Day In the Sunshine

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. It's "Moving Time" for a little girl in a wheelchair who is nervous about moving to another city. She thinks she'll never make any friends. The Shirt Tales stop time and take her to meet other Shirt Tales in the area she's moving to, reminding her that she'll always have friends wherever she goes. Going "Back to Nature" is nothing but a disaster for Dinkel and the Shirt Tales when he attempts to take them on a fishing trip and everything that could go wrong, does.

Hurried off after the cartoon ended. Thankfully, considering I took my bike today, I did get to work on time. To be honest, I could have been infinitely late. We were pin-drop quiet for most of the morning. There were barely any carts to gather. It's the end of the month and the day after the last major holiday of the spring. By the time it started picking up a little, I was done. I was in and out with no trouble whatsoever.

I took the long way down Nicholson Road, over the hill next to the railroad tracks, and down Atlantic Avenue over to the White Horse Pike. I can't remember the last time I ate at Jalapeno's Bar and Grill. They were quiet and dark as can be at 1:30. I think there was one other guy there. I enjoyed the chipotle chicken quesadilla lunch special with their home-made tortilla chips in air-conditioned silence.

Since it was two blocks away, I had dessert at an equally quiet Dunkin' Donuts. I'm surprised at how many donuts they had left. I guess people had enough desserts at their barbecue yesterday. I got the same Marshmallow Vanilla Matcha Latte I did last time (and it was just as good this time), but since they didn't have the fruit punch donut, I went with a nice, simple cruller instead.

Headed to Thomas Sharp after that and got there just in time. We had 23 kids today, 9 at my table. Thankfully, they were in the cafeteria when I arrived. The music class had just finished their annual end of the year concert outside. I had no trouble in the bathroom or with snack time. They were a little unruly in the cafeteria after they ate, mainly because we're almost out of paper to color on and they all wanted to color. The sharpener was unplugged - I had to sharpen colored pencils in the library. 

I'm glad we were able to get outside a little early today. The weather was gorgeous. Humid, breezy, and a little cloudy, but much warmer, in the upper 70's. They all had a blast running around, and swinging later when enough had gone home. It was Hat Day. Most kids had brought some kind of hat, from the boy who brought a paper chef's toque to the younger boy who had a Lake George sunhat and the girl who had a tye-dye baseball cap. I kept telling some of the older boys not to fill their hats with mulch and throw them. Honestly, other than that, we had a great time. Those who weren't throwing hats or swinging danced to "Ghostbusters," "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, "I Like to Move It" from Madagascar, "Try Everything" from Zootopia, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, songs from Trolls and KPop Demon Hunters, and a plethora of Taylor Swift hits. One boy even found a ladybug and hoped for good luck. 

We took them inside around quarter of 5 and settled them down at a table coloring. That lasted for all of 10 minutes before they saw the older kids running around on the blacktop and ran out to join them. There were 4 younger kids and 6 older ones left playing soccer on the blacktop and shooting baskets before I headed home.

Took the trash out when I got home, then went straight into Match Game '74. Most of the night was devoted to the week with Morey Amsterdam and comedian George Kirby, who sat in Charles Nelson Reilly's seat while he was out sick. Admittedly, between Amsterdam's wisecracks and Kirby's imitations, it was one of the funnier weeks of the year. Charles returned the next week, just in time to see Scoey Mitchelll make his debut on the show.

Finished the night and the Memorial Day holiday with the Family Feud Armed Services Week tournament from 1990. Military build-up was just starting in the Middle East when these episodes debuted, making these battles more important and tense than ever. Though the Air Force made a good showing and the Army did well, for the second year in a row, it was the Marines who played the hardest and won the biggest...though ironically, they had more trouble with the last Fast Money...

Honor those who fought and died in the First Gulf War with this intense and very funny week of military Feuds!

Day 1 - Navy Vs Army

Day 2 - Air Force Vs Marines

Day 3 - Coast Guard Vs Army

Day 4 - Coast Guard Vs. Air Force

Day 5 - Marines Vs Navy

Day 6 - Army Vs Marines

Red, White, and Matches

Began a gloomy Memorial Day with material from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. Since Memorial Day began as Decoration Day honoring the soldiers who fought and died during the Civil War, all of the material revolves around that conflict. The most touching is the lone prose piece, "Light Bread and Apple Butter." A starving Union soldier and his dog wins the trust of a mother and her brood with his good manners and his volunteering to chop wood for them in exchange for the title meal. The poems were "Barbara Friechie," "The Sword of Robert E. Lee," and "Sherman's Ride."

Switched to Disney war-related shorts while I ate breakfast. Though Mickey Mouse didn't really figure into the World War II shorts, he did do one short based around World War I in 1929. "The Barnyard Battle" pits scrappy Mickey against huge Hun cats. Mickey uses his wits - and a convenient piano - to take those big cats down.

Goofy and Donald Duck were far more popular by the time the US entered the war in 1941. Goofy managed to get into two war shorts. "How to Be a Sailor" starts off as one of his typical how-to spoofs, with Goofy learning semaphore and trying to tie knots, but it ends with war footage and him being shot at the enemy. "Victory Vehicles" gives us a variety of conveyances, from Pogo sticks to literal golf carts, designed to get Goofys to where they're going without using rationed metal or gasoline. (By the way, I agree with Leonard Maltin in the intro to this cartoon. The song "Hop On Your Pogo Stick" is rather catchy.)

Donald was by far the biggest and most beloved character in Disney shorts by the 1940's, and he had the lion's share of war-related material. "Donald Gets Drafted" when he's swayed by the glamour offered on the recruitment posters. He wants to be a flyer, but Sergeant Pete would rather have him stand attention on an ant hill. He does finally get to fly after a disastrous check-up in "The Sky Trooper," but not in the way he planned. He finally gets the best of Pete in "The Vanishing Private," where he's doused with an invisibility paint while camouflaging a cannon. Pete follows "The Little Man You Can't See" on a Merry chase around the base. 

"Der Furher's Face" won an Oscar in 1943 for its surreal imagery depicting Donald dreaming he's a worker in a Nazi munitions factory. "Fall Out-Fall In" has Donald first trying to set up his tent, then attempting to sleep as the snores of his fellow soldiers keep him awake. "Commando Duck" is sent into the heart of Japan to contact their men. In the end, he's able to wipe...no, wash...out the enemy with the help of a rubber raft and a lot of water.

The Pink Panther was one of the few major animated characters to join the Vietnam War in "G.I Pink." Unlike Donald, he was swayed by the power, but doesn't have an easier time than Disney's irascible duck did 25 years before. Cranky drill sergeants, angry mascots, and land mine-ridden obstacle courses make him wish he'd just stayed at home. 

Headed out after "G.I Pink" ended. I just caught one of the new NJ Transit buses up the White Horse Pike. The lack of stairs is probably intended to make the bus more wheelchair-accessible, but while they're cleaner and smell better, the seats are harder and a lot less comfortable. I had no idea how you asked the driver to get off. There were no buttons, like on the old buses. I originally said Barrington, but Lawnside was closer to where I wanted to start anyway. (I later discovered that you pull on a yellow rope to get off, rather than a button.)

Another Red, White, and Blue Thrift Shop just replaced the long-empty K-Mart in the Lawnside Shopping Center a few days ago. Between the cloudy, warm weather, the new store, and this being one of the few things open on a major holiday, you can guess that they were mobbed. I did manage to dig up a few interesting items. I had no idea Major League had a soundtrack, let alone one on LP! I had even more luck with CDs: 

Journey - Raised On Radio

Diana Ross - Anthology (2-Disc set)

Soundtrack from Prince of Egypt

The Great Ladies of Rock & Roll: The 60's

And one interesting-looking young adult book: 

The League of Secret Heroes: Cape - Book One, by Kate Hannigan

Hiked down to Barrington after I left Red, White, and Blue. Thank heavens the weather held. It hadn't rained since this morning...and to my knowledge, it hasn't rained again since. It was just gloomy, cloudy, humid, and warm as I headed across Clements Bridge Road to the Old Rail Tavern. I had a tasty Italian Chicken Cutlet with provolone cheese and sauteed broccoli rabe and crunchy sweet potato fries with cinnamon cream cheese dip on their covered patio area while listening to a large family chatter on the other side of the room and half-looking at the college men's lacrosse game on TV. (Princeton killed Notre Dame, by the way, 16-9.)

The Barrington Antique Center is two doors down. This rabbit warren of tiny rooms filled with every possible vintage item, from Victorian glassware to relatively recent DVDs and Barbies, is open all week and on most holidays. My best find here was a stuffed version of Rick Raccoon from Shirt Tales. I had no idea there even were stuffed Shirt Tales. Rather appropriate, given I've been watching the show. (I'll have to look around for stuffed versions of Digger and Pammy, too.) Grabbed a bag of buttery sour cherry thumbprint cookies that were really yummy. I also picked up two children's records, The Care Bears' Birthday Party and readings of two original Winnie the Pooh stories. 

I originally wanted to get a drink at Berri Caffeinated, but they were closed by quarter after 3. I just walked down to the White Horse Pike to wait for the bus instead. Once again, it was on time, and there were no problems. I pulled the rope just in time. They let me off at the perfect spot to get home quickly.

Went straight into another Match Game Memorial Day marathon when I got home. In addition to many of the same episodes seen on Saturday, this one expanded to feature soldiers who appeared on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour and Match Game '90 as well. The Match Game '90 episodes were the hilarious Veteran's Day week shows with Marines as contestants and in the audience. The Marines really adored soap stars Karen Wittier and Fiona Hutchinson, cheering everything they said or did. In the case of Karen, their affections were warranted. She proved to be more than a pretty face when she twice won big money for the contestants. Fiona spent most of the week flirting with Ronn Lucas and Scorch.

Match Game Holiday Extra - Memorial Day Celebration 2026

Finished the night with two more wartime shorts, this time from Universal. "21 Day, Once a Month" debuted just weeks before the US joined the war, making it perhaps more timely than Universal planned. Woody Woodpecker has a cameo in this parody of the peacetime draft featuring toy soldiers. He also figured into one of the few wartime shorts Universal did. Like Donald, he wants to be an "Ace In the Hole," but his sergeant has him shaving horses. The Big bulldog definitely regrets it when Woody finally does get into the air!

Holiday Symphony

Began a late morning with a pancake breakfast. Added peanut butter, dried cranberries, and strawberry preserves to the gluten-free pancake mix. The peanut butter worked. The dried cranberries kept falling out. I tried swirling the preserves on top of the first - I just ended up making a mess cooking it. The second one came out a bit better. At any rate, they still tasted good while listening to patriotic records.

I found Charles Ives' Holiday Symphony a few years ago. The four moments revolve around the patriotic holidays Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day (then known as Decoration Day), the 4th of July, and Thanksgiving and Forefather's Day. Decoration Day is loud and crashing, a band in a morning parade, and is more fun than you might think.

I've been listening to America the Beautiful on patriotic holidays for almost 20 years. This 2-disc LP set was released in 1986 in honor of the Statue of Liberty's remodel, and you probably won't find a more all-American collection of music anywhere else. The first disc features most of the vocal music, including "This Land Is Your Land" and Kate Smith's famous rendition of "God Bless America." I also love the bouncy "Grand Canyon Suite," stirring "American Patrol," and the medley of George M. Cohen songs performed by the Boston Pops where you can hear people singing along in the background. The second disc has the more traditional numbers, like "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Columbia, Gem of the Ocean," and "The Stars and Stripes Forever." "Pride On Parade" has the themes for the Armed Forces - "Anchors Aweigh," "The Caissons Go Rolling Along," "The Marines' Hymn."

It rained earlier in the morning, but it was just cloudy and cold by quarter of 2. Even so, I wasn't taking chances. I called Uber. For once, that might have been the best choice. The one going to work arrived in five minutes and got me there in plenty of time. The one going home came in 8 minutes. 

Work was busy when I came in, but not overwhelming. You'd never know it from the state the carts were in. It must have been busier this morning and in the early afternoon, when people were coming out of church and getting ready for picnics they were suddenly able to hold. At least it was cloudy and a little cool, in the lower 60's, but not rainy or even windy. It hasn't rained since last night. I still had a hard time keeping up with the carts. They remained in bad shape, even as my shift ended.

Bought a container of seafood salad and crackers to have with a bag of baby carrots for dinner, then went home, changed, finished America the Beautiful, and spent the rest of the night listening to today's Match Game marathon. Several now well-known celebrities turned up as contestants on the 70's and early 80's version of the show. Soap star Lynn Deerfield talked about how she won money on the 60's Match Game with Burt Reynolds and Don Meredith as her team captains in a nighttime episode from 1976. (Alas, like most of the 60's run, those episodes are now lost.) 

Also in 1976, struggling actress Brianne Leary won several games that would later allow her to focus on her acting career. She became the only contestant to become a panelist on the 1970's run when she reappeared for two weeks in 1979 after appearing in the first season of CHIps. Later talk show hostess Aphrodite Jones made a brief appearance as a contestant in 1978, though unlike Brianne, she didn't win any money. 

The two most famous celebrities to be contestants on Match Game turned up in memorable syndicated episodes. Kirstie Alley's first episode was hilarious even before she appeared. The woman who played before her spent so long trying to answer a question about sheep, Gene ended up laying on the floor. To tell the truth, Kirstie seemed a little above it all in her first round. She seemed to get more into the spirit of things in the second episode.

Future talk show hostess Jenny Jones had a lot more fun. She really seemed to enjoy herself, and not only played well, but won both her games. Barbara Rhodes had the honor of helping her fund her acting and hosting career. 

Check out several celebrities before they became famous - and one at the height of her fame - in this star-studded marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Contestants as Celebrities and Famous People

Rainy Day Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and a couple of classic wartime Looney Tunes shorts I didn't get to yesterday, all directed by the wild Bob Clampett. Bugs becomes a "Super Rabbit" when he's given a chemically-enhanced carrot that gives him super powers. He uses his newfound abilities to annoy a cowboy who is chasing rabbits. When push comes to shove, he dons the uniform of a true hero...a Marines officer. "Draftee Daffy" is more interested in dodging that very persistent Little Man from the Draft Board. "Falling Hare" is my favorite Bugs Bunny short. It may be the only time he went up against an antagonist who gave as good as they got, in this case a gremlin who is sabotaging planes. The little fellow keeps evading Bugs in a plane that's up in the air, until the plane ends up in a free fall!

By 11:30, it wasn't raining, just cold and cloudy, probably in the mid-50's. I figured it was fine to go for a walk, run some errands, and check out a new record store. Started out at Target to use that gift card I got from one of the kids for Teacher's Appreciation Day last week. I needed new hair clips. I only see those tasty Junkless bars at Target and WalMart. The chocolate-peanut butter bars were the only ones left.

Made a brief stop at the Haddon Township Library to renew my library card. I'd been meaning to do it for weeks, but I hadn't gotten around to it. After they renewed it, I looked around for a while. I have a ton of novels I still haven't read and didn't see any non-fiction that interested me, so I moved on.

Had lunch at The Westmont on the cliff side under the library. The rain was just picking up as I settled down for a Garden Omelet with spinach, tomatoes, and goat cheese, cheesy grits, whole wheat toast with fig preserves and raspberry-currant jam, and their amazing, thick, chewy bacon. The grits in particular really hit the spot. Tons of cheddar cheese and pepper, just smooth enough. Perfect for a cold, rainy day. They surprisingly weren't that busy. There was a big group in the back and a few people on the other side near the windows.

By the time I finished, it was showering too hard for long walks. I called Uber. The driver to Westmont picked me up in 5 minutes. The one who picked me up in Westmont to go home took 11 minutes, not bad for 3 PM. Either way, there were no problems getting there. The rain must have cleared out the traffic.

Moonrocket Vinyl at 8th and Ash proved to mainly be a colorful gift shop specializing in locally made crafts, but they did have bins with a small selection of records. I ended up with two brand-new reissues, one of which I'd never heard of but was certainly willing to try:

Miles Davis - Milestones....

Mean Mothers: Independent Women's Blues, Volume 1 (Bawdy blues numbers sung by strong women in the 20's, 30's, and early 40's.)

Since it was only a block away, I dodged the downpour and strolled down to Scoop Deville next. They actually were busy, a bit of a surprise given the chilly weather. I tried their Not Your Daddy's Oreo flavor, which was pretty much just cookies and cream with whipped cream on top. Still tasty though as I watched the rain come down in buckets.

(Incidentally, the rain has been coming down off and on, sometimes heavily, for the rest of the day.)

Watched MASH episodes from the third season for the next couple of hours after I got home. It's "A Rich Full Day" for the members of the 4077th as they deal with a Turkish soldier who just wants to get back out and kill people, a body that has somehow gone missing, and an officer who wants his soldier looked at first. "The Consultant" (Robert Alda, Alan Alda's real-life father) is a veteran doctor who follows Hawkeye and Trapper to the front after meeting them in Japan. He suggests a brand-new and delicate procedure that has never been done before, then leaves it to Hawkeye when he's too inebriated to pull it off. 

Hawkeye is placed under "House Arrest" (or tent arrest) when he's caught punching Frank. Frank learns his own lesson in telling the truth when a visiting general (Mary Wickes) turns out to be very interested in him. Everyone at the 4077th is worried when Hawkeye, Hot Lips, and Klinger are sent to an "Aid Station" that is under heavy fire. Hawkeye spends the time getting to know Hot Lips beyond her relationship with Frank and learning to appreciate women a little better. "Love and Marriage" means something very different to a Korean doctor (Soon-Tech-Oh) whose wife is about to give birth and a young soldier who wants to marry a girl for her money. 

Messed around online for a while, then finished the night with a late Match Game marathon at YouTube. There were quite a few contestants in the military during the 1973-1982 run of the show. The first in 1973 was an Army chaplain, which led to several religious jokes. There was the well-dressed Scottish officer in the nighttime episode whom everyone on the upper tier saluted, and the Air Force pilot with such bushy eyebrows, Gene insisted that he could comb them over if he ever went bald. A sweet officer lost to an excited mother-to-be with a very loud scream. Another one beat a very funny lady who insisted that Gene give her a new kid on the block kiss! There was also the PM episode with the cute Naval officer who was pit against a cheerful and pretty Israeli woman, and one of the last nighttime episodes where Jack Klugman went crazy, ran all over the stage, and lifted the officer's fiancee in the air after he won $20,000. 

Celebrate a much drier Memorial Day and salute those men and women who died for our country in the 70's and early 80's with this short but very funny marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Memorial Day Marathon - Salute to Our Heroes

Animation Goes to War

Began the morning with something different for breakfast. I found a bag of Birch Benders gluten-free pancake mix on the clearance shelves for $2 at the Westmont Acme yesterday. For that price, I'd gladly try them. They fried up golden brown and were mostly nice and fluffy, especially for gluten free. Tasted great with strawberries, yogurt, and some of that real maple syrup I picked up at the Vermont Country Store when I visited Lauren last fall. 

Watched Looney Tunes World War II propaganda shorts while I ate. From 1941 through 1945, Warners released a series of cartoons that were intended to boost morale for both soldiers overseas and those on the home front like Molly who needed laughter along with their newsreel headlines. They seemed to mainly fall into three categories. Bugs Bunny's last propaganda short was "Herr Meets Hare." Bugs outwitting real-life German military commander Hermann Goring has gags that are almost precursors to "What's Opera Doc?", including one of Bugs on horseback. Daffy fought the Nazis two years earlier in "Daffy the Commando." There were also shorts with one-off characters, like "The Draft Horse" who was rejected for war, then learned how scary battle is when he's caught in war games. 

Sketch comedies like "The Weakly Reporter" and "Wacky Blackout" parody the experience on the home front in the city and country, while "Meet Johnny Doughboy" and "Rookie Revue" parodied the pre-war draft in 1940 and 1941. "Hollywood Canine Canteen" was a spoof of entertainers who performed in canteens devoted to servicemen, some of whom, like Ish Kabbible and bandleader Kay Kyser, are fairly obscure today. "Fifth Column Mouse" and "The Duckinators" were fables on how the US got into the war, and how it intended to win it. 

I headed out before the cartoons finished. I had something I something to do at Thomas Sharp School I'd been meaning to do for a while now. Dropped a book of fairy tales and a book of Irish folk tales in the book kiosk next to the school's main entrance when I arrived. Since there was no one on the playground, I sat on the swings for a few minutes after locking my bike until it was time for my shift.

Today was a half-day for the kids. It's also the start of the last major holiday weekend of the school year. There were only 13 younger kids today (counting the boy whose mother picked him up 10 minutes after he arrived), and not that many more older kids. We had so few kids, we just took them in two groups to the bathroom instead of taking our tables. The kids started right away with the bathrooms and lunch. After they ate, they played with magnetic tiles and plastic dinosaurs and stenciled animals onto paper taped to a table for about an hour before we took the remaining 8 kids outside.

I'm glad it was just cloudy, cool, and very windy when the kids were there. We were able to keep them outside for the rest of the afternoon. Other than some squabbling over the swings and the boys wrestling on the mulch when their running games got out of hand, things went just fine. I had a rather nice chat with one young miss on the swings about her very intelligent cat, and she competed with one of the boys to see who could swing higher. When she left, two of the boys took the swings for almost an hour. One of the mothers who used to be a teacher ran around with them for a while, too. The kids danced to "Swipe and Scan (The Checkout Song)," "The Pink Tiger Hunt," the theme from Bluey, and songs from Sing, Moana, and KPop Demon Hunters. 

By the time two of the older kids came over to swing, it was past 3:30. We just took the older kids and the remaining 3 younger kids over to the blacktop with the others to shoot baskets and play soccer. There were only six older kids and more than enough teachers. They let me go around 3:30. The last younger girl went home at the same time I did. 

The kids were the first ones to report the raindrops. It had spit lightly off and on since the middle of the afternoon. We figured it wouldn't melt anyone, and I decided I was fine for a bike ride to WaWa. I deserved a Caramel Coconut Smoothie and a soft pretzel after a long couple of weeks. That felt good, even on a slightly chilly day. At least it tasted like caramel and coconut.

(Incidentally, the rain picked up about a half-hour after I got home. It's been showering off and on ever since.)

Finished the Looney Tunes shorts when I got home, then switched to Popeye. Like Termite Terrace, the Fleischer Brothers tossed Popeye into World War II a few months before the US formally entered the war. The enemy in "The Mighty Navy" isn't even named. By the time "Blunder Below" and "Fleets of Stren'th" came out, Popeye was definitely fighting the Japanese in the Pacific...making a few of these shorts extremely uncomfortable to watch today. Popeye evading the Nazis in "Spinach Fer Britain" is slightly easier to take. 

Popeye and Bluto didn't let anything as trivial as war hinder their pursuit of Olive Oyl. "Kicking the Conga Around" had them learning exotic dance steps to impress Senorita Olive. They compete to see who can do better showing her around their battleship, but quickly learn that "Olive Oyl and Water Don't Mix." Popeye's not saying "Many Tanks" when Army-bound Bluto trades uniforms with him in order to go out with Olive. Popeye leads the entire tank corps on a merry chase around town as he hurries to his date. Olive leaves Swee'pea with Popeye, who thinks it'll be easy to take care of the tyke...but "Baby Wants a Battleship," and won't settle for crawling around anything smaller than the destroyer Popeye's been assigned to.

Moved to Match Game '74 after the cartoons ended. Tonight was entirely devoted to the only week featuring game show host Jack Narz, now best known as the host for the original Now You See It and the 70's syndicated Concentration. Elaine Joyce got the best joke of the night when she gave the best answer regarding what one needed to get out of a punch bowl after a party. Jack and Gene didn't appreciate a game show host gag from Brett earlier. 

(I also got my schedule at this point. In good news, slightly more hours, next Friday and Saturday off again. Bad news, two double-shift days in a row. The head bagger must have wanted Tuesday off along with her usual Wednesday.) 

Finished the night with more classic World War II shorts from the Fleischers and Famous Studios, this time featuring Superman. Given the tenor of the comic books of the time, it was a given that Paramount would get Superman involved in the war sooner or later. "Japoteurs" has Superman stopping Japanese spies from stealing an experimental plane...and Lois Lane, who stowed away onboard. "The Eleventh Hour" is a wonderfully shadowy short with a mature story that has Superman committing acts of sabotage while he and Lois are prisoners of war in Yokohama. "Jungle Drums" has him helping Lois rescue secret plans from a Nazi who leads African natives in destroying planes. "Secret Agent" is the only short to not feature Lois. Superman rescues a beautiful female agent from Nazi saboteurs and makes sure the information she carries gets to Washington safely. 

Rainy Day In the Library

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Pups Save the Sea Turtles" when baby turtles hatch across the road from the beach. They have to find a way to get the turtles across the road without touching them. "Pups and the Very Big Baby" have them helping a baby whale who has accidentally gotten stuck on the beach get back to her worried mother.

Did a few things online after that, but I think I lingered too long. It was just cloudy, breezy, and cool when I headed out on my bike. Dropped King Arthur in the book kiosk on Johnson Avenue, then drove down to the Westmont Plaza. I got a Horschata Frappucchio at a very quiet Target Starbucks. It did taste like a horschata drink, or at least enough like rice and cinnamon to drown out most of the coffee flavor. Headed to Sprouts a few doors down next. Culture Pop soda was buy one-get one. Coconut milk is just cheaper there. Got dried cranberries and raspberry-lemon mango slices out of the bulk bins and a turkey sandwich and vegan sea salt caramel chocolate chip cookies on clearance. 

I was trying to pick a sandwich when I heard what sounded like rain on the roof. Sure enough, when I looked up as I made my way to the bulk bins, it was pouring. It slowed down a bit as I made my way to the Westmont Acme, but I still got wet. At least neither the Acme nor Sprouts were any busier than Target had been. Restocked strawberries, soda, puffcorn, granola, granola bars, and yogurt at the Acme. Found coconut macaroons on the bakery clearance rack. Got a bagel to eat with the kids tomorrow on their long half-day. They had Fresca in 20 ounce bottles for the first time in ages, too. 

Rushed home across Newton Lake Park after I finished. On one hand, the rain had taken a temporary leave of absence at that point. I got home damp, not soaked. It's just as well that the path over the hill would have been too muddy for me to push my bike over. I noticed construction workers fixing the path alongside the hills as I went past them.

Put everything away, then had a really quick lunch while watching the 2003 Strawberry Shortcake. "The Play Is the Thing" when Strawberry and her friends have to find other plans after their garden party is rained out. Inspired by the girls teasing Strawberry about her tattered raincoat, they put on "Cinderella"...and learn a lesson in appearances and true beauty being on the inside.

Though it wasn't raining at that point, I still called Uber. I wasn't going to trust Mother Nature again. The first driver came in 13 minutes and got me there a bit late. The one going home came in 11 minutes. No traffic either way.

On one hand, we only had 15 younger kids, 8 of whom came with me to the bathroom. The kids were already antsy when we had to start in the library again due to a school assembly. They didn't improve much once we got into the cafeteria. Two of the little girls tried to hide under the table again, while two others pushed at each other, and one girl put out her legs and blocked people from sitting next to her. On the other hand, I got to admire all of their stuffed animals. This must have been stuffed animal day, because they all had at least one, from a little girl toting a giant Figment dragon from Epcot who was almost bigger than her to the girl who brought an adorable reindeer with a light-up nose who would move his legs when you flipped a switch on his stomach. 

I think you can guess that no one went outside today, not even the older kids. We moved the remaining 12 kids to the library around 4 PM. They were so noisy, running around, playing under tables when they weren't supposed to, trying to hide in corners, I told them all to sit down, because I wanted to talk to them. That worked. I told them that the other teacher and I were disappointed in them for not listening. Running around was outside behavior, not library behavior. Only one of the boys was actually sitting down, making windmills and satellites from bristle blocks. 

I coaxed one of the girls out from under the librarian's table by pointing out that, for once, the magnetic tiles were completely free. She and I built a lovely little garage for a wooden car sitting on the table. One of the girls was so impressed with our work, she built a lavish pen for the reindeer with the glowing nose and moving legs. Another girl ended up helping her. A boy sat down and built a nifty space station. When the pen almost fell over, I pushed it back up and told the girls if it broke, we could build it again and make it better. 

The other boys set up chairs and pretended to race each other until they got bored and started running around again. Thankfully, by that point, the head teacher had come back from dealing with a few other kids. She finally got the kids to clean up by telling them we all had to do it together in 30 seconds, or we wouldn't go in the cafeteria! That got them. They moved even faster than when they were pretending to be racing cars. Wish they behaved that well in the cafeteria. The older kids were supposed to be playing a game where one kid hid, then another, and one kid had to ask the others questions to figure out who was missing...but they kept peeking on the kid who was hiding. They were so noisy, the remaining 3 younger kids and 5 older ones were having a 10-minute time out when I left.

Went right in the shower when I got home, then made a quick dinner and watched Match Game '74. They've moved on to the week with Bert Convy, Louisa Moritz, and Kaye Stevens of the infamously noisy cackle. The last episode of the night brought in another famous Burt, Reynolds in this case, who came to visit his friend Charles Nelson Reilly. He kissed Louisa, then gave the female contestant a kiss on her cheek that I bet she never washed off. Bert Convy had even more fun beforehand, running off with the contestant after she won the head-to-head round!

Finished the night with Let's Face It at YouTube. I go further into another service comedy, this one with Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, and Eve Arden, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Memorial Day! - Let's Face It

Before the Storms

Got a quick start today with breakfast and Little Bear. We kick off the second season with "Little Bear the Magician." Mother Bear is so impressed with how quickly Little Bear can make his lunch disappear, Little Bear decides to show off his magical abilities to his friends, too. "Doctor Little Bear" takes care of Mother Bear when she has a cold while his friends fret over her. He's so eager to grow up, he imagines that he's "Bigger Little Bear." He may be bigger, but he's too big to jump in Duck's pond, and he scares off Owl and Cat. Being big does have its advantages...like being able to sit on the moon.

Called Uber shortly after the cartoon ended. They arrived in 13 minutes...and I ended up being one minute late. That was the only problem I had with Uber all day. The driver going to Thomas Sharp came in 11 minutes. The one going home arrived in 5 minutes, surprising given it was rush hour and the dark clouds building.

The Acme, once I got there, was pretty quiet for most of the morning. There wasn't a whole lot to do, other than put a few cold items away. Most people are probably waiting for Memorial Day Weekend to do their big shopping. It didn't really pick up until noon, by which time I was almost done anyway. Got in and out with only a little trouble.

Had lunch across the street at Rexy's. This time, I opted for a far simpler crispy fish sandwich with onion rings. Yum! The sandwich had Cole slaw on it, too. A little small, but tasty. They were surprisingly quiet for quarter after 1. I think I may have been the only one there besides the host and the waitresses. 

Since it was still very hot and sunny at quarter of 2 and I still had a little time, I went back across the street to Sonic for something cold. I originally wanted a coconut slush, but the slush machine was broken. Oh well. I went with a peanut butter milkshake instead. They too were quiet. Anyone getting food was doing it from the drive-in or going next-door to Chick Fil'A. I had my treat in peace before I went back to the Acme to call Uber.

Got to the Thomas Sharp School right on time. We had the same amount of kids we've had all week, 20 younger ones and 26 older ones, 9 at my table. Actually, they were largely much better-behaved today. Two of the little girls tried to hide in the hall when we were waiting for the bathroom, and one of the girls kept picking on one of the boys and I did have to talk to her, but it could have been worse. This time, one of the girls ended up under a table, but I was able to talk her into coming out. 

I initially saw dark clouds on the horizon while I was at sipping my milkshake at Sonic. By 4:30, it was cloudy, windy, humid, and a bit cooler, enough that we were able to get them out to the playground. I had to argue with one of the girls who kept trying to do dangerous stunts on the swings (and the boy next to her who imitated her). Otherwise, there weren't enough kids left by then to cause trouble. We took them back inside at 5. Most of the teachers took the remaining 7 older kids and 5 younger ones outside on the blacktop to play soccer as I left.

(And I got incredibly lucky, too. I'd been home for about 20 minutes when those clouds finally burst...and when they did, they unleashed buckets of water and a huge thunderstorm. I don't think it's rained heavily since.) 

Went straight into The Price Is Right when I got home. I arrived in time for the Showcases. The first one was a generic bedroom set and huge TV. The second showed how announcer Johnny Olsen and the models recovered from playing sports over the weekend...which in this case, involved soaking in a big old-fashioned bathtub, sleeping on a huge waterbed, and taking a ride in a speedboat. Neither bid really got all that close, but the one who bid on the bedroom furniture got closer.

Match Game '74 started off with New Year's week, featuring Gail Fisher and (in her debut on the show) Lee Merriweather. For some reason, half-way through the week, they skipped way, way ahead to May 1974. Sweet little Jackie Joseph made her only appearance that week, joining Jo Anne Worley and Nipsey Russell to protest "friends" not matching "girlfriend." Jo Anne was more interested in flirting with a handsome young man with long gold hair and a bushy beard and mustache.

Finished the night with The Wackiest Ship In the Army. In 1943, Lieutenant Rip Crandall (Jack Lemmon) is not happy to be put in charge of an ancient sailing ship from New Zealand, the USS Echo. As a former yachtsman, Crandall is the only one who knows how to run it. He wants to be in charge of anything else, but his superior Lieutenant Commander Vandewater (John Lund) reminds him of his poor physical health. It's a ship with a sail, or nothing. 

They're supposed to deliver a "coastwatcher" named Patterson (Chips Rafferty), an agent involved with detecting enemy movements, to a Japanese-occupied island. He, his young second-in-command Ensign Tommy Hanson (Ricky Nelson), and their men decorate the ship and dress themselves to resemble natives on a floating trading vessel. It doesn't work. They do manage to get Patterson to his post, but get captured in the attempt. When Crandall is hurt, Hanson has to decide if he wants to take the suggestion of the Japanese officer (George Shibata) and take them to the shore before they're spotted, or tell the Army that a huge fleet of Japanese airplanes are coming towards the Bismarck Sea.

This isn't nearly as wacky as the title would have you believe, maybe because it's based on a real story and a real USS Echo sailing ship. (Though that one actually survived the war and existed in New Zealand until 2015.) I suspect the subsequent 1965 sitcom based on this film probably made more out of the nutty hi jinks inherent in the situation. They don't even make it out on the open ocean until half-way through the film. The first half is entirely occupied with trying to convince Crandall to even take the mission. 

The second half, pitting Lemmon's anxieties against craggy Rafferty, is somewhat more interesting. I wish the crew wasn't so interchangeable. Only Nelson and Mike Kellin as the Chief Petty Officer had any actual personality. Though them dressing up the ship and themselves as Natives works with the time period, it doesn't look so hot today, either. Not the greatest war comedy ever, but the story is interesting enough to be worth a look this Memorial Day if you love Lemmon or the wacky World War II comedies of the 50's and 60's. 

Hot Times At School

Began the morning with breakfast and Pirates of Dark Water. In the first-season opener, the Wraith is damaged during a run-in with Bloth and his men. The closest port is the ruined city of Octopon, which turns out to be overrun with man-eating worms and "The Dark Disciples," servants of the Dark Dweller. The older woman who raised Ren is still there and helps him, Niddler, and Tula save Ioz from Bloth...but the head disciple ends up joining Bloth and his boys when he loses his position. 

Today, I looked up housing counselors. After what happened with PNC Bank and Camden County, I've realized that I'm really going to need more help in finding a home and figuring out home buying. Most of the HUD-certified counselors are based in Camden and mainly interested in helping city residents, but Clarifi in Cherry Hill and Financial Wellness Institute in Woodbury are for the entire region and may be a lot more useful.

Listened to classic Miles Davis albums while I worked and had lunch. I've had Basic Miles for so long, I'm pretty sure it came with the original 65 albums I got from Bruce in 2006. I believe it's my first (and for many years, only) jazz album. No wonder my first stepmother Kaye kept this one, and in perfect shape, too. Can't argue with great Davis performances like "Budo," "Sweet Sue, Just You," and "On Green Dolphin Street." 

Bitches Brew, on the other hand, is very, very 1970. This is Davis in his experimental phase, as he mixed jazz with rock and electronica to create something very wild, bold, and avante-guarde. The opening "Pharoah's Dance" takes up the entire first side. There's also the darker title song, "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," and "Sanctuary." 

Once again, I called Uber to get me to the Thomas Sharp School. The first one took 11 minutes, and I got there just in time. The second took 13, not terribly surprising during rush hour. Thankfully, no trouble or traffic either way, not even around the White Horse Pike and Collings Avenue.

On one hand, we didn't have as many young kids today, the same 20 kids with 9 in my group and 24 older kids. We had to start in the library, thanks to the music class running overtime in the cafeteria. I'm guessing the kids didn't go outside today, because they were all antsy. Two of the girls and a boy spent so much time calling each other names and pushing at each other during snack time, I ended up moving them to three different tables...and even after we ate, they kept picking on each other. The two little girls tried hiding in the bathroom again and playing with the toilet. This time, I got the head teacher to bring them back. They ended up on top of the cafeteria table this time and hiding behind the dry erase board. 

They had to stay inside when the rest of the kids went out on the blacktop to play...for all of 15 minutes before we realized it really WAS too hot to be outside. The sun was sharp and sizzling, the sky so blue it hurt your eyes to gaze up at it. It was in the upper 90's, hot for adults on a blacktop, let alone kids. Even a nice breeze didn't really help matters. We brought them in, then took them out again when it was down to 8 older kids and 4 younger ones. By the time I left, they were all inside again, and there was only one younger kid and 5 older ones still there. (Two boys left when I did.)

Took out the trash when I got home, then took a shower, grabbed dinner, and put on Match Game. We began in 1973 with Charles Nelson Reilly playing a southern-accented Santa Claus on Christmas Day, to the amusement of Jack Cassidy and (in her only week) June Lockhart. They finished up with the beginning of the next week that brought in Bert Convy, introduced Lee Merriweather to the show, and let Gail Fisher of Mannix have her day in the sun. 

Finished the night with the pilot movie for The Rockford Files. "Backlash of the Hunter" introduces Jim Rockford (James Gardner), the ex-con private eye who takes 200 dollars a day for expenses, doesn't use guns, and only takes cold cases the police have already given up on. Sara Butler (Lindsay Wagner) comes to him with just such a case. Her father was an advertising agent who had fallen on hard times after his wife died. He'd been found dead under the boardwalk, strangled by an unknown assailant. The police figure he was robbed for money, but Jim thinks there's something else going on after he learns that a certain widow is willing to put his son through college. That widow inherited a lot of money after her husband died suddenly shortly before Sara's father did. Jim and Sara have to figure out the connection, before they end up being the next victims. 

Hot Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. The Shirt Tales think they're going to be "Raiders of the Lost Shark" when they hear about a shark attacking oil tankers. They think it's real, but it turns out to be a fake stealing oil for a pirate and his first mate. "The Terrible Termites" are eating everything made of wood in sight. The Shirt Tales are worried that their elm tree home may be next and try to head them off, but they learn about compassion when they find out why the termites are really there.

I spent the rest of the morning doing some inner work. I figured a few things out in the past week. For one thing, I need to be a better friend to myself before I can let any other adults in my world. Most of all...I need to figure out what "home" means to me. My family moved 4 times by the time I was 4 years old. By the time I entered college in 1997, we'd moved 7 times. The only home I've had as an adult that wasn't recommended by a friend, neighbor, or family member was my first apartment in Wildwood, and that was a roach-ridden mess in a noisy neighborhood two blocks from the boardwalk. 

All I want is a good, stable, quiet home that belongs to me. One that will never be taken away, or that I'll be pushed or priced out of. Where I make the rules, I decide who comes and goes, make my own meals, do what I choose, when I choose. There's a lot of people around here who bought their homes years ago or inherited homes from parents and don't understand. They've always had somewhere to go. I want a kitchen of my own and a bathroom of my own and a life of my own. I want to live like a real, true, honest adult. 

Listened to George Shearing while I worked. I found Satin Affair almost 20 years ago at a yard sale and loved it. The laid-back instrumental jazz album was perfect background music for lazy late summer afternoons at home. It took me another decade to dig up more of the Shearing "fabric" titles. In fact, they didn't really start popping up until the record stores did. Now, I can pretty much find them anywhere. Satin Affair leans into the late summer-early fall aesthetic with "Early Autumn," "The Party's Over," and "Midnight Sun." Blue Chiffon dives into darker night titles like "Nocturne," "I'm Old Fashioned," and "Welcome to My Dreams." Deep Velvet is deep, dark spring rain storms - "Here's That Rainy Day," "I Used to Be Color Blind," "Nightfall," "Spring Is Here."

Had a really quick lunch before calling Uber. It was too hot for me to be riding my bike. It's going to be in the upper 90's for the next three days. The first driver came in 11 minutes. The one going home came in 5, a pleasant surprise for the height of rush hour (after I waited 20 minutes for the prices to come down). I got to school right on time, and there was no traffic anywhere.

On one hand, we only had 20 younger kids today, far fewer than we have had. Once again, there were more older kids. On the other hand, we decided to wait until it cooled off slightly to take them outside, which meant they were running around in the cafeteria for far longer than they have been lately. I had 9 at my table, and other than two of the girls played around in the sinks, they were fine in the bathroom. They were wild again in the cafeteria. The two girls and a curious boy wouldn't come out from under the table again, even after what happened on Friday. The head teacher had to call the head of the program to get them out and tell them that what they were doing was wrong. They could get hurt a lot worse than bonking their heads on the table if the table collapses. 

We did finally get them outside around 4:30. We can get away with that because, unlike a lot of newer playgrounds and play areas (including the playground at Cape May Elementary), there's several large trees in and around the Thomas Sharp playground that keep the area around the swings shady and cool. By the time they got outside, they had dwindled enough in number that we let them on the swings. There was a little squabbling over the swings, but other than that, they seemed to fairly enjoy themselves. 

Even after we took the remaining six kids inside, they were fine. It was the older kids who were wild when we came in. The boys in particular were slamming plastic trucks against each other and letting them fly all over the place. Even some of the girls said they were really being annoying. The younger kids were happier dancing to "Dance With Me" and songs from Moana, Moana 2, and KPop Demon Hunters. 

Put on Match Game '73 when I got home and had dinner. The first two episodes introduced Joyce Bulifant, here in the 4th ingenue seat, and was the only week for comedian and long-time game show host Robert Q. Lewis. Bill Daily made his debut the next week, joined by Judy Carne of the then-just ending Laugh-In. She complained about sitting in the sixth comedienne seat. When she and Fannie Flagg changed seats, it would be the first time Fannie sat there.

Finished the night with a few childhood memories. Before Game Show Network or Buzzr debuted, USA Network devoted its afternoon schedule to re-runs of then-popular game shows. From 1986 through 1995, USA was the best place to find old favorites like Tic Tac Dough and The $25,000 Pyramid and made-for-syndication shows like The $100,000 Name That Tune. Press Your Luck would prove to be a bigger hit on USA than it ever was during its original run on CBS. They also gave a second chance to shows like Hot Potato and All-Star Blitz that didn't get a fair shake from the networks the first time around.

The re-runs proved so successful, USA commissioned its first original shows from Canada in the late 80's. I used to love Bumper Stumpers. Charming Al Dubois had two pairs, one returning champions, trying to solve the "Super Stumper," a vanity licence plate with letters missing. Dubois would ask them which of two plates belonged to a certain character. The couple who chose it would guess what it said, then ask for a letter and see if they could guess the Super Stumpers. Winners went on to the bonus round. They had to correctly guess 7 plates in 30 seconds. There were two versions of the final game. The episode I have features the second format, where they either find up to $1,000 or a "win" sign on the monitors. Really fun show, especially if you love words and letters. 

The revival of Chain Reaction also involved making words. This was slimmed down from the Bob Stewart original. Here, there are no celebrities involved, just two contestants figuring out how a chain of words relate to one another. The bonus round had the winner making a chain from just the first letter of a word. Fast-paced and intense, you really had to be good with words to keep up with this one. Geoff Edwards was hosting by the time of this 1987 episode. 

Game show characters of all kinds are welcome in these classic dives into the past of one of cable's quirkiest networks! 

Tic Tac Dough (1978)

The New $25,000 Pyramid (1983)

The $100,000 Name That Tune (1984)

Hot Potato Premiere (1984)

All-Star Blitz Pilot (1985)

Press Your Luck (1985)

Chain Reaction (1987)

Bumper Stumpers (1990) 

Ragtime Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and my Make Believe Ballroom Time 2-disc record set. I first heard this when they had it at the Stockton Media Center in college around 2001 and I recorded it on a cassette. This is mainly instrumental versions of popular songs of the 1920's (though we do get vocals for "Tip Toe Through the Tulips" and the written-for-the-recording title song). I'm more fascinated by some of the movie songs that aren't as well-known today. The gorgeous "I'll Always Be In Love With You" was written for the 1929 Syncopation. "Jeannie, I Dream of Lilac Time" is the title song from the huge hit Colleen Moore war drama Lilac Time from 1928. "Girl of My Dreams" and "Carolina Moon" are two very sweet forgotten ballads. 

Classic songs of the early 20th century also figure into Jo Ann Castle's Ragtime Melodies. She really has fun with the more upbeat numbers like "Frog Legs Rag," "Pistol Packin' Mama," "Maple Leaf Rag," and "While Strolling Through the Park One Day." "Honky Tonk Twist" and "Skater's Boogie" filters ragtime through the more pop sensibilities of the early 60's.

Headed off to work after Jo Anne Castle finished and got there right on time for a change. Good thing, too. We were swamped the entire afternoon. Even though Memorial Day weekend is next week, there's still a lot going on, from yard sales and local fairs to church picnics, proms, and recitals. 

It doesn't help that I'm not the only one who had their hours severely cut back this week. We had one register with a very long line open the entire afternoon. There just weren't enough people to open. I had no one to help me gather carts, either. I couldn't keep up with them. I'd get them up to the patio, and they'd vanish. People would take them from my hands before I could get them up front. At least the weather was lovely for working outside. Hot, yes, in the mid-80's, but sunny, dry, and with a nice, fresh breeze. 

Went home, had dinner, took a shower, and finished the rest of the night watching the second half of the Match Game '77 marathon. By late '77, Richard Dawson was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with his place on the show, and very tired of doing two popular shows. It didn't help that they made an ill-advised move to daytime from the afternoon slot late in 1977, where they were paired with The Price Is Right, that damaged their ratings. Richard did perk up for some episodes, like when he gave Polly Holiday's dead microphone a eulogy, or when everyone was so kind to the sweet older lady contestant Bertha. 

Richard wasn't the only one having fun in 1977. Fannie Flagg turned up in her nurse's costume from her cameo in Grease, claiming she was Brett's nurse. Orson Bean complained about how he'd seen "better-produced shows at the Kiwanis Club" when the stagehands dropped an orange backdrop instead of the money board. Minnie Pearl made her only appearance on the show in August 1977 and proved to be utterly charming, flowed hat and all, making me regret that they never got her from the Grand Ol' Opry again. The year ended with Fannie Flagg sitting in Brett's character actress seat for the first and only time while she was out doing a play and actually doing quite well there. 

Celebrate the era of disco, Annie, Star Wars, and matching with more from one of the best years of the show!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Best of Match Game '77 - Best Episodes Part 2

Sleepytime Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Pups Save the Circus" when they rescue a baby elephant who escaped its train car to find peanuts, and then its mother when she goes after her child. They're saying "Pup a Doodle Do" when they follow Mayor Goodway's beloved pet chicken Chickaletta all over Adventure Bay, including to a farm with other chickens.

It was so late when I finally got moving, I called Uber to get me there. Plus, I had grocery shopping to do later. Unfortunately, I couldn't get one for 13 minutes and ended up being late. Ironically, I had no trouble getting home at 1:30. I got a driver in 5 minutes. No traffic either way.

The Acme wasn't busy when I arrived. I didn't really have much to do until it started to pick up by 11:30. By that time, I was more than half-way through my shift. Most people probably went to yard sales or farm markets in the morning, then did their grocery shopping later. It was a gorgeous day, too, sunny, breezy, and warm, but not scorching hot like it's supposed to be next week. Honestly, there were no major problems, and the morning went quickly.

Went straight into grocery shopping after I finished. I mainly needed to restock yogurt, granola, granola bars, soda, coconut milk, and fruit. Had online coupons for apples, strawberries, bakery sugar cookies, and Made Good granola bars. Grabbed a slice of cookies and cream cake for a treat tonight. Fortunately, it slowed down enough by this point for there to be no line at the self-checkout lanes.

Put everything away and had lunch while watching the first season finales of two animated series. Little Bear and his friends put on "The Rain Dance Play" to bring rain for their corn. His parents teach him to write so he can sign his letters to Emily "Your Friend, Little Bear" with the pen she gave him. His "Fall Dream" has him and Emily playing throughout all the seasons when she visits him on the weekend.

The action-packed first season finale of The Pirates of Dark Water introduces "The Dark Dweller," who controls the Dark Water and lives under it. When Tula falls into the Dark Water, Ren and Niddler follow to rescue her. Meanwhile, Ioz deals with Bloth when he raids the Wraith looking for Ren's treasures.

Went down for a nap after the cartoon ended. I debated going out to enjoy that warm weather and check out yard sales but...I'm tired. I'm really, really tired. I've had a long couple of months, let alone weeks. I went down at 3:30, woke up briefly at 4, then slept again until 5:30.

I started to watch the British stage version of Top Hat that just ran on PBS until the Match Game marathon came on. (I'll finish Top Hat on Monday.) Match Game moved into 1977 at the absolute top of its game, so to speak. It was the number-one show on daytime, and one of the most popular shows on TV, period. Cracks were beginning to show, however, notably with Richard Dawson. Richard had just started hosting Family Feud the fall before, and he was demanding more money and to be a star alongside host Gene Rayburn. His fatigue from hosting two hit shows and frustration over his lower status on Match Game turned up in several episodes. There was the time he wrote "sat" when he meant "ate" and argued over it with judge and producer Ira Skutch, and the infamous "School Riot" episode where he, Debralee Scott, and Patti Deusch argued that their "finishing school" and "night school" should match the contestant's "school." 

Richard's outbursts were far from the only memorable moments that year. He was far more pleasant when Charles gave him a huge furry Russian hat that was too tight for his toupee. Betty White sat in Charles Nelson Reilly's 3rd seat and imitated him, complete with glasses, hat, and pipe (which she later said tasted awful). Scoey Mitchelll once walked out of a question to use the bathroom. Charles insulted director Marc Breslow, who then positioned the camera over his head for a few shots, and he complained about not being able to play Santa Claus. (He did that once, in 1973.) In one especially wild episode, an audience member gave Richard and Charles ties with the names of popular panelists, Charles asked for the camera to not be on him while he set up a Native gag, and Gene went on to assault that cameraman. The camera smacked him on the head while he was messing around with it. 

See how the shenanigans went down 49 years ago in this wild and wacky marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Best of Match Game '77 - Best Episodes (Part I)