Raining In the Spring

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Pac Man. It's a "Chomp-Out at the O.K Corral" when the Pac Family is visiting a ghost town out west...but so are the ghosts and their annoying cousin Dinky. When the Ghosts back his parents into a corner, it's up to Baby Pac to get rid of those spooky varmits! "Once Upon a Chomp" turns into a retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" when they give Pac Man magic beans that grow into the sky. Pac Man and Pepper end up having to escape a giant Ghost living in the castle at the top of the clouds.

Switched to the Cannon Movie Group version of The Frog Prince, which is now on Tubi, after breakfast. I went further into the first of the "Cannon Movie Tales" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in June 2020.

Family Fun Day - The Frog Prince

While that was on, I took down the winter decorations and put up the ones for spring and St. Patrick's Day. I know it's still technically winter, and the warm weather we're supposed to get over the weekend won't last forever. Even when it does drop back down, it'll probably be in the 40's and 50's, still warmer than it was at this time last month. I have small baskets of fake flowers and the nicer wicker basket of fabric flowers that came with Samantha's Flower Picking Dress. There's the spring stuffed animals, too, Earth Bear and Willow the Caterpillar and Sunny the Bunny and Shari the Lamb and April the Beanie Baby bear and Yamaris the Floral Squishmallow Cow. I now have three St. Patrick's Day Beanie Bears too, Clover and Shamrock and Erin. There's the two vintage panda and raccoon in green outfits die-cut cardboard pictures to hang up and the green tinsel shamrock garland for the window.

Despite the light showers when I first called and relatively chilly weather (it was probably in the upper 40's), I had no trouble getting an Uber today. The one going to work took 8 minutes, and the one going home took 7. By the time I finished at the school, the rain was gone, though it remained cloudy, damp, and cold. And yes, most of the snow is gone from all but the largest piles on parking lots and in shady spots.

We were pretty busy at the Thomas Sharp School again, 25 "littles" to start. I had 10 at my table alone. They cleaned up quick and were pretty good in the bathroom. They're all still crazy after we eat, but I'm guessing that's cabin fever. They haven't been outside in over a month and a half. Some of the boys got too crazy and had to be held back in the cafeteria while the rest of us were in the library. I had a nice chat with two of the girls about my artwork when I drew with them. They were genuinely fascinated to hear the story of Legendary Tales of WENN.

When I got home, I watched Match Game Syndicated. Phyllis Diller and George Kennedy were in the episodes I watched. Giggly comedienne Betty Kennedy sat in Brett's seat while she was out doing a play. Charles kept pretending not to miss her, but it was pretty easy to tell he wished she was there.

Ate dinner and took a shower, then finished the night with more Shirley Temple's Storybook Theater. "The Little Lame Prince" is another story based on a fairy tale from the 1800's. Prince Dolor (Rex Thompson) has been hidden in a tower all his life by his power-hungry uncle who took over the throne after his parents' death (Lorne Greene). His fairy godmother (Anna Lee) gives him a magic cloak that allows him to travel anywhere. He meets the man who polishes the stars and the one who paints the flowers, but his most important trip is to his own kingdom, where he finally confronts his uncle about the injustice he's committing.

Women Run the Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Gets a Shot," and he's nervous about it. His mother encourages him to think of something happy while it's happening. Likewise, when he and O are nervous about the thunder on "A Stormy Day," Mrs. Tiger suggests they think of something happy to distract them from the noise.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon making the bed and doing the paperwork Healthy Kids gave to me yesterday. I swear I did most of this back in late April-early May, but I guess they never got it. Getting references is going to be the hardest thing to do. I can get one from the Acme, but I have no idea who else could recommend me. The Stockton University Library is in the midst of being remodeled, and I don't think they even have a media center anymore, let alone anyone there who still remembers me. Trying to find anything on that would be a dead end. I haven't had any jobs besides those and Healthy Kids.

Listened to Aerosmith Gold while I worked and as I had lunch. There's a reason I bought this massive two-disc CD set. Pretty much almost every major hit Aerosmith ever had can be found here, from "Let the Music Do the Talking" to a live version of "Dream On." Other familiar hits and favorites include "Permanent Vacation," "Rag Doll," "Dude Looks Like a Lady," "Janie's Got a Gun," "Cryin'," "Crazy," and a live version of "Sweet Emotion."

It had been raining all day, and was still raining when I called Uber. Had no trouble getting a ride there. Got one in 9 minutes and arrived at school ten minutes early. Going home was another matter all together. It wasn't raining by then, but it was still cold, cloudy, and dreary. I wasn't going to spend all day waiting this time and just spent the money. They arrived in 10 minutes, not bad for rush hour.

Between the weather and the cold, the kids are still pretty antsy. There were a lot of them, too, 25 today. Having to start in the library because the school band was rehearsing in the cafeteria didn't help calm them down. They were noisy waiting for the bathrooms in the halls, and the girls in particular took forever there. They were even louder drawing in the cafeteria after snack time, too. When we finally got back to the library, one of the older boys grabbed a bin that should have been holding bristle blocks and insisted on playing "high school" with books and blocks and his own toys. Some of the kids danced to "Ghostbusters" and songs from KPop Demon Hunters and Moana. I colored with the boys drawing rocket ships and trains. They remain fascinated with my artwork for Legendary Tales of WENN, especially when I explained the story to them. 

Once I got home, I took out the trash, then waited for Jessa. We ended up having a much simpler dinner at Ponzio's Restaurant in Cherry Hill. Jessa had the chicken Parmesan sandwich. I had the yummy chicken honey barbecue sandwich with French fried onions, cheddar cheese, fries, and cole slaw. She had the cutest mini strawberry cheesecake topped with a giant glazed strawberry for dessert. I had a deliciously decadent slice of German chocolate cake. Jessa drove us home down a misty-dark King's Highway, through Haddonfield to the White Horse Pike.

