Into the Sunshine

Slept in this morning. It was noon before I got rolling with breakfast and Match Game '77. In the middle of the first episode, Scoey Mitchilll leaves the stage to go to the bathroom...and comes back riding the stage for the Audience Match. The second episode featured a question about who would give Richard an obscene phone call, and some very amusing answers. 

Headed out after the second episode. I had a lot I wanted to do today, this time behind the Acme at the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. Started off at Goodwill. After I dropped a small donation in the back, I rode around front and checked out the main store. I found a copy of the first three Wallace & Gromit shorts, a folksy and heavy wooden pumpkin, flat cat in a pumpkin and skeleton wood stand-ups with cartoony artwork, and a long-sleeved blouse with a pretty brown floral print. (The last-named was half-price, which is really the only reason I bought it.) 

Peeked around Five Below next, but they didn't have much for Halloween. They mainly seem to specialize in candy, makeup palates, and wigs. I tend to do better there at Christmas when I'm shopping for the kids.

Hiked across the parking lot next to Great Cuts. I badly needed my hair done. It gets frizzy and hard to deal with when it's too long. 2:30 was the perfect time to go, too. There was only one other person there, and I had no wait. Got it cut and layered to my shoulders. It looks so much better! Much curlier and bouncier. Paid and tipped the lady and was in and out in 20 minutes.

Tu Se Bella's Pizza is a few doors down from Great Cuts. They weren't busy at almost 3, either. In fact, the only people I saw at the tables were the employees taking a break. I got my slice of cheese, slice of spinach, tomato, and shrimp, and bottle of Diet Pepsi in no time. Enjoyed the area's best pizza while people watching at the table near the window.

Went to Lane Bryant on the other side of the shopping center after lunch. I needed new non-wired bras. The ones I picked up from Blackwood last year were starting to get discolored. They were totally dead when I came in. Fortunately, it turns out they were buy one, get one seventy-five percent off, which brought them to $23 each. I walked in, found the same kinds I already had, bought them, and walked out. 

Normally, I try to avoid our tiny Walmart like the plague, but they do have a decent seasonal section. In addition to picking up apricot spread on clearance and boxes of Black Cherry and Orange Raspberry Propel mix, I found an adult red velvet cape for $10. I was debating whether to be a fairy or Little Red Riding Hood this year. I finally decided Little Red's cape would be easier to deal with if the weather turns bad than fairy wings.

Took the long way there and back past the soccer and baseball fields in Audubon, down Market Street, and over the train bridge into Oaklyn. It was too nice of a day not to. Slightly warmer, but nothing out of line for mid-October, in the mid-60's, sunny and breezy. I must have just missed the rush hour traffic. The White Horse Pike wasn't bad when I crossed where the WaWa used to be. I just missed the train coming here, too.

Went straight upstairs when I got home and into job hunting. I need to figure out what industries I can actually work for. Every time I think of something, like book publishing or editing, people leave comments or write or tell me "don't do that, you'll never get that, that's too hard to get into, you're not good enough for that." Would someone tell me what jobs I could do that aren't too competitive? I don't think there are any jobs that aren't too competitive. Everyone wants a decent job. 

Tried to work on writing after that. Richard explains that he was driven out of Televisia City by the Warlock of the West after he invaded. He'd been a guard to Queen Bretta, but beyond that, he knows very little. His memory was largely erased when he was rebuilt as a tin man.

Broke for dinner at 7. Ate leftovers while watching Match Game '79. Started out with some noisy answers to "Cheer __" in the Audience Match. A later answer prompts arguments from Bob Barker and Joyce Bulifant on whether or not "cannon" has three ns or two. The second one kicks off with Brianne doing a rather impressive cartwheel.

Moved on Kanopy after that for Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter. I'm not the biggest horror fan in the world, but I couldn't resist a horror swashbuckler. Kronos (Horst Janson) is a former Army soldier who now travels around the British countryside with his humpbacked companion Professor Hieronymus Grost (John Cater) tracking down vampires. One such town has been plagued by the death of young girls who are found severely aged before they die. Grost explains that this is the work of a vampire who drains youth from its victims. They're joined by the beautiful gypsy wench Carla (Caroline Munro), whom Kronos rescues from the stocks on his way to town. 

Kronos is initially called to town by his friend Dr. Marcus (John Carson) to figure out what's going on with the vampires. A witness whose sweetheart was drained claims he saw someone very old attacking her. Kronos has a lot more to deal with than Grost's theory being questioned. Marcus introduces his friends Paul (Shane Bryant) and Sara (Lois Daine) Durwood and their aged and ill mother Lady Durwood (Wanda Ventham). The Durwoods are mourning the loss of their father and husband 7 years before, but Kronos suspects there may be more to them than meets the eye. Especially after Marcus is attacked and turned into a vampire, and the villagers blame him for it. Now he has to find a way to deal with the Durwoods and their chain of brutal killings, before they attack another innocent girl.

Too bad this was one of the last Hammer horror movies and they were never able to continue the series as planned. While it's slow-moving, violent, bloody, and a bit on the cheap side, it's also fascinating. The vampire-elimination rituals are cool to watch, and you just don't often see sword fights and duels in a historical horror film. Some decent performances, too, especially from Carson as the infected Marcus and Cater as Grost. I found this a bit too bloody for my taste to repeat, but it was interesting enough that I'm glad I gave it a try.

Finished the night at Tubi with the Halloween episode of Silver Spoons. It's "A Dark and Stormy Night," and the power went out as Ricky and his friends Freddy and Alfonso were watching a horror movie. Ricky's dad Edward encourages them to tell a round-robin ghost story instead and use their own imaginations. The quartet comes up with the bizarre tale of four boys trapped in the mansion by a beautiful lady (Kate), a mad scientist (Edward), his super-polite creation Franken-Stuffins (Dexter), and a giant frog. 

Winter's Comin'

Started off a late morning with breakfast and spooky shorts from The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Piglet tries to turn "Frankenpooh" into a not-so-scary story of a very nice scientist. Tigger finds this too boring and has that scientist create a giant Pooh who is after honey. "Things That Go Piglet In the Night" sends Piglet, Pooh, Rabbit, and Gopher into the woods looking for spookables when they hear noises in the night...but it isn't anything like they expect. Piglet and Pooh think they've been launched into the "Pooh Moon" after accidentally flying over a tree. The others think they've been taken by the "Grab Me Gotcha" monster Tigger made up and go looking for them. 

