Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Door Into Summer

Kicked off a hazy, partly cloudy morning with The Monkees. "Monkees at the Wheel" takes the groovy quartet to Las Vegas, where they have a gig at a casino. Micky thinks he has magic fingers after winning big money at the slot machines and bets it all on a roulette wheel that turns out to be rigged. The guys have to find the gangsters who rigged the wheel, or they're all going to end up in jail.

Made a quick run to Dollar General to pick up a few things after breakfast. Dollar General carries underwear, mainly Hanes. I don't have the money for one of the larger packs, and none of them came in my size anyway. I settled for a 3-pack. Found travel-sized bottles of mouthwash and body wash for my vacation. (I was going to get batteries, but I think Acme's generic batteries might actually be cheaper.)

Worked on my story for the rest of the morning. Leia shows Henry where she hid the jewels - in a secret panel under her birth mother Queen Padme's portrait in one of the halls. Unfortunately, Hux has followed them, hoping they would lead him to the location of the missing crown. Leia duels with him, finally disarming him. Boba Fett is there too, holding onto Henry. Cedric and Rusty bring the Ewoks to help take him down.

Broke around 2 for a late lunch. Did an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures while I ate and got ready for work. "High Toon," the first season finale, takes Babs and Buster on a trip to what they think is a popular local theme park. It turns out to be a real wild-west town that's being terrorized by bandits. The bunnies first recruit Plucky and Hampton to help them take down the criminals, then to rescue Hampton when he accidentally falls into their hide-out.

Work was pretty much the same as it was yesterday and has been all week - pin-drop quiet. I alternated between doing returns and gathering carts, mainly because I was alone until the night bagger showed up around 6. It was a very hot, humid day, not helped by the earlier clouds having mostly vanished by the afternoon.

After I got home and took a badly-needed shower, I went online and put on Captain Ron. Martin Harvey (Martin Short) inherits a vintage yacht from an uncle who moved to the Caribbean years ago. He takes his family to the islands in the hope of encouraging some family bonding time on-board. Martin's dreams of adventure get a reality check the moment they see the dilapidated pile of splinters his uncle's once-beloved vessel's become. Things really pick up when he hires Captain Ron (Kurt Russell) to teach them how to sail. Ron is a laid-back, eye patch-sporting sailor who keeps eyeing Martin's wife (Mary Kate Place), turning Monopoly into chances to gamble, and getting lost at every opportunity. Martin's about ready to throttle him, but it'll take all of their skills - including Ron's - to steal their boat back from the notorious Pirates of the Caribbean!

Another old family favorite, we watched this one a lot in the early-mid 90's. While the story is fairly typical. Short and Russell play off each other beautifully as the goofy sailor who learns a little about family and the over-eager father who discovers real "adventure" is often found in the places we're least looking for it. Fairly enjoyable if you're a fan of either leading man or National Lampoon's Vacation-type comedies.

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