Come On Down and Match!

Started off the morning with work. I pushed carts the entire day, and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. The sun was shining, the sky was a brilliant blue, and if it was gale-force windy, it was also fairly warm, in the mid-60's by noon. A manager suggested I go inside at one point after another bagger arrived to help, but I said no. For one thing, there were already two other baggers inside. For another, it was too lovely of a day to be inside, dealing with frustrated and angry shoppers and frazzled managers. Though it wasn't that busy most of the morning, there was a long line to get into the store around 11:30. At one point, the line was so long, it went into the back parking lot.

(I also discovered another reason we're short on help. Apparently, any worker who is afraid to work because of the virus can stay at home. They won't get paid, but they will get full benefits. At least four people opted for that; a customer service manager who was going to retire in May anyway left early. I literally can't afford it. I rely on my paychecks. The government money will only help for so long.)

Needed a few things after work. I realized I forgot parchment paper and aluminum foil on Friday, and I wanted stamps to send Keefe's get well soon card. I also needed to figure out how to get three boxes, one of them a large one, home. I can get all the boxes for moving I want at work. It's just a matter of getting them home on the bike. I almost lost them in the wind once, but I did manage to balance them well enough on my basket and get them in the house.

When I got in, I changed, wrote down this week's schedule, and had a quick lunch. Listened to Unsung Irving Berlin while I ate. This two-disc CD set from Verese Sarabande is a collection of rare or little-known Irving Berlin songs. Some, like "Roses of Yesterday" and the jaunty "I'm On My Way Home," are less unknown than they are forgotten hits. Others, like the peppy opening song "It's a Lovely Day for a Walk," the sweet ballad "Whisper It," and "You're a Sucker for a Dame" are from projects that never came to fruition. "But I Ain't Got a Man" was written for the movie There's No Business Like Show Business, but dropped when Marilyn Monroe decided she preferred "Heat Wave."

Finished the night online with the next Match Game marathon. Sweet bespectacled announcer Johnny Olsen was a legend in the game show industry, having announced Match Game and The Price Is Right practically since their inceptions. He and producer and judge Ira Skutch made several appearances on Match Game and sort of became semi-regulars in their own right. Johnny even played the game once when Gary Burgoff was late due to Daylight Savings and he had to sit in for him. (He did very well, too!)

Other episodes had him reading questions that revolved around his famous line from The Price Is Right, "Come on down!" Gary responded to this once in 1975 with his hilarious overexcited impersonation of a typical Price Is Right contestant. Johnny also got to smooch Betty White when he was among the panelists and crew who went crazy with that wild contestant in 1976. Bob Barker called on him to recite his famous line when it was the answer to an Audience Match in 1978...but he and Bob weren't overly happy when she didn't ask Bob to answer it!

Here's the entire marathon, so you can come on down and enjoy the antics of one of the most famous announcers in game show history. We're sticking with beloved game show people tomorrow at 4 PM as the spotlight switches to long-time What's My Line and Match Game favorite Arlene Francis.

The Best of Johnny Olsen on Match Game Marathon 1973 - 1979