Breezin'

I slept in this morning. When I got up, it was still sunny and breezy. It was hotter than yesterday, but it also remained dry, so I kept the air conditioner off. I made Blueberry Pancakes for breakfast and watched The Green Hornet.

The Green Hornet was originally a 40s radio show about a Britt Reid, crusading newspaper owner, and his karate-chopping Oriental sidekick Kato, who donned green and black masks and clothes to fight crime. They drove the "rolling arsenal" Black Beauty and had their own ultra-plush hide-out in an otherwise normal part of town. The only people in on Reid's secret are his secretary Lenora Case and the district attorney.

The character was revived in the superhero-crazy mid-60s, but the show only lasted a season. Perhaps, despite the set-up, it just wasn't campy enough for the time period. Unlike Batman, Reid and Kato fought fairly normal goons and gangsters, not costumed supervillains. Their get-ups were plain black suits and green and black masks, not tights. They did use some nifty gadgets, like the gas-shooting gun, but nothing too bizarre.

I headed to work around quarter of 2. It was very busy there all day. Sundays are always busy at any time of year. Plus, there's lots of barbecues, family get-togethers, and large graduation parties going on, too, not to mention the last of the beginning-of-the-month people. This meant it also went fast. There were no problems, and I was in and out.

I picked up hand soap for the kitchen really quick, then came home. I had fried egg whites, toast with farm market honey, cucumbers, tomatoes, and some of that cole slaw I picked up on Friday for dinner. Ran the classic George Benson jazz album Breezin' while I ate. The title track and "This Masquerade" have long been favorites of mine.

Put on The Dress Circle after dinner. "Judy Garland at MGM" was tonight's theme. This meant lots of classic material to choose from - "The Boy Next Door" and "Under the Bamboo Tree" from Meet Me In St. Louis, "It's a Great Day for the Irish" from Little Nellie Kelly, "Minnie from Trinidad," from Ziegfield Girl, Judy's famous version of "You Made Me Love You" known as "Dear Mr. Gable," "I'm Nobody's Baby" from the Andy Hardy series, "Get Happy" from Summer Stock, "Be a Clown," from The Pirate, "I Love a Piano" and "A Couple of Swells" from Easter Parade, and her 1936 recording of "Stompin' at the Savoy."

Actually, my favorite song tonight never made it to the movie it was recorded for. Judy's myriad personal problems lead her to drop the role of Annie Oakley in the movie version of Annie Get Your Gun. She did film two numbers and apparently recorded more...including a very funny version of "Anything You Can Do" with Howard Keel.

I called Mom while The Dress Circle was on. She was just plain tired out. She spent the week babysitting my nephew Skylar while his mother works at Big Lots in North Cape May. Generally, he's a good kid...but for some reason, he has homework this summer. Not surprisingly, he doesn't want to do it, and Mom has to fight to get him to. I did relay my plans on visiting Erma in early September, the week after Labor Day. Mom suggested I call Rose sometime this week, too. She hasn't heard from her in a while, and I haven't heard from her since Lauren was here.