Finished the night at YouTube with game shows hosted or produced by women in honor of International Women's Day on Sunday. One of the earliest game shows hosted by a women was Blind Date from 1951. Arlene Francis, who also hosted this proto-Dating Game on radio, introduces a young lady to two eager bachelors and their fathers. She does skits with the fathers to see which of their sons she'd like to date. Cute show, if a little dated, with the way the father's eyes roved over those girls!

Betty White cut her teeth hosting a game show on a week of Password in 1975 where she took over the host's podium and her hubby Allen Ludden played the game. An episode of her hosting week finally turned up a few years ago, allowing us to see how personable and fun she was as a host (and how well Allen could play - he beat the pants off the other celebrity that week, Paul Williams). 

Though Bert Convy hosted the syndicated version of Win, Lose, or Draw, Vicki Lawrence was in charge of the network show. It's too bad I only remember Bert's show and the teen version on The Disney Channel. Lawrence had a lot of fun, here joined by Debbie Reynolds, Loretta Swit, a young Jason Bateman, and one of the show's producers Bert Reynolds.

Lawrence frequently did celebrity game show tournaments, as with her big win on Card Sharks in 1980 and her appearance on an all-star charity episode of The Weakest Link in 2002. No wonder she lasted until the very end, going up against brilliant Ed Begley Jr. Considering how fiercely she challenged stone-cold hostess Anne Robinson, most people were probably afraid to vote her off! Other celebrities in this hilarious battle of the network stars included Davy Jones of The Monkees, Dennis Weaver of McCloud, Nicholle Nicholas of the original Star Trek, Erin Grey from Buck Rogers and Silver Spoons, and Raven-Symone of The Cosby Show (and later of That's So Raven!, which was about to debut on The Disney Channel at that point and is mentioned several times). 

Women became more common as producers around the same time Lawrence was going up against Robinson. Whoopi Goldberg was the driving force behind the 1998 revival of Hollywood Squares. It was her idea, and she took over the center square until 2000. I loved this show in college. I would switch back and forth between Goldberg and Bruce Vilanch cracking jokes and the more cerebral Jeopardy, then stay with Wheel of Fortune. Vilanch and Goldberg are joined in this early episode by Sandra Bernhard, Luke Perry, Robert Klein, and George Wallace, among others. 

Women are far more common as hosts in modern game shows. Elizabeth Banks has been the enthusiastic hostess of the Press Your Luck revival since it began in 2019. She makes up for the lack of Peter Tomarken's goofiness with sheer energy and moxie, especially in the expanded second half with a very long bonus round where one contestant plays against the board.

Who runs the game show world? The ladies do in these hilariously pioneering episodes!

Blind Date (1951)

Password (1975)

Win, Lose, Or Draw (1987)

Hollywood Squares (1998)

The Weakest Link (2002)

The New Press Your Luck (2019)

Corner of the Sky

Began the morning with breakfast and the 2018 version of Muppet Babies. "The Spoon In the Stone" is really a spoon Nanny stuck in a dry block of clay. The kids imagine it as the mystical spoon that can only be pulled by the greatest knight. Piggy, Gonzo, and Animal all try their luck, but in the end, Summer proves that the greatest knight is the one who helps others. "Gonzonochio" lost his library book, but keeps telling fibs to cover the truth. The kids keep confronting all the shady characters he claims has it, until he has to use his growing nose to fight Bunsen and Beaker's ping-pong playing robot that got out of control.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. Though I can walk on my knee, it's still really sore. It shouldn't still be sore after a month and a half. I figured it would be better once the weather changed. I had to get it checked out. The driver arrived in 7 minutes, and got me to Audubon in three.

I really should have called first. The waiting room at Cooper Health Urgent Care in Audubon was full to capacity when I arrived. The lady at the desk said it would be an hour and a half wait! I didn't have the time for that. I just bought a peppermint mocha hot chocolate from the WaWa next-door and walked home, despite the dreary cold, cloudy day. I already would be paying for the ride to Thomas Sharp School later.

When I got home, I dusted the apartment while watching Pippin. This is a 1981 recording of the Bob Fosse-choreographed 1971 musical with music by Steven Schwartz. William Katt is the title character, the elder son of Charlemagne who spends the show searching for his purpose. The Leading Player (Ben Vereen) and the cast frame it as a musical revue, much like Fosse would do later with Chicago's vaudeville. Chita Rivera is Pippin's scheming mother, Martha Raye is his grandmother who teaches him to enjoy the time he has left on this earth, and Leslie Dennison is the sweet woman who climbs out of the narrative by falling for him. Though this is apparently a shortened version (Pippin's lover is missing her big ballad "I Guess I'll Miss the Man"), it still hits enough beats to show why this was a hit in 1971 and in a popular 2013 revival. The sets and costumes are relatively minimal, but the score is one of Schwartz's best, and Katt and Vereen are terrific as the confused young man who wants to be "Extraordinary" and the player pushing and prodding him into that "Glory."

Pippin finished in time for me to call Uber. I had even less trouble this time. Though it did take 12 minutes for the driver to come going there, it only took 7 going home, surprising during rush hour. No traffic anywhere today.

The kids were crazy when I got in, and we had a lot of them. We had 24 to start, including 10 at my table. Thankfully, the bathrooms weren't that bad. It was later, in the cafeteria and library, where we had trouble. For one thing, we couldn't go to the library until later. The school band was meeting there. I had such a hard time reminding two boys to share all the Duplos, I almost made them clean it up well before their time in the cafeteria was done. I spent what little time we had in the library drawing with several kids while the others danced to the themes from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bluey, "Ghostbusters," and kids' dance numbers like "The Wiggle Dance."

Put on Match Game Syndicated after I got in, took the laundry downstairs and the recycling outside, and finished Pippin. Most of these episodes covered the week with Diana Sorvino, a friend of Charles Nelson Reilly's and the only opera star to appear on any version of Match Game. Too bad she never came back, as she was a decent player and dodged opera diva jokes like a champ. Former beauty queen Marjorie Wallace was in the 4th ingenue seat the next week. She was joined on the lower tier by Marcia Wallace and Gary Crosby.

Finished the night watching To the Ends of Time on Tub after I finally remembered to bring the laundry upstairsi. This 1996 TV fantasy film has a really interesting premise. Desperate to end war in his kingdom in the clouds, a king (Joss Ackland) has his magician (Michael Silverback) create a machine that can control time itself. The king decides it's too powerful and orders it destroyed, but it ends up in the hands of a furious sorceress (Sarah Douglas) who puts a terrible curse over the kingdom. Every living thing ages a year every day, including the King's daughter (Christine Taylor) and the servant boy who has a crush on her (Tom Schultz). When his brother is killed trying to find the time machine, the young man vows that he'll destroy the machine, before they're all too old to do anything about it.

The movie makes the most of its limited TV budget with fairly impressive miniatures and costumes...but it becomes obvious when we see the flying boats move with strings or against early CGI backgrounds or the really bad aging makeup and gray wigs on almost everyone. Some of the dialogue is a little stiff, too, especially in the second half when the guy is making his quest. And there's plot holes galore, including the kids never going back to their original ages (or getting their childhoods back) in the end. It's still worth watching for fans of fantasy who can deal with some low-budget cheese in their fairy tales. 

Musical Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and the soundtrack from For the Boys. I reviewed the film back in 2022 after James Caan's death, but I've had the CD for years. I've loved this soundtrack since the movie came out in 1991. We get a wide variety of music, from "PS I Love You" done as a slow ballad to the rousing 40's numbers "Billy-a-Dick" and "Stuff Like That There" to a really sweet "In My Life." If you love Bette Midler, you'll definitely want to have this.

Called Uber soon as I got downstairs. I couldn't get a ride for 13 minutes, but I gave myself plenty of time to get it, and I got to work just in time. In fact, the first guy who was supposed to drive me canceled. It took 10 minutes for them to pick me up after work. No traffic either way.

Work was crazy when I first arrived. It was busy, the carts were empty, and I kept being called to do fifteen different things at once. I'd be sweeping, then would be called to clean up a broken gallon water bottle and put away eggs before I could even get outside. Things went better later in the afternoon, when it calmed down a little and a second bagger came in at noon. He took over the sweeping and inside chores, leaving me free to do the carts and enjoy a lovely afternoon. It was sunny and breezy, not as warm as yesterday, but still decent for this time of year, probably in the mid-40's. It was just starting to get busy again when I finished.

Vacuumed and Swiftered after I got home and changed. Finished For the Boys and listened to Please Please Me as I worked. This is the Beatles' debut album, featuring their earliest hits, "Love Me Do," "I Saw Her Standing There," "PS I Love You," "Do You Want to Know a Secret," and the title song would be their first singles. It was a smash hit out of the gate...in their native England. Us Americans wouldn't take to Beatlemania until after they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, and even then Capitol wouldn't release this album in full over here until 1987. Many people would be surprised to see how many covers there are, too. Of the covers, my favorites are their classic "Twist and Shout," Ringo's "Boys," and the charming "Anna (Go to Him)."

Finished the night with more musical Match Game. In addition to featuring many musicians, like Bill Anderson, Minnie Pearl, Jon "Bowser" Bauman of Sha Na Na, and Irlene Mandrell, the show had frequent questions about musicians and music. Elvis, who was in the midst of his Las Vegas residency years during most of the CBS run, turned up in a lot of questions that joked about how he does his famous hip-swinging dance. Others referred to his songs, like when "Heartbreak Hotel" was an answer to "Heartbreak __" in an Audience Match. There were also many questions about musical instruments. Musicians like Marvin Hamlisch, Jon Bauman, and Paul Williams would actually play songs on a toy piano on the show as well.

Play along with the Match Game Orchestra and learn more about the music of the 70's and early 80's in this harmony-filled marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Elvis, Rock & Roll, and the Musical Orchestra Marathon

Spring Into Winter

Began a gorgeous morning with breakfast and Muppets Musicians of Bremen. I go further into this charming Muppet adaptation of "The Musicians of Bremen" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Family Fun Saturday - Muppets Musicians of Bremen

(And reminder that this is the last Saturday review. Starting next week, I'll be doing one Musical Dreams Movie Review on Thursdays. It might be a live-action film, an animated film, an old movie, a new one, a special, or a streaming movie. You never know what you might see, so keep an eye out!) 

Called Uber after Muppet Musicians of Bremen finished. No trouble here. I did have to wait 13 minutes for the first one, but I called early enough that I got to work right on time.  Waited 11 minutes for the one going home at the height of rush hour.

First of all, yes, I was right. The head bagger took half of next week off, which is how I got all those hours. She was here today, though, which is why I focused entirely on pushing carts. At least it was a gorgeous day for it. It was in the upper 50's, sunny and blue as can be. Most of the snow that came down last Sunday and Monday has already vanished. Only the highest piles on the curbs and in shady corners remain, and those aren't nearly as high.

Did my grocery shopping after I finished. I restocked yogurt, apples, grapes, soda, granola, granola bars, and coconut milk. I bought three bags of cookies from the Girl Scouts who were having so much fun outside earlier (two of them danced together, laughing and enjoying the day), so I just got a slice of carrot cake for a special treat. 

