Called Uber after breakfast. I probably shouldn't have gone to Blackwood during the lunch and 3 PM rush hours. It was expensive both times, and I had to wait 7 minutes both times. In fact, I ended up getting a second driver going there after the first canceled. They was some mild traffic going home, but nothing going there, and nothing really horrible.
I wanted to hit the Blackwood Outlets to find bras, but...it didn't work out anywhere near as well as I hoped. The Hanes and Maidenform stores had closed, and Jockey and Under Armor had more clothes than undergarments. I did get non-underwire bras at Lane Bryant, but the underwire bras without the foam weren't part of the buy one, get the second for 15 sale. That was just for cotton bras. I bought three under wire bras and decided to wait until I can get to a department store to get wired ones.
Had lunch at Friendly's. That didn't go so well, either. I don't know why the waitress didn't think the tuna salad sandwich wasn't part of the 9 dollar deal. It was listed as being so. At least it tasted good, with slim salty fries and savory broccoli and cheese soup. I opted to skip the ice cream this time. There's ice cream at home.
Things went better across the street at Dave & Buster's. Even with a local youth group running around, making noise and lines, and some of the machines not working like they should, I still went from ring toss to Pac Man skee ball to pirate spinning wheel to giant Pac Man and Space Invaders, ultimately racking up over 3,200 points. Came in first in a sweet vintage scarlet Chevrolet on the Death Valley course on Cruisin' Blast and with Princess Peach on the second Peach's Castle course on Mario Kart. Got the last Care Bear they carry I hadn't gotten, Grumpy, and still had 700 points left for when I go on vacation in late September.
Went straight into Remember WENN when I got home. Hilary and Jeff are "Strange Bedfellows" when they both go out for City Council. Scott insists on taking their own survey and holding a debate with the two of them and folksy former baseball player candidate Luke Langly (David Canary). Hilary and Jeff just end up bickering, until Langly reminds them that politics means a lot more commitment than just throwing out pretty speeches.
"Close Quarters" is my second-favorite episode of the second season after the Christmas show. No one is happy when the entire staff ends up quarantined after Mr. Foley comes down with spots and a doctor thinks he has a rare disease. The first night is fun and revealing, with everyone dancing, eating Hilary's spaghetti and ketchup, and Hilary discussing Jeff's nightmares with Betty. However, as the week continues, they all end up sick of each other...until it turns out that Mr. Foley's condition isn't anywhere near as serious as the overwrought doctor thought.
Switched to Lucky Me next. I go further into this rather silly CinemaScope confection for Doris Day at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.
Worked on Hilary and the Beasts for the rest of the afternoon. On a rainy day in May, Hilary finds herself fielding a frantic call from Mackie. He's worried for his daughters, but Hilary manages to convince him to talk to his old theatrical contacts and find out more about Pavla and what she's up to now. She doesn't tell Mackie that she and her sisters are still having the dreams of Jeff trying to tell her to listen to her heart and the men being taken away, fearing he'll just worry more.
She goes to talk to Newpaper (Gus Kahana) in the library and finds him snoozing between Betty and Bear (Scott) as Betty teaches Bear to read. He's doing better, but there's still strong mental blocks in his head. Hilary asks him if he knows anything about the papers in Eagle's (Victor's) room and their "gibberish." Bear knows he was once able to figure out "patterns"...but those blocks hurt him so badly, he ends up growling. He doesn't remember what was done to damage his mind, either, other than someone sending dark light into his head.
After Betty takes him downstairs for honey to soothe his head, Hilary wakes up Newspaper. Newspaper finally admits that Master's second wife was the one who hurt Bear, hoping to suppress his abilities. Newspaper uses his own voice to admonish Hilary to be careful. Master's second wife isn't messing around. Hilary insists she can take care of herself, and her sisters too.
Broke for dinner and Match Game '76 at 7 PM. Though we did get one last episode from the week with Jody Donovan, most of the evening was devoted to the week with Isobel Sanford, and in his only appearance on the show, composer and musician Marvin Hamlisch. Charles and Marvin composed a song for sweet contestant Pharnicia on the spot after she did well at an Audience Match. She was very proud of herself a bit later when she got the right answer on the Audience Match without any help from the panel or anyone else!
Finished the night with newly-acquired CDs. I was 7 when most of the Billboard Top Hits 1986 were on the radio, and I remember them very well. The big hits were mainly up tempo or dynamic numbers like "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer or "Walk Like an Egyptian" by the Bangels. Two of the year's biggest songs came from movies, "Danger Zone" from Top Gun and "When the Going Gets Tough" from The Jewel of the Nile.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera was such a world-wide sensation, imitations were likely inevitable. Supposedly, Maury Yeston's Phantom actually goes back to 1983, when actor Geofrey Holder brought the story to Yeston's attention. Unfortunately, by the time they were finished, the Andrew Lloyd Webber show was on Broadway. This version hasn't played New York to this day, but it's been done regionally and was the basis for a mini-series on NBC in 1990. Here, the emphasis is on the Phantom's discovery of his father, with his relationship with Christine taking a slight backseat. It lacks Webber's grandeur, but it's far from bad. Erik's "Where In the World" and "You are Music" are especially lovely.
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