Switched to Match Game '77 while making the bed. Fannie Flagg is thrilled to get a standing ovation from Gene and the audience when she's the only one to match a contestant. She and the others don't do nearly as well helping the contestant with "__ Feather" in the Audience Match.

Headed out after the episode ended. I had a lot of errands to run at the Westmont Plaza. Picked up a kind of breakfast sandwich cookie that was buy one-get one free with a digital coupon and the vanilla coconut milk I like at Sprouts. Target had the Made Good granola bars on sale, and I needed to restock disinfectant wipes. Grabbed more almonds there, too. Started my Halloween shopping at Dollar Tree by buying bags and stickers for the Mystery Bags. I enjoyed the bagels I bought for breakfast and lunch last week so much, I bought five more for this week, plus a cranberry muffin for today.

No wonder Dollar Tree was the only store that was even remotely busy. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for mid-October, sunny, breezy, and cool but not cold. I took the long way home, across Newton Lake Park and over the trail on the hill to the Haddon Township Historical and Environmental Center. The woods are just starting to turn yellows and reds, but most trees still remain green.

Went straight upstairs when I got home, then put everything away and brought down the laundry. Pulled out the container with the winter clothes to sort them out. It's going to be in the 60's this week and drop into the 50's by next week. I think we're done with warmer weather for more than a day or two until April. Sorted out the piles of what would stay out year-round and what got put away while the laundry was downstairs.

Finished it while watching Rhapsody In Blue. I go further into this 1945 biopic featuring stage actor Robert Alda as George Gershwin at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Rhapsody In Blue

Worked on writing for a while after that. Richard the Tin Man vaguely recognizes Charles. He too barely remembers who he was. He knows he was once a member of the Queen's court, chased away by the Wicked Warlock of the West when she invaded Televisia City.

Broke for dinner at 7. Watched Match Game '79 while I ate. The first episode introduced a very funny contestant named Bert (for Roberta) who got an interesting answer for what Dumb Dora asked a doorman about. The second skipped ahead to the second episode of the week with Brianne Leary of ChiPS, Bob Barker, and Jon "Bowser" Bauman. Jon reads everyone his poem about being on the show in character, while everyone else teases Gene about matching his brown suit with blue socks and Brianne's newsboy-style outfit and answer of Tiger Beat for "Tiger __." 

Finished the night after a shower on YouTube with the two Miss Switch After School Specials from Ruby Spears. The Trouble With Miss Switch is that the substitute teacher (Janet Waldo) is a genuine witch. She's not a bad witch, though the Witch Council considers her old-fashioned. Her students consider her fair-minded and kind, especially Rupert Brown (Eric Taslitz) and his friend Amelia Dally (Nancy McKeon). Rupert and Amelia try to use her magic to let their school win their homecoming game, but evil head of the witches Saturna (June Foray) sabotages the game. Now Miss Switch may be banished, unless she and the kids can find a way to prove that the witch is really up-to-date.

Miss Switch to the Rescue has the kids accidentally opening a bottle and releasing the evil warlock Mordo (Hans Conried). He kidnaps Amelia and takes her back in time to the 1600's. He wants revenge on the witches who shut him up in the bottle and turns their Mayor (Walker Edmiston) into a troll. Rupert and Miss Switch have to find Amelia, then save her from fading away all together when it turns out she has a closer connection to the Mayor than anyone could have guessed.

While the animation is nothing special, these are otherwise charming adventure comedies with more than a touch of the supernatural. Waldo makes a lovely and warm Miss Switch, while Conried had his last role as the vengeful warlock. They're both based after children's books - I might have to look for those, too. Too bad YouTube seems to be the only place besides long-gone videos that you can find the specials nowadays.

The Trouble With Miss Switch

Miss Switch to the Rescue

Autumn Games

Started out the morning with material from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays revolving around Columbus Day. The long essay and the poems were surprisingly and refreshingly honest about what Columbus was and wasn't and what he did and didn't do. The essay references his horrible treatment of the natives on the Caribbean islands he discovered and the fact he died a broken man who never found the riches of Asia. The poems are more comic, but they do go into his poor sailing and leadership skills and his crew wanting to mutiny. 

Had breakfast while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Dan and Miss Elaina are excited about "The Neighborhood Fall Festival" and the beautiful fall decorations in town. Elaina, Dan, and Katerina try to help when the wind blows Music Man Stan's decorations down, but they can't put them back exactly the way he had them. Mrs. Tiger encourages to do their best and do things their own way. Teacher Harriet holds a "Field Day at School" and sets up fall-themed games for the kids. They don't always play every game well, but they learn to do their best and not compare themselves to others.

I was going through my journals last night, looking for a story I wrote around 2021-2022. I spent an hour or so re-reading that when I finally found it. I really need to get another bag or container for my newest journals. They're starting to make the bag the recent ones are in too heavy.

Watched Match Game '77 next. Richard explains why, unlike Dick Smothers, he doesn't like to be called Dickie Dawson in the opening. Fannie Flag and soap star Meg Bennett join in to help the contestant with "Havana __." In the second episode, Fannie argues with Gene over whether a woman plastic surgeon would  have been a tailor or a seamstress. 

Spent the next hour or so writing. Richard the Tin Man admits that he doesn't remember who he used to be, either. Unlike Charles, he's not bothered by a lack of brains. What he wants is a heart, so he can be feel and love and be complete again.

Listened to A Day In Hollywood/A Night In the Ukraine while I worked. This goofy revue spoofing the Golden Age of Hollywood turned up in 1981 and was a surprise hit despite its small size. The "day in Hollywood" is the movie spoof, with songs spoofing westerns and the Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy operettas along with a medley saluting movie song writer Richard Whiting. The songs are ok, but the spoof probably isn't anything an old movie buff hasn't heard before. The second half, a pitch-perfect take on Marx Brothers movies based after the Checkov play The Bear, is vastly more interesting, especially if you're a fan of the Brothers like me. 

Headed off to work around 2:30. Thankfully, I spent the entire day sweeping and pushing carts. It was fairly busy, probably due to the holiday. I wouldn't have wanted to be inside today, anyway. It was cool, windy, and sunny for most of the evening. I was in and out with no problems. Rushed home with dark clouds trailing behind me. 

(Thankfully, those dark clouds waited until around 8 - 9 PM to burst. I don't think it's doing anything out there right now.)

Went straight into Match Game '79 and dinner when I got in. Gene's not overly happy when he finds out in the opening that Fannie snitched his favorite tie. (Even if she did probably look better in it than he did, as Brett pointed out.) The contestant finally hits the big time when Richard Deacon helps her with "Which Way Is __" in the Head-to-Head.

