Friday, June 05, 2020

Outrunning the Showers

Started off a hazy morning with breakfast and the second half of Blockbusters. I came in as the grandmother-grandson pair just won their next round. The grandmother completely dropped the bonus round, missing all but one question. They'd just brought in a woman who was returning after they changed how many days you can return from 10 to 20 when the game ended.

Switched to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood as I did the dishes. Dan's excited when his family goes to the grocery store, then out to eat. He has to learn "Calm at the Restaurant" when he gets too excited at the store and knocks over a display, and then he and Jodie get too noisy while waiting for their tacos and accidentally block waiter Prince Tuesday. Miss Elaina has to be "Calm In Class" when she's excited because her dad Music Man Stan is going to teach them how to tell a story with music.

Did more Doc McStuffins as I rounded up my laundry and detergent. Went with an episode from season three, starting with "Slip n' Slide." Stuffy the dragon learns an important lesson about pool safety when he plays a rough game with Bronto the plastic dinosaur and ends up falling in the wading pool and getting soaked. Doc's brother Donnie loves his teddy bear Teddy B, but not when he has "A Big Pain In Teddy's Tummy" that pricks him. Doc has to figure out what's in Teddy's tummy that is causing the problem...and convince Teddy that he's not a danger to Donnie or anyone.

Headed out to do the laundry at around 11:30. Though it was a bit cloudier, it was also hot, humid, and hazy, in the upper 80's. That may be why I saw fewer people out and about, mainly kids on bikes and couples walking their dogs. Most folks were probably cooling off in their homes or backyards.

The laundromat was a lot bigger than it was last week. The former office in the back was now a mostly empty space, except for a big square laundry sink, the soap and dryer sheet dispenser on the back wall, and seats that had been moved from the front of the building to against one of the remaining pillars. They were still kind of busy when I arrived, so I dropped my laundry in the very last washer and headed out.

There were dark clouds sputtering on the horizon over the White Horse Pike, but I figured I had enough time to treat myself to a drink from WaWa. They were a little busy at lunchtime, but not as bad as it could have been. I ordered a Peach-Mango Smoothie and grabbed a cheese stick and darted out.

By the time I returned to the laundromat, the small crowds were clearing out. I worked on story notes and ignored the news blaring on Channel 6. At least I only had a fairly small load. It wasn't in the dryer for long. I was in and out in less than an hour.

Those clouds on the horizon continued to build as I walked home as fast as I could. Felt a few fat drops of rain on my nose as I dragged the laundry and detergent upstairs, but nothing came of it. Thankfully, I managed to get everything in with no trouble.

Switched to music while I put my clothes away and had lunch. Though the title song in the Nat King Cole record Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer was written for the album, most of the other songs are turn of the 20th century standards like "Bicycle Built for Two" and "The Sidewalks of New York." Some of those songs turn up on the Dorothy Provine album Oh You Kid!, which also covers the music of the first two decades of the 20th century.

Had a quick muffin and fruit lunch while watching Super Password. Elaine Joyce continues to help her contestants destroy the competition at the main game, but they didn't do quite as well at the bonus round this time. Folksy Orson Bean and his wife Carolyn were the big winners in Tattletales today, despite missing the first question.

It finally started raining, and raining hard, while Tattletales was on. Though I did hear some rumbling when it first started, for the most part, it was just a heavy shower. The showers would continue off and on for the rest of the evening.

Did some writing after I'd put aside the dish rag I'm crocheting. Richard is smitten with Fannie (to Charles' dismay) and wants to court her, but Fannie has no interest in him. She's more concerned about when her contact will arrive. She's a member of the evil Queen Malade's court and will be coming in with her...

Broke for dinner at 6. The lunacy continues on Match Game. In the first episode, a contestant didn't know what a delicatessen was (to the surprise of Gene and the panel) and couldn't give a good answer to one of the round one questions. In the second, Gary Burghoff took offense to a question that asked which celebrities were shorter than he was!

That young man just kept right on winning on Sale of the Century. This time, though, the other challengers gave him a real run for his money, especially early in the game. Even finding a money card on the Fame Game couldn't help the other guy. Once again, the young man bought two of the three Instant Bargains, blasted through the speed round, and decided he'd come back for more.

Rose called shortly after dinner. She did get my phone call about the letter, but has been focusing on trying to get back to work in Camden full-time. She says she'll send me her current e-mail and we'll take a look at the apartment to see where things can fit sometime this weekend.

Ended the night with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Watching the two Allan Quartermain films the other day put me in the mood for more adventure. In 1936, archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is on the hunt for the Ark of the Covenant, the golden box that is said to hold the Ten Commandments. Indy first heads to Nepal to retrieve a golden medallion that tops a staff. His ex-girlfriend Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) has it and insists on coming along after he burns her bar down. Unfortunately, the Nazis are on the hunt for the Ark too, lead by Indy's French rival Beloq (Paul Freeman). They'll stop at nothing to get the sacred chest, from shutting Indy and Marion in a snake-filled tomb to testing it on a deserted island. Indy, however, knows better than to play with magic...and he realizes that there are some mysteries that are better left undisturbed...

The first, and probably still the most popular, of the Indiana Jones movies. Marion remains his most famous love interest, Ford is wonderfully laid-back and charming, and the action-packed script remains funny and even chilling, with a fair amount of blood and the scary, flesh-melting finale. It's probably too scary for most kids, but for adults, if you want to know about Indy, this is probably the best place to start.

No comments: