Rainy Day Fantasy

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. This unique sword-and-sorcery-on-the-water swashbuckler is one of two fantasy shows for older kids that debuted around 1991. Unlike Peter Pan and the Pirates, this one is a full original, and one of the most expensive productions Hanna-Barbara ever did. We kick off with "The Quest." Ren, a young lighthouse keeper (George Newburn), discovers when he rescues an old man from drowning that he's the true Prince of Octopon. He can restore its grandeur by finding 13 treasures and bringing them together. The evil pirate Bloth (Brock Peters) captures Ren and tries to force him to tell him where the treasures are, but he escapes with the help of the flying monkey Niddler (Roddy McDowell). He encounters thief Ioz (Hector Elizondo), who steals a ship, and the beautiful stowaway Tula (Jodi Benson), who knows a lot more about the sea than she's telling.

(And personal note - Rose, Anny, and I loved Peter Pan and the Pirates and Pirates of Dark Water in the early 90's.  We used to watch both shows all the time in the afternoon on Fox.)

Spent the rest of the morning working on my WENN fanfic. We begin the fantasy segment in the Misty Woods, on the road to WENN Castle in Pittsburghia. Queen Hilary Booth is attacked by half-snake, half-man creatures while on her way home from seeking the sorceress Pavla, who had forced her husband King Jeffery into an unwanted marriage. She uses the magic in her crown to enhance her sword. Her scribe, Lady Elizabeth (Betty) Roberts has a magic quill that can make anything appear, reveal objects, and acts as her conscience. 

Watched On the Come Up as I worked. I go further into this coming-of-age teen rap drama at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On Streaming - On the Come Up

Oh, and I changed my mind about ending Musical Dreams Reviews. I'm going to continue to update it, but I'll only post one review every Thursday. I don't have the time for three long reviews a week anymore. I'll do one last Saturday review this week before starting the new schedule.

Uber was a pain in the rear today. It took me almost 20 minutes to get a ride there, and I ended up being almost ten minutes late. The ride home took 13 minutes, and that was after waiting over 20 minutes for the prices to go down. It was raining by the time I finished, which didn't help. Before that, it was just cloudy and slightly chilly, nothing like what it's been lately.

As it turned out, things could have been a lot worse. I only had five kids at my table, and there were 16 all together. Thomas Sharp School had some kind of program today where parents could sit in on their children's classes. A lot of the kids must have gone home with their folks after that. The kids were slightly rowdy in the bathroom, nothing outrageous. The other two teachers were here today, so they had "Ghostbusters," the theme from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, "Pink Pony Club," and songs from Moana, Encanto, and Trolls to dance to in the library. I worked on art for my new Legends of WENN story with two of the boys who really got into their own fantasy stories and rocket artwork.

Went straight into dinner and Match Game Syndicated when I got home. After the week with Jonnelle Allen and Bill Anderson ended, we moved on to Fred Travelena and his hundreds of voices in the male ingenue seat, Elaine Joyce as the female ingenue, and Charles insisting again that they replace Brett with Bess Myerson.

Finished the night after a shower with two episodes of Shirley Temple's Storybook Theater. "The Terrible Clockman" is among the color episodes currently on Tubi. Temple herself plays the daughter of a clock maker (Sam Jaffe) who is very proud of having been able to create a mechanism that allows clocks to all run the same precise time. He even made a clock-faced robot for the king. He regrets his hubris when an evil sorcerer demands to marry his daughter, then makes the clocks stop or run in circles, so no one, not even the king, knows what time it is. He also makes the clockman run on his own and obey him...until the creature turns against him and aids the daughter. 

"The Sleeping Beauty" was a black-and-white first season episode recently posted on YouTube. This is a more-or-less straightforward retelling of the Charles Perrault version of the story...only here, the twist is, it's not a prince whom the Princess (Anne Helm) falls for, but a handsome gardener's son (Pernell Roberts). Only his ancestor can figure out how to use the magic sword to cut through the brush and kiss the princess 100 years after she falls asleep. 

A Little Bit of a Marshmallow World

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Poor Little Bear has "A Flu." He's supposed to stay in bed, but Duck, Hen, and Cat all come in with remedies. Mama Bear knows that the best remedy for any illness is rest. Mama tells Little Bear, Cat, and Duck about a certain tree with a rock in it that she and Father Bear carved their initials into. The trio goes "Exploring" to find it, but find a cave instead. "Fishing With Father Bear" proves to be a lot of fun for Little Bear, especially as it's his first time in a boat. They end up in the water with the fish before they make their first big catch!

Called Uber soon as the episode ended. Thankfully, the one going to the Acme got there in 7 minutes, and I got there right on time. I didn't have nearly as much luck the rest of the day. The guy who picked me up after lunch had to go to the bathroom, and I forgot to tell him they put locks on the Acme bathrooms and you have to get an associate to tap in the password to unlock it. I was five minutes late to Thomas Sharp School. Got one going  home in 10 minutes, not bad for rush hour.

No problems at the Acme today. In fact, we were dead quiet for almost the entire morning. It snowed a little bit last night. The streets were fine. It was just enough to put a little frosting on the cars and roofs.  In fact, by the time I finished and it started picking up, the sun had come out, and it was much warmer. Even the snow that came down this weekend was melting. Not to mention, it's the end of the month, and we're well away from any major holidays.

I had lunch at Applebee's. I wasn't up to a long walk anywhere else. I enjoyed a mug of nice, hot tea, a Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Sandwich, and crispy, salty fries. It was quiet there, with only a few people enjoying a late lunch. After that, I went back to the Acme to get a donut, get money, and pick up the Uber there.

It was a lot busier at the school today. On one hand, we had 25 kids, 7 of them at my table. On the other hand, the other two teachers were back. This time, the kids were fine in the bathroom, though I did have to help one little girl there. It was the library where they were crazy. I sat with a couple of the boys and drew scenes from Legends of WENN while most of the kids danced to "Ghostbusters," kid-ized versions of "I'm Still Standing" and "Pink Pony Club," and songs from Moana. They wanted to hold hands and dance, but that just ended up with them running into each other and flinging each other around. 

They kept making a mess with the magnetic tiles and Duplos, too. They build these tall, tall towers that get too tall for them to finish without standing on something and either letting them fall everywhere, or hurting themselves. It took us so long to clean up the mess, I left almost as soon as we got back to the cafeteria.

Watched Match Game Syndicated on Buzzr when I got home. This was the wild week with the episode where Gene and Charles argue over the merits of the original Shogun miniseries and Charles hits Gene with his card. Gene collapses onto ingenue Jonnelle Allen, prompting McLean to take over hosting for two questions. (And he didn't do badly, either.) Gene comes out in the next episode with his face wrapped in bandages, supposedly due to the paper cut on his lip from the episode before.

Let it continue into Card Sharks. They were running two episodes from that hilarious celebrity tournament they did in 1980. Vicki Lawrence had to deal with a squirrel-y Bill Daily in the first episode and goofy Avery Schriberer in the second. In both cases, she beat them handily and made big bucks at the Money Cards. When she wasn't wondering what was going on in those goofballs' heads, she was yelling at the audience for not being helpful. 

Finished the night at Tubi with the last two episodes of Good Times' first season. James won't take "The Checkup," even when his children suspect he has hypertension. In fact, he throws a fit (and a chair) when they even just mention their suspicions. Florida finally talks him into it when she points out how badly he's scaring them. Turns out, there isn't that much to fear, and James learns that being vulnerable and checking up on your health isn't a bad thing.

"My Son, the Lover" has J.J head over heels for Marcy, the prettiest girl in school, who asked him to paint her portrait. J.J is drooling all over and insisting they're practically engaged. James is equally smitten, but Thelma and Florida think there's something more to Marcy's request. 

And that's that. Good Times originally debuted as a mid-season replacement and was a hit right out of the gates. I can understand why. Everyone is hilarious (even annoying Jimmie Walker), but it's Esther Rolle and John Amos who get the lion's share of the good lines and great moments here. They're so warm and believable together! Jan'et DuBois as Florida's friend Willnona has a few great moments as well. 

(Incidentally, the next show I'll be watching will be the fourth season of Laverne and Shirley for Women's History Month.) 

Basmati Dreams

Began the morning with breakfast and Pac-Man. Pac-Man and Pepper dodge "The Abominable Pac-Man" on skis while rushing to beat the ghosts and Mezmeron to a wild Power Pellet forest. Mezmeron captures Pepper and makes "The Bionic Pac-Woman" to find out where the Power Pellet forest is, but Pac Man knows his wife better than that.

Called the DVR after breakfast...or tried to. The first number I attempted never went through at all. The second number just went to a box. I finally called Bryanna at Abilities Solutions, who originally gave me the first number. Thank heavens she was in the office. She said they just moved and changed numbers, and no one bothered updating the one online. She e-mailed my counselor at the DVR instead. I just hope he responds fast. I'm going to need help getting loans or help paying a mortgage. I can't stay where I am much longer, and certainly not for another two years. I don't care what the housing market is doing. I need a home of my own.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon watching I Wanna Dance With Somebody. I go further into this biopic of Whitney Houston at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody

(And I'm going to repeat what I said at my musical blog here. Starting March 1st, I will be consolidating all reviews here. I no longer have the time or desire to write long reviews. I will keep the writing blog, which I only post when I've finished a story. Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will stay up as an archive, but as of February 28th, it will no longer be updated.)

Called Uber at 2:25. They came in 9 minutes. There was no traffic, but I still got there slightly late. I had fewer problems going home. It took 10 minutes for the driver to arrive, not surprising during the height of rush hour.

