All Around the Town

Began the morning with breakfast and Monchhichis. TooToo, the sweet white Monchhichi in the pink skirt, wants to help her friends more than anything, but her aid tends to end in disaster. Feeling unwanted, TooToo runs away to the Underground, joined by fast-talking Thumkii. She gets into "TooToo Trouble" when the others have to rescue her from wart hogs who make her their queen and sacrifice to a huge dragon-like creature.

It was so late by the time I got up, my schedule had been posted at the Acme's website. I am not happy at all. On one hand, far more hours...too many. My only day off is Wednesday, and I have an 8 1/2 hour day next Saturday! The head bagger must have gone on vacation. I didn't expect this. They just hired all of those new baggers, and they couldn't spread things out? What are they going to do when she finally gets to retiring? I have two jobs. I can't always be there. 

I wasn't in the best mood when I headed out to run errands. It was so late, I figured I'd just get lunch somewhere. Had pizza at Montegrillo, the narrow, brand-new restaurant in Collingswood. A slice of regular cheese, a slice of chicken and vegetables, and a bottle of water cost me $8. I enjoyed it in peace and quiet other than two pre-teen boys chatting quietly in the back.

Moved on to the bank next. I made too many transfers online and was hoping to get money out of my savings account, but...I can't on an ATM machine, there's no tellers at the Collingswood branch anymore, and I didn't really want to hike all the way down to Haddonfield. I'll get money on Monday.

I was mostly out to do this week's grocery shopping. The Westmont Acme was closer, so I went there first. They had buy one, get one free blueberries and dollar Chobani yogurt. Picked up two bagels for lunch this weekend and found inexpensive slices of strawberry cake roll for a special dessert tonight. Good sales on granola bars and Special K crisp bars, too. Restocked granola, soda, Swiss cheese, and tuna. Rode up to Sprouts after that for sugar cookies, oat milk, dried mango slices, plums, and more of those 99 cent containers of prebiotic dried berries and pineapple. Zevia diet soda was buy one, get one half-off. 

By the time I finished at Sprouts, it was starting to get busier. The Acme was relatively busy, too. It was almost 3:30, the start of rush hour. Not to mention, it was hot, sunny, and killer humid. I waved to the kids at the daycare program at the Westmont Plaza (including one from Thomas Sharp who cheerfully greeted me) and made my way home.

I was so tired when I got home, I managed to put most everything away, but passed out before I could put the container with the granola bars back. I did start to finally watch The Movies Begin. This Kino Lorber DVD covers some of the very first experiments with moving photography in the late 1890's (some of it quite racy and involving a lot of nudity), a lot of shots of everyday life at the turn of the 20th century, and two distinct early pioneering efforts, Georges Melies' iconic early sci-fi tale A Trip to the Moon and the influential western The Great Train Robbery.

Switched to Storybook International at Tubi while I got organized. "The Foolish Lad" is a cross between the series' earlier "Simpleton Peter" and the German tale "The Princess Who Never Laughed." George can never seem to figure out how to do things, but he always manages to come out on top anyway. He tries to sell butter to rocks and manages to find money under them. He tries to sell dairy to the river and rescues a wealthy man from drowning. He tries to sell sausages to a dog, then goes to the mayor in the hope that he'll make the dog pay. The mayor has his own worries about his melancholy daughter...but she's feeling a lot better after she hears George's tale.

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner. The week ended with that long curly wig migrating to the head of Fannie Flagg. It made her look (and sound when she attempted a bad Brooklyn accent) a lot like Maple LaMarsh on Remember WENN. Bonnie Franklin made her debut on the show the next week, joined by Scoey Mitchelll and Patti Deusch. Gene had a cold, so Richard had to give Bonnie her welcome-to-the-show kiss (the only time he would get to do that). He also tried to get Scoey to blow his cigar smoke in another direction.

Finished the night back at Tubi for The Iron Mask. This would be Douglas Fairbanks Sr's last big swashbuckler. In something of a follow-up to his earlier Three Musketeers, Fairbanks once again plays D'Artagnan. This time, after his friends are forced to leave Paris and his beloved Constance (Marguerite De La Motte) dies, he becomes the father figure to Louis XIV (William Bakewell). Though Cardinal Richeliu (Nigel De Brulier) has died, he made sure to hide that the queen had twin boys. When Louis' twin appears, the villainous Count De Rochefort (Ullrich Haupt) puts Louis in an iron mask and his brother on the throne. D'Artaganan fakes his death to find out what's really going on here. 

Alas, I saw the 1952 re-release with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. providing a rather intrusive narration. The original full silent movie with titles is currently available on Kino Lorber DVD and on YouTube. 

Walking In Woodcrest

Started off the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Little Bear, Duck, and Emily accidentally go "Rafting On the River" when their raft breaks free and heads downstream. Cat, Duck, and Owl race them to see whether land or water are the fastest ways to travel. "Little Bear's Kite" was made by him and Grandfather Bear on a fine windy day. Little Bear has fun imagining all the places it can fly too, until it runs into another kite...one that happens to be attached to a familiar friend. It's the "Night of the Full Moon." After Father tells Little Bear the story of monsters that appear during the full moon, they pretend to be monsters and try to scare Mother Bear. Mother, however, knows what the full moon can do to people and bears...

Headed out after the cartoon ended. Rode straight to the Collingswood PATCO. Fortunately, the train to Woodcrest arrived not more than 8 minutes after I sat down. The train wasn't busy at all. I think there were two other people going there with me. 

I got a very big shock when I got off. The Woodcrest PATCO station is twice the size of the ones further up the line. There was ample seating inside and out, a long row of ticketed swing doors, and someone was even in the ticket booth. I have never once in the 20 years I've lived here seen someone actually selling tickets in the Collingswood booth. It was even nice outside...at least until you turned towards the street, where they seemed to be doing exterior and track work. I had a hard time just finding my way out of the sprawling parking lot. 

As it turned out, the bridge over the train tracks did have sidewalks. I was easily able to walk over them, passing corporate buildings and towering luxury apartment buildings. I was surprised to see sponge manufacturer Scrub Daddy's offices in another building. I had no idea they were a local business. They're sold pretty much everywhere around here, from Dollar General to Target to the Acme. Passed them, then went by tall pine trees and a leaning sidewalk that went around the Cherry Hill Fire Hall. Thank heavens Haddonfield-Berlin Road was the only traffic-laden street I encountered on this trip. I tried to be careful crossing, especially given it was past noon by the time I did. 

Passed by a green-roofed shopping center for the time being, continuing down Browning Lane. Fortunately, the Centura Condominium complex wasn't even a block from the shopping center. Centura is a gated community, so I couldn't walk around the outside like I did elsewhere. I did see two kinds of buildings through the wrought-iron fences. One half the complex buildings were more like generic 70's townhouses. The other half were older, probably from the 50's, with a Spanish theme complete with cream-colored stucco walls. There was a sunken-in brick area with a charming fountain in front of the guard house. 

