Swinging Summer

Kicked off a hot, sunny morning with work. Once again spent most of a quiet day outside, rounding up trash, recycling, and carts. It was the last hour when things got crazy. I went inside to use the bathroom...and every two minutes, someone would call me to take a register for someone or return an item or shelve something. I wouldn't even finish the previous thing before they'd call me for something else! They asked me when I was obviously in a register! And there was another cashier there by then.

I did volunteer to hang up the new schedule, since the head bagger usually does it and she's on vacation. Once again, I have all early days, Thursday and Friday off. I'm not happy about missing the farm market next week, but on the other hand, working early means I'll miss the heat and storms we're supposed to have early next week.

Grocery shopping went a little better. The Acme's having a big chicken sale this week. I found thigh fillets and cutlets for dinner next week. Grabbed blue tortilla chips for my salty snack this week. There's also a lot of back-to-school stuff on sale. I grabbed two folders and a notebook to write phone notes on. Restocked turkey hot dogs, cheese, yogurt, almond milk, eggs (I didn't badly need them, but once again, the sale was good), taco and spaghetti sauce mix, and chocolate pudding mix.

When I got home, I put everything away, then did some reading while listening to another Versase Sarabande musical CD. This one gathers songs from various retellings of Cinderella, from the Disney cartoon ("A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes") to Into the Woods ("On the Steps of the Palace"). My favorite numbers are from British Cinderella stories. "Raise a Ruckus" is apparently from the Deep South-set Cindy-Ella. "Suddenly It Happens" is one of the big numbers from a 70's family musical that remains a favorite in England, The Slipper and the Rose. The adorable "Spread a Little Happiness" was the big hit from a male Cinderella in the Roaring 20's, Mr. Cinders.

Worked on writing when I felt like moving. Harris wants Leia to join him and Chewie, fleeing the Rebels and the Empire and traveling around. Leia loves him, but just can't bring herself to leave her mother, her job, or the Rebel League.

Decided to try something different for dinner. Along with the leftover turkey hot dogs, I grated zucchini and a potato and had a zucchini-potato hash brown. I should have added the salt before I squeezed out the water. Otherwise, it came out very nice, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Ran two sitcom episodes revolving around fixed game shows while I ate. Scott Sherwood's "Popping the Question" on the first season of Remember WENN - game show questions, that is. His big new radio game show is skewed towards the sponsor's obnoxious son. Writer Betty Roberts and the cast do their best to make sure the show is honest. Meanwhile, Betty's date Doug Thompson, the station's lawyer, is waiting (and waiting) for her to remember him.

Richie Cunningham runs into a somewhat similar situation on the second season of Happy Days. He appears on the "Big Money" TV show and does very well with baseball trivia, making it all the way to the final round. He and everyone in his family and at Arnold's are excited...until the host hands him final answers. Richie has to figure out if he uses the fixed questions, or calls the game out for being rigged.

Did a quick round of Lego Star Wars after dinner. Tried the extra-long "Battle of Endor" for the first time tonight. I got 7 blue pieces, not bad for my first try on one of the longest rounds again. Did "Into the Death Star" twice, but didn't get far. I'll try again tomorrow.

Finished the night with Swing Shift. Kay (Goldie Hawn) and Jack (Ed Harris) Walsh live happily in a residential neighborhood in LA in 1941, but their lives change when Pearl Harbor is bombed and the US enters World War II. Jack joins the Navy, and Kay gets a job at a munitions factory. She becomes good friends with the other women from her neighborhood who work there, including blowsy former singer Hazel (Christine Lahti). Kay finds herself not only becoming better at her job, she falls in love with handsome musician Lucky (Kurt Russell). When her husband comes home from leave and catches her with Lucky, she has to decide which man she loves more...even as she discovers her own independence.

I've heard this movie had a lot of problems, including tacking on an extra 30 minutes that weren't approved of by the writer or director that emphasized the love triangle. I think they put the emphasis on the wrong part of the movie. The second half, when Jack comes home and the romance comes to the fore, is far less interesting than seeing the women bond and prove themselves in an environment that to this day is still often considered to be "men's work." The ladies are excellent; Lahti got a Supporting Actress nomination as the blowsy singer whose leadership earns her the respect of Kay and her neighbors. The costumes and sets are perfect reflections of the World War II homefront and what everyone went through so the boys could win the war.

If you're a fan of the cast or are like me and enjoy stories of the mid-20th Century, you'll want to give this wartime tale another look.