Actually, I had more trouble with the kids before they went to the library. I had 7 at my table (6 plus one boy who wasn't supposed to be there but wanted to play with the magnetic tiles). I let out quite a yell when I saw the boys peeking in on each other in the bathrooms! I did apologize to them for yelling, but I also pointed out to them when we were all out in the hall that people want privacy in the bathrooms, and that they should not be doing that.

Things went much better after that. It helps that there were only 19 all together today. We were missing teachers, too. Two teachers also called out, including the head teacher. We had an older teacher who usually helps with the older kids and a very sweet new recruit helping out. By the time we moved them to the library, we were down to 14 kids. There was no dancing - the head teacher has the dance music - but one of the teachers did show some of the kids a video on sharks. (The shark is Thomas Sharp School's mascot.) I worked on art for my new Legends of WENN story with some of the boys. We were down to five kids, all of them boys, when we finally cleaned everything up and went back to the cafeteria. Two of them went home at the same time I did.

I did a few chores, including taking out the trash, then waited for Jessa. After she picked me up, we headed to Cherry Hill. We ended up having lunch at IndeBlue, an Indian restaurant at the Barclay Shopping Center on Route 70. This was in West Collingswood, but it apparently moved to Philly for a while before coming back to South Jersey four years ago. It was all soft whites and gold, with an amazing crystal-trimmed gold wooden carving in the back. I ordered something called chicken biryani...but they didn't put the huge plate in front of me, and I ended up eating Jessa's spinach and cheese dish instead. At least it was all very spicy and filling!

Finished the night with Good Times. It's "Springtime In the Ghetto," and Florida is taking part in a cleanest apartment contest. She's sure she'll win, until Michael decides to do something nice for somebody. That "somebody" turns out to be Ned the Wino, the local drunk. He's such a dirty mess, Florida orders her menfolk to clean him up and sober him up, and fast! Good thing one of the women in charge of the judging committee knows him well.

Florida is excited when she comes home and reveals she's been offered a part in "The TV Commercial." Her family may be even more delighted than she is. Thelma tries to teach her voice projection, while J.J just wants money to buy barbells. Their mother isn't so thrilled with what the product she's supposed to be pushing actually contains, especially after she sees what it does to Michael.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

I went to sleep as the snow continued to come down heavily. When I awoke the next morning, it was...still coming down, though not as heavily. In fact, it was hard to tell if it was snowing, or just blowing around. I tried to figure it out while eating breakfast and watching Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a Tiny Penguin" when it's stranded with Alex and Everest on a bridge made of canoes and snowboards. They first have to save them from a whirlpool, then get them to shore. "Pups Save a Cat Show" when the robot kitty Mayor Humdinger made goes out of control and makes all of the real cats scatter.

Switched to Frozen: The Musical on Disney Plus next. This is a recording of the English cast of the stage version of the show. It's pretty much the same as the film with a new prologue showing Anna and Elsa as children with their parents at a summer festival ("Let the Sun Shine On"), a random Act Two chorus number for the owner of the trading post where Anna buys her winter clothes ("Hygge"), a duet after Kristoff first meets Anna where Kristoff points out that her engagement is pretty unrealistic ("What Do You Know About Love?"), a number for Kristoff where he finally admits his feelings about Anna ("Kristoff's Lullaby"), a second song for the sisters where Anna confronts Elsa at her ice castle ("I Can't Lose You"), and a second song for Elsa when she realizes she has to return to Arendelle ("Monster"). 

The adorable "What Do You Know About Love?" is probably the best of the new songs, but most of them aren't as good as the ones from the original film. Though there are some decent lead performances from Laura Dawkes as Anna and Samantha Banks as Elsa, the film isn't really enhanced by stage effects and light shows. The pandemic killed this after two years on Broadway, and Disney saw no reason to reopen it. It did a little better in London, running three years. Honestly, it's not bad, but I suspect it's mainly for stage musical nuts or those with little girls who can't get enough of Frozen and don't mind that it isn't the original.

Moved to Tubi for Good Times during lunch. James and Florida are worried that J.J won't make it his senior year of high school. He focuses entirely on art and girls and has never been seen to crack open a school book. They're surprised when "Junior the Senior" passes anyway. Turns out the principal just wanted to move him along because they're overcrowded and underfunded and can't afford to keep him there. Junior agrees to it at first...but then decides that if he's going to move to the next grade, maybe he'd actually start learning about something along the way.

"The Visitor" is a man from the Chicago Housing Commission who comes in response to an angry letter Michael wrote about conditions in the housing development to his local newspaper. The plump little fellow has obviously rarely left his office, and he gets an eye-opener when he's stranded at the apartment building and learns about the real-life conditions that the Evans and their neighbors live in.

After Good Times ended, I started my next Remember WENN fanfiction. It's over a year and a half after "All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front." Betty Roberts is waiting for Scott Sherwood to come home from North Africa, even though she's still trying to convince herself that they're only friends. Hilary Booth is furious that Jeff Singer is walking out on her and their shows to seek a correspondent job in London. She was hoping they could remarry and become queen and king of Pittsburgh radio again now that she's gotten her divorce from Scott. Maple LaMarsh is frustrated that Victor Comstock has gone to Washington to deal with W.E.N.N business and has been constantly breaking dates again. 

Maple wonders why it's the men who always run off to war. Why can't the women be the ones who get to run off and leave the men behind? Betty thinks this is a brilliant idea, and the perfect catalyst for a story the head of the Pittsburgh Public School District, the new sponsors for A Book at Bedtime, asked for. They requested an original, slightly dark fairy tale to make the younger children shiver and the older ones cheer. Hilary suggests, of course, that she is the Queen of Pittsburghia, returning home with her scribe and music magician, to find all isn't well in WENN Castle...

Tentatively titled Legends of WENN, this is intended to be a much shorter 80's-style fantasy story than my ongoing Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN, less Game of Thrones and more Willow or darker Princess Bride. I'm hoping I can actually finish this one. I love the idea, and not only is it not tied to a holiday, it's a fully-new idea, not something I came up with years ago. 

Listened to a couple of my recent record acquisitions while I worked. We Are was one of Quincy Jones' last collaborations, this one with jazz fusion artist Jon Batiste. The opening title song smacks of gospel. "Tell the Truth" and "Show Me the Way" get more into the rock, while "Whatchutalkinbout," "Boy Hood," and "Freedom" lean more on the soul side of things. Recommended if you love Batiste or are looking for something that moves out beyond the traditional jazz. 

Despite being listed as the soundtrack from A Boy Named Charlie Brown, what I picked up at Barnes and Noble last week is actually a reprint of the non-special Peanuts Vince Guaraldi album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. As such, there's some really good performances here. Along with "Linus and Lucy," we have "Oh Good Grief," "Blue Charlie Brown," "Baseball Theme," and "Happiness Theme (Happiness Is)." (I am going to keep looking for the real soundtrack to A Boy Named Charlie Brown, though.)

Moved to the first disc of that Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II set next. "Lay Lady Lay" is my favorite number here, and possibly the best-known number on this half of the set. "Watching the River Flow," "Maggie's Farm," and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" are other stand-outs.

The snow had long vanished by 4:30, and the roads were largely clear. It wasn't even that windy anymore. I figured it was ok to run errands and use up the last WaWa gift card I got from the kids for Christmas. I had been right about the snow. There was a lot of it, true, at least 9 inches, but it was wet, heavy, and fluffy. In fact, most of it was melting even as I dodged unshoveled sidewalks and huge piles of icy slush. I did drop off two books in one of the library kiosks, but I decided the sidewalks on the back roads were too messy to take them home.

WaWa wasn't that busy, despite it being one of the few places open on a snowy Monday. I got money for a friend, then used the last of my gift card on a soft pretzel and a Chocolate Coconut Smoothie. I tasted more chocolate than coconut, but it was still sweet and wet, which was really all that mattered at that point. 

Maybe I should have done the back roads again instead. The sidewalks on the White Horse Pike were only slightly less messy than the ones in the neighborhood. No one had shoveled or plowed around Family Dollar at all, not even their parking lot. I hope they weren't open. At least it wasn't that cold, either, probably in the perfectly normal upper 30's-lower 40's. 

Put on Match Game Syndicated while I had dinner. Bob Donner, former beauty queen Marjorie Wallace, Bill Daily, and Marcia Wallace figured into this week. Marcia spent the week joking about how much she and Marjorie looked alike (they didn't) and trying to rein in Bill Daily's perpetual nervousness. Bob Donner spent it writing unique artwork for his cards.

Finished the night at YouTube with more Match Game, this time at YouTube, in honor of Black History Month. The second African-American panelist to appear on the new Match Game after Della Reece was comedian Stu Gilliam early in 1973. No wonder he never came back. He spent most of the week trying to meditate between Jack Klugman and Brett Somers and their perpetual battles. Mannix's secretary Gail Parker had more luck joining the panel in dealing with overly excited contestant Dorothy the day after New Year's 1974. Comedian and impressionist George Kirby appeared later that year, just in time to see Richard literally throw Brett's shoe out when she asked him to fix it. 

Isobel Sanford of The Jeffersons turned up on the show twice, most memorably early in 1976. She helped win big money for a very sweet contestant who was such a doll, Marvin Hamlisch and Charles Nelson Reilly wrote a song about her. 

Nipsey Russell and Scoey Mitchelll probably appeared the most of any black panelist and got the most out of their appearance on the show. Nipsey appeared off and on from 1973 through 1979. Scoey first turned up in 1974 and would appear through early in 1982. I have a typical episode with Nipsey and his famous poems from 1978, and Scoey's last appearance in 1982 (that also included a brief but memorable striptease from Betty White). 

