Kicked off the morning with breakfast and the "America Rock" shorts from Schoolhouse Rock. "No More Kings" and "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" covers the American Revolution. "Fireworks" is a jaunty ragtime tune about the creation of the Declaration of Independence. "The Preamble" explains the Constitution. "Elbow Room" shows how Americans expanded westward in the latter half of the 19th century. "Mother Necessity" reveals how scientists and inventors turned the wheels of the Industrial Revolution, and "The Great American Melting Pot" salutes the immigrants who filled the factories. The dynamic "Sufferin' 'Till Suffrage" discusses how women won the vote in the US after over a century of protests. "Three Ring Government" compares the US government to a typical circus. "I'm Just a Bill," which has an actual bill explaining just how long it takes for a bill to become a law, is probably the best-known of these.
"Tyrannosaurus Debt," a pointed commentary on the US debt and how it keeps growing, is from the much later "Money Rock" in the 90's but fits in with the "America Rock" shorts as well. "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College," which uses a spoof of college fight songs to discuss the Electoral College, was made for the DVD set I have.
Headed out for work shortly after the cartoons ended. Work was very busy for most of the day. I spent three hours outside in the heat and high humidity, rounding up carts and gathering the trash and recycling, because I was the only bagger there in the morning. Dodged the men filling pot holes in the parking lot as well as I could. Other baggers started to arrive by around quarter of 2, allowing me to switch to sweeping and doing returns. I picked the right time to go inside. Dark clouds had started gathering as early as noon. By 3 PM, we were in the middle of a noisy thunderstorm, complete with torrential rains. Thankfully, it had long finished by the time I was done.
Saw Jodie while I was doing returns. Thanks to the weather, it looks like their 4th of July party is now combined with the birthday dinner for Finley, whose birthday is today. It also sounds like they're inviting a few more people. (That doesn't surprise me.) I'll be over their house around 4:30-5 PM tomorrow.
I did need to pick up a few things after work. After the ice box cake I made two years ago was more of a mess than anything, I wasn't going to take any chances. I bought ladyfingers for the "crust" and cream cheese, strawberries, and Cool Whip for the filling. (No messing with home-made whipped cream this time.)
Charlie had a new deck leading to my apartment half-finished when I arrived. I put my bike against the fence, left him to his work, and went upstairs to change and do some writing. Leia wishes Luke would stay with her and Harris instead of rushing off to Dagobah. Luke tells her he'll learn more from a great master like Yoda. She helps him get ready to take off with the Jet Pack squad.
Broke for a quick leftovers dinner at 6:30. After I ate, I made the icebox cake. Added lemon juice to the cream cheese, Cool Whip, strawberries, and powdered sugar, then layered them over the ladyfingers to make a strawberry lemonade icebox cake. Decorated the top with blueberries and sliced strawberries in a flag pattern.
Finished out the second season of Clone Wars as I worked. Anakin is saying "R2 Come Home" when he and Mace Windu are trapped in the debris from a crashed spaceship and only his little droid can get the word out to the others. Artoo not only has to get around droid-eating gundarks, but avoid Boba Fett and Aura Sing and their crowd, who are holding the downed crew members for ransom. Ahsoka and Plo Koon find themselves on a "Lethal Trackdown" as they pursue Boba and Aura and their prisoners from the lower levels of planet-wide city Coruscant to desert planet Florrum.
I can definitely understand why this still has a huge fandom that was thrilled to hear about its return later this year. This is well-written and exciting in a way the first two Prequel films mostly weren't, with enjoyable and interesting stories, decent animation, and engaging characters. Between this and Rebels (and the mixed response to the Sequels), I'm starting to think Star Wars makes an even better TV series than a movie series. The serial format gives it more time to develop characters and bring its world to life. If you're a fan of the Prequels or Rebels, you'll absolutely want to give this earlier series a look as well.
Moved on to Lego Pirates of the Caribbean after the cartoon ended. Finally completed "Isla Del Muerta." There was a cave just to the left of the underwater statue in the secret cave that was practically invisible. It brought me to a hidden bay, where I shot ducks and slid onto a ridge to pick up the last three pieces and finish that round...but not the game. As it turned out, I missed three of Jack's compass points. Easily found the one in "Norrington's Choice," but I'm having a harder time with the ones in "Port Royal." I'll try again tomorrow or Friday.
Charlie called while I was playing, claiming that there was a package for me around front. He'd drop it at my steps when he took his dogs for a walk. That was a surprise. I hadn't ordered anything. It was from Lauren. She and her parents apparently had an overabundance of tea, so they sent me every tea under the sun - Bentley's in a tin, Twinings, Celestial Seasonings, and various brands in a plastic container. They'd also thrown in a set of three Hershey's Kisses-themed lip glosses. I really appreciated it, especially the Bentley tin. My identical tin is scratched and dented from years of being shoved on the top shelf of my cabinets.
Finished the night with honey ginseng green tea and America the Beautiful, a 2-disc LP set of patriotic music compiled by Reader's Digest in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. I always listen to at least the first disc of this set on or around patriotic holidays. Favorites here include "This Land Is Your Land," "God Bless America," "American Patrol," the clip-clops of "The Grand Canyon Suite," and a Boston Pops concert of George M. Cohan songs that's so much fun, you can hear people singing along in the background.
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