Finished the night on Dailymotion and YouTube with some of the most popular game shows of the past decade. Game shows were once again at an impasse as the decade began. The intense Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-style trivia shows had mostly petered out by 2010-2011, though the neon sets continue to linger. Many younger viewers had abandoned cable and the regular networks for Internet streaming, where they could watch all their favorite shows - game shows included - for free or a modest fee. 

Syndication - and its endless need for filler - once again came to the rescue. Johh O'Hurley left Family Feud when he thought the show was getting too racy. Comedian Steve Harvey had no such concerns. He thrived on exaggerated reactions to sexually suggestive humor. Some people find him a little too exaggerated and agree with O'Hurley about the humor, but neither are really that bad in the early episode I have here. 

Celebrity Name Game revived charades-style games in what amounts to a cross between Body Language and Password. Two guest celebrities help two teams guess the name of a pop culture subject. The winners go on to the bonus round, where the contestants give clues to the celebrities in order to guess the name of a subject behind 10 boxes onscreen. Fast-paced and fun, and Scottish comedian Craig Ferguson is clearly having a ball with the wilder guesses. 

Like Celebrity Name Game, 25 Words or Less is based after a board game. In the first season, two celebrities and a contestant are shown a list of five words to convey to their teammates. The contestants then bid on how many guesses it'll take them to figure out the word. As with Pyramid and Password, players can't use their hands. Meredith Vieria returns to hosting here. Simple but addictive, I can see why this continues to be popular in syndication. (And I'd love to see what the board game is like, too.) 

Fox's big hit Beat Shazam may be the first game show to be based after a musical game app. Three pairs of contestants guess songs from a certain musical genre or decade as they make their way up a prize ladder. The final song in each round is the "Fast Track" and is worth double the points. The team that guesses the title correctly in the fastest time wins the money. Half-way through, the lowest-scoring couple is eliminated. The bonus round has them identify five more songs before "Shazam," the computer, can. Hilarious, tuneful, and a lot of fun to play along with. No wonder this is still going strong on Fox at this writing.

ABC once again brought game shows back from the dead in prime-time. Instead of England, they turned to the genre's past and revived some of the most popular shows of yesteryear. To Tell the Truth and Match Game were expanded to an hour, but otherwise left pretty much intact. To Tell the Truth made things less staid by letting the panel play against each other and compete to see who uncovered the most fibbers at the end of the day. Match Game was pretty much the same as it had been since 1973, with actor Alec Baldwin clearly enjoying hosting and questions that could now be outright randy. 

The pandemic in early 2020 brought an end to the sudden game show revival. Shows like Price Is Right, Let's Make a Deal, and Match Game thrived on interaction between contestants, the audience, and the host. Match Game bowed out shortly before everything started, but other shows were more strongly effected by the lock downs and new restrictions. Audiences dwindled, contestants stood further apart, and there was far less interaction. Even Meredith Vieria did 25 Words on a Zoom-type chat. 

Romance shows thrived in the 2010's in the wake of wildly popular reality show competitions like The Bachelor. Also thriving were streaming services like Netflix that took advantage of new technology to offer a wide variety of programming at one price...at least until too many such services flooded the market around 2021-2022 and they became more costly. The Circle is one of Netflix's bigger hit game shows. A group of people are moved into an apartment building and are given the ability to talk to each other via social media. They can present themselves realistically, or go for a more fanciful version. The least-liked players are blocked from the game. 

Honestly, this one gets a little too close to shows like Real World for my taste. I found it more smarmy than fun, especially eliminating people just because they annoy you. 

Jeopardy got a major personnel shake-up when long-time host Alex Trebek died of cancer in November 2020. The show auditioned hosts for almost a year before finally settling on two - smart Mayim Balik and former Jeopardy big winner Ken Jennings. Jennings is the one seen in this recent Tournament of Champions exhibition episode. 

Jeopardy isn't the only intense trivia show currently running. One of Game Show Network's more popular offerings at the moment is another British show, Master Minds. Originally titled Best Ever Trivia Show, this one has three contestants playing against three trivia experts. The last standing trivia expert and contestant go head-to-head in the final round. I hope more people catch this one. Intense game play, and you learn a lot from those trivia experts. 

Find out how game shows have evolved over the past decade with these recent favorites! 

Family Feud (2011)

Celebrity Name Game (2014)

Match Game (2016)

Beat Shazam (2017)

To Tell the Truth (2018)

25 Words or Less (2019)

The Circle (2020)

Jeopardy! (2022)

Master Minds (2023)

The Eagles Ram the Rams

Began the morning with a quick breakfast and Mathis On Broadway. I'm guessing this recording is from the late 90's, since the most recent songs are "He Lives In You" from the stage version of The Lion King, "Seasons of Love" from Rent, and "Our Children" from Ragtime. My favorite number is the Depression-era cheer-up ditty "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" featuring the cast Forever Plaid. 

Hurried off to work after that. Work was off-and-on steady. It actually could have been worse on a Sunday. First of all, the weather was gorgeous, sunny, windy, and much cooler. Second, most people might be waiting for the holiday tomorrow to do their shopping. Third, the Eagles game wasn't until 4. We also had a lot more help around than usual. I'm still having trouble dealing with customers. Several people were still rude or had trouble with their cards that are supposed to buy healthy food. At least it slowed down enough by 4:30 for me to hurry out.

(Oh, and the Eagles rammed their way through the Rams' defense early-on, and though the Rams tried, the Eagles managed to outrun them. The Eagles dashed to victory 23-14 and are one of two teams in the NFL at the moment with no losses along with the 49ers.) 

Went home and into The Ambassador. This is a short-lived musical version of the Henry James novel The Ambassadors. Neither its 1971 staging in London nor its 1972 Broadway version ran for long. Maybe people in 1971 just weren't in the mood what amounts to a romantic operetta about a staid New England lawyer (Howard Keel) who is sent to retrieve the son of his employer from Paris and ends up falling for a wealthy widow (Danielle Darrieux). I didn't get to finish the whole thing, but some of the songs on the first side weren't bad, including the widow's "Surprise" as she explains her philosophy of life and "Love Finds the Lonely." 

Finished the night at YouTube with tonight's Match Game Sunday Classics marathon, featuring even more male heartthrobs. Of course, "heartthrob" is a relative term. I'm not sure I'd call Jon "Bowser" Bauman or Skip Stephenson heartthrobs, even if they had some good moments in 1978-1979 and syndication respectively. Other unlikely hunks included Fred Grandy of The Love Boat and George Kennedy.

Others made more sense. Bert Convy would make one last appearance on the show in 1979, joining Robert Walden of Lou Grant. Brett got Robert to take his jacket off, then his sweater. The latter eventually ended up being used as a scarf by Patty Duke. Country star Bill Anderson appeared on several memorable weeks, notably the one with Debralee Scott in 1976. Robert Culp of I Spy and The Greatest American Hero appeared in an early week alongside Pat Carroll. Philly singer and director James Darren turned up for New Year's in the last week of 1975. Clifton Davies of Amen made several delightful appearances, notably during the week of the first PM episode earlier that year. 

The most famous heartthrob to appear on the show just made a cameo. Burt Reynolds passed through during an episode in 1974. He actually played on the original 60's version when he was a struggling TV actor, but was mainly there to praise the work his long-time buddy Charles Nelson Reilly did on the Tonys around that time. Kaye Stevens kept hanging off him. He kissed Louisa Moritz and gave the female contestant a kiss on her cheek that I'm sure she never washed off. 

Check out even more of the most famous and hottest (or not-so-hot) guys to have ever appeared on the show!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Male Heartthrobs on Panel (Part 2)

Books and Dolls

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special. Witch Hazel spends the holiday chasing Bugs, while Sylvester is freaked out by an oversized Tweety and mice who try to drive him and Porky out of a creaky old hotel and Daffy tries to assure his niece that Hazel is just a nice old lady. Yeah, this is one of those specials made up of bits and pieces from various Looney Tunes shorts. At least, unlike with Bugs' Easter special, they use shorts that actually fit the holiday in question, including two set on Halloween. 

Hurried out right as Bugs ended. There was a lot I had planned for the day, starting with a run to the Collingswood Farm Market. It was supposed to have rained all night into this morning. It was cool, windy, and thickly humid when I headed out, but the streets remained dry. Maybe that's why the farm market was so busy. I dodged people buying fall fruit and vegetables for football parties and weeknight dinners long enough to pick up pears, apples, grapes, and another one of those delicious, moist pretzel rings. 

Followed the crowds down Collings Avenue to the Collingswood High School. Collingswood already made the decision to move the Book Festival into the high school again. I guess they figured it was too late to change it. I didn't do nearly as well there as I have during previous years. I really hope the weather is better next year. Of the four used book sellers, two emphasize vintage sci-fi/fantasy novels that generally don't interest me. 

Strolled around the entire school this time, including the middle school. The writers and book sellers were in the middle school auditorium, while the kids' section was in the high school cafeteria and the teen authors and Scholastic's book sales were in the halls around it. There were food trucks in the courtyard across from the football field. 

After nearly an hour and a half of searching, I just ended up with: 

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L Konigsburg (Got this one for a dollar off the racks selling books from the Collingswood Library)

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years ,by Rachel Field 

The Chaperone, by Laura Moriarty (These two came off the tables with the more expensive, mostly non-sci-fi books.)

The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien (This came from one of the sci-fi sellers. Only Lord of the Rings book I'm really into.) 

It rained very briefly for a few seconds, but the clouds were getting darker, and the wind had picked up considerably. It was time to ride home. Stopped at the pretzel shop for a regular pretzel, a cinnamon roll pretzel for dessert, and a pepperoni-stuffed pretzel for lunch. 

Had my lunch while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Given the weather, I thought "A Storm In the Neighborhood" was appropriate. The Tigers invite Katarina, Henrietta, O, and X to sleep at their home when a big storm hits the Neighborhood. The kids are scared, but their parents have a plan, including flashlights when the lights go off. Daniel doesn't know how they'll clean up the mess "After the Neighborhood Storm." He learns there's lots of helpers who can help others out, including firefighters who help his father move a huge tree that's blocking the Clock Factory. 

Changed the dolls into clothes more appropriate for mid-fall after the cartoon ended. Molly snuggles into her red sweater from her hula costume and the khakis from her Aviator Outfit. Josefina wears her current meet outfit with the pretty red, blue, and orange print skirt. Felicity and Kit are in their original meet outfits. Kit gets her Rose Garden Gown, while Kit is in her lavender sweater twin-set and floral-print skirt. Jessa squeezed into an Our Generation sweater over an American Girl Coconut long-sleeved t-shirt, cargo pants, and high-top sneakers. Barbara Jean looks very 60's school girl in the white, black, and magenta Our Generation dress with the magenta shrug. Ariel also gets an Our Generation outfit, a shiny satiny blouse under a salmon knitted vest and a brown plaid skirt. 

Unfortunately, the pink gingham dress I bought for Whitney from the Cottage Resale Shoppe back in August is way too big for her. I tied a pink ribbon around her waist, and it's still too big. I had to roll up the sleeves. I'll leave her in it this month, but I don't think I'll be keeping it.

(Oh, and it did finally start raining around 3 PM...and when it rained, it poured. It ended about an hour later, and to my knowledge, hasn't rained since, though it is much cooler.) 

Worked on writing for a while next. The Tin Woodsman (Richard Dawson) explains he was out chopping wood when a shower hit him. He rusted and couldn't retrieve his oil can. Joyce frowns when he doesn't really seem to care about her, Charles, Rover, or their journey. He claims he wasn't built with a heart after a munchikin scientist rebuilt him. 

Had dinner with friends of mine, then finished the night on YouTube with tonight's Match Game Saturday Classics marathon. Match Game had its fair share of handsome leading men. Most of them sat in the first seat, giving Brett Somers the opportunity to spend the week flirting with them. William Shatner, for instance, turned up for two very funny weeks in 1975. Robert Urich was appearing on SWAT when he turned up on the show earlier in '75. The satisfied look on Brett's face after she gave him a "new kid on the block" kiss was priceless. Urich's co-stars from Vega$, Craig Morris and Bart Braverman, were semi-regulars who appeared fairly often on the show. 

Michael Landon appeared on the first week and became the first panelist to help a contestant win $5,000. McLean Stevenson really livened up the last two seasons of the syndicated show with his sarcasm, crazy jokes, and endless supply of single-colored sweaters. Robert Morse came over from Broadway for his one wacky week in 1974 as Rich and Charles defended Fannie and Brett from an overzealous contestant who kept chasing them. Dick Martin became one of the very few men to sit in all three seats (Bart Braverman did, too) when he took over Richard's spot in 1979, then sat in for Charles at least one week. Robert Pine from ChIPS turned up frequently in 1979 and 1980. Pitcher Don Sutton of the Los Angeles Dodgers showed the charm that would make him a beloved baseball announcer in Atlanta for many years. 

