Friday, November 03, 2023

A Pirate's Life for Me

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Charlie & Lola. Lotta is "My Best Bestest Friend" to Lola. They do everything together, until Lotta is asked to help new girl Evie out at school. Now Lotta spends all her time with Evie. Lola thinks she's lost her best friend, but Charlie knows a true friend never leaves you for good.

I was supposed to have job counseling with Karen today. Of course, I didn't get the chance to check my phone until I got outside to wait for her. Yeah, she had to cancel. The weather was too gorgeous to go back inside right away. It was bright, breezy, and warmer than yesterday, though not overly so for this time of year. I strolled down the street and bought two pretzels for lunch, then walked around the neighborhood and admired the bright orange, gold, and green leaves on many of the trees now.

Spent the rest of the morning writing. Over the next few weeks, Cora begins to realize that she and her supposedly perfect fiancee have nothing in common. He wants to party, spend money on luxuries, and go hunting with his buddies and hangers-on. She'd rather be inside reading or walking in the garden. She's also beginning to suspect there's something very strange about him, considering how easily he can manipulate everyone around him into believing every word he says...

Watched Match Game '77 while eating lunch. During a question about what a shy chef does when he dresses a turkey, Brett tells them about how she was the worst waitress in the world when she started out in New York in the early 40's. (I'll believe it.) The contestant doesn't pick the obvious (at the time) answer to "Julie __" in the Audience Match, choosing to go with Richard's more obscure one...something she later regrets...

Headed out for work after that. Spent most of the afternoon sweeping and pushing carts, but I fell behind on the carts due to three big spills. Thankfully, the bowl of fruit and broken eggs were spilled outside. The cream of coconut bottle in aisle 7 was not only a pain to clean, even with the powder we use for messy oil and thick liquid spills, but it got all over the broom, too. I had to wash that off. At least I did get to the outside trash this time, and it never got too busy. 

Got my schedule today as well. In good news, three days off and only one day later than 4. Unfortunately, that means fewer hours, along with two early days. Not to mention, my first day off is Tuesday, which means I worked a week straight.

Did most of my grocery shopping tonight, since I needed money for the Farm Market tomorrow. Found two bottles of multi-vitamins on clearance for $4 each. Also found good sales for yogurt and Kind granola bars. Had a $2 off bakery items online coupon. The spongy slice of tiramisu was as elegant as the larger cake slices, but not too much to eat in one sitting. 

Put on the second half of Match Game '76 when I got home. Charles and Brett spent most of the episode bickering, with him teasing her about the lacy crocheted poncho she wore. At the end of the episode, Charles spread the poncho over their desks and claimed they were starting a restaurant. 

Had dinner while continuing on to Match Game '79. For some reason, they skipped the week with Foster Brooks and Lorna Patterson (which I'm pretty sure they have shown before), moving onto the one with Loni Anderson, Jack Jones, and Nipsey Russell. The first episode had everyone making such a snit over the judge not matching "cannon" and "cannonball," Brett tried to walk off the set. Gene started off the second by auctioning Loni's infamous poster of her in a bikini. (Charles "won" it!)

Finished the night at Disney Plus with their 1950 live-action version of Treasure Island. Young Jim Hawkins (Bobby Driscoll) is thrown into intrigue when a former pirate gives him a map leading to a fabulous treasure. He tells Squire Trelawney (Walter Fizgerald) and Dr. Livesey (Denis O'Dea), only to find the pirate dead. Trelawney is still determined to find that treasure and hires Captain Smollett (Basil Sydney) and his ship the Hispaniola to get them there.

Trelawney is taken in by innkeeper Long John Silver (Robert Newton), who hires most of the remaining crew. Jim becomes close friends with the roguish Silver, but he's starting to realize that something isn't quite right with this voyage. After Silver gets the first mate Mr. Arrow (Daniel Davies) drunk and lets him wash overboard in a storm, Jim overhears him and most of the crew plotting mutiny. He does tell the Squire and Captain, but is captured by the pirates anyway. He escapes, meeting up with stranded hermit Ben Gunn (Geoffrery Wilkenson), who reunites him at a stockade with Smollett and his men. Silver's not far behind, though, and he still wants that treasure...but he also doesn't want to hurt his young friend.

I think we used to run into this occasionally on The Disney Channel in the 80's, but I'm not sure I'd seen the whole movie until today. This was Disney's first foray into live-action that wasn't mixed with animation, and it still holds up very well. Newton made such a perfect Silver, he'd play the role at least three more times, including a TV series, and is still the actor most associated with it today. There's some gorgeous shooting, too, both on location at real islands and in England. 

If you're a fan of swashbucklers or love pirate stories like me or have read the book, this is highly recommended for Newton's performance and the gorgeous production. 

No comments: