs In the Spring" from the British musical Perchance to Dream, "If Love Were All" from Bitter Sweet, and a rather odd live version of "Big D" from The Most Happy Fella. 

Switched to tonight's Match Game marathon for a while. Match Game could be as patriotic as the next show, especially in the years surrounding the Bicentennial. There were jokes about the 4th of July the week dancer and model Ruta Lee made her only appearance on the show in 1973 and in one of the episodes with Ron Valenti (and Fannie flirting with him) in 1975. There was one of the episode in 1978 where Craig Morris really got a kick out of his enormous lime-green sunglasses, and the nighttime episode where Fred Grandy sported a bow tie and sweater that netted him a lot of "Little Lord Fauntelroy" jokes. 

Celebrate the holiday weekend with even more fireworks as Gene and his wacky weirdos teach us American history the Match Game way!

Match Game Sunday Classics - 4th of July Marathon

Lauren was originally supposed to arrive at 10 PM. She got nervous and switched to a later train. I called Uber to Philadelphia around 10. To my surprise, the lady arrived in 4 minutes, and she was really sweet about it. There was no traffic at that hour of the night, not even in Philly. I loved getting to see all of the buildings lit up in reds and whites and blues, including one that was striped. She pulled up to 30th Street Station within 20 minutes.

On one hand, I'm glad to see they're almost done remodeling 30th Street Station. The scaffolding is gone, though nothing in the food court is open yet. On the other hand...Lauren was supposed to arrive at 10:45. She didn't finally get in until past 11 PM. I initially read my phone on a booth, but I couldn't sit down and walked around, checking the time until she arrived.

I saw why she was so late the moment we stepped outside. The thunderstorm that had threatened off and on all day chose that moment to finally hit. It was pouring, with noisy thunder and huge streaks of lightning. The Uber going home cost me $75! I was going to wait, but it didn't look like the storm would be ending anytime soon, and we couldn't stand in front of 30th Street all night. It took her over 20 minutes to arrive. She didn't know where the pick up at the 30th Street side of the building was, then she couldn't see us. Thank heavens Lauren knows about cars and spotted her across the way. The rain slowed down slightly by the time she finally pulled up on East Clinton.

I think you can guess that we're going to sleep in tomorrow after all that! The weather isn't going to be appropriate for our usual first-day walking trip to Mt. Ephraim and Audubon, so we're going to move things to the Cherry Hill Mall and Hillview Shopping Center instead. 

Heating Up Independence Day

Began the morning with the 4th of July selections from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. The big pieces here are a chapter from Little Town on the Prairie that has Carrie, Laura, and their pa enjoying lemonade and a pony cart race at their growing little town and The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. There was also the first part of the Constitution and several smaller poems on independence and fireworks.

Started Ben & Me during a quick breakfast. The "me" in this case is Amos Mouse, who helped Benjamin Franklin create some of his greatest inventions, from the Franklin Stove to the Pennsylvania Gazette. Amos thinks Ben's gone too far after he has him ride in that famous electrifying kite and leaves. He begs Amos to come back during the American Revolution and help him out again. Their agreement to no more tricks becomes the basis of the Declaration of Independence. 

Thank heavens Oaklyn pushed their parade back to 9 AM today. I wouldn't have seen it if it stayed at 10. Even at 8:50, it was already steamy and in the 90's. I dropped Finley's birthday gift off at Rose's house, then got a free cotton candy water ice from Yummies Palace's cart and free red, white, and blue beads from the Oaklyn Civic Association. A little boy who was already dripping sweat handed me a 250th anniversary America flag. 

Thankfully, the parade was more-or-less on time. The cardboard boat with a Jaws theme won first place. I liked the group dressed as butterflies the best. There was only one other kid next to me, jumping out to gather the tons of candy all of the baseball teams and various groups threw. I gave some of my candy to the little kids in wagons behind me, some of it to him, and still had tons of Mamba, Tootsie Roll Fruit Chews, and Dum Dums lollipops leftover to share with Lauren when she visits. 

Oh, and I ran into Rose and Finley towards the end of the parade. No, they weren't doing anything today. Rose was sending the kids to have a barbecue with their father at his mother's house, and she just wanted to rest. I pointed them towards the Civic Association's booth with Hot dogs, mini bags of chips and Cheetos, and baby pools filled with ice, soda, and water. 

Stopped at Common Grounds Coffee House to get a cool treat. The line for drinks was long, but it moved fast. I got a Peaches and Cream Lemonade. Peach syrup with very tart lemonade topped with foam. Not bad, though that lemonade was very, very puckering!

Finished Ben & Me after I got in, then switched to classic shorts while I got dressed for work. "Patriotic Popeye" tries to keep his nephews from setting off balloons, until they end up being carried into the sky by one, and he needs spinach to intervene. "Donald's Failed Fourth" has Donald trying to set up for a picnic with Daisy in front of the fireworks, but the blanket and chairs won't cooperate.

Called Uber after the cartoons ended. It was just too hot to ride my bike. To my surprise, it only took me 7 minutes to get a ride. I figured it would be much longer on a very hot major holiday. It took me 9 minutes to get a ride home. No problems or traffic either way.

Work could have been a lot worse. It got crazy around noon and was picking up again when I left at 5, but the in between wasn't really that bad. I did spend most of the time outside pushing carts, but I had help from one of the college boys (who did most of the sweeping), and I went in for water when I got too hot. I was in and out with no trouble. 

Listened to A Musical Souvenir of America On Parade when I got home. Yes, this was the music from Disney's big Bicentennial parade at the parks in 1975 and 1976. The songs are mostly instrumental versions of traditional American tunes like "Turkey In the Straw," "O Susannah," "Battle Hymn of the Republic," and "I've Been Working On the Railroad," but somehow "Animal Crackers In My Soup" slips in there towards the end...and Disney being Disney couldn't resist including "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah." 

Finished the night on YouTube after a shower. The owner of the Match Game Productions channel did something different and showed us how other game shows celebrated the 4th of July. One show actually started on the 4th, the 1988 Family Feud with Ray Combs. Press Your Luck had Whammies setting off fireworks and snatching cash in 1985. Markie Post and Richard Shannon (with hair!) played each other on Super Password in 1986 just prior to Post joining Night Court (and even obliquely mentioned it on the episode). A patriotic episode of Price Is Right from 1975, just a few months before they expanded to an hour, had a Bicentennial salute to George M. Cohen as one of the Showcases. 

Classic Concentration was the only show to decorate for the occasion, offering flags everywhere, a trip to Washington DC, a paper mache George Washington, red, white, and blue cars to choose from, and Canadian Alex Trebek in an American flag tie. Things were more normal on 4th of July episodes of the Richard Dawson Family Feud, other than a few picnic-related questions. Susan Richardson and Wesley Eure did battle on Password Plus. The first 4th of July on Body Language had Betty White simply being outplayed by lanky Ed Begley Jr. Lisa Benet had more luck against Jason Bateman during their teen month the next year, while Kennedy set off sparklers. The Bob Eubanks Card Sharks introduced a new bonus round, while Jim Perry dealt with some pretty unique contestants, including a very funny old man named Ed, in his earlier version from 1979 and 1980. 

Celebrate our nation's 250th anniversary game show style in these hilariously patriotic tributes!

Saturday Game Show Classics - 4th of July Game Show Marathon

Called Mom during the marathon to wish her a happy 4th. She was enjoying hers in pretty much the same way, watching Ken Burns documentaries on PBS with Keefe. Keefe's wife Julia took their children to visit her family, so they were relishing the peace and quiet. They hadn't done much today, but Keefe did take Mom to his favorite restaurant earlier in the week. 

Oh, and there were no fireworks this year. Not only was it too hot, but there were some pretty bad storms later in the evening. That didn't stop people from setting off their own fireworks, including a beautiful display of sparkling green and pink just a few houses down from here on East Clinton.

Here's hoping your 4th of July was just as much fun...and a lot cooler.