Musicals On a Sunny Day

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast before hurrying out. I couldn't believe how gorgeous it was. The wind finally settled down, and while it remained fairly strong, it was nothing like earlier in the week. The sun was out, and there wasn't a cloud in the searing blue sky. 

Maybe that's why we were so quiet today. It was slightly busier than yesterday, but still nowhere near overwhelming. Audubon had a lot of events going on, too, including their Town-Wide Yard Sale. Not to mention, this is the last day of the month, and we're between holidays. It died so quickly and we had so much help by 2:30, I was able to leave with no relief and no need for one.

I'm furious about my schedule next week. A lot more hours...but I don't have my next day off until Friday! My last day off was TUESDAY! And it's all 6 to 8 1/2 hour shifts. One of the cashiers had family trouble and had to take off, and now we're even more short-handed. When am I going to get anything done? 

Took the long way home via Nicholson Road, as I did yesterday. It was busy with Saturday shoppers around the mall, but otherwise wasn't too bad. Even the White Horse Pike could have been worse. Most folks were likely either still at local events or at the Shore. At least everything is really gorgeous now. The leaves grow fatter and fatter on the trees; the gardens glow with pansies and tulips.

Went straight upstairs and into Match Game '78 while I changed and had a snack. Jon "Bowzer" Bauman made his first appearances on the show in these episodes, along with the only appearance in the original show of Rhoda regular Nancy Lane. They added a great deal of New York flair to the week, from Nancy's jokes about New Jersey to Bowzer showing off his 50's greaser look.

Watched A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song while going through papers on top of my printer and dusting the rooms. I go further into the third entry in this series at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song

Worked on writing for a while after the movie ended. White King Gene and Queen Helen are being held prisoner on their own thrones. They know what's going to happen - their memories work forwards and backwards, too - but the Red King still threatens King Gene with being stripped of his "muchness" if he doesn't give up his move to him. 

Broke for dinner at 7. Threw on PAW Patrol while I ate. The Pups are on vacation out west when the robotic dinosaur a diner owner keeps to advertise his wares suddenly walks off with his trailer and his wife. The "Pups Save a Robo-Saurus" and manage to get his wife back in time for her to watch her favorite show. "Pups Save a Film Festival" when Daring Danny X's overdone stunts keep interrupting everyone's attempts at making a movie for the local outdoor screen, including their own.

Finished the night with something unique at YouTube. I'd seen bits and pieces of the first Musical Comedy Tonight before, but I never found the full show until tonight...and never knew there was more. Sylvia Fine-Kaye, the witty songwriter wife of Danny Kaye, introduces us to the history of the Broadway musical, from the college-themed show Leave It to Jane in 1919 to Company in 1970, performed by major talent. 

In the first concert, we get to see Ethel Merman bray the title song from Anything Goes that made her a star in 1934 and be ecstatic when handsome Rock Hudson joins her for "You're the Top." Bobby Van and Bernadette Peters make a charming couple singing about how "The Best Things In Life are Free," while a redheaded Sandy Duncan is the perfect flapper leading the chorus through "The Varsity Drag" from Good News. John Davidson sings about "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" and leads the chorus through the rousing title song of Oklahoma!, and we get to hear Agnes DeMille narrate her famous ballet. Carol Burnett is a hilarious Aldo Annie singing "I Can't Say No." She, Duncan, and Peters return for Company. Duncan gets "Another Hundred People," while Peters joins Richard Chamberlain, whose legendary charm will certainly keep her from leaving for "Barcelona." Burnett gets to practice her drunk routine with "The Ladies Who Lunch."

The third entry focuses wholly on older shows. Beth Howland of Alice explains why she admires "Cleopatterer" in the big comic song from Leave It to Jane, while Broadway star Christine Andreas leads the chorus through the title song. Peter Noone and Clive Revell make odd choices for a brief excerpt from The Mikado, and Show Boat is represented by the 1936 Universal movie with Irene Dunne and Paul Robeson rather than a recreation. 

Other shows come off better. Florence Henderson sings a gorgeous "They Didn't Believe Me," Jerome Kern's first major hit. Patti LaBelle starts a "Heat Wave" with the chorus in a sequence from the Irving Berlin revue As Thousands Cheer. Donna McKechnie joins Dick Van Dyke for "Thou Swell" from the Rodgers and Hart A Connecticut Yankee and "This Can't Be Love" from The Boys from Syracuse. Elaine Stritch reveals what Morgan LeFay does "To Keep My Love Alive" in the last song Rodgers and Hart wrote together. Kaye Ballard joins McKechnie and Roberta Peters as they "Sing for Their Suppers" and reveal why "Falling In Love With Love" is a bad idea. 

Honestly, if you love older musicals like I do, this is highly recommended for the numbers recreating rarely-seen older shows like Connecticut Yankee and Good News alone. (And I hope the full second special shows up online soon - it apparently can only be found at the Paley Center in New York at the moment, though the Lady In the Dark sequence with Danny Kaye and Lynn Redgrave is on YouTube.)

Musical Comedy Tonight (1979)

Musical Comedy Tonight III (1985)

Rest Is Best

Started off my day with breakfast and dashing off to work. Today was my only bagging day this week, and it was just for four hours, until the afternoon bagger came in. Mostly swept the store and gathered carts, but I also took recycling and trash from the offices up front to the compactors in the back. The afternoon bagger took over sweeping for the last hour, allowing me to focus on carts. We also got to say goodbye to our long-time grocery stock manager, who's retiring today after 40 years. 

Did a little grocery shopping after work. They were expensive, but the closest the I could find to Target's date bars at the Acme was the Larabars; went with Apple Pie. Bought more blood oranges, but I won't be doing that again. They went up in price at the Audubon Acme, too. Looks like they're finally out of season. Picked up oatmeal cookies and muffins for work from the bakery clearance racks and shrimp for lunch today. 

Had said lunch as soon as I got home and changed. Watched Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood as I ate. Dan and his parents go on "A Trip to the Enchanted Garden" to pick strawberries for strawberry pancakes. Daniel has to look a little closer to learn about how strawberries grow and where they end up in his pancakes. Daniel, Katarina, and Miss Elaina are excited about "A Trip to the Crayon Factory," but poor O the Owl has a cold and can't go. Dan Sr. takes pictures of the machinery so he can get a closer look, and little Daniel makes sure to get him a fresh yellow crayon.

Switched to The Roku Channel for The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That. The Cat takes the kids on an "Incredible Journey" up the river and a waterfall to see where Salmon Samantha goes to lay her eggs. The kids are "Bamboozled" about what to give Sally's stuffed panda for a birthday present. They visit Zhu Zhu, a real panda, to find out what she loves best, and why bamboo is so important to her.

After the show ended, I went down for a nap. I am totally wiped. I've been busy for months, and it looks like there's no sign of slowing down. I know I should be excited about making money, but...I'm exhausted. I haven't had more than a day off at a time since I took those three weeks off in December to find an apartment (which didn't end up helping), and I haven't called out since the day I moved. The only time I've had off has been for doctor's appointments or days I asked to have off. There have been weeks when I only had one day off, and I've worked as much as 7 to 10 days in a row without a break. I'm not a nurse or a police officer who is used that kind of a schedule. 

Went down around quarter after 3 and didn't get up until 5:30. Tried to work on writing for a while. The Red Knights force Orson the March Hare, Gary (Burghoff) the Doormouse, and Bill (Daily) the White Rabbit into cages. Marcia's dragged away; the boys are taken to the Red King's tower. Richard tries to challenge Jack (Klugman) the Red Knight, but he has more opposition than he thinks...

Broke for dinner at 7. Watched Match Game PM as I ate. Bob Barker is thrilled when not only is there a question about his days on the original TV version of Truth and Consequences, but Eva Gabor calls him a sex symbol. Joyce Bulifant was equally delighted to get not one, but two kisses for her winning answer to "__ Tigers" on the Audience Match.  Richard has to figure out "__ It Away" on the Head to Head.

Finished the night online after a shower with one of the Joel episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Hercules Unchained. Early on, Joel and the robots covered a series of cheesy Italian epics featuring muscle men as the famously strong Greek warrior Hercules (Steve Reeves). Here, he's traveling home with his wife Iola (Sylvia Koscina) when he's asked to intervene between two brothers who wish to rule Thebes. Before he can deliver messages from one brother to another, he drinks from he "Spring of Forgetfulness" and loses his memory. Queen Omphale (Sylvia Lopez) takes advantage of his state to convince him he's her man. Meanwhile, Eteocoles (Sergio Fantoni) wants to throw Iole to the animals in his stadium. It'll take intervention from young and impetuous Ulysses (Gabriele Antonini) to restore Hercules' memory and send him after his beloved.

I...actually enjoyed this one, with or without robot wisecracks. The story about Hercules losing his memory was fairly interesting. Lopez actually did quite well as the treacherous queen, and Fantoni wasn't bad as the nastier of the two brothers. It's surprisingly fun to watch if you love the sword-and-sandal epics of the 50's and 60's. 

Winds of Spring

Got a quick start today with breakfast, then went straight into writing. Brett is horrified to realize this has all been a trap. Jimmie (Walker) the Dodo manages to escape down the hall, but the Red King rounds up the others and turns Brett and Duchess Marcia (Wallace) over to Jack (Klugman) the Red Knight. Richard wants to fight for her and the boys, though...

Hurried off to work as soon as I finished and changed. I needn't rushed. It was a little busy when I came in, but that died quickly. Between a lovely (if still very windy) day, it being between holidays again, and this being the end of the month, we were dead almost the entire afternoon. I went in for a few people, but I got too bored just standing around. Ended up spending most of the evening quietly and happily putting away returns and dodging people reorganizing the candy at the registers. (And...yay! Looks like they finally sent out the cards for the WIC customers. Saw my first one today, and it went so much quicker, especially compared to customers who had checks and didn't have everything they needed.)

Hurried home the second I finished. Went straight upstairs for dinner and Match Game PM.  The female contestant gets her wish to kiss Richard in the end, twice, actually. After the second time, Gene tries to drag her back, only for him and Richard to end up tugging her back and forth in a tug of war. There's also come goofy comments to what Richard Nixon will be (or won't be) wearing to his next interview with David Frost. Richard and Gene get in some depreciating comments about the 1970's version of the Match Game board game, too. 

Finished the night after cleaning up from dinner with Girl Crazy on HBO Max. I go further into the final full Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland vehicle at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Girl Crazy (1943)

Windy Matches

I hadn't been up for more than 10 minutes when the phone rang. It was Mom, whom I keep forgetting to call. I have a lot to tell her, under any circumstances. She's proud that I made all these doctor's appointments myself and kept them with no prompting. She mainly recommended a lot of vitamins to help with feeling run-down lately. And no, she hasn't heard from Rose. I haven't heard from her since she called on my birthday and never called me back, but that's not uncommon with her. Even when she is speaking to me, she can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to get back to me, depending on how busy she is. 

Had breakfast while watching Mickey Mouse Funhouse, the most recent show to feature Mickey and the gang. Here, the "clubhouse" is sentient and goes by the name of Funny. "Daisy & Goofy Clean Up" when they accidentally make a mess in Funny while preparing their things for a day of adventure with their friends. They keep getting distracted while cleaning up, but finally find a way to keep them on track. "Crayon World!" is a white space where you can draw anything...but all the crayons besides Donald's brown are missing. Donald's upset that all he can draw are potatoes, but he ends up having to use those potatoes to rescue his friends and the crayons from a group of obnoxious weasels. 

Went online to send a few quick messages. Used the patient portal at Collingswood Family Medicine to ask Dr. Jessica to recommend me a gynecologist close-by. All she came up with was one in Voorhees. I was hoping for something closer. I'll keep looking. Asked my stepbrother TJ on Facebook Messenger when he can get the rest of my records back. He said not until the weekend - he works during the week. 

Put on Match Game '78 while having lunch. Gene welcomes three "new kids on the block," Mabel King from The Wiz and What's Happening, Guich Koock of the Grand Ol' Opry, and comedian Ken Olfson. Koock wasn't much at matching, but he made good eye candy and had enough fun that he'd appear a few more times. I'm surprised Olfson never turned up again; he played fairly well, seemed to enjoy himself, and got a few good quips. Mabel King, on the other hand, played badly and seemed bored. It's no surprise this would also be her only week.

Rushed out as soon as I changed, finished eating, and brought up the outside trash can. Work was off-and-on busy. This was not a good thing, especially early in the day. The other morning and afternoon cashier never called or showed up, and we had absolutely no help whatsoever. Thankfully, by the time I finished, the evening cashiers had arrived. I was able to leave on time with no trouble. 

The worst that happened was I made the mistake of letting a WIC Check customer into the Express line. We're not supposed to take checks in the Express Line, period. They take forever to write out. The WIC Checks are such a pain. You need to have just the right things for them. Admittedly, we've had problems with getting the right bread due to the supply chain trouble, but she couldn't be bothered to get the right cheese, either, twice. I had to go get it for her. I wish they'd just switch to the cards they promised in January and be done with it!

Went straight home and upstairs after work. Watched The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That while I had a snack. Nick and Sally say "Hooray for Hair!" when they're getting their hair cuts and want to find new styles. The Cat introduces them to a long-haired yak, a fur seal, and a prickly porcupine who teach them about hair and why their styles work for them. The kids learn about different types of ice from Polly the Polar Bear when they say "Ice Is Nice," especially in lemonade!

Finished the night online after a shower. The original Magnum PI is at The Roku Channel in its entirety. Magnum learns why beauty - and romantic relationships - are "Skin Deep" when a grieving husband calls him to probe his actress wife's suicide. The woman had an up-and-coming career, but her husband was jealous, and she kept increasingly trying to get away from him, making him believe she had a lover. Magnum follows her trail to a small island, where the truth turns out to be far simpler than he believed.

Moved to YouTube for more classic Match Game episodes, mainly from 1975 and 1976. Wrestler and football star-turned-actor Alex Karras looked incredibly bored for most of his one week on the show in 1975, but he did wake up when called on to help a woman wrestler named Lola Kiss show what she could do. She got him down in no time flat, with Richard acting as the announcer. 

Gene had a nasty cold during a week in 1976, which meant he couldn't kiss anybody for once. Brett didn't mind getting close to him to ask him about a question, though! (He also did a wacky "sneeze" before the fade to the first commercial.) Later that week, Fannie showed up in a long, curly wig. Between the wig and her bad Brooklyn accent, she reminded me a lot of Maple LaMarsh on Remember WENN. 

Gene also had a rough time when talk show host Mike Douglas turned up in the beginning instead of him to congratulate the panel for making Match Game the #1 daytime show at that point. Gene crept out and claimed Douglas hit him on the head! Richard had his own time in the spotlight about a month or so later when he made an incredible match to "Irving __" in the Head-to-Head.

The Eyes and Dolls Have It

Ate a really quick breakfast this morning, then dashed out for my first of two appointments today. Kresloff Eye Associates is in a blocky office building on Haddon Avenue. Unfortunately, I thought it was further down in Westmont and went in totally the wrong direction. It's in Collingswood, in the Station Office Building. I was upset when I rushed in 15 minutes late, but the secretary who took my information said I made it in just within their grace period.

Though I was technically here for a routine eye exam, my real reason for the exam was to replace my glasses. I haven't had new glasses since at least 2008. The wire frames themselves have actually held up pretty well over fourteen years, but the lenses are scratched to the point where they're getting really hard to see through. I had contacts for a while in the early-mid 2010's, but not only did replacing them get too expensive, but I got tired of putting them in. I chose an attractive brown wire pair with a shape similar to my current ones.

Made a few short stops in Collingswood next. Since it's about four blocks from the Station Office Building, I hit PNC Bank next. Treated myself to a tasty Blackberry & Cream Smoothie from WaWa after that and drank it on a bench at Knight Park. It was cloudy and cool earlier, but by that point, the sun was trying to come out. It jumped into the 70's, even as I headed home. 

Went straight home and into Match Game '78 and a quick lunch. Ace pitcher (and later announcer) Don Sutton fields talk about the Dodgers' loss in the World Series in the opening, much to the annoyance of New Yorker Jon "Bowzer" Bauman. Nancy Lane is a lot more nervous when she has to figure out "__ Writer" on the Head-to-Head.

Changed the dolls into less formal clothes for late spring after the show ended. Molly pairs the red shoes from Samantha's Spring Dress with an eBay recreation of her Victory Garden Dress. Samantha celebrates her birthday in her Pink Striped Birthday Dress and ruffly pinafore. The boots from her Ice Cream Dress actually suit this outfit even better. Whitney wears the Our Generation Retro Picnic Outfit with simple black flats. Ariel boldly shows her middrift in a brief ruffled top and floral bell bottoms Lauren sent for Christmas two years ago. Jessa's more laid back in the high-necked striped shirt from her original meet outfit and Springfield Collection capris and sneakers. Felicity's ready to help me dust in her green striped Work Gown. Josefina celebrates Cinco Del Mayo in her pretty red and gold print dress and black velvet vest with the black mules. 

Finished them with almost literally no time to spare before counseling. I had a lot to tell Mrs. Stahl. Like Mom, she's proud of me for seeing so many doctors and finally getting some ideas of what's wrong with me. Now I just need to talk to Vocational Rehabilitation, so I can learn how to push through my fears and get a decent job (and finally get the blood work done).

One of my neighbors from Hillcrest finally agreed to help me get some things to storage that I didn't need, and pull out things that I wanted in the apartment. Everything went fine until we got to the door to my storage area. I couldn't figure out the lock. I panicked and got upset, going on and on like an idiot until my neighbor realized I never reset the lock. I didn't there, either. I really just wanted to get my boxes and get out. I'll do it another time.

It started to rain while we were in the storage unit. It thankfully took a temporary leave of absence as we hauled everything back to my place. The rain returned shortly after I got in and has been off and on for the rest of the night. 

Among the things I finally retrieved were my adult paperback novels, the bin with the collectible bears, an empty wooden bin for records, and the boxes with my wooden cut-outs that I made in wood shop classes at the Special Services Middle School years ago. Found my crocheting books and supplies, too. I had the yarn here, but not the needles. Moved the Star Wars books to the living room on two crates next to the TV and put the paperbacks in their place in my bedroom. The stuffed animals went on my bed or the top of the record crates. 

(Also brought in my final two birthday presents to myself. Look for Holiday In Mexico next week for Cinco Del Mayo, and the notoriously bad early talkie operetta Golden Dawn later in the month!) 

Watched more Match Game as I worked, and later as I had leftovers for dinner, starting with Match Game '76. Richard pulled off a big win for an older woman with the difficult "__ Ball" on the Head to Head. Greg Morris and Elaine Joyce are more interested in where sparks fly out of the Six Million Dollar Man when the Bionic Woman kisses him. 

Brett definitely likes a 71-year-old man who claims he's a veteran bartender ("mixologist") in the Match Game '77 episode. She's also pretty impressed when Dick Martin actually starts matching the contestant for once, and there's Patti Deustch's name for "boxing gloves." Patti did even better on the Audience Match in the next episode, topping Richard's answer for "__ Army." Later, Gene used one of the seats as a trumpet to get the question across to Charles.

Patti and Dick carried over into the Match Game PM episode for that week. Gene makes jokes about a contestant with a long, bushy hair and beard that makes him resemble Grizzly Adams. Brett and the other ladies thinks he looks fine the way he is. Richard has an even easier time with "Jack the __" on the Head-to-Head.

Finally put my laundry away, then finished the night on Amazon Prime with Babes On Broadway. I go further into the third Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland teen backstage movie at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Babes On Broadway

The Trouble With Angels

Started the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Daniel is "Mad at the Crayon Factory" when the box machine doesn't have enough cardboard for his box, so he can get his own crayons. Later, he's even more upset with his baby sister Margaret breaks his new rainbow crayon. His mother reminds him to count to four until he calms down and can figure out what to do. He and O are "Mad at School" after the tunnel they set up for Dan's tractor doesn't work. Teacher Harriet encourages them to think the problem over after they've calmed down.

Tried to make a gynecologist appointment after that...but I didn't realize Lourdes Medical Center was bought by Virtua Health. Their offices are now in Pennsauken. I was really hoping to take my bike back there, like I did in 2018, but that would require a longer Uber ride. I'll call Dr. Jessica tomorrow after my eye exam and see if she has any recommendations. 

Dashed off to work shortly after that. It was busy early on, to the point where I had a hard time handling the customers. I was still upset about not being able to make a gynecology appointment, and had two WIC check families who didn't get what they were supposed to, or weren't able to due to the ongoing supply problems, and complained or caused trouble. At least I had more help this time. Not only was there more help, but it petered out mid-way through the afternoon and never picked up again. It was so dead by the time I finished, and we had so much help, I was able to leave quickly with no need for a relief.

There was a fat envelope waiting for me at when I got home. Dr. Gullick sent me the results of my tests and interviews. She must not have understood a lot of what I said on the phone, because she got my family history details wrong. I was only in the Special Services Middle School during my junior high school years, from 1992 to 1995. I have a sister, a half-sister and a half-brother and an adopted sister, not two adopted sisters. I earned my Bachelor's degree in communications, not creative writing.

Rough translation - I don't have trouble with memory. In addition to the math, I have a hard time problem-solving, especially when there's a time crunch, focusing, and keeping my attention on tasks. I do better when I have time to do things. It's why I do so badly at work and have constant panic attacks. Grocery stores expect you to think fast on your feet and be able multitask...which, as I've tried to explain multiple times, I really have trouble doing. 

In fact, all my life, I've been constantly told that I'm too slow. Teachers told me in school I couldn't keep up with classwork, or with dressing in the locker rooms after my body started to develop at age 9. I could never keep up with Mom when we went for walks after I started to gain weight around the same time. All I've ever been told is "Emma, go faster. Emma, you have to move faster. You're too slow. Go faster. Swim faster. Walk faster." I've always had to move at everyone else's pace.

She also listed something called "Adjustment Disorder," which I suspect is more related to my recent problems. Basically, you're overwhelmed by sudden stressful situations in your life and have a hard time adjusting. That's hardly surprising, given everything that's happened to me in the past two years on top of a world-wide pandemic. 

I'm going to call Dr. Jessica tomorrow for gynecologist recommendations and discussing motor weaknesses. I also need to get a hold of Vocational Rehabilitation, which hasn't responded to me yet. 

Watched Match Game '77 while I changed and read. Arrived in time to see the second-half of the first episode, as Gene and Richard commented on a contestant's beautiful long hair. Later, they're shocked when the contestant goes with his own answer on "Wood __."

Had dinner by the time the next show came on. The contestant continues doing well with his own answers at the Audience Match, this time with "__ Four." Marcia Wallace doesn't do nearly as well with "__ Stomach" when she gets a rare shot at the Head-to-Head. 

Speaking of Marcia, she also had trouble in the PM episode for that week. Her answer for where a guy lost a few inches was censored, probably because it involved male parts. The episode was already pretty wild before that. Gene came in looking through a box with peep holes on the end, and there were all the ribald answers to whose nude pictures someone would sell to Richard Dawson.

Finished the night online after a shower with TV episodes at The Roku Channel. Tiffany and Kris are "Avenging Angels" in the fourth season of Charlie's Angels after someone gives Kelly coffee laced with heroin. Turns out it's a former drug addict (Cameron Mitchell) who stole heroin from his boss (Steve Kanaly) and planted it on Kelly, who was the officer who arrested him three years before. Now his boss thinks they're in cahoots. The girls and Bosley need to find Kelly and fast, before his boss tries anything else! (Incidentally, this is the only episode where we never hear from Charlie.)

Silver Spoons is also currently on Roku. In "Ricky and the Legend," Ricky is over the moon when an ultra-cool high schooler "Ledge," short for "Legend," starts hanging around with him. He does his homework, gives him gas money, and starts acting like him. Edward is less admiring of Ledge's behavior, especially when his gold pen vanishes. While Ledge wasn't involved in that, Ricky still comes to realize he's using him anyway.  

The Strangest Games Ever

It was an absolutely glorious morning for a ride to work. Sunny, breezy, already in the upper 50's at quarter of 9. Pretty quiet all over, too. Not even any traffic on the Pikes. Everyone must have been at church or spending their last day of vacation sleeping in.

Work wasn't that busy, either, especially for a Sunday. It did pick up a little later in the afternoon, by which time we had plenty of help. It was so dead, at one point, they even pulled me to shelve loose items. It slowed down enough by 4:30 for me to shut down with no relief and no need for one.

Good thing. I needed to pick up a few items I forgot yesterday. I love blood oranges; for some reason, they're cheaper at the Audubon Acme than the Westmont Acme. Had a free digital coupon for a small square box of generic Acme tissues and a dollar off Crest mouthwash. Restocked low-salt Jiff peanut butter and buy one, get one floss. 

Headed straight home. Changed and did a few chores, then listened to some of my recent record acquisitions while working online. I suspect "Tinkerbell Records" is an offshoot of kids' record company Peter Pan. I recognized one of the five fairy tales listed on the album. We had a slightly longer version of the Peter Pan Cinderella in the early-mid 80's. Goldilocks was especially cute, with a sweet-sounding Baby Bear who sounds like too much of a teddy bear to scare Goldie into running home!

Moved to Barry Manilow's Greatest Hits II while eating leftovers for dinner. I got this one from a friend. While Manilow's songs weren't doing quite as well in the early 80's as they did in the 70's. he did have hits with "Somewhere Down the Road" and "I Made It Through the Rain," along with his version of "Memory" from Cats. 

Worked on writing while listening to the soundtrack of Snow White and the Three Stooges. I actually consider this charming Stooges fairy tale from 1961 to be a bit underrated. You can't see their routines on the recording, but you do get some of the decent songs, including "A Place Called Happiness" for Snow White and the chorus number "Once In a Million Years."

Finished the night on YouTube honoring game show producer Jay Wolpert, who passed away back in January. He had his first taste of game shows as one of the big winners on the Art Fleming Jeopardy! in 1969. Alas, his stint on the show doesn't survive...but apparently, his trophy remained on his mantel for the rest of his life. 

He must have really enjoyed his experience on Jeopardy, because he'd remain in game shows for the next three decades. He started out as a producer of he revived Price Is Right from it's debut in 1972 to 1978. I dug up the half-hour episode from 1974 with the first-ever Double Showcase Showdown win. He also created the isolation-booth trivia show Double Dare with Alex Trebek in 1976. 

Wolpert formed his own production company in 1979. He tended to favor complicated shows with elaborate sets that were fun to watch, but never seemed to last long. Whew! and Hit Man are cult favorites in the game show community that are really fun to watch, but Whew! barely lasted a year in 1979-1980, and Hit Man only made a few months in 1983. Given Whew! seems to be going over well on Buzzr, I'm crossing my fingers they can get Hit Man and the 1988 celebrity word game Blackout eventually as well. 

Rodeo Drive might make a nice pairing with the 90's Newlywed Game or Supermarket Sweep, especially since it appeared with the latter for a few months on Lifetime in 1990. Comedienne Louise DuArt leads three contestants through two rounds of trivia relating to celebrities of the time. The winner goes on a shopping spree similar to The Gauntlet on Whew!. Here, though, they have to guess whom people are talking about to cardboard cut-outs. It's a lot more fun than it sounds, and DuArt does some hilarious celebrity impressions. 

Wolpert returned briefly in 1994 for a new nighttime syndicated Price Is Right. The wheel is replaced by the three winning contestants guessing a price. Only one goes to the final Showcase. There is one showcase, and they win it by more-or-less playing a slightly harder version of The Range Game. It proved to be too different from its parent, and host Doug Davidson tried a little too hard to drum up excitement. It barely made three months.

He finished up with two shows on The Family Channel in the late 90's. Shopping Spree went over well enough to be his biggest (and only) hit, lasting two years despite the cheap production. Wait 'Till You Have Kids wasn't nearly as well-received. Three parents try to guess which advice on dealing with kids and teens a noted expert would choose. Frankly, the "expert" answers were often far from the most appropriate for the situation, and the entire premise was very poorly implemented and just in bad taste. Even cute kids giving their own filmed answers ala Child's Play couldn't save this one. 

Explore Jay Wolpert's wild world of giant boards, blackouts, bloopers, animated openings, and celebrity shopping sprees with these rare shows! (And look for the commercials on many of them, including the 90's Price Is Right episode.)

The New Price Is Right (1974)

Double Dare (1976)

Whew! (1979)

Hit Man (1983)

Blackout (1988)

Rodeo Drive (1990)

Price Is Right PM (1994)

Wait 'Till You Have Kids (1996)

Shopping Spree (1997)

Exploring the World Around Us

Began a cloudy morning after breakfast with a ride down to Collingswood for my first yard sale run of the year. I saw a listing for a yard sale on Park Avenue, near the Krispy Kreme, on Craigslist last night. I arrived around 11:30...to find it was a mess of junk piled here, there, and everywhere. Most of it was rusting, tattered, broken, or otherwise in terrible shape. Managed to dig out a couple of CDs and two records that weren't soaked or covered in mold:

The original cast album for Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope

Great Memories from Old Time Radio, aka songs sung by radio stars and a few comedy routines

Greatest hits CDs for John Cougar Melloncamp and Alice Cooper

Blind Pig Records 20th Anniversary Collection - I never heard of most of the artists on this two-disc collection of blues and R&B performers who recorded for the independent Blind Pig label. Thought I'd try something different. 

The Big Band Era. Vol. 1

Had a whole bunch of errands to run. Since I was in the area, my first stop was the Westmont Acme. Wanted to restock Propel for the week. Grabbed salads for lunch at work this week, too. Stopped at Target to pick up more of those amazing date-nut bars. Target's generic brand is lower in fat and salt than most brands at half the price, and they taste amazing. Can't find my floss, so I bought more. Picked up two packs of Softsoap bars at Dollar Tree.

Went straight upstairs when I got home. It wasn't more than 20 minutes later when I got a text saying a package for me showed up on the porch at the house on Hillcrest. Oops. It was the 80's record of the Indian fairy tale The Fairy Princess and the Ivory City I ordered off eBay. I didn't realize until I already ordered it that I forgot to change my address. Rode over to Hillcrest, grabbed it, and rode home.

After a lovely lunch downstairs, I worked on writing for a while. Richard insists on all of them wearing armor to get them into the throne room. That works at least somewhat well...until they walk up to the throne expecting to see White King Gene and get quite a shock...

Broke for dinner at 7. Watched an episode of Doc McStuffins while I ate. "Huggable Hallie" is more than a little spooked when her foot starts talking. Doc finds out her voice chip fell into her foot and now has to be removed. Hallie's scared, then embarrassed. The others assure her that even the bravest people get scared every now and then. "Pop Up Pablo" is a pop-up frog on a spring whose constant jumping gets on everyone's nerves when  he interrupts their castle rescue game. He fakes injuries to get attention, but learns a lesson when he damages his spring for real and no one listens.

Finished the night online, starting with A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits at Tubi. I go further into this modern fairy tale for teens at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits 

The Lawrence Welk Show is probably the last program you'd think of to celebrate Earth Day, but concern for the environment was so prevalent in the 1970's that it reached even Welk's champagne bubble world. "The World Around Us" had everyone singing songs about plants, trees, and the Earth and its creatures. "Energy Crisis Salute" started off with everyone peddling little cars, but is mostly a tribute to various forms of transportation that use less gas than 70's muscle cars. "The Weather Show" is from later in 1982 as the focus switches to various forms of weather, from California sunshine to Ken Deleno telling sweet Kathie Sullivan that "Baby, It's Cold Outside." 

Here's three musical ways to celebrate our earth, its weather, and those who live under it. 

1973 - The World Around Us

1974 - Energy Crisis Salute

1982 - The Weather Show

Three Cheers for Earth Day!

Awoke to an absolutely glorious morning. The Earth couldn't have been more beautiful to celebrate it's big day. It was sunny and bright, a bit breezy, but not the gale-force winds we had earlier in the week. Ate a very quick breakfast before dashing off and getting to work just in time.

Which was a good thing. Work was mobbed, with lines winding half-way down the store for a lot of the day. Between people on vacation and people calling out, we didn't have anything resembling enough help to deal with them all. Didn't help that there were a couple of people not in great moods or happy over the long lines. 

There was some excitement around noon, though. Acme is one of the sponsors of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Audubon store was among those that got a visit from the Eagles' mascot Swoop and the Eagles cheerleaders this afternoon. Customers could bring in plastic bags to trade for heavy cloth ones and take photos with the ladies and their friend. 

Later, the cheerleaders not only brought extras to give away for free, but they helped me bag at my line, too. I chuckled at them helping the customers and tried to avoid the photographer taking copious pictures of them. (And yes, I snagged two bags for myself.)

Not happy with my schedule next week at all. Only one day off, Tuesday, for counseling and my eye exam. The hours for the rest of the week range all over the map, from late on Thursday to very early next Saturday. People are still using the last of their vacation time before it starts over May 1st...leaving us still really short on help. 

Went straight home and upstairs after work. Changed and had dinner while watching Match Game '77. Richard's delighted to chat with a young woman who remembers him signing her balloon six years before. He does better with "Secretary of __" than "Thumbs __" on two Head-to-Heads.

I was so wiped out, I nearly passed out during Match Game PM. Too bad, as it was the nighttime episode from the week in 1977 with Bill Cullen and Debralee Scott. Gene gets a bit tongue-tied on a question at one point, but maybe that's because he was admiring the pretty saleswoman contestant. He and Richard were certainly ready to take orders from her!

Managed to wake up long enough to switch to The Lorax special for Earth Day. The Once-ler chops down the beautiful Truffula trees to make his faddish Thneeds. The Lorax is a forest spirit who speaks for the trees and the animals the Once-ler's factory displaces, but he ignores him in the face of growing profits. The Once-ler builds and builds up his factory and the town surrounding it, thinking he'll be able to just keep making money forever. Nothing, however, lasts forever, and when the last tree is cut down, he and the Lorax learn a sad lesson about the damage unchecked "progress" can do.

Finished the night on Hulu with two 90's cartoons with ecological-themed episodes. Sailor Moon did one in the second half of the first season. "Usagi's Panic: Rei's First Date" has Usagi following Mamoru and Rei as they go on a date at a local park and bringing nerdy Umino along as a cover. Ami and Luna are more concerned about Ami's older friend, a gardener who is upset that the park will be torn down and built over. He's been acting very strangely lately. Turns out it was a plot by Nephrite to steal the not only the man's energy, but all the animals in the park, too. The Guardians not only have to fight off a plant-based monster, but animals attacking them as well.

The Tiny Toons have slightly less harrowing adventures taking care of the Earth as they come up with three "Pollution Solutions" in the first season of Tiny Toon Adventures. "The No Deposit, No Return of the Trash Bag Dispenser" has Plucky turning superhero to teach Elmyra about recycling. It's a "Jungle Bungle" when Buster and Babs try to stop a corrupt executive (with a familiar name) from destroying the jungle to build a front lawn. Go-Go the Dodo is "Waist Deep In Wackyland" when Montana Max sends the pollution from his factory into Go-Go's home. He puts Monty on trial and sends him out to clean the mess slapstick style.

What I Am

Started off with breakfast and a decent ride to work. While it continues to be windy, it's also not nearly as cold. In fact, other than some cloud cover,, it felt like a perfectly normal lower-60's spring day in Southern New Jersey. It was also a quiet day. With many people on vacation and the stores on West Clinton dark, I had no trouble getting to work.

No trouble when I got to work, either. We were dead almost the entire day through the last hour. I spent it organizing the soda coolers and trying to shove the heavy plastic bags we had instead of our regular ones onto the bag hangers. Unfortunately, it picked up enough by 3 PM for me to have to wait for a relief. 

Took the long way home down Nicholson Road. There was only traffic around the entrance to the shopping center and the Hispanic church. Everywhere else was as quiet as the Acme. It really is getting nice out there, with the lime green leaves on the trees and stunning flowers everywhere. 

Changed, had a snack, and watched Tattletales when I came in. It's still Claire and Scoey Mitchill, Bill and Pat Dailey, and British soap stars Dana Valancy and Tim Saunders. Although everyone did pretty well, Dana and Tim got the last question to theirselves, which put them over the top in money for the audience.

Had a phone appointment with my neuropsychologist Dr. Sarah Gullick and her boss at 4. Verdit: Generalized Anxiety Disorder with a touch of depression. She says I'm very intelligent in many areas, including spelling, language, and story comprehension. In addition to math, I have trouble focusing or putting my full attention on something. That's why it takes me hours to write a single entry in my blogs. I'm too tired to focus, or too easily distracted. I have the same problem with writing my fanfiction. I try to focus and push myself, but I end up writing a few sentences before getting distracted by something else online.

 

I also don't do well when I'm timed or have to rush. It's probably why the Acme drives me crazy. I have to rush, or try please everyone at once, and I just...can't. My mind doesn't work that way. And yes, as Rose frequently complained during the search for an apartment, I'm not good at problem-solving. 

She finally recommended me to the state Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to get help pushing through all the barriers in my mind with finding a job. We both agreed I do not belong in retail of any stripe. I need a job that moves a lot more slowly and requires fewer snap decisions. I have some ideas, but...every time I try to look for a job, I end up doing nothing, either because I don't have the experience for a better job, or the money, or my idea peters out. I need more support than even my friends and neighbors can give me. 

Tried to focus on writing after I got off with the doctor. Brett doesn't think it's a good idea for Richard to follow his men, but he does it anyway. The guards they're with march into the throne room. Richard insists on joining their formation to sneak in...but they're not as stealthy as he thinks they are...

Broke to take out the recycling and make scallops with apple vinegar sauce and leftover vegetables at 6:30. Watched Match Game '77 while I ate. Marcia Wallace accidentally gets marker on bare shoulders...which somehow turns into Gene and Richard using her arm for tic tac toe. 

Quickly did the dishes, then arranged the larger closet, at least as well as I could, while Match Game PM was on. Lee Merriweather had to be a bit embarrassed she didn't think of the top answer to "Buddy __." Buddy Ebsen was her co-star at the time on the long-running mystery series Barnaby Jones, and they stayed good friends even after it ended. A bored Richard did even worse with "__ of the Game" on the Head-to-Head.

Finished out the night after a shower  with Damn Yankees, which is currently free on Amazon Prime. I go further into this 1958 baseball Faust story at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Damn Yankees

Springtime Sunshine

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast upstairs, then headed out. It was still blustery and cold at 8:30, though not quite to the degree of yesterday. At least it was sunny, too, without a cloud in the sky. I made it to work just in time.

Once again, work was quiet in the morning...but when the noon rush hour came, we really didn't have enough help to deal with them. Our vacation cycle starts over in May. People with vacation time left are using it now, including the cashier who normally works in the morning. Didn't help that there were a lot of people who had trouble reading signs. One lady fussed when I tried to explain she had the wrong cereal for a sale. Even the manager shelving them tried to tell her. She later called to complain about me arguing with her. I was just trying to get her to listen! And later, someone else read the price on bags of Lifesavers wrong and wasn't happy. 

And if I hear one more complaint about New Jersey outlawing paper and plastic bags next month, I will scream. People usually complain that we use the darn things. Now they're complaining because we won't be? So you have to buy a few bags. Tote bags can be found everywhere, often for under a dollar. You can make bags from pretty much anything, for crying out loud. I don't know why everyone's making such a fuss over it. I guess because they expect things to be free, and now they won't be. 

Hurried straight home after work. Watched Tattletales while changing and having a snack, but it was too nice to be sitting inside all day. With everything going on, I haven't been spending nearly enough time outside lately.

My first stop was Dollar General. I was hoping to find more Propel, but no luck there. Ended up getting a two-pack of Secret Deodorant. Didn't see any snacks I could get away with, either. I was in and out quickly. 

It was too nice to go home right away. I headed down the White Horse Pike to Newton Lake Park. It was just glorious down at the lake today, windy but a bit warmer, in the lower 60's. Probably just about right for mid-April in South Jersey. Sunlight sparkled on the water and on the newly-blooming pink and white blossoms on the trees. Everyone was out and about today, from little kids riding bikes ahead of their folks to other people taking solo strolls.

Went straight into writing when I got home. Richard leads everyone through a bookcase and into the hall of White Castle. He and his sons are horrified when they see Richard's Card Guards (Larry Hovis, Bert Convy, Greg Morris) marching with the Red Knights as if under a trance. Richard, who was last told they were in the dungeon at Red Castle, insists on following them.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Watched Match Game '77 while I ate. The junk man was pretty funny, but he was finally defeated mid-way through the episode. Richard was happier to help the female contestant with "Susan __."

Rested in my new chair during Match Game PM. Gary Crosby and Mary Wickes joined in for a very competitive game that came down to a sudden death tiebreaker. They got to help the winner with "Barbara __" on the Audience Match. For once, it was Charles who got to figure out "Amateur __" on the Head-to-Head.

I was so worn out, I didn't even move for The Backyardigans. Tyrone hits the high seas as the great fabled explorer Sinbad to find the end of the rainbow. Thing is, "Sinbad Sails Alone" and isn't crazy about Pablo sneaking aboard and trying to help out. 

Ended the night on Disney Plus with Turning Red. Meilin "Mei" Lee (Rosalie Chiang) is a peppy 13-year-old living in Toronto in 2002. She mostly loves her life, hanging around with her friends, figuring out complex math equations, and drooling over boy bands. She's also expected to be a dutiful daughter who helps her demanding mother Ming (Sandra Oh) and her chef father Jin (Orion Lee) at their Chinese temple. 

After her mother finds out she has a crush on the boy behind the counter at her local connivence store (Addie Chandler), she throws a fit and practically threatens the boy. Mei is beyond embarrassed...and after a nightmare about red pandas, she wakes up the next day in the body of a giant red panda. Turns out her ancestor in China asked for the ability to turn into a red panda to protect her daughters. That ability is now considered to be a curse by her frosty grandmother Wu (Wai Ching Ho) that needs to be eliminated in a special ritual. Thing is, the ritual takes place the night of the big concert for wildly popular boy band 4*Town, which Mei and her friends absolutely must see. Not to mention, Mei's red panda form is actually getting pretty popular. She has to decide whether she wants to continue to suppress her wild side...or if it's worth hurting her mother to let out her inner beast.

Wow. The last thing I expected from Pixar was the coming-of-age tale about a normal Chinese-Canadian kid with some pretty extraordinary family history. I was just out of college by 2002, and more interested in getting my apartment in Wildwood going than boy bands...but I do remember what a big deal groups like The Backstreet Boys were among kids a decade younger than me. Remember having to watch my younger siblings' Tamagotchis a few times, too. And I was a fan of Sailor Moon by this point, one of the anime whose pastel aesthetic definitely inspired this film. 

I'm not entirely sure what the controversy is all about. Apparently, there's some complaints about representation and talking about mensuration. As someone who hit puberty when she was 9, I say you can't discuss these things too early. As for Mei Ling not being relatable...I may have been 13 a decade before Mei, but I know what it's like to feel like an outsider and like you're not good enough for anyone in your family...and what it's like to have strong female relatives. 

I loved this one, but due to the controversy and some mature themes, I'm going to say I highly recommend this for real 13-year-olds and their parents, along with anyone who remembers this era or loves Pixar. For anyone else, your mileage may vary.. 

Safe at Home

Awoke to breakfast and a day that was sunny, but bitter cold and gale-force windy. It made riding to work more than a little difficult. At least the traffic wasn't bad anywhere, not even the Black Horse Pike. 

Work was only slightly busier than yesterday, despite it being Senior Discount Day. First of all, the weather deteriorated throughout the afternoon as thick dark clouds rumbled in. Second, I think a lot of people are either on vacation or did their shopping over the weekend before the holiday. Third, speaking of, we're now between holidays again. The next major holiday isn't for another three weeks. I had a long line once, and though it picked up later in the day, it never became overwhelming. We had more help this time, too. I was able to shut down with no trouble.

Made a quick stop on my way home to drop birthday cards for Rose and Khai in their mailbox. Khai's 12th birthday is today. I only hope Rose takes them. Rose's birthday was the 7th, but I didn't deliver it then because I had no idea what to say to her. I still don't. I love her, and she's my sister, but I don't love her current behavior. Shutting us out won't make me move to Cape May County or Mom take me in. It won't improve anything or get me help outside of the family. It'll just cut Rose off from people who could help her with her own problems.

Went straight home, just as rain started falling. Took my laundry downstairs first, then checked out a package for me. My big birthday present to myself arrived today. I ordered a small dark blue recliner from Amazon. It's built low to the ground and I think is actually intended for gamers, but that works with the small space I have. Took me a few minutes, but I did figure out how to pull it back, unlock it, and get it all the way down. It'll be great for Lauren's visit and when I'm worn out from an 8 1/2 hour shift and need to crash in front of the TV. 

Set it up, changed, and had a snack while watching They Learned About Women. I go further into this baseball musical from the early 30's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - They Learned About Women

Worked on writing for a while after the movie ended. Richard leads the group through the dark, creaky hallway and up to the main castle. Turns out that yes, the Red King has taken it over. They'll have to be careful if they want to rescue the White King and Queen...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Watched Match Game '77 while I ate. Gene gives the audience a scolding when they try to dissuade a contestant from answering "thunder and" to "__ Lightning" and it turned out to be the top answer. Richard has an easier time with "Route ___" in the Head-to-Head. Later, we're introduced to a junkyard owner with a very interesting sense of humor.

Cuddled in my new chair with my stuffed Mickey and Minnie while watching Match Game PM. This was the nighttime episode for the week with Minnie Pearl and Dick Smothers. Minnie wasn't the only southerner on the show that night, either. Fannie Flagg got to admire a handsome cowboy who showed up in full western regalia, up to and including a ten-gallon hat.

Finished the night online after a shower with The Love Boat. Isaac gets more "Crew Confessions" than he ever wanted when he writes a book and uses them as characters...and they're not happy at how he depicts them. A lovely passenger (Julie Neumayr) wonders "Haven't I Seen You?" when she mistakes a shoe salesman (Don Knotts) for a movie star. A French husband (Jean Pierre Aumont) and wife (Jane Wyatt) pair have a touching "Reunion" shipboard after being separated by World War II...but she soon realizes that he's not what he claims to be.

One Rainy Evening

Got a nice start this morning with a quick breakfast. It was cloudy when I headed out, but nothing really bad. I was more concerned about the blustery wind and chilly temperatures. With no sun to be found, it really did feel cold and gloomy.

Thankfully, the Acme wasn't busy when I arrived. In fact, they were dead for most of the morning. People were likely recovering from yesterday. It didn't pick up until later in the afternoon, when everyone came out of work or finished at home. Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 3 for me to leave without a relief. I grabbed muffins, blood oranges, and boxes of date protein bars off the clearance rack really fast before dashing off.

Arrived at home just in time. The rain that threatened all day finally came down, and hard, less than 20 minutes after I dashed upstairs. Watched Tattletales while I changed and had a snack. Came in just as the late Scoey Mitchilll missed a question about whether his wife Claire would angry or just disappointed if he bought her something impersonal for her birthday. They still won, though, along with chattering Bill Daily and his sweet then-wife Pat.

Started taking down the Easter decorations as Press Your Luck ran. Things went well enough in the first half, with only one person hitting Whammies. It really picked up in the second half. One lady hit nearly $16,000, only to lose it all to a Whammy. She passed her last turn to the champ...which, with the help of an extra turn tile, won him the game. He picked up a diamond bracelet and a trip, among many other prizes. 

Had dinner while watching Match Game '76. Debralee Scott made her debut this week, prompting a "new kid on the block" kiss from Gene. Meanwhile, Scoey Mitchilll had his eye on a pretty contestant who didn't seem to have much luck matching with Richard. In the second episode, Gene complains about having to use a short microphone when his usual long one is out getting repaired.

Worked on writing for a while after the show ended. Brett's not keen on entering the castle and dealing with the Red King's invasion, but she doesn't have a choice. Arlene the sheep and the boats vanish once everyone's off of them. They all troop in, but try to stay in the dark and avoid being seen.

Finished the night with The Secret of Nimh, one of my favorite animated movies. Timid field mouse Mrs. Brisby (Elizabeth Hartman) is supposed to be getting ready to move and dodge the farmer's plow. She can't do it, due to her son Timmy's bout with pnemonia. Busybody Auntie Shrew (Hermione Baddley) sends her to the wise and terrifying Great Owl (John Carradine). He orders Mrs. Brisby to seek the rats who live in the rose bush. 

Turns out they're highly intelligent former lab animals who have created a whole colony in the rose busy, including stealing electricity and food from the farmer. Nicholdemous, the head of the group (Derek Jacobi), gives Mrs. Brisby a magic amulet that will help her and reveals how her husband Johnathan died. Nichodemous wants the rats to move to a far-away valley and start anew, but there's a splinter faction lead by treacherous Jenner (Paul Sher) who are fine where they are. Mrs. Brisby finds herself over her head in intrigue when she agrees to drug the farmer's cat, then learns the rats' attempt to move her house has been sabotaged. It'll take every ounce of courage she has to free her children from the mud...and prove to everyone that real magic comes from a loving and courageous heart.

I've loved this movie since it turned up on cable in the mid-80's. This was Don Bluth's first movie, and I still think it's his best. The gorgeous animation provides a splendid backdrop for memorable characters and a mature story that doesn't shy away from discussing tough topics. I'm especially a big fan of the haunting score by Jerry Goldsmith and Paul Williams' lovely theme song "Flying Dreams." Violence, that adult subject mater and two gristly on-screen deaths make this best for older kids and families who love animal stories or remember those cable showings. 

(Oh, and it's continued to rain, sometimes heavily, for the rest of the evening.)

The Sun Is Dancing

Kicked off a sunny Easter morning with stories and poems from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. Since I forgot to do the April Fool's Day material on the 1st, I started with the story of how two enterprising boys manage to keep a giraffe from escaping their yard. "Nino's Easter" describes spring rituals and celebrations for a young boy living in northern Italy. "The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes" tells of a mother rabbit who is tagged to be an Easter Bunny. She has a hard time delivering one special egg, but her drive and courage prompts the head Bunny to give her the title footwear. 

Instead of going straight into breakfast, I changed, grabbed my coat, and headed out. It was a far nicer Easter than I expected. We were supposed to be cold today, in the mid-50's. Only the blustery wind felt frigid. The warm sun was wonderful on my face, when you could avoid the gales. 

Headed down East Clinton, past tiny gardens filled with pansies and tulips and hyacinths, and to the steep stone steps leading to Newton Lake Park. It was even more gorgeous there. The sun danced on rippling green waters, making a fine contrast to pale green grass and sun yellow buttercups on the shore. Passed three college guys spending their Easter morning catching dinner later and many dog walkers, joggers, and couples out for a stroll.

Thought I'd have my Easter brunch at Tortilla Press in Collingswood, which has brunch every Saturday and Sunday. They weren't that busy. I saw a big family that took two tables and a few couples and friends. 

I was a little disappointed in their Easter menu. You could get blueberry pancakes or scrambled eggs and bacon anywhere. Finally went to the regular brunch menu and ordered an omelet with spinach, mushrooms, and goat cheese and breakfast potatoes. The "breakfast potatoes" were fried to a perfect crisp, very salty and very tasty. The omelet was amazing, with the creamy cheese perfectly complimenting the spinach and mushrooms. My waitress said it's her favorite dish on the brunch menu.

It was too nice of a day to go home right away. I strolled around Collingswood for a bit next to see if anything else was open. Walked around in Haddon Culinary, a gourmet grocery store, first. Alas, I saw nothing there I could afford. It was mostly very expensive high-end groceries like cookies, meat, or jelly and jam, thins I could get much cheaper at any supermarket.

Innergroove Records was open, too. I spent at least 40 minutes browsing through their stacks. Normally, I do better with the dollar records on the bottom shelves, but today, I came up with some jewels in the kids' albums. Finally bought:

The George Shearing Quartet - White Satin

Soundtrack from Snow White and the Three Stooges

Tinkerbell Records kiddie collection of 5 fairy tales, including Cinderella and Goldilocks 

My favorite find by far was Raggedy Ann and Andy: Happiness Album. This is one of the picture albums made by children's record company Kids Stuff in the early 80's, with gorgeous color artwork of Ann, Andy, and their dog Raggedy Arthur on either side. The girls and I loved this record to death in the early-mid 80's. I can still sing Ann and Andy's "Brother Come and Dance With Me" duet, and I learned "This Old Man" from this album. It cost me $9.99, twice as much as the other albums, but it was worth the memories. 

Treated myself to dessert at WaWa. Looks like blackberry is the big spring flavor for cold drinks at WaWa this year. Went with Blackberry Cobbler. Yum. It didn't taste much like cobbler, but it sure tasted like blackberry.

Went right home and upstairs after that. Listened to Happiness Album while working online. Ann and Andy are upset when rain prevents Marcella from taking them on a picnic. They wind up a music box and dance with Arthur and the Camel With the Wrinkled Knees instead and talk about the things that make them happy. When Marcella does finally manage to take them out, they play and sing "This Old Man." 

It's just as cute as I remember. "Happiness Is" and "This Old Man" are performed by a random adult singer and are really extraneous, but they're so catchy, you don't mind. "Come and Dance" is lively and fun. The opening and closing "Raggedy Ann and Andy World" has awkward lyrics, but is saved by a bouncy melody. 

Worked on writing for a while. The sheep leads Brett, Richard and the others under the White Castle's entrance and around to the back. Richard's sons Gary and Mark are excited to be home, but Richard reminds them that the Castle is under siege. Marcia tries to reach for flowers on the pond, only to not be able to reach them, while Brett falls out when her oar hits what the sheep claims is a crab.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Ate it while watching It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. The Peanuts have their own holiday preparations to make. Sally goes shopping for shoes and Snoopy finds a bird house for Woodstock. Peppermint Patty wants to teach Marcie to color eggs, but Marcie can't seem to figure out how to cook them. Lucy just wants to hide and find her own eggs. Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle does all that. Sally is skeptical after the incident with the Great Pumpkin at Halloween, but Easter morning brings more than one surprise for the kids!

Watched The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town online after I dragged flattened boxes downstairs, took a shower, and did a few chores. The orphans of Kidsville find a bunny on Easter morning they name Sunny. Sunny wants to sell their eggs to gloomy Town, but Lady Lily Longtooth doesn't look kindly on colorful eggs, rabbits, or anything she can't control. Sunny and the kids create traditions to get around her strict laws, and show her and her nephew King Bruce how much fun it is to make your own kind of holiday.

The rare puppet special An Easter Story takes us to the Easter Bunny's factory. He's worried there won't be enough eggs to go around this Easter. While his magician son invents jelly beans, he encounters two kids who say they can help color eggs. With the help of every kid on the planet, he comes to realize that rabbits aren't the only ones who are good at preparing for Easter.

Finished the night at YouTube with Walt Disney World Easter parades from the late 80's and early 90's. These aren't as jam-packed as the 4th of July shows, but we do get more focus on the actual parade, rather than boy band concerts and celebrity speeches. Regis Philbin and Joan Lunden host the 1989 and 1992 parades. Alan Thicke joins Lunden in 1989, with Philbin interviewing tourists on Main Street. By '92, Robby Benson, the original voice of the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, took over on Main Street, leaving Philbin as the primary male host. And of course, Benson just had to dance with Belle during the Beauty and the Beast group in '92!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was such a massive success in 1988 that Roger was a major presence in both parades. In fact, he began the '92 special with a surprise appearance. By '92, the Disney Renaissance was in full swing, and we had floats representing The Little Mermaid and The Disney Afternoon cartoons along with the regular characters and older movies like Cinderella. Both parades featured groups in Edwardian dress showing off old-fashioned haberdashery, Clara Cluck and her dancing girl chickens in a barn float, and ended with rows and rows of teen southern belles from Mobile, Alabama in frilly pastel hoop-skirted gowns leading up to the Easter Bunnies in '89 and Mickey and Minnie in '92. 

Both parades also heavily advertised what's now Disney Hollywood Studios, which opened a few weeks after the '89 parade debuted. You get to see many vanished rides, including glimpses of The Great Movie Ride and the Backstage Tour. Richard Mulligan also provides a reminder that actual filming used to go on here, as we get glimpses of the old New York lot and the exterior of the Empty Nest house. 

If you remember Disney in the late 80's and early 90's, you'll want to check out these springtime blasts from the past!

1989 Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade

1992 Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade

And I hope you had a wonderful Easter and Passover with all the people you love!

