Saturday, December 23, 2017

Christmas Is Waiting

It was raining when I got up this morning. By the time I was eating breakfast, the rain had taken a temporary leave of absence, and it was just cloudy and a little chilly. Put on Bugs Bunny's Christmas Tales to cheer up the gloomy morning. Bugs narrates the between segments of this three-story anthology. The first is a condensed Christmas Carol, with Bugs as Nephew Fred, Yosemite Sam as Scrooge, Porky as Bob Cratchit, and Tweety as Tiny Tim. Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner take their usual antics into the snow-covered mountains in the second story. Bugs also appears in the third, dealing with the Tasmanian Devil in a Santa suit tearing apart his house.

Did the first Happy Days holiday episode while cleaning up from breakfast. "Guess Who's Coming to Christmas?" Fonzie, whom Richie invites over for Christmas Eve when he realizes his leather jacket-clad friend is all alone for the holiday. Mr. Cunningham insists that Christmas Eve be for family only, but his wife and children get just as much enjoyment from sharing their holiday with Fonzie.

Had enough time for a couple of animated holiday shorts while getting ready for work. "Seasons Greetinks" was Popeye's only Christmas short. He takes Olive skating on Christmas Day, but they end up on thin ice when Bluto goes after Olive. We have a similar situation in "I-Ski-You-Ski-Love-Ski," but this time, Olive and Popeye are mountain climbing when Bluto goes after them.

"Mickey's Orphans" was Disney's first Christmas short, and their first Oscar nominee. Mickey and Minnie take in a basket of adorable kittens on Christmas Eve. They try to show them a nice holiday, but those kitties look a lot less cute when they nearly destroy their house.

Work wasn't too bad when I arrived around 10, enough that I was able to get the bathrooms done first and work on unloading boxes of cards in the gift card kiosk. By the time folks were getting off for lunch, it was bedlam. Even with every register open, the lines were still long. I spent five long hours bagging and rounding up cold items. I did go outside to help with cards for about a half-hour, but they really had plenty of help with that today. The bagging got so crazy, and I got so stressed, I rushed over to the bathroom at one point, just to get away from the crowds. I returned to the gift card kiosk to finish out the boxes about a half-hour after my second break.

As soon as I was finished, I grabbed cooking spray (which I forgot to get yesterday) and a pretzel for a snack and hurried home. After I changed, I put on the last of the peas and tuna for dinner. Cut the fudge with a small, sharp knife after I ate. The fudge was a bit crumbly....but did it taste good! It was perfect, sweet and rich and oh so chocolate-y. I guess some things really are better the second time around. It'll be my special surprise for Jodie and Dad's party tomorrow. (That first batch might make a nice gingerbread-spice dipping sauce for fruit when Dad and Jodie visit next week.)

Ran The Toy Story That Time Forgot while I ate dinner. Trixie, Bonnie's sweet-natured triceratops, is the focus of this semi-holiday special. Trixie loves her human, but she wishes she'd actually have her play a dinosaur, instead of everything from a fairy to a reindeer. A few days after Christmas, Bonnie and a couple of her toys visit a friend of hers for a play date. While Bonnie and her guy friend play his cool new virtual video game, her toys are introduced to the Battlesaurs, a He-Man-like group of action figures who think their elaborate barbarian world is real. Turns out Bonnie's friend has been so into his video game, he hasn't played with them yet. Trixie has to convince them that they're toys, and that being toys isn't a bad thing, before they toss Buzz, Woody, Rex, and a tiny bear angel into a pit!

Moved on to The Bernstein Bears' Christmas Tree while I finished with the fudge and cleaned up from dinner. Like Clark Grizwauld, Papa Bear is determined to chop down his own special Christmas tree. Every tree he and the cubs turn up is home to some animal or the other. They finally return home in a blizzard, only to discover that the local lot has closed. The cubs are disappointed, but they have a big surprise waiting for them at their family's tree house!

Did A Disney Channel Christmas after getting out of the (much warmer this time, thank goodness) shower. This was the Disney Channel's big holiday special for years, a blending of two earlier Disney holiday shows, Jiminy Cricket's Christmas from the 50's and 60's and A Disney Christmas Gift from the 70's. Jiminy hosts this series of snow or Christmas-related shorts and segments from older Disney films that involve snow, parties, or giving. This was the first place I ever saw one of my favorite Mickey Mouse shorts, the touching black-and-white tale "Mickey's Good Deed." I also like "The Clock Watcher" and "Donald's Snow Fight" with Donald Duck and the classic Goofy how-to short "The Art of Skiing." (But my favorite moment is the finale, when Jiminy sings "When You Wish Upon a Star" with all the Disney characters of the time surrounding him. I still get a lump in my throat at that.)

Finished the night with the only holiday and hour-long episode of Remember WENN, "Christmas In the Airwaves." The staff of Pittsburgh radio station WENN is ready to celebrate Christmas 1940 with lots of mistletoe, holly, and yuletide programming. The arrival of their owner, a singer who is grieving for her husband, and her miserly financier puts a damper on their holiday. They insist that there is to be no reference to Christmas at the station, not in the shows or in the studios themselves. The staff finally bands together to get around the financier's rules and help the singer realize that her husband is still very much in her heart, and Christmas is the perfect time to let your heart start to heal.

Here's some other lesser-known holiday specials, for anyone looking for even more Christmas joy:

A Very Pink Christmas
The Teddy Bears Christmas
Annabelle's Wish
A Cosmic Christmas
The He-Man-She-Ra Christmas Special 
Little Women (anime) - "Christmas Eve"
Strawberry Shortcake (2003) - "Merry Berry Christmas"
The Christmas Tree Train
Raggedy Ann & Andy In the Great Santa Claus Caper
Ziggy's Gift

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