As far as I could tell, everything was very clean and well-maintained. The balconies sported either porch furniture and small grills or potted plants, no junk. I did hear there's a pool and tennis courts. Couldn't get around to the back to see what the trash areas were like. The lawns were spacious and velvety green, except for under the towering pine trees near the front. The rest of the neighborhood were the 60's and 70's tract houses that seem to be typical construction through most of Cherry Hill. I was a little annoyed that only the house side of the street had sidewalks. While Browning Lane wasn't mega-busy, it wasn't a quiet country road, either.

Backtracked to the Woodcrest Shopping Center after I saw all I could of Centura. This looks almost identical to the Plaza at Cherry Hill before it's recent makeover, a 70's-era outdoor mall with a green roof. Dunkin' Donuts was one out parcel. The other was an escape room that was definitely housed in a former Rite Aid/Eckards. I was so hot, I grabbed a tasty and sweet SunCloud Coconut Limeade at Dunkin's before deciding I was hungry enough for lunch.

I ate at Asad's Hot Chicken. They looked like a more colorful Crown Chicken and Gyro with an all-chicken menu. I went with two sliders with Cole slaw and pickles, fries, and a Sprite Zero. The girl said she gave me mild, but...yow! It wasn't mild at all! It was way too spicy for me! I did manage to eat one slider, but I couldn't finish the other. Too bad the fries were covered in spices, too. The ones I dug around for without them were really good. They were nice, but I don't think I'll be eating there again. Next time I'm in the area, I'll go to the pizza place across the street.

Explored a few other stores in the mall. Bought a gift card for my nephew Skylar's birthday and a box of Orange Cream cheap hydration mix at Dollar Tree. Wandered around an Asian Indian market, admiring the unique fruits, vegetables, candies, and baked goods. Peeked at Top Deck Games, a card and board game store. Most of their stock was overpriced, which was a shame. They had some nifty stuffed Pokemon. I saw a Strawberry Shortcake Candy Land game that I may see if I can pick up somewhere cheaper along the line.

After I left Top Deck Games, I started back...but I was thirsty again, and I really had to go to the bathroom. It was windy, cool, and cloudy, but also thickly humid. I asked two nice ladies sitting at a picnic table where the coffee shop in one of the corporate buildings was. I'm just glad no one called me on not belonging there. I bought a very tasty matcha latte from the dark and tan wood Terry's Cafe. Found the bathrooms not far from the nifty modern lounge area, with its soft dark blue velvet seats and weird chairs made of blue cloth straps and blue and orange wire flowers on the walls. 

Thankfully, I had no trouble after that. I ducked out of the bathroom and returned to the bridge. Spotted a set of concrete steps with yellow railings that went down to the parking lot. Once again, I got lucky and didn't have to wait long for a train. Took an only slightly busier train to Collingswood, then took my bike home.

Listened to the soundtrack from Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter as I got organized. I reviewed the movie two years ago, and found that it's a charming British MGM musical wrapped up in a vehicle for Peter Noone and Herman's Hermits. You get that sense here as well. In addition to the hit title song and "There's a Kind of Hush," we have the sales pitch "Lemon and Lime" and "The World Is For the Young" as Stanley Holloway, Sheila White, and Marjorie Rhoades discuss how the youth think they know everything about love. 

Switched to Descendants: Wicked Wonderland next. I go further into the latest movie in the Disney Channel fantasy crossover series at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On TV - Descendants: Wicked Wonderland

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner and after a much-needed shower. Lee Merriweather spent a lot of the week sporting a wig with luscious auburn locks. The others spent it answering questions about what beauty queens do when they get older.

Finished the night at the Roku Channel for The Rockford Files. "The Dark and Bloody Ground" is the first time lawyer Beth (Gretchen Corbett) hires Jim for a case. Here, she convinces him to help a woman accused of her husband's death in a fire accident. Turns out not only was her husband not who he claimed to be, he was the writer of a best-selling book that's being made into a movie. Jim and Beth have to dodge killers taking pot shots and trying to run them off the road when she discovers a loop hole that will allow a company to own the rights to a book if the author's dead. 

Quiet Summer

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Bluey. Bandit needs a "Taxi" on a rainy afternoon, but with Bluey driving, Chili as the GPS system, and Bingo as a demanding passenger, it may be a while before he gets to the airport. Bluey discovers the solo delights of "The Beach" when she follows her mother for a walk and explores on her own.

It was so late, I called Uber. That might not have been a bad idea. The driver going there and home both took six minutes. No trouble getting there or back. I got to work just in time.

I could have been infinitely late. We were quiet the entire morning. Not only was there not much to do, but one of the college boys arrived around 11:30 to help me with the carts and took over sweeping for the last hour. The weather was gorgeous too, off-and-only cloudy and relatively cool for July, with an absolutely delicious wind. There was no trouble whatsoever, and I was in and out quickly.

Changed when I got home, then made buckwheat pancakes with cherries for lunch while watching He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Skeletor steals eggs from a mother dragon and accelerates their growth to create "The Dragon Invasion." He thinks this will distract He-Man while he and his minions invade Castle Greyskull and he uses the Dragon Pearl to imprison the Sorceress, but He-Man finds a way to get past Beast Man and gain the dragons' trust.

Listened to the Top TV Hits CD set I found at Abbie Road on vacation while reading the cozy mystery Midnight Snacks are Murder. This is an Entertainment Weekly release from 1995, when every company existing (no matter what else they normally did) released some kind of CD collection. As you can guess from the title, this is a two-disc collection of beloved theme songs from TV shows. Most of them are still recognizable today, like "Hey Hey, We're the Monkees," the "nananana" theme from the 60's Batman, the smash instrumental themes to Mission: Impossible and Hawaii 5-0, another hit from a superhero show "The Greatest American Hero," and Will Smith telling the hip-hop tale of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." 

Others are less well-remembered now. Andy Griffith whistled "The Fishin' Hole" from his own long-running Andy Griffith Show. The instrumental themes from Barney Miller, S.W.A.T, and Hill Street Blues are funky jazz and disco riffs that were hits at a time when vocal music was increasingly dominating the airwaves. "Welcome Back" from Welcome Back Kotter, "Without Us" from Family Ties, and "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" from Cheers are charming soft rock numbers from beloved sitcoms. (I would have preferred the original "Love Boat Theme" to the updated disco version they have here, though.) 

Two of the best songs came from shows that are practically unknown now. Square Pegs is now considered a cult classic teen comedy-drama, but barely lasted a season in 1983. It's certainly not the fault of its very modern New Wave Waitresses title song. The Heights, a drama about a wanna-be rock band, was a flop in 1992...but its theme song "How Do You Talk To an Angel" went to number one and still can be heard on classic rock stations to this day. 

After the CDs ended, I took a much-needed nap. I've been up too late and getting up earlier, and it's taking its toll on me. I was so tired, I went down at 3:30 and didn't get up until almost 6 PM.