In Spring, the Easter Bunny Never Sleeps

This time, I started off the morning after a quick yogurt and fruit breakfast in my bedroom. Did things online and looked for a sleeper recliner to replace the futon at Amazon while watching Yogi the Easter Bear. Ranger Smith is so furious with Yogi when he eats the candy intended for the Jellystone Easter Jamboree, he threatens to send him to Siberia. Yogi and Boo Boo seek the Easter Bunny to replace the candy and end up rescuing him and the Easter chicken from a pair of very peculiar plastic-obsessed villains. 

Changed and had lunch downstairs before heading off to work. What a gorgeous day! It was sunny and bright at noon, perfect for a bike ride. Saw a lot of people cleaning up around the Phillies Yummies water ice booth. I assumed they were cleaning up to open...but as I discovered on Facebook later, their next-door neighbor The Puddin' Palace bought it and are remodeling it to sell pizza bagels and small hot snacks along with water ice and ice cream. 

The Acme was steady the entire afternoon. It was never dead, but not insanely busy like yesterday, either. I think most people usually do their pre-Easter shopping when they get off early on Good Friday. Customers were mainly there to buy things they forgot, or extra candy and treats for the kids. We also had far more help than usual, probably due to the high school kids being on their spring break now. I suspect a lot of people were out enjoying the beautiful 70-degree day, too. I was in and out with no problems other than my break being a bit late.

Went straight upstairs and changed as soon as I got home, then started going through the closets. The holiday decorations were moved into the smaller closet, along with the coats and a box of dishes. Moved all containers of linens and out-of-season clothes into the large closet with the doll boxes and cleaning supplies. I'll rearrange those tomorrow. 

Watched Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies as I worked. Granny tries to convince Bugs to replace the ailing Easter Bunny, but he's too busy making cartoons. He recommends other Toons who might take his place. That's pretty much it. This is less an Easter special and more a salute to award-winning cartoons from Termite Terrace. Among the Oscar-winners excerpted here are "Knighty Knight Bugs," "For Scentimental Reasons," and "Birds Anonymous." 

Switched to Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-Citement while eating dinner. Daffy introduces three all-new spring themed cartoons while dodging an animator with a really strange sense of humor. He and Sylvester chase a gold egg in the first story. The second has factory guard Daffy trying to keep Speedy Gonzales from stealing chocolate bunnies for the kids of his village. Daffy is solo in the third as he tries to go north without flying.

Tossed on a Looney Tunes Easter short as I finished the closet. Granny kept going on in Easter Funnies about how the Easter Bunny is supposed to be cute and lovable, but the bunny in "Easter Yeggs" is anything but. He's a fat lazy rabbit who hands Bugs his basket of eggs to avoid doing the work. Bugs finds out why when he's attacked by a gangster's egg-obsessed son and by Elmer, who wants him for his Easter stew.

Finished the night online with Springtime for Roo at Disney Plus. I go further into the Winnie the Pooh Easter special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Happy Easter! - Springtime for Roo

The Lawrence Welk Show did a big Easter program every year. The 70's and 80's shows started with everyone promenading in Edwardian dress to "Easter Parade." The show in 1969 saved the parade for later in the episode and opted to open with everyone singing "A Tisket, a Tasket" inside a giant yellow Easter Basket. Jo Ann Castle didn't even try to hide her pregnancy as a female Easter Bunny who joyfully played "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" for Easter Bunny Arthur Duncan. Cissy King and Bobby Burgess did a really goofy "Bunny Waltz" in bunny suits in 1969. I far preferred their charming two-step to "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" in 1978. The 70's episodes end with everyone singing hymns as a church choir. 

Celebrate spring with Lawrence Welk and his musical family in these bits of Easter cheer!

Easter Show - 1969

Easter Show - 1978

Easter Show - 1979

Here's even more vintage Easter specials to catch while you wait for the arrival of the Easter Bunny!

The Berenstain Bears' Easter Surprise

Peter and the Magic Egg

Buttons and Rusty and the Easter Bunny (A Chucklewood Easter)

A Family Circus Easter

Easter Egg Mornin'

The Jack Rabbit Story: Easter Fever

An Easter Story

Fat Albert Easter Special

Thumpkin and the Easter Bunny

Follow That Bunny

Need a Little Holidays

Began the morning quickly with yogurt, peanut butter, and clementines. I had just enough time to eat before riding off to work. At least it was a nice morning for it. Sunny, breezy, and warm, but not quite to the degree of yesterday.

With this being Good Friday and a day many people get off work early, we were off-and-on busy the entire day. It would slow down for a few minutes, and then the lines would get long again. There were a few grouchy customers and we didn't always have enough people to deal with them, but at least my long 8 1/2 hour day went fairly fast.

Mixed feelings on my schedule next week. In good news, two days off this time, one of them Easter, and only one 8 1/2 hour day. Nothing later than 5:30, either. I'm mostly off at 3. I just wish the other day off wasn't Saturday. I'll never have the time to get anything done, including that lab work.

Picked up a few things after work. Grabbed a 6 pack of Propel to keep upstairs. Needed salads for lunch this week. Looked for snacks, but even the bars that were supposed to be healthy were full of salt or sugar...and when they weren't, they were ridiculously expensive. Settled for strawberries on sale instead. 

After I got home, I went upstairs and put on Match Game '77. An unusually tall contestant prompted a slightly un-PC gag from Gene. He told the contestant if he misbehaved, he'd have to call a strong stagehand to cut him down to size. The stagehand was a strong, diminutive man who barely came up to the fellow's hip. 

Let it continue into Match Game PM. Jack Klugman made his final appearance on the show, sitting in for his maybe-ex-wife Brett Somers, who was out doing a play. He complained about the panelists not getting gifts and was finally placated with a Match Game jacket. In the end, he ended up having more fun than anyone could have guessed. When the contestant won, he dashed around the stage, spinning the Star Wheel, hugging random audience members, and kissing everyone.

Put up the Easter decorations while Match Game was on. I know, Easter's in two days, but I'm tired of not decorating for the holidays. I wanted it to feel like a holiday, even just for a little while. Didn't want to try taping up most of the cardboard decorations and had no place to hang the garlands, but the stuffed animals, porcelain and resin bunny figures, and my big resin bunny Patchy all went on top of the record crates. One of the porcelain bunnies and a flowered tin flank the TV on the entertainment center. The Cabbies have the American Girl Easter accessories. 

Switched to YouTube for The Smurfs Easter special while eating dinner. The Smurfs' Springtime is shaping up to be a joyful one, until Gargamel gets it in his head to steal his godfather Bathazar's spell book and put Mother Nature to sleep. Now the Smurfs may be snowed in, unless they can awaken Mother Nature and avoid both wizards. 

Finished the night after a shower with the first of three Rankin-Bass Easter specials, Here Comes Peter Cottontail. Peter (Casey Kasem) is a cheeky fellow who is prone to fibbing and shirking his responsibilities. He's supposed to have a contest with nasty old Irontail (Vincent Price) to see who will become the new chief Easter Bunny, but he oversleeps. After Irontail wins, he flees, only to run into egg dye peddler Seymour S. Sassafrass (Danny Kaye) who gives him a car that can travel through time. Now Peter has to fly through a year's worth of holidays to deliver his eggs...if Irontail doesn't catch up with him and steal the eggs first!

Happy Birthday Matches

Started a gorgeous day with a very quick yogurt-and-peanut-butter breakfast with two oranges. At this point, it was sunny, bright, and very warm out. It had to be in the upper 70's by 10:30, when I headed out. Mom mentioned that the best way to combat disorder of electrolytes was with Propel, so I stopped at WaWa on the way to Barrington for a watermelon, along with a tasty chocolate protein bar with the least sugar and ingredients I could find.

Pulled in at the Barrington Antique Center around quarter after 11. This is a huge barn of a place on Clements Bridge Road. It's rabbit warren of tiny rooms are stuffed full of every possible even mildly vintage thing you can think of, from 100-year-old china sets and figurines to DVDs and toys from four or five years ago. 

You could probably spend a whole day exploring the place, but I only had an hour. Finally found a pretty and unique 18-inch doll sitting with a few other mid-century toys upstairs. Her sales tag said she was from 1966. She had badly matted rooted blonde hair pulled back in a messy ponytail with a rubber band, but she was otherwise in perfect shape for a nearly 50-year-old doll. Her hard plastic body had no cracks or blemishes, the very mod makeup and blue eyeshadow was bright and sultry on her rubber head, and her purple paisley minidress, underwear, and stockings had no snags. She even had her white soft plastic shoes. To my surprise, she was only 8 dollars, marked down to $6.82 with their store-wide 20% off sale.

Rushed across the street to lock my bike at the rack next to the pizza parlor and pick up the bus on Clements Bridge Road. For once, they were right on time. Despite it being past 12:30, there was no traffic anywhere, not even in Deptford or on the Black Horse Pike. I spent the 20 minute trip listening to two old men chatter loudly about local events.

Since the bus lets you off right next-door, I had lunch at Red Robin. They were so busy with the tail end of the lunch crowd, I ate next to the bar. Kept things simple with an iced tea, a grilled chicken sandwich, and steak fries. The fries were perfectly seasoned and crispy. The sandwich was too salty and way too dry. Too bad they didn't have the Salmon Burger again. That was so much better. 

Round 1 Entertainment is two doors down from Red Robin. Spent the next hour running from giant Bust-a-Move to giant Space Invaders to giant Pac Man to Skee Ball to a bean bag toss, and having a marvelous time doing so. Tried several cranes, including one that had big stuffed Lunas from Sailor Moon, but wasn't able to win anything. Also did two carnival wheels that required you to turn them with your own power, one with a pirate theme. Didn't turn my points in; I'll wait until Lauren visits to see how much I have. 

Walked around a bit after that. The Deptford Mall FYE is primarily for pop culture knick-knacks and doesn't have the DVD or music selection that the larger ones in Lauren's area did. Didn't see anything I really needed at another pop culture store, Box Lunch. Bought new pants for work from JC Penney and socks from Boscov's. 

Picked up the bus at 4:30. Once again, it was right on time, and there were no problems getting back. Good thing, too. Dark clouds gathered, even as the bus chugged along Clements Bridge Road. By the time I unlocked my bike, they were thick, black, and nearly overhead.

Stopped briefly at WaWa again on the way back for more Propel and a salad for tomorrow...but I wasn't able to outrun the storm. It started raining hard as I rode through Audubon. Waited ten minutes at the entrance to Legacy Diner, then just moved on and got wet.

One of my neighbors invited me over for a birthday dinner while I was at the Antique Center. Alas, I ended up being ten minutes late. I actually passed her car as I rode furiously down Newton Avenue. She was going to come and get me. I parked my bike in her garage and dried off there with one of her towels instead.

Had chicken Parmesan, baked ziti, and salad with my neighbor, her elderly mother, and two other women from the neighborhood. They gave me cards and an ice cream cake and sang "Happy Birthday." I got to show them Candy and tell them about my adventures and how I'm doing in my new home. The rain was already stopping when I arrived. By the time I headed out, it was long gone and sunny again, though windier and much chillier. 

Watched Match Game PM as I brushed Candy's blonde tresses and tied them back with a piece of white yarn. Bubbly Betty Kennedy took Brett's spot while she was doing a play in St. Louis. Swedish jokes abounded here when Gene discovers that the male panelists speaks that language. Charles is more nervous about answering "__ Sprout" while that UCLA crowd hoots and hollers.

Finished off the night with even more Match Game. I enjoyed that favorite episodes marathon I did on my birthday last year so much, I did a second round of more episodes I love. Started with the one in 1973 when McLean Stevenson appeared naked from the waist up on the show except for a bow tie. McLean borrowed clothes from the other male panelists that week, and apparently they wouldn't loan him anything else. Richard makes a crack about having to get him to the Largo, a then-popular strip club in LA.

Betty White appears in many of my favorite episodes. Of course, I had to include the one from 1974 when everyone celebrates her birthday in the end. (Incidentally, by my calculations, she was 52. Not 73, as Brett suggests! At least, not then.) 

I also love the episode from the end of the week in 1975 where she and her beloved game show host husband Allen Ludden appeared on the panel together. Gene said "I've had Betty" in response to the contestant calling on her in the Audience Match, prompting her husband to come down for a little chat. Said contestant was supposed to belly dance if she won, but the music department played "Stars and Stripes Forever." Not that this stopped Brett and Betty from showing their own versions of belly dancing!

1975 was also the year of Richard's infamous answer of "Trench Hand" to "Trench __" in the Audience Match. He and Gene joked about eradicating "Trench Hand" for the rest of the episode, and they'd refer to this several times over the years. Richard did better a year later helping an older woman win money with an especially difficult Head-to-Head, "__ Ball." Charles was less amused when he did his own imitation of him a little earlier in '76.

By 1977, Richard was hosting Family Feud and was quite fed up with appearing on a show where he had little control over the proceedings. The School Riot was one infamous incident when he argued with the judges over an answer. He argued over his answer of "baggie" for "bag" later that year, and though he was equally incensed over being turned down, his protests didn't come out as well this time. 

Richard's departure in 1978 threw the spotlight on other members of the panel. Brett was reunited with her maybe-ex-husband Jack Klugman when he appeared on the panel in late 1978, after the set changed and the Star Wheel came in. By the last episode of the week, they were arguing next to each other, and the remaining panelists held a mock wedding for them. Sweetly silly Joyce Bulifant got to show off her early dance training by doing an awesome jitterbug with a former champion dancer in an episode from 1979.

One of the most memorable contestants ever on the show appeared during two 1979 syndicated episodes. Ginger was a very nice lady who gave some of the strangest answers I've ever heard. Her answer to "100 legs and __" was "accordion." She somehow managed to win and give "Cuckoo, Friend, and Ollie" for "Cuckoo __" in the Head-to-Head, to the utter frustration of Robert Walden, who was supposed to match her. Her answer literally sent everyone onstage falling over laughing. Gene ran around in goofy shock, spinning the Star Wheel and yelling "Run for your lives!"

Things could get even rowdier on the nighttime show. Marcia Wallace's answer to where a guy lost a couple of inches was censored on an episode in 1977. It's easy to tell from the expression of mixed shock and amusement on Richard's face when he saw her answer that he couldn't believe she said that, either. 

Here's all of tonight's Match Game episodes, including the one from Buzzr, so you can celebrate with some of the wildest people to ever hold a birthday bash!

1973 - McLean Is Shirtless

1974 - Betty White's Birthday

1975 - "I've Had Betty"

1975 - Trench Hand

1976 - Richard Imitates Charles

1976 - Richard Plays "Hard Ball"

1977 PM - Marcia Wallace Is Censored

1977 - Richard's Baggie Riot

1978 - Jack and Brett's Wedding

1979 - Joyce's Jitterbug

1979 Synd - The Accordion Answer

1979 Synd - Cuckoo, Friend, and Ollie

1981 PM - Betty Kennedy Sits in for Brett

And here's my review of Sister Act 2: Back In the Habit, which I watched yesterday. 

Sister Act 2: Back In the Habit

Sunny Day Sweeping the Clouds Away

Got a really quick start this morning with breakfast and a peek out the window. What a gorgeous morning! Couldn't be nicer. Sunny, breezy, and bright. Perfect for bike rides. 

Good thing, because I had a few errands to run. First stop was the Haddon Township Library. Dropped my books in the return slot. Looked around a little after that, but didn't take out more. I found some children's books I wanted to read or re-read when I shelved them, including Maple Sugar for Windy Foot and one I bought at the Collingswood Book Festival last October but never got to, Bread and Roses, Too. 

Next stop was Target. Didn't see any yogurt in the refrigerator, and I thought that would make a better breakfast for me than wraps or cereal. Bought a low-fat, low-sugar vanilla. Grabbed more wraps to replace the ones I ate. Target's generic date and nut bars were buy one, get one 25% off; decided to try lemon and cashew peanut butter. 

When I got home, I had enough time to shelve the records I have here. Looks like all of the rock albums, Broadway cast albums, soundtracks, and rock collections. I think TJ and Eric have the children's albums and disco and country albums. I really need to get a hold of them. For now, I did manage to get all of the records into the wooden crates I have available. 

Watched the Muppet Babies Easter episode while I worked. Miss Nanny announces to the kids that whomever wins the egg hunt with get a special surprise. "Kermit and Fozzie's Egg-cellent Adventure" doesn't start out that way when Kermit tries to plan, but Fozzie wants to rush and get that surprise. Nanny finally explains hat it's better to figure out what you're going to do ahead of time, instead of rushing into things. "Animal and the Little Accident" happened when he didn't go to the bathroom before the kids search for the fabled city of Ratlantis. The others assure him that it happens to everyone, and when you gotta go, you gotta go.

Switched to Match Game '78 while I cleaned up and got organized. Things get really goofy during the Audience Match when Charles runs out to lead his own military regiment to victory, including the contestant in Air Force uniform while the others figure out "He's Got __." 

Grabbed a quick lunch, then hurried off to work. I'm glad it was only four hours today. Work was a pain. While we weren't overwhelmingly busy, we were busier than yesterday. I had a lot of obnoxious or annoying people, especially towards the end of the day. One man in an electric rider kept yelling at his wife to do his bagging, and she wasn't moving much better than him. He took forever to figure out the ATM machine, too. I was so glad when they sent someone from the bakery in so I could get out of there. Grabbed a drink and a Kind bar so I could get money for the bus tomorrow. 

Went straight home and upstairs after that. Took my small load of laundry down first to get that done, then sorted through the large closet to see what else went in the main room. Found the big box with the board games and family photos shoved in a corner. It took me a while to figure out where to put the games; they ended up on the open shelves in the entertainment center. The boxes of photos went on the shelf with the TV cartoon DVD sets, at least for now. Another box held non-fiction books. The fairy tales and books on stuffed animals and American Girl dolls went with the kids' books. Anything else went on the narrow IKEA shelf near the TV.

I also finally talked to Mom. She sent me a lovely birthday card today and said she was e-mailing me something tomorrow. Got a card from Lauren's parents with 20 dollars in it, and an Amazon card from Lauren.

Told her what I've done in the past week and a half and how my appointments went. She honestly doesn't think there's really much wrong with me, either, besides learning to control my emotions better. I just get so upset and frustrated. She says I hit all my regular milestones as a baby...except for not learning to talk until I was four. Before then, I had parents and and a sister who could talk for me. All I had to do was point to something, and they knew what it was. She also had many good suggestions for dealing with my troublesome thyroid. 

Arrived in time for Match Game '77. Character actor Gary Crosby turned up for the first time here, joining crusty Mary Wickes and goofy Joyce Bulifant. Mary, Joyce, and Brett lined up to be the ones who got to kiss the "new kid on the block!" Gene's more concerned about having to use a shorter microphone. Gary always did well on this game, helping the others figure out the Audience Match "Elizabeth __" in the second episode. 

Things got even wilder on Match Game PM. Gene had to deal with a noisy UCLA audience who loudly cheered and booed everything anyone said or did. Brett's more nervous about answering "Speedy ___" in the Head-to-Head.

Finished online after dinner and shower with Sister Act 2: Back In the Habit as I put my laundry away. I'll go further into the sequel to original Whoopi Goldberg comedy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews tomorrow.