The Kids and the Pea

Once again, I overslept...but I learned my lesson yesterday. I just called Uber this time. Thankfully, that worked fine. The one going to the Acme arrived in 9 minutes. I got there just in time. The one going home was supposed to arrive in 8, but it took slightly longer. At any rate, there was no traffic, and I got where I was going with no trouble.

No trouble at work, either. It was quiet almost the entire morning. Even when it picked up a little later, it still wasn't that bad. The weather helped. It was too nice to be grocery shopping. In fact, the weather couldn't be better, sunny, breezy, and in the lower-mid 60's. 

I got my schedule around noon. With spring break over, I'm back to a normal weekend-Wednesday schedule. Fewer hours, yes, but better for my sanity and with the after-school program. I asked for Tuesday off. That's my birthday. I don't mind spending the afternoon with the kids, but I'd rather have the morning to myself.

Did my grocery shopping after work. I needed so little, I consolidated shopping to just the Acme this week. I had online coupons for coconut milk, yogurt, eggs, strawberries, and bakery coconut macaroons. Restocked granola and soda. I found "brookies" - chocolate chip bars on top, brownie on the bottom - on the bakery clearance rack.

Put everything away when I got home while listening to Windsong. One of John Denver's biggest hit albums features my favorites of his songs, the lovely "Fly Away" and rollicking "Calypso." The latter is about - and dedicated to - oceanographer and explorer Jacques Cousteau and his famous ship the Calypso. Other good songs here include the other hit "I'm Sorry," the title song, and one I can relate to given how much of this I've listened to over the years, "Late Nite Radio."

Went for a quick walk after I changed. Treated myself to a cheesesteak-stuffed pretzel and two regular ones. Watched The Price Is Right when I got home. Started with the end of a Drew Carey episode from the late 2000's, from the look of the set. The guy who wanted a car did get to bid on a showcase with a spa and a tiny electric car...but the winner was the girl who voted on the hockey-themed Showcase. The mascots of the Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, and Florida Panthers introduced prize packages with trips to their respective home towns and luggage and jerseys for their respective teams.

The Bob Barker episode likely came from the late 80's, from his white hair and Rod Roddy announcing. We got a rare late glimpse of the Phone Home Game before it was retired for being too expensive and cumbersome as everyone proceeded to win their games, or at least get some money. One Showcase had a marina theme, ending with a ski boat. The other was your basic "around the house," but it did have a spa. The lady got her big spa. 

I was so tired, I went down for another nap after the episode ended. I've just been doing so much running around lately and getting so much done! I couldn't sleep all night this time, though. I got up at quarter of 6, just in time for a quick dinner and to watch Match Game '90 before dashing out.

This time, I hurried down the White Horse Pike to the historic Ritz Theater. Oaklyn's vintage movie house is now it's local theater troupe. They also hold drama classes for kids and teens, and my niece Finley is one of those kids. Their show this weekend is Once Upon a Mattress. Finley was one of the ladies in the chorus. Rose was disappointed that the chorus didn't have more to do, but Finley said she was just happy that she got to dress up in a fancy medieval gown and look like a princess. Not only were Rose and Khai in the audience, but Jessa came too - she drove me home after the show ended. 

The kids were hilarious in a streamlined, hour-long version of this The Princess and the Pea spoof from 1959. I especially loved the tall, strong girl who played Winifred. She was an absolute riot. Carol Burnett would have been proud. Sir Harry wasn't much of a singer, but his tiny Larkin made up for it by being the best singer in the show. (Incidentally, the extraneous "Normandy" and "Very Soft Shoes" are deleted here...and you can probably guess that they also cut the subplot with Larkin being pregnant.) 

Finished the night with The Love Boat. "Doc Takes the Fifth" - wife, that is. He falls for a Russian cellist (Irena Ferris), but her interest in him is hardly romantic. It's "Safety Last" when an overly cautious safety inspector (Don Adams) falls for a Scandinavian beauty (Britt Eckland) and finally decides there are some risks worth taking. A workaholic business executive (Robert Fuller) tries to bring back his vice president (Judy Norton-Taylor), who is worried people are saying they're having "A Business Affair." 

