Monday, January 18, 2021

A Fair World for All

Began the morning with readings in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology came out while King was still alive, but the material listed for United Nations Day works just as well. King and the United Nations both worked and work for peace. We had part of the book "A Fair World for All" by Dorothy Canfield Fisher and several poems. 

Quickly moved on to breakfast and My Little Pony. Mimic the unicorn is fading out, and only "The Golden Horseshoes" can save her. After the Moochick reveals that the four horseshoes were scattered across several countries, he tries to help Mimic while Megan and the other ponies search for the horseshoes.

Worked on writing after the cartoon ended. Brett lets all of the women out of the next room. Lorrie is upset that they've kept her away from her husband Anson. Marcia Wallace is just angry, period, and is ready and raring to kick rear. Richard says he's willing to take the others into the hold where Jack and the crews are being kept, but Robert Walden and Marcia are to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't betray anyone else.

Broke quickly at 11:30 to get ready for work. No problems whatsoever today. Both Uber trips went smoothly. Spent most of a partly cloudy and very windy day pushing carts. Also taught a new bagger how to gather carts and round up the trash and recycling. The only time it got busy was around 4, when we hit rush hour and anyone who went to work came home. Once rush hour ended, so did our customers. It was dead when left.

Arrived home in time for the second half of Match Game PM. We jumped way back to 1977 for this episode - I came in just as everyone was making jokes about what a mummy was holding when she was buried. They eventually answered "Octo __" on the Audience Match, and Richard tried to help a contestant win 10,000 on "__ Dream." 

Sale of the Century was a close one tonight. The one man did get a Fame Game, but it was really between the two women all night. The champ was ahead until the Bonus Round, when the other lady got ahead of her. She didn't get close on the Bonus Round, though. (And incidentally, if the new champ looks familiar, she won money nine years before on Password Plus as well.)

Moved to Ruby Bridges on Disney Plus after a shower. Ruby (Chaz Monet) is an extremely bright 6-year-old living in New Orleans in 1960. She's so smart, she's encouraged to attend a white elementary school by a Dr. Broyard (Peter Francis James). Her mother Lucy (Lela Rochon) thinks it's a wonderful idea and wants her children to have better educations. Her father Abon (Michael Beach), who ran headlong into prejudice during the Korean War, isn't so sure. 

Indeed, not only are there crowds protesting around the school when she arrives, but parents and most teachers pull out. Barbara Henry (Penelope Ann Miller), a woman from Boston who taught many different types of children on military bases, is her caring and supportive teacher. Not everyone agrees with Mrs. Henry's kind treatment of her student. Frosty Miss Woodmere (Diana Scarwid), the school's principal, wouldn't have allowed this at all if it wasn't for the new law integrating schools. As the year goes on, it proves to be hard for the entire Bridges clan, especially Abon, who loses his job and doesn't understand his wife's desire to move up in social classes. Child psychiatrist Dr. Robert Coles (Kevin Pollack) not only helps Ruby see how special and intelligent she is, but helps her family understand it, too. 

Wow. Hard to believe this one debuted on The Wonderful World of Disney in 1998. In fact, I remember the night it came out. ABC made a pretty big deal about it, and no wonder. This is one of Disney's best TV movies, far above anything they've done for The Disney Channel. Not only is the cast perfect, but the script pulls no punches. You hear the terrible insults the protestors call this six-year-old child who just wants to learn. You see how much this hurt her family, especially her skeptical father, and how it divided her neighborhood and her community. The performances are amazing, especially from Rochon and Beach as Ruby's parents with very different ideas on the importance of learning. 

Mom worked for one of the elementary schools in Lower Township as a graphic artist during the late 90's. She did a lot of research for a project several classes did on Ruby's story. She did see this movie when it came out and raved about it to me...especially since she lived in the south when all this happened and remembered Ruby's story well. If anything, this is even more relevant nowadays, with racial tension once more in the news. It can also be found on Amazon Prime, and I believe it's on DVD. If you haven't seen it yet, do so, especially if you have any interest in the history of the Civil Rights Movement or the changes the US went through in the early and mid-60's, or you remember them like Mom. 

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