On the Road Again

Began a beautiful and sunny morning with Green Eggs and Ham. "The Sam Who Came In From the Cold" is proud to deliver the Moo-Lacka-Moo to the Dooka (Hector Elizondo) with his mother. Even though he's glad to be eating green eggs and ham with her again, he's not as thrilled when he learns that the Moo-Lacka-Moo will be used to destroy the Yookia...and by extension, his friends. Meanwhile, Guy makes up with E.B by helping her to get Looka out of the dungeon.

Did some things online, then headed out. After I got sunburned on my arms and took a longer walk than planned yesterday, I debated taking a long ride today. The weather was just so nice, though, I couldn't bring myself to sit inside.

I was cutting through Audubon and across from Haddon Lake Park when I got a phone call. It was the Camden Housing Authority. They wanted to do a virtual interview with me and several other people...but they wanted to do it tomorrow morning, when I had work. And apparently, they hadn't gotten my college transcripts, even though I sent them. I said I'd try sending them again, and that we'd have to reschedule my interview for next week. I had so few hours this week, I really couldn't call out.

After checking Google Maps on my phone, I finally made my way through Haddon Heights and down to the Black Horse Pike. As I rode down the Pike, I saw a huge black horse statue with Del Buono's Bakery painted on it that was very hard to miss! In fact, the plain white building was surrounded by huge statues of the Blues Brothers, Pinocchio, a pink pig dressed as a baker, and enough animals to start a farm. 

The inside was equally interesting. An enormous machine in the very back spit hot, fresh rolls onto a conveyor belt. Shelves were jammed full of rolls, soft bagels, butter and chocolate chip cookies, cake, cannoli, soft pretzels, eclairs, and pastries. There was a deli in the main room as well. I ended up with a bag of two soft bagels and a raisin roll and two containers of Italian butter and chocolate cookies buy-one, get-one.

It took me a few more wrong turns (including my nerve-wracking cross over busy i-295), but I finally made it to Bellmawr around quarter of 1. After getting turned around near their massive library, I finally found what I'd come to see. The Community Thrift Store was tucked away in a random shopping center with a Mexican restaurant and dry cleaners. Frankly, they were a total mess. The clothes on the racks didn't look bad, but every other piece of junk had been dumped onto shelves every which way. There were only a few DVDs and no books, and all of the records were 12-inch-singles or damp and ruined. I was barely there for five minutes before I walked back out again with nothing.

It wasn't a total loss. In addition to the bakery, I passed the Club Diner on my way up the Pike. The red, blue, and chrome building was worth crossing the street for. I slid into a small booth and had a tasty Monte Cristo ham and turkey sandwich on French toast, with fries, an iced tea, and a salad. (There was also a tiny cup of cole slaw, but it was kind of sour.)

Backtracked a block to Royal Farms. They're pretty much identical to WaWa, down to the gas station and the exact same set-up for their self checkout kiosks. They even have identical sales. I bought a Strawberry Lemonade Propel for the ride home and the buy Mountain Dew Zero and Baja Blast Zero, get them for 2 each for later.

This time, I stuck to the Black Horse Pike going home. Checked out a party store in Mt. Ephraim on my way down the road. They were better-organized, with what amounted to a dollar store in front and a party store in back. Once again, there was nothing interesting.

Followed the Black Horse Pike all the way down to the exit into Oaklyn. Thought about getting ice cream, but Phillies Yummies was two and three deep with kids just out of school. I opted for a tart elderberry hibiscus iced tea at Common Grounds Coffee House instead.

Went straight into today's movie for review when I got home. I go further into the Paramount early sound musical Honey at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Honey (1930)

Rebought the transcripts while the movie was on. This time, I send them to my e-mail, then e-mailed it to the Camden Housing Authority. I hope it worked this time. I haven't heard otherwise, at any rate.

Switched to writing after the movie ended. Kathleen can't help noticing that all of the spring flowers and leaves retreat when Lady Jacqueline and Lord Jerrick appear, and the temperature drops at least ten degrees. She wonders where Sir Michael is, as he's nowhere to be found in the coach. Jacqueline claims he'll join them at a later date.

Broke for dinner and Match Game '73. Buzzr is now on the wild week that introduced "Dean of Game Shows" Bill Cullen to the show. We also have Loretta Swit, and one of the few rock stars to appear on the show, jovial Cass Elliot. I really wish Cass could have turned up again. Despite the barrage of weight jokes she got from Richard and Brett, she was laid-back, very funny, and a good player. It's too bad she passed away before she could come back.

Finished the night listening to some of the record collections I acquired this weekend, starting with Make Believe Ballroom Time. As I mentioned a few days ago, I first heard this in college, when someone donated a pile of old records to the Stockton Media Center.  I'd only read about songs like the movie theme song waltz "Jeannie, I Dream of Lilac Time" and the sweet "I'll Always Be In Love With You" in books before I found this. Other songs are less obscure today, including the original "Charleston," "The Sheik of Araby," "Me and My Shadow," and "Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye." (And one, "Happy Days are Here Again," is actually a cheat - it's from the 1930 movie Chasing Rainbows.)  

Lovely to Look At is MGM's 1954 version of the 30's musical-operetta hybrid Roberta. It wasn't a hit at the time, but some of its songs live up to the title. Ann Miller has fun with "I'll Be Hard to Handle." Howard Keel does well by the title song and is joined by a supremely sarcastic Kathryn Grayson for "You're Devastating." Grayson also gets this show's major standard, the ballad "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," while Marge and Gower Champion do a lively "I Won't Dance."

Brigadoon is also an MGM Broadway adaptation from 1954 and also wasn't a hit at the time. Otherwise, this bittersweet Scottish fantasy is about as different from Lovely to Look At as you can get. Though you can't see Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse's stunning ballet to "The Heather On the Hill," you can hear Kelly sing my favorite song from this score, "Almost Like Being In Love."