Dolls In the Summer Breeze

Slept in this morning. It was past noon when I had breakfast and listened to the 1988 Summer Olympics Album. From 1976 until the last few years, album companies have put out collections of music from their own artists likely as a promotional product for the Olympic broadcasts. The big hit from the 1988 collection is "One Moment In Time," the stirring Whitney Houston ballad that was inescapable on the radio that year. I didn't find this one to be as varied or enjoyable as the album put out in 1992, but there were some good songs along with "Time," including "Shape of Things to Come" by the Bee Gees, "Willpower" by Taylor Dane, and the instrumental "Olympic Spirit" from composer and conductor John Williams. 

Spent the next hour and a half dressing the dolls for August after I finished eating and messing around a bit online. Kit, Samantha, and Molly all wear their historically-accurate bathing suits I found on eBay. Jessa's pretty purple and magenta Island Luau Bathing Suit from 2007 was also an eBay find. Ariel's ruffled tropical print  suit and Whitney's purple popsicle print skirted suit were gifts from Lauren. 

Josefina and Felicity come from time periods where swimming wasn't ladylike, and I haven't found a historically-accurate mid-60's bikini that fits Barbara Jean yet. The purple and pink pineapple-print sundress with the lacy cardigan Lauren set a while ago is short enough to pass for a mid-60's mini-dress. Josefina is in her pretty floral-print beige Party Dress and moccasins that she came in and Felicity wears her lavender Traveling Dress with the embroidered flowers.

Listened to two more CDs while I worked. Kitty's Kisses apparently had a respectable run for the summer of 1926, buoyed by a hit title song, and then vanished until most of the libretto was found in a warehouse in 1986 and restored and released on CD in 2009. In some ways, the storyline (a lady traveling alone poses as a lawyer's wife to get a room, then has to explain herself when the lawyer turns up and she falls for his brother) and songs aren't all that far removed from No, No, Nanette from the year before. Con Conrad and Gus Kahn did come up with some charming numbers, including "Choo Choo Love" for the second leads, "Two Fellas and a Girl" for Kitty and the male chorus, and the very funny "I Don't Want Him." According to the liner notes, the one bit of score they couldn't find was the finale, so they had to grab one from somewhere else...but Conrad and Kahn's Oscar-winning "The Continental" came out almost a decade after the show and sounds very out of place. 

The Damsel In Distress CD was a random collection of Fred Astaire songs from Top Hat, A Damsel In Distress, and The Sky Is the Limit, with one each from Dancing Lady and Holiday Inn. The Dancing Lady and Holiday Inn songs were the only ones I didn't have elsewhere. I won't be keeping this one. 

Went out for a walk and lunch after I put everything away. I had a choice of three restaurants open on the stretch of White Horse Pike in Oaklyn and Haddon Township on Sunday. I just ate at Crown Chicken and Gyro not long ago, and I didn't feel like sandwiches anyway. Sakura, the Japanese restaurant, was open, so I went there. In fact, they were busy for quarter of 4, with two pairs eating lunch and another couple coming in while I was there. I had shrimp hibachi (grilled shrimp) with vegetables and yummy brown fried rice. Tasty and filling, it really hit the spot.

Made my way down the Pike to WaWa to pick up a chicken and fruit salad I originally planned on having for dinner. Also grabbed two Olipop sodas and a frozen matcha chai drink. Oh, yum! Sweet and spicy, I really tasted more of the chai than the matcha, but it was still good. I drank it on my way home, stopping to listen to the final moments of West Side Story being performed at the Ritz Theater on my way. 

Hit the shower when I got home, then ate out of the fridge for dinner (I'll have the salad for lunch tomorrow) while watching tonight's Match Game marathon. Bloopers and mechanical failures abounded on this fast-paced show. You never know what would come out of Gene's mouth. He or one of the panelists might accidentally blurt out an answer, causing the question to be thrown out. Brett, Dick Martin, and Marcia Wallace all had answers that were censored on three separate occasions, Marcia's in an infamous nighttime episode. The wrong music might be played, or someone (usually Charles) would take so long, they'd play "The Star Spangled Banner" when they ran out of music. 

The two sets had so many bloopers of their own, I swear they were as alive and cranky as any of the panelists. The turntable went the wrong way at least three times. Words on the Audience Match board would be misspelled. Fannie Flagg's light went out once while she was giving an answer. The answer holder was forever sliding out of Gene's reach. In one episode, Gene and Charles had so much trouble getting the darn thing to work, they had a contestant hold it up so Gene could get the questions. 

Check out some of wildest bloopers that ever derailed a game show in this wacky marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Best Blooper Moments On Match Game

The Room Where It Happens

Began the morning with breakfast and Blockbusters. The mother/daughter pair are unstoppable. I came in just as they went into another Gold Rush bonus round. The daughter only missed two questions, getting the rest in plenty of time. They were on the first round with another solo lady as the show finished.

Switched to PBS Kids for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while cleaning up from breakfast. "Daniel and Margaret Visit the Farm" with their parents. Daniel is nervous about riding a horse until his father agrees to hold his hand. He has to hold Margaret's hand when she feeds the ducks for the first time. They celebrate the 4th of July with a picnic and "Fireflies and Fireworks." Margaret is scared of the fireflies. Dan holds her hand until she's used to them. Their parents have to hold both their hands until the noisy fireworks pass.

Did Schoolhouse Rock while taping up some boxes. America Rock was created for the Bicentennial in 1975 and 1976 to teach the kids about US history. "The Shot Heard 'Round the World," "Fireworks," and "No More Kings" cover the arrival of the first colonists to the US, the writing of the Declaration of Independence, and the American Revolution. "Elbow Room" discusses the Louisiana Purchase and westward expansion. "Mother Necessity" and "The Great American Melting Pot" reveals how the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought immigrants who created new inventions that changed everyone's lives for better or for worse. "Sufferin' 'Til Suffrage" discusses one hundred years of women fighting for the vote. "The Preamble," "Three Ring Government," and "I'm Just a Bill" detail aspects of the US Government, how it was created, how it works now, and how a bill becomes law. "Tyrannosaurus Debt" from Money Rock is a pointed commentary on the US national debt and how it keeps growing.

Put on Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Summer Vacation after the shorts ended. Buster, Babs, and Myron the dog celebrate the start of summer with an epic water fight that ends with them downriver, dodging several swamp critters who think they're on the menu. Plucky begs to join his best friend Hamton as they take a summer-long trip to major theme park Happy World Land, only to discover they're a smiley-happy type of family who would give the Osmonds cavities. Shirley the Loon tries to avoid Fowlmouth's attempts to take her to a movie, while Fifi LaFume tries to get an autograph from her favorite star and Elmyra terrorizes the animals in a safari park.

Worked on packing as the movie ran. I went through the medicine cabinet after I got a bad sore throat last September and got rid of most of the expired medicines then. The only thing I had to ditch was a dicey-looking bottle of Pepto Bismol. Everything else went into three of the remaining small boxes, including the first aid items in the back room. From now on, bathroom toiletries and linens go in the bathroom, and kitchen things go in the kitchen. I also packed jeans and capris I won't need into my soft-sided turquoise suitcase.

Did Recess: School's Out while scrubbing the bathroom. T.J Detwiler is badly disappointed when all his friends at the Third Street School go to camp for the summer, leaving him with nothing to do. He ends up with more excitement than he bargained for when he sees a laser beam shoot out of the school's roof. He tries to show a skeptical Principal Prickley, only for him to vaporize before his eyes! Now he has to round up the rest of the kids at Third Street and bring them back to stop a rogue teacher from ending summer vacation and prove just how important time off and making memories are.

Relaxed with crocheting while watching Tattletales and Press Your Luck. Adorable comic couple Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill were the big winners on Tattletales today, getting every question right. The sweet older woman from yesterday on Press Your Luck was defeated by a young man who only got hit with one Whammy and got the Hawaiian vacation he'd hoped for.

Rose called as I was finishing with the crocheting. She wanted to invite me to 4th of July at her house tomorrow at 4. She's just having me, Jodie, and Craig's parents. That's fine by me. Regardless of what's going on, I'm not a big fan of huge parties anyway.

Worked on writing for a while. Malade's about to burn Charles and the unconscious Brett to a crisp when someone throws water on her, and a frog's tongue yanks her to the ground. Betty and her frog friend came back to retrieve Charles and Brett, hoping to head off Malade. Malade tells them that only an act of caring and compassion can free Brett...and her true love is still a statue.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had leftovers while watching Match Game. Country star Mel Tillis joins the regulars, Bonnie Franklin, and Fannie Flagg as they make jokes about a notorious Southern California car salesman and try to help the contestant with a "Link" question in the Audience Match, only to see her strike out on her own. The young woman champ also struck out on Sale of the Century. She seemed nervous and kept jumping in on questions way too fast. Another woman got past her in the speed round and won, though she didn't do nearly as well in the bonus round.

Went for a walk around 7:30 in the hope that the heat would be gone by then. Nope. It remained hot and humid, even as the sun went down. Dodged a big group of boys eating ice cream and pizza on West Clinton Avenue and treated myself to a butter pecan cone at Phillies Yummies. That may not have been the best thing to buy today. It tasted great, but it melted fast and kept dripping and making a mess.

Finished the night with Hamilton on Disney Plus. Most of you were probably expecting this review to turn up at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. I considered it, but as popular as it is, this is really a stage show. The theater is a different medium from movies.

That said, it was nice to finally catch this one after having bought the cast album about four years ago. Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda) comes from Jamaica to New York and becomes embroiled in the American Revolution. He eventually marries sweet Eliza (Phillipa Soo), one of the wealthy Schuylar sisters. Her older sister Angelica (Renee Elise Goldberry) favored him, but eventually decided to marry a rich man and turned Alexander over to her sister, who also loved him. Alexander becomes the right-hand man to George Washington (Christopher Jackson) during the war, but has a more difficult time afterwards. Despite his becoming the Secretary of the Treasury and writing volumes of papers, he has a hard time getting richer Thomas Jefferson (Daveed Digs) to listen...and then his son Phillip (Anthony Ramos) dies in a duel. Hamilton too finds himself in a duel with rival Aaron Burr (Leslie Odam Jr.), too Eliza's horror. It's one that Hamilton may not make it out of live...but Eliza knows how to make his legacy live on...

Yes, this is a stage show, but it's dynamic and well-sung, with some fine performances. It was originally filmed in 2016, at the height of the show's popularity, and it captures all the vigor and energy of one of the biggest stage hits of the last 10 years. If you love Miranda's music or early American history and can handle the language and some mild sexuality, you'll want to give this one your best shot.

Small Town Girls

I was up at quarter of 8 this morning. Lauren didn't start stirring until around 9:30. I read Crocodile on the Sandbank and wrote in my journal for a while, then got dressed and had cereal and the last peach for breakfast. I was messing around with my cell phone when Lauren came upstairs and said she was ready to go.

Our first stop of the day (after Lauren made a quick run to an ATM machine) was Steve Valenti's Clothes for Men in downtown Pittsfield. Turns out Mr. Valenti himself is a long-time friend of Lauren's dad. He met his wife when she moved from the bank Mr. Miller managed in North Adams to one in Pittsfield. Lauren chose two nice lightweight robes for him, one in mahogany, one in navy, both with white piping. She also found a pale blue plaid nightshirt.

We strolled down North Street, first checking out a "general store" that had apparently just opened. It held toys, some books, sodas, coffee, and other basic sundries. Lauren wanted to take a look at a small consignment store down the street and around the corner. They were a bit like Frugili Consignment in Collingswood, a narrow store selling mostly used women's clothes. Though Lauren says she likes them and has gotten things there before, neither of us bought anything there today.

We next drove down to Lanesborough to check out the Berkshire Mall. They have a farm market every Wednesday and Saturday morning in the summer. We were mainly there so I could get some fruit for breakfast. Though they had piles of early summer produce like Swiss chard and green beans, the only fruit they had were containers of blueberries. I grabbed a pint. I'll eat them in my cereal and give Lauren and her mom anything that's left on Saturday.

The Berkshire Mall's JC Penney is closing, their second anchor to shut down in less than a year after Macy's. Lauren says they're a week from permanent closure. Many departments have already been removed or re-organized, but we were able to find the women's clothing. My friend had more luck than I did. They were mostly getting rid of winter clothes, thick skirts, heavy sweaters, and corduroy slacks. I do need a winter skirt, but winter clothes are really too heavy for me to carry home. She found a set of orange hand towels to use in the bathrooms upstairs.

It was about noon by this point. The Berkshire Mall's food court is small, with just a pizza parlor, a Chinese booth, and one that sells Mexican and burgers. Kept things simple and opted for pizza. I had mushroom and cheese; she had mushroom. It was the right choice. The slices were excellent, salty and greasy with a perfectly soft crust.

A small arcade is nestled on the end of the food court, near the Regal Cinema movie theater. They have a decent selection for the space, including an air hockey machine. Lauren and I played two games, one right after we came in, the other before we left. Lauren won both, but it wasn't for lack of trying in the second! The score on the first game was 7-2. The other game was much closer, 2-1. We laughed and slapped at the puck and had a great time. We also played their ice-themed skee ball machines (I've never seen white plastic balls before). I took a whack at Galaga on the double Ms. Pac Man/Galaga console while Lauren shot basketballs. Between the two of us, we won enough points to pick a slap bracelet (Lauren), a string bracelet (me), and a cherry-limeade Tootsie Roll (I ate that).

There wasn't much else to see at the mall. The Berkshire Mall's been dying for several years, thanks to high rents and poor management that doesn't understand the area. The only stores there that remotely interested us were Jay Street Video Games and a toy shop, Toy Giant. We finally opted to return to Pittsfield for our show instead.

The Berkshire Theater Group is housed in a series of restored vintage buildings in downtown Pittsfield, including the gorgeous Colonial Theater. The auditorium, with its elaborate architecture recalling a bygone era, was the perfect setting for The Music Man. I was impressed. I thought the group did wonderfully with the delightful score. The kids in particular were adorable, and the lady who played Mrs. Shinn was an absolute riot. Her husband was pretty funny, too. Even Lauren said she enjoyed it, and unlike me, she's not really a big musical fan.

Headed further downtown after it let out for dinner at the Highland, a long-time favorite spot of Lauren and her parents. We had a little trouble trying to figure out where to park. All those road construction projects followed us to Pittsfield, including a closed parking lot. She finally ended up parking alongside a Burger King.

Dinner was worth the parking fuss. The Highland is a small hole-in-the-wall just off the main downtown. We've eaten there before, but not in a long time. According to the mirror over our booth, they've been in business since 1936, and they feel like it, with dark wood paneling, ancient vinyl booths, and pleasant old waitresses who knew Lauren on sight and even asked about her parents. She had Veal Parmesan, a huge pile of spaghetti, and a slice of Oreo Pudding Pie. I had a hot turkey sandwich, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. I mainly ate the turkey and cranberry sauce. I'm not the biggest fan of gravy. The mashed potatoes were ok. I suspect they came from a mix, but they were at least nice and buttery. The turkey was yummy though, juicy and tender. My pie was a sweet, flaky Coconut Custard.

Unfortunately, we discovered when we came out that some idiot dumped ice cream across the front of Lauren's car, including on her windshield. She drove us to the nearest car wash to get it off. This ended up being kind of fun. A nice young fellow gave the car a good, solid scrubbing before we went through the literal ringers. The flashing lights in an arc around the brushes made the whole thing feel more like a ride at Wildwood than washing the car.

It was past 6:30 before we made it home. Lauren helped her dad try on his new sleepwear and passed on Mr. Valenti's greetings. Mrs. Miller and I snacked on blueberries. Oh boy, were they sweet! No wonder Massachusetts is a leading producer of blueberries, along with New Jersey and Michigan.

Lauren and I finished the night downstairs, playing more Yoshi's Woolly World. We went through the first half of World 4 tonight. We started in the jungle, dodging monkeys who couldn't be turned into yarn balls...and ended up dodging a massive catfish that could swallow Yoshis in one gulp! The hardest round was the Latiku maze. You not only have to make your way around the little yellow fellow who throws spike balls at you, you need to figure out how to find the end of the maze, too.

After much deliberation, due to iffy weather, we've decided we're going to visit Six Flags Great Escape in Lake George, New York tomorrow. This is one of our major, extra-long trips, and I always look forward to it.

The Stories We Leave Behind

After weeks of heat, humidity, rain, and clouds, I was so happy to see blue skies and blustery 40-degree temperatures when I awoke this morning. I celebrated with the last of the apple turnover for breakfast and an episode of Sailor Moon. In the second half of the third season, the Soldiers crash the elite Mugen School to find out more about the mysterious Hotoru Tomoe and an accident she and her father were involved in many years ago. They have one last showdown with Mimtete, who isn't happy another member of the Witches 5 has tried to steal her job.

Jessa picked me up at 10 to head down the White Horse Pike to the Cinemark Movie Theater in Somerdale. Turns out this is a fairly new theater in a "lifestyle center"- type mall with housing and stores and restaurants, like the Market Place in Cherry Hill. Even with the 20 minute drive, buying food (I had the smallest box of popcorn they sold; Jessa went for nachos and an Icee), and my playing Pac Man for 10 minutes, we were still there too early. The showing wasn't until 11:15.

