Of Mothers and Matches

Began the morning with a quick breakfast and one of the many CDs I've picked up recently. Live at the World Cafe has long been a nonprofit venue for local indie bands in the Philly and South Jersey area to get exposure, and it's one of the long-running shows on NPR radio station WXPN. Research reveals that they started releasing CDs based on the series in 1997 and continued to through at least 2019. The only name I recognized is Suzanne Vega, but considering I picked up the CD for free, I was willing to try something different. Along with Vega's "Frank & Eva," other decent numbers include Iron & Wine's "Boy With a Coin," "She Tried to Hold Me" by the Waterboys, and "On Peak Hill" by Stars.

Headed off to work as the CD ended. Though the streets were wet and it was cold and windy, it wasn't raining. I figured I'd be fine taking my bike to work, and I was. It remained cloudy and cold all day, but other than some very mild spitting around noon, it hasn't rained again. 

It wasn't bad at the Acme when I arrived or when I left. People started coming out of church around 11:30-12 to pick up flowers and a nice dinner for Mom. Fortunately, we had plenty of help. There were two people in the floral department and two baggers all day. I did returns, pushed carts, wiped up water dripped and spilled from all those bouquets being bought in the floral department, and helped consolidate buckets of flowers as they emptied. Texted Mom to wish her a Happy Mother's Day during lunch. 

I was so thirsty after work, I thought I'd pick up a treat. Stopped at Common Grounds Coffee for an iced tea. Thought I'd try "Very Berry Matcha," a matcha tea drink with strawberry syrup topped with freeze-dried strawberries. Oooh, yum! Sweet and earthy and just enough berry flavor. The small Very Berry Matcha donut wasn't bad, either.

Changed when I got home and listened to more of my recent CD finds. Since I have a ton of Frank Sinatra, I thought I'd branch out and pick up music from some of the other Rat Pack members. Dean Martin's specialties were laid-back ballads and Italian-flavored dance tunes. I heard a lot of him in college after his lounge-y style made him popular during the neo-swing revival of the late 90's - early 2000's. "Ain't That a Kick In the Head" has always been my favorite from him, though I think the songs most associated with him today are "That's Amore" and "You're Nobody 'Till Somebody Loves You." Other familiar songs here include "Everybody Loves Somebody," "Just In Time," and "Mambo Italiano." 

The Flamingos were one of the earliest popular R&B groups. "Golden Teardrops" was their first major hit. Today, they're probably best-remembered for their heartfelt covers of "Goodnight Sweetheart" and "I Only Have Eyes for You." Other good songs from the early era of rock include "That's My Desire," "Lovers Never Say Goodbye," and another decent cover, "Love Walked In." 

Worked on writing for a while. The rabbit leads Kathleen to a little cottage built into the side of a tree. It turns out to belong to an older woman who was out gathering fruit and vegetables. The lady recognizes Kathleen's bunny friend...and Kathleen herself...

Finished the night with dinner and the Match Game Mother's Day marathon. Mothers abounded on this show, from women like Bonnie Franklin of One Day at a Time and Esther Rolle of Good Times who played them on TV to the real mothers among the panelists and contestants. Jo Ann Pflug and Patti Deustch appeared on the show while pregnant. Patti's son Max and Gary Burghoff's daughter Gina appeared in Gene's arms to open a 1978 episode. This one also featured another TV mom, Hope Lange of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Elaine Joyce's darling daughter Taylor Van came onstage to show off her Polish dance costume during a syndicated episode. Brett proudly boasted about her pretty twentysomething daughter Leslie in the audience (who looked exactly like a redheaded version of her mother). 

Possibly the most memorable episode featuring a mother was the 1978 episode from the week with Joe Garagiola. The male contestant's pregnant wife was in the audience...despite having gone into labor. The contestant and his wife were pretty much the only people in the studio who weren't nervous about this! Gene and the panelists tried to rush the game along in order to get that mom-to-be to the hospital faster, which led to some pretty strange answers, even for this show. A few weeks later, the couple sent an announcement of their beautiful new baby boy to the show. Richard read the details on the air. 

Match the stars with your mom and some of the funniest mothers ever on television!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Mother's Day Marathon

Oh, and Mom called during the first hour of the marathon. She had a nice, quiet Mother's Day. Keefe, Julia, and Aurora went out to brunch with Julia's family. Mom decided she wanted some peace and opted to stay home. Even as she called, Keefe was making his three favorite ladies burgers on the grill. 

Here's hoping you had an equally fun Mother's Day matching with the mothers in your life!