Jessa also texted me. Turns out she wanted to get together today after all. Could I meet her somewhere we could eat outside? She originally suggested Sonic, but that would be too far to walk. I mentioned Collingswood. Many of the restaurants and cafes there have outdoor seating.
Read Death by Dumpling, then hurried out. At least it was a nice day for a walk. Almost too nice for mid-April. It was hot, windy, and sunny, already in the upper 70's at 11:30. I'm surprised there weren't more people in the park, but they might have all been at work or on their way to lunch.
Jessa met me near the PATCO station with her fluffy little black dog Midnight. Turns out she'd ridden her bike all the way from Deptford, with Midnight in the back. It took her over an hour to get there on the back roads. She hadn't mentioned that when she texted me. No wonder she wanted to meet by a place with bike racks and eat outside.
I suggested Collingswood because it's closer to me, but the truth is, most stores in town are closed on Monday. Haddon Culinary is one of the few that's open all week. In addition to selling overpriced gourmet food and produce, they also have small meals, sandwiches and salads and soup and the like. Jessa had soup and a chicken sandwich. I had the Haddon Sunrise egg sandwich, with bacon, melted cheddar, tomato, scrambled eggs, and spicy aioli on multi-grain bread. I was still a bit full from yesterday, so all I had with it was a bottle of unsweetened iced tea.
There's wooden benches all along Haddon Avenue next to the market and their next-door neighbor, a juice shop. Midnight curled up in the shade under the table while we had our sandwiches. Yum! Mine was really good, a nice blend of flavors. Jessa seemed to enjoy her sandwich and especially her Italian Wedding Soup, too. Midnight came out from under the table when a man came by with a young black lab and a couple passed walking their little king's spaniel.
We talked for a long time after we ate, probably for almost an hour. She told me about her job at a warehouse and running the Broad Street marathon in Philly. I told her about my vacation days and my enjoyable weekend off.
I originally suggested taking Midnight to Knight Park, but we talked for so long, she ended up walking me home across Collingswood. We walked down Lees Avenue until we saw the park, then turned on that. They were even more busy than Collingswood with people and their dogs and children out enjoying the warm, sunny day. When we got to my house, I filled her water bottle, so she and Midnight could wet their whistles before they started back on their long ride home.
After I got in, I did job hunting while watching Match Game PM. I enjoyed the episodes I saw last night so much, I decided to keep my usual birthday Match Game marathon going another day. Brett is delighted when an older man with a twinkle in his eye is sweet on her. She's nervous when he chooses her for the Head-to-Head, but everyone's delighted when things work out - most of all him!
The first season of the nighttime shows ended with an episode where Gene demonstrated his ability to do push-ups. Brett then showed off hers, which weren't bad, either. Soap star Janice Lynde managed to steal the spotlight from both of them by doing "push ups" on her stomach!
At that point, I was tired and not really having much luck with job hunting. I went down for a nap instead. Fell asleep at 4:30 and was so out of it, I didn't get up until almost 6:30.
To my annoyance, I realized after I wrote in my journal that I forgot to take my laundry downstairs earlier. I did that, then put on Match Game '73 while eating dinner. Ran straight into the infamous episode where Gene turns up in a red and green plaid suit that was so butt-ugly, even for the early 70's, the panel wouldn't look at him when he came out. Comedian Jack Carter even said he looked like "a station break in Poland." Near the end of the episode, everyone is so excited when the contestant wins, Bert, Jack, and Fannie Flagg ran into the audience and gave random people hugs and kisses.
Brought my last birthday present to myself up after I ran the laundry downstairs. Make Believe Ballroom Time was among the records and videos the Stockton Media Center received from a donor when I worked there around 2000. I enjoyed listening to the charming 20's songs so much, I actually recorded the two-disc set onto a cassette. I still have it, but alas, it's in storage, and I'm trying to replace my cassettes with other formats as much as possible anyway. I finally found it again on eBay. (There's a 30's collection under the same title I may eventually pick up as well.)
Put my laundry in the dryer, then brought it up again as I finished the night with more Match Game PM. Gene wasn't happy in one Season 2 episode when he had to open his own door because the stagehand forgot to do it. Another classic episode had Richard pretending to be Brett and Betty White playing Charles when they already matched the contestant and had to sit out a round. Brett brought her elegant fan to a long-lost episode that Buzzr restored to the line-up in 2021. Gene's comments to an Asian man who was in World War II may have had something to do with its disappearance.
Gene wasn't the only one who said things he probably regretted on the nighttime show. Marcia Wallace's answer to a question about where a guy lost a few inches got censored in a 1977 episode. Another infamous episode from a year later featured a bored Richard and two of the most hapless people to ever play the game. They just could not match anyone. The only reason the guy made it to the Audience Match was Charles matched each of them once, then matched him in a tiebreaker.
Some of the later episodes after Richard left were pretty fun, too. I wish Buzzr still showed them. Gene brought his daughter Lynn's sweet old dog Trotter to the show in one 1979 episode, to Betty White's delight. Charles was a lot more skeptical and teased Gene about his furry friend throughout the show. Debralee Scott flashed her bare leg in heels and stockings in another show. Bill Daily quickly covered it with his coat! A few weeks later, Charles kindly gave his toupee to a balding but personable young man who frankly looked a lot better with it.
Betty White and Allen Ludden made one of their last appearances together in a 1981 syndicated week, and the only time Allen sat in the "smart guy" seat next to Betty. Alas, the full week is currently unavailable, but the nighttime version survives. Jimmie Walker and Jonnelle Allen join in to see how much Betty and Allen clearly loved sitting next to each other, happily teasing and helping one another.
Here's all of the episodes I watched today (including today's YouTube "premiere" chat episode and the one I watched on Buzzr), so you can enjoy lots more Match Game after dark too!
2 comments:
Dear God, Gene looks like a picnic blanket.
Doesn't he? (Falls over laughing, because Linda's right.) ;)
Post a Comment