Had just enough time for two work-themed Donald Duck cartoons before I left for my own work. "Out On a Limb" had Donald clipping trees...and using the clippers and tar to pick on Chip and Dale, before they figure out what's going on and turn the tables. Donald is "Old MacDonald Duck" who tries to swat a fly away from his cow Clementine, only for the fly to attack the poor cow.
Hurried off to work soon as "Old MacDonald Duck" ended. It wasn't busy when I arrived at 9, but it started picking up early as an hour later. I had a hard time keeping up with the carts until the afternoon bagger arrived at noon. No trouble here whatsoever.
After work, I rushed straight home, changed, and went back out. Treated myself to lunch at Sabrina's Cafe to celebrate Labor Day and the end of the summer season. As one of the few restaurants in Collingswood open on a Monday and a holiday, it goes without saying they were really busy. Fortunately, they were just starting to clear out when I arrived. I enjoyed huge lemon-ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote, lemon syrup, and whipped topping, turkey bacon, and a cute little mason jar mug of iced tea.
The real reason I was in Collingswood was to hit PNC Bank and use the ATM machine. I went inside, used the machine and got out in five minutes. Headed home after that, enjoying the continuing gorgeous (if slightly warmer and more humid) weather. I passed by a lot of kids enjoying their last few days of freedom in Collingswood and in Newton Lake Park, including three teen boys who looked like they just came from fishing.
Once I got in, I pretty much spent the rest of the day finally finishing Hilary and the Beasts. Mackie and Mr. Eldridge go downstairs to find wine to celebrate New Year's. Gertie to follows them to make sure that's all they take and to heat up appetizers. Enid chatters to C.J, telling him about her stories as he admires her bravery. Eugenia and Mr. Foley follow after them to the music room. Betty and Scott say they'll take their wine up to the library and discuss their future, while Victor and Maple say they'll do the same in the kitchen.
Hilary asks Jeff why he kept begging her to marry him, to the point where it got annoying. The only way he could break the curse was if Hilary agreed to marry him as a Troll and accept him for what he was. She was a spy for several groups in Europe and wanted to keep that knowledge a secret, so she could continue to act in the US. She sent her magic directly into Scott's brain, locking his intelligence away. Victor had tried to run and get help, but had been caught by Pavla's monsters. Mackie claimed he'd known all along. Jeff also revealed that the roses in the hot house were his and Hilary's from their apartment in New York, which was why Hilary had recognized them, too.
The story finishes up back at the writer's room in WENN in 1941. Hilary had been telling it to Betty and Maple, hoping to bump up her part in their Book at Bedtime version of "Beauty and the Beast." Betty finally says she considers Hilary's story to be too grotesque for the kid-oriented Book at Bedtime...but thinks an Agatha Christie-esque Gothic mystery "Beauty and the Beast" might be perfect for their crime anthology retelling of the classics Vengeance Is Mine.
That's when the three "Lost Boys" turn up in the reception area, trying to slap ice on Victor's wounded eye. Yes, he now has a black eye, too. No, no one hit him. He was in such a hurry to get to the train station, he ran into a door. He tells Maple he wants to continue their date when he gets back from Washington and says he has enough time to walk her to the trolley. Scott tells Betty that he and Maple are more like siblings than lovers, even when they were lovers, and he wants to make amends. Betty finally agrees to a date at the Buttery.
Hilary isn't as open to making amends. Even if he did it to save Victor, Jeff running off and marrying Pavla still hurt her deeply, not to mention his rather immature behavior with his and Betty's date. Jeff says he thinks of Betty and Maple as more like sisters and did it to get him and Hilary arguing...and falling for each other again. Hilary's not hearing any of it. She runs out before Jeff can even walk her to the trolley, passing Eugenia and Mr. Foley happily returning from their own date as she does.
Wow. That's the longest story I've written since I completed Blank In Wonderland in 2022. I'm really proud of myself, for once. I'll be starting the next story tomorrow, soon as I get in from the first Healthy Kids staff orientation. (We're doing two in a row before school starts.)
I listened to jazz while I worked. I fell in love with the gentle piano music from George Shearing and his Quintet after I found Satin Affair almost 20 years ago. Songs like "Early Autumn," "The Party's Over," and "Midnight Sun" were tailor-made for background music on real-life quiet early autumn afternoons. I spent years looking for more of his work...and all of a sudden, about five or so years ago, it just kept appearing everywhere, a common sight in record stores and yard sales. I finally turned up two more "fabric" titles a few years ago. "If I Should Lose You" and "One Morning In May" are my favorites from Black Satin. Blue Chiffon goes slinkier, with "Love-Wise," "Kinda Cute," and "I'm Old Fashioned."
Oscar Peterson pays respect to one of the great American composers in Oscar Peterson Plays the Irving Berlin Songbook. "Supper Time," one of the great sad blues laments, is the big one here. We also have "You're Laughing at Me," "I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket," and "Remember."
Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner. Fred Grandy, a giggly Dolly Martin, and crusty Mary Wickes joined in this week. Fred and Bart Braverman spent the week playing with kazoos and duck calls, to the point where it got kind of annoying.
Finished the night with quiz shows for kids in honor of schools reopening in New Jersey this week. If there's one thing I've learned from the kids...and remember from my own childhood...it's that kids are curious. They love questions and learning things just as much as adults, maybe more. I loved quiz shows when I was a kid. One of my favorite shows on PBS in the early 90's was Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego. Lynn "Chief" Thigpen and host Craig Lee give three kids the scoop on a bizarre crime committed by one of Carmen's many lackeys - in this episode, the Contessa steals the Ngorongoro Crater, home to one of the most significant wildlife preserves in the world. The kids follow clues from various figures performed by singing group Acapella, teaching geography at a time when seemed to be changing almost daily.
Kids and quizzes go far back. Juvenile Jury from the early 50's was one of the earliest shows created by Barry and Enright. Panels of young kids under ten years of age answer questions helping their peers out with their problems. Ok, normally game shows can't be called "cute," but some of the kids on this show were utterly precious. Barry was wonderfully patient and worked so well with them.
My sisters and I loved watching Jeopardy! with our parents in the late 80's and early 90's. We were far from the only kid fans of the show. Merv Grifftih Productions developed kid versions of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in the late 90's. Of the two, Jep! was mildly more tolerable and closer to the show it was based on. It's basically played the same as the adult version, only after two wrong answers, the kids get balls or confetti dropped on them, and after three, they're pulled out for a round. The graphics are incredibly late 90's early CGI and look chintzy today, but at least they didn't try to add stunts like they did with Wheel 2000.
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader from 2007, based on the video game, let kids show their superior knowledge compared to many adults. Adults and kids answer increasingly difficult school-based questions. The adults have a chance to "peek" (see the answer), "copy" one of the kids' answers, or "save" (skip an answer). It's played something like a funnier school-themed Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, with its winnings ladder and the adults declaring if they lose that they are not, in fact, smarter than a 5th grader. With comedian Jeff Foxworthy as the folksy host, I can understand why this was a two-year hit for Fox and would do well in syndication later.
See if you're smarter than a kid going back to school with these funny and unique kid quizzes!
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