Friday, June 30, 2023

Under the Haze

Started off a hazy morning with breakfast and more of The Pink Panther Show. "G.I Pink" finds himself in the Army without a clue. His harried sergeant wishes he'd just stayed home. The Inspector is "Carte Blanched" when he turns an ordinary shopping cart into a means of transportation. It's a "Pinkadilly Circus" when a gentleman rescues Pink, and Pink helps him with his demanding wife and daughter.

Switched to Match Game '77 as I made my grocery list and got organized. Polly Holiday of Alice marked her only appearance on the show in these episodes. In the first one, Polly's microphone flops over and dies. Richard and Gene give it a funeral, complete with "Taps." Richard claims to have resurrected it in the second.

Checked the Acme's website for my schedule at this point. In good news, a perfectly normal 1 to 7 shift on the 4th of July. I'll miss the barbecues, but I'll get to see Oaklyn's town parade and the Collingswood fireworks. Unfortunately, I have two seven-hour days leading up to that, one early, that I'm not looking forward to at all. Wednesday and next Friday off. 

Headed out after that for a bike ride. I considered taking a long Uber trip to Second Time Used Books in Mount Laurel Township. It would have cost me more than $30 for a one-way ride. That was too much. Opted to run errands in the area instead, starting with lunch at the Westmont Diner. Had a "Power Omelet," aka egg whites with Swiss cheese and vegetables, cheese grits, and whole grain toast. The omelet was yummy, with lots of veggies and a ton of cheese. The grits were way too bland with just the cheese sprinkled on top, and the toast was barely toasted. Still, I enjoyed my meal while listening to the mostly older couples chatter around me.

Made my way down Cuthbert to Haddon Avenue next. I missed Samaritan Thrift the last two times I was in Westmont. Finally caught them today, about 45 minutes before they closed. They were really busy, but I managed to make my way through the people long enough to buy a peachy-pink polo shirt with white trim, a pretty white shirt with lace trim, and a card for a friend whose birthday is next month. 

After I left the thrift shop, I went directly across the street to Primo's Water Ice. Surprisingly, they were not busy. I was able to quickly buy my medium sugar-free cherry cup. It didn't taste much like cherry, but it also didn't taste like it was sugar-free. Not bad. At least it cooled me off on a warm day and felt great on my still sore tooth.

Rode further down Haddon Avenue and into Haddonfield to check out the RAM Arcade. Lauren and I had such a great time here on Memorial Day Weekend, I thought I'd try them solo. I've always done well at Ms. Pac Man. I like that she moves much faster than her male counterpart. I actually got to level 7 (aka the pretzel level) before I finally ran out of lives. Rocked at the carnival shooting game, too. I made it to the bonus round twice. The other two pinball games were working, but the original Black Knight had fewer bumps and bells than the later Black Knight 2000 and was a lot harder to figure out. 

It was almost 4:30 by the time I went out again. Took the back roads in Haddonfield and Westmont to avoid rush hour traffic on my way to the Westmont Acme. Surprisingly, they were dead, despite it being almost 5 PM. Had no trouble picking up yogurt (I had an online coupon for two free Acme generic cups), snacking cheese, granola bars, two salads for lunch next week, individual packs of Propel Berry water mix, and Silk Coconut Milk (it cost the same as the smaller bottles for one three times that size).

Made one last stop in Collingswood to get money for the rent and the farm market tomorrow. It's a good thing the weather was pretty decent today, considering all the running around I did. Other than the continuing haze and smoky smell, it was sunny, breezy, and hot, into the lower 80's. It's still a little humid, but not to the degree of last week. 

It was so late by the time I got in, I barely had time for writing. Brett claims she's fine, but Betty knows better. For one thing, she's already drinking. For another, she's not with the others. She loves being the center of attention.

Broke for dinner at 7. Watched Match Game '79 as I ate. Things didn't start off well. Neither of the contestants got anything in the first round. Brett's more nervous when someone does make it to the bonus round and she has to do "Hotel __" in the Head-to-Head.

Moved to Hulu after a shower for MASH in honor of the holiday weekend. Hawkeye's feeling like a "Yankee Doodle Doctor" in the first season when a director turns up and insists on filming the 4077th at work. Everyone is excited at first...until it turns out to be a lot of propaganda mush that has nothing to do with what the war or their work is really like. After Hawkeye and Trapper ruin the first cut, the director quits, leaving the doctors to show everyone the real horrors of war (and Hawkeye's Groucho Marx impression). 

Finished at Buzzr for their Pick & Play marathon. Every Friday night during the summer, Buzzr will be running episodes that their viewers chose in the previous two weeks on their website. Yes, I was one of the ones who chose. I have to admit, it was really neat to see the first episode of the late 60's What's My Line with Wally Brunner. The rare first episode of the late 60's To Tell the Truth with that nifty psychedelic set was even cooler. I also got to see more of the Canadian late 80's word game Talk About and the Monty Hall version of Beat the Clock

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