Warm Weather Matches

Started off a late morning with breakfast and more of the Broadway: The American Musical soundtrack. Disc Three takes us to the height of the musical's success in the late 50's and 60's. Cast albums topped the hit parade, and variety programs like The Ed Sullivan Show gave its viewers bite-sized segments from the latest stage and film smashes. This was the era of beloved shows and songs that continue to be widely performed, revived, and talked-about to this day. 

It was also the beginnings of experiments like the truly bizarre Stephan Sondheim show "Anyone Can Whistle" that pushed the boundaries of what a musical could be. England invaded too for the first time since the 1920's with the success of Oliver and Stop the World - I Want to Get Off. Other still-beloved songs from this era include "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from Gypsy, "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music, the title songs from Camelot and Hello Dolly, "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, "People" from Funny Girl, "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler On the Roof, and "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha.

Called Uber after I got a quick lunch together. Unfortunately, I waited too long. It took 13 minutes for one to arrive, and I was late for work. I had a much easier time getting home, even at 6 PM as it was getting dark. Got a driver in 7 minutes.

It was insane at work when I got there. The parking lot was so full with people and cars all trying to leave at once. I was at the cart corral and didn't see exactly what happened, but I heard the crunch when one car trying to get out at the same time as a van ran into it. No one was hurt, but the white car in the back had a damaged front and lost the grill. The mothers driving the cars were furious and were still arguing when I went inside to sweep the store. 

Thank heavens it started to slow down around 4 PM, even as they pulled a college boy from the self-checkouts to help me with the rapidly-emptying carts. The weather could have been worse, too. It was in the lower 70's, with warm air but a stiff, chilly wind that meant I still had to wear a sweater. Though it remained cloudy all day, it has yet to rain like it was supposed to. Other than having to put away a few things when I needed to get outside, I had no trouble.

Once I got home, I had a shower, got dinner, and went straight into tonight's Match Game marathon. Considering the goofy-sexy tone of the show, underwear jokes abounded throughout the entire run. If people weren't almost taking their clothes off, they were giving "undies" or "panties" as answers to questions about what Raquel lost in a poker game or what the conventioneers threw out a window. An "underwear" question helped Carolyn become the all-time biggest champ on the show in 1979 and during the wild week with Foster Brooks earlier in the year. There was one on the week in 1975 with the lady who wanted to win enough to buy a piano (and did), and on one of the last episodes with statuesque Darlene, the long, lean blonde whom Richard had once won a date with on The Dating Game in the late 60's. 

We salute your shorts and take it all off in this hilarious and provocative marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Take Off Your Undies Marathon

Women and Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. It's death before "Dishonor" as the crew of the Wraith hides from pirate captain Bloth in the caves where the race of beings known as the Pale Warriors make their home. Ren tries to insist they're trustworthy, but they end up in jail anyway after Ioz steals the king's treasures. They get to prove their worthiness when Bloth turns up and takes the king hostage to get the treasures himself.

No trouble with Uber today. Got the one going to work in 10 minutes - just made it to work in time. The one going home took 11, which wasn't bad just as the night rush hour was peaking. No trouble either way, no traffic anywhere.

No trouble with work, either, other than I was there for a tiring 8 1/2 hours. We were busy for a lot of the day, with long lines. I mostly swept the store and pushed carts. When I fell behind pushing carts, they pulled one of the college boys from cashiering to help me. The weather wasn't the most fun for it. Though it never rained, it was cloudy, chilly, and breezy the entire day. I even ran across two of the kids from the after-school program and their parents later in the day. The younger one gave me a great big hug! The older boy told me they'd gone to Sonic, and he had a Blue Coconut slush. (I figured something like that when I saw his blue lips and tongue.)

After I finished, I went grocery shopping. They were having a "buck a bag" sale on produce. Didn't need apples, so I got two bags of oranges and more of those black jam grapes. Got bakery sugar cookies, too. Restocked yogurt, cheese, chicken, soda, and coconut milk. There were really good sales on granola bars buy 3, get them for $1.99 and buy two bags of granola, get them for $3.50. Was almost out of shave lotion, so I grabbed another good sale.

When I got home, I put everything away, then finished the night with a late Match Game marathon. Some of the most popular women in show business appeared on Match Game in the 70's and early 80's. Admittedly, most big female stars, like Minnie Pearl of the Grand Ol' Opry and Suzanne Sommers early in the run of Three's Company, only did one week. Semi-regular female stars of the time included Broadway legend Ethel Merman, Oscar-winner Patty Duke, comediennes Patti Deusch, Dolly Martin, and Phyllis Diller, dancers Rita Moreno and Elaine Joyce, former Catwoman Lee Merriweather, writer and humorist Fannie Flagg, and sweet character actresses Lynda Day George and Joyce Bulifant. 

Ladies from other game shows tried their hand at Match Game, too. Arlene Francis of Blind Date and What's My Line wasn't the best at matching, but she was funny and had a great time flirting with Gene. Price Is Right models Anitra Ford and Janice Pennington did one week each in 1976. Feisty little Holly Halstrom got the most out of her time on the show, becoming a semi-regular during the syndicated run. In fact, she probably appeared the most of any Price regular besides her boss Bob Barker. 

Celebrate International Women's Day tomorrow with some of the most beloved women to appear on Match Game!

Match Game Saturday Classics - International Women's Day Marathon

And don't forget to set your clocks back tonight!

Fascinating Rhythms

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Little Bear can't sleep, so he makes "Little Bear's Wish" on a star and imagines what his wishes are. Hoping to get him to sleep, Mother Bear tells him a bedtime story that sounds a great deal like his wishes. Little Bear is bored when his father is painting the house and his friends are busy, so he plays with "Little Bear's Shadow." Little Bear forgot "A Present for Mother Bear," so he goes to find her one. His friends have their own ideas of what to give Mother Bear, until Little Bear decides they should all give her gifts.

Absolutely no trouble with Uber whatsoever today. I was quite shocked when the morning driver arrived in 2 minutes! The one going to Thomas Sharp came in 4 minutes, and the one going home took 7 during the height of rush hour. Got to both jobs right on time, and there was no traffic anywhere.

The Acme was fairly busy for a weekend where the only thing going on is the start of March Madness. Maybe it was the weather. Though the rain's gone, it's still chilly here, windy and in the lower-mid 40's. At least I generally didn't have trouble with the carts. Other than having to dodge people reorganizing items in the pharmacy section and doing a few returns, there were no problems whatsoever.

Got my schedule while at work. In good news, though I have fewer hours next week, they're still more than the week before. I'm back to the Wednesday double-shift and regular Acme work on the weekends. Next Saturday is 6 hours, though - the head bagger took that day off again. 

After I changed into a regular shirt, I got a treat for dessert tonight that was cheap on the bakery cart, then headed to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center in the back for lunch. Hadn't had pizza at Tu Se Bella's in while. I got in just ahead of the crowd ordering pizza slices and hoagies. I enjoyed a slice of Hawaiian (pineapple-Canadian ham), a slice of broccoli-shrimp, and Diet Pepsi while watching Great Britain and Mexico play each other in the lead-up to the World Baseball Classic. (Later research revealed Mexico walloped Great Britain 8-2.)

Strolled across the parking lots to Five Below to get a snack to eat with the kids. Grabbed a Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Chocolate treat. Couldn't resist grabbing a Cherry Coke Float Zero for later, too. Didn't find any good records at Goodwill this time, but I did pick up the 5-disc CD set for the PBS miniseries Broadway: The American Musical in its original case for $5.99.

Speaking of the kids, this should be their last day in the library for a while. The playground is now completely clear. There's only a little snow around the edges near the picnic tables. Good thing, too. They were pretty wild today. I had trouble with my 9 kids in the bathroom, and even more taking a gaggle of girls to the bathroom later. Two of the older girls spent more time playing with the water and soaking the floor than washing. 

They did more running around in the library than dancing to "Ghostbusters," a kid-ized version of "Pink Pony Club," and songs from KPop Demon Hunters and Lilo and Stitch. I spent the time coloring with a couple of kids and showing them my new artwork of Snake King Pruitt and enchanted wizard Victor in Legendary Tales of WENN. I even showed some of the littlest kids photos from Remember WENN on my Pinterest to give them an idea of what I was basing the story on. 

Went straight into dinner and Match Game Syndicated when I got home. The first episode had Jack Klugman replacing his ex-wife Brett and complaining that the panelists don't get gifts like the contestants. The remaining shows were from the next week, when Marcia Wallace, Joyce Bulifant, and Betty White all rotated sitting in Brett's seat. They all seemed to have a marvelous time doing so too, especially Marcia. 

Finished the night with the first two discs of Broadway: The American Musical. In all honesty, with the exception of some of the super-old material on the first disc like Eddie Cantor singing "If You Knew Susie" and Bert Williams' "The Moon Shined Over the Moonshine," I have almost all of these songs on their original cast albums, or at least in collections. It's still really cool to hear them all together, from Joel Gray standing in for George M. Cohan singing "Give My Regards to Broadway" on the start of Disc One to Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert hoping for a wonderful "Tonight" from the original 1957 cast of West Side Story at the end of Disc Two. 