It's probably just as well we were there early. The place was a bigger maze than the Death Stars. It took us a few minutes of twists and turns before we figured out where we were supposed to be. Because the theater was recent, the seats were comfy, and while there wasn't at ton of legroom, there was enough. We were the first ones there. This being only the second showing of the day, the theater was busy, but not crowded. I was interested to notice the cross-section of people coming to see this. I saw kids as young as 6 with parents my age through college students up to elderly couples.

After many advertisements for current TV offerings and upcoming movies, The Force Awakens finally began. I really can't say too much about the plot without going heavily into spoilers. A young woman named Rey (Daisy Ridley) who lives alone on a desert planet discovers a beach-ball-like droid with a secret message about the long-lost Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Both the New Order, the evil group that has taken over the galaxy, and the valiant Resistance are very interested in finding Skywalker and the knowledge he holds. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his old buddy Chewbacca (Peter Mahew) are just interested in finding their ship, the Millennium Falcon. But it turns out the new head Sith Lord and resident bad guy has connections to Han - and General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) - that could have dire consequences for Rey, her new friends, and the galaxy...

Wow. Holy cow. Yeah, this was good. This was good in all the ways the prequels mostly couldn't manage to be. The story was fairly easy to follow. The kids did a great job. Harrison Ford was having more fun than he's had in years. The ending nearly killed me. I cried or almost cried a couple of times. Did it have problems? More than likely, including a few plot points that didn't make sense. I'll figure that out more when it's released on DVD. Let's just say for now, this is a heck of a ride. Whether you're a fan of the series or not, I think you'll find something to enjoy.

Like all Star Wars movies, The Force Awakens is over two hours long. We were in the theater for a while by the time we finally decided it was time for lunch around quarter of 2. Fortunately for us, there was an Applebee's right next door to the Cinemark. Jessa had the good idea of each of us ordering an appetizer plate and soup. We were both still too keyed up from the movie to eat anything really heavy. Jess had hot wings and iced tea; I opted for chicken quesadillas and hot tea. We both had a very tasty and salty French Onion Soup.

We still had over an hour before we would meet Joe at his apartment. It was too nice to hang out at their place, as we originally planned. We made a brief stop at the Gamestop next to Applebee's before riding across Camden County to the Deptford Target. I'm glad we went there! They had some of the newest Ever After High dolls, including two new Signatures (basic dolls) I'd been looking for, Justine Dancer and Farrah Goodfairy. (Ironically, they also had Mira Shards and Courtley Jester, for cheaper than Amazon had them.) Jessa and I also explored the electronics section and the seasonal aisles. While most of what's out now in the seasonal area is for Valentine's Day, they still had a ton of Christmas candy left. I finally found the half-price mini Yorks I wasn't able to pick up at the Acme.

Joe actually lives in an apartment complex in Deptford, not that far from the Deptford Mall. We ended up there next. He has a nice little place with four budgies (one older green-yellow one, three younger blue and white ones bought to give the older one a friend), one very bright-green parrot appropriately named Emerald, a very tall and slender Christmas tree, and lots of stuffed toys, records, and books. We admired his pets and collections as he got ready to head out.

Our next stop was a really nifty little record store in Woodbury Jessa and Joe had mentioned a few times. They'd apparently just opened and had a ton of items for a dollar. That, they did. For the most part, even their regular prices weren't unbearable. I ended up with:

The soundtracks from All Dogs Go To Heaven, The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band, the film version of Can-Can, and a double album of the Irene Dunne 30's operettas High Wide and Handsome and Sweet Adeline

18 Interesting Songs From Unfortunate Musicals, a collection of numbers from shows that were huge flops on Broadway and were never otherwise recorded.

The original 2-disc "Collector's Edition" DVD set for the animated Disney Tarzan

We must have been at the record store for over an hour, maybe closer to two. It was well past dark when we finally headed out again. Joe saw a Goodwill on the way home and decided to give it a try. They didn't find anything, but I picked up a Backyardigans DVD, In the Deep, and a 2-disc record set of music from the actual Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy movies (including some of their solo outings).

It was past 6:30 when we made it back to my place. I got to show Joe and Jessa around. They admired my doll collections, my ornament-laden tree, and my crates groaning with records. I don't often get to have people visit my place, so that was fun.