Arsenio Hall was probably the most memorable of the black panelists to appear exclusively on The Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour. His quips and jokes really made that show, and he was frankly one of the best things about a wildly uneven format. Jimmie Walker of Good Times first turned up in 1974, when the show was just starting its five-year run. He became so associated with the show, he would appear throughout the original run and turn up on Match Game-Hollywood Squares and Match Game '90 as well. Like Marcia Wallace and Vicki Lawrence, Jimmie probably did his best work in the 90's show, where he was slightly more subdued and less obnoxious. I have his first episode (and Mary Wickes') here, where he ogles a very pretty contestant.

Celebrate Black History Month with some of the most memorable panelists ever on Match Game!

Stu Gilliam (1973)

Gail Parker (1974)

George Kirby (1974)

Isobel Sanford (1976)

Nipsey Russell (1978)

Scoey Mitchelll (1982)

Arsenio Hall (1983)

Jimmie Walker (1990)

Super Snow Day Matches

I woke up around 9:30 to see rain coming down in heavy buckets...but I knew the rain wouldn't last. I debated and debated for another half-hour, but I finally called out of the Acme. I didn't want to lose the money, but if it was going to snow later, I would never get a ride home at 6 PM. I had a hard enough time getting an Uber ride home at 6PM yesterday when the weather was perfectly normal. I called out reluctantly, then went back to sleep until past 1. 

It was still raining cats, dogs, and chickens when I did finally roll out of bed. I got up so late, the very early Match Game marathon was already on. This extra-long marathon was themed around superheroes and superhero questions. Superheros were on a downward spiral in the early 70's after the enormous popularity of Batman and other candy-colored pop art wonders of the 60's. They'd make a comeback later in the decade with the success of the TV versions of Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk and the first Superman movie. 

I came in for the second half of the hilarious Halloween episode from the 1990-1991 revival where Charles Nelson Reilly dressed as Superman, complete with inflatable muscles. ("No one picks Superman anymore!" he wailed later in the episode when he wasn't chosen for the Match-Up mini game.) No one else would dress the part, but questions about superheroes, especially Superman, abounded during the entire 1973-1979 run of the show. They were ironically less common in syndication, but they did still turn up occasionally. Usually, they came in the form of what Superman would do if he got old, what he did with Lois Lane and his X-Ray vision, what he ran into while he was flying, and whether he could really bend iron bars and leap tall buildings in a single bound.

There was a Superman question the week with Robert Morse in 1974 when the little red-headed male contestant kept winning and chasing all the female panelists. Sweet Janet Finn in 1974 and good-natured Carolyn in 1979 both had Superman questions on the day they won big money (with Charles and Brianne Leary respectively). The lady with the nifty pink butterfly-shaped glasses who was on in 1975 had a Superman question. So did the lady with 10 children who proudly said she'd spend the money on herself. There was one during the only week in 1973 that Gene's old boss and mentor Steve Allen appeared, and one during the only appearance of Oscar-winner Shelley Winters. 

Batman turned up more rarely, usually in questions that joked about his relationship with Robin. One such question in 1973 had such a sexually-charged answer - from the contestant and the panelists - that the episode is now banned from regular television. There was a similar question later in 1974, with slightly more delicate answers. 

It's up, up, and away with the Match Game panel as we celebrate Superman, Batman, and all kinds of superheroic matching!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Super Hero Marathon

Oh, and the snow finally started coming down around 3:15 and hasn't stopped since. If anything, I think it's even heavier now. The streets are only clear because Oaklyn is really good at cleaning up its streets, but most of the local towns aren't usually as on the ball. All local schools are closed tomorrow, the Collingswood School District included, and I was off of the Acme already anyway. I won't be going anywhere tomorrow but home. 

Match Game Mouse Club

Began the morning with breakfast and Pac-Man. Tired Pac-Man reads Pac-Baby the story of "Neander Pac-Man" and his discovery of Power Pellets in order to get him to sleep. He ends up being "Backpackin' Packy" when he has to take the Pac-Baby Scouts on a camping trip after the original leader stubbed his toe. He ends up teaching the kids more about chomping ghosts than setting up tents and marking trails.

Since I was already at Tubi, I moved to Murder She Wrote next. Jessica is initially delighted when the woman anchor of a local news show wants to interview her and see how she lives in Cabot Cove. The residents are thrilled, too...until another anchor with less interest in Jessica and small towns than in digging up big stories takes over the interview. It becomes an "Obituary for a Dead Anchor" when the boat the man rents blows to smithereens, and supposedly takes him with it. He's not as dead as he thinks, but the man who was killed removed him from a big story involving a drug-dealing art collector. Jessica has to save Cabot Cove's reputation, her own, and his when she tries to find out who really had it in for the producer.

Watched a quick Donald Duck short while eating lunch and getting ready for work. Donald lets Chip and Dale shovel his sidewalk in "Corn Chips." The duo retaliate by stealing his popcorn. His attempt to get it back just ends up making even more of a mess for him to shovel.

Called Uber a little early, after the cartoon ended. Thankfully, I was able to get one in 7 minutes going to work...because it took me 19 minutes going home at 6 PM. (And that was with normal weather.) At least there was no trouble or traffic either way.

Work was a madhouse today, with long lines for most of the afternoon. Everyone has seen the weather forecast. On one hand, even if we get a ton of snow, it'll likely be slushy or not really stick. It's been too warm lately for it to freeze up and linger like it did last month. It's the wind and colder temperatures later on Sunday and on Monday that concern me. Still not cold enough for it to freeze up or stick around, but cold enough for there to be some icy patches and the snow to get blown around and make visibility difficult. I was alone for most of the afternoon, too. The head bagger had a family emergency and went home early. They did get a college boy to help later, but he first had his break, then had to return to his original job handling self-checkout. At least it was sunny and warm, in the 50's, and I was able to buy my favorite Caramel Coconut Cookies from the Girl Scouts.

When I got home, I had dinner while watching Frosty Returns. I go further into this strange 1992 semi-sequel to the Rankin-Bass Frosty specials at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Frosty Returns

Finished the night making the bed while tonight's YouTube Match Game marathon was on. Though Mickey Mouse hadn't appeared in a theatrical short in over 20 years when the show started in 1973, he still occasionally turned up as the subject for questions. Most of them joked about his relationship with Minnie, what he really wanted more than anything, or him finally firing Donald Duck. 

Fannie Flagg had a sequined Mickey Mouse shirt she wore at least twice during the original 1973-1979 run of the show. There were Mickey questions on the only episode to feature two male contestants in early 1977 (both of them very cute), and the wild week in 1973 with McLean Stevenson and Nancy Dussault. The first Mickey question appeared during the first week with Brett, Charles, Bert Convy, and Betty White. There would be another in 1979 with Convy and Robert Walden, too. 

Celebrate Disney's big cheese with these hilarious episodes that will have you all ears!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Match Game Meets Mickey Mouse Marathon

My Foolish Heart

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Today is its last day on Netflix, so I wanted to watch as much as I could while I can still get it for free. "Taking Control" has Adora trying to reconnect with Catra, but she's still out of it after her rescue from Horde Prime. While Entraptra and Bow navigate an asteroid field, Catra warns Adora that the Rebellion is under attack by residents of a town that were fitted with hive mind chips. Adora turns into She-Ra and wards them off...but she hasn't succeeded in getting rid of every chip out there...

Called Uber after the episode ended. No trouble here today. The driver going to the Westmont Acme arrived in 7 minutes. The one going home came in 5 minutes. No traffic, either, not even on Cuthbert Road at quarter of 1.

Surprisingly, considering what the weather is supposed to be like this weekend, the Acme wasn't any busier than normal, either. I was just making an ordinary trip myself. Restocked granola, coconut milk, sliced chicken, granola bars, probiotic soda, apples, and yogurt. Opted to get cheaper and easier to store whole wheat tortillas for wraps instead of sandwich bread. Blood oranges are finally in season (my favorite citrus fruit), and those yummy sweet "Jam Grapes" and "Candy Snaps" red grapes I love were on good sales with an online coupon. Found strawberry thumbprint cookies on the bakery clearance rack, and treated myself to a slice of red velvet cake on sale. No Fresca, but they did have a display of the new Coke Cherry Float Zero, so I got two of those.

Looked up my schedule when I got home and put everything away. It's pretty much the same as this week with slightly more hours on Sunday and next Saturday. We'll see if I can actually go in on Sunday. I don't want to call out again (I've already called out three times in the past month, either because of my knee or the weather), but we are supposed to get snow this weekend. 

Watched Good Times while I put everything away and ate lunch. "Junior Has a Patron," wealthy Leroy Jackson (Ed Cambridge) who is willing to fund J.J's art. James is furious when he finds out. Leroy once bet on a horse with all his money and lost. He won't let J.J work with him, which leads to Junior moving out. J.J discovers, however, that he can't work without his family's constant noise...and his parents find that they miss him.

The Evans parents are up in arms when they discover an essay entitled "Sexual Behavior In the Ghetto." Florida thinks it's J.J's, but his only thought is of the ever-changing stream of luscious ladies he's been dating. James thinks it's Thelma, who has been gushing over a handsome college student beau (Phillip Michael Thomas). Turns out "Sex and the Evans Family" isn't as explicit as they think, nor does it come from the source they assume.

Headed for the school after Good Times ended. No trouble here, either. The Uber driver going to school arrived in 7 minutes. The one going home was originally supposed to come in 5, but he canceled, and the next took 10 minutes. At least there was no traffic either way.

Things started out pretty crazy. The cafeteria was still set up for a magic-themed assembly held there earlier, so the kids had to sit against the walls while we waited for the magicians to clean up their props and the custodians to pull out the tables. My kids barely had the chance to play before they went to the bathrooms. The girls were really wild in there, making a mess again and sliding all over the slippery floor when I told them not to.

We couldn't get into the library right away, either. They were holding a party for one of the school clubs there. The head teacher read stories to them after snack time before they cleared out and we could head in. Most of the kids danced to music from Bluey, KPop Demon Hunters, PJ Masks, and kid-ized versions of (relatively) recent hit songs. Two of the older boys ran around and played with Legos before they got a little too crazy and had to be separated. The kids loved seeing me draw Hilary, Betty, and Maple fighting a snake man and Snake-Man Jeff leading the trio out of the castle through an underground tunnel. 

It had been raining off and on all day, though it hadn't rained heavily since that morning. It was finally gone by 5:30, and most of the snow went with it. It remained cloudy, cold, and damp for the entire day, though.

Had dinner and watched Match Game Syndicated when I got home. Most of the episodes finished out the week with George Kennedy, Elaine Joyce, Dick Martin, and Betty White. In one episode, Gene talked for so long about the universe and the cosmos, the entire panel but a genuinely fascinated Dick Martin walked off the set, and then the lights went out! David Doyle and Susan Sullivan were in the last episode of the night.

Finished out the night with more She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Mermista goes into film noir turf again as she seeks out "The Perils of Peekablue." She brings Perfuma, Scorpia, and Sea Hawk to help her find Prince Peekablue, who supposedly can see into the future, at a local club. Trouble is, not only do half the people at the club know Sea Hawk and don't like him, but the other half already have been fitted with the mind-control chips. Not to mention, Peekablue is far from what Mermista thinks he is...but they do manage to discover that there's a blockade around the planet that won't let Adora's ship through.

Adora is willing to make a "Shot In the Dark" when Wrong Hordak, the clone they saved from Horde Prime's ship, claims Horde Prime's weakness can be found at Krytis. Turns out that what they find there are First Ones ruins, a ton of magic, and a cat-like creature named Melog with magic of its own that bonds with Catra. They come to the conclusion that it's magic that can take down Horde Prime and make use of Melog's stealth magic to get them past the blockade.

Even when they land on Etheria, "An Ill Wind" has separated the Rebellion and terrified the planet. Adora leads her party to the nearest town, which has also been corrupted by the mind-control chips. The residents are utterly terrified, claiming princesses have been attacking them. Not all of them. Netossa saves them from her mind-controlled wife Spinnerella, and almost rescues her. When She-Ra joins them to help liberate the town, she says they'll do anything to save both Etheria and Netossa's beloved lady. 

Ladies of Fantasy

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. I'm trying to get as much of this as I can in before it leaves Netflix tomorrow and I have to pay to access the last few episodes. (Seasons 4 and 5 aren't currently on DVD.) "Corridors" begins with Adora, Bow, and Entraptra stranded in space when their vehicle stalls. Entraptra, who always wanted to get into space, is the only one who is happy about this. Meanwhile, it's Catra who sacrifices her own freedom to get Glimmer past Horde Prime and to the others.

Headed out to run errands next. It was a dull, gray day, cloudy and chilly but not freezing like it has been the past month. I mainly just needed a new weekly planner. Mine is about to run out. I checked Dollar General, but I ended up getting the same one at Family Dollar. Since I was near-by, I kept going down the White Horse Pike to WaWa for a Coconut Cream Smoothie and a chicken, bacon, and cheddar sandwich on a pretzel roll. The snow is finally disappearing, too. More than three-fourths of it is gone. Most of what's left is collected around the curbs and in shady spots where sunlight has a harder time reaching.

Went back to She-Ra while I ate. The quartet are "Stranded" on a planet where they can find the pink crystals that will fuel their ship...but one that's also rocked by strong earthquakes. While Bow and Glimmer make up after she admits that she should have listened to him about setting off the Heart of Etheria weapon, Adora convinces three fugitive siblings from Horde Prime's tyranny to help them find crystals and join the Rebellion.

I also worked on a new Remember WENN story idea this morning. I originally came up with the general idea for this one last year, but I didn't know where to go with it until now. Betty, Maple, and Hilary are all lamenting their men leaving after "All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front." Scott is at basic training, Victor went to Washington to deal with W.E.N.N business, and Jeff is trying to get a London correspondent job. Maple wonders why they can't be the ones to run off, for once...which prompts Betty's newest fantasy show, and the story.

Queen Hilary, Lady Elizabeth, and Maid Maple return to WENN Castle to discover it's now the stronghold of the wicked Snake King Pruitt. He hates music and love, the things that can most defeat him, and has stolen all of the sound and music in the kingdom. The Wizard Victor is fighting his control. King Jeffery has been turned into a half-snake, half-man slave for Pruitt. Victor put a sleeping spell on Sir Scott...and when he inserted a clause that would allow his true love to awaken him with a kiss, Pruitt sealed Scott in a crystal coffin and hid him where he would never be found. The ladies must free their menfolk and restore the sound and music to their beloved home.

I think I might actually start writing this next week, maybe Sunday or Monday. I want to work on a few more things before I start writing...but I really like this one. This is the most excited I've been about an idea since Maplepunzel back in September. 

Called Uber after the show ended. No trouble here. Took 7 minutes to arrive and 5 going home. I was slightly early arriving, but nothing outrageous.

The kids weren't bad, either. In fact, I only had six at my table today, and they weren't nearly as much of a problem in the bathrooms. There were just 20 younger kids all together. They did get a little wild in the cafeteria. I had at least five kids requesting stories all at once. I did manage to read a Golden Book version of Frozen and a Cars story before we went to the library. Once we got there, most of the kids danced to songs from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Moana, KPop Demon Hunters, and Bluey. One of the older boys wanted me to draw something for him, but I told him to use his own imagination...and boy, did he! His nifty stick-figures were worthy of a Marvel comic. His mom was proud of him when she picked him up later on. 

Watched Lost In Alaska when I got home. I go further into this wacky adventure in the Yukon with Abbott and Costello at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Lost In Alaska

Switched to Good Times next. "God's Business Is Good Business" for an old Korean War friend of James' who is now a smarmy televangelist. Everyone in the Evans family is moved by his spiel (and money) but Florida, who thinks he's slimy and what he does is blasphemous. James is ready to join him and earn big bucks, until he sees J.J imitating him and realizes that what he does isn't what he wants for his family.

"Michael Gets Suspended" when he tells his teacher that he thinks George Washington was racist for owning slaves. His parents are shocked and try to get him to apologize. After reading a book on black History from the library, James begins to wonder if the kid has a point, even if he should have been nicer to his teacher about disagreeing.

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner. Big George Kennedy joined in next to Brett this time. Dick Martin found himself between two smarter and more sensible blondes, Elaine Joyce and Betty White. Charles spent most of the week fussing about replacements for Brett. 

Finished the night with more She-Ra. Adora buys the others time to rescue Catra while she distracts Horde Prime. They don't find Catra, but they are able to rescue one of Horde Prime's hive-mind clones. Entraptra dubs him "Wrong Hordak," and he actually ends up being kind of sweet when he's not attached to a planet-dominating Bond villain. Adora puts herself out to "Save the Cat" when she discovers Catra's being controlled, too, and only she can break his hive-mind. It would seem She-Ra isn't gone after all, and love, not First Ones tech, has everything to do with it. 

Oh, and it started raining while I was waiting for the Uber ride home. It's rained off and on, sometimes fairly hard, for the rest of the evening. 

Wild In the Library

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and the first episode of season five. "Horde Prime" is the ultimate Bond villain, slick on the outside, the world's biggest jerk on the inside. He thinks he can force Glimmer to tell him what happened to She-Ra, but...er, there's a slight problem. Adora broke her sword in "Destiny" and can no longer become She-Ra. She's been fighting more on her own, feeling she has nothing to offer her friends anymore. The others save her and remind her that there's a lot more to her than just being She-Ra.

Soon as the episode ended, I called Uber. Unfortunately, the driver took 12 minutes, and I was just barely late to work. Thankfully, work wasn't terribly busy. The weather is improving - it was a bit misty and cloudy, but not too cold - and we're between holidays again. In fact, I spent an hour doing three online training courses. When I finished, one of the college boys was sweeping, so I focused on the carts.

After work, I bought water for later, then walked in the back to Tang Asian Buffet. Thought I'd do them in honor of Chinese New Year yesterday. They weren't that busy at 1:30. I think more people do dinner there. I watched the Olympic Women's Freestyle Skiing Aerials on TVs over the buffet counters while I ate salad, pineapple chunks, sweet and sour chicken, chilled mussels, green beans, rice noodles with vegetables, a spring roll, a cheese-filled wonton, two pork dumplings, seafood salad, spinach souffle, tiramisu (which was really more of a tiramisu pudding), and a tiny square of chocolate mousse cake. (Incidentally, I later found out one of the two Chinese ladies came in first, followed by the Australian woman. The highest the US got was fifth.)

Walked back to the Acme as the sun was peeking around the mists and read magazines until it was time to call Uber. This was the only time all day it didn't take forever to get one. They picked me up in 7 minutes and got me to the Thomas Sharp School right on time, with no traffic anywhere.

The kids were wild today. Somehow, I ended up taking the 7 kids at my table to the bathroom, plus four more who really needed to go. The girls were so nuts in the bathroom, they got water and soap all over the floor. One young lady valiantly tried to clean up the floor while the others skated on it. I finally told her that I appreciated the help, but we would leave it to the custodians. 

It didn't get much better after lunch. The head teacher was busy with a visiting inspector, which meant the other teacher and I were frequently on our own with 20 bored kids who hadn't been on their playground in over a month. I tried reading to them at the book table in the cafeteria, but they all swarmed around me, and I had to stand so they could see it. They were even crazier in the library, running around and standing on tables and hiding under tables when we'd specifically told them not to. At least three kids bonked their heads and ended up taking ice packs home with them. We were in the library for so long trying to get the kids settled down, I stayed slightly later to help them clean up and get back to the cafeteria.

Had more trouble getting an Uber home. They didn't arrive for 13 minutes, and there was a little traffic around Collings Avenue and the White Horse Pike. No trouble after that, though. 

Went straight into dinner and Match Game Syndicated when I got home. Jon "Bowser" Bauman and his big, wide mouth and sneaker-shaped bag returned this week. Small and sensible Arte Johnson was more frustrated about being caught between slightly dizzy blondes Joyce Bulifant and Eva Gabor. Eva just wished oil from the pipes over them wouldn't drip on her pretty blue dress. Gene eventually gave her an umbrella to keep the drips off.

Finished the night after a shower with more fifth season She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. While Glimmer tentatively bonds with a frustrated Catra, Entraptra and the others try to keep the Rebellion going. Adora, overworked and undernourished, takes a long nap...and follows a light figure who finally reminds her that they do have a way to save Glimmer that doesn't involve her sword. Entraptra may not be great with people, but she can "Launch" Adora and Bow into space in their stolen First Ones ship. 

In the Year of the Horse

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Adora, Bow, and Swift Wing crash-land on "Beast Island" and discover vines that cause depression, massive one-eyed monsters...and King Micah, Glimmer's long-lost father, who was exiled there. Entraptra ends up finding them. Meanwhile, Glimmer, angry that Bow and Adora disobeyed her orders, goes to Light Hope to see if she can set off the Heart of Eternia and free her people. Light Hope says there's only one princess who can connect with the remaining Black Garnet - Scorpia.

Switched to Step Up: Year of the Dance while doing research on options in New Jersey to find aid for mentally disabled and financially challenged first-time home buyers. I don't want to rent anymore. I can't take the chance of being forced out again. I need to own my condo or apartment. As for Step Up, I go further into this installment of the popular Step Up franchise made for the Chinese market at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog for Chinese New Year. 

Honoring Chinese New Year - Step Up: Year of the Dance (Step Up China)

Switched to Good Times during lunch. J.J's painting of a "Black Jesus" ends up dividing his family when, after he hangs it on the wall, everyone in the family seems to have a string of good luck. James insists it's the painting. Florida insists that the painting had nothing to do with it, and luck is just luck, after all.

James is excited when he's sure he's going to get a high-paying job with the Union. Even his family throws a big party for him. It turns into the "Too Old Blues" when they reject him because of his age. Florida and his children assure him that they still love him no matter what, and they certainly don't think he's too old.

Called Uber shortly after the episode ended. No trouble here. The one going to work came in 11 minutes and got me there just in time. The one coming from work took 10 minutes at the height of rush hour. No traffic either way.

The kids were excited today, and not just because of Chinese New Year. Many classes also celebrated their 100th day of school with cool cardboard "100!" glasses, tie-dye t-shirts, and Mardi Gras foam crowns. Though I only had 7 kids at my table today, they took a while at the bathrooms. One little boy took so long, the other teacher brought the others back for snack time while he finished. I also had to explain to a little boy that the girl next to him wanted to build blocks alone, and that it wasn't such a bad thing to do something on your own when your friend is busy.

We switched to coloring and playing with magnetic tiles after snack time. Two of the taller girls got into a fight when one thought the other gave her the paper they were coloring on, and she ended up ripping it. I kept them in the cafeteria to settle their differences and talk things out when the others went to the library. (One of the little boys hung back as well, probably because he liked the peace and quiet.) They seemed to be in much better moods when we did hit the library. I colored with two of the boys while the others danced to "Ghostbusters," the theme from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a kid-ized version of "Pink Pony Club." We were down to three when we took them back to the cafeteria. One left as I was leaving.

Watched Match Game Syndicated when I got home. For some reason, they jumped back to earlier in 1979 for the week with Patty Duke complaining that Charlene Tilton needed to wear more clothes while Jon "Bowser" Bauman showed off his rubber chains. The second hour went back to 1980 with Don Galloway and Fannie Flagg. 

After Match Game ended, I returned to Netflix to finish off the fourth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Glimmer finally realizes that maybe setting off the Heart of Etheria weapon wasn't such a terrific idea when it first enhances the powers of the princesses...then drains her and them. She-Ra is the only being that can channel it, but she begs Light Hope to remember how much Mara meant to her. She-Ra realizes that "Destiny" is something we can control when she shatters her sword to stop the weapon...and then Horde Prime turns up to reclaim his younger brother Hordak and ends up with Glimmer and Catra, too.

Ended the night with the Bill Evans Trio and Explorations. This soft, lovely piano music is perfect for gentle background music while working on musical reviews. "Haunted Heart," "How Deep Is the Ocean," and "I Wish I Knew" are especially lovely. 

Malls and Games

Began President's Day with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. There's "Fractures" in the Rebellion as they argue over how to use the Heart of Etheria super weapon. Adora and Bow think it's best to let sleeping weapons lie before they destroy the planet, while Glimmer thinks it could be harnessed to defeat the Horde. They're all shocked when Scorpia suddenly turns up to tell them that Entraptra is on Beast Island, but they don't trust her...until they admit that they're all misfits in one way or another, and she wonders if she's found a place where she can finally fit in. Meanwhile, Glimmer tries to get the truth from flippant Double Trouble, while Adora, Bow, and Swift Wing sneak out the rescue Entraptra.

Called Uber after the show ended. To my surprise, I got a driver in 3 minutes at quarter after 11. He came in a snazzy orange Jeep, too. No trouble getting to the Deptford Mall at all. There was no traffic anywhere, not even around the mall or on the highway.

Started off at Round 1 Arcade. There were a lot of games down, including Lane Master and Ring Toss. Thankfully, plenty of others were still going. I spent the next hour going from Tetris to giant Pac Man to giant Space Invaders to Bust a Move to skee ball to a Wizard of Oz wheel to Centipede Chaos. Couldn't get anything out of the cranes, but I did earn enough points for a cute little Beanie Baby French bulldog named Portia. 

After a quick peek at FYE, I headed to Red Robin for lunch. Considering it was 12:30 by the time I got there, I'm surprised they weren't busier. I didn't have to wait at all. I went with one of their big promotions, where you could get certain sandwiches with a side and a drink for a fixed price. I got a Red Robin Double Burger, steak fries, and an unsweetened iced tea for $10.50 (including tax but not tip). The burger wasn't bad, juicy if a bit flat. I always love their steak fries, though, nice and hot and perfectly seasoned.

Unfortunately, I also got a text from Jessa while I was there saying that she had to cancel this week, but we could do next week. Bummer. I look forward to our dinners together. I don't really have too many adults I talk to on a regular basis. Plus, her birthday is this week, and I have a Valentine's card for her, too.

I was in and out of stores after lunch. I looked at t-shirts in the Junior Plus section at Boscov's, but I just ended up getting Jessa a birthday present. Browsed at Toys R' Us, but didn't see anything I needed. Hit the jackpot at Box Lunch. They were having a buy one, get two for free sale on clearance items. I picked up a cute Wicked t-shirt, a Wicked pocket insert for mini backpacks, and Jacken the Squishmallow Sea Slug. (He's cute, but I can understand why he was only $3.99. And the pockets and Jacken were the freebies.) 

Headed across the street around 2:30. On one hand, it was cloudy, gloomy, and breezy. Though it's colder than it has been, probably in the upper 30's-lower 40's, that's still nowhere near the Antarctic temperatures we've been getting lately. It was actually a rather pleasant walk across the street, made even more so by the fact that it looks like they're finally moving something into the former Christmas Tree Shoppes building next to Aldi's. (Later research revealed it'll actually be three buildings, a Nordstrom Rack, a restaurant, and Blinds To Go.) 

Barnes and Noble was even busier than the mall. I didn't see any books I desperately needed, and I still have tons to read at home, but I did find two records for relatively decent prices. Until today, the only Beatles albums I was missing were Please Please Me and Yellow Submarine. I finally found Please Please Me today, along with A Boy Named Charlie Brown. (Later research reveals it's not the actual soundtrack. It's a reprint of an earlier Vince Guaraldi album that was originally titled Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Oh well. I'll put it in with the jazz albums and keep looking for the actual soundtrack.)

Since I got a dollar off tea or coffee coupon with the records, I went to Starbucks for a snack. Had a chai latte and an Oreo brownie. The Oreo brownie was thick and fudgy, filled with crumbly Oreo pieces and vanilla cream. The chai latte was sweet and slightly spicy. 

The Uber going home picked me up at Barnes and Noble in 10 minutes, not bad considering it was past 4 PM by then. There was traffic going over the still-under-repair ramp into Collingswood and Mt. Ephraim, but it moved faster than I thought it would. I was home by almost 5.

Took my laundry downstairs, put everything away, and did a few chores, then put on the first episode of Good Times in honor of Black History Month. I have at least 25 TV DVD sets I haven't gotten around to watching yet, many of them full series. Instead of trying to binge-watch all of them (many of them being very long-running sitcoms), I'm going to rotate seasons with the longer shows. In this case, Good Times kicks off with "Getting Up the Rent." Florida (Esther Rolle) and James (John Amos) Evans are shocked when they get eviction notices. Their children J.J (Jimmie Walker), Thelma (Bern Nadette Stanis), and Michael (Ralph Carter) try to help in their own way. Florida doesn't approve of James playing pool for the cash and goes to get it in her own way.

