I'm On My Way

Started the morning with breakfast and Let's Pretend. "The Water of Life" is a Grimm's fairy tale about a young prince, with the help of an old man, finds a lovely princess and a magic sword. His brothers steal the princess and the Water of Life intended for his sick father when he goes to fight a war, but the Princess knows how to keep the brothers at bay. 

"Prince Gigi and the Magic Ring" is entirely new on me. It starts out like Aladdin, but instead of being poor and wanting something Betty, Gigi is a normal peasant who wants to find his fortune. Things seem to be looking up when he finds a ring that allows him to wish for anything he wants and a dog and a cat who talk to him. He falls in love with a beautiful princess, to the point where he has a castle built right next door to be near her, but his feline and canine friends know what she's really like.

"The Brave Little Taylor" is pretty much a straightforward retelling of the Grimm's Fairy Tale...but here, the princess knows who he is, doesn't care, and even helps him get rid of the giants. He only has one task - to get rid of two giants who terrorize the countryside. The king doesn't want to kill him. He just wants him to prove himself and stop bragging to everyone in the castle about killing "seven in one blow."

I made the bed while the shows were running. As I was putting the stuffed animals on, I rolled backwards and fell off the back of the bed. Ouch! The left side of my back and bottom of my left foot hit the wooden frame hard on the way down. I could move and walk fine, so I don't think there's any damage, but they're awfully sore.

Thank heavens that was the worst thing that happened all day. It had poured for a lot of the morning. The rain was starting to slow down as I called Uber, but it was still coming down. The driver arrived in 8 minutes, not bad for the weather and a trip into Philadelphia. There was no traffic and no flooding either, not even on the Route 38 corridor that was underwater in July when Lauren visited. Not even heavy traffic in Philly. 

30th Street Station is a beautiful old building with a massive, glowing lobby. I feel more elegant just walking around in there. They just remodeled the ceiling, and it looks great. They still haven't finished the food court area, though. I was able to get a pumpkin donut and chai latte from a Dunkin' Donuts stand. Went to the bathroom, then spent the next hour walking around and admiring the improvements before lining up for the train.

Thankfully, the train to New York left right on time. The rain was bad, but it didn't seem to affect the trains. The only trains that canceled were the ones going to Boston. The train I was on was originally supposed to go on to Boston, but canceled that leg. The really horrible weather must have all gone to the coast. It also must have cleared off the train. I had no trouble getting a seat to myself between two families in the first car. One had two fidgety little girls. I pulled out my stuffed Teddiursa and let her wave to one to amuse her. Amused myself while eating my turkey sandwich, chips, and applesauce by listening to a more typical mom-dad-brother-sister family play games and fuss about their hotel in New York and each other behind me. The train did arrive in New York 15 minutes late, but that train always does get in late.

I had a harder time just finding Moynihan Train Station. Normally, I get out and it's right across the street, but I must have gone the wrong way. I came out on the side of Madison Square Garden. Which looks great (must have been recently remodeled), but wasn't where I wanted to go. It took me 20 minutes to figure out where I was going. Didn't help that it was spitting, cold, and gray. Moynihan was so busy when I got in, I went to the bathroom and spent my remaining time in the station having a snack and walking around.

Despite what the conductor claimed, the train going to Albany wasn't full, either. I managed to get a seat to myself here, too. Unlike the train going to New York, this one was full of commuters going to the New York suburbs and totally quiet. I colored in the Adventures In Care a Lot coloring book I've had for almost 20 years now and made up stories about the gorgeous sights along the Hudson River. I love the view going to Albany! Even with the fog and off-and-on rain, the crumbling castles, massive manors, smoke-belching factories, choppy gray waters, and endless rolling green mountains looked like something out of a dream.

I had a harder time getting to the main station at Albany. The escalators were down. I was going to take the elevator, but the line was too long. I finally just hauled my suitcase and backpacks upstairs and met Lauren in the main lobby. 

Lauren and I had dinner at Mario's Restaurant in New Lebanon, New York, about an hour from Albany. It's a lovely old Italian place we've eaten at before. It's expensive, but so worth it. We ate by the window, near the fireplace. We both enjoyed the bean salad, Italian bread, and soft, crusty popovers. Lauren had shredded ribs braised in wine with pasta and vegetables and cream brulee for dessert. I had a delicious, if spicy, fennel sausage and shrimp with butter herb sauce and cigar-shaped pasta. Oh, yum! It was all so good, no wonder the place was still packed even at 8:30. I heard three different birthday groups there, too.

We finally arrived at Lauren's around 9. I went straight in the shower, then took my things downstairs and watched tonight's Match Game marathon. Even on Match Game, the occasional rain shower sprang up in the form of rainy day questions. One of the most notable was on the week with writer Donald Ross and his matching wild floral shirts and ties and his slightly bemused wife Patti Deusch. They were there to see an ever-jumpy contestant continue to win big bucks (she would go on to be one of the all-time biggest winners on the show later that week).

Into everyone's life, a little rain must fall...and a lot of wacky questions! Let a smile be your umbrella as you join the belly Laughs while singing in the rain with Gene and his very wet weirdos!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Rain and Storms Marathon

Loose In Oaklyn

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a Tour Bus" when the junker Mayor Humdinger bought to trick tourists into visiting Soggy Bottom goes out of control, thanks to his malfunctioning robot cat driver. Marshall ends up having to save Humdinger, the farmers, and Rocky too when he can't fix the steering wheel on the bus. Alex accidentally wreaks havoc during a sleepover at the Adventure Bay Museum, knocking over silver bowls and suits of armor. He goes out to find what he thinks his his turtle friend, but gets lost. "Pups Save Midnight at the Museum" when they have to find Alex and help Mayor Goodway and the two kids who got stuck after Alex knocked over a heavy urn.

Headed out after that. I had a lot of errands to run today before I leave for Pittsfield tomorrow! Got mini bottles of shampoo and conditioner at Target. They had Crest Gum Protection toothpaste on a really good sale, too. Grabbed oat milk and buy one, get one half-off granola bars at Sprouts. Sprouts has these awesome lunch bags that come with chips, a bottle of applesauce, a sandwich, and a small bottle of water, and a chocolate chip cookie. I got the one with the turkey on whole wheat bread. Got yogurt, tuna, and soda for when I come back, and small bags of nuts and puffcorn for the trip tomorrow. My niece Aurora and friend Amanda have birthdays October 1st. I bought cards and gift cards for them. 

Cut through Collingswood and Newton Lake Park riding home to avoid the ongoing construction work at Cuthbert. The park is still lush and green, probably the result of all the rain we've had lately. I could feel the cool spray being blown over from the glittering fountains in the lake, hear the wind rustling though the trees. I pushed my bike over the hill, which is still fairly moist from the damp weather. 

When I got home, I ran Loose In London while I put the groceries away, packed most of what will go in my backpack, and prepared the cards and my mail-in vote ballot. Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) scolds his friend Sach (Huntz Hall) and soda shop proprietor Louie Dumbrowski (Bernard Gorcey) for making bad deals. When a man shows up claiming he's a solicitor, he thinks it's one more bad deal. Far from it. He's a British lawyer who says Sach is distantly related to the wealthy Earl of Walsingham (Walter Kingsford). Sach trades in his first-class steamship ticket for three more to bring along Slip and their younger buddies Chuck (David Gorcey) and Butch (Bennie Bartlett). Louie joins them on the ship and accidentally ends up stowing away. 

The Boys are not well-received when they make it across the Atlantic. The Earl's relatives are a conniving lot who want his money and holdings and care nothing for him. Sach encourages the Earl to trade his medicine for cookies and start to enjoy life. That upsets the relatives even more. They try several none-too-discreet attempts to kill Sach or seduce the money out of him, but he avoids them. Slip, however, is getting the idea that something ain't right here, especially when the Earl announces he's going to change his will to make Sach the sole heir, then vanishes.

This is one of my favorite later Bowery Boys movies, and by far my favorite of the five movies they did set in more exotic locations like the jungle or Paris. Kingsford is having just as much fun as the boys, so much that Slip isn't the only one wondering at the end if he and Sach aren't related after all. They also get the most out of the fish out of water gags, including how Sach knows so much information about London landmarks and the fox head on the wall that keeps biting him. Probably not the best place to start if you're new to the Bowery, but it's fun for fans.

Even after all that, I still left early enough to drop the ballot and the cards at the Oaklyn Post Office before heading down to the Thomas Sharp School. Not that I needed to be early there, either. We had 17 kids today, five of whom left well before we went outside. Not that we were inside for very long. Though it remained gale-force windy, it was also in and out sunny and much warmer, in the lower 70's. We took the kids out at 3:30 and didn't bring them back in until past 5...and even then, the remaining three kids opted to go right back out and play kickball and jump rope on the blacktop with the seven remaining older kids. There was some squabbling over the swings again, but most of the kids who wanted a turn got at least one. There were four older kids and just one younger kid left when my shift ended. 

Instead of continuing down the White Horse Pike, I turned at CVS and rode into Oaklyn for the last Final Friday block party of the season. They were already booming when I pulled up to West Clinton. Though the food trucks looked tasty, I opted for cheaper slices of cheese and mushroom pizza at Phillies Phatties instead. Maybe I should have eaten outside. There was a gaggle of elementary school-age boys sitting at the next table over me who were so noisy and excited, even the guys making the pizza told them to shush. I could barely hear the weather news on Telemundo over them. 

There were even more food booths on the parking lot across from Tonewood Brewery. Ran into one of the boys who sits at my table and his mom just after I bought a coconut pop from the Bubba's Creamery cart. They bought hot dogs from the barbecue truck and were waiting for their meals. That little guy sure could bust a move! He really enjoyed dancing to the local band playing covers of 80's hits. I waved good-bye to them as they went to get their dinner and I finished my own treat.

Took the laundry downstairs to get that out of the way when I got home, then put on Match Game '77. They once again skipped way ahead, this time to the week with Nipsey Russell and soap star Rosemary Forsyth. The last episode of the night introduced playwright Abe Burrows and a lot of jokes about Brett and Charles wanting to be writers, too. 

Finished the night at Pluto TV with Laverne & Shirley after I brought my laundry upstairs and finished all the packing I can do for now. They're excited to be ambassadors to the new Shotz Brewery in Canada and taking their first cross-country train trip. Their delight turns to fear quickly when a dead mall collapses in their apartment, claiming "Beware of the bald man." 

It turns into "Murder On the Moosejaw Express" when everyone on the train seems to be bald. They even enlist Squiggy and Lenny, who are dressed as their idea of detectives. Laverne ends up panicking when first the dead man vanishes, then Shirley, then the guys. Shirley does turn up, afraid but largely unharmed, but the guys and the dead man don't. It's up to the girls to find out who the "bald man" really is and make sure the microfilm he stole makes it into the right hands. 

Swinging Into the Winds

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Visiting Granpere" is a lot of fun for Daniel as he compares Granpere's lighthouse home to his own and sees what's different and what's the same. He's reluctant to leave his beloved grandparent as "The Tiger Family Goes Back Home." Granpere has one last sunrise surprise in store for his beloved grandson and his family before they return to the Neighborhood of Make Believe.

Moved to packing and making lists of what I need to pack next. I got out my big suitcase and packed everything I could get away with today, including shirts, shorts and capris, socks, underthings, and most of the toiletries. I'll do the rest after I get more chores and errands done tomorrow, including packing my backpack. 

Watched So Dear to My Heart as I worked and did something online. I go further into this charming Disney live-action/animated hybrid with Burl Ives at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Musicals - So Dear to My Heart

(Oh, and Musical Dreams Movie Reviews is going on hiatus while I'm on vacation. Reviews will resume October 8th with The Magic of Lassie. I'll be bringing my laptop with me and will continue to update this blog daily.)

Watched a double dose of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while had a simple lunch of apple slices, peanut butter, chicken wrapped in Swiss cheese slices, and Popcorners. "Mickey and Donald Have a Farm," but they don't have animals when the electric windmill blows them away. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy use Mickey's tractor to retrieve the missing animals. "Mickey's Farm Fun Fair" is basically the Clubhouse county fair. Everyone is excited about being able to win a prize at the fair, especially Big Pete. He just can't seem to compete, until he, Chip, and Dale help Donald get down from a tree.

Headed out a little early after I pumped my front bike tire. I have enough to do tomorrow, so I went to WaWa and got my vacation money today. Treated myself to a tasty chocolate banana smoothie, too. WaWa uses real bananas to make their banana smoothies. Yuuum! Sweet, chocolatey, and very banana!

Went straight to Thomas Sharp after I left WaWa and arrived just in time. It's just as well that we only had 16 kids today, 6 at my table. We were down a teacher. One of them took today off. At least we were able to get them outside the moment the finished their snacks. It remains windy and cool, if a little cloudier than yesterday. There was some squabbling on the swings, but at least no one got hurt. (In fact, the girl who got hurt yesterday reported her ear was a little bruised, but not too bad.) We took them inside after an hour to draw and color. I drew a picture of Lauren and me at the Big E to show the kids what I'll be doing next week on vacation.

Took the recycling out when I got home, then watched The Price Is Right. Got there just in time for the Showcases. Today's generic showcase featured lovely bedroom furniture. The "story" Showcase had Ponce De Leon (Johnny Olsen) looking for the Fountain of Youth. What he found were three youthful models, who pointed him towards a trip to Miami, a home fountain, a sauna, and a sports car. For once, the lady bidding on the story Showcase got much closer. She was so happy she won that sports car, she kissed the hood when Bob took her to see it!

Match Game '77 skipped further ahead into the first week of the new year. Crusty Ed Asner joined Brett and Charles, while Richard found himself caught between two pretty comediennes with decided unique answers, Mary Ann Mobley and Patti Deusch. Sweet George was finally defeated by a very nice lady with one of the highest hair do's I'd ever seen.

Finished the night listening to my 40 Walt Disney Originals 2-disc LP set. Considering it was released by British company Pickwick and prominently features songs from the English-set Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Robin Hood, The Sword In the Stone, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, it's pretty obvious this originally came from England. 

I like it because, as an older release, there's a lot of songs on here that you'd never see on Disney collections nowadays. It includes the four big songs from So Dear to My Heart...but disappointingly, they're all covers. "Lavender Blue" does still sound lovely, but the guy crooning it is no Burl Ives. "It's Whatcha Do With What You Got" isn't bad, but "Stick-It-Tivity" and "County Fair" sound bland. Other lesser-known songs here include "For You, For Always (Maggie's Theme)" from the original Parent Trap, the jaunty ballad "Dream Boy" by Annette Funicello, "How Do You Do?" from Song of the South, and two Oscar nominees, "Love Is a Song" from Bambi and "Tomorrow Is Another Day" from The Rescuers. 

Winds of Fall

Began the day with breakfast and Little Bear. "Mitzi's Little Monster" is her monster doll, which she uses with Emily's Lucy and Little Bear's teddy bear to put on a puppet show about a tea party that's disrupted by a very noisy monster guest. Little Bear and his friends have a lot of fun playing "Simon Says," but Duck's way of playing proves to be a lot tastier. Little Bear, Emily, and Tutu the dog are delighted to pick apples for "Applesauce." When a big apple falls on a toad, Little Bear invites the toad to share their treats at Granny's house.

Called Uber after that. At least I had no trouble getting to work. The one going to the Acme came in 8 minutes. The one going to Thomas Sharp arrived in 5! I got to both jobs on time. I didn't have problems getting a ride until it was time to go home. The first driver canceled, despite being very close to his destination. I had to wait 13 minutes for another one.

I could have been indefinitely late at the Acme. They were quiet for most of the morning. It was cloudy, cool, and windy, but it started warming up a bit later. We're between holidays, and the beginning of the month is next week. I was in and out with no trouble whatsoever.

Had a quick lunch at Chick Fil'A. They were busy, but I did find a table to sit down and enjoy my grilled chicken sandwich, waffle fries, and Coke Zero. They've already decorated for Halloween, or at least for fall. There were leaf garlands over the counter, "Hello Fall!" over the storage area near the window, and felt pumpkins on the windows around the kids' play area. Went back to Acme briefly to use the bathroom and buy carrot cake sandwich cookies on the bakery clearance racks before I called Uber.

Thomas Sharp was a lot busier today! We had 22 younger kids all together and 25 older ones. Thank heavens we got them all outside early this time. It was too nice to be inside for very long. By 3:30, it remained gale-force windy, but the clouds had vanished and it was much warmer, probably in the upper 60's. They argued a little over the swings, especially after I made them wait a few extra minutes because there were so many kids around, but those who wanted a turn did get one. 

I was pushing one of the little girls on the swing when two more girls came careening around the swing set. One of the girls wasn't watching where she was going and ran smack into the thick, heavy old flag pole near the swing set in a corner. Poor baby! I yelled her name and ran over to her. She smacked her ear pretty good, though it did just seem to be bruised. We got an ice pack on it and went inside after a few minutes.

She settled down with the other remaining kids stringing colorful beads onto plastic string for bracelets and necklaces. I did tell her dad what happened when he arrived. There were six kids left when we went in at quarter of 5. By 5 PM, there were three. One of the teachers kept joking about the kids being invisible and the adults running out to get ice cream. One of the girls thought it was funny, and the one remaining boy was so involved with stringing beads, I'm not sure he heard them, but the other girl got upset. I put an arm around her, and we all assured her that she was anything but invisible! The last kid left at the same time I did.

Went straight into Price Is Right and Match Game '76 when I got home. Most of the night finished out Christmas week with Orson Bean and Mary Wickes. Charles complained about not dressing as Santa that year. Um, he dressed as Santa once at that point, in 1973. They skipped ahead slightly for the last episode to New Year's Eve 1976. Charles caught the paper mache egg from the very ugly Goody-Toddy Bird and head boss Mark Goodson came on to make a speech before the balloons dropped, announcing the start of Match Game '77!

Finished the night at Tubi with more vintage swashbuckler fun. The Bold Caballero from 1936 was the first Zorro movie to be made with sound and in color. It starts with Zorro (Robert Livingston) in prison, having been accused of murdering the Spanish governor. He does manage to escape and return to his day role as foppish nobleman Don Diego Vega, just as the new governor arrives. The previous governor's daughter, Lady Isabella Palma (Heather Angel), takes over her father's role running the colony. She's determined to follow in her father's footsteps and arrest Zorro for his murder. Don Diego seemingly encourages Commendante Sebastian Golle (Sig Ruman) to court Isabelle, but he really has his own reasons for pushing Golle at her. His real interest is in lowering the taxes on the Native American population and freeing their sons. Isabella starts to fall for him, especially as she begins to realize how unjust those taxes are. She's furious when she finds out who he is...but it turns out that the Commendante has his own secrets he'd rather not discuss.

This ended up being a lot of fun. Top marks go to Angel as one of the toughest women I've ever seen in a western or a swashbuckler. Isabella brooks no nonsense from anyone, not the Commendante, not the seemingly silly Diego, and certainly not this upstart Zorro. This may be the only Zorro story I've ever seen play the fat, foolish Spanish officer as the actual bad guy. Usually, as in the Disney TV version, they're the sidekick to sleeker, more conniving officer. The color is attractive, too, all soft blues and deep greens and flaming reds. I do wish Livingston had more chances to actually play Zorro. When we do see him, he's usually chasing Isabella as Diego.

All in all, this is still highly recommended for fans of Zorro films, swashbucklers, or those who want to see what Zorro looked like in color well before the Italians got to him in the 60's or the 90's Antonio Bandares films. 

Tales of a Rainy Day

Began the morning with breakfast and He-Man. "Evil-Lynn's Plot" is to turn herself into a sweet young woman to trick the elf-like residents of Widget into giving up their Cordite mineral. Skeletor wants to make a sword that's even more powerful than He-Man's. The Widgets learn a lesson about not believing everything you see when they end up being the ones who help He-Man out after Evil-Lynn reveals her true intentions.

Took down the summer decorations and put up the fall decorations while the cartoon finished. Not only is today the first day of fall, but for once, it feels like it. It was cloudy and rainy and barely in the 60's. The stuffed owl with the book and the candy corn candles and the stuffed pumpkins and apples and raffia bow wreath and wooden leaf, pumpkin, and acorn hanging went up today. The Halloween decorations will go out in about two weeks. 

Spent the rest of the morning looking up the basics on Habit for Humanity and finishing yesterday's blog entry. On one hand, I wasn't looking to have a home built for me, but they apparently do build condos, too, and they can help with finding homes for low-income families. I'll do further research on this and the waiting lists when I get back from vacation.

Listened to CDs and cassettes while I worked. 20 #1 Hits of the '20's does feature a few songs that are still well-known today, like "St. Louis Blues" by Marion Harris, "Singin' In the Rain" performed by Cliff Edwards, and Van & Schenck turning "Ain't We Got Fun?" into a comedy novelty number. Others here are far more obscure. "Charmaine" is a graceful waltz from the rowdy silent comedy What Price Glory. Eddie Cantor has fun with "No, No Nora," while Al Jolson brays about his "Swanee." The patter from "Two Black Crows" has dated far less well today.

Switched to Let's Pretend while eating a quick chicken-Swiss wrap for lunch. "Faithful John" is a servant tasked with keeping watch over the handsome young prince in his care. He discovers a conspiracy to kill the king, but can't tell him why he has to shoot a horse or remove drops of blood from his wife, or he'll turn to stone. The fairy who cast the stone spell claims the prince can only free John by killing his own son. Fortunately, just threatening the child here is enough to release John. In the actual fairy tale, the prince does kill his children and use their blood to free John, but John returns them to life. 

"The Little Mermaid" is probably the least-changed of the stories I listened to today. It's pretty much the story as Hans Christian Anderson wrote it, up to and including the dark ending where the mermaid dies and comes back as a spirit. "Why the Sea Is Salty" is more obscure today, and a lot more fun. A young peasant brings a salt grinder out of the sea, but is delighted to discover it can grind a lot more than rocks when it creates instant wealth for him and his wife. His greedy brother buys it, but can't control it. Nor can the captain who also buys it, but creates so much salt, it goes into the sea...

"The Elves and the Shoemaker" is the most changed. The original story is just a poor shoemaker who is helped by elves who make shoes he can sell. Some versions of the story do give the shoemaker a wife. Here, he has a wife, a son, and a pretty daughter. The last is coveted by the miserly old man who owns the store and will throw them out if she doesn't marry him. Of course, the person who bought the most shoes from the Shoemaker just happens to be the head of the town. 

I hurried out at around 2:25. It rained for most of the morning, but the rain was long gone by 2 PM. It was cloudy and cool, but not raining. I figured I was all right to take the bike to Thomas Sharp. Maybe it's just as well that we only had 16 younger kids today, 5 in my group. It started raining harder while they were eating their snacks. There could be no thought of anyone at any age going outside. 

Things did get noisy when the older kids came in the cafeteria to eat their own snacks. By the time we left, the head teacher settled the kids down with an art project. She cut out paper ice cream scoops, cones, bowls, cherries, and whipped cream topping and glued them to sheets of construction paper. The kids could decorate them however they wanted. One girl went with a rainbow sherbet cone. Another did what she called her "Superman cone," a red cone with blue and red ice cream scoops and a red cherry. When I didn't admire artwork and sharpen colored pencils, I built apartment buildings and space stations with the boys at the magnetic tile tables. By the time I left, there were only two girls and a boy remaining, and one of the girls went when I did. 

Thank heavens it wasn't raining when I got back out, even though my bike was soaked. Given it was still cloudy, cool, and humid, I went straight home. Hit the shower when I got in, then had dinner while watching Match Game '76. Most of tonight finished out the week with Susan Sullivan and Gary Burghoff. By the end of the night, they'd skipped ahead slightly again as everyone welcomed Orson Bean back to the show. 

Finished the night with a more recent episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Emily became the first female host to interact with the 'bots as they tried to figure out the treasure-hunt adventure film Beyond Atlantis. This story of boat owner Vic (Patrick Wayne) who has to deal with sleazy hustlers and falls for an anthropologist Dr. Katherine Vernon (Lenore Stevens) while searching for massive pearls around a remote island is both creepy and pretty darn dumb. The only normal-looking humans on the island are of course the king (George Nader) and his gorgeous daughter Syrene (Leigh Christian), whom he wants to produce an heir who is a heck of a lot more attractive the the bug-eyed, in-bred inhabitants of the island. She chooses Vic, but despite her grabbing him and doing things in coral underwater, he's already in love with Katherine. The rest of the gritters just care about the enormous pearls they've dragged up from the sea.

Um, yeah. On one hand, this does have its fun points, including them looking for pearls and just how tough East Eddie (Sid Haig) is. There's also some pretty decent cinematography on and around the island, when they're on land. All that swimming underwater looks murky and dull, and likely was there because underwater photography was still pretty new in 1973. Wayne and live wire Haig are the only people who come off as even remotely interesting. The ping-pong-eyed natives are more likely to give you nightmares than make you long for the wonders of the South Seas, the sets are minimal, the story silly and cliched. Honestly, it's for aficionados of bad B-action and horror films and major camp lovers only. 

(Oh, and to my knowledge, the rain has not returned since I got home. It's stayed cloudy, windy, and cool the rest of the night.)

Day at the Library

Began the morning with breakfast and the series finale of Monchichhis. The Monchichhis are searching for the lost treasure of the Pyramid's Eye. The Grumplins are just searching for the bad-luck charm that belonged to their leader Horgg. Tootoo found it...but it seems to give her nothing but good luck. It turns into a "Charm Alarm" when groups are caught by a group of Pack Rats who want them to run on a treadmill that crushes objects for scrap...and may crush a frozen Horgg if they can't find a way to distract the Rats and revive him!

And that's that. This was part of one of the numerous Hanna-Barbara anthology series kicking around in the 70's and early 80's. I believe it was also one of their five attempts to recreate their runaway success with The Smurfs. On one hand, like Shirt Tales, the series does get better as it goes along, particularly later episodes that focus on unique characters or aspects of their world like "Jingle Pods" and "Cloud City." The goofy reggae-esque theme music grows on you, too. Some of the villains, including the Sand Witch of "Moncho's Gift" and red-eyed Horgg, can get pretty scary, too (and they're all generally more effective than Gargamel).,

Trouble is, divorced from the jungle setting, this is pretty cutesy stuff. The Monchichhis themselves are either bland (Moncho, Kyla) or annoying (Tootoo, Thumbkii) or both (Wizzar). They talk about the Monchichhis meaning happiness in the opening, then do almost nothing with the all-important Happy Works after the first few episodes. Despite the all-star cast that includes Peter Cullen as two of the Grumplins, Frank Nelson as Wizzar, and Robert Morse as Moncho, none of the characters are really all that distinguished or interesting. The animation is even less so, with stilted movement and poor continuity. 