Opened the dolls as soon as they left. Justine Dancer and Farrah Goodfairy are two of the newest additions to the Ever After High line. Sweet and sassy Justine is the daughter of the youngest of the 12 Dancing Princesses. She wants to run her own dance studio and direct and choreograph music videos someday. Gentle Farrah has taken on the task of being both the Fairy Godmother to Ashlynn Ella and the Blue Fairy for Cedar Wood. She's a kind-hearted creature who loves making new outfits for her friends and dreams of the day when she'll get to take part in a ball of her own. Farrah's pink face is a bit odd-looking and her sparkly blue dress is a bit cheap-ish, but she has the prettiest blue-green hair. Justine's dark brown hair is a messy poof, but she has a beautiful yellow and pink outfit and a gorgeous face with glittery make-up.

Listened to the All Dogs Go to Heaven soundtrack as I removed the dolls and ate leftover stir fry for dinner. While I'm not overly fond of the rather strange movie (about a gangster dog who returns to Earth after being murdered and ends up helping an orphan), some of the songs are actually quite good. My favorite was always "The More You Share" with Charlie (Burt Reynolds) and the pups, and the tearjerking "Soon You'll Come Home."

And...watching the Star Wars movies over the last couple of days has given me a lot to think about. A lot of The Force Awakens centers on legacies and stories - the ones we tell ourselves, the ones we leave behind, the ones we think we know. Stories are an important part of living and of being. We're dead when we don't have a story. And the stories don't end when we do. Stories can be passed down, from generation to generation, from parent to child, from child to friend, from friend to family. Stories evolve, change, take on a life of their own.

Jessa and I were actually discussing this in the car on the way to the theater. We're both thrilled that the Star Wars saga is being continued for a new generation. Now kids will know Rey and Finn and Poe like I knew Leia and Luke and Han...and I couldn't be happier. That's what happens with good stories.

I have so many memories from this series. I remember Rose and I playing with our new Return of the Jedi toys at the laundromat in the early 80's. (According to Mom, that's how we lost our original Princess Leia figure - we left her at the laundromat.) I remember how thrilled Keefe was when the original trilogy was re-released in the late 90's, and then the prequels came out. I'd join him when he played with his action figures. We used to have so much fun, making up stories and somehow connecting the old and new trilogies.

And now, kids will be able to make up their own stories, just like we did. They'll be able to decide what happens next, who loves whom. They'll be pretending to be Rey and Poe and Finn in their backyards, just like we used to have fun pretending we were Luke and Han and Leia. They'll get to make their own bedsheet Falcons and cart around teddy-bear Chewies.

Stories never really leave. Oh, sometimes they seem to disappear for a while, but then you'll find a dusty book or an archived webpage or hear a story from your parents or grandparents, and they're alive again. True fantasies are always there, deep down, when we need them most. Stories are our true legacies. They're what we leave behind, when everything else is gone. As long as the stories are still there, people are never really lost.

And...that's what I'm meant to do. That's what I believe in. I believe in the stories. I'm meant to create them, tell them, pass them to the next generation. Some people believe in faith. Others believe in the Force. Me, I believe in the stories...for they'll be around long after everything else is gone. I'm meant to tell and retell stories, to pass them on, to create my own and enhance the stories of others. That's my legacy.

Jukebox Friday Night

It was just cloudy and cold when I got up this morning. I combated the gloom with another Easter special. Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies is another Looney Toons holiday special made up of mostly bits and pieces of classic cartoons. The wrap-around story is the flimsiest yet. Granny has to find a replacement for the ailing Easter Bunny among the Toons. Possibly to make up for the weak storyline, the cartoons excerpted are among some of the best ever made by Termite Terrace, including three Oscar winners, "For Scentimental Reasons," "Birds Anonymous," and "Knighty Knight Bugs." (Other favorites seen here include "Robin Hood Daffy," "Hillbilly Hare," and "The Rabbit of Seville.")

Work was on-and-off busy, but mostly quiet. The clouds from the morning had mostly subsided by late afternoon. We weren't quite as busy as yesterday, and we had a lot more help, too. This time, I was able to shut down easily with no relief and no problems.

Good, because I had a lot of grocery shopping to do today. I needed meat, but there weren't any really good sales. I did get a small tube of ground turkey for $3.49 and two packs of salmon cakes for $1.58 each with two manger's coupons. Most of it was restocking - tomato sauce, diced tomato, peanut butter, parchment paper, brown sugar, chocolate chips, coconut, oatmeal, bananas, sweet potatoes, apples, grapefruit. I found a bunch of DVD's in the clearance shelves. Grabbed the first How to Train Your Dragon for $2.99 and a set with the first two American Tail movies for $3.99.

Oh, and my schedule for next week is pretty similar to this week's with slightly more hours. I do have a 7-hour day on Tuesday. Otherwise, nothing really late or really early, Monday and Wednesday off again.

The light on my phone was blinking when I got in. Rose called while I was at work. We'd be going to the show at 7:30, after she dropped off Khai at Craig's mom's house. Ok, that was fine. I could have a chance to eat, change, put everything away, and watch How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Hiccup, his beloved dragon Toothless, and the other Dragon Riders of Berk now live in harmony with their new friends. Hiccup is nervous about taking over as chief from his father, Stoick. He's even more scared when he, Ingrid, and the other riders discover a group of dragon poachers who are rounding up dragons for the evil Draco. Draco wants to create his own dragon army and destroy Berk. While escaping the poachers, Toothless and Hiccup make a huge discovery in an ice cave. Another dragon rider has been making raids on the poachers, and Hiccup gets the shock of his life when he finds out who this person is! Meanwhile, his father is searching for him, and the other Riders are trying to rescue their dragons from Draco. Hiccup wants to reason with Draco, but he gets a huge reality check when he discovers that his dad was right, and there are just some people in this world you can't reason with.

I was just as impressed with the second movie as I was with the first. This is a touching, rather dark tale of a boy and his dragon who both learn that family is closer than you think, and while not everyone will be reasonable, that doesn't mean you don't still try to make peace. If you loved the first movie or the TV show or are a fan of animated action, this is very highly recommended.

The movie was ending and I'd just cleaned up the dishes from my salmon cakes and vegetable stir-fry dinner when Rose called again. She was picking me up early. She had decided to pick me up first, then drop off Khai. Fine by me. We dropped him off at his grandmother's house in Haddonfield, then headed down the highway to Woodbury, dodging more road repair on the way.

Woodbury is a lovely old town in the heart of Gloucester County. It's the county seat, as well as having the local hospital branch. The Sketch Club Players turned out to be a small theater in an old house on the edge of town. We parked in front and, after some confusion over where to go, headed in. The stage was small, so small you could sit in the back and probably see everyone pretty clearly. We took seats in the middle. We were there more than a half-hour early. We had time to look over Playbills and check cell phones before the show began.

The All Night Strut was a revue based around 30's and 40's music. Three women and two men performed popular standards from the era like "Minnie the Moocher," "As Time Goes By," "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Jukebox Saturday Night." The backdrops were just simple curtains and mid-20th-century Art Deco trim, with a movie screen occasionally showing projections of Hollywood stars of the era or scenes from Depression breadlines or World War II (and some newer wars, too).

Rose's friend and fellow lawyer Tiara was the one who suggested the show to us. She performed an especially lovely "I'll Be Seeing You," the finale of Act I. She made a great Minnie the Moocher, too.

The two cutest numbers both revolved around troubled relationships. One of the guys tried to chase two of the girls...and ended up getting into trouble with both....in "Ain't Misbehavin'." Both guys tried to woo two of the girls in "A Fine Romance," but they weren't having any of it. "Java Jive" reminded me of "Coffee Break" from How to Succeed In Business as everyone chased that all-important cup of Joe. (They even had a stage manager who brought them the cups and broke up the girls fighting in "Misbehavin'.")

As you can tell, I really enjoyed the show and am glad Rose invited me. She seemed to have fun too, and musicals usually aren't her thing. I wish we could have told Tiara what a fine singer she was, but Rose couldn't figure out where to meet the performers and wanted to get home to Khai anyway. We had to dodge a lot of traffic slowly making its way around the repairs on the Black Horse Pike, especially down by the ramp into Oaklyn. Rose picked up Khai first (in his cute dog-print pajamas!) before she dropped me off.

Oh, and I got my eBay order for Josefina today. Most American Girl dolls up through Kaya had mini-dolls made for them and their time periods. Josefina's Nina is especially meaningful because, in the story, her mother made it and passed it down from girl to girl. Josefina's sister Clara didn't want to give her up originally after her mother died, but she finally decided to honor the tradition and clean her up for her sister.