Switched to Match Game Syndicated next. Fred Travalena figured into two of the weeks, sitting next to Brett during the one with Betty Kennedy and Robert Donner and in the fifth "smart guy" seat next to Fannie Flagg. Fred's many voices prompted several jokes, including Brett wondering how his wife felt about sleeping with so many different voices at night.

Finished the night at YouTube covering the career of Geoff Edwards. Edwards had been a TV and radio host who did several unsold pilots before he finally landed Hollywood's Talking in 1973. Jack Barry's revival of the short-lived Everybody's Talking from 1967 had three contestants trying to guess who or what celebrities seen in short filmed segments were discussing. The segments were cute, but the game play was rough - it wasn't easy to figure out what they were talking about just from the segments. The show ran three months, ultimately being replaced by the far more successful Match Game revival. 

Edwards hadn't gotten along with Jack Barry, but found the wacky Chuck Barris to be more congenital. He hosted The New Treasure Hunt for Barris from 1973 through 1977. Ladies were called onstage to open up colorful boxes. They initially chose a box, then a card with money attached to the box. They could keep the money, or go for the contents of the box. The contents might lead to a big car or prize...or lead to a silly skit and much cheaper prizes called "klunks." Alas, both ladies hit "klunks" in the episode I saw. Edwards finally left when he thought his boss was getting a little too sadistic with the ladies on the "klunks." He'd briefly host a revival in the early 80's.

He also had trouble with Jackpot! in 1974. This Bob Stewart show had a group of people reading riddles for a contestant. If the contestant could guess the riddle, they would remain queen or king of the "hill." If they got it wrong, they'd have to step down, and the person who read the riddle would have their turn. The more the riddles were answered correctly, the higher the Jackpot got. There was also a Super Jackpot...and that was won in the only episode currently existing with audio and video intact. Apparently, the format was changed to a more typical question-and-answer show later in its run. The original NBC show only ran a year and a half. It would do far better on USA and in syndication in the late 80's. Edwards hosted the final, syndicated season of that run.

When the word-based Bob Stewart show Shoot for the Stars didn't fare any better in 1977, Edwards returned to syndication for Play the Percentages. This one had so much format trouble, it ran through three different versions of its format during the show's eight-month run. The format seen in this pilot episode would be slightly tweaked for the actual series. By March, the couples were replaced by solo players, and it would be more of a straight quiz. Nothing worked. Edwards was charming, but the rotating formats were confusing in any version.

Edwards was much happier taking over Starcade from Mark Richards in 1983. Unlike Richards, he was willing to study and learn about video games and those who played them. In fact, he did his homework so well, he became a gamer himself for the rest of his life. Two contestants answer questions about video games, then play a then-popular video arcade console. Whomever has the highest score gets to win prizes on a "guess the video game" mini-game, then plays one of the remaining games and tries to beat the game's average score. No wonder Edwards fell in love with video games after this. This show is really fun to watch even now, especially if you're a vintage video game nut.

Edwards' last non-lottery game show would be The New Chain Reaction. He took over from the blase Blake Emmons after a few weeks in 1986 and would host for the rest of its run. I used to love playing along with the contestants and watching them make word chains and seeing who could get all the letters first. This was Edwards' other Canadian/US cable show along with the Jackpot revival. I fondly remember seeing both on USA as a child and thinking how much fun they looked.

Avoid klunks, make word chains, hit the Starcade, and play the percentages with this jack of all trades charmer!

Hollywood's Talking Premiere (1973)

The New Treasure Hunt (1974)

Jackpot! (1975)

Play the Percentages Pilot (1980)

Starcade (1984)

The New Chain Reaction (1987)

Jackpot! (1989)

Come Fly the Matching Skies

Began the morning with Taylor Swift and Red while eating brunch. This came out about a decade ago and apparently was Swift's attempt at "learning" and collaborating with other songwriters. All I know is you can't argue with the results. It was the second biggest selling album of 2012 and was nominated for Album of the Year and Country Album at the 2013 Grammys. "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "Begin Again" were the chart-topping hits here. Other good ones here include "Treacherous," "All Too Well," "The Last Time," and "Holy Ground."

Hadn't finished Taylor Swift when I hurried downstairs to call Uber. I needed to get a second one when the first canceled, and the second one didn't arrive until 13 minutes later. Which meant I was late to work. Ironically, the one going home didn't even take a minute to arrive. Apparently, he'd been picking up food for his cat at Wal Mart when the call came through.

Work was a little less busy than yesterday. Everyone must have done their grocery shopping on Valentine's Day or were waiting for their day off tomorrow. The weather didn't help, either. It was gloomy and gray, and while not as warm as yesterday, still warmer than it has been. I think it was in the 40's, perfectly normal for this time of year. I did need help a little later from one of the college-age cashiers, but honestly, it could have been worse. I was in and out with no trouble. Even treated myself to a giant heart filled with truffles and bought a birthday card for Jessa. Saw Rose and Finley too and gave Fin a great big hug.

Changed when I got home, then finished out Red and spent the rest of the night watching the Match Game marathon on YouTube. Airplanes and airports were just coming off their high in the 60's and early 70's as the most modern and sexy way to travel when the show began in 1973. Though it had its fair share of stewardesses as contestants, most airplane references came in the form of goofy questions, usually about the show's resident inexpensive carrier El Cheapo Airlines. There were questions about where one had to sit on a fully-booked plane, what one did on an El Cheapo flight to get it started, what the pilot was doing that made everyone nervous, and what he said on the intercom that made them even moreso. 

There was an airline question on the episode where a woman in the audience sang "Louie Louie" to explain what that was when it came up in the Audience Match "Louie __." There was also one in the hilarious later PM episode where Elaine Joyce wore flaming red and producer Roger Dobowitz spelled "parachute" as "pair of shoes." Dick and Gene started taking their jackets and ties off by the end of the episode before Elaine left...and Dick went after her.

Fly the wacky skies with the matching crew of El Cheapo Airlines in this hilarious marathon that will give you a real lift!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Come Fly With Me (Featuring Airlines, Airports, and Air Travel)

Oh, and sometime between my arrival home and around 8 PM, it started raining. Not hard, just enough to melt a lot more of the snow. I hope we get more...so we can get rid of even more snow. I don't think the snow's going to be around much longer anyway. It's supposed to get into the 50's for a lot of this week.

The Sunny Side of Valentines

Began the morning with breakfast and The Valentine's Day That Almost Wasn't. I go further into this unique 1982 puppet special from later ALF creator Paul Fusco at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Valentine's Short Subject Special - The Valentine's Day That Almost Wasn't

Ran downstairs to catch an Uber before the special ended. I forgot today is a holiday and it's a holiday weekend. It took me two tries to get a driver, and the second one came in 11 minutes. I ended up being late to work. Thankfully, the one I took to Oaklyn only took 7 minutes.

The Acme was insanely busy for most of the day. First of all, it's Valentine's Day. A lot of people were buying flowers, candy, and stuffed toys for their sweethearts and children or big dinners for those they loved. Second, it's not only a holiday weekend, for many workers, this is the last major holiday weekend until May. Third, the weather was gorgeous. It was the nicest day we've had since early January. Sunny and warm, with not a breeze or a cloud to be seen, probably in the upper 40's-lower 50's. I had no help. The head bagger was in a register. They had to get two different male cashiers to do the carts with me at one point. No matter how many I gathered, the carts kept vanishing.

Took Uber into Oaklyn after work instead of going home. I brought the cupcakes for Rose and her family with me and kept them in the refrigerator in the employees' lounge. I got off near her house, and since it looked like she and the kids were probably out at sports or Finley's dance recitals, dropped the bag on her front stoop.

Had a late lunch at a very busy Common Grounds Coffee House. I hadn't eaten there in a while. There were lots of people studying on laptops, or groups of ladies chatting over coffee and muffins. I treated myself to a Vanilla Rose London Fog Tea, a slice of their delicious crumb cake, and a slice of broccoli bacon cheese quiche. Oh yum! They make great crumb cake, with a nice, thick crumb topping, and the tea was just sweet enough.

I strolled home to enjoy the weather, despite my knee still being sore. The snow is finally starting to melt here. I can see ground and grass and sidewalks that haven't shown in weeks, and it's no longer slippery to walk in some places. Other places are still a tiny bit icy and I had to walk around them. We're supposed to get rain and slushy snow later in the weekend. Hopefully, that'll start getting rid of the old snow.

Went straight into Valentine's Day specials when I got in and changed, starting with the Valentine's Day episode of Happy Days. Joanie's thinking "Be My Valentine" when she gets her first real boyfriend and dreams her family and friends into romantic musical situations. Potsie sings "Save the Last Kiss for Me" to his girlfriend while dressed as a Naval officer. Ralph, of course, wants "My Funny Valentine." Chachi says "Thank Heavens for Little Girls" in his idea of a tux-and-cane number. Fonzie recites love poetry to besotted co-eds. Laurie and Richard do a surprisingly good apache dance. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham steal the show with their hilarious recollection "I Remember It Well."

Called my mother while Happy Days was on. She started calling me earlier, then realized I was likely either at work or asleep and ended the call. She was right - she originally called me when I was heading out the door to pick up the Uber to work. She's doing fine. My 3 1/2-year old niece Aurora is in pre-school in her area now. In fact, one of the reasons my brother chose the town where they live is it's in a really good school system. Aurora loves school and loves learning. Mom says she loves the books I sent for Christmas, too, especially the one about being a big sister. 

