Day Under the Covers

I awoke at 5:30 AM to chills, a pounding and overheated head, achy muscles, and sore throat. Went back to sleep until 7, when I called the Acme and told them I wasn't coming in. Beyond my aches and throat, I really needed a day to myself after all the trouble yesterday. I just couldn't face that store. 

Went back under the covers after I got off with them, and this time slept until noon. Wrote in my journal while Match Game '75 played in the front room. Went back and ran a few episodes from earlier that week while having a quick and very late breakfast. Rona Barrett and R&B star Clifton Davies joined the crew this week and got to put their two cents in on a question revolving around whom Richard Dawson would marry. Gossip columnist Barrett said Raquel Welch, but the others all had Charles or Brett (including the contestant). The sweet contestant kept weeping with joy every time she won, prompting Charles to run out and hand her the whole box of tissues.

Got back into bed around 3 PM and napped again until quarter of 6. This, time, I woke up sweating like crazy and not quite as achy, though I remained tired and still had that sore throat. The moment I realized I was sick last night, I ordered a Covid test on Amazon. Took it before dinner...and thank heavens, it came out negative. I haven't lost my sense of smell and my appetite is fine. I ate a normal dinner. I don't even have a stuffy nose or a cough. I suspect it's the flu. Lousy though I feel, it's still better than my awful bout with Covid in January. Even my temperature was down to normal.

Watched You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown during dinner. I go further into the animated version of this beloved off-Broadway Peanuts show at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals on TV - You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985)

Finished up the night online with The Cat from Outer Space at Disney Plus. The cat in question is Jake, an alien feline with a collar that allows him to talk and fly, among other amazing abilities. He's taken custody by the US government after an emergency landing. Head man General Stilton (Harry Morgan) doesn't believe the power source is alien, but scientist Frank Wilson (Ken Berry) thinks it's like nothing on this Earth. Jake is impressed by Frank's good heart and how close he actually got to the way the ship works and moves in with him.

Jake needs $120,000 worth of gold to get his ship back in the air. Frank and his scientist girlfriend Liz (Sandy Duncan) hit on using Frank's friend Link's (McLean Stevenson) sports betting to win the money they need. Jake manages to manipulate the horse race, but the football games don't work out so well when a well-meaning vet (Alan Young) knocks him out. They do manage to win the money betting on billiards once Jake comes to, but a goofy industrial spy (Roddy McDowell) has tattled to his evil boss Mr. Olympus (William Prince) about Jake's abilities. Olympus kidnaps Liz, Link, and Liz's pretty white cat Lucybelle, but Jake and Frank have one more ace up their sleeves and fur...

My sisters and I watched this goofy sci-fi comedy on The Disney Channel all the time in the 80's and early 90's, to the point where Mom eventually recorded it. I remember Rose was an especially big fan. I thought it was cute but too silly. Actually, it's not bad. Top sitcom and character actors make the most of the strange material, including MASH commanders Stevenson and Morgan. Berry's clearly enjoying his role as second banana to a handsome talking feline. If you have kids who love talking animal stories or science fiction and are ready for some mild peril, they might get a kick out of this.