The Rain's the Limit

Rain continued to pour down, even as I had breakfast and finished out the wartime Looney Tunes shorts. "Meet John Doughboy" makes fun of the peacetime draft and the army's newfangled methods of taking down the enemy. (Oh yeah, somehow Jack Benny gets in there, too.) "Fifth Column Mouse" is another allegory, this time using mice and a diabolical cat to retell how the Nazis convinced people they had good intentions, and how they took them down after they went back on their word. "Hollywood Canine Canteen" has fun with the real-life hang-outs for soldiers on leave where celebrities would often volunteer to boost morale; look for dog versions of everyone from Bing Crosby to Laurel & Hardy and Edward G. Robinson.

Worked on writing for a while after breakfast and after I got home from work. Bill (Daily) the White Rabbit and Pat (Harrington) the Pig are convinced that the huge arms hanging out of Bill's house belong to a monster. They recruit country singing Bill (Anderson) the Lizard to help them flush this "monster" out. Brett's less than thrilled with this, even if she does think Bill's cute, and tries to figure out a way to dissuade them from sending him in.

Broke for a quick smoothie lunch while running a few more Looney Tunes war-related cartoons. Bugs becomes a "Super Rabbit" thanks to enhanced carrots in order to take down a cowboy who hates rabbits. When push comes to shove, he dons the uniform of a real hero...a marines officer. "Draftee Daffy" would do anything to avoid going overseas, including dodging the persistent Little Man From the Draft Board. Bugs becomes a "Falling Hare" when he tries to keep a gremlin from sabotaging planes and the two of them end up on a plane in free fall.

Thankfully, it was only misting when I went to work. Work started off very busy, with long lines and some frustrating customers. It died suddenly between 2:30 and 3 and never picked up again. I spent most of the second half of my shift working on story ideas. Other than one lady didn't have as much money as she thought on her card and couldn't cover her small order, there were no major problems. It was quiet enough by 6 for me to leave with no relief and absolutely no need for one. The rain slowed to a very soft sprinkle by then, too. 

Changed when I got home, then put on a couple of Popeye war shorts. The Fleischers tossed Popeye into "The Mighty Navy" before the US even officially entered the war, which is why the enemy in this short is nameless. It's more obvious he's fighting the Japanese by the time of "Blunder Below," when he emerges from shoveling coal to fight a submarine. "Fleets of Strength" is similar, only this time, Popeye's taking on bomber planes in mid-air. More common are the shorts where Bluto and Popeye continue their competition for Olive Oyl's hand, like "Kicking the Conga Around" and "Olive Oyl and Water Don't Mix."

Did some more writing, then finished off the night at the Watch TCM on demand site with The Sky's the Limit. I celebrate Memorial Day with this World War II romance about an ace flyer (Fred Astaire) who passes himself off as an ordinary guy to woo a lovely photographer (Joan Leslie). 

Happy Memorial Day - The Sky's the Limit