Bugs Bunny's having an even more complicated Valentine's Day in Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers. An Elmer Fudd-like Cupid spreads love among the Toons, but Bugs insists he's meddling. He's just as good at finding the Tasmanian Devil a mate or keeping Yosemite Sam from pursuing Granny (and her money). Cupid sends a semi-innocent dame after hard-boiled private eye Daffy, French Legionnaire Pepe Le Pew after desert kitty beauty Penelope, and a plump, love-crazed, European-accented bunny after Bugs.

Moved to DTV Valentine next. From 1984 to 1989, Disney rode the wave of the music video craze by creating videos of their own to run between cartoons on their channel, or be strung together in a themed episode. I enjoyed the wide variety of music they used, from jazz standards to the most recent rock hits to their own songs. I first heard Lena Horne's rendition of "Stormy Weather" in a DTV video. Rock hits figure into this hour-long syndicated special. Most of them are more recent, like "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder and "You Give Good Love to Me" by Whitney Houston, but we do get Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear" accompanied by bits featuring Disney bears like Baloo, Bongo, and Humphery.

Stayed at YouTube to finish the night with tonight's Match Game marathon. Romance abounded on a show where many of the panelists and more than a few contestants were single. Many audience members frequently gived the panelists flowers, too. There was the time Gene held flowers on his microphone to keep it from crackling, or when a woman gave everyone small wrapped roses. Charles went into macho mode, while Richard's was in a pocket and almost hid his face. Fannie once gave Brett a huge arrangement of dead yellow roses as a joke, and she and Lee Merriweather wore rose-print t-shirts. Someone gave Jamie Lee Curtis a rose on a PM episode.

Sometimes, contestants could get a little too amorous. In 1974, a red-haired guy who looked something like a leprechaun in a suit got so excited, he kept trying to kiss Fannie and Brett! Charles and Richard defended their honor (such as it was). On that PM episode, the contestant ended up in Jamie's lap while Brett, Charles, and Richard Paul sang about the Eyes of Texas and Gene showed off his snazzy bright red shoes. 

Give flowers to those you love and celebrate Valentine's Day in all its forms in this adorably loving marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Valentine's Day Marathon (Featuring Hearts, Flowers, and Love)

And here's even more classic Valentine's Day specials for this holiday weekend!

The Popeye Valentine's Day Special: Sweethearts at Sea

The Smurfs: My Smurfy Valentine

The Woody Woodpecker Valentine's Day Special: I'm With Cupid, Stupid

Buttons and Rusty In the Honey Bunch (A Chucklewood Valentine)

For Better or for Worse: A Valentine from the Heart

Cathy's Valentine

A Special Valentine With the Family Circus

From Disney With Love

Night of the Superstitions

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Mickey makes "A Surprise for Minnie" for Valentine's Day and wants to give it to her at the park. First, they have tire trouble on the car, then have to pay Pete in flower petals. When they do arrive, Minnie loves her gift, but Donald realizes he forgot something for Daisy. Toodles, of course, has the answer.

Called Uber after the episode ended. It took them over 10 minutes to arrive. I just barely got to work on time. It was 7 minutes going home at 1:30. No traffic or trouble either way.

No trouble at work, either. The head bagger said she was going to help the floral department manager with Valentine's Day bouquets, but she ended up doing carts with me instead. It was a little busy, not as overwhelming as you'd think for a holiday weekend. No trouble whatsoever. At least it was a nice day, too, still chilly but nothing like the last few weeks, sunny and with less wind.

Did my weekly grocery shopping after I got off. Restocked oranges, yogurt, coconut milk, probiotic soda, and granola bars. Found my favorite pecan shortbread cookies on the bakery clearance rack. Thought I'd try a small slice of chocolate fudge cake on sale, too. Tried a sample of sushi and liked it so much, I bought California rolls for lunch. Saw the new Coke Cherry Float Zero $2 for 5 and grabbed two of those as well. (And tried one on the way home. Oooh, they are good! They really do taste like cherry cream soda.) Found fabric Band-Aids with watercolor covers on the clearance shelves. Grabbed sliced Swiss for sandwiches next week.

Oh, and I got my schedule at work. In good news, Wednesday is the only double-shift day this week, and I work later in the day on the weekends. I even have President's Day totally off, no Acme or school. In bad news, I'm surprised at the lack of hours. I usually get a lot more in mid-February. I guess not as many employees opted to use their vacation time in February this year. It hasn't exactly been vacation weather unless you're a devoted skier. 

After I got home, I ran The Backyardigans while I put everything away and had my sushi lunch. Uniqua, Pablo, and Tasha, are the roughest, toughest, and nicest biker group you've ever met. They call themselves the Do-Gooders, and they have no desire to make trouble. Mailman Tyrone assumes they're more stereotypical bikers and takes off. The trio go after him with his mail bag, remind him that he has a "Special Delivery" for them.

Switched to the Peanuts next. Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown focuses heavily on the Peanuts' (mostly imaginary) romances. Linus has a crush on his teacher Miss Othmar and buys her a huge box of candy. Sally thinks it's for her. Lucy would be glad if Schroder would just acknowledge her and get away from his piano. Snoopy's putting on messy and melodramatic "paw-pet" shows, and poor Charlie Brown is waiting for someone, anyone, to give him a valentine.

A Charlie Brown Valentine was made to fill an hour slot with Be My Valentine, but it has some entertaining material in its own right. Chuck pursues the Little Red Haired Girl, while Peppermint Patty and Marcie pursue him. Lucy demands Snoopy write her something romantic, while Sally tries to tell her Sweet Baboo how much she likes him.

Finished the last three episodes of Remember WENN after the Peanuts ended. Gertie's writing for the brand-new medium of television this time in "The Sunset Also Rises." Hilary becomes Norma Desmond with Scott as Joe Gillis in a satire of Sunset Boulevard. The others keep intruding and re-writing Gertie's script. Hilary wants to play the ingenue, the others want to play Norma, and Victor...somehow gets in there, too. 

"At Cross Purposes" begins with a lady in a dress entering WENN...which is actually Jeff in costume for Charley's Aunt. It becomes more than a costume when a process server turns up with papers from Pavla, and the entire cast ends up in drag to avoid him. It's newsgirl Betty who comes up with far more devastating news by the end of the episode...like the attack on Pearl Harbor...

"All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front" brings Victor back in, claiming he's now running WENN and a new military station. Betty thinks Scott is making cushy deals, but he's really doing something far more important. Jeff is rejected for military duty, then discovers Hilary is married to someone else, there's a military nut who thinks he's Captain Amazon (J.K Simmons) running around the station, and Eugenia proposes to Mr. Foley...

And that, sadly, is that. AMC ended the show on those cliffhangers, after having mangled the fourth season rather badly due to a new management that didn't respect it. "Sunset Also Rises" is a good example of this. Sunset Boulevard neither fits the show's tone, nor its time period. Rupert Holmes didn't even write it, and it's a mess of overlong and weird gags. Why they rejected Rupert's original suggestion for a spoof, The Maltese Falcon, I will never know. Maybe it wasn't glamorous enough for them. "Cross Purposes" and "All Noisy" are better, two of the best episodes of a troubled season...but they're also hard to watch now, knowing how things ended, or didn't. 

I still adore this show, and I still highly recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction, Media history, great wordplay, or terrific ensembles...but fair warning on those sudden unresolved endings. At least AMC is actually acknowledging its existence now. The full series is on AMC Plus; the first two seasons are free on Plex. The first three seasons can currently be found on YouTube and (in part) on the Internet Archive.

Put on The Price Is Right while I did research on condos in near-by towns. I'm guessing this one was from 1984 or early '85. Johnny Olsen was the announcer and Bob Barker had gray hair. The "story" Showcase was one of the strangest I've ever seen...and certainly one of the most early-80's-centric. Johnny apparently entered a Boy George Look-a-Like contest...and won. Most of the prizes centered around all things British (including a trip to London) or music-related. The models thought it was just as weird as I did. They bundled Johnny off to a new van by the end!

Let it run into Match Game Syndicated as I had dinner. We started off with the remaining existing episodes of the Louise Sorrel week. The next week, with Charles Siebert and Phyllis Davis, is also missing episodes...but it also has one of the funniest episodes of 1980. Gene and Charles jump a mile when a bulb blows on-stage. Charles carries a prop bulb for the rest of the show...and the panelists are seen climbing on top of Gene to screw it on by the end of the episode.

Moved to The Wild Wild West at Pluto TV next in honor of Valentine's Day and Friday the 13th. Artemis Gordon and Jim West are trying to warn a millionaire industrialist that he's in danger in "Night of the Vicious Valentine," but they're too late. The man dies playing his own piano. Turns out all the victims married pretty young woman who were recommended by a certain matchmaker, Emma Valentine (Agnes Moorehead), shortly before their murders. Valentine wants to use the ladies to take control of the wealth of the entire nation. What she didn't count on was the most recent girl she groomed to actually fall for the industrialist she married, or for Jim and Artemis to interfere with her plans.

Ended the night on YouTube with The Berenstain Bears' Comic Valentine. I went further into this adorable 1983 special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2023.

The Berenstain Bears' Comic Valentine 

My Funny Valentines

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Madame Razz mistakes Adora for the "Hero" Mara, the She-Ra of a thousand years ago, when she visits her to get some answers. Mara had come to Etheria to study magic for a secret weapon called the Heart of Etheria. To her horror, it involved draining magic from Etheria and storing it in the planet's core. She sacrificed herself to make sure it was never used by anyone, pushing Etheria into Despondos, She also encourages Adora to not listen to Light Hope, who was programmed by the First Ones to set off the Heart weapon, without thought of what it would do to the planet and its residents.

Moved on to Miles Ahead next while cutting paper in half for the kids and having lunch. I go further into this biography of temperamental jazz genius Miles Davis at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Miles Ahead

Called Uber just as the movie ended. I really had a hard time getting one at quarter after 12. They didn't show up for 19 minutes, and I was 6 minutes late. Couldn't get an Uber at 4:30, either. That one took 11 minutes to get there. At least there was no trouble with traffic or on the road either way.

Today was a half-day in the Collingswood School District. The kids are off tomorrow for a teacher's meeting. Since they won't be there tomorrow, the kids had their Valentine's Day parties today. I couldn't believe all the stuff they had in their white and pink and red bags. When I was their ages, we got paper Valentines with popular characters on them from everyone in the class and maybe cupcakes and some candy. In addition to the paper valentines, candy, and (for some of the younger ones) cupcakes, their bags were bursting with stamps, toys, tiny Slinkys, mini containers of slime, stickers, little plastic animal figurines, and plastic bead bracelets. 

After lunch, we settled some of the kids down with an art project. The head teacher (who thankfully was feeling better) handed around pages with a huge heart drawn on them. The pre-schoolers tore bits of pink tissue paper and glued those on the heart, along with metallic and die-cut bits of paper and colored feathers leftover from the turkey hand project at Thanksgiving. The older kids glued beads onto their hearts. Not all of the kids did the project, but those who did seemed to enjoy themselves well enough.

For the most part, the kids spent the rest of the afternoon playing with magnetic tiles, Duplos, or their new Valentine's toys. I brought Richard Scarry's Best Story Book Ever, Disney's Storybookland, and Strawberry Shortcake and the Winter That Would Not End with me to read. One of the littlest girls requested Snow White. A boy building with magnetic tiles asked for a Mickey Mouse story, so I went with the relatively short Mickey Mouse and Pluto Pup. They all got a kick out of making sure Hilda Hippo had the right alphabetic foods when we read Feed Hilda Hippo Her ABCs. Near the end of the day, I refereed a boy and a girl as they rolled a magnetic tile car into their towers to knock them over.

Honestly, for a four-hour day where we couldn't use the library (the teachers were meeting there), the kids weren't generally that bad. I did argue with one girl about using both sides of the paper when she drew. One of the other teachers brought some paper, too, and we didn't want to run out again. Two of the older boys roughhoused later and had to be separated (twice). One of the boys dumped his bag of loot everywhere and had to finally be admonished to clean it up when too many of the other kids wanted to play with his stuff. 

Oh, and we had a fire drill later in the day, when we were down to 15 kids all together. No one was really happy about that, least of all the kids. Though the sun was finally peeking out of the clouds by 3:30, it was colder than it has been, in the mid-30's, and still a bit breezy. Needless to say, the kids turned around and trooped back fast as they could after we counted them.

Three of the older kids even gave me Kit-Kats and a mini Rice Krispies Treat. I took a couple of the girls to the bathroom a few times and had good conversations with them. Danced as well as I could with another girl who could do some darn good gymnastic tricks while the music was on and the boys were wrestling. I read a story about the months of the year to her later. I'm so glad I took this job. I have 40 of the nicest Valentines anyone could ever wish for. 

When I got home, I went straight into making Strawberry Cupcakes for Valentine's Day. I thought they would be easier after my cake mix cookies spread too much last year. I added frosting in the middle, hoping for a Tastycake-cupcake cream filled effect. Alas, the cupcakes weren't firm enough. The frosting just seeped into the middle and made them very gooey. The crushed freeze-dried strawberries I used in the cupcakes and on top of them worked out much better.

Watched Match Game Syndicated after I had a shower and grabbed dinner. We're now on the week with comedienne Louise Sorrel, with Fred Grandy sitting in Charles' place. There were a couple of amusing matchmaking jokes when a single young lady and a single Hispanic man were contestants together. (Too bad the last episode of this week is currently unavailable, due to being on a tape with one of the Jimmie Walker weeks GSN hasn't shown yet.)

Finished the night with classic jazz music, starting with the soundtrack from Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. "Heartburn Waltz," heard throughout the special, is the big one here. I also like the jangly "Paw Pet Overture" and the arrangement of Bach's "Minuet In G Major" as the "Music Box Dance." 

Ended with two of the most beloved albums by the real Miles Davis. Kind of Blue is from 1959 and Sketches of Spain from 1960, the height of Davis' original fame and artistic powers. Davis may not have appreciated the softer blues music on Kind of Blue later in his life, but "So What" and "Blues In Green" are among the most powerful songs he ever wrote. Sketches of Spain features genuine Spanish melodies like "Will 'o the Wisp," traditional Hispanic covers like "Saeta," and Gil Evans' "Solea." 

The Grass Is Always Greener

Began the day with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. It's "Boys Night Out" when Bow, Swift Wing, and Sea Hawk are feeling neglected by their ladies and head to a local tavern for some fun. That "fun" ends with them kidnapped by first pirates, then the Horde, and Mermista, Adora, and Glimmer having to rescue them. Mermista's feeling better after having saved her boyfriend, but Bow isn't as happy that Adora and Glimmer are still on the outs. Meanwhile, Catra also learns a lesson about friendship when she finds Scorpia gone and realizes it's no fun doing a villain monologue when no one's there to hear it.

Called Uber after the episode ended. Unfortunately, there were few cars out at quarter of 9, for some reason. I couldn't get one for almost 20 minutes and ended up being 15 minutes late. Not a good thing, as it got busy later on. I have no idea why we were busy. All of the holidays are on the weekend, and we're not supposed to get any kind of bad weather until next week. The weather was even decent, windy and cloudy but nowhere near as chilly as it has been, probably in the mid-upper 30's. In fact, I had so many carts to do I was almost late getting out.

Grabbed frosting and cupcake papers to make Valentine's cupcakes sometime this weekend, then headed out. Had lunch at Tu Se Bella's. They were totally quiet other than a boring court show when I sat down with a slice of ham-pineapple, a slice of mushroom, and a Diet Pepsi. Both were yummy, as always. I love Hawaiian pizza.

Instead of returning to the Acme, I headed across the street to Goodwill to browse and see if I could find some Valentine's Day gifts for myself. I hit the jackpot with records. Someone donated pristine copies of classic jazz albums and a more recent jazz LP. Found a fairly rare cast album and an old-time radio show, too: 

The original cast album for the 1981 Lauren Bacall Woman of the Year musical

Two episodes of Fibber McGee and Molly (The LP was still in its original plastic!)

The Bill Evans Trio - Explorations

Jon Batiste - We Are (This was a surprise. This came out in 2021. I rarely find recent records at thrift shops. I think Explorations is a recent reprint, too. I also saw pristine reprints of Kind of Blue and Mingus Ah Un, but I have those on CD.) 

Went next-door to Five Below after I bought the records. I was there for a Rice Krispies bar to eat with the kids at snack time, but I also found a Care Bears Valentine's Day Squishmallow I couldn't resist. I never heard of the all-red All My Heart Bear before today. Online research revealed that he was originally a Target-exclusive Valentine's Day bear in the 2000's who is still used for Valentine's Day toys and online game extensions by the franchise. I wasn't originally going to buy him, but after I called Uber and had 12 minutes to kill, I went back and got him.

I'm rather glad I did. I showed him to the kids when I got to the Thomas Sharp School (right on time), and they loved him. They all wanted to give him hugs and pet his soft fur. Two of the girls even gave him kisses. Though I had 10 kids at my table, they were generally pretty good. No trouble cleaning up this time, and though they were a bit rowdy at the bathrooms, I at least got them in and out with a minimum of fuss.

We got them to the library a little earlier this time. By and large, things went a bit better than yesterday. First of all, no coloring. We're out of any kind of regular coloring paper, and the kids are too inclined towards ripping the rolled paper we tape on the tables after they get bored stenciling on them. Second, the head teacher was out sick, and she has the dance music, so no dance parties, either. We played calming instrumental music on the big speaker instead. I read books to the kids and admired their magnetic tile towers and space stations. 

Two of the older boys still threw fits. One got angry when I told him to share the building blocks with the younger kids. The other just ran around, threw himself on the floor, and wouldn't do what he was told. The first ended up going back to the cafeteria. The second got into trouble with several teachers, including the head of the company who was in for the head teacher today. He behaved slightly better when we moved the remaining six kids to the cafeteria right before I left.

When I got home, I went straight into Match Game Syndicated. They're on the week in 1980 where all of the panelists but Brett either were currently game show hosts (Dick Martin, Peter Marshall, Bill Cullen) or would be in the future (Betty White, Elaine Joyce). Elaine got to prove she's a lot smarter than she lets on with a big $10,000 Head-to-Head.

Finished the night with Remember WENN. Everyone at the station agrees to a "Work Shift" after Mr. Eldridge's mix-up with the scripts leaves the entire staff feeling frustrated. Smarmy inspirational guru Arden Sage (Greg Germann) claims he has the answer - they should "walk a mile in each other's shoes" and switch jobs for the day. That works about as well as can be expected. Eugenia is too nice to sell time to sponsors, Maple can't type well enough to write shows, Betty can only play "Chopsticks," and Hilary absolutely cannot handle the switchboard. They learn a lesson all right when it turns out Sage's "money" is more hot air than cold cash. (If nothing else, this episode does end the running gag about what Mr. Eldridge does at the station. He's the go-fer, the one who fetches the coffee and runs all the errands no one else has the time or inclination to do.)

Betty tells Maple and Scott about her first day at the station in "Past Tense, Future Imperfect." Victor's habitual "grandeloquence" and his long words just mixes her up and makes her think he's coming on to her. She tells Mackie...and before you know it, the entire station is convinced that Betty is a loose woman. Victor finally explains why he hired her - because she may lack polish, but he appreciates her energy and her ability to come up with ideas on a dime.