If you can get them past some mild cartoon violence and fairly scary villains, younger elementary school-age kids who will enjoy the Monchichhis' antics and those who remember when this show used to re-run frequently on USA in the 80's like me are probably the best audience for this nowadays.

Headed out after the cartoon ended. Since the schools are out for Yom Kippur, I had extra time today to focus on my library trip. Went across the street to pick up the bus to the Voorhees Library. No trouble going there, other than dodging some road work in Oaklyn. I got off around 11:30.

The Voorhees Library is one of the largest libraries in Camden County along with the Cherry Hill Library and the Bellmawr Library. I explored the vast children's area first, looking at fairy tale picture books and admiring the view of the stand of trees and water outside the wide windows and the cute wooden kitchen playset in the play area. It was pretty busy, though, so I didn't stick around. I peered at the adult fiction stacks briefly before heading upstairs.

The second floor is entirely given over to the adult non-fiction and to meeting rooms. I found a couple of really interesting books on musicals. I've been reading some version of the Stanley Green Broadway Musicals Year By Year series since I found one of the earlier editions at the Villas Library years ago. The one I read went up to 2010 (American Idiot and Million Dollar Quartet are the latest shows profiled), but I was more interested in less-discussed shows of the 1910's, 20's, and 30's that are almost never revived in their original forms today like Maytime, Sally, Tip Toes, and DuBarry Was a Lady. I also found The Movie Musical! by Jeanine Basinger, who wrote that wonderful book on silent stars in the late 90's and a book on demolished Broadway theaters.

By quarter after 1, I was dodging more adults looking for books upstairs. Time for lunch. I went across the street and past the Voorhees Town Center to Restaurant Row. Well, it's supposed to be Restaurant Row. There aren't that many restaurants left. There's an Indian restaurant, a fancy Brazilian steakhouse, a Chinese restaurant, and Crust n' Fire, a fancy pizza place. I originally wanted pizza, but they don't sell slices. As it turned out, their wraps may be even better. I had a Caprese chicken wrap - chicken with arugula, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette on a whole wheat wrap. Yum! The wrap was too thin to hold all of that, but it still tasted delicious. Their crispy "Jersey Shore" fries were even better. I washed it down with a Diet Pepsi.

Went to Boscov's next. Boscov's is the only store that's still open at the Voorhees Town Center. Some Voorhees government offices have reopened, but most of the other stores closed even before the Town Center's food court had a nasty fire in 2024. Luxury condos, a beauty school, and a couple of restaurants do not make a "Town Center." Boscov's wasn't much, either. They seem a bit smaller than the other Boscov's in Deptford. There wasn't much in their shoe department. I didn't see any sneakers I could use for running errands and headed out. It didn't help that it was really busy too, including families with children and strollers that blocked aisles. 

I was going to take the bus home after that. I assumed the bus would pick up on the Voorhees Library side of the road, but...the 403 never came that way. There was some excitement while I was waiting. I couldn't see what happened - a sign and bushes blocked my view - but an older lady apparently had a nasty fall in the parking lot of the senior housing next to the library. On one hand, the poor older lady did not want to go. She kept yelling that she was fine, she didn't need help, she wanted to be left alone...even though if someone called cops and paramedics, she was obviously anything but fine! On the other hand, the police and paramedics were just trying to help an older lady and do their jobs. They did finally take her away on a stretcher. 

After all that, I gave up on waiting and went back into the library. This time, I checked out the adult fiction section downstairs. Their science fiction isn't much, but they have a wonderful mystery section! I saw all or most of the books in some of my favorite series and many individual historical thrillers. I didn't take anything out because I'm going on vacation and won't have the time to read them, but I will be coming back here later in the fall or winter.

I did finally catch the 4:03 bus home, on the right side this time. I should have been more careful and caught the earlier one. The bus stopped at every block to pick up workers on their way home from the stores and offices on the White Horse Pike. Between that and the traffic, a 15 minute trip turned into almost 40. 

When I did get home, I finished The Train to Impossible Places by P.G Bell while The Price Is Right played before switching to Match Game '76 during dinner. I have no idea why Buzzr kept skipping ahead. The first episode introduced George Kennedy to the show. The next two featured Bob Barker and Patty Duke. The last featured Gary Burghoff and debuted elegant Susan Sullivan.

Finished the night with game shows on PBS and Public broadcasting. The US Public Broadcasting System was late to game shows. They didn't really have the money, and they seemed to be contrary to their mission to educate and entertain. It wasn't until 1978 that they finally jumped into the fray with We Interrupt This Week. It's too bad they didn't start sooner and that there isn't more of this show existing. This hilarious panel show spoofs current events, and despite only lasting three months in two runs, what little is currently available is hilarious.

Before that, most local stations had their own quiz bowls for  high schools and colleges based on GE College Bowl. Some of them were so popular, they started in the 70's and continue to this day! One of those long-running quiz shows is Scholastic Scrimmage. High Schools from the Lehigh Valley area have been competing against each other on Pennsylvania PBS WPSU for 50 years. In fact, I have a recent episode from earlier this year.

One of the major events on PBS in 1982 was Top of the World. This British show featured Australian, American, and British competitors playing in England. The show played in all three countries via satellite. Despite it being a huge undertaking, and host Eamonn Andrews' promise that it would return, the show only lasted 4 months, and PBS never tried anything this ambitious with a game show ever again. Only the big finale exists today.

In fact, they wouldn't run another national game show until Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego in 1991. Greg Lee was the enthusiastic host as three "gumshoes" tried to figure out where Carmen's oddball assortment of criminals took this week's improbable landmark. Actually, "The Purloined Pooch" is, for once, something someone could reasonably steal. In the pilot episode, seemingly sweet Patty Larceny made off with a lapso apsu from the East African Kennel Club's big dog show. As the Chief (Lynne Thigpen) points out in the beginning, the scoring may have been different, but it's still the same game...and still gives us the same wonderful lessons in geography at a time when the map of the globe was changing daily.

World was such a smash hit, Thigpen went right into a follow-up in 1997. Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego, alas, only lasted a year. I think it's too bad. Learning about history is just as fun as learning about countries of the world, and the space theme is really fun and even scary. In the premiere, Jacqueline Hyde, who jumps rapidly between a sweet school girl and an insane criminal, stole P.T Barnum's famous "Greatest Show on Earth" slogan. This leads to questions on the history of advertising, from Barnum's ballyhoo in the 1870's to the debut of the Home Shopping Network in the 1980's. 

This was far from the last time PBS did game shows for children. Design Squad was a two-year hit on PBS Kids Go! in the late 2000's. It's very similar to Destroy Build Destroy on Cartoon Network, only here, the kids don't destroy their design. It's something that has to help their fellow kids or a local business. In this case, they help kids who love their pool make a water pump that will allow their pool slide to be wet and slippery. 

There were game shows for adults in the 90's, too. Think Twice from 1994 was PBS' first attempt at a quiz show since Top of the World. Two pairs answered questions, used their imaginations to create a story from words, and guessed a question from a list of answers ala Family Feud. Honestly, this was really fun, especially using worlds to make up a story, and I'm surprised it didn't last longer than 6 months.

This is PBS. Celebrate America's public broadcasting system with wacky criminals, tough-lady Chiefs, hopeful kid designers, and hilarious panelists!

We Interrupt This Week (1978)

Top of the World (1982)

Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego Pilot (1992)

Think Twice (1994)

Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego Premiere (1997)

Design Squad (2007)

Scholastic Scrimmage (2026)

Puppy Love Matches

Started a gloomy morning with breakfast and the Elton John album Ice On Fire. The lovely Cold War ballad "Nikita" was the big hit here, but honestly, this is a pretty dark album. Wikipedia talks about this having a rhythm and blues sound, but I think it's very mid-80s dark blues. "This Town" explores economic decline, "Cry to Heaven" is vaguely anti-war, and "Shoot Down the Moon" is a dark ballad. The other hit "Wrap It Up" and the upbeat ballad "Soul Glove" are more fun.

It had just started to shower by around 9. I ended up calling Uber. I called them early, and they arrived in less than 5 minutes. Had less luck going home. The original driver canceled, and their replacement didn't arrive for 13 minutes. 

Honestly, work was unusually quiet for the Eagles' first 1 PM Sunday game. It was busy right before the game started, but it was relatively quiet before that and died quickly afterwards. The weather didn't help. It remained cool, rainy, and humid off and on for the entire afternoon. I had plenty of help, too. The Sunday bagger and one of the college boys took the indoor chores and did carts, though I did end up doing the outside trash. No trouble whatsoever.

(I didn't see the game, but the Eagles apparently started well, then stumbled against the Tennessee Titans in the second half. They got a last minute pass that won them the game 24-20. It was a good Philadelphia sports day all around. The Phillies killed the Mets too, 7-2.)

Went straight down for a nap when I got home. I was up way too late last night, and I'm still really tired. I've been busy lately! Hit the sack at 4, and didn't get up until around 5:30.

Good thing I woke up when I did. Tonight's Match Game YouTube marathon had just started. Questions and jokes about our friends from the animal kingdom abounded on this show. Though they were mainly about what mean widdle kids do to animals, two real animals did appear on syndicated episodes. Blind man Glenn made history as one of the first disabled contestants, with the help of his beautiful service dog Princess. Betty White adored her, and she was sweeter and better-behaved than most of the panelists. 

Betty also helped with Trotter, who belonged to Gene's daughter Lynne. Trotter was a dear sweet old mutt who stayed right with Aunt Betty and Grandpapa Gene. Charles kept talking about her being a vicious dog, but he later said he had dogs himself. I think he realized that Trotter was probably smarter and better-looking than any of them.

The other "animal" who turned up on an episode wasn't real, or quite as pleasant. An extremely ugly paper-mache eagle Charles dubbed "The Goody-Toddy Bird" dropped a Match Game '77 egg at the start of the New Year's Eve 1976 episode. Later on, Gene gave the egg to the contestant George when he gave a bad answer on the Head-to-Head. Mark Goodson turned up to praise the job they were all doing before the balloons dropped for the New Year and the new sign.

Celebrate our animal friends with two of the sweetest real dogs around!

Match Game Sunday Classics - We Love Our Animals Marathon

Eye On Harvests

Began the morning with breakfast and the Monchicchis. Snog, the second-in-command grumplin, gets a hand on his boss' grumpstaff and a big head when his boss is focusing on a machine to turn the Monchicchis into stone in "Grumpstaff Grief." He proceeds to use so much of the magic, he drains the Wizzar's magic staff. The Monchicchis have to go to the Grumplins' world to recharge it. 

Headed out after the cartoon ended to Collingswood for this week's Farm Market. The booths groan with the late summer-early fall harvest. There are piles and piles of eggplant, peppers, plums, apples, beans, pears, tomatoes, corn, pumpkins, grapes, and winter squash. I ducked through the crowds buying produce for their late summer barbecues and the Jewish New Year holidays to pick up tiny Honeycrisp apples and black table grapes.

Went down the street for brunch next. I was originally going to eat at Sabrina's Cafe, but they always have a long line on Saturdays. I ended up going across the street to Palmona Restaurante instead. I made the right choice. Not only was the Mexican restaurant a lot quieter, with only one large group enjoying their meals across the room, but the food was delicious. I had a huge, fluffy waffle topped with sliced strawberries and a blueberry-blackberry compote and turkey bacon. The waffles were incredible, so soft and moist, and the compote was wonderfully tangy and sweet.

Since the Farm Market was still going on, I went back that way for a cream pop from the Bubba's Creamery cart. Went with chocolate mint this week. Whew, was that minty! Tasted like the purest mint chocolate chip ice cream you could imagine. I enjoyed it while listening to a really good accordion group play "Sunrise, Sunset."

After that, I got on my bike and rode down Haddon Avenue to Kresloff's Eye Associates. Even with lunch and the cream pop, I was still 20 minutes early. Thankfully, I had no trouble here. Signed the paperwork, went in the back for the exam. My eyes are no better or worse than they were last year. I did pay for drops that would make them less diluted sooner. 

I did that because I still had grocery shopping to do. Walked my bike to the Westmont Acme next. Did really well there. There were a lot of sales, and I had a 10 percent off coupon from my vaccination last week. Had online coupons for Swiss cheese, yogurt, shredded chicken, granola, granola bars, and more of those yummy Popcorners chips. They had Fresca in the 20 ounce bottles, too. Didn't really need much at Sprouts. I only bought oat milk, chocolate chip cookies, and more of that Nektar Pop (which is still buy one, get one). 

After all that, I went straight home. Put everything away, then went down for a nap. I've had an extremely long and busy week. Went to sleep at quarter after 3, didn't get up until almost 5. 

Watched The Sword of Monte Cristo next. In 1858 France, Lady Christiane (Rita Corday) dresses as a masked cavalier to lead the peasants against the Emperor Louis Napoelon (David Bond). The real power behind the throne is his corrupt minister Charles LaRoche (Barry Kroger). He orders Captain Renault (George Montgomery) to arrest Christiane's uncle the Marquise De Montableu (Robert Warwick), the only man who can read the symbols on the Sword of Monte Cristo and unlock a fabulous treasure. Christiane tries to regain the sword, only to be found out by Renault. Renault, however, is loyal to the Emperor, not to LaRoche, and the treacherous minister shows his true colors when he has Renault jailed and forces the Emperor and Marquise to help him find the treasure. It's up to Renault and Christiane to join forces and assure the fabulous untold riches go right into France, where they belong.

