Began a gloomy and cold morning with some beautiful music while I had breakfast. I honored the late Diahann Carroll, who also passed away over the weekend, with the Broadway cast album of No Strings. She was a model in Paris who romances blocked writer Richard Kiley, only to realize they can't stay together. Not only was this one of the first musicals to seriously explore an interracial affair, but it was Richard Rodgers' first and only time working solo on the stage. He came up with a standard right out of the gate, the delicate ballad "The Sweetest Sounds."
It was showering lightly when I arrived at work, and it would shower or rain in some capacity for the rest of the day. Thankfully, it never rained so heavily that I got even mildly wet gathering carts. I alternated between the carts, shelving items, and bagging for the rest of the day, stopping to sweep the store shortly before I left. We were steady but never insanely busy, and I was in and out.
Given the continuing bad weather, I figured I was better off just going straight home. As soon as I got in and changed, I had yogurt and fruit for a quick lunch. Kicked off my Halloween season with the Peanuts seasonal specials while I ate. Linus is determined to wait in a "sincere" pumpkin patch for the elusive fall gift-giver in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Against her better judgement, Sally joins him. Meanwhile, Chuck has trouble trick-or-treating and Snoopy spends his night fighting the Red Baron.
Chuck has more luck in It's Magic, Charlie Brown. He lets Snoopy turn him invisible for a magic show trick, but it rains before he can change him back. He's upset that he'll never be seen again...before he realizes that there are some advantages to not being seen, including finally getting to kick Lucy's football.
As soon as I finished eating, I started putting up the Halloween decorations. I probably should have done it a week ago. I did figure out how to hang two garlands. I hadn't noticed the two magnetic curtain rods Charlie put on the windows in my bedroom until today. The raffia garland with the fabric bats and pumpkins and the black and orange tinsel garland went on them. There were also stuffed bats and bear ghosts to set on the DVD shelves, witch scarecrows to place on the dry sink, and resin witch bears to set up on top of my desk.
Switched to Garfield's Halloween Adventure while starting Vanilla Pear Cookies. Garfield is thrilled to go out trick-or-treating with Odie and get lots of candy! He reconsiders his enthusiasm when he and Odie find themselves stranded on a spooky island and being chased by ghost pirates looking for their treasure.
Put on the Bowery Boys while the cookies were in the oven. They're Ghost Chasers when Sach's buddy Whitey becomes interested in spiritualism and introduces him to big-time spirtualist Margo the Medium. Turns out she's a phony who's ring of fake mediums are bilking older women in their neighborhood. They convince soda shoppe owner Louie Dumbrowski to go to the medium and distract her while they try to get evidence. Sach has some extra help - a ghost named Edgar whom only he can see. Edgar gets Sach wise to Margo's tricks, but the boys aren't entirely sure their odd pal hasn't flipped his baseball cap...
Did some writing while the cookies cooled. Lord Skutch is called to the gate and ends up telling Charles that performing, laughter, and music - the things he specializes in - are no longer permitted in the Kingdom of Columbia. No one will tell him what happened to the king and queen. After he and his horse are lead to the street, the guard tells him to seek Robin Hood, the champion of the people who robs rich nobles like Skutch and gives the money to the peasants. He'll be able to explain what happened to the kingdom and its noble family.
Broke for dinner at quarter of 7. I made a delicious Pasta Fagioli - a kind of Italian soup-stew with navy beans, pasta, and vegetables. I pretty much made it to use up old vegetables in my refrigerator. Oooh, it came out so nice, a little spicy but very tasty, and appropriately hearty for a dark and cold day.
Finished the night with the 1985 sword-and-sorcery fantasy film Legend. Jack (Tom Cruise) is a young man of the woods who is in love with delicate Lily (Mia Sara), a princess. He brings her to see a unicorn, a sacred creature. Innocent Lily sets off a chain of events when she touches the unicorn that ends with it being captured by the Devil (Tim Curry), who wants to bring about eternal darkness. Jack, accompanied by a motley crew of fairies and dwarfs, goes into the bowels of the Earth to rescue her and restore the unicorn and the light they bring.
This is one of the rare times I prefer the shorter theatrical version to a longer one. The Tangerine Dream score suits this whimsical fairy tale better than the music by Jerry Goldsmith, and moves a lot faster at the shorter length. Tom Cruise is kind of out of place here; Sara and especially Curry are far better as the pure-hearted maiden and the ultimate evil.
If you're a huge fan of fantasy, Curry, or romantic adventure, you'll want to give this 80's fairy tale a look.
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