All Alone

After the last week, I desperately needed to sleep in. Didn't roll out of bed until past 11. When I did get moving, I had breakfast and did the dishes while watching Yogi the Easter Bear. Yogi's not "smarter than the average bear" when he eats all the candy and ruins the Easter Bunny costume Ranger Smith intended to use for Jellystone's Easter Jamboree. Hoping to make amends and keep Yogi from being sent to Siberia, he and Boo Boo search for the real Easter Bunny to replace the candy and save the Jamboree.

Moved to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while doing a few things around the apartment. Mrs. Tiger has a new job as a carpenter, and she brings Dan along when she repairs the stage in the Enchanted Garden. "Daniel Finds Something to Do" while his mom is working, like turning boxes into a snowman and a white cloth and foam pool noodles into a skating rink. When Prince Tuesday has work and King Friday is busy in the yard, Daniel, Chrissie, and Prince Wednesday have to figure out how to make their own fun in "Daniel's Royal Good Time."

Headed out around 1:30 to run a few errands. It was cloudy, damp, and cool but not cold, in the upper 50's according to the digital sign outside of City Hall. Not the prettiest day to be out and about, but it wasn't raining, either. First stop was the Oaklyn Post Office. It's hard to practice social distancing there. The lobby is so tiny, I'm not sure it is six feet. I bought the two stamps I needed, hid in a corner to get organized, and ducked out just as other people came in.

Next stop was Dollar General. Their eggs are normally cheaper than the Acme's, but they were $2.55! What, are all the chickens getting sick, too? That was still cheaper than the Acme's, so I bought them. Also grabbed sponges, tissues, and what I came for, Liquid Plumber. The drain in my shower's been running slow for over a week now. Unlike the Acme, they have not yet restocked toilet paper or cleaning supplies, though they seemed to be good with everything else.

Rode back down the White Horse Pike to WaWa for a lunch treat. Bought a roast beef and Swiss hoagie for dinner and a Shortbread smoothie for right away. The smoothie was really more of a vanilla-caramel drink topped with cookie bits, but it tasted pretty good. I have no idea why they had a limit on 15 people in the store at a time. I don't think I've seen more than five people in there at a time the two times I've been there.

After I got home, I made a less sugar-heavy chocolate-mocha smoothie with coffee yogurt, dark cocoa, honey, peanut butter, and skim milk. Watched Password Plus and Super Password while I enjoyed my drink and a pair of tangerines. Wacky then-married couple Patty Duke and John Astin competed against each other as much as against the other contestants on Plus. Poor Tom Poston just did not have much luck on Super, missing several puzzles, including one about Aesop's Fables that took them forever to guess.

Tried to focus on writing around 3:30, but it was hard. I did manage do do some things. The moment they arrive, Fannie's stepsisters Meredith and Victoria grab Richard and babble on about what perfect catches they are. All he wants to do is retreat, but he backs into Fannie with her tea tray and knocks the food over. Ethel yells at her for being clumsy, but Richard insists on helping her clean the mess.

(Incidentally, it finally started raining somewhere around 4:30. There was a short but noisy thunderstorm around 6. It's rained off and on, sometimes heavily, for the rest of the evening.)

It was past 6:30 before I finally gave up and had dinner. Watched Match Game while I ate my hoagie. Brett and Fannie figured into one of the funniest episodes of 1974 when they stumbled into the studio in lacy hats and feathered accessories and claimed they just came from Allen Ludden and Betty White's wedding. Charles finally retrieved them, joking about them needing nurses and baths. (White and Ludden were actually married in 1963.)

Started making Molasses Cookies while Sale of the Century was on. By 1986, the show had finally added a genuine bonus round. Instead of just choosing whether they wanted to take the prize or come back, contestants had to play a Concentration-like matching game with names of prizes under each square. The prize they matched was the one they'd get that day. The game added some much-needed excitement to the last five or ten minutes of the show, which frankly seemed anti-climatic. The champion got stiff competition from the other gentleman, but made it to the bonus round even after buying two Instant Bargains. He ended up winning a lovely painting.

Continued on to Concentration while the cookies were in the oven. Buzzr just debuted this one today as part of it's revised evening and night schedule. Unlike the later 80's Classic Concentration, the 1970's syndicated version of the show didn't have returning champions. Two women contestants played two rounds. The main round remained almost entirely the same, save the board that made an intriguing clicking sound when a new piece revealed itself. The bonus round was still played for a car, but the ladies had to guess two smaller rebus puzzles in 10 seconds instead of matching cars. I actually like this bonus round better. It fits in more with the rest of the show. Veteran host Jack Narz was in charge here.

Jodie called me as I was turning the cookies onto a towel to cool. She and Dad are still on lockdown, due to Dad's cancer. They've been so isolated, she's scared every time she even has to do grocery shopping that she might touch somebody and kill Dad. Rose is still on lockdown, too. Khai can't even see his friends. I tried to explain to her how all this made me feel, but I just got reminded that everyone else is going through everything, too, and that I'm lucky to have a job. Craig is out of work - the Italian restaurant where he's normally a cook doesn't need as many people to do deliveries.

I know that. I know everyone else is having a hard time. I just wish I had someone watching out for me. Jodie may only have Dad, but at least he's there, no matter what shape he's in. I'm the only person I know who is totally alone. No one understands. I go home, and there's no one I can talk about my fears with or who will comfort me. I have nobody.

At least tomorrow, it looks like the Match Game marathons will resume. The next Match Game semi-regular in the spotlight with be Patti Deustch, the nasal-voiced redhead whose creative answers may have frequently not matched the contestant, but did make her a heck of a lot of fun to watch.