Fascinating Rhythms

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Little Bear can't sleep, so he makes "Little Bear's Wish" on a star and imagines what his wishes are. Hoping to get him to sleep, Mother Bear tells him a bedtime story that sounds a great deal like his wishes. Little Bear is bored when his father is painting the house and his friends are busy, so he plays with "Little Bear's Shadow." Little Bear forgot "A Present for Mother Bear," so he goes to find her one. His friends have their own ideas of what to give Mother Bear, until Little Bear decides they should all give her gifts.

Absolutely no trouble with Uber whatsoever today. I was quite shocked when the morning driver arrived in 2 minutes! The one going to Thomas Sharp came in 4 minutes, and the one going home took 7 during the height of rush hour. Got to both jobs right on time, and there was no traffic anywhere.

The Acme was fairly busy for a weekend where the only thing going on is the start of March Madness. Maybe it was the weather. Though the rain's gone, it's still chilly here, windy and in the lower-mid 40's. At least I generally didn't have trouble with the carts. Other than having to dodge people reorganizing items in the pharmacy section and doing a few returns, there were no problems whatsoever.

Got my schedule while at work. In good news, though I have fewer hours next week, they're still more than the week before. I'm back to the Wednesday double-shift and regular Acme work on the weekends. Next Saturday is 6 hours, though - the head bagger took that day off again. 

After I changed into a regular shirt, I got a treat for dessert tonight that was cheap on the bakery cart, then headed to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center in the back for lunch. Hadn't had pizza at Tu Se Bella's in while. I got in just ahead of the crowd ordering pizza slices and hoagies. I enjoyed a slice of Hawaiian (pineapple-Canadian ham), a slice of broccoli-shrimp, and Diet Pepsi while watching Great Britain and Mexico play each other in the lead-up to the World Baseball Classic. (Later research revealed Mexico walloped Great Britain 8-2.)

Strolled across the parking lots to Five Below to get a snack to eat with the kids. Grabbed a Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Chocolate treat. Couldn't resist grabbing a Cherry Coke Float Zero for later, too. Didn't find any good records at Goodwill this time, but I did pick up the 5-disc CD set for the PBS miniseries Broadway: The American Musical in its original case for $5.99.

Speaking of the kids, this should be their last day in the library for a while. The playground is now completely clear. There's only a little snow around the edges near the picnic tables. Good thing, too. They were pretty wild today. I had trouble with my 9 kids in the bathroom, and even more taking a gaggle of girls to the bathroom later. Two of the older girls spent more time playing with the water and soaking the floor than washing. 

They did more running around in the library than dancing to "Ghostbusters," a kid-ized version of "Pink Pony Club," and songs from KPop Demon Hunters and Lilo and Stitch. I spent the time coloring with a couple of kids and showing them my new artwork of Snake King Pruitt and enchanted wizard Victor in Legendary Tales of WENN. I even showed some of the littlest kids photos from Remember WENN on my Pinterest to give them an idea of what I was basing the story on. 

Went straight into dinner and Match Game Syndicated when I got home. The first episode had Jack Klugman replacing his ex-wife Brett and complaining that the panelists don't get gifts like the contestants. The remaining shows were from the next week, when Marcia Wallace, Joyce Bulifant, and Betty White all rotated sitting in Brett's seat. They all seemed to have a marvelous time doing so too, especially Marcia. 

Finished the night with the first two discs of Broadway: The American Musical. In all honesty, with the exception of some of the super-old material on the first disc like Eddie Cantor singing "If You Knew Susie" and Bert Williams' "The Moon Shined Over the Moonshine," I have almost all of these songs on their original cast albums, or at least in collections. It's still really cool to hear them all together, from Joel Gray standing in for George M. Cohan singing "Give My Regards to Broadway" on the start of Disc One to Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert hoping for a wonderful "Tonight" from the original 1957 cast of West Side Story at the end of Disc Two. 

Other favorites on Disc One include Fannie Brice's definitive "My Man," Fred Astaire and his sister Adele demonstrating "Fascinating Rhythm," Paul Robeson giving us an unmatched "Old Man River," Ethel Merman blaring "You're the Top," and even Irving Berlin himself with "Oh How I Hate to Get Up In the Morning." Favorites from Disc Two include "Come Rain or Come Shine" from St. Louis Woman (one of only four cast albums on the set from the 40's onwards I don't currently own), Ray Bolger leading the audience through "Once In Love With Amy" from Where's Charley, Enzio Pinza's gorgeous "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific, Carol Channing squeaking "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Gerald Price introducing American audiences to "Mack the Knife" in the hit 1950's revival of The Threepenny Opera, and Barbara Cook's truly amazing coloratura showcase "Glitter and Be Gay" from the original 1956 Candide.