Discovering a Beautiful Day

Started off Columbus Day morning with a biographical essay and poems from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. Considering the material here was written in the 40's and 50's, they were surprisingly and refreshingly honest about what Columbus did and didn't do. The essay went into his terrible treatment of the natives in the Caribbean and South America and how he never did find Asia and died a broken man. The poems are funnier, but they still discuss his lack of sailing abilities and his crew nearly starting a mutiny. 

Watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while eating breakfast. Minnie's upset when she loses Mickey's lucky coin in deep Mickey Lake. Professor Ludvig Von Drake lends his new mini-submarine to Mickey and the gang so they can find it. The gang says "Aye Aye, Captain Mickey!" as they follow a map and discover the mysteries of the deep lake.

Headed out shortly after the cartoon ended. I wanted to run a few errands on a beautiful holiday. Started off at Dollar General. Lauren's birthday is Saturday, but I want to send her card early. Grabbed a card for her here, along with makeup crayons for my black cat costume on Halloween. Picked up facial wash at CVS. I've been breaking out. I guess it's stress. 

Strolled through Oaklyn next and down to West Clinton. Had a drink and a treat at Common Grounds. They were the busiest I've ever seen them, probably due to it being a holiday. School is closed, and a lot of local stores aren't open normally on Mondays anyway. I finally got a spot on the long bench near the counter. Tried their pumpkin chai and caramel apple crumb cake. Both were a bit too sweet, and neither especially tasted of pumpkin or apple (though the chai did taste of spices). They were still cool and filling.

I was passing Rose and Craig's house when I noticed that their door was open, and Rose's car was turning in the driveway. I caught them at the perfect time. Rose just took Finley to get her ears pierced. She checked her cute cherry earrings to make sure they're locked in while I came in to say "hi" and pat Oreo and Cider on the head. Craig was doing the dishes; Khai had sequestered himself in his room with video games. I wasn't there for too long, just long enough to see her ears. Finley apparently needed a nap.

It was a gorgeous day for a walk. I got to see all the cool Halloween and fall decorations in Oaklyn. People get so creative around here! They ranged from big pots of mums and pumpkins on stoops to yards made up to look like cemeteries with cardboard headstones and realistic skeletons. Rose was among those who had inflatables, including Frankenstein and a red-eyed dragon. Saw kids out riding their bikes and parents working in their gardens or on their own walks.

Stopped at WaWa briefly on the way back. I was thirsty again. Grabbed one of those tasty Oreo Coke Zeros, paid for it, and got back out. 

After I got home, I took my laundry downstairs and watched The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About Halloween. The Cat takes Nick and Sally through a spooky forest and a corn maze in search of Bubbles Biederbaum and her Ooky-Makooky Closet that holds every possible costume in the world. Nick is scared of the thunder storm they encounter on the way, and Bubbles' creaky old house freaks out Sally, but the Cat teaches them to confront their fears and if possible, fix the problem. Mr. Fish spends the special trying to give the Cat a scare. The Cat claims he doesn't get scared, but he does seem awfully edgy about the pumpkin patch they fly over...

Switched to Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein next. Baggage clerks Chick Young (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur Gray (Lou Costello) find themselves up to their ears in Universal's finest when they deliver a package containing Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and his coffin to a local wax museum. Turns out this Dracula is no dummy. He revives Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange) and hypnotizes Wilbur to do his dirty work. 

Wilbur's thrilled when he has two attractive women come onto him, but they're not interested in him. Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert) thinks he has the perfect docile brain for the monster, while insurance agent Joan Raymond (Jane Randolph) thinks he's knows more than he's telling about the missing monsters. Meanwhile, Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr) has been hounding the guys to help him find those monsters - literally, given he can turn into a werewolf by the full moon. There's also Professor Stevens (Charles Bradstreet), who is beginning to wonder just where all this strange equipment came from...and why his new boss Dr. Lejos is so interested in Wilbur...

Hilarious comedy is probably Abbott and Costello's best and best-known movie. Lugosi and especially Chaney have a great time sending up their reputations as Universal's top monster men. I also love that both the mad scientist and the agent are female. That's not something you're likely to see in current horror movies, let alone one made in 1948. If you're a big Abbott and Costello or classic monster fan or are like me and prefer your horror comedies with more comedy than horror, 

Put my laundry in the dryer after the movie ended, then worked on the inventory for a while. Finished The Drowsy Chaperone and the F CD titles - the original 1971 and 1998 Paper Mill Playhouse casts of Follies, the 2001 revival of 42nd Street, and the original cast of A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum. Most of these go so far back, I only remember finding Drowsy Chaperone (it came from the long-gone FYE at the Gallery Mall in Philly) and the 1971 Follies (picked it up at the Northshire Bookstore in 2008 when they still carried CDs). 

Broke to put my laundry away, then had dinner at quarter after 7. Match Game '77 is on the delightful week with Dick Smothers and comedienne Minnie Pearl of Hee Haw. Minnie was cute, funny, and a darn good player, and I really wish they'd gotten her away from Tennessee again. Minnie sported her trademark flowered hat and lacy dresses in two episodes. Brett wore her own flowered hat in tribute in another.

Made the bed while waiting for a neighbor to come and take the air conditioner out for the season, then took a shower. Finished the night with versions of Lingo, which originally debuted on September 28th, 1987. This started as one of the many syndicated game shows that debuted after the wild success of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in the mid-80's. Two teams have to guess a five-letter word on a bingo card. If they guess the right words, they can pick numbers and get bingo. The bonus round is the same, but here, if they don't make Lingo, they can win prizes.

Though the show was fun to watch, it didn't last a year. Host Michael Reagan was dull as a rock, and the game play wasn't unique enough to stand out in a glut of syndicated game shows . Game Show Network saw something in it and revived it in 2002, with the far more charismatic Chuck Woolery hosting. The game play remains largely the same, with a different end game. This time, the teams had two minutes to guess as many words on the Lingo boards as possible. The team drew Lingo balls for each word they got right. If they formed a Lingo, they could win a prize package. 

Unlike in the 80's, Lingo was in the right place at the right time. It was a breath of lighthearted fresh air amid the tension-filled quiz shows of the early 2000's, with Woolery having a blast hosting. The show ran from 2002 to 2007 and saw frequent re-runs. It was so popular, many kids who grew up in the early-mid 2000's still have fond memories of it. 

GSN tried again with Lingo in 2011. Once again, the game play remained largely the same. Bonus Lingo is also more-or-less the same, this time with no Lingo balls involved. William Baldwin was an ok host, but the show never found its audience and was gone within two months.

The success of Lingo continued well into the 21st century, so much that CBS revived it again last year in its first outing in prime-time and on a major network. RuPaul is the charming and flamboyant host. The game play remains the same, but it's now expanded to an hour, with four couples playing. The two winning couples from each half-hour play each other in the end. The bingo mechanics have been cut down to RuPaul picking letter balls to start off each round. The second round plays more like Now You See It, with each couple trying to figure out a word on one line from the letters he chose. 

Not bad. I do miss the bingo balls, but it moves faster, and RuPaul does seem to enjoy hosting. It just completed its second season on CBS; I hope it returns next year. 

Guess words and see if you can avoid the infamous black and red balls in these fast-paced episodes! (Oh, and the only place you can find the current version of Lingo besides CBS is Paramount Plus; you will need a subscription to access the most recent episode.) 

Lingo Syndicated Pilot (1986)

Lingo Syndicated Premiere (1987)

Lingo (2002)

Lingo (2004)

Lingo (2011)

Lingo (2024) 

Sunny Day Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Magic Bus: The Who On Tour. This isn't actually a live album. It's a collection of singles that hadn't been released on an album in the US at that point. Supposedly, the Who weren't happy with the collection or the photo in the front, but I think it's funny.  The best known songs here are the title number and  "Pictures of Lily," both of which would later turn up in the greatest hits collection Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy. I liked "Disguises" and one song they did do live, "Call Me Lightning."

Hurried off to work after the album ended. No trouble here whatsoever. There were two other baggers working today who did the trash and everything inside. I focused on the carts...and I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else. The weather was stunning, warm, windy, and sunny. 

It helped that we weren't busy, not even before the Eagles game. I guess everyone decided to go out and enjoy the nice day, or went away for the holiday weekend. Or after 1, they were at home watching the Eagles. The Eagles apparently played much better, going on to beat the Browns 20-16. (Which is more than can be said for the Phillies, who lost the National League championship to the Mets 4-1.)

It was such a nice day, I took the long way home for the first time in ages. Even Nicholson Road wasn't bad. I saw more kids on bikes in Oaklyn than cars. It wasn't even heavy around the entrance to the mall, and only a little bit on the White Horse Pike.

Changed and listened to the Barbra Streisand CD Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway when I got in. This one is pretty recent, from the "movie partners" joining Streisand on selections from various musicals. Younger actresses Daisy Ridley and Anne Hathaway are probably more appropriate for "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line than Streisand, while Anthony Newley is mismatched with her on his own "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)."  On the other hand, she sounds sensational with Alec Baldwin on "The Best Thing That Has Ever Happened," from the rare Sondheim Road Show, and on "Take Me to the World" from the odd TV musical Evening Primrose with Antonio Banderas. 

Finished the night at YouTube with Match Game Sunday Classics. Beloved comedienne Phyllis Diller didn't turn up on Match Game until the syndicated run, but found her way into some fun episodes anyway. She first appeared with Fred Travelena and his 800 voices next to her and got to see a make up man do Charles right there onstage. She was less than thrilled when Gene tried to give her that welcome to the show kiss! 

She probably did her best and most memorable work on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. You never knew what she'd turn up in. In one episode, she wore what looked like a wig made of brown and tan yarn, a matching caftan, and enough huge bead necklaces to stock ten costume jewelry stores. In another episode, she had a pink wig and a pink feathered outfit that made her look like a demented flamingo. Another had her wearing a bright gold feathered cap and gold pantsuit. 