See if you can play along with your favorite TV hunk in this very funny marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Male Heartthrobs On Panel 

Laughing at Your Fears

Began the morning with breakfast and Care Bears Family on Tubi. After Hugs and Tugs are frightened by a noise in the attic, Grams tells them the story of the "Mystery of the Phantom." Five Bears and Cousins try to remodel an old theater, only to be sabotaged by what seems to be the Phantom of the Theater. Brave Heart is the one who finally reveals the Phantom's identity. Brave Heart and Grump work together "Under the Big Top" to show a boy that he's not too short to take part in the show. Meanwhile, Beastly and Shrieky try to trap them.

Went for a quick errand run next. I wanted money for the Farm Market and Collingswood Book Festival tomorrow. Strolled to WaWa and used the ATM machine, then treated myself to the Coke Freestyle machine. I love that thing. It's more fun to mix your own flavors than to get fancy smoothies (and cheaper, too). Created my own Raspberry Vanilla Coke Zero, raspberry and vanilla Zero flavors. Not bad. Maybe more vanilla next time. The raspberry overpowered it. I still had trouble getting the top on...and so did the worker who helped me.

Made a brief stop at Family Dollar on my way back. I was going to look for yogurt, but they had none. Looked to see if they had any Halloween novelties I could put in my Mystery Bags instead. Seeing none, I moved on.

Truth be told, it wasn't the nicest day for a walk. While still sunny at that point and not nearly as hot, it was horrendously, cut-the-air-with-a-knife humid. At least it's starting to look more like fall. Some smaller trees have already begun turning yellows and golds, but most are still pale yellowy-green. They won't be turning colors for a week or two. 

Went straight upstairs and into lunch when I got home. Watched Match Game '77 when I got in. Soap and stage star Meg Bennett and comedian Dick Smothers joined in to help a contestant with "Havanna __" on the Audience Match. 

Spent the rest of the afternoon doing a job search and check my schedule. Three days off next week will give me the chance to recover from all the trouble this week and get a lot done, including my hair cut and pulling out my winter clothes. The only early or long day is Sunday, and that's just until 4:30. I'll get to see most of the Eagles-Rams game. On the other hand, more hours would have been nice. We are coming up on the holidays. 

Headed out around 2 PM. This time, work mostly went fine. I spent the entire evening pushing carts and sweeping. I was supposed to have gone into a register at 6, but the night bagger is sick and called out. Worst that happened was I had to clean up a mess that someone made near the marigold display - at least they did it outside - and I mixed up the time and my break was late.

Went straight into Match Game '79 and dinner when I got home. Gene reminds Fannie Flagg she was supposed to have been on the show the week before - Fannie's response is hilarious. Later, Richard Deacon wishes he could have the male contestant's hair and is more than happy to help him with "__ the Dog" on the Head-to-Head.

Finished the night after a much-needed shower with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Hobgoblins is just about every 80's movie involving small, annoying, sometimes murderous monsters taken up to 11. Kevin (Tom Bartlett) takes a job as a security guard in a movie studio to impress shy Amy (Paige Sullivan). He accidentally releases tiny, hairy little beings from the vault while pursuing what he thinks is a burglar. Those beings can make a human's fantasies come true...until the fantasy turns against them and kills them. 

He dashes home, where Amy, his friend Kyle (Steven Boggs), her less prudish gal buddy Daphne (Kelley Palmer), and Daphne's crazed Army boyfriend Nick (Billy Frank) are partying. The Hobgoblins attack and make everyone's fantasies come true, but none of it ends well. Amy's desire to be seen at a sleazy strip joint nearly gets her shot and her friends shot. Kyle's hot girlfriend tries to push his car off a cliff. Nick's Rambo re-enactment ends with him up in flames. Kevin's the one who finally chases them back to the studio, but it's his boss Mr. McCready (Jeremy Culver) who finally gets rid of these alien menaces once and for all.

This may be one of the best bad movies they reviewed, and certainly one of the most 80's. From Daphne's neon and lace to what several of the fantasies end up being, this is hilarious, cheesy B-movie goodness. Culver gets top honors as the old man who gets the ball rolling and ultimately saves the day, and some of the folks in the Club Scum are a riot, too. The teenagers range from bland to annoying, with Palmer coming off the best as sex-crazed, trend-loving Daphne. The Hobgoblins themselves are cheap hairy puppets that look more like those stuffed monkeys with the Velcro on their paws than terrifying critters.

If you love bad horror, especially B-level 80's horror, both the original and MST3K versions of this are highly recommended.  

Bad Day of the Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and PAW Patrol on Paramount Plus. The "Pups Save a Ghost," or what they think is a ghost, when a spooked Rubble spies something wispy and white wandering around. The pups find themselves chasing the apparition in the middle of the night to find out just what this supposed spirit is. The pups are excited to be putting on a play about King Arthur and the Pups of the Round Table. Chase, their Arthur, comes down with a cold after rescuing Cap'n Turnbot from the castle set that flattens him. The pups talk a shy Marshall into taking his place in "Pups Save a Show." 

Poked around Indeed for jobs. It's the same trouble I've had for years. Either everything needs more experience than I have, or it requires skills I don't have. I need to find something so badly! I have to get out of the Acme, but nothing seems right for me. And I did hear from the Camden County Library System...and yeah, they turned me down. I would have turned the job down anyway, but it's still disappointing. I guess I didn't give as good of an interview as I thought.

Put on Balalaika after I got fed up with Indeed. I go further into this robust Russian operetta melodrama featuring Nelson Eddy as a Cossack prince who falls for a singer at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Balalaika 

Had lunch while watching Tattletales. I came in mid-way through an episode with Scoey Mitchilll and his wife Claire, Hal Linden and his very funny wife Fran, and songwriter Sammy Cahn and his wife Tita. Considering all three couples stayed together pretty much their entire lives (Claire was with Scoey until he passed away last year; Hal and Fran were together until her death in 2010), everyone had decent answers. Scoey and Claire wound up pulling ahead mid-way through and were the big winners.

Headed out to work after that. I seriously regret it. Work was nothing short of a complete pain in the rear the entire evening. People were obnoxious. People were rude. One woman threw a fit when her order came up to over $110. She bought two 8-packs of soda and several large steaks, none of which is cheap. At least two couples had cards that didn't work and had to be moved so they could be dealt with. Families let their children scream, cry, and chase each other up and down the aisles with no regard for anyone around them. An older woman made her brother clean the sticky spots on the register, then proceeded to yell at him about not doing this and that right. She did praise me, but I would have taken her compliments more seriously if she was nicer to her brother.