Put everything away when I got home, then took a much-needed shower and had dinner. Finished the night watching tonight's YouTube Match Game marathon. With the Cold War in full swing during the entire run of the show, many episodes joked either about America's allies at the time or the Eastern Bloc countries like Russia and Poland. Having worked with Germans and Austrians for six years on Hogan's Heroes, Richard Dawson could never resist trotting out his (fairly realistic) German accent. 

Probably the most memorable episode to feature another country was when Gene decided to do what the German version of Match Game did and say "Snick Snack" instead of blank. Apparently, the Germans don't have a word for "blank" in their language. Other questions joked about states sliding into the ocean or where Hawaiian goods really came from. 

Go on a trip around the world without leaving home the Match Game way with this high-flying marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Around the World Marathon (Part 1)

Fairy Tales for Children

Got a quick and late start today with breakfast and Paw Patrol. The "Pups Save a Frozen Flounder" when Cap'n Turbot's boat the Flounder is frozen solid in the Antarctic and winds up stranded. They have to cut it free, then navigate it around floating icebergs to safety. No one on Adventure Bay Beach can figure out what the strange swimming creature with the horn is. After some research, the "Pups Save a Narwhal" when it turns out the tusked whale is lost and looking for its family.

Worked on Legendary Tales of WENN while listening to the second disc of Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol 2. I had no idea he recorded versions of "The Mighty Quinn" or "All Along the Watchtower." I preferred quieter pieces like "If Not for You," "I Shall Be Released," and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." 

After Bob Dylan ended, I hurried out for a quick walk. I needed to get money from the ATM machines at WaWa. I grabbed a turkey bacon wrap and a tasty, sweet pineapple matcha smoothie, too. Not to mention, it was just plain too nice to sit inside all day. I didn't have the time for grocery shopping, but I could get this in. The sun was shining, there wasn't the hint of a breeze, and it was warm, in the lower 50's. The vast majority of the snow that impeded my progress on the White Horse Pike Monday had vanished. Family Dollar's parking lot was clear.

I ate quickly at home, then did a few chores before calling Uber. Unfortunately, I ran into the same trouble that I did yesterday...and this time, the weather wasn't the problem. Like I said, it was gorgeous today, the nicest it's been in a month and a half. The driver still didn't come for 15 minutes, and I was still five minutes late to the Thomas Sharp School.

And they did need the help today. There were about 20 kids, not that many, but more than yesterday. The ones that were there were rowdy, too. I had to talk to them about staring at each other in the bathrooms instead of actually going to the bathroom again. One of the girls tried to help her smaller friend, which was sweet of her, but I could handle it. I did better reading books to the kids sitting at the table with the books after lunch. 

They had some kind of after-school club going on in the library, so it was fairly late before we moved the younger kids there. I drew Lady Betty dreaming of Sir Scott and Maid Maple confronting the hypnotized Wizard Victor from my Legendary Tales of WENN fanfic, which fascinated the kids who would watch me draw and ask about the story. The head teacher did have to handle an older boy who got upset because he couldn't go out with the older kids, but she put on "Ghostbusters," "Pink Pony Club," and songs from KPop Demon Hunters and Moana when she got in.  

I decided when I finished that I wasn't waiting for the prices on Uber to go down again. I just walked home. On one hand, I did need to stop at the CVS on the border of West Collingswood and Oaklyn anyway. They're the only place I can find the brushes for my electric toothbrush. On the other hand, my bad knee was sore as heck when I got home. I put it under a heating pad right away.

Went straight into Match Game Syndicated when I got in. Most of the episodes finished out that week with Fred Travelena and his one-man White House and Elaine Joyce. The last one moved on to Vega$ week with Phyllis Davis and Bart Braverman sitting next to each other on the lower tier.

Oh, and I got my schedule at this point. In good news, more hours. In bad news, two 9 to 1 days in a row on Thursday and Friday means two double shifts that'll be hard on my knees in a row...and I somehow got an 8 1/2 hour shift next Friday. I do have three days off of the Acme, from Monday through Wednesday, but then I work three days in a row, two of them along with the school. I would give anything for consistent hours at both of my jobs!

Worked on Legendary Tales of WENN after dinner. Maid Maple LaMarsh and her wood pipe make all of the snakes dance. Betty uses her sentient "Heart Quill" as a flashlight to scare the snakes off. Hilary grabs one to ask what's going on. He only tells her that they were supposed to capture Hilary and bring her to the Snake King Pruitt. Mr. Eldridge appears, telling the ladies that Pruitt has taken over Pittsburghia. Sir Scott Sherwood and his powerful North Star Sword are gone, King Jeffery isn't what he was, and Lord Victor Comstock, the kingdom's trusted wizard, opened the gates and let Pruitt in. The ladies leap on their colorful mounts (Hilary has the alicorn, of course) and rush off to WENN Castle to make sure everything is all right.

Finished the night with more Shirley Temple Storybook Theater. "The Princess and the Goblins" is a retelling of that popular children's book. The Princess Irene (Temple) is a young woman here, though, rather than a child, but she's still not allowed outside of the castle. Her guy friend Curdie is in love with her, and he manages to save her from the Trolls who have never forgiven her father for banishing them. She in turn saves him when they capture him and try to keep him from telling her what's going on...and she saves herself later when the whiny son of the trolls (Arte Johnson) insists she's to be his bride.

I never heard of "The Magic Fishbone" until I found it in a fairy tale collection a few years ago. It's not hard to tell Charles Dickens wrote this story of a very poor king (Rex Evans) who gains a magic fishbone from an eccentric fairy (Estelle Winwood). The king works for a grouchy, miserly boss (Leo G. Carroll) who sounds like Scrooge...and acts like him too when he fires the King. The King wants to use the Fishbone, but his beloved daughter (Lisa Evans) keeps encouraging him to wait. As it turns out, the family is pretty good at making its own luck...but of course, the fairy lends a hand or two as well, including bringing back a handsome suitor for the daughter. 