Went straight into dinner and Match Game '76 after I rolled out of bed. The first two episodes finished out the week with Isobel Sanford and Marvin Hamlisch. Having created a song for the contestant with Charles earlier in the week, the duo went on to create one for Brett in the last episode. Brett couldn't resist tossing in her foghorn contralto. Elaine Joyce and Jimmie Walker were on the next week, along with lots of Jimmie's signature catchphrase "Dyn-o-mite!"

Finished the night at YouTube with the last three episodes of Daredevils of the Red Circle. I really give Republic credit here. While this lacks the familiar characters of something like Captain Marvel or Spy Smasher, it also has some of the best stunts of any serial, and one of the more creative plots. I also love who the Red Circle turned out to be. Animal fans will enjoy seeing that the Daredevils' collie Tuffie is just as heroic as his masters and is as much a part of the gang as the guys. I wish the same could be said for the black valet Snowflake, who is annoying comic relief at best, a dated stereotype at worst. Thankfully, he's not really on all that much. 

While it seems this is available on Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber, the entire 12-chapter serial can be easily found for free on YouTube. It's well worth your time if you love vintage serials or classic action. 

I've Still Got My Health

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Rescue Knights: Pups Save a Tournament" from Claw's attempts to cheat when he competes against Sweetie and a "mystery knight." "Rescue Knights: Pups Save the Baby Dragons" from Claw and the Duke of Flappington attempting to kidnap them. The Pups have to rescue the little ones before their mother gets there and wrecks even more havoc.

After the cartoon ended, I called Uber. Not only was it getting late, but I didn't like the look of the weather. It was cloudy, cool, hazy, and heavily humid. No trouble getting there or home. The one going there came in 8 minutes. The one going home came in 5. 

Got to Riverwalk Dental at the Westmont Plaza with five minutes to spare. Thank heavens after I got that tooth pulled in late April, there was no trouble here. It was just a routine cleaning. I was in and out within a half-hour, and I won't be going back until early November. 

Went next-door to Target after my teeth were squeaky clean. I was hoping to find more heel gel inserts or dividers for my record collection, so I know which letter in which crate and genre, but...nope. I did pick up nectarines, cheaper anti-bacterial wipes than I've seen elsewhere, and more of those Nature's Valley wafer bars for a decent price.

Since it still wasn't raining, I walked down the hill, past the Haddon Township Library, and down to the Westmont for lunch. Tried their garden omelet, along with more of those cheesy grits and soft mulit-grain toast. The grits weren't bad, but the omelet was watery and tasteless without the vegetables. Having enjoyed their chocolate cake a while back, I gave their carrot cake a shot. (Good thing I did. The waitress said they were already out of the chocolate cake, and I was there around 1:30.) Yum! Huge (seven layers!), thick and so moist, filled with raisins and lots of cream cheese frosting. 

After I got home, I was so tired, I just spent the next few hours listening to music. Beaches, with Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey as close but unlikely best friends, was a huge hit melodrama in 1988. I remember how big it was during my late childhood. The inspirational ballad "The Wind Beneath My Wings" was everywhere on the radio all through the late 80's and early 90's. Though "Wind Beneath My Wings" is pretty, I prefer some of the more upbeat numbers. Midler has a lot of fun with "I've Still Got My Health" from the Cole Porter show Panama Hattie and two hilarious chorus number spoofs Midler wrote herself, "Otto Titsling" and "Oh Industry!" She also does well by Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today," but the duet "I Know You By Heart" is so 80's it hurts. (Oh, and there was a stage musical version on Broadway earlier this spring, but it was said to be terrible and didn't last a month.)

Cole Porter Vol. III is one of the later releases in Ben Bagley's long-running Revisited series of little-known numbers by beloved songwriters. There's some really hilarious performances here. Elaine Stritch gets to tear into "Find Me a Primitive Man" and "When Love Beckoned." Lynn Redgrave does surprisingly well by "I Want to Be Raided By You" and a medley of marriage-themed songs from Let's Face It and the original Gay Divorce. Dolores Gray gets the ballads "You're Too Far Away" and "Who Would Have Dreamed," while I can't help but wonder if Bagley was right and sweet Georgia Engel didn't quite understand what was going on with "I Like Pretty Things."

Little Me is an even goofier satire. Hollywood star Belle Potrine (Nancy Andrews) recalls how, in her younger years (Virginia Martin), went from Belle Schlumpfert from the wrong side of the tracks who was determined to win wealthy Noble Eggleston (Sid Caesar) to a performer who had everything but her true love. Caesar played almost every man she pursued or married, from the aptly-named wealthy young man she adored to the miser whom she begged to save her family's home to a Maurice Chevalier-esque entertainer and a doomed flyer on his way to World War I. Wild though the satire is, the Cy Coleman-Carolyn Leigh score actually produced two standards. Caesar got to introduce the charming "Real Live Girl," while Sven Swenson, as a gambler who also loved Belle, pointed out "I've Got Your Number." Most of the other songs don't get close to those two, though Martin's "Poor Little Hollywood Star" and her "I want" song "The Other Side of the Tracks" are fun. 

(A revival with Victor Garber and James Coco in 1983 barely lasted a month and wasn't recorded. The second one from 1998 with Martin Short taking all the Caesar roles and Faith Prince as Belle didn't do much better run-wise, but both stars were said to have been excellent in the leads. Bruce Forsyth was an even bigger hit as Belle's lovers on the West End.)

Switched to Match Game '76 while making a quick dinner. The first hour finished out the week with Jody Donovan, including Dick Martin getting his first right answer. The first full week of 1976 brought in Isobel Sandford at the start of The Jeffersons' long run and songwriter Martin Hamlisch, just as A Chorus Line was starting its own long run on Broadway. Hamlisch brought along a small toy piano and spent the week creating songs on it, including one he called "Fog Cloud" after a nervous contestant's answer to the Head-to-Head Fog __.

Finished the night at PBS Kids with more Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Margaret and Jodie's little twin brothers are upset when their dads go to the Clock Factory while they take lessons from Music Man Stan. Stan, Daniel, and Jodie remind them that "Grown Ups Come Back to the Music Shop," especially to join a dance party! Katarina enjoys playing with O and eating X's soup, but she misses Henrietta when she goes out for the evening. The two owls do their best to cheer her up and remind her that "Katarina's Mommy Comes Back Home." 

Oh, and the storms didn't finally arrive until around 8 PM. They were coming down pretty good for a while, but they seem to be gone for the moment. 

Going Global Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Monchhihis. This is another Hanna-Barbara cartoon I watched as a kid, mostly during its later run on the USA Cartoon Express. I have no idea how they turned Japanese monkey dolls into little monkey-like creatures who live in trees and need Tickle Crystals to run their Happy Works, which makes them happy. The first episode, "Tickle Pickle," seems more like the half-hour specials for characters like Strawberry Shortcake. After the grump gray monkey-monsters the Grumplins attack their treetop kingdom and shatter the tickle crystals, five of the young Monchhihis take it on themselves to find more before the Grumplins do.

Headed out on the bike after the show ended. Ran some brief errands on the White Horse Pike first. My nephew Skylar's 22nd birthday is Friday. I picked up a card for him and a Propel at Dollar General. Neither they nor Family Dollar had much in the way of foot or heel aids. After the fuss in Dollar General the last time I went in there, at least a lady was nice enough to let me go on ahead.

There was no more putting it off. I rode up to Cooper Urgent Care in Audubon to finally get my heel looked at. I've had a bump on my right heel for weeks that's been fairly painful. I was hoping it would go away, but...it hasn't. Thankfully, unlike when I went there in early March, they only had three other people in the waiting area. After signing in and telling them about my heel, they brought me in within five minutes. 

After they took my blood pressure, I watched Lilo & Stich: The Series (a clumsy alien Lilo dubs "Whoops" wrecks havoc on Pleakley's Domino Rally game) and Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (Ladybug deals with her friend Kagumi's frustrations over her mother being strict with her and a pair of mud-flinging villains called "The Dirtifyers") on The Disney Channel before the doctor came in. I explained my problem. My heel has had that lump for weeks, and it gets worse when I use it for a long time or push it hard.

After she felt around my foot, a sweet young woman took me to the x-ray room. I sat on a table so they could take shots of my heel. Returned to the room and to watching Ladybug and her buddies until the doctor returned. Verdict - heel spur and Achilles tendinitis. I'm to get antibiotics, continue to wear the heel lifts in my shoes, and go to Cooper Bone and Joint next week for a follow-up appointment.

After I got out, I went next-door to WaWa. I had considered eating out, but I didn't like the look of the weather. It was sunny when I started, but by quarter of 2, clouds were gathering, and it was humid and much hazier. It's a good thing I did settle for buying a roast beef and provolone wrap, a bag of PopCorners (popped corn chips that taste like a cross between rice cakes and tortilla chips), and a matcha pineapple smoothie. It started showering lightly almost the moment I stepped out of WaWa. I was just heading down East Clinton when I arrived and the showers got heavier.

(Thankfully, they didn't last long after that. There would be some pretty noisy storms later around dinnertime, but they seem to have subsided for the moment.)

Watched rain-themed cartoon episodes during lunch. Minnie and Daisy are dismayed that there's no rain for their flowers in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Professor Ludvig Von Drake gives them the formulas to make clouds the right shape for their gardens that would rain on them, so they can have their flower show. Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy end up saving them when the Glove Balloon gets stranded on a cloud and they need help to create "Minnie and Daisy's Flower Shower."

Switched to PBS Kids for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Katarina and O and their parents and uncle sleep over the Tiger Family's house when they're evacuated due to "A Storm In the Neighborhood." The loud rain and thunder scares the kids, but their parents assure them that they have a plan to keep them safe. "After the Neighborhood Storm" everyone pitches in to clean up, including the firefighters who help remove a tree from in front of the Clock Factory.

Listened to records while doing the laundry and resting my foot. The Broadway revival of The Boy Friend from 1970 was supposed to be headlined by Judy Carne of Laugh-In as sweet Polly Browne. Sandy Duncan was the one who got the lion's share of good notices as Maisie, the boldest of Polly's friends who sings "Won't You Charleston With Me?" and "Safety In Numbers." Jeanne Beauvais as the girls' teacher Madame Dubonnet also does well by "Fancy Forgetting" and "Poor Little Pirouette." 

Put the laundry in the dryer as I moved on to children's albums. Beryl Berney was apparently a journalist, artist, and puppeteer who worked on children's shows in the 1950's and 60's when she did a series of storytelling albums for kids-based Rocking Horse Records. Snow White and Dick Whittington are pretty much the traditional version of those stories, other than Snow White has a unique ending. The Wicked Queen turns so ugly, she destroys her mirrors when she looks into them, including the magic one. 

The Story of Robin Hood is a condensed retelling of the 1952 live-action Disney movie of the same name. The movie itself is good but not great, and that's reflected here. I do like the build up for Prince John and King Richard's mother Queen Eleanor as Maid Marion's boss, and some of Robin's men can be pretty funny. This is nice to hear if you love Robin Hood stories or Disney's 50's and 60's movies, but far from essential. Dal McKennon narrates here. 

Moved to Match Game '75 as The Story of Robin Hood ended. Richard Dawson's then-girlfriend Jody Donovan was such a doll during the week of New Year's, I wish she had come back, no matter who she was dating. New Year's Eve 1975 was celebrated with noisemakers, balloons dropping, and hats for everyone. (Jody's glittering headband and short hairstyle made her look like she'd just walked out of The Boy Friend.) Charles popped a Match Game '75 balloon to reveal '76...then popped that one to show '77, then showed '78 drawn on his thumb.

Finished the night with game shows from Richard Dawson's native England, starting with the two that have been running on Buzzr this month as part of their "Buzzr Goes Global" marathon. Freemantle, Buzzr's parent company, is British, and thus has no shortage of shows from that country. Going for Gold had seven contestants from across the UK and Europe answering questions and playing against each other to see who would continue in the tournament. The show ran for a decade as people tuned in to see who would be moving on to the next week. The episode I have here from 1990 includes a blind contestant and his seeing eye dog who is not only introduced in the opening, but does quite well, making it to the end of the show.

Small Talk is probably one the most hilariously adorable game shows to come out of Britain. Three adults guess how a panel of 9 kids will answer a certain question in this variation on Child's Play. No wonder this ran for two years on the BBC and Buzzr chose it for their marathon. The kids are a riot, and jovial host Ronnie Corbett is obviously having a ball watching them. 

Double Your Money goes way further back. This hit from 1955 was apparently based on The $64,000 Question, but more closely resembles an early form of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Couples answer questions for escalating amounts, leading to the "1,000 Pound Treasure Hunt." This was an early hit for ITV and is one of the earliest surviving TV game shows in England.

3-2-1, based on a Spanish format, may be one of the most unique game shows ever in England. The first half starts as a straight quiz, with couples answering questions. The second half looks something like a cross between Monty Python, Let's Make a Deal, and Beat the Clock. The winning couple does stunts based on the theme of the day (cartoons, in this case), then watch a series of wacky skits and give answers based on clues given by an actor from the skit, a prop they bring over, and what they can remember from them. The winners from that have to choose between a series of prizes. The bad prize on this show will land them "Dusty Bin," the show's robotic comic mascot and official "klunk." Maybe we ought to try mixing variety shows and game shows more often over here in the US, because this was really fun, especially that wacky second half.

Chain Letters is a far more traditional game show. In this 1987 series, three contestants change letters on a computerized word to make another word. The second round had them trying to predict what word one of the contestants would make. The third round had them changing certain letters from a word on the screen. The winner would see how many words they could form by changing one letter in 60 seconds. This was also lot of fun, and pretty challenging. It was enough of a hit for ITV to pull it out again for two series starting in 1995.

The British get far more into their comedy panel shows than we Americans do. Case in point, the irreverent and utterly hilarious Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Two panels of rock musicians guess what will happen in a music video, facts about other musicians, and try to remember the next line of a song. Celebrity guests will pop in to help answer questions and sing the first bars of a popular rock song. The real attraction was watching all of these musicians make jokes about their fellow performers and be delightfully witty. They had such a good time, this ran for almost two decades on the BBC from 1996 to 2015 and was revived successfully for four years starting in 2021. 

Take a summer trip across the Atlantic to make letter chains, dodge moving trash bins, double your money, and watch some of the funniest kids and musicians on either side of the pond.

Double Your Money (1955)

3-2-1 (1978)

Chain Letters (1987)

Going for Gold (1990)

Small Talk (1994)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks Premiere (1996)

Sunshine Matches

Started off the morning with breakfast and Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook. Having had success with songs performed by Rosemary Clooney, Midler moved on to the discography of an all-together different performer. Though Lee is probably best known today for performing and writing the songs from Lady and the Tramp, including "He's a Tramp," from the 50's through the 70's, she mostly sang languid ballads like "Is That All There Is?" and "Fever" or uptempo numbers from Broadway and movies like "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe." Midler has a charming duet with her long-time friend and pianist Barry Manilow on "I Love Being Here With You."

Headed out to work after the CD ended. It didn't start well when I ran straight into a slippery puddle of floral-smelling blue goo oozing out of the trash in the back employee room. Someone must have dumped a bottle of dish washing liquid in the trash. Not only did it take forever to clean up, but several large, half-full soda bottles had broken the bag, making it nearly impossible to get out of the container. The frozen food manager had to help me get it out, then put two more bags around it to keep it from leaking. I was not a happy camper after all that. 

Thankfully, I spent the majority of the rest of the day outside, pushing carts and enjoying another gorgeous day. It was once again sunny, though a bit warmer and more humid than yesterday. There were two other baggers helping me as well. At least I had more to do. It was off-and-on steady, a bit busier than earlier in the week, but not overwhelming. I had no problems later in the day.

Though I did have dinner and took a shower later, I mostly spent the rest of the day watching tonight's Match Game marathon. Richard continued wearing his infamous red jacket through about 1976. Probably the most famous episodes he could be seen wearing it that year were the ones featuring the blond beauty Darlene, who definitely had a crush on him. She called him "Dickie Doo" and "The Red Devil." Richard also wore it on the New Year's Eve 1975 episode, when his then-girlfriend Jodie Donovan was on the panel. 

Even after he finally gave it up, Gene came up the slack with a bright red jacket of his own. That jacket was a lot more conspicuous than Richard's. Joey Bishop and Mary Wickes quipped about him looking like a matador in one episode. Richard opened another by wondering if he'd just come from Disneyland. Gene had more luck with a red vest he wore occasionally, notably on the famous 1978 Christmas Day show where Charles dressed as Santa and Brett was a bratty girl on his knee and when he carried Gary Burghoff and Patti Deusch into the studio earlier in 1978 imitating their children. 

Gene and Richard weren't the only ones who wore red on the show. Elaine Joyce wore red outfits on episodes of the syndicated show that looked fabulous on her. She and Eva Gabor wore red, and Gene sported a coat in a more subdued shade of red, on the episode where a young artist showed off his gorgeous renditions of woodland birds and the ladies held them up for all to see.

One of the funniest episodes of the entire nighttime run had Gene showing off a pair of bright red suede shoes he was enormously proud of. Those shoes got tossed around a lot when Charles argued the answer for  "The Eyes of ___" on the Audience Match with him. He, Brett, and Richard Paul sang "The Eyes of Texas" while the contestant ended up in Jamie Lee Curtis' lap and an amused Steve Kanaly (of Dallas) looked on. 

Red is the color of the panel's wardrobes and some of Gene and Richard's most outrageous jackets in this wild marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Richard and Gene's Red Coats & Vests

Sleepy Time Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Rescue Knights: Pups Break the Ice" after Claw gives Sparks blue marshmallows that allow him to breathe ice. He freezes the clock tower, then Skye's helicopter. The others keep Claw and the bratty Duke of Flapppington busy and defrost the Paw Patrol Castle while Skye finds some very special helpers. Chase thinks in "Rescue Knights: Pups Save Excalibark" that he's pulled a fabled bone from a stone and is now the Royal Knight. He wants to help the others when Claw attacks again, but he ends up being a bigger help than he could know when he's the one who discovers that the so-called magic bone is a scam.

Hurried out to work after that. Thankfully, I did get there on time. The older man who now works as a bagger will only push carts, and only a few at a time. He doesn't do inside work, so I swept the store and helped him with the carts and did returns and gathered the outside trash. I wasn't too happy when I came inside and didn't realize until the security guard kindly pointed out that the trash bag was leaking! At least I didn't get far into the store. She cleaned it up, and doubled the bags. At least the weather was nice for all the running around. It remains warm, sunny, and dry, probably in the mid-80's. 

As soon as I got home, I changed, brought the new sneakers I ordered for work from Amazon upstairs, and went into bed for a nap. I couldn't sleep for more than an hour this time, and it didn't really help. I was still tired when I rolled out of bed and went online to watch tonight's Match Game marathon.

Richard Dawson had several jackets he wore a lot, but he was especially fond of a bright red jacket. He wore this one a lot between 1973 and 1975. It first turned up in a 1973 episode that also featured Pat Harrington and a Naval officer as a contestant. He also wore it on Arte Johnson's first episode, one of the days on the only week to feature football star Rosy Greer, and the first day for one of the biggest winners of 1974, police officer C.B Farnsworth. 

It was most commonly seen in 1975. In fact, Rich wore it in some of the best episodes of the year, like when Gene said "Schnick Snack" instead of "blank" the way the original German version of the show did, or Dick Martin's first episode. He wore it when Gary Burghoff wore a shirt that looked like a tuxedo and when Ron Valenti, the handsome teacher Fannie Flagg seemed to have such a crush on, first appeared. There was also when ingenue Melinda O. Fee got her first right answer, when Brett gave "Racer" as an answer for "Speed __" and she was the only one who knew it was a beloved early anime (she probably watched it with her sons), or when funny older man Bill gave some really hilarious answers. 

He also wore it on nighttime shows, notably the episode where he and Charles wore wide-brimmed straw hats. They claimed they were part of "Your Basic Big Picture Hat Society." Those "basic big picture hats" came in handy when Gene and Richard used them to hid their kissing the winning contestant after the Head-to-Head!

The redcoats are coming...to Television City to kiss behind hats, match policemen, and show off the many lives of one "schnick snacking" bright coat!

