The Wonderful World of Make Believe

Started the morning with this week's episode of the American Top 40. Casey flew ahead a year to 1980, as disco faded and country, hard rock, soul, and British supergroups took over. Hits from that week included the title song from Xanadu by Olivia Newton-John and the Electric Light Orchestra, "I'm Alright" from Caddyshack by Kenny Loggins, the title song from Fame by Irene Cara, "Give Me the Night" by George Benson, "Drivin' My Life Away" by Eddie Rabbit, "All Out of Love" by Air Supply, and "You'll Accompany Me" by Bob Seeger and the Silver Bullet Band. Diana Ross had the #1 hit that week, one of her biggest solo smashes, the bouncy dance tune "Upside Down."

I headed out as soon as "Upside Down" ended. It was a gorgeous day for a farm market/yard sale run. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and while it was a bit warmer than it has been, it wasn't horrible for the time of year, probably in the upper 70s-lower 80s. The heavy breeze kept it from feeling much worse.

My first stop was a corker. The church next to the Oaklyn Post Office was having an indoor-outdoor rummage sale to fund their missionary trip to Africa. The had a particularly awesome collection of children's books, CDs, and DVDs. I ended up with:

Two books for my nephews, a collection of Mickey Mouse stories and the classic early Bernstein Bears tale The Bike Lesson.

Two animated DVDs, both holiday-related: Max & Ruby's Halloween and Tom & Jerry Tales: Vol. One, which seems to be a holiday-themed set for their most recent show.

Two books from the Dear America series, one about the daughter of a Tory (loyal to the British king) family in 1774, the other about a girl who witnessed the building of the railroads out west in 1869.

My best finds (and probably my favorite finds of the day) were four Disney CDs. Three were cast albums for stage adaptations of their properties - the long-running hit Beauty and the Beast, the still-running Mary Poppins, and The Little Mermaid, which wasn't nearly as well-received as the other two but has some interesting-sounding new music. Also picked up The Best of Schoolhouse Rock. I'd love to get a set with all the songs, but until I can find it, this collection of three or four songs from each of the five Rock shorts collections will do.

There was a great little yard sale in Collingswood on my way to the farm market, too. I think I've found good things from them before. I grabbed another book for my nephews and another DVD, Mickey Saves Santa, the Christmas special for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Next stop was the Farm Market. Peaches, nectarines, and cucumbers are just about done. Pumpkins, winter squash, gourds, and beans of all kinds abound. I didn't really need a whole lot today. I mostly wanted fruit. Ended up with those sweet little Gala apples, pears, speckled beans, and zucchini.

I spent the next three hours riding all over Audubon, from the farm market all the way up to a block from King's Highway. Actually, my finds in Audubon were disappointing for most of the morning. The one sale that listed American Girl items had sold out by the time I made it over there at 10:30. Almost everyone else seemed to be selling junk, cheap recent kids' toys, baby items, sports memorabilia, and children's clothes. The furniture that interested me was too expensive.

My persistence paid off. I finally hit two big record sales on Washington Terrace, ironically just a few blocks from the big record sale I found there in early April. One woman was selling her grandparents' old records. A middle-aged man on the next block over was clearing out his collection. Between the two of them, I ended up with:

Johnny Mathis - The Wonderful World of Make Believe

John Fogerty - Centerfield

Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy - Favorites In Hi-Fi

Greatest hits collections for Petula Clark and The Captain & Tennille

Frank Sinatra - The World We Knew, Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits Vol. 2

Home for Christmas, a three-record Columbia holiday set with a lovely cover depicting a snowy New England farm and sled scene

I finally headed home after picking up the records. I wanted to save some money for later in the week, and I was starved. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast! I was too tired when I finally got in to have more than cereal for lunch as I ran the Mickey Saves Santa DVD. In the title holiday special, Mickey and Donald have to rescue Santa when he's stranded on Mistletoe Mountain. Mickey enjoys it, but greedy Donald has to be constantly reminded to behave. Goofy and Mickey return a baby bird to its mother in "Goofy's Bird." My favorite was "Mickey Go-Seek." Donald and Mickey are playing hide and seek. Mickey has to find his feathered friend...but Don's found an awful good hiding place! He enlists the help of the other Disney crew members, Toodles, and the audience to help lead him to Donald.

I worked on adding my new finds to my inventory for a while. It was supposed to rain after 2PM...but it was still sunny by 4:30, though also windier and a bit more humid and hazy. I took advantage of Mother Nature's continuing good mood to pick up sticks in the yard and go for a quick walk down to the school. I wasn't the only one, either. There were lots of people out and about today. Kids rode their bikes. Adults chatted on their porches. A mother giggled with her toddler daughter by the jungle gym in the playground, while a gaggle of pre-teen boys played tag by the swings.

When I got home, I made Chicken with Mushroom Sauce and Speckled Beans and smashed sweet potatoes for dinner while watching Harvey. James Stewart is kindly drunk Elwood P. Dowd in this adaptation of the Pulitzer-prize-winning hit play. Dowd's best friend is an invisible six-foot rabbit named Harvey. Neither he nor the regulars in his favorite bars see anything wrong with this, but it causes no end of consternation to his flustered sister Veta Louise (Josephine Hull) and her daughter, the latter of whom continuously sees suitors chased away by her uncle and his unusual pal. Veta is so hysterical when she finally decides to have Elwood committed that the sanitarium tries to lock her up instead. Everyone in Elwood's household and the sanitarium finally learn a lesson about being crazy when the sanitarium's owner goes missing.

A sweet, thoughtful comedy along the same lines as Miracle On 34th Street and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Like those earlier movies, this one also deals with a man considered crazy by some and just a sweet guy with a good imagination by others, the importance of fantasy, and how people can help others, if they just take the time to listen to them. James Stewart is sweet and wonderful as gentle Dowd; Josephine Hull (of the original Broadway cast and Arsenic and Old Lace) won an Oscar as the fed-up Veta Louise.

I felt a distinct sense of deja-vu when the rain finally arrived around 7:30...and once again, when it rained, it poured like mad. It's thunderstormed off and on for the rest of the evening, though it seems to be off right now.