Balance On a Hot Day

Slept in and spent so much time writing in my journal and finishing Against the Currant, it was 12:30 before I got moving. Watched PAW Patrol while eating brunch. "Sea Patrol: Pirate Pups to the Rescue" has Ryder and the Pups responding to a distress message from their friend Carlos and his Chihuahua Tracker. The duo were hunting for treasure on a remote tropical island and were stranded after a booby trap left Tracker's tent at sea. They first have to get around more booby traps, then need to rescue Carlos after the song from a magic flute hypnotizes the jungle animals and they carry him away in the treasure chest.

Did some stuff online for the next hour and a half or so. The truth is, I'm bored. I'm really bored. I'm stuck at a standstill with nothing happening. If the Acme is going to continue to give me lousy hours, I need something to do. I just wish I knew what that was. I looked up yoga studios online, but I finally decided it was too hot to be doing poses in a steamy studio.

I eventually just broke for lunch at quarter after 2. Watched the 24/7 Murder She Wrote streaming channel while I ate. Jessica is upset when her friend in Texas who owns a trucking company may lose his business after a shipment of computers going to NASA is stolen. The man (Earl Holliman) is having his own problems. His son (Patrick Wayne) seemingly prefers playing with a band at a local road house than working in his father's business. He's even more devastated when his son is accused of turning the ex-husband of his waitress girlfriend into "Roadkill." Turns out the guy was involved in far more nefarious dealings than arguments over a girl, including a smuggling ring.

After lunch, I just went out for a walk in Newton Lake Park. I couldn't think of anything else to do. At least it was hot and dry, but not to the degree that it's supposed to be tomorrow, and there's still that nice breeze. I sat on a bench for a few minutes and tried to communicate with nature, listening to the animals chatter and the wind rustle the leaves over my head. I even saw a family of Canadian geese all in a row step into the water, with two parents floating out to check out the water while their goslings and two older siblings stayed in formation.

Stopped at Dollar General for a drink. I thought of buying watercolor paint, but I don't want to pick up something, then get bored and stop doing it. I'm tired of wasting time and money on things that I just don't finish. I have at least five different stories going right now that I've started, but haven't finished. I just can't figure out where to go with them. I bought a Propel and a Diet Mountain Dew for later and walked home.

Finally did yoga myself in my bedroom. I never did get rid of my yoga mat. I have that box of illustrated yoga moves, too. They don't really give you instruction on how to do them. I haven't done yoga in over a decade. I ended up looking for them online. I really had a hard time with balance. I just can't stand on one foot without wobbling and nearly falling over. I can't lift myself very well, either. I wasn't even going to try headstands! At the least, I did feel a little bit better after having done it

Watched Mo' Better Blues while I worked. I go further into this 1990 jazz drama with Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes as rival jazz musicians at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Mo' Better Blues

It was 7:30 before I finally broke for dinner. Ate while watching Match Game '79. For some reason, Buzzr jumped way back to mid-'79. Gene reveals how out-of-touch he and Charles often were when they admit they've never heard of the song "See You In September." An audience member sings it for them, and rather well, too.

Finished the night with more of my recent CD acquisitions as I worked on my review, starting with SPF 16: Summer Party Favorites in honor of the first day of summer. The reason I bought this is the sheer variety of summer-themed songs on this disc. We get everything from "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince to "Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer" by Nat King Cole to "Southern Nights" by Glenn Campbell. Other unexpected tracks are "My Sharona" by the Knack, the theme from the original Hawaii 5-0 by the Ventures, and "Rio" by Duran Duran.

The Great Songs of George Gershwin features some of his most popular work in honor of his 100th birthday in 1998. This is another eclectic collection, with selections ranging from Judy Garland singing "Swanee" on the Star Is Born soundtrack to George Benson doing a jazzy "A Foggy Day" to a lovely and previously unreleased version of "The Can't Take That Away From Me" by Mildred Bailey and Her Orchestra. We also have some summer music here, too, with "Summertime" by Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra and "It Ain't Necessarily So" by Aretha Franklin.

Cannonball Adderly is one of the many jazz greats of the 50's and 60's I've been listening to on YouTube while puttering around online late at night. Most of the numbers on The Best of Cannonball Adderly: The Capitol Years are live recordings from the 1960's. I like his earlier stuff better; "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" was especially good. 

Harts In the Western Heat

Began the morning with breakfast and All-Star Laff-a-Lympics. The first half in Athens is a showcase for basic track and field. The Really Rottens' cheating manages to trip the Scooby Doobies up twice in pole vaulting and discus throw. Yogi jumps over it in the vaulting, while Grape Ape helps Yakky Doodle deal with the discus. Bit surprised Daisy Mayhem was nowhere to be seen during the second half in the Ozarks. This seems like her turf. Maybe she was visiting relatives. The Scoobys came back from the trouble in the first half with Abu using a little magic to avoid the Rottens in the keel boat race and Dynomutt and Blue Falcon making a strong showing in the rail cart race.

Headed off to work after that. It wasn't that bad in the morning. A strong breeze kept it from feeling too hot. We were a lot busier than usual for a middle-of-the-month Wednesday, too. I wondered why...until I remembered that today is Juneteenth. Many people, especially in Camden, probably had today off. I think most of the kids are out of school by now too, and would have been even if the weather behaved better. Thankfully, other than having to put away a few cold items, there were no major problems.

By the time I got off, the heat had risen into the mid-90's. Even the warm breeze couldn't help now. I stopped at Common Grounds Coffee House for a cold, very sweet iced chai latte and macarons, and then went to the pretzel shop and got regular Philly pretzels for later and a can of Diet Coke. Common Grounds was busy; the pretzel shop was not.

Watched The Price Is Right on Buzzr when I got home. I think these episodes are from the mid-80's, probably right before Johnny Olson died. Bob has dark hair, the models wear suits and have big hair, and the ladies are in ruffly blouses, long skirts, and pantsuits. A lady only got one punch on Punch-a-Bunch, but it was enough for the top prize. An Air Force officer didn't do quite as well on Now and Then. After having waited the entire show, another lady in a striped pantsuit not only finally made it onstage at the last moment, she wound up with her Showcase, too.

Put on Dodge City while relaxing over popcorn and Propel. Errol Flynn stars as Wade Hatton, a cattle driver who helps bring the train to the title town. It also brings a wave of lawlessness that results in a series of sheriffs being killed or driven away and a little boy (Bobs Watson) dying in a gunfight. Abbie Irving (Olivia De Havilland), who saw her brother (William Lundigan) die in a stampede and Hatton shoot him while leading their wagon train out west, is less impressed. 

Her uncle (Henry Travers) tries to get Hutton to become sheriff and confront saloon owner Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot) and his gang, but he refuses...until he sees that little boy die. He then proceeds to clean up the town, arresting anyone who so much as starts a minor altercation on a Sunday. Abbie and reporter Joe Clements (Frank McHugh) have enough dirt on Surrett to get it into court. When he kills Joe, Hatton tries to get Abbie out of town and bring Surrett's man Yancy (Victor Jory) to trial, but Surrett is on their trail, and he'll literally burn the train they're on down to keep his criminal empire going.

Enjoyable Technicolor action was Flynn's first western and one of his best. De Haviland more than matches him as the strong-willed frontierswoman who won't back down to Surrett or anyone, McHugh is a lot less whiny than usual as the crusading journalist, and Alan Hale and Guinn "Big Boy" Williams are having a lot of fun as Hatton's freewheeling but loyal deputies. If you ever wanted to see Flynn clean up the west - or are fans of good-old fashioned, good guys-vs-bad guys western tales - this is one trip to Kansas that's worth taking that burning train for.

I enjoyed the western so much, I thought I might try taking a crack at the Match Game western again. I mostly just cleaned up a lot of spelling and editing mistakes. I applied for a receptionist job at a realty office in Stratford, too.

Broke for dinner and Match Game Syndicated at 7 PM. Holly Hallstrom of The Price Is Right made her first appearance in these episodes, joining big Jim Staal, an unshaven Bart Braverman, and her fellow redhead Debralee Scott. Gene got a little too into his kissing Holly in the first episode, to the point where Bill Daily had to get between them. We're also introduced to a private detective in LA to consult on a TV show. Gene is given a stick with mink on it - the panel calls it a "minksicle" - for kissing his aunt. 

Finished the night with classic TV action shows featuring male-female duos. Jennifer and Johnathan are enjoying a quiet night out for Chinese in the first season of Hart to Hart when an Asian man literally falls dead on their table, begging them to protect the man with the jade eyes and return him to their temple. Turns out that the man is a solid gold Buddha statue that belongs to a non-violent Asian religious group. Two shady characters have less-spiritual designs on the golden man as well.

Amanda King of The Scarecrow and Mrs. King is set for a quiet "Weekend" doing work at home when federal agent Lee "Scarecrow" Stetson convinces her to pose as his wife at a luxury resort to prevent a kidnapping. Not only do they not prevent it, but Amanda is taken too when she witnesses the incident. 

The Heat Is On

Began the morning with breakfast and Charlie and Lola. Lola is very superstitious and believes "Never, Ever Step On the Cracks" because Charlie said there's bears under there, and then her friends claimed lions and crocodiles live there, too. Charlie regrets his teasing when she won't move anywhere at all. He has to show her that superstitions are just stories, and nothing is out to get her.

Karen picked me up promptly at 10 AM. We did apply for a document specialist/customer service job at a law office, but found nothing else. I apologized to her all the way back. She says it's not my fault, external factors are at play, but...it is my fault. I'm the one who is stuck. I'm neither interested in, nor know anything about health care, law, senior care, or cars, and that seems to be what most jobs revolve around. And Karen says she's retiring next week! I'll get a new counselor, but I probably won't hear from them until after the 4th of July holidays.

I felt terrible after Karen explained her retirement and that she felt guilty for not being able to help more. It's my fault, not hers. I should have done more. I needed a walk, and I didn't care how hot it was. Besides, I can no longer push the bottom of my electric toothbrush closed. I needed a new one. Stopped at Dollar General and picked up a good Oral B, along with Propel. Went to CVS to see if they had heads for it there. They didn't, so I quickly left with nothing.

My original thought for lunch was Sakura Japanese Steakhouse. I haven't eaten there since they opened. I thought the sign said open, but the door was locked. Unlike many small businesses on the White Horse Pike, they are open all week. I think they might have switched to all-takeout after the pandemic began. Ended up buying a fish sandwich at a quiet Crown Chicken and Gyro instead. 

Watched Mickey Mouse Funhouse while I ate lunch. Mickey and the gang go on a "Pirate Adventure" when Captain Salty Bones invites them on the biggest treasure hunt ever! They have to earn badges and brave geysers that gush in time to music, ride a huge catfish in the swamp, and figure out how to get across a rickety rope bridge without falling off. Even when they get to the treasure, there's still Captain Wheezelene and her cowardly weasel crew to deal with.

Settled down for Cindy on YouTube next. I go further into this 1978 TV musical with an all-black cast set during World War II in Harlem at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Musicals On TV - Cindy (1978)

I worked on my review while listening to some of the many records I picked up during vacation. I totally don't remember Give My Regards to Broad Street, other than "No More Lonely Nights" being a hit in the mid-80's. Apparently, the strange movie with Paul McCartney chasing the thief who stole his music is just plain weird, but the album has some merits. In addition to "Nights," we have some decent covers of McCartney's older Beatles and Wings music, including a rather lovely symphonic "Eleanor Rigby" called "Eleanor's Dream." Probably not the most necessary thing in the world if you just want "Nights," but worth hearing for fans of McCartney and his work.

Star Power is one of K-Tel's many pop and disco collections, this one from 1978. It may be one of the best of their late-70's disco-themed albums. Among my favorites here are "Help Is On Its Way" by the Little River Band, "Heaven On the 7th Floor" by Paul Nicholas, "On and On" by Stephen Bishop, "It's Sad to Belong" by England Dan and John Ford Coley, "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, and "Undercover Angel" by Alan O'Day.

The Julie Andrews World War I musical Darling Lili was a huge flop in 1970, just as epic musicals were starting to go out of fashion. It certainly wasn't the fault of the music. The moody "Whistling Away the Dark" was the hit here, and it sounds sensational on Andrews. She also does well by "I'll Give You Three Guesses." The chorus gets the lovely title song and the big drinking number "Skal." 

It was past 7:30 when I finally got around to dinner and Match Game Syndicated. The show began with Gene repeating the story of how that officer accidentally kicked Eva Gabor's poor foot and ripped off the toenail, praising Eva for being a trooper and staying to do the remaining episode, despite it really hurting. She spent the next day with ice on her toe, eating chocolates. Betty White is more nervous about a big "__ the Table" Head-to-Head match. There's also all the varying answer to where someone would open a strange disco.

Finished the nights with more new records and CDs, this time Broadway cast albums. High Button Shoes revolved around the adventures of the Longstreet family as they run afoul of a con-artist (Phil Silvers) and his partner (Joey Faye) in turn of the 20th century Atlantic City. There were two big hits here, the sprightly polka "Papa, Won't You Dance With Me?" and "I Still Get Jealous" that were introduced by Mama (Nanette Fabray) and Papa (Jack McCauley) Longstreet, and there's also the chorus number "On a Sunday By the Sea." 

Actually, the best-known aspect of this nowadays is "The Bathing Beauty Ballet." Too bad we don't actually get to see Jerome Robbins' inventive farcical choreography along with the music. It's so well remembered, it would be recreated for Jerome Robbins' Broadway in 1989 and the recent Encores concert in 2019. 

The 1999 Annie Get Your Gun revival was so successful, it ran almost as long as the original in 1946. On one hand, I am glad they restored two of my favorite songs from this show. The charming "Who Do You Love, I Hope?" and "I'll Share It All With You" are nicely performed by Andrew Palermo and Nicole Ruth Snelson. Peters, however, is trying way too hard as Annie, and Tom Wopat isn't the singer she is (though his "Girl That I Marry" does come off well). They do better by "Anything You Can Do" - and you do believe Peters can hold that note longer than him! 

What to Do Next?

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Donald is upset when he doesn't get any mail, so the others put together a box with their favorite things that might cheer him up. They just have to get "Donald's Special Delivery" past Postman Pete and his stamps

After I ate, I made an eye doctor's appointment for next Thursday, then called Uber. The driver arrived in less than 8 minutes. She was a pleasant older woman driving a big truck. Turns out she lived near the Outlets in Blackwood and had wanted to go home and get something anyway. She'd drop me off on the way. There was no traffic anywhere, not even the lunch rush on the highways. She pulled up in front of the Blackwood Outlets by 12:30. 

Why did I come back here when I was here with Lauren and Jessa last week? I wanted to focus on finding sneakers for work and to run errands in. I keep wearing out my sneakers in 6 months or less wearing them for work and to do everything else. I spent the next two hours going in and out of almost every shoe store in the mall. (I'm not a fan of Puma or Nike.) I was hoping to find the same New Balance trainers I buy on Amazon, but the one time I saw anything like them, they were really expensive. 

I did pick up a pair of Reeboks for running errands in. They're really cute, too, with pink and white trim and bright pink and purple floral backs. Found them for $39.99 at the Reeboks store. Beyond the cute print, it was one of the only stores that didn't require you to buy one, get one half-off for a sale. 

The only other place to have lunch besides Friendly's (and the snacks counter at Dave & Buster's) is Starbucks. Thankfully, by the time I got over there around quarter after 2, there was no line. The spinach, egg, cheese, and pepper wrap was kind of mushy, but the peach green tea lemonade was incredible, just sweet enough without the extra sugar. 

I ate outside in the main commons area. It was a far nicer day than the recent weather reports had led me to believe. Yes, it was sunny and warm, in the lower 90's, but dry temperatures and a deliciously cool breeze kept it from feeling overbearing. 

There were ads all over the mall for Ginny's cookie and ice cream treats. Since I couldn't decide if I wanted cookies or ice cream, I tried an ice cream sandwich. Theirs is made with soft serve between two cookies. The sugar sprinkle cookies weren't bad, crispy in all the right places. The peanut butter soft serve was a little on the bland side. I didn't really taste the peanut butter. I think I might stick to their cookies when I want to splurge at the mall and get ice cream from Hershey's or Haagen Daas. I did like their cookies so much, I took three more home to try later. The macadamia white chocolate could have had bigger white chocolate pieces, but the heart-shaped frosted butter cookies were sweet, rich, and yummy.

I hadn't found sneakers for work, and I picked up anything else I wanted last week. I just ended up calling a ride home at quarter of 3. I probably should have waited. It took 20 minutes for for the driver to get there. At least he was pretty fast once he did arrive. The traffic was largely going in the other direction. I got home by a little past 3:30. 

It was such a nice day, I went for a walk after I got in to clear my head. I guess I'm feeling a little down. I really don't want to go back to the Acme. The more I stay away, the more I realize how much I dislike that job. I miss Lauren, too. I wish I could meet more people around here like her. I badly want a home of my own and a decent job, but I don't seem to be getting any closer to finding either. 

I walked through the park, listening as the wind rustled through the trees. It's pretty much summer here now. The leaves are big and green, and the gardens are bursting with tiger lilies and big bright blue hydrangeas. Saw two little chipmunks darting across the path; watched a robin chatter to a friend as I relaxed on the stone bench near the back entrance to the park on Bettlewood. 

Did job searching when I got home. No luck here. I haven't heard from anyone in ages. I did apply on Indeed to a floor covering office in Cherry Hill. I just wish I knew what kind of work was really, truly right for me. I need something with health insurance that will make me enough money to buy a condo, something that I really want to do and enjoy doing. 

Listened to Bernadette Peters Loves Rogers & Hammerstein while I worked. Peters' covers of Rogers and Hammerstein's music comes out a little better than her solo album. For one thing, we get the rare "I Haven't Got a Worry In the World," which the duo wrote for a play. Other good songs here include "The Gentleman Is a Dope" from Allegro, "Mister Snow" and "If I Loved You" from Carousel, and "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" from South Pacific. 

Put on Match Game Syndicated during dinner at 7 PM. In the first episode, David Doyle, who was sitting in Charles' seat while he was away, wore his own sailor's cap and did his best impression of him for his unamused best friend Brett. In the second episode, the turntable moved too quickly after the game ended, cutting a very annoyed Gene off before he could tell the loser what prizes they got!

Finished the night on YouTube honoring Pride Month and Juneteenth with game shows featuring beloved black and gay performers. Charles Nelson Reilly, for instance, was told a gay man would never work on television. Nowadays, he's probably best-known for his work on TV, including his off-and-on stint on the 70's-80's Match Game. He turned up on many other game shows, too. He was one of the first celebrities to appear on Super Password, with Abby Dalton in the episode here.

Paul Lynde ruled Hollywood Squares from his domain in the center square during the 1970's. As long as he had a script, he was the king of witty zingers. He was in the center square for so long, he remains associated with the show and the center spot to this day. 

Author and comedienne Fannie Flagg was also a regular on Match Game in the 70's and 80's. She made her last appearance on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1984. Other actors joining her here include Tom Villard, Leonard Frey, the adorable cool older lady Nedra Volz, and soap star Anna Stuart. 

Manic Jm J. Bullock could get annoying on shows where he actually had to sit down (like Match Game), but he was a natural for Body Language. He not only had a great time contorting his body to represent the word in question, he and his contestant managed to beat big former football star-turned-host Lynn Swann.

Poet Laureate of Television Nipsey Russell was equally at home on The $100,000 Pyramid. After spouting his usual poem in the beginning, he did his best to help the contestant to victory. Sweet Teresa Ganzel did even better, helping her contestant to blast through the Winner's Circle in near-record time.

Sammy Davis Jr. turned up many times on the panel shows of the 50's and 60's. Check him out in this vintage 1955 episode of What's My Line. He sports a dashing eye patch and changes his voice ever time someone talks to him. It almost worked, until Arlene Francis caught on. Cab Calloway, the Hi-De-Ho man himself, had his own fun playing stunts on the early 70's syndicated version of Beat the Clock. 

Take My Word For It was a San Francisco-based version of the describe-the-weird-word format that would eventually evolve into Wordplay in the late 80's. Frisco native Jim Lange led four celebrities, including Roxy Roker of The Jeffersons, through odd descriptions of even stranger vocabulary. The contestants have to figure out which celebrity is giving the real description. 

There's so much to celebrate in June! Honor Pride Month and Juneteenth with these hilarious episodes!

What's My Line? (1955)

Beat the Clock (1971)

Hollywood Squares (1975)

Match Game (1976)

Take My Word For It (1983)

The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (1984) 

Super Password (1984)

Body Language (1985)

The $100,000 Pyramid (1985) 

Satisfy My Soul

I slept in today and got so caught up finishing Murder Lo Mein and reading the pieces about a dad and his little girl and the chapter from Cheaper By the Dozen in the Colliers Harvest of Holidays, it was past 12:30 when I finally rolled out of bed and had a quick breakfast. Listened to the Bob Marley Legend greatest hits CD collection while I ate. I've heard a lot of Marley's music all my life without actually knowing it. I first encountered "Jammin'" on the soundtrack for old family favorite Captain Ron, and I know I've run into "Buffalo Soldier" elsewhere as well. Other favorites here include "Could You Be Loved," "Get Up Stand Up," and the original "I Shot the Sheriff." 

Headed to Collingswood on my bike around 1 PM. It was too nice of a day to waste inside, whether I had a dad or not. As I was riding across the parking lot behind the Collingswood Senior Center, I heard music and voices. I went to the other end of the block and discovered a Juneteeth fair, with people selling African crafts at booths, children throwing bean bags into a wooden board, and step dancers in bright pink and black doing a really nifty number. I watched the group and applauded them, then moved on. 

I next stopped at a very busy Haddon Culinary first. Ordered half of their turkey club sandwich on a whole-wheat roll with their house-made potato chips. Picked up a "cactus rose" sparkling water, too. Passed families and couples eating at the benches alongside the building, including a couple with a handsome golden retriever and a man with two frisky little pomeranians. 

Took my lunch down Haddon and Collings to Knight Park for a late spring picnic. After riding around for a bit, I settled at a bright blue metal picnic bench under a grove of shady trees. The sandwich was good, with real turkey slices and thick tomatoes...but the real stand-outs were the potato chips. They were by far the best chips I've ever had. They were thick, earthy, crunchy, and not a bit greasy, with just enough seasoning. I may have to go back sometime and get more of them. 

It was such a gorgeous day, I continued riding around the park, watching kids play in the playground (even the rusty log cabin-themed one), walk dogs, play catch with their parents, and go for bike rides. Enjoyed the ride and the sunny, breezy day so much, I continued through Collingswood, admiring the older homes and Art Deco-esque church. It was quiet for a Sunday holiday. Many people may have gone away to the Shore with their dads this weekend. I saw a few people walking dogs and some kids on their bikes.

Rode across the White Horse Pike to explore the stores on Collings Avenue in West Collingswood. I stopped at what proved to be a small deli and convenience store that advertised having water ice. Turned out to be scoops in paper cups nestled in the cooler with the ice cream novelties. I bought a Coke Zero and what turned out to be rainbow. Enjoyed them on the brick risers outside of the store.

Hit the shower soon as I got home, then finished Bob Marley while doing job hunting. I really wonder if I'm barking up the wrong tree. I should know what I want to do, like every adult, but I don't. All I've ever wanted to do is write, but how can I turn that into a career? Is it really the right thing for me? What is the right thing for me? 

Switched to the Little River Band Greatest Hits CD while looking up some things online. I used to hear these guys a lot on the radio when I was a young kid. Some of my favorites from them include "Lonesome Loser," "Cool Change," "Reminiscing," "Down On the Border," and "Happy Anniversary Baby." 

Finished out the night on YouTube with the Match Game Father's Day marathon. Actually, this marathon originally ran in 2021, but since I missed more than half the original broadcast due to work, I had no trouble with the repeat. Match Game did have its fair share of dads who turned up during the original run. Michael Landon was on the very first week in 1973. Tom Bosley turned up for a memorable week in 1975. David Doyle is best-known to 90's Nickelodeon fans as the original voice of Grandpa Pickles in Rugrats. Donald Ross appeared with his wife Patti Deustch in 1974. Their toddler son Max would be seen with Gary Burghoff's darling daughter Gina in Gene's arms in 1978. 

Other real-life dads appeared on the show as well. Richard Dawson was the proud single father of two teen sons. He brought the younger, Gary, onstage briefly for his birthday in 1974. Jack Klugman had two sons with Brett Somers whom Brett spoke of frequently. Robert Pine was as handsome in 1979 during his run on CHiPs as his son Chris Pine would be in later years. McLean Stevenson's smart and pretty daughter Jennifer would appear onstage in 1978. In 1981, he brought two kids onstage to get sweaters; one giggly little girl even helped him play the game.

Bring your dad to play along with some of the wackiest dads ever on television in this adorable marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Father's Day Marathon

Sleepy Harvest

Got a really quick start this morning! I had a lot to do, so I ate breakfast really fast, then gathered the last of my donations. When I was out with Lauren on Thursday, I noticed a sign at Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church in Audubon for their bi-weekly thrift shop. Instead of turning my donations (including the old oversized purse) over to Goodwill or dumping them in a bin, I thought I'd leave it with them.

Rushed over around quarter of 11 and left my bag at the front desk. They were really busy with people searching through shelves and shelves of books, boxes of CDs, tables of toys and dishware, and huge racks of clothes. I didn't see any CDs or records that interested me, and it was too busy in the main room for me to check out the clothes. I just ended up with a copy of the Fannie Flagg novel Welcome to the World, Baby Girl. 

Dashed back down the White Horse Pike and across Oaklyn to Collingswood for this week's Farm Market. I arrived in time for the last half-hour. Even at that late hour, I still dodged people picking up produce for their Father's Day barbecues and graduation parties. The summer produce is just starting to roll out. Saw the first cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, and peaches of the season. Bought strawberries and cherries from the berries booth, blueberries from the booth with the corn later in the summer, and a big loaf of multi-grain bread from the Lost Bread Co tent. 

Went across the street to WaWa after that to pick up a much-needed Propel. While not killer hot like it's supposed to be next week, it's still very warm and fairly humid, probably in the mid-80's. I needed hydration badly. 

Made one last stop up at the pretzel shop on the way home for lunch. Grabbed a cheesesteak-filled and two regular pretzels. The place was pretty busy. A woman waited for her order while I got mine; a dad came in with two daughters as I left.

Put on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood as I had lunch. I'm not the only one picking up fruit today. It's "Fruit Picking Day" in the Neighborhood, too. Daniel and Prince Wednesday are disappointed that they're too small to reach the fruit...but they're also small enough to get the golden pear Queen Sarah wanted out from under the roots of a tree. "Daniel Is Big Enough to Help Dad" hold and paint the door to his new playhouse and hold the cabinet door for his mom while she glues the knob on.

Watched Rock-a-Bye Baby after lunch. I go further into this farcical musical with Jerry Lewis as a TV repairman who finds himself caring for abandoned triplets at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Father's Day! - Rock-a-Bye Baby

Went down for a nap after that. I was dead tired. I've been going non-stop for the past two weeks. Fell into bed at 4 and didn't get up until 6.

I awoke just in time for today's Match Game marathon. Today's theme was bad answers and tearing things up, whether it was the aforementioned bad answers or the time Charles tore his toupee off his head during a PM episode and gave it to a personable but balding young man. Sometimes, someone would blurt an answer, like Buck Owens or Jack Albertson did (or even Gene a few times), and producer Ira Skutch would come out with a replacement question. Other times, Brett would tear up an answer she didn't approve of or thought was bad. And several times, someone would strike out in the Audience Match and not make it to the Head-to-Head bonus round at all. 

There were at least two PM episodes where the contestants struck out completely on the Audience Match and didn't make it to the Head-to-Head. The first time this happened, the contestant just disappeared afterwards. Richard read a hilarious letter as a monologue in his Newkirk Cockney accent instead. The second time it happened, they let the lady answer a question and match the contestants for $100 each. She went home with six hundred dollars and a smile on her face.

Rip it up with the panelists as we see some of the all-time craziest answers in this unique marathon!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Throw It Out & Rip It Up Edition

The Good Life

Got up early this morning to drop Lauren off. Her train left at 8:30 AM. She was watching The Price Is Right when I was finally ready to go. I called Uber...and considering it was 7:30, I was surprised to get one in three minutes. Lauren wasn't quite ready herself, but we finally got her luggage loaded and off to Philly within a few minutes. We did hit traffic on the Schuylkill River, but arrived at 30th Street Station by ten after 8.

Shortly after we got in, they started lining up for Lauren's train. I gave her a hug and let her go there. We always have fun together, and this extra-long trip was no exception. I bought a drink from the Dunkin Donuts' counter, waved good-bye to her as she boarded the train, and headed out myself. 

Once again, I had no trouble getting a driver, despite it being 8:30. He arrived in four minutes. This time, we hit no traffic anywhere, not even on the bridge going past an empty Citizen's Bank Park. I was back in Oaklyn within 20 minutes.

Went inside, grabbed a bag and my bike, and went back out. I had grocery shopping to do and errands to run. First, however, I wanted breakfast. Since I had to hit Target and Sprouts, I ate at the Westmont Bagel Shop. Had a tasty egg white and vegetable omelet with provolone cheese, hash browns, and a blueberry bagel. I ate the bagel and the omelet, but had no room left for most of the potatoes. 

Hit Target next. They still didn't have the vitamins I wanted. I ended up buying a larger bottle of Target's generic women's gummy vitamins that was only slightly more expensive.

Didn't need a whole lot at Sprouts, either. Took advantage of clearance sales to pick up Annie's Organic granola bars on a good sale.  Decided to try their new cherry granola cookies. Got my coconut milk here, too.

Rode down the hill and past the fast food restaurants and Haddon Township High School to the Westmont Acme. I mainly needed to restock yogurt. Ollipop was 4 for 10, 50 cents off one with an online coupon. The Jiff peanut butter was finally on sale, too. Grabbed apple butter and more Kind bars on clearance. None of the stores were remotely busy. I was in and out of each in 20 minutes.

Took Newton Lake Park going home. By this point, it was almost noon. I saw kids lining up for Mr. Softee and considered joining them. The line was so long and daunting that I decided I'd wait and get ice cream later. Pushed my bike on the trail over the hill and past the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Society building, passing another guy coming down with his bike on my way.

Watched the 1986 Card Sharks when I got home. They were in the midst of their Young People's Week. I got to see a boy just barely beat a slightly older girl, then pick up good cash and a trip to Hawaii. Two more kids were working their way thought the board as they ended.

Switched to Peanuts by Schultz as I had lunch and checked my schedule. Though this was technically supposed to be set in spring, most of it either revolves around Snoopy's eccentricities or the infamous kite Charlie Brown can't fly. In "No Strings Attached," Lucy gives Snoopy Charlie's kite when he's fed it up with it not flying. Lucy comes to blows with Snoopy, whom she sees as a "Crazy Mutt." 

We see what happened when Lucy learned she had a new baby brother and why Re-Run hates outings with his mother in "The Last of the Bunch." Lucy tells Charlie to make his own "Philosophy," which Sally is much better at. Charlie has to remind her that "Being Nice" is more important when he writes her letter to Grandma.

Incidentally, I barely have a schedule next week. I don't work again until Wednesday at the usual 9:30. I don't even work on Father's Day. I suspected this would be the case. It's probably the reason I got two weeks off with no fuss. I'll bet I made more money on vacation this week than I would have actually working. At least I do have a floral department day next Friday, probably to help with graduation bouquets.

Put on The Garfield Movie soundtrack while I put up the patriotic decorations. I would have done it before Lauren arrived, but I thought it would be a little much with all of her stuff, too. Spangle and Glory were joined by America Cares Bear, a mini-Spangle, and another mini Beanie Baby, Liberty. Three folk-art angels with u, s, and a on them went on the entertainment center next to the TV. The big folk art Uncle Sam is on the coffee table. Taped the big cardboard flag on the door to the bedroom. The smaller flags are on top of a record crate, the larger ones behind my collectible bears.

The hit on the Garfield soundtrack is the one heard throughout the film, "It's the Good Life" by Jon Batiste. Hannah Waddington's "I'm Back" number, with its comically scary lyrics and demands to her mooks throughout the song, is the other favorite here. Callum Scott also does a nice "Then There Was You."

Vacuumed and dusted the floor while listening to the Jane Powell triple-soundtrack. Royal Wedding is by far the best of the three movies highlighted here. We have two standards, Fred Astaire's "You're All the World to Me" (which he sings while literally dancing on the ceiling in the film) and Powell's "Too Late Now." Their comic tough-guy routine "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I've Been a Liar All My Life," is funny too. Carmen Miranda gets the best songs from Nancy Goes to Rio, "Love Is Like This" and "Magic Is In the Moonlight." The dull songs from Rich, Young, and Pretty aren't nearly at that level, though "Wonder Why?" isn't bad. 

I tried to go online, but I kept nodding off. I finally went down for a nap around 5:30, despite the heavy wind and continuing sticky heat. At least it was a bit cloudier by that point, and not as hot.

Awoke to heavy rain. I think I caught the tail end of a thunder storm. It was slowing down, even as I rolled out of bed. By the time I put on Match Game Syndicated and was trying to find something for dinner, it was long gone, though the heavy wind remained. Debralee Scott, Gary Collins, and Dick Martin join in to make fun of Gene's ugly tweed green and brown plaid suit in the beginning. North Jersey native Debralee later shows off a better New York accent than the contestant from Queens. Brett's delighted to be sitting between Bart Braverman and Robert Walden in the second episode.

Since it had cooled off considerably by 6:30, I went out for a walk. It must have dropped 20 degrees since I'd gone down for a nap. I've been wanting to try the new Hispanic ice cream parlor on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike since it opened, but it's only open after 5, and I never felt like going out then. Even with the heavy wind and cooler weather, they were still busy with kids getting sundaes and Mexican street corn. I went home with a large, tasty, and rather expensive coconut milkshake. At least it was sweet, cooling, and filled with actual coconut shreds.

Took a shower, then finished the night with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Future War was one of the most-recent movies they covered, having only debuted in 1997. A human from the past being used as a slave by cyborgs (Daniel Bernhardt) dodges the dinosaurs they use to track him by staying with a nun (Travis Brooks Stewart). They ultimately get help from a local gang she's had dealings with in the past.

Oooh boy. Ripe cheese of the cheapest sort. For one thing, as Crow points out, the title is a misnomer. They're not in the future, and there's no war. The acting is terrible. The dinosaurs move well enough, but they're totally out of place. The vast majority of the film involves people talking in dull warehouses. The whole thing is just flat out ridiculous. I wouldn't go anywhere near here without the robot wisecracks unless you really, really like cheesy sci-fi action from the 80's and the 90's. 

Thank You for Being a Friend

Began the morning with Family Feud. The competition between The Young and the Restless and The Price Is Right continues, this time with Restless as the big winner. Holly Hallstrom had by far the most fun as she teased the hot soap guy who would face off with her. There was also her rather violent answer to what she would do to her boss in her fantasies. (I think Bob Barker looked a little nervous.)

We headed out at around 11. This time, I called for Uber to get us there quicker. The pleasant gentleman picked us up in less than five minutes and pulled into the parking lot at the pizza parlor across from the Wal Mart in Somerdale in less than 10, hitting no traffic on the way.

Turns out it was too early for the pizza parlor to be open. We ended up at Applebee's instead. Lauren had two gift cards she wanted to get rid of. She had a sweet and spicy crispy chicken sandwich, while I went with a tasty grilled bacon ranch. We both had iced tea and perfectly seasoned skin-on fries.

The other reason we ate at Applebee's is it's right next to the Cinemark movie theater. I had that free pass leftover from a few weeks ago after my first attempt at seeing The Garfield Movie got cut short due to a fire alarm. There were no such problems this time. We slid in just as the commercials began.

Incidentally, The Wild Robot and Moana 2 win for the most interesting ads. Certainly, there's room for more of Moana's discoveries across the Pacific, while Wild Robot looks like a charming parable about connecting with nature. I'm not as sold on Mufasa: The Lion King after that photorealistic Lion King remake from 2019 turned out to be more boring than majestic. 

I'm not going into details on The Garfield Movie because of spoilers, but both of us ended up enjoying it a lot. It plays like a feature-length episode of Garfield & Friends or The Garfield Show, which tended to be more action-oriented than the slice-of-life comics. Chris Pratt is a delight as the fabulous feline, while Samuel L Jackson is hilarious as his con-artist father. Hannah Waddingham also has a marvelous turn as the Persian whose desire for revenge spurs the plot. The stretchy animation adds to the fun, especially the utterly darling kitten Garfield.

My one big complaint is I wish they'd done more with Jon. Garfield's relationship with Jon is a big part of the comics. It's barely explored here. I also wish there'd been less focus on characters we barely know. Critics have come down hard on this for not following the comics better. I say they have followed the source material. The more action-oriented cartoons often featured one-off characters who would never be seen again after the episode and heavier slapstick and violence than turned up in the comics. 

I say, if you're a fan of the Garfield TV shows who doesn't expect this to be exactly like the comics, this is worth checking out for the funny voice actors and animation alone. 

We hiked up the hill to WalMart next. As we headed past the crafts and pet items section, Lauren spied a display with t-shirts and other memorabilia from The Garfield Movie. She bought two t-shirts with Garfield and kitten Garfield on them. I couldn't find any shirts my size, but I did pick up the soundtrack. I also grabbed a Coke Zero, more of those Junkless granola bars and the raspberry lemonade Propel, and a five dollar copy of the Easter/springtime set for that French Peanuts show.

After we got out, we went down the hill to the White Horse Pike and waited for the bus. And waited. And waited some more. The bus took over a half-hour to arrive and was 15 minutes late. We figured out why when, in addition to rush-hour traffic on the White Horse Pike, it kept stopping every two blocks to pick up or drop off commuters.

Finally got off at Haddon Heights around 4 PM. Stopped at Local Links again for a drink. She got the Revolution Cold Brew again. I went with The Purity smoothie - oats, apples, vanilla, almond milk, and cinnamon. Oddly, I tasted more banana than apple, but it was still pretty good. 

There was still a little time before Anthony's Fine Italian Cuisine opened, so we returned to Station Avenue Antiques. I didn't buy anything this time, but Lauren got another necklace with a purple stone, stickers, and another mushroom pin.

We arrived at the door to Anthony's promptly at 5. Good thing, too. The place started filling up not 10 minutes after we arrived. Anthony's is an elegant, expensive Italian restaurant, with two kinds of forks in the cloth napkins and a glass for water and a glass for wine. I wanted to take Lauren out somewhere nice to celebrate her having gotten a promotion at the bank. 

Lauren ate the pepper salad - I don't like olives or jalapenos - and I had crusty bread and olive oil. She had the orecchiette (saucer-shaped) pasta with sausage, broccoli rabe, and olive oil. I had house-made gnocchi in marinara sauce with fresh mozzarella. Both were topped with greens. Oh wow, yum! The gnocchi was perfect, and the cheese was better. I ate all but three, and Lauren demolished hers. Lauren equally enjoyed her lemon-raspberry cheesecake. My chocolate cake gelato - ice cream - was sweet and yummy, with lots of big cake pieces.

Neither of us were up to a long walk or another bus ride after the last one. I ended up calling Uber for a ride home. He arrived in 10 minutes, and got us home in a little over 5. 

Watched Match Game Syndicated when we got in. They celebrated Charles' birthday in the end of the first episode, complete with cake. Brett laments him going away for a few weeks to appear in a Broadway show in the second.

Finished the night at Netflix with The Prom. I go further into bright, shiny musical about four stage celebrities who try to help a lesbian teen take her girlfriend to her prom at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On Streaming - The Prom

And...today was Lauren's last day. She goes home early tomorrow. I have two more days left after today, including Saturday. I'll run a few errands, but it's going to be too hot to do much.

Downtown

Began the morning with Family Feud. They jumped to 1989 and the week where Bob Barker, the show's producer, and three models from The Price Is Right played the cast of The Young and the Restless. Turns out that Bob and his ladies know about more than pricing games. They were winning when we finally headed out.

It was a gorgeous day to walk into Collingswood. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the breeze was deliciously cool, and it was warmer than yesterday without being overly so like it's supposed to be later this week. We strolled through the park, enjoying the shade and giggling at the adorable little chipmunk who ran out to greet us. 

We arrived at the Pop Shop for brunch around quarter after 11. I had the Bananas Foster "Bettys," aka pancakes with caramelized bananas and walnuts. Lauren had the Magill Grilled Cheese with three different kind of cheeses and tater tots. She shared her tater tots with me when she couldn't finish them all. Unlike the Bananas Foster Waffle I had there a few years ago, the bananas and walnuts were actually baked into the pancakes, and not too big to eat in one setting. 

Given the Pop Shop has won awards for its ice cream concoctions, we had to try some ice cream. We both went simple with ice cream sodas. She had a cherry float with Cherry Coke, cherry syrup, and vanilla ice cream. I went with Coke and coffee ice cream. They came in adorable little mason jar mugs topped high with whipped cream that overflowed when they were brought to us. My coffee ice cream and Coke complimented each other nicely. Lauren seemed to enjoy her cherry float, too.

(And we got there at just the right time. Even as we finished our sodas, the Pop Shop had begun to fill up with noisy families and kids who got off of school early.) 

There were two stores we missed in Collingswood and Westmont on Saturday that we still wanted to check out. I thought Lauren would love Secret Comics, a huge comic book store on Haddon Avenue that replaced a gym a few years ago. I didn't buy anything, but she came out with two Nightwing comics she'd been looking for and a Funko Pop Sophia from The Golden Girls for a guy friend. Two adorable little kids buying toys with their dad said they liked my new Pokemon backpack, which was sweet of them.

Samaritan Thrift in Westmont closes at 3, earlier than most of the small stores in South Jersey. They were busy with women on their lunch break looking for bargains. Lauren found a blouse in a nice brown print. I picked up two CDs.

After that, we headed down to the Westmont PATCO train station behind Santander Bank. We got in at the right time. The train arrived quickly, and it was barely half-full when we rumbled into the 9th/10th Street Station in Philadelphia.

Rustic Music is a block from the 10th Street PATCO entrance. I wanted to check out at least one of the Philly music or book stores while we were in town. I hadn't been to this tiny store in over a decade. They may be small, but they have a good selection. Lauren bought three CDs. I walked out with two CDs and six records. We were even treated to an impromptu jam session by a young man trying out one of the guitars and discussing vintage guitar lines with the owner while we were there.

Between Rustic Music and Samaritan Thrift, I came up with four CDs:

Original Broadway cast albums for Avenue Q and the 1999 Bernadette Peters Annie Get Your Gun revival

Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me

Bob Marley and the Wailers - Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers

And seven records:

Soundtrack for Give My Regards to Broad Street and a triple Jane Powell MGM soundtrack collection featuring Nancy Goes to Rio, Royal Wedding, and Rich, Young, and Pretty

The K-Tel collection Star Power

Stars of the Silver Screen 1929-1930, a collection of songs from early sound films (some of them now otherwise lost)

Stan Kenton - Encores

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - Greatest Hits Vol. 2

Martha and the Vandellas - Greatest Hits

The reason I wanted to visit Rustic Music is it's only a few blocks down 10th Street from Market Street and the Fashion District. We walked down there, then turned another two blocks to the huge Macy's. The Macy's in downtown Philly is massive, three stories of clothes, shoes, housewares, and toys. They used to be Wanamaker's before Macy's bought the brand. We really wanted to use the bathroom, but you need to ask a salesperson for a combination to open the locks. I bought nothing here, but Lauren picked up some shirts. 

Headed down a very busy Market Street around 4 PM to check out Primark. This Irish department store mostly sells casual t-shirts, shorts, slacks, and blouses, along with a lot of Disney and cartoon branded items. I looked at Disney-print sleep shirts, but ultimately decided I didn't really need them and just went to the bathroom in the main mall. Lauren did pick up a shirt. 

We took the elevator to the third floor to check out their Round 1. It's much smaller than the one in Deptford, but it does have some games they don't. I played the Star Wars pinball machine and tried a game similar to Whack-a-Mole, only you hit buttons and whack an on-screen alligator. The ring toss didn't work and I couldn't find the skee ball, but I did spin the Monster Wheels and the Pirate's Wheel, tried their Wheel of Fortune wheel, shot baskets, and did a different ring toss with larger rubber rings you tried to get on spokes. 

Lauren decided to save her points for when we get together in September, but I found something I've wanted for a while. Cute green-eyed Beanie Baby tiger Tiggy with his teeny little smile has been on the rack with other Beanie Babies at the Acme for ages. I think he's darling. I considered getting another one with Tiggy, but decided I too would otherwise wait for the fall.

We were going to hit Burlington Coat Factory next, but we saw a guy only letting a woman in through a barrier. That wasn't something we wanted to deal with after a security guard almost literally chased us down at Round 1 to check our bags. We just ended up taking a half-full PATCO home instead.

Stopped at WaWa for a drink on the way home. Neither of us were really up to anything fancy this time. I bought a Propel. She walked out with a Coke Spiced Zero. 

After we got in, we had a fancy lobster dinner with a friend and her family. Relaxed before we ate with Match Game Syndicated. Jon Bauman in Bowser greaser mode and sweet Gina Hecht joined in this week. Jon showed off his musical ability by playing the Match Game think music on the toy piano provided to musicians on the show. 

After our long walk, I wasn't up to much more than finishing the night with The New Scooby Doo Movies.  "Guess Who's Knott Coming to Dinner?" The Mystery Inc kids, who are stranded at a mysterious mansion when all they're trying to do is ask for directions. The butler, maid, and several pirates all look familiar...and they learn why when Don Knotts reveals he's been in disguise to ferret out the ghosts who plague a wealthy sea captain who has gone missing. Knotts thinks they're the captain's nephews who are after his loot. The kids and Scooby not only prove otherwise, they help him find the real culprits. 

Come Rain or Come Shine

We started off a cloudy and blissfully cool morning with breakfast and the end of that Family Feud Hollywood Walk of Fame week. The men finally won a game in the first episode after having lost the first three to the women. Didn't do badly on the Fast Money, either. The ladies made a major comeback in the second episode, taking the Fast Money and the entire week.

Jessa picked us up around 11 AM again. This time, we went a little further beyond Deptford to the outlet mall in Blackwood. While it wasn't busy like it had been when we went there last year on Memorial Day weekend, there were still quite a few people around. Maybe it was the day. It was sort-of sunny, with a half-hearted blue-gray sky and a cool wind that was barely in the 70's. At least the gorgeous fountains were running, providing a tinkling background as we headed down the sidewalk.

We made our first stop of the day at The Loft, Jessa didn't buy anything here, but Lauren found two shirts, and I picked up a mock turtleneck in a pretty, relatively subdued green, red, and black plaid that was $9.99 after having been marked down twice. None of us found anything at a quiet Eddie Bauer.

Since we were already down that way, we had lunch at Friendly's next. We shared the mini mozzarella sticks. Lauren went with the Philly cheese steak melt and a vanilla Fribble (milkshake). Jess had a tuna roll and scoops of butter pecan ice cream. I kept things simple with the lunch special - a small bowl of broccoli cheddar soup, half of a turkey club melt, and a strawberry cheesecake Friend-Z (vanilla soft-serve with strawberries and pound cake). It was all delicious, and it disappeared quickly. Thankfully, they weren't busy at all this time, possibly because we came in just as the lunch hour began.

Jess and Lauren and I were in and out of stores for the next hour. We just browsed in Toys and Socks and Go! Toys and Calendars. No one picked up anything at the Gap or J. Crew, but Jess bought a shirt at Old Navy. I finally found more underwear at Lane Bryant, this time buy three, get three free. 

After we left the mall, we drove across the street to Dave & Buster's. This is pretty much the same idea as Round 1, but the bowling alley is replaced by a sports bar, there's few crane games with cheaper merchandise, and it costs a little less to get in. I spent another noisy hour running from ring toss to whack-a-clown to Monopoly spin the dice to the wheels with the levers you shove down. Their skee ball was working, so I played that too. Actually got Princess Peach on Mario Kart Deluxe this time; came in second. Didn't do nearly as well on Crusin' Blast, despite driving a sweet red vintage 50's vehicle. Did much better on Pac Man than Space Invaders. I even tried basketball and actually managed to make three baskets.

I made over 3,200 points again, enough for a big stuffed Good Luck Bear and a genuine Eagles football. It's a really nice football, too, very well-made and only slightly smaller than regulation. I almost got Grumpy instead of Good Luck, but I decided I needed all the luck I could get.

Jess dropped Lauren and I back at home around 4. It was still too early for dinner, so we played Password for an hour or so. I'm really having fun with that. No wonder the game remains popular on TV to this day. It's a lot harder than it looks to describe a word, and we're just describing words, not keeping score or playing by the same rules as on TV.

Finally went out to dinner around 5:30. It was still pretty early, but I wanted to dodge the weather. Clouds moved in during our last hour at the Outlets. It showered lightly and briefly on the way back to Oaklyn, and would do so again as we walked to Capitol Pizza on the White Horse Pike. We shared a small but tasty half-pepperoni, half-mushroom pizza while listening to the local news on Channel 10.

I wanted to introduce Lauren to Los Amigos Bakery. I'd been trying to get us there all week, but we kept getting in too late or didn't feel up to walking there. She bought a slice of tiramisu and a container of raspberry sandwich cookies. I bought a slice of coconut cake and a mixed cookie container that included linzer tarts, chocolate chip, and oatmeal. 

The showers were picking up a bit as we headed down the White Horse Pike to Dollar General. We promised last week that we'd pick up a pack of larger paper plates for a friend. I bought Kind granola bars, a Coke Zero, and more of the electrolyte Sonic limeade mix. She got a Pepsi Zero and a Hershey's Cookies and Cream bar. 

Watched Match Game Syndicated while we had dessert. Poor Eva Gabor lost her toenail when an overly-enthusiastic contestant kicked her foot after she won him money. At least she was a good sport about it! In the second episode, we skipped to the next week as Patty Duke showed off her plush new fur coat. Brett finally had a reason to be in the spotlight in the third episode when the audience gave her a standing ovation after she was the only one who matched the contestants. Brett, Alfie Wise, and Betty White toss a lot of farmer jokes at Charles when he turns up wearing a straw cowboy hat.

Finished the night at Tubi with Hello Again. I go further into this uniquely adult exploration of sexuality across history at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Hello Again (2017)

Deptford Rock City

Started the morning with breakfast and Family Feud. The "Walk of Fame" special continued through both episodes. Even Mark Goodson, the head of Goodson Television Productions and creator of Family Feud, can't beat Betty White at game shows. The ladies wiped the floor with the gentlemen the entire week. Gloria DeHaven did especially well at the first Fast Money round after Audrey Meadows missed several questions.

My stepsister Jessa picked us up around 11 for our trip to the Deptford Mall. She parked us outside of the main entrance, near Boscov's and Red Robin. And since we were right there, we started at Boscov's. Like Kohl's, their wares tend to be hit or miss. The other two didn't find anything. I just bought a light brown T-shirt from the junior plus section.

Headed to Red Robin for lunch after we got out of Boscov's. There was a vintage Super Bowl game between the Los Angeles Raiders and the Washington Redskins on the TV over the bar as we ate the towering stack of onion rings. The Raiders won Super Bowl 18 38-9 over the Redskins. (I looked the game up online later; apparently, it dates from January 1983.) By the time I had a croissant with avocado, bacon, lettuce, and turkey, Lauren had macaroni and cheese and a Whiskey BBQ Chicken wrap, and Jessa had a burger and fries, they had switched to a far more recent Las Vegas Raiders game.

We were in and out of a few pop culture stores next. I picked up a record and a CD at FYE. Despite their cute merchandise, no one found anything interesting at Hot Topic. Jess peered around Yankee Candle, but I'm not a fan of candles. Jessa got a cinnamon roll from Cinnabon and I got a churro while Lauren poked around in GameStop. 

Made our way to Round 1 at the other side of the store next. The skee ball games were broken again, but I did manage to enjoy most everything else. Spent the next hour running from the Monopoly big dice to the pirate wheel to the monster wheels to the ring toss. Got Luigi again on Mario Kart Deluxe, and did quite well with him, too. Played Bust-a-Move, the giant Space Invaders and Pac Man, Nerf Arcade, and the Lane Master bowling game. (Got three strikes in a row on that!) I made over 3,200 points, enough for a big sweet stuffed dragon named Kai, an advanced Pokemon coloring book, and a gift for my niece Finley's birthday next month.

Spent the next hour in the remaining two department stores. Jessa and I didn't come up with anything at Macy's, but once we finally met up with Lauren, she revealed she dug up a few blouses. JC Penney is directly across from them. Jessa still wasn't interested, but Lauren bought another blouse, and I found an adorable mint-green sweater with a yellow pear knitted into the middle on clearance and a pair of tan Clarks walking sandals. The walking sandals I bought from Lands End online last year have already begun to fall apart. Normally, Clarks is beyond my budget, but they were $45 on a really good sale. 

Our last stop was another, less edgy pop culture store. BoxLunch specializes in merchandise representing anime, Harry Potter, various TV shows, and Disney characters who don't often turn up outside of the theme parks. That huge purse I bought last year proved to be too much to carry around. It was too big to put in my bike basket, hard to get through narrow store aisles, and looked clunky other than the cool woven strap. I had a hard time deciding, but I finally splurged on an adorable Pokemon mini-backpack that featured Eevee and Pikachu froicking through a field of beautifully embroidered flowers. It cost me a pretty penny, even with a 10 percent discount, but it was worth it. I wanted a well-made and unique mini-backpack that would be easier to carry on my bike, and this certainly fits the bill. 

After I unloaded the old purse and got everything into the new one, we headed out. I love the big Deptford Barnes and Noble so much, I had to share it with my two of my favorite people. Jessa just got a passion fruit iced tea. Lauren bought an iced coffee and a set with all seven Smokey and the Bandit movies, including the ones made for home media in later years. I bought two records, three books, and used the $1 coupon off an iced tea or coffee I got during our Barnes and Noble trip last week on a green iced tea.

There's a big Old Navy two doors down from Barnes & Noble. I meant to stop there on my birthday, but I was tired by the time I got across the street and wanted to get home. Lauren spotted a red vest right as we entered. Apparently, the Old Navy at the Lees Outlet had been out of the red vest for ages. I didn't see anything I wanted until I got to the checkout lane. They had socks hanging on a display under the counter, including pretty crew socks dyed in gradient colors, one set pink fading into yellow, another lavender fading into blue...and they were only $1.49 each! They were even mostly cotton. I bought two of each for a little over $5. 

Oh, and the books I found were: 

Celtics Myths and Legends, one of the huge Barnes and Noble hard-back fairy tale and folk lore collections.

Against the Currant and Hard Dough Homicide - Olivia Matthews (A brand-new series about a Caribbean family in Brooklyn who deal with a lot of skulduggery around their new bakery.) 

The one CD was:

Kiss - Destroyer Deluxe Edition

The three records were: 

Barenaked Ladies - Original Hits, Original Stars (Includes the theme from The Big Bang Theory!) 

The soundtrack from The Goonies

The original Broadway cast album for the short-lived but well-received Some Like It Hot

Jessa dropped us off around 7:30. We brought our things upstairs, then went right back out again. Lauren loves Crown Chicken and Gyro and wanted to do at least one meal there. Not to mention, it was the nicest day we'd had on vacation yet. Sunny, breezy, dry, and much cooler, in the upper 70's. It was too nice to pack it in. They were busy with late dinner orders when we got there, which is likely why our shrimp and broccoli on beds of rice took so long. It was so late when we got it, we opted to just walk home and eat it there.

Watched Match Game Syndicated while we ate. They skipped ahead again to the second episode of the week with Gary Burghoff, Marcia Wallace, and Eva Gabor. Everyone had fun with the echo on a question about how an echo answers when a man yells "I love you" into a canyon, especially Marcia. She also did well with "Creature from __" on the Audience Match. The second episode began with Charles showing off his sailor's cap to Brett. Brett isn't overly happy when she turns up as the answer to a question, while Charles demonstrates the differences between "waste" and "waist."

Finished the night after a shower and the Match Game and Super Password with the tail end of My Favorite Year and game shows featuring fathers. Games revolving around the family go a long way back on TV. To Tell the Truth featured three father-son duos in 1961 who claimed to be two generations of pro baseball players. Family Feud let the whole clan, Dad included, in on the fun, while Family Game Night let parents and children run wild through a series of Hasbro board game-inspired mini-games. 

Some famous TV dads turned up, too. Tom Bosley made his only Match Game appearance during a memorable Easter week in 1975. Ted Knight of Too Close for Comfort spent his week on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour refereeing wacky Arsenio Hall and Jm J. Bullock and trying to keep them from jumping into the "canal" (the area behind the upper tier). 

Play along with your dad and some of the most famous dads on TV with these hilarious episodes!

To Tell the Truth (1961)

Match Game (1975)

The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (1984)

Family Feud Syndicated (1989)

Family Game Night (2010)

Games People Play

Started off calling Uber on a breezy, cloudy morning. It took me a few minutes to get a ride, but the chatty lady came in five minutes. I think I heard rain earlier, but by 10:30, it was merely windy and a little cool. Thankfully, the traffic wasn't bad. We arrived at the Berlin Farmer's Market within a half-hour. 

The Berlin Farmer's Market is one of the oldest of its type in the area. As Lauren pointed out, their parking lot alone was larger than the one at the Big Exposition in Springfield. Every Saturday and Sunday, they hold a massive flea market outside on the grounds. Most of it is cheap toys, rusty old tools, and piles of old junk. I did manage to dig three jazz CDs for a dollar each out of bins. Shortly after that, we felt it start to sprinkle lightly. It was time to head inside.

After exploring one of the junk shops, our first stop was Mary Ann's Pizza Stand in between the rows of stores. Mary Ann herself was a pleasant older woman who quickly took our orders. The slices were small and the crust was thin, but it tasted delicious. I had cheese and mushroom. Lauren had mushroom and pepperoni. We enjoyed them with cups of Diet Coke.

We strolled around the Farmer's Market for the next two hours or so. Lauren never did find anything she wanted. I picked up The Jazzman's Trumpet by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, The Smugger's Secrets by Kathleen Ernst, and Josefina's Cookbook from the magazine store. Lauren looked at Hot Wheels at the DVD store, but I took advantage of a buy 2, get the third free sale to pick up the first two seasons of The Adventures of Superman and the Errol Flynn western Dodge City. I found the green Beanie Baby bear Erin for St. Patrick's Day and a gift for my niece Finley's birthday next month at the toy store. 

There were a few disappointments. For some reason, the record shop wasn't open. They had a stack of records and a drum set in front of the door, but the door was locked tight and the shop was dark. The Amish bakery turned out to be closed on Sunday. The Comics store that also sells records was way overpriced. 

On the other hand, the arcade was a big hit. They claim to be the oldest arcade in existence, probably opening with the original Farmer's Market. You still use tokens on the games, rather than cards. They made up for those broken pinball machines at RAM yesterday with two long rows of pinball games. The first room featured vintage games from the 70's through the 90's, some possibly from when the Arcade opened. The second had recent games from the last decade. I played Flash Gordon and the (Christopher Nolan) Batman on the vintage side and Dr. No, Star Wars, and Guardians of the Galaxy on the modern side. I also played the Lane Master bowling game. 

Since it was only 2 when we got out, we decided to try an enormous Goodwill the Uber driver passed in Stratford on our way to Berlin. It took 20 minutes for the driver to arrive after the first one canceled, and then they couldn't figure out where we were at the Farmer's Market. Thankfully, there still wasn't much traffic. It took less than 10 minutes to get back to Stratford.

The Goodwill did prove to be gigantic. The warehouse-sized building was mostly full of clothes, with rooms for other items off to the side. I immediately made a beeline for the alcove with the records, books, CDs, and DVDs. Unfortunately, it was also mobbed. The lines when we got there went half-way across the huge store. I forgot Goodwill has items with certain colored tags for a dollar on Sundays. At least the four records and the hardback copy of In This Grave Hour by Jacqueline Windspear I found were the dollar colors. So was a Lands End tank top in a pretty purple flower print. The three Faded Glory shorts weren't on the dollar sale, but I still got them. 

Incidentally, the CDs are:

Cannonball Adderly - The Best of Cannonball Adderly: The Capitol Years

The Blues Brothers - The Definitive Collection

Fats Domino - My Blue Heaven: The Best of Fats Domino

The records are: 

Bing Crosby - Bing Crosby's Greatest Hits

Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra - Remembering Tommy

Melissa Manchester - Greatest Hits

The original cast album for High Button Shoes (The record and cover are not in the best shape, but I've been looking for this one for years.)

Since it was only a block away, we opted to walk to the PATCO station in Lawnside and pick up the train from there. At least it was a nice day by then. The clouds disappeared while we were in the Farmer's Market, replaced by warm sun and a pleasant breeze. 

Taking the train on a Sunday afternoon may not have been the smartest idea. It wasn't bad when we left Lawnside (other than the person blasting TLC in the car), but at every location the train stopped at, it kept picking up more and more barely-dressed, noisy, inebriated teens carrying drinks. By the time it pulled into the Collingswood station, the car was so full of giggling, yelling kids, we could barely squeeze our way off. Thankfully, Collingswood was the first station they hadn't gotten on at, allowing us to get downstairs and into town normally.

I originally suggested looking for a coffee shop for a snack, but we decided we were too tired and opted for WaWa instead. She had the same vanilla coffee she's been drinking for the past week. I had a pina colada smoothie that was so thick, I thought I got the milkshake at first. We sipped our drinks as we headed home down Lakeview Drive and Bettlewood Avenue into Oaklyn. 

Took the laundry downstairs, then got back upstairs just in time for dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. Celebrity "misfits," or who didn't really fit one way or the other on the panel, were the theme of tonight's show. Joan Collins, for instance, was clearly bored during her one week in 1975 and absolutely did not want to be there. Nor did Mabel King in 1978. Raymond Burr, everyman host Larry Blyden, and Robert Culp didn't get the comedy vibe. Peggy Cass was at sea on any game show but To Tell the Truth.

Comediennes Sydney Goldsmith and Kaye Stevens had voices and laughs that annoyed panelists and viewers alike (and Kaye had the habit of jumping into everyone else's frame). Denise DuBarry, Tudi Wiggins, and Brenda Nixon were pretty soap and drama stars who were there as eye candy, nothing more. Pat Harrington, Ronny Graham, and Marty Cohen tried too hard to be funny. (The last-named would do better on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour.) Don Adams raised a ruckus and demanded special treatment, including Richard's seat, in 1974. (And he didn't play very well, either.) 

Doing comedy and playing games at the same time isn't as easy as it looks. See who worked out and who didn't in this unique marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Celebrity Misfit Edition

I Get Around

This time, we watched a little Family Feud before we started out. I had to stop quick at the kiosk two blocks down to drop off a book there. Cut through the park after that on our way to Collingswood. It remains gorgeous here, sunny, dry, and breezy. We stopped to watch a turtle poke his head out of the green water to enjoy the warmth, and then saw his baby do the same, before moving on down Beechwood.

I needed money, so our next stop was WaWa. I got cash and a Grape Propel. Lauren got two bags of snacks and an iced coffee with milk and vanilla she claimed was like drinking a coffee milkshake. They were pretty busy, so we ducked out fast as we could.

Headed across the street to the farm market after leaving WaWa. Needless to say, they were also busy on such a perfect June day. Lauren initially said she didn't want anything, until I spied a table selling the first cherries, raspberries, and New Jersey blueberries of the season. I bought cherries and blueberries for me and raspberries for her, along with a pretzel ring for my own treat.

Next up was Time Lapse, the collectibles store a couple of blocks down on Haddon Avenue. They're basically a smaller version of The House of Fun, with books and records along with the vintage toys and games. I found two Hello Kitty Happy Meal toys and a genuine vintage She Ra (missing her accessories) in two bins featuring loose action figures 3 for $9.99. I'll give them to the daughter of a friend of mine. Lauren picked up a Cabbage Patch figure, an Inspector Gadget figure, and a GoBot, a bagged wrestling figure, a copy of Cracked for her dad, and two tins of Golden Girls mints. 

Went a few doors down after that to Clutter, which specializes in more elegant antiques, but we found nothing there. I didn't buy anything at Haddon Culinary, but Lauren picked up a container of cocoa-dusted pecans. She didn't find anything at the Library's book sales, but I got Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends: The Complete Season 1 and Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin. 

We decided to move on after that. Since we weren't far from the PATCO, we opted to take that to Haddonfield. They were surprisingly full for noon on Saturday. I guess a lot of people were going out to lunch in the small towns along Haddon Avenue.

After we got off the train, we made our way straight down King's Highway to The British Chip Shop. Thankfully, unlike last year, it was open when we arrived. In fact, it too was busy. We had to briefly wait for a table. I was surprised to see the Phillies playing the Mets on their TV...until I remembered they were in London. We celebrated Bryce Harper's and Edumundo Sosa's home runs while she had a Beef and Cheddar Melt with "chips" (fries) and French onion soup to dip them in, and I had a cold sliced chicken sandwich with lettuce, crisp apples, mustard, and Irish cheddar and a salad. 

(And the Phillies jolly well flattened the wayward Mets 7-2.)

I hadn't checked out Happy Hippo Toys in a while...and remembered why when I saw the prices. They had some great stuff, including a lot of Care Bears merchandise, but most of it was overpriced. Haddonfield shops tend to be expensive. Not to mention, there were a lot of families in the small store, checking out the rows of dolls, books, games, and stuffed animals. We bought nothing here and moved on.

RAM Arcade is three blocks down Haddon Avenue from Happy Hippo. They're pretty much the same deal as the arcade at the Nerd Mall yesterday, slightly larger and with pinball machines replacing the Japanese cabinets. The pinball machines weren't working and a few of the games were down as well, but there was enough that did work for us to spend an enjoyable hour. I got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to myself this time. Also tried Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Rampage, Space Invaders, Carnival King, Area 51, Tron, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Dig Dug, Centipede, and Frogger. Did best at Ms. Pac Man, getting to the fifth level. I always did play better with the faster Ms. than her pokier hubby. 

Since it was such a nice day, we decided to just walk down Haddon Avenue to Westmont. Cooled off when we got in with Primo's Water Ice. Surprisingly, they weren't busy when we finally made it down there. Lauren had a root beer soft serve cone. I went with chocolate peanut butter water ice. The water ice wasn't all that chocolatey, but it sure had a lot of thick peanut butter. Lauren seemed to enjoy her root beer cone a lot more.

Phidelity Records is on the next block over from Primo's. Like Abbie Road, they carry CDs and DVDs in addition to records. Lauren said she mostly found instrumental CDs for her parents, but she did get a copy of the Goo Goo Dolls for herself and The Sunshine Boys on DVD for all of them. I didn't find any DVDs this time, but I did get two CDs:

Miles Davis - Nefertiti

The soundtrack from the Disney fireworks/light show Fantasmic!

And five records: 

The Care Bears - Adventures In Care-a-Lot (We had this one when we were kids in the 80's.)

Strawberry Shortcake - Sweet Songs

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Dave Digs Disney

The George Shearing Quintet - Touch Me Softly

The original London cast album for Robert and Elizabeth, a hit West End operetta on the life of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. (And don't ask me how I keep finding British cast albums on this side of the Atlantic.) 

By the time we went across the street to WaWa for a Mocha Brownie Smoothie and another vanilla iced coffee, we were hot, tired, and sore from a lot of walking. Not to mention, it was past 5:30. Rush hour on Cuthbert Road and Haddon Avenue aren't fun at any time of the week, but it's especially crazy on the weekends. I ended up calling Uber for a ride home. The girl came in 10 minutes and got us back in less than 5. 

When we got home, we got organized, then had dinner while watching Dr. Seuss On the Loose and Pontoffel Pock, Where are You? I go further into these two classic Seuss specials at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Seuss Short Subject Special - Dr. Seuss On the Loose and Pontoffel Pock, Where are You? 

I took a shower, then joined Lauren for Match Game '76. These episodes were from the hilarious week featuring Isobel Sanford and Martin Hamlisch. The latter managed to play the show's theme on his toy piano and wrote songs about Brett and the sweet contestant Farnicia. Charles joined him to put over the latter two.

Watched The Lawrence Welk Show next. Welk and his musical family did at least two episodes themed around vacations. The first went way back to 1967. Cissy King is introduced here, dancing the Charleston with Bobby Burgess to the tune of "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me." Lynn Anderson also makes her debut with "If I Kiss You." Jo Ann Castle is a piano-playing mermaid and Larry Hooper is the deep-sea diver looking for her while singing "Many of the Mermaid." (Jo Ann later reported that neither costume was especially comfortable.) Jo Ann also joins a trio of flappers and two tapping sheiks for "Thoroughly Modern Millie," complete with fringed piano. The show ends with everyone singing about "Cruising Down the River."

Their 1980 Vacation Show stuck closer to the theme. Guy and Ralna sang "Leaving On a Jet Plane," while Bobby Burgess and his then-partner Elaine Niverson dance "Come to the Mardi Gras." Kathie Sullivan wonders "Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair?" Jimmy Roberts croons about going "Around the World." Arthur Duncan taps up a storm in "San Francisco." Anacani is more interested in heading to her native Mexico to visit "Acapulco." 

Go on under the sea and around the world without leaving home with Lawrence Welk and his orchestra!

Vacation Show (1967)

Vacation Show (1980)

(I also finally remembered to get my schedule at this point. Not only am I off, but they gave me Saturday off, the one day I didn't ask for. I guess they figured they had plenty of help without calling me in for one day. Good. I can do a farm market run and relax before going back to work.)

Finished the night with a short, late marathon revolving around big wins on Match Game PM. Indeed, some of the show's biggest wins could be found in the nighttime. There was the time David Doyle had to help the contestant with "__ Mountains" for $20,000 after he hit him on the Star Wheel in late 1978. Or when Richard was more than happy to answer "__ Richard" on the Audience Match, then help a contestant win $10,000 in 1976. Ken Olflson was extremely nervous in 1978 when had to help a contestant win $20,000. Gene wasn't too thrilled with the answer most of his panelists gave in 1980 as to what show would make its viewers sick! 

Let's keep winning in the wee hours with this short but sweet marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Big Winners on Match Game PM 

As We Go Along

We began a gorgeous morning with breakfast and Family Feud. I came in as the families in the first episode we're half-way through. Unfortunately, the they didn't get close to winning the Fast Money. We were surprised to see the Hollywood Walk of Fame special on next. Betty White lead a team of ladies from vintage films and TV, including Dorothy Lamour and Gloria DeHaven, while producer and company owner Mark Goodson lead men that included Keenan Wynn and Caesar Romero. Since this special is on the Family Feud DVD set, we watched the question, then called Uber to get us to Woodbury.

Our first stop in downtown Woodbury was The Nerd Mall. This is a collectibles shop that specializes in action figures and games of all kinds. While Lauren looked over their wrestling action figures (and did buy one), I checked out their floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with board games. 

They're also a vintage arcade like the one in Haddonfield with mostly older games, though they did have a few recent Japanese cabinets. I played Pac Man Jr., Bust a Move, Sunset Riders, Final Fight, and Galaga. I did best at Sunset Riders, but I also kept continuing. I was going to play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but Lauren had been there so long, she left her game. I didn't realize until I took over and was in the Technodrome. I managed to get past the door guard and Krang on my own, but Lauren returned to help with Shredder.

We figured there was no way we were going to top beating Shredder together, so we headed across the street to On the Record. This is a lovely little music shop that not only sells records, but CDs and concert DVDs as well. I ended up with a CD and several records. Lauren bought a 3-disc collection of 80's songs and another of big band-style Christmas music. 

Jessa was supposed to meet us in Woodbury. I had no idea when she was arriving. Turns out she called and texted when we were in the Nerd Mall, but I didn't hear her over the noise of the games. She finally met us about 15 minutes later in front of Charlie Brown's Grill and Steakhouse about two blocks down from the main shopping district. 

Charlie Brown's was a dark-paneled steakhouse and sports bar with comfortable older wood chairs. Jessa had the salad bar, but Lauren and I opted to watch ESPN reports on baseball and the basketball playoffs and talk about the Celtics having made the finals. Our sandwiches were all huge. I had a juicy basic burger with crispy fries and tart Cole slaw. Lauren had chicken ciabatta - chicken, peppers, and mozzarella on a ciabatta bun, and Jessa had a Reuben. Yum! My burger was tasty, moist and meaty and just big enough. Lauren finished her chicken ciabatta. Jessa didn't finish her Reuben, but she also had the salad.

We headed back to Woodbury's shopping district after lunch to check out the SMS Thrift Store next-door to On the Record. They're a warren of small rooms filled with just about everything you can imagine. I found a thick, soft peach T-shirt and a set of two blue and red woven placemats with a rose design. Lauren found another nice vest for work.

Went across the street next to check out 2nd Chance Antiques. They're not nearly as big as SMS, just one room of clothes and one of furniture and other larger items. This time, Lauren and I didn't find anything, but Jessa came up with a really cute porcelain cookie jar in the shape of a vintage post office.

Woodbury Antiques is a block from 2nd Chance. This enormous dark space is a warren of areas with antiques and artwork sold by different artists and collectors. Having visited last October, I knew exactly where to go. I went in the back where most of the records were and came up with three. Found two more that were even better on a shelf further up front. Jess didn't get anything here, but Lauren bought two books.

Jessa lead us another block down and around the corner. I had no idea there was a parking garage in Woodbury. Even their parking garage had been made to look Victorian, with lavish trim on the tower. She was proud to have parked on the top floor, which is apparently something she's never been able to do at other parking garages. 

At least the weather was perfect for a stroll downtown. It was sunny, breezy, and warm, but also dry, with a pale blue sky and not a cloud in sight. The strong wind kept it from feeling quite as unbearable as the last few days. 

Our final stop was the Woodbury Goodwill just outside of town amid a sea of car dealerships and shopping centers. We all did really well here! I found a CD and a gorgeous swirling skirt in a really cute red flowered cotton print with a bright green border. It ties instead of buttoning or zippering. I can't find a tag on it anywhere, which makes me think it's handmade. Lauren picked up yellow plaid shorts and a shirt. Jessa found a shirt, a CD, and a nice vintage tray for her and her husband Joe to eat their dinner on in the living room. 

Oh, and in addition to the shirt, skirt, and placemats, I found two CDs: 

Frank Sinatra - Swing and Dance With Frank Sinatra

Radio City Music Hall Presents Songs of Christmas (I know I've heard this before, possibly at the Stockton Media Center.) 

And eight records:

Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd - Jazz Samba

Santana - Shango and Zebop

The Monkees - Changes

Tale Spinners for Children - Treasure Island

The soundtracks from Darling Lili, Head, and a double collection of Calamity Jane and the movie Pajama Game

(And yes, I already have Changes and Head on CD, but even the later Rhino vinyl re-releases I picked up tend to be hard to find.) 

After Jess dropped us off at home, we put everything away, then relaxed over Classic Concentration. The contestants were about even when we got in, but the girl managed to beat the guy to the answer. She didn't get the car, though. He had far more luck later in the episode.

Let it run into Match Game Syndicated next. The first episode featured a gorgeous college student whom Bart Braverman drooled over and a charming little old man who looked and sounded like Old Man Periwinkle come to life. Unfortunately, he blurted out his answer before everyone was finished writing, and they had to throw out the question. This is also the one where Gene collapsed when an answer he didn't expect came up on the Audience Match. Bart took over hosting briefly, but he sounded more like a race track tout than a game show host.

Alas, the next episode is lost, so we never did find out how Irv did. We resumed with two new contestants and Gene discussing the opera Charles directed. The others tried to help one of those contestants with "Powdered __" on the Audience Match.

With the episode after that also missing, Buzzr skipped to the next week with Paul Williams, Clifton Davies, and Gail Farrell from The Lawrence Welk Show. Clifton was pretty thrilled with his constantly cheering groupies in the audience. Meanwhile, a shy Naval officer turned quite a few heads and Charles made fun of Brett's "gold" necklaces. The officer did far better in the next episode as Charles and Gene discussed the studio having printed the wrong date on their tickets.

Finished out the night with The Love Boat. It's a "Marriage-a-Thon" in a two-part episode where 50 couples are married on-board. "The Promoter" (Darren McGavin) who set up the contest for a certain couple to win a house, a car, and money may end up losing his wife (Debbie Reynolds) to Captain Steubing, which Vicki wouldn't mind a bit. An older couple (Rue McClanahan and Ted Knight) are "Forever Engaged" and hope to tie the knot after ten engagements in ten years, if he can finally bring himself to say "I do." 

One of the fathers (Peter Graves) and the mothers (Kathie Browne) make "The Family Plan" to split up their children (Erin Moran and Brian Kerwin), only to fall in love with each other. A friend of Julie's (Donnie Most) is supposed to be the best man to one of the grooms, but when the groom runs off with an old girlfriend, he has to tell the jilted bride (Charlene Tilton). It becomes a case of "May the Best Man Win" when he ends up falling for the beauty himself.