Match Game Saturday Classics - The Red Coats of Richard Dawson are Coming!

Dreamers Under the Sun

Started off the morning with the last episode of Shirt Tales. It's "Mayhem On the Orient Express" when the Engineer and his fawning partner who steal trains take off with the engine of the most famous train of all, with Bogey and Kip onboard. The others have to rescue them and keep the passenger cars from falling back. They're in Switzerland for "The Cuckoo Count Caper." The Count De Minuit wants to hypnotize the Shirt Tales and use them to finish his massive cuckoo clocks! Kip catches wise, then breaks Pammy out. It's up to the girls to save their guy friends and stop the Count from turning them into clockwork mechanisms. 

And that's that. Unlike Pac-Man, which started strong in the first season but degenerated into a mass of bizarre stories and useless additional characters in its second, the second season of Shirt Tales mostly improves on the first. The first season isn't bad, but never seems to figure out what it wants the Shirt Tales to be, and there's a little too much focus on Dinkel and outside characters. The writing is sharper in the second season (Pammy in particular gets some hilarious lines), and cheerful Kip is a welcome addition. I genuinely regret that they ended the show by mid-way through the second season. It's not the greatest thing ever, and some episodes (like "Saturday Night Shirt Tales") were dated even when the show came out, but it's charming and funny enough to get a recommend from Hanna Barbara fans and kids who love animal stories. 

Hurried out to work after that. There were at least two other baggers working with me, including the head bagger. I thought she wasn't going into a register until 11, but they put her there early. I had no idea she hadn't swept the store. On the other hand, it was only slightly busier today than it had been on Wednesday. It's the end of a month without a lot going on after the 4th of July. Most people are probably on vacation, or were out enjoying the beautiful, sunny, breezy weather. It was so dead by the end of the morning, and I had so little to do, I spent the last half-hour putting away items people didn't need.

Got my schedule while I was at work. I have fewer hours, which I expected for the reasons I mentioned above. We're well between major holidays, there's not a lot going on besides Phillies games, and most people are on vacation. However, I go in early when I do work, and I have 7 hours for some reason next Saturday. 

Did my grocery shopping after I finished. Restocked granola, yogurt, oat milk, soda, tuna, cherries, and cookies. Blackberries and the Acme's generic small trash bags were buy one, get one. Bought two bagels for lunches at work this weekend and a turkey-cranberry sandwich for lunch today. They had the Sprite Zero + Tea here, too, so I got that and a Coke Cherry Zero. Found tea cakes, little turned-over cupcakes covered in icing, on the bakery clearance rack. 

Changed when I got home, then had lunch while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Taking Turns at Show and Tell" is more complicated when O and Dan want to both use the same apron. Teacher Harriet suggests they take turns, with O using it to play restaurant, then Daniel using it for show and tell. The kids are restless, but they do have to wait their turn when show and tell beings. Daniel has to wait to use the bubbles when Miss Elania already has them. He learns about "Taking Turns at the Pool" when he has just as much fun playing with them as Elainia does blowing them. Likewise, Prince Wednesday has to wait to use a pool noodle. He pretends to be a fast fish with his mother Queen Sarah.

Went back out after the cartoon ended. Acme doesn't have the greatest selection of foot gel pads, and what they do have is overpriced. I've had a lump on the back of my right heel where the Achillies tendon is for weeks now. I hope the heel lifts and covering the back of my foot where the heel gets rubbed with callus cushions will help. 

I was home and finishing Mockingbird Court when the phone rang. It was Clarifi, calling to confirm my desire for housing counseling. On one hand, they're so booked, I won't be able to see them at Cherry Hill until noon on September 17th. That does give me more time to explore Cherry Hill and Voorhees and round up all the paperwork they required. 

Watched The Love Boat after I finished the book and put it away. The captain says "Take a Letter, Vicki" when he makes her his secretary after she complains she never gets to do anything useful. The others realize why when she's a little too good at her job, putting out endless memos and skipping meals to get it all done. A man (Jim Stafford) claims "The Joys of Celibacy" to defrost a frigid young woman (Carlene Watkins), but really ends up falling for her instead. The ladies of "The Floating Bridge Game" try to come between their fourth player (Nanette Fabray) and a charming dentist (Robert Alda), until they realize how much they love each other and play matchmaker instead.

The first half of Match Game '75 finished out the week with Rona Barrett and Clifton Davies and introduced a sweet, charming middle-aged lady named Dorothy. Dorothy, who sobbed whenever she won, became one of the bigger winners of the year. She continued into the week that introduced Ed Asner and brought in shy chanteuse Julie London. Gene gave Julie her welcome to the show kiss, while Brett got to kiss Ed.

Finished the night at Tubi with The Storyteller: Greek Myths. Jim Henson once again experimented with fantasy tales told by a human (in this case, Michael Gambon) to a Muppet dog. Only four were made before Henson's death, one of which was "Perseus and the Gorgon." Perseus (Jeremy Gilley) wants to stop mean King Polydectes (John McEnery) from marrying his mother Danae (Kate Buffery) and travels to find Medusa (Frances Barber) and cut off her head. On his way, he gives an eye to the Graeae to make them give him directions and tells Atlas, who holds up the world, that he'll find a way to make his burden easier. The King doesn't think this boy can do it, but Perseus is nothing if not determined, especially after he finds a way to keep Medusa from turning him to stone. 

Night of the Summertime Ride

Started off the late morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "T.J's Visit" wrecks havoc when Tyg's little nephew turns up and causes trouble. He does bond with Kip and convinces her to join him on a hot air balloon. The others go after them when they have no idea how to bring it back. "The Big Set-Up" is the Shirt Tales' attempt to sign Dinkel up for a pen pal dating service. Dinkel is nervous when the lady he's been writing sends a photo of a gorgeous blonde and wants to meet him. He sent her a picture of a handsome movie star. The Shirt Tales try to tone him up and show him how to be more romantic, but it turns out his girlfriend has been doing some fibbing of her own.

Let Tubi continue with the Shirt Tales as I got organized. "Kip's Toy Caper" gets her and Bogey into a heap of trouble after they discover toy shops have been robbed. She follows a remote control teddy bear and finds a robber intends to make them all robots who will steal money and priceless relics for him. The other Shirt Tales try to follow Bogey's broken signal and rescue them. "Dinkel's Gift" is a briefcase the Shirt Tales bought for his surprise birthday party. When the briefcase gets switched with one that holds a top-secret formula, the others have to switch it back while Digger keeps Dinkel busy.

Headed out after the second episode ended. Dropped a few books at the kiosks down the block, then made my way down to Collingswood. Grabbed a Bodyarmor drink at Haddon Culinary before heading across Collingswood to Cooper River Park, then over the bridge to Route 70, or Marlton Pike. It was too nice of a day to drop my bag of donations at the Audubon Goodwill and ride home again. The weather was stunning for mid-July, breezy, sunny, warm but not too hot, slightly humid but nothing overwhelming. There wasn't a cloud to be seen in the soft blue sky that beamed over the waving green Cooper River waters. Lots of people out on bikes or walking their dogs, too, including a lady in a wheelchair. Besides, I hadn't taken my bike over here since the last time I went to this Goodwill in April 2024. 

This time, I rode through the parking lot for the luxury apartments 202 Park before heading across the Marlton Pike to the Goodwill. After I dropped my bag in one of the boxes outside, I took a look around the main store. It's twice the size of the Goodwill in Audubon, but not even as slightly organized as that one. The books, CDs, and DVDs are all lined up or thrown every which way in a wooden bin as you enter. 

I didn't see any clothes I liked this time, but I did pick up a CD, the DVD for the Alfred Hitchcock comedy thriller Family Plot, and a Squishmallow. I've been wanting a stuffed shark since I started working at Thomas Sharp. Their mascot is a shark. Gordon the Shark is apparently one of the original Squishmallows released in 2019 (though the version I found has a 2021 tag). Ironically, Gordon's tag said he's a friendly fellow who loves to help others and wants to start his own nonprofit. So that's what he was doing at Goodwill. He was doing market research!

Oh, and the CD is:

Diana Krall - Quiet Nights

After that, I figured it was time for lunch. I originally rode a few blocks down to Kaighns Avenue. Not only was there not a whole lot there other than a florist and a liquor store, but I didn't feel like dodging traffic further down looking for the Cherry Hill Mall. Went back to the Marlton Pike and rode two blocks in the other direction, finally coming across a small, slightly dilapidated shopping center. Had enormous slices of cheese and Hawaiian (pineapple-ham) pizza at Gaetano's while watching The George Lopez Show. (George's teen daughter ran away with her boyfriend to San Francisco, and he was having nightmares about what she was doing there.) Gaetano's was a pretty typical hole-in-the-wall with Formica tables and counters, but the guy who worked there was really nice, and the pizza delicious, with giant slices and soft crusts.

Continued riding down to WaWa, until I realized that the highways crossed here and I could go no further on my bike. I just turned around, crossed at Goodwill, and headed past 202 Park and back over the bridge to Collingswood. I got turned around in the back roads of Collingswood, but I finally came out at the small park next to Grooveground. They still haven't finished remodeling (I would love to know what's the hold-up there - they started in April 2025), so I ended up at the Candy Jar after I used the library's bathroom. Bought a small bag of mini fruit slices (I usually get them at Peanut World in Atlantic City, which burned down last year) and a cup of Cherry amaretto gelato. Yum! Sweet, refreshing, and very cherry. Returned briefly to Haddon Culinary for a Diet Coke this time before I finally made my way back to Oaklyn.

Rested while watching Enchantment when I got in. This lovely 1948 romance starts with American ambulance driver Grizel Dane (Evelyn Keyes) coming to live with her great-uncle Rollo (David Niven). She falls in love with a handsome pilot (Farley Granger), but waffles on getting closer when he receives his orders and she worries about losing him. Rollo tells her not to give up on love so easily. Flashbacks reveal how he had fallen in love with his sweet cousin Lark (Teresa Wright) 50 years before, only to lose her when his manipulative and spoiled sister Selina (Jayne Meadows) lies about him taking a position overseas and she ends up marrying a Marchese (Sheppherd Strudwick) instead. Rollo never saw her again, and he wouldn't return home while Selina was there. He encourages Grizel to find her love, before she loses him the way he lost Lark. 

This is such a lovely, sweet movie. Though Niven, Keyes, and Wright are all good as the star-crossed lovers and the ambulance driver dealing with her own romance, Meadows steals the movie as the nasty sister who doesn't want to share her power over the household and her brothers with anyone. If you only know Meadows from her work on TV and cartoons, this will certainly be a revelation. Highly recommended for fans of doomed romances and the other fantasy-oriented romances from the mid-40's like The Enchanted Cottage and Portrait of Jennie. 

Switched to Match Game '75 during dinner. The entire two-hour stretch covered the week with Rona Barrett and Clifton Davies. Sweet single middle-aged aunt Dorothy was the big winner that week. Richard and Charles brought her tissues the first time she won. She also got to hear some of the hilarious answers to whom Richard Dawson wouldn't be happy to marry.

Finished the night with The Wild, Wild West. "The Night of the Watery Death" has James West investigating a "dragon" that somehow managed to blow up the ship he was on, and the mermaid at the bar (Jocelyn Lane) who led him there. Artie is pretty much the only person who believes him. Turns out it's a plot by a crazed sea-loving French nobleman (John van Dreelen) to destroy the US Navy and create his own country under the Pacific Ocean. 

Oh, and here's the review of the live-action Moana that I saw on Tuesday!

Moana

Hot In the Summer

Got a quick start today with breakfast and Little Bear. He and his friends play "Follow the Leader" to get to Hop-Frog Pond, with each of them coming up with a different place they pass through. He becomes "Little Scarecrow Bear" with No Feet's help to scare the crows away, until he decides crows need to eat, too. Mother Bear is taking care of a baby raccoon. "Little Bear and the Baby" play with each other, and Little Bear reads stories...until they both end up taking naps.

Hurried out the door after Little Bear ended. I didn't hurry fast enough. I was one minute late, and had to help the dairy manager mop up a leaky orange juice cooler the moment I arrived. Fortunately, that was by far the worst thing that happened today. Not only were we dead again, but I had an older man helping me out with the sweeping and the carts later in the day. He didn't push many carts, and he only checked to see if the store needed to be swept, but he was still there. Neither of us really wanted to be inside on a decent day anyway. It was sunny, hot, and humid, but probably in the upper 80's, nothing like it has been of late. I did end up cleaning another leaky spot, this time by the bowls of sliced and cubed fruit, before I left.

Soon as I got home, I changed, made lunch, checked a few things on my phone, and watched Paw Patrol. In "Rescue Knights: Quest for the Dragon's Tooth," we return to Barkingburg as Marshall guards a very special Dragon's Tooth that will allow anyone who wears it to control a dragon. Ex-knight dog Claw wants to control a dragon and show what a wonderful knight he is, so he steals it. While Ryder and the others fortify Barkingburg castle from dragon attack, Marshall takes it on himself to retrieve the Dragon's Tooth and stop Claw.

After the show ended, I signed up at Clarifi - Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Philadelphia and Delaware Valley. They also serve South Jersey - they have an office in Cherry Hill - and they're probably the closest to my needs. If I don't hear from them by the end of the week, I'll call them.

After I signed up at their website, I went down for a nap. I had early work today, and I was still tired. I passed out around 3:30, got up at quarter of 6, and felt a little better.

Made a delicious dinner of cheesy grits with plums after I rolled out of bed. Watched Match Game '75 while I ate. This week was unique in several respects. For one thing, it was the only one during the entire 1973 - 1982 run to be announced by someone besides Johnny Olsen. Bern Bennett announced for Johnny while he was on vacation. It was also the only week to feature bass-voiced comedian Joe Silver and warm Good Times matriarch Esther Rolle. 