She sported ostrich feathers for my favorite episode of the entire series, the one where the tic-tac-toe board broke down mid-way through the Hollywood Squares segment and everyone had to make X or O shapes with their arms. Needless to say, no one was very happy about that. Jay Leno spent the entire incident whining about calling his lawyer. Brian Stokes Mitchell wore increasingly huge boutonnieres, ending with Ellen Fry giving him a potted plant (and Jay playing with it). 

She made her final appearances on Match Game '90...and wore her most memorable wig there, too. She sported sunglasses and a pink mohawk in imitation of Chuck Roast, Ronn Lucas' mouthy punk rock puppet. I think Chuck sort of liked her. (In so much as he ever seemed to like anyone.) She sure liked him. She flirted with him during the entire episode. She also won several people big money, both on Match Game '90 and the syndicated Match Game. 

Bring your feathered wig and witty repartee to this marathon with everyone's favorite sarcastic queen of comedy!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Best of Phyllis Diller

Love and Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and The Fox and the Hound 2. I go further into this cute country music-filled sequel from 2006 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Fox and the Hound 2

Went to work soon as the cartoon ended. Work, to my surprise, was even quieter than Wednesday. People are either out enjoying the continuing gorgeous weather, taking their last weekend at the Shore before the cold weather becomes permanent, or waiting for the Eagles game tomorrow or their day off on Monday. I swept the store, cleaned the bathroom, and pushed carts. After a new girl arrived, I let her sweep the store, then taught her where to put the carts and how to load and unload the trash cans. No trouble whatsoever.

Hurried home and straight into the shower. Had dinner, then spent the rest of the night with today's Match Game Saturday Classics marathon. Sexual gags abounded on Match Game, from Richard Dawson kissing half the women in sight to the skimpier outfits on some of the younger ladies like Charlene Tilton in the syndicated run. Betty White turned up in another syndicated episode in a short and glittery red dress before Sharon Farrell fell on Richard Paul in response to a question about mud wrestling. Gene had to explain to Debralee Scott that he found overbites were very sexy after a question making fun of them later in the syndicated run.

Richard was far from the only person who flirted with the opposite sex. Fannie Flagg openly chased a good-looking male gym teacher in 1975, while McLean Stevenson kissed panelists instead of the contestant when people won in 1973. Everyone was especially good to a lovely little old lady named Bertha in 1977, bringing her drinks and tissues and a seat. Johnny Olson brought her drinks. Donald Ross happily flirted with a pretty miss in 1976, despite him being married (to fellow panelist Patti Deusch). 

As many panelists pointed out, if the answer to the question wasn't "Howard Cosell," it was likely to be discussing chests. Vicki Lawrence gave the first chest answer on the very first week of the show in 1973. Abby Dalton, Brett Somers, and Fannie Flagg were so offended by that "boobs" answer in one episode, they walked off. Almost the entire panel walked off after a "boobs" answer a little later in the summer. In a 1974 episode, Gene unties the halter on Elaine Joyce's dress after she gives him as an answer to whom Frankenstein's monster would replace on the panel, leading him and Richard to help fix it.

It's sex, chest areas, and matching in this sexy, unique, and truly outrageous marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - "Love, Sex, and Boobs" Marathon

Autumn Blue and Gold

Began the day with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Katerina and O and their mother and uncle stay with Daniel and his family when they're hit by "A Storm In the Neighborhood." The kids are nervous about the weather, but their parents encourage them to follow the plan and stay with the adults so they'll be safe. The entire community gathers to remove a tree that fell in front of the Clock Factory "After the Neighborhood Storm."

Dawn hit traffic coming up here and was about 10 minutes late arriving. We finally started out at quarter of 9. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't as bad going to Westville. She stopped at Abilities Solutions for a few minutes to talk to someone and make copies of my resume before we went on our way.

It was past 9 when Dawn pulled in at the big parking lot at Rowan University next to their Engineering Hall. Dawn caught the little jitney going to the job fair just in time. He even had two seats left for us. I shivered as the jitney picked up speed and I held on. It was a beautiful day, sunny and windy, but also much cooler than it has been. It wasn't even in the 50's at 9 AM!

At least it was warmer in the gym. It was the same job fair I went to at Rowan last spring and fall. They were equally busy, and nearly impossible to get around in. To my disappointment, I saw almost nothing of interest. The Emerson Group wanted office workers with more experience. I don't know anything about Word or Excel or anything that costs extra to use, and I haven't done a real job in years. I did see Shop Rite, Goodwill, and a lot of police and safety tables, but that was it. Everything else was either industrial or health care. 

I wish New Jersey wasn't so obsessed with health care! No Comcast, no newspapers, not even Walgreens. It was extremely disappointing. Dawn talked to the Jewish Federation of Cherry Hill and even said we could apply there, but I checked their site later, and their jobs were all teaching or placing families. I don't know anything about that. I'll put in the application, but I don't think anything will come of it.

We finally took the jitney back around 11. Dawn returned briefly to give someone her business card, then we were on our way. The traffic was much worse going home than it had been going to Rowan, especially on the highway. Everyone must have been heading home for lunch. It was past 11:30 when she finally pulled up at the curb.

Put on The Monkees when I got home and had the two muffins I snitched from the refreshment tables for lunch. In addition to doing the four horror-themed episodes for Halloween, I'm going to re-watch the show from the beginning, starting with "Royal Flush." Davy saves a pretty girl from drowning, but she turns out to be far more important than he believes when her Uncle Otto reveals her to be the Princess of Harmonica and threatens them both. He recruits the other three to help him find out what Uncle Otto's plot is and save the princess from certain doom at the hands of her greedy uncle and his chauffeur henchman.

Switched to mildly bizarre episodes of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh as I made my grocery list. Pooh and his friends wander up to the attic on a stormy afternoon, looking for something to do. They want to play chess, but some of the pieces are missing. Terrified Piglet becomes "A Knight to Remember" when he imagines himself as a chess knight who has to fight a not-so-scary dragon. It's "Rock-a-Bye Pooh Bear" when Piglet has a nightmare about losing his friends in a storm. The others try to prove that nightmares don't come true and aren't anything to be afraid of.

Headed out shortly after the cartoon ended. I had grocery shopping to do today, starting with Sprouts. Had online coupons for Cascadian Farms granola bars and Nixie probiotic soda. Found bakery chocolate chip cookies with clearance tags. Scooped dried cranberries into one bag, salted vegetable chips into another.

After Sprouts, I ducked past the library and Haddon Township High School to the Acme. Mainly needed to restock yogurt, apples, Kind bars, and bagels (and I almost forgot the last-named). Had online coupons for Choboni yogurt, the Kind bars, Poppi soda, and Always pads. In fact, I found ultra-thin pads that were already half-off and got them for even cheaper. Grabbed a Propel Peach for the ride home.

And the ride home was gorgeous. Newton Lake sparkled like a million jade stones as I rode past. The fountains shot tiny diamonds into the radiant blue sky. The trees here are just starting to turn shades of scarlet, gold, and yellow that makes the rainbow look pale. I dodged people out for leisurely strolls, finally pushing my bike over the hill and past the Environmental Center.

Let The Price Is Right run in the background as I went through my records and books to see if there was anything I wanted to get rid of. Truth be told...not really. I've been better about thinning out my collection since I moved. I do need to clear out some stuffed animals, and I definitely have too many clothes.

Finally switched to adding my newest finds to the inventories. Television's Greatest Hits Vol. II went with the soundtracks. Kinky Boots, the Hugh Jackman Music Man, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Little Women were added to the cast albums. Magic Bus: The Who On Tour and The Ballad of Tom Joad went in with the rock and pop albums. 

I also got my schedule online at this point. In good news, not quite so many hours on Wednesday...or at all. They dropped me right back to the four days off I had during the summer. I'm glad that I won't have to deal with more 8 1/2 hour days and will have the chance to rest this week, but I could have used a few more hours than this. We are coming up on the holidays.

Watched Match Game '77 while eating dinner. Dick Martin, Fannie Flagg, and Conny Van Dyke joined in for these episodes. Conny argues for Gene kissing her, while the others try to figure out "__ Cooper" in the Audience Match.

Finished the night with Who's That Girl. Tax attorney Loudon Trott (Grififth Dunne) has be tasked with bringing a rare cougar to an animal fan, and then he has to get recently-paroled Nikki Finn (Madonna) on the bus home to Philadelphia after a stint in jail. Nikki has absolutely no desire to go home. She wants to find out who killed her previous boyfriend (as depicted in the opening cartoon sequence), handed her a key, and sent her up the river. Believing her innocent, Loudon ends up joining her as she runs all over New York looking for the real murders, even though he's getting married to Wendy Worthington (Haviland Morris) the next day and her father Simon (John McMartin) is his boss and the one who wanted Nikki out of town in the first place. 

Though the movie was a flop in 1987, I have fond memories of it anyway. The title song and "Causing a Commotion" were huge hits in late summer and early fall that year. When the movie hit home video and cable, it became the choice for pre-teen and young teen girls like me and my friends to watch at slumber parties and girl get-togethers. On one hand, Madonna always was pretty funny, Dunne does his best as the bamboozled lawyer caught up in her schemes, and yeah, the soundtrack is good. 

The movie is also very much of its time. The plot is likely supposed to be the 80's idea of a screwball comedy, but it's really all over the place. Nikki is an annoying idiot whose idea of fun is swiping cassettes from a music store. Some of the gags - like what happens to the bridesmaids and who Wendy eventually ends up with - are just too dumb. 

I'm going to say this is cute, but unless you're a massive Madonna fan or you share my fond memories of watching this with your own friends at slumber parties, you're better off digging up the soundtrack album and skipping the film. 