Other favorites on Disc One include Fannie Brice's definitive "My Man," Fred Astaire and his sister Adele demonstrating "Fascinating Rhythm," Paul Robeson giving us an unmatched "Old Man River," Ethel Merman blaring "You're the Top," and even Irving Berlin himself with "Oh How I Hate to Get Up In the Morning." Favorites from Disc Two include "Come Rain or Come Shine" from St. Louis Woman (one of only four cast albums on the set from the 40's onwards I don't currently own), Ray Bolger leading the audience through "Once In Love With Amy" from Where's Charley, Enzio Pinza's gorgeous "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific, Carol Channing squeaking "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Gerald Price introducing American audiences to "Mack the Knife" in the hit 1950's revival of The Threepenny Opera, and Barbara Cook's truly amazing coloratura showcase "Glitter and Be Gay" from the original 1956 Candide. 

Thunder and Angels

Got a quick start today with breakfast and a couple of Disney shorts. "Elmer Elephant" is a sweet little fella with a crush on adorable Tilly Tiger. The other animal kids make fun of his nose, until he realizes how useful it is when Tilly's treehouse is on fire, and his trunk makes a terrific hose. Mickey is a minstrel in "Ye Olden Days" who tries to rescue Princess Minnie and Lady Clarabelle from the tower. When he's caught, he has to fight Prince Goofy for her paw in marriage.

It was still raining when I called Uber. Considering this is my first of three busy days in a row, I had no trouble here. The one going to work came in 7 minutes and got me there just in time. The one going to Thomas Sharp arrived in 10 minutes, and I was actually early. I had a harder time getting a ride home. I had to wait nearly 20 minutes for prices to come down, and then it took 16 for the driver to arrive. And there was a little traffic going home on the White Horse Pike.

The rain stopped shortly after I arrived. Even so, we were quiet the entire morning. No trouble whatsoever, other than navigating the newly expanded and rearranged self-checkout area. I swept the store and gathered carts with no fuss.

Went across the street to Rexy's for lunch. This time, I went with a nice, simple Rexy Burger, their steak fries, and yummy Parmesan-crusted rolls. The burger was juicy and flavorful, with huge lettuce leaves and tomatoes and lots of cheddar. The fries were only ok, a bit on the bland side. Washed it all down with unsweetened iced tea before going back across the street to the Acme to rest and pick up Uber.

The kids were a lot more energetic. Thank heavens this will likely be their last full week in the library. The snow is almost entirely gone from the playground, and it'll be warm enough next week for them to get outside. I had 6 kids at my table, and we had 22 all together. My kids were just fine, cleaning up quickly when we went first and not making too much of a ruckus in the bathroom. Once again, we had a harder time afterwards, especially in the cafeteria before we went to the library. I spent most of the time in the library drawing, admiring the kids' work, and explaining my Legendary Tales of WENN story to two of the girls. The other kids built magnetic tile skyscrapers that got way too tall and danced to the themes from Bluey and the 60's Batman show, "Ghostbusters," and songs from Moana, Trolls, and Encanto.  

Went straight into Incendiary Blonde when I got home. I go further into this biography of Roaring 20's "queen of the nightclubs" Texas Guinan with Betty Hutton in this week's Musical Dreams Movie Reviews entry. 

Incendiary Blonde

Switched to Charlie's Angels while I started the review. Bosley is furious and beside himself with grief when Kelly is shot in the head during a routine case in "To See an Angel Die." He, Kris, and Julie keep a vigil at the hospital while Kris and Bosley explain some of their earlier cases to Julie. Yes, the series finale is another clip show, but at least this one has a more interesting plot than the previous third-season clip show "Angels Remembered." 

(Oh, and it started raining around this point...and when it rained, it monsooned. We had quite a storm going for about an hour, including some very noisy thunder!)

Finished the night with the cast album for Woman of the Year. This updating of the 1942 Hepburn-Tracy romantic comedy turns Tess Harding (Lauren Bacall) into a celebrated TV journalist and Sam Craig (Harry Guardino) into a cartoonist. They still get married and still have trouble relating to one another, but the Greek child Tess adopted is now a Russian dancer she's helping to defect, and she has a number with her normal housewife neighbor (Marilyn Cooper) whom she envies. Their song "The Grass Is Always Greener" was so hilarious and such a hit, Cooper got a Best Supporting Actress Tony for 20 minutes of stage time. Sam gets the other great Kander-Ebb number from this show, the gorgeous ballad "Sometimes a Day Goes By." 

The rest of the score isn't nearly at that level. Sam's numbers with his comic strip character Katz are more annoying than funny, the chorus numbers are dull, and the dated side plot with the Russian dancer assures that this is rarely seen nowadays. Even so, if you're a fan of Bacall or Kander and Ebb, this does have a few numbers worth hearing.

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.