Montgomery is out of place in this generally enjoyable bit of blarney, too modern to be believable as a swordsman of the 1800's. Corday is better as the woman determined to see justice for her people. Look for William Conrad as LaRoche's equally smarmy second in command Major Nichoret. 

Finished the night with dinner and the Saturday Match Game marathon. Jokes about Adam and Eve abounded on a show that loved nothing more than a good, mildly titillating sex joke. There was an Adam and Eve joke from a young man in a rather ugly tweed jacket who impressed Phyllis Newman during her one week late in 1974, and one the week with Ed Asner and Marcia Dodd in 1976. Foster Brooks heard on one his first week in 1979. Jack Albertson accidentally gave an answer away in an episode in 1975. Fannie Flagg had a snake-and-apple-themed sequined t-shirt that she wore several times, notably during a nighttime episode in 1975 that also featured Asner and Julie London.

Step into the garden of Eden to find out just how Adam and Eve lost their blank in this hilarious and thought-provoking marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Adam and Eve Marathon

Out In the Sunshine

Got a really quick start this morning with breakfast and a classic Mickey Mouse short. "Mickey's Rival" introduces Mortimer Mouse, a long-nosed rival for Minnie's affection. Minnie thinks he's adorable, but Mickey doesn't appreciate being made fun of. Then a bull attacks, and Minnie sees the vast difference between someone who is "a perfect scream" and someone she can rely on.

Thankfully, Uber worked out just fine today. I called the one going to the Acme late, but they came in 10 minutes and got me there just in time. The one going to Thomas Sharp also took 10 minutes. I got there slightly late, nothing to worry about. It took me a few minutes to find one going home at rush hour, but when I did, they came in 5 minutes.

No trouble anywhere else, either. The Acme was dead as a doornail. I spent the entire time outside, pushing what carts there were. The head bagger did the sweeping and the trash. It was cloudy and breezy when I went to work, but the sun started coming out towards the end of my shift. By the time I was walking to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center in the back of the Acme, it was sunny and gorgeous, in the lower 80's.

My schedule is a lot more workable, too. I only work at the Acme on Sunday and Wednesday, and Wednesday is the only double shift next week. Six hours on Sunday does mean I'll miss the Eagles game, but I also have Monday fully off - the Collingswood School District is closed for Yom Kippur - and leave for Pittsfield a week from tomorrow.

Had a quiet, calm bento box lunch at Futomaki Japanese Restaurant in Audubon Crossings. There was no one there but me and an old man in the back. Some people did come and pick up food, but they didn't stay. I enjoyed my California Rolls, fried scallops, rice, vegetables, salad, soup, and crispy salmon in peace. Stopped at Sonic for a banana milkshake afterwards and to enjoy the gorgeous weather. Went back to the Acme to buy more maple leaf sandwich cookies and get 60 dollars for the week before calling Uber.

The after-school program could have been a lot worse, too. We only had 13 kids all together, 5 in my group. I got my kids in and out of the bathroom pretty quickly, with a minimum of fuss. The moment they finished snack time, we took them outside. It was really too nice to stay inside! With fewer kids, I let them on the swings a little earlier, too. There was some squabbling over who would swing with whom, but almost all of them eventually got a turn. Since there were two kids left by 5 PM and two teachers, I got to leave early. 

Got to see more The Price Is Right when I arrived at home. One nervous, sweet lady from Texas did the Grocery Game like a champ. She wasn't the only person who was nervous. Dian had to take the register at the Grocery Game over from Janice, who was out sick, and she was just as scared! Another lady didn't have as much luck with the Squeeze Game. A pregnant woman managed to get the first two prizes on the Range Game, but took too long on the second prize and didn't get the car. The first showcase was a generic dining room. The second Showcase was about as early-mid 80's as you could get. Johnny Olsen found himself caught between models with weird hair who show him what happens on a "punk rock" airline. 

Let it continue into Match Game '76. The first episode introduced a very pretty young student who took so long to answer a question, Gene ended up sitting down and spent five minutes prodding her. Maggie Smith beat her handily. She was finally beaten the next week by a gentleman named Ed Sullivan. Bill Anderson's presence on the panel made for lots of country music jokes. He was joined by Debralee Scott and Fannie Flagg.

Finished the night at Tubi with Manhunt of Mystery Island. This 1945 serial features Linda Stirling as Claire Forrest, the daughter of a professor (Forrest Taylor) whose scientific device could revolutionize energy use, if he and his colleague can be found. She and private eye Lance Reardon (Richard Bailey) follow the trail to remote Mystery Island, where a group of men who are the ancestors of the infamous pirate Captain Mephisto intend to use Forrest's machine for their own gain. Worse than that, they have their own "transformation Ray" that can turn one of them into Captain Mephisto (Roy Barcroft) himself. 

Strange plot, even for a serial, but the mix of pirate lore and science fiction proves to be more potent than you might think. Yes, Claire is constantly rescued, but she also has her own heroic moments, including being the one who actually takes down Captain Mephisto in the end. There's some great set pieces, too. Bailey is a dull stick of wood as Reardon, but Barcroft is obviously having way too much fun as the great pirate captain come to life, and Stirling shows why she was the most popular female serial star of the 40's. One of the last great Republic Picutres serials is a must-see for fans of the genre or unique sci-fi stories. 

Finding Home

Kicked off the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Daniel celebrates Grandparent's Day in "Daniel's Grrific Grandpere." He's disappointed when the tide is too low to take his Grandpere's boat out, but Grandpere shows him all of the wonderful treasures that can be found on the beach at low tide. Dan and Jodie love "Making Mozies With Nana." Nana shows them how to replace the chocolate chips with raisins when you're out of chocolate chips and decorate boxes to give them to everyone in the neighborhood.

I went online to look up the remaining material I needed for Clarifi...or tried to. I've been looking for the quarterly statement for my investment account on PNC and couldn't find it, no matter how much I checked or looked back in the archives. I ended up writing the information down instead. 

Listened to Phil Collins while I worked. Apparently, Dance Into the Light was not a huge success in 1996, either as a CD or in its two singles. Considering how often the title song and "It's In Your Eyes" turned up on the radio in the late 90's, I find that kind of hard to believe. Many of the other songs take more of a world music bent, like "The Same Moon," "Lorenzo," and "Just Another Story." 

Called Uber around 11:25. Even leaving later than planned at the start of the lunch rush hour, I got an Uber driver who came in 5 minutes. There was some traffic in Haddonfield, but I still got there on time. Clarifi turned out to be in one of the office buildings next to the Cherry Hill Library on King's Highway. Once the Uber driver dropped me off, I had no trouble finding the elevator and then their office. Their door was locked, but they had a bell, and Donna the housing counselor let me in.