It's Perfectly Sunny In Philadelphia

Began the day with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. We really get 70's when the kids from Mystery Inc join their friend Jimmy Lewis at a local recording studio to see how cutting an album works. Things go south quickly when Tony Synes, who wrote the song they're recording, vanishes, and a "Diobolical Disc Demon" in KISS makeup is determined to get that song sheet no matter what.

Watched part of Press Your Luck as I got ready to go. The first half honestly went pretty well. One lady hit a very early CD player, but one of the guys just got more money than her. I was finally ready to go when the second round began.

Made a brief stop at WaWa for money and a Strawberry Kiwi Propel, then rode down to the PATCO. Had no trouble here whatsoever, other than they're still working on the escalator and sidewalk at Collingswood. The train to 8th and Market arrived within 4 minutes and wasn't at all full. I was in Philadelphia within 20 minutes. 

This time, I did some research the night before and knew exactly how I was going to get where I was going. I hiked down to City Hall and very, very far underground to the Broad Street Line. Bought my ticket, then picked up a largely empty SEPTA train to the Tasker-Morris station. It dropped me off in 5 minutes about a block from my first stop.

Beautiful World Syndicate and Latchkey are within a block from each other on East Passyunk Avenue. Latchkey is the nicer of the two, but they have almost identical merchandise - mostly new hard rock, rap, and punk rock titles, with most of their used being horribly overpriced. I did manage to find a few older titles I could afford, including one from my childhood I had no idea was even made into a record. From Beautiful World Syndicate, I picked up: 

Charlie Parker - Greatest Hits

Raccoons On Ice (The last thing I expected to find today is this retelling of the holiday special for the Canadian cartoon from the 80's. We used to love this show and got such a kick out of the antics of Ralph Raccoon and all his forest friends.) 

Beautiful World Syndicate was messier and smaller. Latchkey was larger, with a slightly wider variety of titles but lacking Beautiful World's DVDs and books. Here, I found: 

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Brubeck Time

Television's Greatest Hits Vol. II (Includes the themes from Hogan's Heroes and The Monkees, among others.)

The college girl with the yellow wig behind the counter at Latchkey kept talking about what a gorgeous day it was...and she was very right. The weather couldn't have been nicer. It was sunny, windy, and much cooler than it has been, probably in the lower 60's. It was just warm enough that I was fine in a sweater and jeans all day. 

Strolled past The Singing Fountain between shops. I don't know about singing, but it is a beautiful fountain, sparkling like diamonds and glowing all blue and silver in the afternoon sunshine. Several people sat on benches, joining me in enjoying the radiance of an early fall day. (I later discovered that there's a reason the fountain was so pretty. It was just restored this past spring and summer.) 

Was surprised to walk past a huge Acme. I did not expect to run into a grocery store in the middle of an urban neighborhood. It was big, too. I even saw a fair-sized liquor store in there. I couldn't find the bathroom, but I did walk out with a bagel for breakfast tomorrow and oatmeal-cranberry cookies as a treat for today.

Had a longer walk to my next location. Got turned around several times before I finally found myself back at the Italian Market. I wanted to try the famous Geno's and Pat's cheesesteaks on what's known as Cheesesteak Corner. Geno's was closer, so I went with them. They sported orange and white outdoor seating, with one order window for the sandwiches, and another for fries and drinks. I figured the sandwiches would be big enough, so I kept it to a mushroom cheesesteak and a large cup of Diet Pepsi. Not bad. At least they give you your choice of cheese. I went with nicely stringy provolone. The place was packed for 2:30, with most of the tables taken. Thankfully, I was able to get a table right near the cheesesteak window. I ate my big sandwich while watching cars and people go by on 9th Street.

After my long walk to Geno's, I needed a break. I called Uber from the same parking lot between buildings I got them from in July. The pleasant young man picked me up within two minutes of being called. He chatted about the nice weather as he made his way down to 4th Street in Queen Village.  

I didn't really have much better luck here. Digital Underground had a great collection of Pokemon stuffed toys and cards, but their records were the same as the other two - mostly punk, rap, or hard rock, and way overpriced. Though they did have some interesting and unique soundtracks (including a lot of video game, anime, and Italian horror albums), I ultimately bought nothing here. 

Did a little bit better at Cratediggerz two blocks down from Digital Underground. They had a larger, cleaner store with more variety and a row of dollar bins. I made both of my finds in the dollar bins:

George Shearing - I Hear Music

A Cabbage Patch Christmas (Yes, the Cabbage Patch dolls were so big in the early 80's, they had their own Christmas album. I bought this mainly for six original songs by the Sherman Brothers that probably can't be found elsewhere and the cute cover depicting three Cabbies singing Christmas carols.)

My last stops were two book stores. I found nothing at the smaller Brickbat Books next door to Cratediggerz, but a five-minute stroll to Bainbridge Avenue produced a gold mine. Mostly Books, despite its slightly shabby appearance, is a treasure trove of every book you can imagine. Books on every subject known to man (and probably a few not known) were tossed helter-skelter in loose piles on shelves and even on the floor. There was a second floor loft filled with even more books, mainly on culture and languages. They even had CDs up front and a very small bin of records in the back. I really hit the jackpot here. After almost an hour (and a bathroom break), I came up with three items I've been looking for:

The original cast album for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a 1985 adaptation of the unfinished Charles Dickens novel by Rupert Holmes

To Be Continued; A Complete Guide to Motion Picture Serials, by Ken Weiss and Ed Goodgold (Plot and cast listings for every serial made in the sound era, even those now considered lost or rare. I used to take this out of the library at Cape May all the time in the late 80's and early 90's.)

Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution, by Todd S. Purdum

By this point, I was just plain worn out. I was originally going to hike down to 8th and Market, but it was too far. 9th and Locust was far more reachable. I'm surprised the train wasn't busier, given it was 5 PM and the height of rush hour by the time I got out. I had no trouble getting a seat to myself. Got off at Collingswood, grabbed my bike, and rode home. 

Went straight into The Last Five Years, dinner, and putting everything away when I got home. I go further into this bittersweet indie romantic comedy about a couple recalling their tumultuous marriage at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Last Five Years

Finished the night after a shower with a couple of the rock records I picked up the other day. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones LTD is the Monkees' follow-up to Headquarters. They have a few more session musicians this time, but it's still mostly them on classics like "Pleasant Valley Sunday." Mike contributed my favorite songs from this one. Micky used the first Moog Synthesizer on an album for Mike's psychedelic freak-out "Daily Nightly." Other good ones here include "The Door Into Summer" and Mike's gorgeous soft-sell ballad "Don't Call On Me." 

Pete Townsend had been branching off on his own since the 70's, but he finally had a hit as a solo artist with Empty Glass in 1980. The best - and best-known - song from this one is the jaunty ballad "Let My Love Open the Door." Other good songs here include the title song and "A Little Is Enough." 

Winds of Fall

Got a quick start today with breakfast and Bluey. Bluey, Bingo, and their cousin Muffin is excited to get a "Horsey Ride" from Bandit and Uncle Stripe. Bluey's upset when their youngest cousin Socks grabs her favorite stuffed animals and chews on it, so the girls turn their horsey ride into a mock-wedding...much to the annoyance of their fathers!

I was late getting out again...and that was the worst thing that happened for most of the day. It was the same deal as Monday. It was only busy during the afternoon and evening rush hour, and just barely that. I didn't even have trouble with the carts. The wind picked up, but otherwise, it remains sunny and gorgeous here. 

I was annoyed when they called me to do cold returns ten minutes before I was supposed to finish. One of the older male customers threw a fit when the cashier didn't bag his order exactly the way he wanted it. He dumped the bags out in his cart, refused to buy any of it, insulted the lady at customer service who came to help, and stomped out. And I barely had time to put away all his meat before he went home, just because he had to have a childish tantrum. 

Hurried straight home after that and into Match Game '77. Roz Kelly, Gregg Morris, and Joyce Bulifant figured into all but one of the episodes I saw tonight. We first met a contestant in a German costume that inspired many German accent jokes, especially from Richard. "Werner __" on the Audience Match also brought out Richard's German as he recalled how Werner Klemperer from Hogan's Heroes brought his own uniform to the auditions. Anton Williams sitting next to Brett on the last episode prompted Charles to fuss about how much she was drooling over him.

Finished the night with something different on Kanopy. The Queen of Spades is a British horror fantasy from 1949. Captain Herman Suvorin (Anton Walbrook) is a Russian officer who is normally against taking risks at the gambling table. He begins to wonder how risky it is when he hears stories about the aging Countess Ranevskya (Edith Evans) having sold her soul for the secret for winning at cards. Herman tries to seduce her ward Lizaveta Ivanova (Yvonne Mitchell) to discover the secret, but another officer, Andrei (Ronald Howard), who genuinely loves her, has gotten there first. He manages to get into the household, but when he scares the old lady to literal death trying to get the secret, Lizaveta rejects him. After a visit from the countess' ghost, he thinks he knows the secret, well enough to beat Andre in a card game...

This cold little fantasy is an odd one. It takes forever to get where it's going. Herman doesn't even make it into the house until well into the second half of the movie. Walbrook comes off best as the greedy engineer who becomes obsessed with the Countess' secret. It's not bad if you like British drama or fantasy or anyone in the cast. 

The Tooth of the Matter

Began the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Sally and her friends search for gold at the "End of the Rainbow." They don't find gold, but Mr. Fixit and Sargent Murphy lead them to an even better treasure. Peng the panda is worried about his wife having a baby while he's building the Great Wall of China. His son creates fireworks as "A Signal for Peng" that would really get him to take notice. "Mr. Frumble's Birthday Party" might be fun, if Mr. Frumble can remember to send invitations and order the right items from the right shop owners.

Let Press Your Luck run briefly as I got organized. Came just in time to see a young man win all cash. The woman was a previous champ and definitely not complaining, but the other poor guy Whammied out. Left as the next show began.