Two young men came into my line five times, trying to use their debit cards to get money back. One guy's card was so frayed, it wouldn't go through. The other had a card that worked, but kept saying there was no money on it. They also kept trying to flirt outrageously with me and yammered about politics to anyone in line who wouldn't listen. Despite what one claimed, they weren't being "people." They were being annoying. 

And of course, I learned that I was missing money in the till, and it was worse last week. I'm having a hard time concentrating and trying to keep up with all this. I just keep getting into trouble. And that was on top of there being no help at all today other than express and self-checkout. I had to handle long lines alone the entire time. 

I rode home in tears. Rode around the neighborhood, trying to calm down. At least it was a much cooler night. There was a strong, chilly wind as I made my way down East Haddon Avenue and around to East Clinton. Several houses in the neighborhood are already decorated for Halloween, with plastic jack-o-lanterns hanging off tree branches, orange and purple lights wound around porch ralings, and miniature cemeteries planted on front lawns. 

Had dinner while watching Match Game '79 when I got home. Dick and Dolly Martin played together for the first time this week, joined by Nipsey Russell and Patti Deusch. Dick had the best answer to a question about where the doors for a cheap sedan ended up being. The others help the contestant with "We've Got __" in the Audience Match.

Finished up the night with more Match Game to try to make myself feel better. Started with the first episode of the week Buzzr's currently running. The winning contestant got so excited, she dragged Gene around the studio! He dove behind the question holder while Nipsey Russell ran out and gave her a squeeze! "If you won't take advantage of that jumping," Nipsey insisted, "then I will!"

Did three classic nighttime episodes next. In the first, Richard gives an answer to "Burns and __" on the Audience Match that Gene doesn't think will be on the board. Naturally, Richard is right. The second has Richard and Charles sporting wide-brimmed chapeaus as "Your Basic Big Picture Hat Society." The episode ends with Richard using his hat to hide a kiss between him and the contestant! In the third episode, everyone salutes a handsome Scottish officer in full regalia. 

Finished the night with an episode of Match Game '75. There's a really cute gag early-on here. Charles tells Gene "this ticket booth is closed" and gives him one of the blue cards. Gene ends up giving it to cue card boy and producer Roger Dobowitz. We had an ugly audience in this one, too. They booed almost every answer, including good ones and ones that matched. 

Autumn Blue and Gold

Began the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Miss Honey reads her students a tale from Busytown's history in "Captain Willy and the Pirates." Captain Willy is the lighthouse keeper who takes his ship out for a fishing cruise, only to lose it to pirates. He dresses as a character from local sea mythology to scare them away. Cucumber the photographer is now in Japan, dodging "Flying Noodles" from a broken noodle-making machine and searching for the missing noodle chef Sato. Mr. Fix-It takes the Scouts camping. They'd rather be "Roughing It," but when it starts pouring, they learn that Mr. Fix-It's huge camper has its virtues, too.

American Girl's "Girl of the Year" doll for 2024 made her debut this morning. These are dolls that are only out for a year and usually have stories of a girl juggling changes in her life with her favorite sport or hobby. Lila Monetti is a gymnast from Minnesota who is persuaded to try horseback riding camp and learns that you can be into more than one hobby at the same time. The doll is lovely and her corgi pup Mighty Mae is darling, but both the gymnastics and the horse themes have been done to death in the Girl of the Year series.

(The one interesting thing about Lila is her journal references to an earlier American Girl of the Year gymnast, McKenna Brooks, who is apparently now her coach.)  

Went for a walk after I got off the laptop to run a few errands. First stop was the Oaklyn post office two blocks away. Needed to send birthday cards to my good friend Amanda and my baby niece Aurora, and I was almost out of stamps. I dropped the cards in the slot, bought the stamps from a very sweet and pleasant young woman, and headed out.

Headed a block down to Dollar General next. Doing the summer sheets and quilt used up the last of my laundry detergent. I picked up the smaller yellow Tide bottle. Needed new hair bands, too. I hadn't replaced them since May. Used up the parchment paper making roasted Brussels sprouts, so I bought more of that, along with an Ultimate Coke Zero.

The main reason I wanted to run errands was it was just too nice to sit inside the entire morning. It was warm and sunny, with a sky clear as a pale blue glass. It was probably a bit too warm for October, and maybe a tad humid, but we're also not going to get too many more days like this. It's supposed to drop into the 60's by next week.

Had lunch, then worked on writing for a while. Joyce and Charles oil up the rusted woodsman. He explains he'd been chopping wood several months ago when he was caught in a storm without his oil can and rusted. 

Broke to head off to work. It started well. I spent the first hour or so sweeping and pushing carts. The trouble began when I had to put back a pile of cold items someone didn't want and couldn't afford. That made me late with sweeping, which made me late for break. And of course, they threw me into a register for the last hour. I don't know why. They're still pulling my till to check it, even months after I got into trouble. Good thing it slowed down by the time I left. I hurried out in frustration. 

Went straight into Match Game '79 when I got home. Robert Walden, Audrey Landers, and Bert Convy made the second week of 1979 extremely pleasant to look at. Gene tried to calm a nervous young Air Force officer by holding his hands, then brought the young woman contestant next to them in on it, too.

Finished the night on YouTube with game shows from the 2000's. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire exploded in a big way as the decade began. Almost every show on the four major networks and many cable channels imitated its dark neon set, lifelines, gradual advancement from big jackpot to bigger jackpot, and tense game play. Many of these shows came from England like Millionaire or other European countries, or even Japan.  Not only did the networks become saturated with them, but ABC burned out its golden goose by expanding it to five nights a week. The original Millionaire was gone by 2002. 

(The show would later prove more viable as a syndicated series, which ran off and on from 2002 to 2021. Meredith Viera was the first host, but she'd be replaced by many others as the series went on, including Cedric the Entertainer around 2014.) 

NBC didn't have much better luck with its Millionaire imitation. The Weakest Link also came from England, complete with unsmiling and tough host Anne Robinson. Eight audience members work together to answer a chain of questions. Correct answers continue the chain. Incorrect answers or banking the money breaks it. At the end of each round, the members of the team vote for whom they want eliminated. The person with the most votes is off the team. The last two members go back and forth for the final round. The winner either answered all the questions correctly or got the bigger lead. 

Despite the popularity of Robinson's catchphrase "You are the weakest link, good bye!" the original show got mired in silly celebrity episodes and barely lasted a year. The 2002 syndicated run also bottomed out after a year. It would do much better back on NBC starting in 2020 with the equally tough Jane Lynch hosting. 

NBC finally got its Millionaire hit in 2005 with the Dutch-born Deal or No Deal.  They choose six boxes to eliminate right away. The unseen "Banker" tells Mandel to make a deal for a big prize or other cash amount. They can take the deal, or eliminate one fewer box in the next round.  Howie Mandel may have seemed like a strange choice for the host, but he got so into dealing with the contestants, he's still associated with the show in the US to this day. I can see why this was a four-year hit for NBC and has been briefly revived twice. It's heart-stopping but very addictive to count down those boxes being picked!

Even Password got hit with the Millionaire bug when CBS debuted Million Dollar Password in 2008. Basically, it was retooled as Millionaire with people guessing words instead of trivia questions. Password probably does better when the contestants and celebrities are less tense, but this one certainly had its moments. Neil Patrick Harris proved to be as good at describing words as he is at sitcoms and Broadway musicals in the first episode. Regis Philbin hosting brought it even closer to Millionaire. Too bad it was pulled after a year when, despite good ratings, CBS decided it wasn't bringing in the demographics it wanted. 

Family Feud was revived in syndication in 2000. Though they had their fans, neither Louie Anderson nor Richard Karn were that well-received as hosts. Although the show continued in 2006 with a rather ugly neon set, older and more formal John O'Hurley was a slight improvement over his predecessors. The show returned to its original format, with three strikes, four rounds, and the Fast Money game. 

Feud wasn't the only older format to see a hit revival in the 2000's. The original Lingo only lasted a year in 1987, but Game Show Network thought it had potential and brought it back in 2002. This time, it was a smash hit that ran for five years with Chuck Woolery hosting. Two teams guess words on a bingo board with letters covered. They're giving the letter and have to attempt to spell out the mystery word. If they correctly guess a word, they can draw two Lingo balls. If they don't, control passes to the other team. 

This is a fun and addicting game with a fairly colorful set that's a breath of fresh air among the many Millionaire clones of the time. It's popular enough to have been revived twice, briefly in 2011 on Game Show Network, and currently on CBS with RuPaul in a version that began earlier this year.

Hollywood Squares was revived in syndication in 1998 with Whoopi Goldberg as the center square and Tom Bergenon as the host. The game play largely remained the same as the original NBC run. Goldberg left in 2002 and was replaced by a revolving door of celebrities. Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphies) is in the center square in this episode, joined by Donnie Osmond, Coolio, Naomi Judd, Gilbert Godfried, and Phyllis Diller, among others. I used to flip back and forth between this and fellow syndicated hit Jeopardy! when I was in college. 

Game shows flourished in syndication, on cable, and on prime time throughout the decade. Daytime was a different matter. With the exception of The Price Is Right, by 2000, they'd been chased off the air by talk shows. CBS finally gave Price a morning companion when they revived Let's Make a Deal in 2009. Wayne Brady is the supremely goofy host for the shopping show that has people in wacky costumes trading up or down to see if they can win prizes and avoid those infamous Zonks. It went over so well, it's been running before Price in most markets ever since. 

See how Millionaire and other neon delights changed how game shows are played and presented in the first decade of the 21st century...and that's my final answer. 

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (2000)

The Weakest Link (2001)

Hollywood Squares (2003)

Deal or No Deal (2005)

Family Feud (2006)

Lingo (2007)

Million Dollar Password (2008)

Let's Make a Deal (2009)

Baking Dreams

Began the morning with a quick breakfast and The New Scooby Doo Movies. Mystery Inc stumbles onto the set of "Sandy Duncan's Jeckyl and Hyde" at a studio that's about to be demolished. Duncan's frustrated that filming isn't going well. They're over budget and schedule, due to the many accidents and delays on-set. After one such accident causes Duncan's stand-in to quit, Daphne takes her place. The others investigate...and what they discover is not one, but a whole studio full of ingenious monsters in costume wrecking havoc. When the Hyde monster kidnaps Daphne, Duncan helps the kids find her and figure out who is behind the sabotage. 

Spent the morning making pumpkin muffins. I did the recipe largely from memory...and I have to admit, they didn't come out badly. I added maple syrup for flavor and a touch of sweetness. Yum, moist, flavorful, and just sweet enough. 

The muffins went so well, I made sweet potato pancakes with leftover mashed sweet potatoes for lunch; had them with a pear. The pancakes came out moist and delicious, and the real maple syrup was a perfect compliment. 

Watched Match Game '77 while I enjoyed my meal. Dick Martin sat in for Charles in this episode. Brett was happier to be next to handsome soap star Tom Hallick, while Mary Wickes and Betty White tossed out crusty quips. The first episode has a familiar name of a favorite semi-regular (and former MASH star) coming up in "__ Stevenson" in the Audience Match. The second had Gene and Richard drooling over two lovely contestants named Tom and Chris.

Hurried out to work after that. Work was a pain in the rear end for most of the afternoon. It's the beginning of the month and Tuesday is our Senior Discount Day. We didn't have nearly enough help to deal with them all. It was just me and the express lane for almost the entire evening. I panicked and got upset and felt overwhelmed for most of the afternoon.

Needed a few things after work. My niece Aurora's first birthday was Sunday; my friend Amanda's birthday was yesterday. I got them gift cards. Also grabbed more eggs, since I used up the last of the egg carton on my pancakes and muffins, and that Fanta blackberry "Mystery Flavor." 

Took out the trash and fed the cat for a friend when I got home, then went straight into the shower. I finished up the night watching The Cat and the Fiddle on the copy I dubbed off a video when I still had the DVD recorder. I go further into this operetta featuring Jeanette MacDonald and Ramon Novarro as songwriters who fall for each other at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - The Cat and the Fiddle

Harts In the Fall Heat

Began the morning with breakfast and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Linus insists that on Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin flies out of the most sincere pumpkin patch and gives gifts to all the good boys and girls. No one believes him but Sally, who spends her Halloween sitting with him in that sincere pumpkin patch. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown has trouble trick-or-treating and Snoopy gets ready for Veteran's Day as he fights the Red Baron.

Headed out to run errands next. First stop was PNC to use the ATM machine. There were long lines at the drive-through, so I used the indoor ATM. Went in, got my money, went out. 