In good news, she praised my good credit score (over 800!) and that I saved as much as I did and did as much as I have on my own. The bad news is...even two incomes aren't enough to buy a condo in an expensive state. I genuinely do like her idea about looking into Habitat for Humanity and talking to them. I'll do the research next week and try reaching out after I get back from vacation. I still don't like the idea of getting on waiting lists, though. I don't want to live in an attic forever. Some waiting lists take years before something is available. She suggested getting on a rental list, too, even though I tried to tell her how badly I want to own my own home. I want something that is mine, that'll never be taken from me again. I'll look at the waiting lists after vacation.

Went next-door to the Cherry Hill Library after my appointment ended. The office building is set pretty far off the street behind another building. I thought the library would be easier to find. Called Uber after I went to the bathroom. They arrived in 10 minutes, giving me enough time to grab a Diet Coke from the soda vending machine in the library.

I got home at quarter of 2. That was barely enough time to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, grab my water bottle, and hurry back out on my bike. I ended up being five minutes late to Thomas Sharp. Not a good thing at all. The head teacher had other things she needed to do today and tomorrow and won't be around to help out. The kids were crazy before, during, and after snack time. They just wouldn't listen. 

They did a little better when we finally got them outside. It was cloudy earlier in the day, and even showered a little bit when I was riding down the White Horse Pike. By 3:30 when we got the kids out, it was sunny, hot, and humid. Many of them stayed under the trees, calling out to joggers and dog walkers, turning ivy leaves into rings, and looking for ladybugs in the mulch. There was some squabbling over the swings later, but they all eventually got at least one turn, and most of them got two or three. They had so much fun, the remaining two teachers were taking the last remaining boy to the blacktop to play with the five remaining older kids as I left.

Went straight into The Price Is Right when I came home. The regular Showcase had games as a theme, including a pinball machine, a nifty curved TV, and a trip to Las Vegas. The big "theme" Showcase was the models helping Johnny Olsen go back to college. The "prizes" were their gifts to him, including a gorgeous roll top desk, a stereo that reminded me of my mother's in the 80's, and a car. The lady who went with the college package went over. The other lady got her Vegas vacation.

Stuck around for Match Game '76. Nipsey Russell and Dr. Joyce Brothers saw the excitable young lady who won yesterday have trouble with "Denver __" on the head-to-head. The next two winners did better, including a charming young woman named Maggie Smith (no relation to the English actress).

Finished the night with Dancing Pirate at Tubi. I go further into this unique swasbuckling musical, the first musical film in three-strip Technicolor, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - Dancing Pirate

They Seek Him Here

Began the morning with breakfast and He-Man. Adam's sword does a "Disappearing Act" when Orko accidentally sends it back in time while cleaning his room. Orko and Cringer have to go back in time to retrieve it after Skeletor kidnaps Adam and uses him as ransom to bring He-Man out of hiding. Man-at-Arms creates a He-Man robot to use as a decoy while they rescue the real thing.

Called Uber after that. No trouble here today at all. The first driver arrived in 9 minutes. I got to the Acme just in time. I called the second driver early. They arrived in 8 minutes and got me to Thomas Sharp School more than 20 minutes before my shift started. The one going home, to my surprise, came in 5 minutes during the height of rush hour.

The Acme wasn't much of a problem, either. It's the middle of the week and the middle of a relatively calm month. We were quiet until around noon, by which time a college boy was sent out to help me with the carts and trash. I mostly spent the morning sweeping and pushing carts with no trouble whatsoever.

I hadn't had lunch at Rexy's in ages, so I went across the street next. They too have a new fixed price lunch menu, $20 for an entree, dessert, a drink, and soup or salad. I went with an enormous fried cod sandwich with Asian slaw, huge but slightly bland onion rings, iced tea, and the most delicious bowl of broccoli cheddar soup I'd ever tasted. It was topped with sour cream, croutons, and more shaved cheddar. Thick, rich, and decadent. The tiramisu was more disappointing. They said it was homemade, but the middle tasted frozen. It must have been in the freezer with the scoop of orange sorbet before they brought it to me and they didn't give it time to defrost all the way.

After I got to Thomas Sharp, I relaxed at the curved stone wall surrounding a tree and a small garden before going inside to start my shift. The kids were in the hall again when I came in, but at least they weren't out there for long. We had 19 kids today, 7 at my table. There was no trouble in the bathroom - in fact, they got in and out pretty fast. They did get noisy in the cafeteria, but they weren't there for very long. Soon as they all finished eating, we took them outside. 

That didn't work out the way it has the past two days. Though it remains sunny, it was a little warmer and slightly more humid, in the lower 80's, with barely any wind. The kids gathered under the shady trees, looking for ladybugs and digging into its bark to find more bugs. I waited a half-hour to let them on the swings. It didn't help much. All they did the entire time was fight over who got to swing with whom. At least they all had their turns by 4:30, when we finally took them inside to color pictures of unicorns and the Avengers. I finished the picture of Joker-Pruitt, Shadow Man Scott, Lunar Lady Maple, and Power Girl Betty fighting against an urban landscape, then did one of Mr. Eldridge, Gertie, Lady Voltage Hilary, and Magnetic Boy C.J.

Went straight into The Price Is Right when I got home after I took out the recycling. Once again, the Showcases were a tad on the chintzy side for this show. The regular Showcase was just a game table, dining room furniture, and china. The "story" Showcase had a prize for each of the four seasons. Dian's summer dune buggy was the big prize there. 

Let it continue into Match Game '76 after dinner. Eager Jimmie Walker and sassy Roz Kelly joined Betty White and the others for one of the funnier weeks of the year. Brett spent one episode teasing Betty about her lime-green peasant blouse, calling her a Swiss Miss. Roz wasn't too happy about a question that said what she'd do when Fonzie called for her. (One of the reasons she left the show was she most definitely wasn't the type of girl who came when called.) There was also the hilariously effervescent contestant who clung so hard to Gene when she won, he had to reach around her to shake the other contestant's hand. Richard got a little too into kissing her after she won the Audience Match. Roz grabbed Gene for a kiss, and Betty somehow ended up with announcer Johnny Olsen.

Finished the night at Tubi with The Scarlet Pimpernel. The version I watched is from the anthology DuPont Show of the Month from 1960. Maureen O'Hara is Marguerite, Michael Rennie is Sir Percy Blakney, Reginald Denny is Chauvelain, and a young William Shatner is Sir Andrew. The first half honestly sticks to the original story very well, slightly revising how Marguerite finds out what her husband is up to. The second half is more condensed, ending with Percy tricking Chauvelain and replacing his men with the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel at the Inn rather than following him in disguise. 

I wish the copy here was in better shape, because this wasn't bad. Rennie was a tad stiff, but Shatner was charming and O'Hara was a wonderful, fiery Marguerite. I don't know if this is the first version of this story I'd seek out, but if you love O'Hara or secret identity swashbucklers or want to see a different side of Shatner, it's worth checking out once.