My first stop today was my dental appointment. I went in. The sweet dental technician cleaned my teeth. I got out. The entire process took less than a half-hour. She says my teeth look really good, which I appreciate after I lost two in two years. It's also my last dental appointment of the year. I won't be going back until January 14th.

Headed to Target next. I needed pads rather badly. I was almost out. After I quickly bought Always, I went to lunch at the bagel shop. Had a tasty avocado, tomato, and mozzarella omelet with hash brown potatoes (that I didn't finish) and a chocolate chip bagel (that didn't really have much in the way of chocolate chips, though it still tasted good). They had Culture Pop's wild berry and lime flavor, too. After I ate, I realized I forgot two more items at Target. Stopped there and got them before heading across the street to the Haddon Township Library.

My job counselor Dawn was a bit late, but we did eventually meet around quarter of 2. She never did find me jobs, but I did take several typing speed tests for practice. I never got lower than 88 percent accuracy on any of them, and one was 100. I honestly did very well. I know I'm a good typist, but I wasn't sure what my speed was. I could usually get somewhere between 27 and 42 words per minute, which seems good enough. 

Dawn also suggested attending the job fair at Rowan University with her on Friday. I'll try, but I won't promise her anything. The job fairs never really seem to do me much good. They're mostly industrial, police, or health care companies. 

Rode into the park after leaving Dawn. Newton Lake Park is gorgeous at this time of year, despite how dry and brown it is. The trees are just starting to turn shades of yellow and orange here. It's finally starting to feel like fall. I pushed my bike under that lovely canopy and past the Haddon Township Environmental Center and History Museum. Stopped at Dollar General quickly on my way home. I really just wanted a drink. I ended up with a Diet Dr. Pepper and Halloween felt stickers and plastic colored or glow in the dark vampire teeth for the trick or treat Mystery Bags. 

Had a lot to do at home, too, starting with making the bed, gathering donations for Goodwill, and taking the laundry downstairs. Watched Monkees episodes as I worked. The Monkees find themselves stranded on a remote island after being called to the reading of a late millionaire's will in "Monkee See, Monkee Die." Davy falls for his grand-niece who inherits the castle, while his bandmates try to figure out how the other friends and relatives who are also there for the reading keep vanishing.

It's "Monkees Vs. Machine" when Mike manages to confound a computer enough to get a job at an automated toy factory. He'd be happier about it if he wasn't part of the "new regime" espoused by Daggart (Stan Freburg), who wants his computers to replace a long-time toy designer (Walter Janovitz). He and the other guys first sabotage Daggart's attempts to show how efficient his new machine-designed toys are, then realize that the older toy manufacturer might have a winner after all when they attempt to throw it away, and it keeps coming back...

Put up the Halloween decorations after I finished The Monkees. I like Halloween more than I did as a kid, but I'm not the biggest fan of horror. The scariest decorations I have are a couple of cute stuffed bats and a Beanie Baby wolf with red eyes. Mom gave me the orange and yellow tin and the McDonald's Halloween Happy Meal toys - Birdie, the Hamburgler, and Grimace in snap-on costumes, a McNugget in a heavy purple spider costume, another McNugget with a skeleton mask that doubles as a candy holder, and what I believe to be a Hamtaro character in a snap-on witch costume. They're all on my entertainment center, surrounded by orange and black garland. The cute bat table runner Mom made years ago is on my front room table. Howl the wolf ended up on a shelf, while the ghost Beanies hang out with my collectible bears on top of the records.

Watched Match Game '77 as I worked on the Halloween decorations and put the laundry in the dryer. I couldn't miss the infamous episode that ended with Debralee Scott and Richard Dawson arguing with judge Ira Skutch over whether "finishing school" matched "school." It got really ugly. Poor Patti Deusch was terrified to give her answer, "night school," which was also rejected. The contestant got the audience going, Debralee and Rich got in on it, and Gene couldn't keep order. Charles turned up on sprawled on Gene's steps as "the first victim of the school riot" after the commercial break, but the damage was done. The lower tier kept their answers up in protest for what little remained of the episode. 

Put on Everyone Says I Love You after the episode ended. I go further into this charming Woody Allen musical from the 90's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Everyone Says I Love You

As soon as I brought the dry laundry upstairs, it was time to pull out the cold-weather clothes. It might get warm for a few days this weekend, but it looks like we're largely done with really hot weather here. I could use a dress for colder weather. I have several winter skirts, but not a full-out dress. Other than that, I don't really need much in the way of clothes right now. Put away the Pokemon backpack and pulled out my good leather purse. 

Finished the night after dinner and a shower with two Broadway cast albums and soundtracks I've picked up lately. What Makes Sammy Run? was Steve Lawrence's only solo Broadway vehicle. I'm a bit surprised he agreed to play a jerk scriptwriter who uses everyone around him on his way to the top. His character is abrasive, obnoxious, and not at all fun, despite Lawrence's decent performances of songs like "You Can Trust Me" and "A Room Without Windows." Sally Ann Howes' soprano trilling sounds totally out of place in this dark musical comedy score, and she has no chemistry with Lawrence. Robert Alda does better as Lawrence's boss. All in all, nothing you need to go out of your way to hear unless you're a huge fan of Lawrence. 

The Broadway Melody of 1940, on the other hand, is a career-best for almost everyone involved. Cole Porter's score includes the hits "I Concentrate On You" and "Begin the Beguine." Astaire partnered well with George Murphy and the equally meticulous Eleanor Powell. While you can't see their wonderful "Beguine" and "Jukebox Dance," you can hear Astaire and Murphy have fun with the comic opener "Please Don't Monkey With Broadway." 

Laughing Games

Got a quick start today with breakfast and Bluey. Bluey wants to stay up late, but her parents insist on her going to bed. Chili tells her about how a "Fruit Bat" sleeps during the day and is awake at night. Bluey wistfully dreams that she's a fruit bat and gets to see what it's like late at night.

Got a late start...but that was the worst thing that happened all day. Everyone must have shopped over the weekend or are waiting for Columbus Day weekend. Only the rush hours were even remotely busy. I even got tips on handling the bathrooms. By the time it started to pick up, I was almost done. Nice weather probably helped, too. It was sunny and warm again up until about an hour before I left, when it clouded over and cooled off. Headed out with no trouble whatsoever. 

Went straight home, changed, and went right back out. I wasn't in the mood for leftovers again, and besides, it was a gorgeous night, breezy with just enough cloud cover to keep it cool. Had to drop off books I didn't want at the larger kiosk a few blocks down Johnson, too. I saw a neighbor who asked me if I wanted a ride, but I gently turned her down. I had to drop off those books, and I did want a walk, if for no other reason than to clear my head.

Ended up at Capitol Pizza. I had a slice of cheese, a slice of mushroom, and a slice of carrot cake while watching the Detroit Tigers-Cleveland Guardians playoff game. Must have been one heck of a game. They were at the top of the 9th, and no one had scored yet. The guy behind the counter brought my pizza slices just minutes before Kerry Carpenter slammed a ball over the fence, sending the crowd into a frenzy! Not only did he hit the game's only home run, he brought himself and two other players home, too. I didn't see the bottom of the 9th, but Cleveland must not have had much of a response. The Tigers went on to win 3 - 0. 

Put on Match Game 77 when I got home. They're on the infamous week with Ed Asner, Debralee Scott, and Patti Deustch. Charles was delighted in the first episode to play for the audience when his answer to "Gulf __" came up on the Audience Match. The second let Gene fuss over the microphones and introduced a contestant who would be far more important to the last episode of the week...

Finished the night with game shows based around comedy. Match Game is probably the most popular game show to be played for comedy, but it's far from the only one. It didn't start out that way. When it began in 1962, it was more of a Password imitation. Two contestants and a celebrity played against each other, trying to match their answers to simple questions like "name a game show." Yeah, that got boring after a while. By the time of this episode from 1976, the questions had ballooned into near-epic randy jokes with characters like Mr. Periwinkle and Dumb Dora. Hammy Gene Rayburn was the host from the start. 

Hollywood Squares got an earlier start in 1968, but it was the only real rival to Match Game for game show hilarity in the 70's. Unlike Match Game, all those witty rejoinders tossed out by the nine celebrities bluffing on a huge tic-tac-toe board were scripted. That suited permanent center square resident Paul Lynde just fine. He wasn't much for improv, but he could toss out quips like a pro, as in this early nighttime episode from 1972.

Comedy and game shows go a long way back. You Bet Your Life began on radio, where host Groucho Marx could ad-lib with the contestants to his heart's content. The show did even better on TV, where Groucho's glasses and duck and huge eyebrows could actually be seen. His leering at pretty contestants got more obvious too, as in this 1958 episode with a very pretty TV actress known as "The Boom Boom Girl." 

Funny You Should Ask is another comedy game show that's returned over the years. The original had two contestants asking a five-person panel their opinions on a certain question while the contestants are in an isolation room. When they return, the contestants have to guess who said what. Too bad this only lasted eight months. This 1968 episode with Zsa Zsa Gabor, Glenn Ford, and Stu Gilliam is one of the few to survive to this day.

Remote Control was MTV's first game show in 1987. They really went all-out on this one. A basement-dwelling "loser" obsessed with music and game shows ask three high school and college-age kids asks them questions about TV and videos while the kids are strapped to chairs. The winner after two rounds goes on to try to guess as many MTV artists as they could. My sisters and I always got a real kick out of this show when we were kids, and this episode was no exception. "Weird" Al Yankovitz even turns up at one point.

The Gong Show came back on Game Show Network as Extreme Gong in 1998. This was pretty similar to the original nutty talent show, but with a slightly larger top prize ($701) and an even more annoying host, Don Bleu. I thought the best act in this episode was a truly nifty magician dressed in yellow like a Jim Carrey Mask who could do card tricks. The winner ended up being a guy with a Husky he claimed could talk. The dog could do no such thing, but it was cute.