It was a gorgeous, if warm, day for a ride. Sunny and hot for September, in the upper 70's. A cool breeze kept the ride bearable. The recent rain has done wonders for the gardens and trees. Everything is so green now. It felt great as I made my way across Collingswood, past Newton Lake Park and down Cuthbert to the Westmont Plaza. 

Once again was in and out of a few stores. Sprouts had the coconut milk I like, but many of the granola bars I like were gone or on clearance. I grabbed the kind peanut butter-chocolate drizzled bar. Picked up mouthwash and a large container of organic granola bars and a smaller one of Made Good berry granola bars at Target.

Had lunch at Westmont Bagel. I got to admire what remained of their sports memorabilia when I sat all the way in the back. Actually, the most fascinating item hanging on the wall was a print of what I presume to be the advertisement for the shop's opening day in 1993. Not only did I have no idea the shop went that far back, but it was interesting to see how they pushed the store when it debuted. Had a Diet Coke, a spinach omelet with crumbled feta, a six-grain bagel, and hash browns I didn't finish. Grabbed more bagels on the way out for breakfast this week.

Put on It's Magic, Charlie Brown when I got home and got organized. Snoopy reads a book on magic and puts on his own magic show. Most of the tricks don't go well, until he turns Charlie Brown invisible and forgets to change him back. Charlie Brown is despondent...but then he realizes Lucy can't yank the football away if she can't see him...

Listened to records while dusting, vacuuming, and sweeping my rooms. Stage and 20th Century Fox favorite Vivian Blaine recorded Songs from the Ziegfeld Follies in 1956. An attempt to resurrect the revue series in 1956 that didn't make it to Broadway (and one that did in 1957 but flopped) likely prompted this recording of some of the most popular songs from that famous stage revue series. She generally did better with heart-tugging ballads like "I Can't Get Started," "My Man," and "Suddenly" than with comic numbers like "You'd Be Surprised" or "Row Row Row." 

Switched to two more Fox blondes with the soundtracks for Rose of Washington Square and Footlight Serenade. I suspect this was a bootleg. The sleeve and record are plain, and all songs are taken directly from the film's soundtrack. Rose goes back further, as a film and in its setting. It also includes "My Man," along with "Rose of Washington Square." Serenade's big number is "Are You Kiddin'."

Did some writing next after taking the laundry downstairs. Joyce follows Rover to a tin man who looks suspiciously like Richard Dawson. He's also rusted solid. Charles is the one who finds his oil can.

I tried and tried to print a pumpkin muffin recipe I wanted to make. I reset and reset the printer. I turned it off and on and off and on again. I pulled the plug and put it back in. Nothing worked. It refused to print, even though it showed it was going to. It wouldn't print one of my stories when I tried that, too. 

Messing around with the printer took so long, I ran out of time to make the muffins. And of course, I forgot the burger rolls when I was out earlier. I had burgers on a bed of lettuce with bow tie pasta and Brussels sprouts. I don't think I cooked the burgers long enough. They kept falling apart on me. And of course, cooking them made a mess of me and of the stove. 

Put on Match Game '79 to cheer me up while I made my hasty dinner and threw the laundry in the dryer. The first one had a hapless golfer contestant who gave a very strange answer to what Fat Frieda looked like in a yellow dress. Charles Nelson Reilly sang his answer to "__ My Love" in the Audience Match (and did it very well, too). The second episode began with Betty White doing a stripping routine and ended with Gene Rayburn accidentally putting a word in the blank of a question and having to throw it out.

Finished the night on Tubi with Hart to Hart after I brought my laundry upstairs and put it away. Stamp collecting proves to be a "Hartless Hobby" when the Harts inadvertently come into possession of a rare and valuable stamp after visiting a gallery. A ruthless stamp collector (William Daniels) will do anything to get the stamp, including sending a hit man after the Harts. 

Electric Eagles

Started off the morning with breakfast, The Solace of Bay Leaves, and Disc 1 from my Hear & Now: Jazz Vocalists collection. I picked this up from I believe a yard sale so long ago, I can't remember when or where. Songs like the driving "Everything Must Change" by Shirley Horn and a lovely version of "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Freddy Cole, "Temptation" by Diana Krall, and "Don't Worry About Me" by Joni Mitchell are the perfect backdrops for a quiet morning. My favorite number here is "In the Winelight," a sweet and sexy song by Kurt Elling.

Headed off to work just as the CD ended. Wish I hadn't. Work wasn't busy when I arrived or left, but it was a mess in between. Today is the first day of the month, the first early afternoon Eagles game of the season, and the first decent weather we've had in days. I was overwhelmed by annoying people who bought far more food than they could afford, then had to put half of it back, and those who still couldn't figure out their health care cards and had to ring up their orders bit by bit because they didn't know what they could buy with them. And I was twenty minutes late with my first break and lunch and almost an hour late with my second break. We were just that busy

(The Eagles had a somewhat better day than I did. They started out badly and were down 27-7 when I was on my lunch. By the time I finally got on my third break, I learned they'd made a major comeback to beat the Washington Commanders in overtime 34-31. The Eagles are one of two unbeaten teams in the NFL at the moment along with the 49ers.)

Went straight home and into the shower. Had dinner while watching tonight's Match Game Classics marathon. This one continued with more big wins from the nighttime episodes. It kicks off with Betty White helping a handsome young Naval officer with a big win in the Head-to-Head. In fact, there were a lot of officers in this marathon. The very next episode featured a Marines pilot; a Marines officer turned up in a later episode. One lady in a 1977 episode screamed so loudly after Richard revealed his correct Head-to-Head answer, viewers with headphones claimed she hurt their ears. Another episode with Eva Gabor and Bill Anderson was lost from 1977 until Buzzr unearthed it in February 2021. (Gene's comments to an Asian gentleman who says he was in World War II may have been part of the reason.)

Enjoy even more big wins in the nighttime in this wacky marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Big Winners On Match Game PM Part II

Finished the night with the Electric Youth CD I picked up at the Goodwill on vacation. The CD was really scratched, and I wanted to make sure it would play. Thank heavens, it worked just fine. My sisters and I were huge fans of Debbie Gibson. Rose and Anny even had their own versions of the hat she wore, and I'm pretty sure we had the perfume, too. 

I played the cassette constantly from 1989 to 1991. Bouncy pop like "We Could Be Together" and driving dance numbers like the title song were the soundtrack to one of the most difficult times in my life. Knowing Gibson wasn't that much older than we were at the time made it even more like listening in on a friend's thoughts. "Lost In Your Eyes" was the big hit, but I always liked the touching "Silence Speaks a Thousand Words" and "No More Rhyme."