Rainy Day Fantasy

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. This unique sword-and-sorcery-on-the-water swashbuckler is one of two fantasy shows for older kids that debuted around 1991. Unlike Peter Pan and the Pirates, this one is a full original, and one of the most expensive productions Hanna-Barbara ever did. We kick off with "The Quest." Ren, a young lighthouse keeper (George Newburn), discovers when he rescues an old man from drowning that he's the true Prince of Octopon. He can restore its grandeur by finding 13 treasures and bringing them together. The evil pirate Bloth (Brock Peters) captures Ren and tries to force him to tell him where the treasures are, but he escapes with the help of the flying monkey Niddler (Roddy McDowell). He encounters thief Ioz (Hector Elizondo), who steals a ship, and the beautiful stowaway Tula (Jodi Benson), who knows a lot more about the sea than she's telling.

(And personal note - Rose, Anny, and I loved Peter Pan and the Pirates and Pirates of Dark Water in the early 90's.  We used to watch both shows all the time in the afternoon on Fox.)

Spent the rest of the morning working on my WENN fanfic. We begin the fantasy segment in the Misty Woods, on the road to WENN Castle in Pittsburghia. Queen Hilary Booth is attacked by half-snake, half-man creatures while on her way home from seeking the sorceress Pavla, who had forced her husband King Jeffery into an unwanted marriage. She uses the magic in her crown to enhance her sword. Her scribe, Lady Elizabeth (Betty) Roberts has a magic quill that can make anything appear, reveal objects, and acts as her conscience. 

Watched On the Come Up as I worked. I go further into this coming-of-age teen rap drama at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On Streaming - On the Come Up

Oh, and I changed my mind about ending Musical Dreams Reviews. I'm going to continue to update it, but I'll only post one review every Thursday. I don't have the time for three long reviews a week anymore. I'll do one last Saturday review this week before starting the new schedule.

Uber was a pain in the rear today. It took me almost 20 minutes to get a ride there, and I ended up being almost ten minutes late. The ride home took 13 minutes, and that was after waiting over 20 minutes for the prices to go down. It was raining by the time I finished, which didn't help. Before that, it was just cloudy and slightly chilly, nothing like what it's been lately.

As it turned out, things could have been a lot worse. I only had five kids at my table, and there were 16 all together. Thomas Sharp School had some kind of program today where parents could sit in on their children's classes. A lot of the kids must have gone home with their folks after that. The kids were slightly rowdy in the bathroom, nothing outrageous. The other two teachers were here today, so they had "Ghostbusters," the theme from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, "Pink Pony Club," and songs from Moana, Encanto, and Trolls to dance to in the library. I worked on art for my new Legends of WENN story with two of the boys who really got into their own fantasy stories and rocket artwork.

Went straight into dinner and Match Game Syndicated when I got home. After the week with Jonnelle Allen and Bill Anderson ended, we moved on to Fred Travelena and his hundreds of voices in the male ingenue seat, Elaine Joyce as the female ingenue, and Charles insisting again that they replace Brett with Bess Myerson.

Finished the night after a shower with two episodes of Shirley Temple's Storybook Theater. "The Terrible Clockman" is among the color episodes currently on Tubi. Temple herself plays the daughter of a clock maker (Sam Jaffe) who is very proud of having been able to create a mechanism that allows clocks to all run the same precise time. He even made a clock-faced robot for the king. He regrets his hubris when an evil sorcerer demands to marry his daughter, then makes the clocks stop or run in circles, so no one, not even the king, knows what time it is. He also makes the clockman run on his own and obey him...until the creature turns against him and aids the daughter. 

"The Sleeping Beauty" was a black-and-white first season episode recently posted on YouTube. This is a more-or-less straightforward retelling of the Charles Perrault version of the story...only here, the twist is, it's not a prince whom the Princess (Anne Helm) falls for, but a handsome gardener's son (Pernell Roberts). Only his ancestor can figure out how to use the magic sword to cut through the brush and kiss the princess 100 years after she falls asleep. 

A Little Bit of a Marshmallow World

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Poor Little Bear has "A Flu." He's supposed to stay in bed, but Duck, Hen, and Cat all come in with remedies. Mama Bear knows that the best remedy for any illness is rest. Mama tells Little Bear, Cat, and Duck about a certain tree with a rock in it that she and Father Bear carved their initials into. The trio goes "Exploring" to find it, but find a cave instead. "Fishing With Father Bear" proves to be a lot of fun for Little Bear, especially as it's his first time in a boat. They end up in the water with the fish before they make their first big catch!

Called Uber soon as the episode ended. Thankfully, the one going to the Acme got there in 7 minutes, and I got there right on time. I didn't have nearly as much luck the rest of the day. The guy who picked me up after lunch had to go to the bathroom, and I forgot to tell him they put locks on the Acme bathrooms and you have to get an associate to tap in the password to unlock it. I was five minutes late to Thomas Sharp School. Got one going  home in 10 minutes, not bad for rush hour.

No problems at the Acme today. In fact, we were dead quiet for almost the entire morning. It snowed a little bit last night. The streets were fine. It was just enough to put a little frosting on the cars and roofs.  In fact, by the time I finished and it started picking up, the sun had come out, and it was much warmer. Even the snow that came down this weekend was melting. Not to mention, it's the end of the month, and we're well away from any major holidays.

I had lunch at Applebee's. I wasn't up to a long walk anywhere else. I enjoyed a mug of nice, hot tea, a Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Sandwich, and crispy, salty fries. It was quiet there, with only a few people enjoying a late lunch. After that, I went back to the Acme to get a donut, get money, and pick up the Uber there.

It was a lot busier at the school today. On one hand, we had 25 kids, 7 of them at my table. On the other hand, the other two teachers were back. This time, the kids were fine in the bathroom, though I did have to help one little girl there. It was the library where they were crazy. I sat with a couple of the boys and drew scenes from Legends of WENN while most of the kids danced to "Ghostbusters," kid-ized versions of "I'm Still Standing" and "Pink Pony Club," and songs from Moana. They wanted to hold hands and dance, but that just ended up with them running into each other and flinging each other around. 

They kept making a mess with the magnetic tiles and Duplos, too. They build these tall, tall towers that get too tall for them to finish without standing on something and either letting them fall everywhere, or hurting themselves. It took us so long to clean up the mess, I left almost as soon as we got back to the cafeteria.

Watched Match Game Syndicated on Buzzr when I got home. This was the wild week with the episode where Gene and Charles argue over the merits of the original Shogun miniseries and Charles hits Gene with his card. Gene collapses onto ingenue Jonnelle Allen, prompting McLean to take over hosting for two questions. (And he didn't do badly, either.) Gene comes out in the next episode with his face wrapped in bandages, supposedly due to the paper cut on his lip from the episode before.

Let it continue into Card Sharks. They were running two episodes from that hilarious celebrity tournament they did in 1980. Vicki Lawrence had to deal with a squirrel-y Bill Daily in the first episode and goofy Avery Schriberer in the second. In both cases, she beat them handily and made big bucks at the Money Cards. When she wasn't wondering what was going on in those goofballs' heads, she was yelling at the audience for not being helpful. 

Finished the night at Tubi with the last two episodes of Good Times' first season. James won't take "The Checkup," even when his children suspect he has hypertension. In fact, he throws a fit (and a chair) when they even just mention their suspicions. Florida finally talks him into it when she points out how badly he's scaring them. Turns out, there isn't that much to fear, and James learns that being vulnerable and checking up on your health isn't a bad thing.

"My Son, the Lover" has J.J head over heels for Marcy, the prettiest girl in school, who asked him to paint her portrait. J.J is drooling all over and insisting they're practically engaged. James is equally smitten, but Thelma and Florida think there's something more to Marcy's request. 

And that's that. Good Times originally debuted as a mid-season replacement and was a hit right out of the gates. I can understand why. Everyone is hilarious (even annoying Jimmie Walker), but it's Esther Rolle and John Amos who get the lion's share of the good lines and great moments here. They're so warm and believable together! Jan'et DuBois as Florida's friend Willnona has a few great moments as well. 

(Incidentally, the next show I'll be watching will be the fourth season of Laverne and Shirley for Women's History Month.) 

Basmati Dreams

Began the morning with breakfast and Pac-Man. Pac-Man and Pepper dodge "The Abominable Pac-Man" on skis while rushing to beat the ghosts and Mezmeron to a wild Power Pellet forest. Mezmeron captures Pepper and makes "The Bionic Pac-Woman" to find out where the Power Pellet forest is, but Pac Man knows his wife better than that.

Called the DVR after breakfast...or tried to. The first number I attempted never went through at all. The second number just went to a box. I finally called Bryanna at Abilities Solutions, who originally gave me the first number. Thank heavens she was in the office. She said they just moved and changed numbers, and no one bothered updating the one online. She e-mailed my counselor at the DVR instead. I just hope he responds fast. I'm going to need help getting loans or help paying a mortgage. I can't stay where I am much longer, and certainly not for another two years. I don't care what the housing market is doing. I need a home of my own.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon watching I Wanna Dance With Somebody. I go further into this biopic of Whitney Houston at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody

(And I'm going to repeat what I said at my musical blog here. Starting March 1st, I will be consolidating all reviews here. I no longer have the time or desire to write long reviews. I will keep the writing blog, which I only post when I've finished a story. Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will stay up as an archive, but as of February 28th, it will no longer be updated.)

Called Uber at 2:25. They came in 9 minutes. There was no traffic, but I still got there slightly late. I had fewer problems going home. It took 10 minutes for the driver to arrive, not surprising during the height of rush hour.

Actually, I had more trouble with the kids before they went to the library. I had 7 at my table (6 plus one boy who wasn't supposed to be there but wanted to play with the magnetic tiles). I let out quite a yell when I saw the boys peeking in on each other in the bathrooms! I did apologize to them for yelling, but I also pointed out to them when we were all out in the hall that people want privacy in the bathrooms, and that they should not be doing that.

Things went much better after that. It helps that there were only 19 all together today. We were missing teachers, too. Two teachers also called out, including the head teacher. We had an older teacher who usually helps with the older kids and a very sweet new recruit helping out. By the time we moved them to the library, we were down to 14 kids. There was no dancing - the head teacher has the dance music - but one of the teachers did show some of the kids a video on sharks. (The shark is Thomas Sharp School's mascot.) I worked on art for my new Legends of WENN story with some of the boys. We were down to five kids, all of them boys, when we finally cleaned everything up and went back to the cafeteria. Two of them went home at the same time I did.

I did a few chores, including taking out the trash, then waited for Jessa. After she picked me up, we headed to Cherry Hill. We ended up having lunch at IndeBlue, an Indian restaurant at the Barclay Shopping Center on Route 70. This was in West Collingswood, but it apparently moved to Philly for a while before coming back to South Jersey four years ago. It was all soft whites and gold, with an amazing crystal-trimmed gold wooden carving in the back. I ordered something called chicken biryani...but they didn't put the huge plate in front of me, and I ended up eating Jessa's spinach and cheese dish instead. At least it was all very spicy and filling!

Finished the night with Good Times. It's "Springtime In the Ghetto," and Florida is taking part in a cleanest apartment contest. She's sure she'll win, until Michael decides to do something nice for somebody. That "somebody" turns out to be Ned the Wino, the local drunk. He's such a dirty mess, Florida orders her menfolk to clean him up and sober him up, and fast! Good thing one of the women in charge of the judging committee knows him well.

Florida is excited when she comes home and reveals she's been offered a part in "The TV Commercial." Her family may be even more delighted than she is. Thelma tries to teach her voice projection, while J.J just wants money to buy barbells. Their mother isn't so thrilled with what the product she's supposed to be pushing actually contains, especially after she sees what it does to Michael.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

I went to sleep as the snow continued to come down heavily. When I awoke the next morning, it was...still coming down, though not as heavily. In fact, it was hard to tell if it was snowing, or just blowing around. I tried to figure it out while eating breakfast and watching Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a Tiny Penguin" when it's stranded with Alex and Everest on a bridge made of canoes and snowboards. They first have to save them from a whirlpool, then get them to shore. "Pups Save a Cat Show" when the robot kitty Mayor Humdinger made goes out of control and makes all of the real cats scatter.

Switched to Frozen: The Musical on Disney Plus next. This is a recording of the English cast of the stage version of the show. It's pretty much the same as the film with a new prologue showing Anna and Elsa as children with their parents at a summer festival ("Let the Sun Shine On"), a random Act Two chorus number for the owner of the trading post where Anna buys her winter clothes ("Hygge"), a duet after Kristoff first meets Anna where Kristoff points out that her engagement is pretty unrealistic ("What Do You Know About Love?"), a number for Kristoff where he finally admits his feelings about Anna ("Kristoff's Lullaby"), a second song for the sisters where Anna confronts Elsa at her ice castle ("I Can't Lose You"), and a second song for Elsa when she realizes she has to return to Arendelle ("Monster"). 

The adorable "What Do You Know About Love?" is probably the best of the new songs, but most of them aren't as good as the ones from the original film. Though there are some decent lead performances from Laura Dawkes as Anna and Samantha Banks as Elsa, the film isn't really enhanced by stage effects and light shows. The pandemic killed this after two years on Broadway, and Disney saw no reason to reopen it. It did a little better in London, running three years. Honestly, it's not bad, but I suspect it's mainly for stage musical nuts or those with little girls who can't get enough of Frozen and don't mind that it isn't the original.

Moved to Tubi for Good Times during lunch. James and Florida are worried that J.J won't make it his senior year of high school. He focuses entirely on art and girls and has never been seen to crack open a school book. They're surprised when "Junior the Senior" passes anyway. Turns out the principal just wanted to move him along because they're overcrowded and underfunded and can't afford to keep him there. Junior agrees to it at first...but then decides that if he's going to move to the next grade, maybe he'd actually start learning about something along the way.

"The Visitor" is a man from the Chicago Housing Commission who comes in response to an angry letter Michael wrote about conditions in the housing development to his local newspaper. The plump little fellow has obviously rarely left his office, and he gets an eye-opener when he's stranded at the apartment building and learns about the real-life conditions that the Evans and their neighbors live in.

After Good Times ended, I started my next Remember WENN fanfiction. It's over a year and a half after "All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front." Betty Roberts is waiting for Scott Sherwood to come home from North Africa, even though she's still trying to convince herself that they're only friends. Hilary Booth is furious that Jeff Singer is walking out on her and their shows to seek a correspondent job in London. She was hoping they could remarry and become queen and king of Pittsburgh radio again now that she's gotten her divorce from Scott. Maple LaMarsh is frustrated that Victor Comstock has gone to Washington to deal with W.E.N.N business and has been constantly breaking dates again. 

Maple wonders why it's the men who always run off to war. Why can't the women be the ones who get to run off and leave the men behind? Betty thinks this is a brilliant idea, and the perfect catalyst for a story the head of the Pittsburgh Public School District, the new sponsors for A Book at Bedtime, asked for. They requested an original, slightly dark fairy tale to make the younger children shiver and the older ones cheer. Hilary suggests, of course, that she is the Queen of Pittsburghia, returning home with her scribe and music magician, to find all isn't well in WENN Castle...

Tentatively titled Legends of WENN, this is intended to be a much shorter 80's-style fantasy story than my ongoing Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN, less Game of Thrones and more Willow or darker Princess Bride. I'm hoping I can actually finish this one. I love the idea, and not only is it not tied to a holiday, it's a fully-new idea, not something I came up with years ago. 

Listened to a couple of my recent record acquisitions while I worked. We Are was one of Quincy Jones' last collaborations, this one with jazz fusion artist Jon Batiste. The opening title song smacks of gospel. "Tell the Truth" and "Show Me the Way" get more into the rock, while "Whatchutalkinbout," "Boy Hood," and "Freedom" lean more on the soul side of things. Recommended if you love Batiste or are looking for something that moves out beyond the traditional jazz. 

Despite being listed as the soundtrack from A Boy Named Charlie Brown, what I picked up at Barnes and Noble last week is actually a reprint of the non-special Peanuts Vince Guaraldi album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. As such, there's some really good performances here. Along with "Linus and Lucy," we have "Oh Good Grief," "Blue Charlie Brown," "Baseball Theme," and "Happiness Theme (Happiness Is)." (I am going to keep looking for the real soundtrack to A Boy Named Charlie Brown, though.)

Moved to the first disc of that Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II set next. "Lay Lady Lay" is my favorite number here, and possibly the best-known number on this half of the set. "Watching the River Flow," "Maggie's Farm," and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" are other stand-outs.

The snow had long vanished by 4:30, and the roads were largely clear. It wasn't even that windy anymore. I figured it was ok to run errands and use up the last WaWa gift card I got from the kids for Christmas. I had been right about the snow. There was a lot of it, true, at least 9 inches, but it was wet, heavy, and fluffy. In fact, most of it was melting even as I dodged unshoveled sidewalks and huge piles of icy slush. I did drop off two books in one of the library kiosks, but I decided the sidewalks on the back roads were too messy to take them home.

WaWa wasn't that busy, despite it being one of the few places open on a snowy Monday. I got money for a friend, then used the last of my gift card on a soft pretzel and a Chocolate Coconut Smoothie. I tasted more chocolate than coconut, but it was still sweet and wet, which was really all that mattered at that point. 

Maybe I should have done the back roads again instead. The sidewalks on the White Horse Pike were only slightly less messy than the ones in the neighborhood. No one had shoveled or plowed around Family Dollar at all, not even their parking lot. I hope they weren't open. At least it wasn't that cold, either, probably in the perfectly normal upper 30's-lower 40's. 

Put on Match Game Syndicated while I had dinner. Bob Donner, former beauty queen Marjorie Wallace, Bill Daily, and Marcia Wallace figured into this week. Marcia spent the week joking about how much she and Marjorie looked alike (they didn't) and trying to rein in Bill Daily's perpetual nervousness. Bob Donner spent it writing unique artwork for his cards.

Finished the night at YouTube with more Match Game, this time at YouTube, in honor of Black History Month. The second African-American panelist to appear on the new Match Game after Della Reece was comedian Stu Gilliam early in 1973. No wonder he never came back. He spent most of the week trying to meditate between Jack Klugman and Brett Somers and their perpetual battles. Mannix's secretary Gail Parker had more luck joining the panel in dealing with overly excited contestant Dorothy the day after New Year's 1974. Comedian and impressionist George Kirby appeared later that year, just in time to see Richard literally throw Brett's shoe out when she asked him to fix it. 

Isobel Sanford of The Jeffersons turned up on the show twice, most memorably early in 1976. She helped win big money for a very sweet contestant who was such a doll, Marvin Hamlisch and Charles Nelson Reilly wrote a song about her. 

Nipsey Russell and Scoey Mitchelll probably appeared the most of any black panelist and got the most out of their appearance on the show. Nipsey appeared off and on from 1973 through 1979. Scoey first turned up in 1974 and would appear through early in 1982. I have a typical episode with Nipsey and his famous poems from 1978, and Scoey's last appearance in 1982 (that also included a brief but memorable striptease from Betty White). 

Arsenio Hall was probably the most memorable of the black panelists to appear exclusively on The Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour. His quips and jokes really made that show, and he was frankly one of the best things about a wildly uneven format. Jimmie Walker of Good Times first turned up in 1974, when the show was just starting its five-year run. He became so associated with the show, he would appear throughout the original run and turn up on Match Game-Hollywood Squares and Match Game '90 as well. Like Marcia Wallace and Vicki Lawrence, Jimmie probably did his best work in the 90's show, where he was slightly more subdued and less obnoxious. I have his first episode (and Mary Wickes') here, where he ogles a very pretty contestant.

Celebrate Black History Month with some of the most memorable panelists ever on Match Game!

Stu Gilliam (1973)

Gail Parker (1974)

George Kirby (1974)

Isobel Sanford (1976)

Nipsey Russell (1978)

Scoey Mitchelll (1982)

Arsenio Hall (1983)

Jimmie Walker (1990)

Super Snow Day Matches

I woke up around 9:30 to see rain coming down in heavy buckets...but I knew the rain wouldn't last. I debated and debated for another half-hour, but I finally called out of the Acme. I didn't want to lose the money, but if it was going to snow later, I would never get a ride home at 6 PM. I had a hard enough time getting an Uber ride home at 6PM yesterday when the weather was perfectly normal. I called out reluctantly, then went back to sleep until past 1. 

It was still raining cats, dogs, and chickens when I did finally roll out of bed. I got up so late, the very early Match Game marathon was already on. This extra-long marathon was themed around superheroes and superhero questions. Superheros were on a downward spiral in the early 70's after the enormous popularity of Batman and other candy-colored pop art wonders of the 60's. They'd make a comeback later in the decade with the success of the TV versions of Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk and the first Superman movie. 

I came in for the second half of the hilarious Halloween episode from the 1990-1991 revival where Charles Nelson Reilly dressed as Superman, complete with inflatable muscles. ("No one picks Superman anymore!" he wailed later in the episode when he wasn't chosen for the Match-Up mini game.) No one else would dress the part, but questions about superheroes, especially Superman, abounded during the entire 1973-1979 run of the show. They were ironically less common in syndication, but they did still turn up occasionally. Usually, they came in the form of what Superman would do if he got old, what he did with Lois Lane and his X-Ray vision, what he ran into while he was flying, and whether he could really bend iron bars and leap tall buildings in a single bound.

There was a Superman question the week with Robert Morse in 1974 when the little red-headed male contestant kept winning and chasing all the female panelists. Sweet Janet Finn in 1974 and good-natured Carolyn in 1979 both had Superman questions on the day they won big money (with Charles and Brianne Leary respectively). The lady with the nifty pink butterfly-shaped glasses who was on in 1975 had a Superman question. So did the lady with 10 children who proudly said she'd spend the money on herself. There was one during the only week in 1973 that Gene's old boss and mentor Steve Allen appeared, and one during the only appearance of Oscar-winner Shelley Winters. 

Batman turned up more rarely, usually in questions that joked about his relationship with Robin. One such question in 1973 had such a sexually-charged answer - from the contestant and the panelists - that the episode is now banned from regular television. There was a similar question later in 1974, with slightly more delicate answers. 

It's up, up, and away with the Match Game panel as we celebrate Superman, Batman, and all kinds of superheroic matching!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Super Hero Marathon

Oh, and the snow finally started coming down around 3:15 and hasn't stopped since. If anything, I think it's even heavier now. The streets are only clear because Oaklyn is really good at cleaning up its streets, but most of the local towns aren't usually as on the ball. All local schools are closed tomorrow, the Collingswood School District included, and I was off of the Acme already anyway. I won't be going anywhere tomorrow but home.