Comic game shows continue to air today, including on streaming and digital channels. Game Changer plays on the digital network Dropout. Here, the three celebrity contestants have no idea what game they'll be playing before the episode starts. In fact, this is the second episode from 2019. The three comedians have to imitate animals and act wacky to several improv statements. In fact, the game play here would prove so popular, it was spun off into the equally successful Make Some Noise. Very strange show, but host Sam Reich is clearly into it. It not only continues to air on Dropout to this day, it's spun off two more comedy shows along with Noise.

Laugh your way into fall with these wild and wacky contests, where you never know who might be playing next!

You Bet Your Life (1958)

Funny You Should Ask (1968)

Hollywood Squares (1972)

Match Game (1976)

Remote Control (1988)

Extreme Gong (1998)

Game Changer (2019)

In the Fall Sunshine

Began the morning with breakfast and the Kinky Boots CD. This 2013 adaptation of the 2005 British comedy has Charlie Price (Stark Sands) partnering with drag queen Lola (Billy Porter) to save his father's floundering shoe factory by making high-heeled boots strong enough to support a man's weight. Despite being ravaged by critics, this show was a surprise hit in the mid-2010's and went on to win 6 Tonys. In fact, Cyndi Lauper became the first woman to win a Tony for original score on her own. And yeah, the story is slight, but Lauper did come up with some nice songs. I especially liked the two ballads on parental expectations and how hard it can be to be your own person, "Not My Father's Son," "Soul of a Man," and "Hold Me In Your Heart."

Headed off to work after the CD ended. There were already two baggers at the store when I arrived, so I spent most of the early afternoon outside. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. The weather was incredible today. Sunny and warm, without a hint of breeze or humidity. Couldn't have been more perfect for early October. It was busy at first, but not overly so, probably thanks to the Eagles being off this week. 

Unfortunately, the evening rush hour coincided with the other baggers going home. I was on my own for the last few hours and trying to do everything again, gather carts and clean bathrooms and sweep the store and put cold items away. Needless to say, I fell badly behind on the carts and never did finish them before I finished.

Had a very quick dinner before taking a shower. I mucked around online before a late Match Game Sunday Classics marathon started. MASH was a huge hit during the entire run of Match Game. At least three members of its cast became semi-regulars. Loretta Swit was the earliest to appear during the summer of 1973. She'd turn up sporadically through 1979, usually sitting in the ingenue seat next to Richard Dawson. 

McLean Stevenson made his first appearance during the fall of 1973, shortly after Swit. He was one of the best things about an already-wild week, including fussing that a contestant stole his gold teeth when he kissed her! He would later take Richard's seat in the last two syndicated seasons. Gary Burghoff probably turned up the most. He made his first appearance in 1974 to replace Charles Nelson Reilly while he directed a Broadway play and would be seen through the end of the syndicated series, well after he left MASH. He and McLean were on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour several times, including a week with another MASH alumni, Jamie Farr. 

Have fun with the members of the 4077th whether they're in Burbank or Korea with this wild marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - MASH Actors on Match Game

A Bumper Book Harvest

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Minnie and Daisy become "The Friendship Team" when the hats for their friendship party disappear. Minnie goes into detective mode and Daisy into spy mode in order to figure out who took off with them.

Rushed out after that. I didn't want to miss the Collingswood Farm Market! They were swarming with people today, too. Peaches and plums are gone, but I saw the first winter squash and pumpkins of the season. Bought small Honeycrisp apples, grapes, and my annual pumpkin. I always get a medium pumpkin in late September or early October to use as a centerpiece on the table in the main room. I never carve my pumpkin. I'm afraid I'd end up carving me! I keep it on the table until after Thanksgiving or it goes bad, whichever comes first. 

Started towards the Collingswood Book Festival next...but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fix the hair clip that came loose. I ended up going a block in the opposite direction to Rite Aid instead and buying headbands. Since I was there, I bought an Apple Pie Smoothie for a treat (and it did really taste like chilled apple pie). 

The Collingswood Book Festival is held every year on the first Saturday of October. Thank goodness the weather was gorgeous today, sunny and warm. This is the first time since 2021 the weather's been nice enough for them to hold it on Haddon Avenue instead of the high school. Most of the tents are local authors selling their wares. I watched my friend Sarah O'Brien play music on her guitar and encourage kids to dance in front of the Old Zane School building. 

The children's area was on the street between the Old Zane School and the block with Innergroove Records. This was mostly activity areas and play spots, but I did see the Collingswood Library selling books for a dollar. I ended up with two Dear America titles I hadn't read, A Light In the Storm - The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, and A Journey to the New World - The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple. (The latter will be for Thanksgiving.)

My main interest was in the last couple of blocks...but I was disappointed to see that the used book sellers, which used to cover two or more blocks, was now limited to a block. Two specialized in sci-fi, one was more general, and one sold new and old books. I didn't do as well here as I hoped, but I did end up with: 

The Master of Ballantrae by Robert Louis Stevenson

At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald

Jinx High and Burning Water, by Mercedes Lackey 

I did better a few blocks back down Haddon Avenue at a church yard sale. It was so big, they had books for sale outside and downstairs in their basement. The lady who made those nice doll dresses in the spring was back, too. In addition to buying a pink flowered dress and a purple gingham, both with embroidered roses, for Molly and Whitney and picking up two country CDs for Lauren, I dug out of the bins downstairs:

Death Bee Comes Her by Nancy Coco

Draw and Order by Cheryl Hallon

Grandmother's Wisdom by Lee Farber, a kitchen tips and recipe book

Christmas Around the World, a vintage Ideals book for kids

Had lunch at Sabrina's Cafe next. They were really busy even an hour before closing. I had to wait for ten minutes. When I did get a table, I tried the Jack Skellington PB&J French Toast. Oh boy. Turned out to be four thick French Toast slices welded together with strawberry syrup and peanut butter and topped with strawberries and whipped cream. I didn't close to finish it.

Thought I'd visit the record stores next, since I was in Collingswood and it was too nice to run home. Ducked into Collingswood Music 15 minutes before they closed. I had just enough time to pick up: 

Elton John - Caribou and Tumbleweed Connection

The Monkees - Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones LTD

Innergroove Records was much busier. There wasn't enough room for me to check the dollar bins, but I did just as well with the two dollar ones. I came up with:

The Dave Clark Five - The Dave Clark Five's Greatest Hits

Jefferson Starship - Red October

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Further Out

Pete Townsend - Empty Glass

Herb Alpert - Rise

The soundtrack from The Broadway Melody of 1940

With the Book Festival shutting down by quarter of 4, I figured it was time to head home. Watched Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood when I got in. It's Dress-Up Day! Daniel is excited to put together his Tigey the Adventure Tiger costume, while Miss Elania makes her robot costume. "Katerina's Costume" might be a superhero, or a fire fighter, or a ballerina! She can't decide. Lady Elaine assures her that "Katerina's Costume" can be anything she imagines. All of the kids are excited about trick-or-treating for stickers on "Dress-Up Day." O loves being a traffic light, but when he rips his costume, he has to figure out what else he wants to be. 

Switched to The Fox and the Hound while working on adding my new record finds to the inventory. I go further into this bittersweet Disney animal tale from the early 80's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Fox and the Hound

Moved to the musical version of Little Women after the movie ended. On one hand, this charming retelling of the beloved novel has sterling performances by Sutton Foster as Jo, Maureen McGovern as Marmee, and Janet Carroll as grumpy Aunt March. Some of the songs aren't bad and suit the characters, like Jo's "Amazing"...but it does seem like there's one too many belted anthems in a score that should be quieter and more intimate. In fact, I suspect the story as a whole may have been too intimate for a huge Broadway theater. It's actually a pretty accurate retelling, even using episodes from the book like Beth at the seaside after she gets sick that don't turn up in other adaptations. 

I have the feeling this show would work better on smaller regional or high school stages, where its sweeter qualities and familiar story could be better-appreciated. At any rate, the score is still worth a look if you're a fan of McGovern, Foster, or Louisa May Alcott's work.

Finished the night with the Match Game Saturday Night Classics marathon. Some of the most memorable panelists on Match Game were guys named Joe. Amiable Joe Santos, for instance, was playing a cop on The Rockford Files when he made his first appearance on Match Game late in 1978. Joe turned up fairly frequently through the syndicated era, ending on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. Truth be told, he probably kept getting booked because he was a good-natured guy who contrasted nicely with some of the crustier panelists than for his terrible playing. It was a cause for celebration when he actually did get one right. Once, he even called his son onstage to help him with an answer.

Former Rat Pack member Joey Bishop, on the other hand, was a decent player, but a grouch whose notorious sourpuss personality carried over to the show. He could be a real jerk...but he occasionally had a point, like when he called Ira out on his inconsistent matching or pointed out that the audience was acting unruly even by the show's standards. His grumpiness and obnoxiousness is likely the reason he only appeared in 1976 and early '77. 

Voice actor Joe Alasky was a semi-regular on Match Game '90. He's best known to kids who grew up at the time like me as the original voice of Plucky Duck from Tiny Toon Adventures, but he would continue doing voices for Looney Tunes and other franchises up through his death in 2016. His voices and cheerful nature added a lot to the show, and he was a darn good player, too, winning people big money at least twice.

There were other men named Joe on the 70's show who appeared less frequently. Character actor Joe Flynn turned up early in 1974 in what would be one of his last performances before his untimely death later that year. Bass-voiced comedian Joe Silver appeared on a memorable week later in 1974. Game show host and former baseball player Joe Gargiola got to witness a new camera angle and Richard's continuing frustration early in 1978. 

Get to know a bunch of guys named Joe in this funny and unique marathon!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - What About Joe? Marathon

It's the Halloween Season, Charlie Brown

Began the morning with breakfast and the 2003 Strawberry Shortcake. Strawberry is eager to hold "A Festival of Friends" and invite girls from all over the world to visit Strawberryland. Her guest is Asian Tea Blossom, from Plum Blossom Province, and her panda Marza. Strawberry is afraid to hurt Tea Blossom's feelings and doesn't tell her that she's not a fan of her tea. Tea Blossom feels the same, until a wild ride on the river ends with Tea Blossom almost leaving the festival. Meanwhile, Angel Cake refuses any help in making friendship cakes for the festival. Everyone finally learns that real friendship involves being honest and accepting help, and that friends don't always have to like the same things. 

Switched to the Peanuts while I vacuumed and swept my rooms. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and Linus is very excited about the annual non-arrival of his favorite holiday icon. Against her better judgement, Sally joins him in the "sincere" pumpkin patch. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown has trouble trick-or-treating and Snoopy looks ahead to Veteran's Day as he fights the Red Baron.

Started dusting as It's Magic, Charlie Brown began. Snoopy takes a book on magic out of the library and holds a show for all the gang. It's something of a bust until he makes Charlie Brown invisible. Charlie is upset when Snoopy can't bring him back right away...until he realizes that Lucy can't pull the football away if she can't see him coming...

Had lunch while watching Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special. Witch Hazel pursues Bugs, leaves Speedy in charge of her cauldron, and wonders how he managed to turn Daffy into something out of "Duck Amok" in this collection of bits and pieces from various Looney Tunes horror and Halloween shorts. At the very least, they use horror shorts and two actually set at Halloween, unlike the random cartoons on Bugs' Easter special that were totally unrelated to the holiday.

Headed to work after Bugs ended. Though it wasn't quite as busy today as it has been, I still had a hard time keeping up with everything. I'd have to race around to sweep and clean the bathrooms and put cold items away and get the carts done. At least the weather held. It was cloudy, cool, and humid all day, but it never rained (and still hasn't). 

I found out why we've been so short on help when I got my schedule. To my dismay, I had two 8 1/2 hour days on Monday and Wednesday, and two 6 hour days on the weekends. Apparently, one of the cashiers got fired, and I know another retired a few months ago. They only have the head bagger to take their places. Neither has been replaced, though supposedly they are in the midst of bringing in more people. 

Had a little grocery shopping to do after work ended. Had online coupons for yogurt, Made Good breakfast bars, and Listerine mouthwash. Picked up bagels for lunch and treated myself to a slice of pumpkin cream cake with pudding and cream layers and whipped topping. 

Went straight home and into Match Game '77 after that. Perpetually nervous Bill Daily, sweet soap star Trish Stewart, and crusty Mary Wickes joined in for these episodes. Richard wished his younger son Gary happy birthday at the end of one episode. Brett angrily claimed "I love all the people Anita Bryant (anti-gay singer who sold orange juice in the 70's) hates" when she had to give her as an answer to a question in another episode. (And the look on Charles' face when he had to give that answer. He wouldn't even say her name.)

Finished the night after dinner and a shower with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Ring of Terror was a 1961 horror film about a college student (George E. Mather) who is almost literally scared to death when trying to retrieve a ring from a mausoleum as part of a fraternity initiation. There was one surprisingly effective sequence when Mather drove off a snake that attacked him and his girlfriend in their car. Otherwise, the movie was obviously cheap, with way too much padding and sequences showing the students in dull lectures. Not to mention, those "students" were notoriously way too old for their roles, something Joel and the robots frequently made fun of during the movie. Frankly, the episode of the serial "The Phantom Creeps" with Bela Lugosi having too much fun as a mad scientist was far more interesting. 

Dolls On a Busy Day

Began the day with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. The gang's saying "Hang In There, Scooby Doo" when he gets caught on a hang glider before a tournament and ends up in a cave. The tournament and cave are being harassed by a half-man, half-pterodactyl who is seen flying into the caves. The gang follows him and some familiar music in order to figure out this high-above mystery.

Headed out to run errands next. It was the perfect day for it, too. The weather couldn't have been nicer for early October, sunny, breezy, and warm, into the upper 70's. No wonder the Westmont Plaza was so busy when I arrived. There were tons of kids everywhere, girls gossiping and boys riding around on bikes and getting in everyone's way. I forgot today is the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. They must have been out for the holiday or gotten out early. 

Thankfully, despite their screen saying the wait was almost an hour, Great Clips wasn't busy and had no wait. The tall, slender girl with the long face and cute bob style was a sweetheart and did a nice job on my hair. It's a lot shorter than I wanted, half-way up my neck, but maybe that's not a bad thing. We are coming up on the holidays. Might be nice to just put a headband on and go during the busy season. It does look very curly, layered, and darling.

Everyone must have been at Dollar Tree. They were mobbed, with lines down the aisles. My toddler niece Aurora and good friend Amanda had birthdays October first. I got them greeting cards and was able to get Aurora a gift card to Carter's and OshKosh, but the pet store cards I wanted for Amanda wouldn't work. I hated holding up that long line! I just got another card instead.

Target was busy, but when I couldn't find the mouthwash I wanted in a smaller size, I just moved on. Had more luck at Sprouts. Grabbed coconut milk for cheaper than the Acme has it and more of those dried raspberry-lemon mango slices in a bin. Found peanut butter bakery cookies and a brand of probiotic soda I'd never heard of before on clearance. Thankfully, they were not busy and I was able to get in and out.

Had lunch at the Westmont Diner, a block down on the hill under the Haddon Township Library. They were also busy with high schoolers and families having lunch together when I arrived around 1:30. I opted for one of their lunch specials...and boy, am I glad I did! The salmon burger was incredible, a perfectly cooked salmon patty with fresh lettuce and tomato and tasty Old Bay seasoned skin-on fries. Even the house salad that came with it was good.

Made one last quick stop at the PNC Bank in Collingswood for the rent and money for the Collingswood Farm Market and Book Festival on Saturday. Rode up to one of the outside ATMs, got my money, and rode home (dropping books at the East Clinton kiosk as I went). 

Went straight into dressing the dolls for October when I got in. Samantha is in her blue windowpane check Play Dress and Pinafore with the black and white boots from her Flower Picking Dress. Josefina gets her current meet outfit with the lovely red, blue, and orange flower-print skirt. Molly and Whitney sport hand-made dresses from local seamstresses. Molly's in blue gingham, while Whitney sports pink polka dots with a smocked bodice and pearl trim. Barbara Jean goes mod for Halloween in an orange, coral, and black chevron-print knit skirt with a white bodice and wide orange collar, with the flats from Josefina's Christmas dress and stockings from her Christmas dress. 

Jessa gets to try on one of the outfits I bought from Cottage Resale back in August, the rare late-90's Artist's Outfit. She looks adorable in the rainbow-blotched shirt, matching high-tops, and rolled-up overalls. Ariel looks very hip in her white satin blouse, pink tie scarf, orange knit vest, and plaid pleated miniskirt. Felicity and Kit are in their original meet outfits. Felicity's orange, red and brown print Rose Garden Dress is very appropriate for fall. Kit wears her lavender twin set with the floral skirt. 

Listened to more of my recent CD purchases while I worked. Little Richard was one of the great pioneers of early rock, bringing his flamboyant and dynamic personality to dance-a-thons like "Rip It Up" and "All Around the World." "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" are probably his most famous hits today, and the songs most associated with him, He also did two numbers in the 1956 rock comedy The Girl Can't Help It, it's raucous title song and "She's Got It." 

Avenue Q debuted on Broadway in 2003 as an adult-oriented Sesame Street parody. At the time, the idea of children's entertainment being used to comment on grown-up matters was a novelty. In this case, a group of Muppet-like puppets and three humans co-exist together in a dilapidated neighborhood in one of New York's outer boroughs. They're all parodies of the typical post-college slackers of the 90's and 2000's, from mismatched layabout and Republican roommates Nicky (John Tartaglia and Rick Lyon) to TV-obsessed Trekkie Monster (Lyon) to sweet teacher Kate Monster (Stephanie D'Abruzzo), who wants to open her own school for monsters. For all the goofy and potty-mouthed satire, my favorite number from this is the mature and pointed ballad "There's a Fine, Fine Line." Kate wistfully wonders where her relationship with Princeton (Tartaglia) is heading and why things work out the way they do.

The film and soundtrack of That Thing You Do! were surprise hits in 1996. This comedy about a rock band in 1964 who land a hit single, but find it hard to maintain their fame afterwards, remains a lot of fun today thanks to its energetic young cast and realistic music. Unlike the soundtrack from Eddie and the Cruisers, which sounds like the 80's version of early 60's numbers, the songs on this CD could pass for real hits from the early-mid 60's. The title song was so catchy, it ended up being the choice dance jam on real radio stations throughout the fall and early winter of 1996-1997.

Switched to Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter after I finished with the dolls. I go further into this adorable vehicle for English band Herman's Hermits at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter

Did a little bit with the inventories next. Added That Thing You Do! to the soundtracks and Avenue Q and Flora the Red Menace to the cast albums. After I did those, I had a quick dinner while watching Match Game '77. Charles tossed out jokes about Orson Bean's earring, then tried to make one himself with one of his blue cards.

Finished the night listening to that double disc Johnny Mathis set while working on my Mrs. Brown review. Warm and Open Fire, Two Guitars are different names for what amounts to the same idea - intimate standard ballads performed in quiet settings that are perfect for running on chilly nights by a roaring fire. Warm does feature Percy Faith and His Orchestra, but I like the later Open Fire better, especially "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," "I'm Glad There Is You," and "There Goes My Heart." 

Too Much Is Too Much

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Huckle is surprised to learn about "Peter's Visit" after he and Lowly return from a Scout camping trip. Peter Penguin is Sally's imaginary friend. Huckle finds him to be annoying at first, until he really gets into playing with him. Little Scandinavian resident Bernard creates "The First Skis Ever" to help get his brother out of an avalanche. Poor Dennis the elephant gets "Stage Fright" and tries to duck out of a public speaking contest at school. He's scared to death, until he remembers a poem his mother told him about fear.

Hurried off to my 8 1/2 hour work shift after that. I really wish I hadn't. It wasn't bad when I got in at 9...but once it hit 11:30-12 and the noon rush hour crowds arrived, everything started at once. I would be trying to sweep when someone would want me to put away cold items, and there would be more cold items, and I would have to try to get to the bathrooms and run out and gather the empty carts, too. And the managers kept telling me how to do my job, even though I'm an adult and know darn well how to gather carts. I got so flustered and frustrated and angry. 

Near the end of the day, I was about to go on my last break when I was called to clean up a broken glass jar of tomato sauce that somehow managed to go everywhere in the frozen foods department. One of the managers did start to help me, but she was called away. It took me so long to finish by myself, I had to skip my last break so I could get everything done before I left. I went home in frustrated and angry tears. 

Went straight into Match Game '77 when I got home. I needed Gene and the others and all the craziness. Ate dinner while watching Scoey Mitchilll drool over a pretty teacher in one episode and the champ hold the microphone while Gene answered a Head-to-Head in another. Elaine Joyce got a bit snappish with Scoey for talking over her answer at one point, too.

Finished the night cheering myself up with cartoons, starting with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Teacher Harriet tells O the Owl "You are Special" when he tries to imitate the things the others can do for Show and Tell. He finally learns what's special about him when he remembers he has an ability the other kids don't - he can fly. Dan Sr. reminds his son that "Daniel Is Special" during a walk to gather fall leaves for a picture.

Upped the action quotient with PAW Patrol. "Pups Save a Space Rock," or what they think is a space rock left with them by a friendly alien. Captain Turnbot, his brother Francois, and Everest the Husky follow the walking purple rock, only to be caught in a rock slide. The others have to rescue them. "Pups Save a Good Mayor" when Mayor Goodway goes on a camping trip and loses her phone. Humdinger claims he's the substitute mayor and starts handing out tickets and making absurd rules. Ryder and the pups finally get fed up and look for her by air. 

Catch Me If You Can

Began the morning with breakfast and The Muppet Show. Actress and future politician Glenda Jackson appeared in one of the most unique episodes of the fifth season as a pirate who takes over the show and somehow turns the backstage area into a ship at sea. The remaining Muppets continue to do their acts while trying to figure out how to get their stage back. The Swedish Chef would rather figure out how to get Jackson's parrot into an oven.

Hurried off to work after the show ended. Boy, do I wish I hadn't. We were busy for most of the afternoon. It's the beginning of the month and our Senior Discount Day. I tried to keep up with the carts and doing the sweeping and cleaning the bathrooms every hour on the hour, and I got called to help older people load bags into their cars. No one was in a good mood, including many of my co-workers. I was so happy when I got done!

Had a little grocery shopping I couldn't put off. I mainly needed bagels and fruit for lunch this week. I bought apples and oranges on sale. Grabbed more probiotic soda, including that tasty Crisp Apple Olipop, one yogurt, and a bag of brownie cookies from the bakery with a online coupon. 

Not happy with my schedule this week at all. On one hand, I only work today, tomorrow, and Friday...but I have an 8 1/2 hour shift tomorrow! I'm guessing the college boy who was working in the afternoons must have gone back to school. It's not even the head bagger working a cashier's shift - Wednesday is her day off.

After all that, I wasn't up for anything but Crown Chicken and Gyro. I bought a tilapia sandwich with their tasty fries and a Diet Pepsi. Watched the antics of a funny toddler girl as she chased a bouncy ball around the dining area, sat in a booth with seats not much bigger than her, and climbed into her mommy's lap to wait for her food. Poor darling was playing with her ball under the table when she reached up and bonked her head. That really got her wailing! Good thing Dad came over with their fried chicken and rice dinners at that point.

Had dinner at home after I changed, took out the trash, and brought the laundry downstairs. Watched Having a Wild Weekend while I ate. I go further into this surprisingly charming romantic vehicle for musician Dave Clark at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Having a Wild Weekend (Catch Us If You Can)

Finished the night as I worked on my blog and brought my laundry upstairs with two of my recent CD finds. Began with the Bette Midler Hello Dolly! revival in honor of its Cornelius Hackl, Gavin Creel, who passed away yesterday. Though he won a Tony for his lovely "It Only Takes a Moment" and sounds like he's having fun with his part of "Put On Your Sunday Clothes," he's overshadowed by Midler and her unlikely Horace Vandergelder, David Hyde Pierce. Pierce is on more even footing with Midler than most Horaces tend to be, with both of them equal hams. He even gets an additional song that was originally cut from the show. "Penny In My Pocket" explains how Horace made his millions and why he's so cheap. 

Mingus Ah Um was inspired by a series of jazz workshops Charles Mingus conducted in the 40's and early 50's. He wanted to bring spontaneity back into jazz with jams like "Pussy Cat Dues" and "Open Letter to Duke." One of his most famous compositions, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," can be found here. 

Ride Captain Ride

Lauren and I started out early on my last day of vacation. We wanted to have one last breakfast together. Ended up back at Denny's. This time, she had the Grand Slamwich, I had the "Say It Three Times Slam," part of their line advertising the new Beetlejuice movie, and a fruit cup. Actually, she ended up bringing a plate of cut-up fruit. There was plenty to share with Lauren. The "Say It Three Times" slam ended up being three silver dollar pancakes topped with chocolate chips, melted chocolate, vanilla cream, and green sprinkles. Not bad, and while decadent, it also wasn't too much to eat in one sitting, thanks to the pancakes being smaller.

Denny's and Cracker Barrel are less than a 10-minute's ride from the Albany-Renessaler Train Station. While smaller than the big-city stations, it's equally nice, with wood trim and vaulted ceilings. I bought a turkey sandwich for lunch and went to the bathroom, and we sat together and chatted until my train was called. I told her to say "hi" to her parents and Rico for me and followed the line to the train.

This time, the train going to Albany was nowhere near full. I had a pleasantly quiet ride, eating lunch, coloring in that old Care Bears coloring book, and just admiring that stunning view of the Adirondacks. Though it was misty and foggy when we left this morning, by noon, the fog had cleared, revealing a gorgeous, sunny afternoon.

I was feeling so relaxed after I got off that quiet train, I treated myself to an enormous salt-covered soft pretzel from a cart parked near Penn Station before I crossed to Moynihan. They weren't more than the normal busy, either, nothing like Sunday. I got a Pumpkin Spice Frappucino, but was too keyed up to do more than walk around and keep an eye on the time.

The train going to Philadelphia was actually a commuter train on its way to Harrisburg, and it was jammed full. I got stuck next to a gentleman who spent the hour and a half checking his phone. Spent the hour and a half ride thinking of how much I didn't want to go home. I don't want to deal with the Acme tomorrow. Lauren's so lucky to have co-workers whom she actually likes and who like and respect her back. I hate my job. I don't want to go back there. I don't want to go home, either. I'm just tired of everything.

I was good and depressed by the time the train rolled into 30th Street Station. It took me three tries to get an Uber home, probably due to it being rush hour. Even when one arrived, I almost missed it across the street. At any rate, there was no traffic going home, not on the Schuylkill Expressway or the Ben Franklin Bridge. I was back in Oaklyn by quarter after 6.

Unpacked and had a sandwich for dinner while watching Match Game '77. Soap star Tudi Wiggins made her first and only appearance on the show during this week. This is also the week that's missing an episode, due to a very randy answer that now has that episode banned from the airwaves.

Took a shower, then finished the night on YouTube with word-based game show. Password is likely the word-association game show champ. It began in 1961 with celebrities helping contestants to guess a word and was such a sensation, versions have been popping up ever since. The episode I have here is Password Plus from 1980. Allen Ludden, who had hosted the show from the very first 1961 episodes, took a few weeks off in April 1980 to recover from illness. This was his first episode back. Bill Cullen, who took his place during those few weeks, is one of the celebrity partners here.

The wild success of Password was bound to inspire imitations. The original version of You Don't Say! debuted on NBC in 1962. Basically the same deal, only here, people described the names of famous people. Tom Kennedy had one of his first hosting gigs with this show.

Match Game started out as a more serious affair in 1962, but it didn't work until they started playing the simple questions for comedy. The hit 70's version put even more of an emphasis on goofy questions featuring characters like Dumb Dora and Mr. Periwinkle, as in this episode from August 1976. 

Pyramid is another celebrity-contestant pairing show. In this case, the celebrities help the contestants guess what subject the clues belong to. It's been going in some form or another since 1973. Fred Grandy and Didi Conn are the celebrities helping their contestants to the Winner's Circle in this episode of The $20,000 Pyramid from 1978. 

Lingo and Chain Reaction didn't go over in their original forms. Lingo, which involved contestants guessing words on a bingo board, didn't even last a season in syndication in 1987 and early 1988. Chain Reaction originally had celebrities helping contestants guess which words came next in a chain of relating words. It ran headlong into game show-hating Fred Silverman, who canceled it and two other shows in favor of The David Letterman Show. (Which lasted four months when Letterman proved too edgy for morning TV.) 

Both shows did far better in revival after re-runs of the originals were hits. Lingo was an early hit for Game Show Network, and Chuck Woolery's last game show hosting job to date. Chain Reaction dropped the celebrities for a streamlined version filmed in Canada in 1986, with Geoff Edwards hosting. It too would later be a Game Show Network original - three times, in fact, in three short-lived year-long runs, the most recent in 2021-2022. 

The third word game champ is Wheel of Fortune. Most people probably don't remember that it goes way far back. It debuted in 1976 on NBC and narrowly escaped being canceled several times, including when Fred Silverman went on that show-axing spree in 1980. It didn't really become a smash until Woolery left in a salary dispute and was replaced by Pat Sajak. I have one of the few Woolery episodes in existence here.

I wish Wordplay did better on NBC in 1987. I've watched this one several times, and it's a lot of fun. Three celebrities describe a word, but only one has the real description. Nifty variation on Liar's Club, with the celebrities bluffing on words and their definitions.

Learn new words and how to describe them with these adorable and very funny shows!

You Don't Say! (1964)

Match Game (1976)

Wheel of Fortune (1976)

The $20,000 Pyramid (1978)

Password Plus (1980)

The New Chain Reaction (1987)
Wordplay (1987)

Lingo (2007)

Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow

This time, we started out at bit later at 9:30...and we made an extra stop before getting on the highway. Lauren promised her guy friend Rico that he could join us at Six Flags Great Escape today. Rico works with Lauren at the bank in Great Barrington. He proved to be a lot of fun, chatting and making jokes as Lauren drove through Stockbridge and Lee and got on the MassPike.

We first ended up at a rest stop about a half-hour or so outside of Lake George to use the bathroom. Lauren and I were delighted to find sodas we didn't often run into at home in their vending machines. I got a Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar. She found a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero Sugar. Rico got an Arizona iced tea and an energy drink.

Parking has been greatly simplified since we started coming to Great Escape together. Lauren only had to show the kid a voucher she printed online to get us in. She drove around back, parking us in the Three Musketeers lot near the edge of the woods. (All lots at Great Escape are named for Mars candies.) We followed the crowds over the bridge to the entrance.

Great Escape is a charming cross between Storybook Land in Mays Landing and the New Jersey Six Flags Great Adventure. It was originally a family park in the 50's called Storybook Town USA, but it added coasters and other rides over the years along with the original little fairy tale cottages and western ghost town buildings. We came in time for their Fright Fest. Kids dressed as witches, ghouls, Cinderella, and Mario streamed into haunted "house" rides and mazes. Alas, the spooky mazes and Trick or Treat cost extra, so we stuck to the regular rides.

We walked around first, taking in the lay of the land. Fabric spider's webs covered every single stationary object and ride and food booth that wasn't in use. Foul-smelling smoke drifted from vents and a huge spooky jack-'o-lantern near the Cinderella's Castle. Water in the fountains, including around Cinderella's Castle, was colored red to resemble blood. (Though it really more closely resembled cherry Kool Aid.)

Ended up at the Ghost Town. Lauren showed Rico how she's short enough to easily fit in one of the little houses before we stopped at a building housing games and cranes. These cranes contained stuffed toys that were far nicer and better made than the stuffies one usually found in them. One crane had nothing but Gund toys. Gund is a very good stuffed animal brand, not cheap at all. To my surprise, I got a soft, floppy white and gray cat on my second try! I named her Queensbury, after the town where Great Escape is, Queenie for short.

Our first actual ride took us over a steep bridge and into Hot Rod USA. Thunder Alley lets guests drive over a track decorated with vintage Storybook Town signs in 50's-style cars. It was also the only ride open in Hot Rod USA. Most of the others were down for the season or in the midst of being refurbished, which may account for the very long line. It was fun when we finally got in the cars, though. I rode a police car and giggled at the bright signs describing a ghost family on a Halloween picnic outing. The real-life 50's architecture across the street, including a fried chicken stand with a huge neon chicken sign, added to the ambiance. 

Made our way through the crowds and past many scary statues and busts of jokers, ghouls, and the Phantom of the Opera to the Fest Area. More rides were open here, including the brand-new wooden roller coaster the Bobcat. Lauren and Rico wanted to continue on and ride another wooden coaster, the Comet, but I was hungry and hate coasters. 

They ended up heading to the back of the park while I stepped into the Alpine Haus cafeteria for lunch. It was a dark, simple room that was just benches and a counter. The grilled chicken sandwich was a little dry but not bad. The fries were delicious, perfectly cooked with their skins on. I ate them outside at one of the yellow picnic tables and watched the crowds stroll by. 

Since they still hadn't arrived after I finished eating, I strolled around the area for a bit. There's several smaller carnival-style rides in the Fest Area, including the Cannonball Express. This is another name for the Music Express, which goes around and around on an up and down track and features brightly painted artwork of famous singers. The Music Express was one of my favorite rides in Wildwood, and I missed it. Unlike Thunder Alley, the line here wasn't long at all. I got on right away and even had a seat to myself. I screamed and clutched the bar as the music blared and the seats rocked and rolled over the track.

I met Rico and Lauren outside the Alpine Haus, where they enjoyed burgers and those yummy fries. After they finished, we doubled back to Hot Rod USA after I picked up a soda. We were originally going to ride the Storybook Town Train, but the line was prohibitively long. I talked them into the Grand Carousel instead, since that barely had any line at all. (They later said the Comet didn't, either.) 

The Grand Carousel is unique in one respect. Many of the horses are replaced by beautifully painted and detailed animals. I spotted an orange jack rabbit, a purple dragon, a camel, a black and white cat, and a lion. I ended up on a handsome pale blue horse with a cobalt mane and lovely flowers painted on his bridle. The little kids and their parents all around me rode their fanciful equines in happy awe, and I was delighted with their sweet reactions. 

Though the line at the train was still long when we got there, we figured it was one of the few rides all three of us could do together. In fact, it was so long, we didn't get on the first train that came around and had to wait for the second, and then the girl in charge took another 10 minutes making us wait while she called someone on her walkie-talkie. It was lovely when we finally got on. The Storybook Town Train takes you through the woods, past Popo the Purple Cow (who is really more of a friendly dragon), Hickory Dickory Dock, and slightly dilapidated jungle animal statues taken from the overgrown remains of the Jungleland rope walk-through. 

I spied giant Technicolor flowers from the train that were part of the Alice In Wonderland walk-through, so we headed there next. After getting turned around in the kiddie ride section Timbertown, we finally ducked into the low, narrow cave that took you into a black-light Wonderland. Rico chattered and joked about Alice stuck in the White Rabbit's house, the Mad Tea Party, and the Queen of Hearts looking slightly murderous among her card guards. 

It was past 4 when we got out of Wonderland. Time to head back to the International Village entryway and buy souvenirs. I didn't get anything. Not only am I running out of room, but I already won Queenie. Rico picked up a cool pair of yellow vinyl clogs with rainbows, unicorns, and Captain America shield buttons on them. Lauren bought a Great Escape t-shirt at the main gift shop you pass through on the way out.

The Pirate Adventure Golf Course isn't more than three minutes from Great Escape, so we went there next. This beautifully landscaped mini-golf course lets you choose two different courses, one harder than the other. We went with the tougher Blackbeard course. We all had a great time hitting our balls, chasing them when they bounced off-course, or trying to keep them from rolling into the many gurgling streams and waterfalls. They even had blurbs about the real Blackbeard on wooden signs posted at the start of each course. (I think Rico won this one.)

I hadn't eaten at Golden Corral since ours closed over a decade ago, and Rico called it "my mecca" and was delighted to eat anywhere that would fill his endless appetite. They turned out to be another short five-minute drive. They were also busy as heck, and not just because it's Sunday. We arrived just ahead of two buses filled with elderly tourists.

I'm glad we did end up there. I missed the one that used to be behind the Pep Boys/America's Best building at Audubon Crossings. They had tons of everything, from their amazing sweet potato casserole to what I believe was real whole berry cranberry sauce. I started with the cranberry sauce, cubed tropical fruit, and a greens salad with blue cheese and dried cranberries. My main protein was delicious steak tips straight off the grill. We all tried their yummy creamed spinach and cheese pizza. I had this pasta smothered in mozzarella, provolone, and herbs that was amazing, too. 

By the time we got to dessert, I was too full for more than a slim slice of chocolate cake with a curl of vanilla ice cream, a spoonful of banana pudding, and a brownie square I didn't finish. Lauren had blueberry pie and a watermelon Icee. Rico grabbed cookies and cake. I had a cherry ice with strawberry sauce (and a rogue berry gummy bear) for a chaser.

After that, we practically rolled back to Lauren's car to head home. This time, we went straight back to the Berkshires on the highway, no stopping anywhere besides Rico's house to drop him off. After he gave us big hugs for a great afternoon, we finished our ride through Lee and Lennox to Pittsfield, singing along with the Monkees.

I finished the night with the second of half of today's Match Game marathon. Debralee Scott started off in the ingenue seat in mid-1976. The flirtatious young sitcom star may be best-remembered by game show fans today for joining Richard Dawson in instigating the infamous "school riot" in 1977. She and Rich argued when judge Ira Skutch wouldn't accept their "finishing school" or poor scared Patti Deusch's "night school" as answers to a question about where Dumb Dora takes her cultured pearls to. Gene tried to calm them down, but he couldn't keep order. Charles and Brett jokingly had Charles sprawled on Gene's entrance steps as the victim of the "school riot," but the damage was done. The lower tier kept their responses up in protest for what little remained of the episode.

Debralee's other great early moment was when Bill Anderson performed a song just for her at the end of a 1976 episode. Brett and Charles, dressed as cowpokes, sang along. Deb was flattered that someone came up with a song for her on the spot and gave Bill a very sweet kiss.

Deb did most of her best work in syndication, when she generally sat in the sixth seat. She happily flirted with contestants and panelists alike. Bart Braverman thought she was cute and kept throwing papers at her. She did not think he was cute. She pounded on him until he grabbed her for a kiss! She did better with the Head-to-Head, winning contestants big money at least twice in the nighttime episodes.

Watch Debralee as she flirts and fights with panelists and contestants alike in this very funny marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Tribute to Debralee Scott

Oh, and it's a good thing I wasn't down in Philadelphia today. The Eagles got their rears handed to them by the Buccaneers 33-16.