Finished the night, or tried to, with more Mystery Science Theater 3000. Munchie is one of the last relics from the "small ugly-cute creature either frightens kids or helps them out" genre of 80's and 90's family movies that began with E.T. In this 1992 comedy, Munchie (voice of Dom DeLouise) is supposed to be this hilarious monster-like creature who helps Gage (Jamie McEnnan) combat bullies, impress the girl he likes (Jennifer Love Hewitt), and show his mother (Loni Anderson) that the guy she's dating (Andrew Stevens) is a creep. Trouble is, Munchie is not only more annoying and obnoxious than lovable - even Gage calls him out on his antics wrecking havoc - but his design is flat-out hideous, and even terrifying. The evil Gremlins were cuter and less-scary than Munchie. Arte Johnson has some mild fun as Gage's mentor, but he's defeated by his material and lack of screen time. Honestly, don't come within five miles of here unless you're a true lover of bad 80's and 90's cheese and can really handle heavy camp. 

Rushing In the Rain

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. "Collossor Awakes" when Skeletor creates a ship that can turn people into stone...or bring stone to life. While Teela and Battle Cat protect Castle Greyskull and He-Man figures out how to reverse the spell, Skeletor animates a massive one-eyed stone creature to do his bidding and capture the castle.

It had looked cloudy since I got up this morning...and of course, the moment I left the house, it started showering. It didn't last long, disappearing even as I crossed the White Horse Pike to pick up the bus. The bus arrived on time, and I had no trouble getting off at the office next to Amy's Omelette House in Somerdale.

The former diner with the seaside decor (Amy's started at the North Jersey Shore town Long Branch) surprisingly wasn't that busy for 11:30 in the morning. I was able to eat my bacon and aptly-named Peanut Butter Bliss pancakes in peace. One of the "Lite Bites," this was two chocolate chip pancakes spread with peanut butter and topped with bananas, caramel, and more chocolate chips. Yum! Nice and fluffy and just the right size. 

Ate them quickly, then dashed out the door to the Cinemark. It remained cloudy, humid, and relatively cool as I headed down the White Horse Pike, but the rain held off. I rushed to the Dollar Tree next to the theater to pick up a small bag of popcorn and a Pepsi Zero. I saw wooden crates there for $10. I'd go back for that later. I'd never get away with hauling that around in a theater.

As it turned out, I was too late. I thought Moana was at 12:35. Nope, it was at 12:10. The next regular showing was 2:35. By the time I got in, they would have been a quarter of the way through the movie. Darn it. I'd have to come back.

Strolled up to Walmart on the hill overlooking the Cinemark shopping center instead. Found last year's Superman movie on DVD for $9.99. They're one of the only places around here I can find Junkless granola bars. Got the strawberry flavor. It's also the only place I've ever seen the Sprite + Tea in a 20 ounce Zero version. (Which was...ok. It tasted like Sprite Zero and bottled tea, anyway.)

Even when I headed back down the hill to the theater, I still had a half-hour left. I just bought my ticket, used the bathroom, found a bench, and watched all the summer camp pre-teens running around. I heard them arguing over whether to see Minions & Monsters or Moana. The boys all wanted the Minions and the girls all wanted Moana. (Considering the summer camp kids who did end up seeing Moana barely made a peep the entire time, I'm presuming the boys mostly won out.) Even with all that, I was still in the theater 15 minutes early.

There's still a lot of interesting family movies coming out late this year and early next year. Illumination's next big movie Not Alone, about two NASA workers who fall for each other and help really goofy aliens get home, looks really sweet (especially for them). Disney's Thanksgiving movie Hexed, about a young witch learning to use her powers, also looks really interesting. I'm far less interested in another Ice Age film. Didn't they exhaust that particular franchise over a decade ago? The Cat In the Hat in November could be really cute...or really annoying really fast. (At least it looks a heck of a lot better than the Mike Myers live-action film, starting with being in more appropriate animation.) Forgotten Island is coming out when I'll be on vacation with Lauren, and unless I can talk her into it, I'll probably have to wait for that one on streaming. I'm still not all that eager to see Paw Patrol on the big screen, especially since I haven't seen the other films on Paramount Plus yet. 

As for Moana, I'll go further into that on Thursday at my Musical Dreams blog.

The clouds were getting thicker and thicker by the second, and the wind was blowing fiercely. I went back to Dollar Tree, got a crate for my bulging holiday records, and went back to the movie theater. I initially called Uber, due to concerns about the weather...but the prices were so high, I hurried to Taco Bell at the White Horse Pike instead. 

I made it there just as the storm finally began. It was really coming down as I ate my (yummy) taco, my (spicy and so-so) quesadilla, and quickly drank sugar-free Gatorade. I was originally going to take the bus home, but the weather now made that impossible. There's no bus shelter at the Taco Bell stop. I just spent the money and called Uber. The driver arrived in 15 minutes and thankfully had no trouble getting me home despite the flooding alerts that popped up when we were going through Lawnside. (It must have been in Cherry Hill. I didn't see any flooding on the White Horse Pike.)

Organized my records and the bears sitting on the crates when I got home, then watched Match Game '75. Tonight finished up the week with William Shatner and Julie Harris. Early on, a young woman was so excited, her bouncing around supposedly put a crack in the floor! In a later show, a young woman with a wide, gleaming toothpaste smile was so pleased when she gave a sexually-charged answer, the panelists couldn't help joking about it. In the last episode, Fannie Flagg was enamored with a handsome young man who was perfectly happy being single.

Finished the night at Tubi with Jinx Money. Sach and Slip think they've found the answer to all their money woes when thousands of dollar turns up in a rolled-up newspaper on the street. To the guys' consternation, the original owner was a gangster who won the money at an illicit poker game and was killed before he could enjoy it. Every gangster who follows him and tries to get the dough from the Boys ends up dead, poisoned or stabbed by a man carrying an umbrella whom only Sach keeps seeing. Slip sets himself up as bait when one too many gamblers die on their doorstep, but for once, it's Sach who turns out to really be right about who's doing the killing. 

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

Started off the day with one of the new Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood episodes currently at PBS Kids. Daniel's excited when "Grandpere Sleeps Over," until he learns that Grandpere will sleep in his trolley bed. His father reminds him that he has to remember other people's needs, too. Likewise, when it's too dark in Margaret's room where he's sleeping, Grandpere finds a way to shed a little light on him. Daniel attends a "Tea Party at the Castle" with Chrissie and Prince Wednesday. They find a friend for him when they make it a stuffed animal tea party and he helps them clean up when they're done.

Listened to the soundtrack from the live-action version of Moana that's currently in theaters as I rounded up clothes to be donated. Other than a different Moana, most of this is pretty identical to the original animated film. They even have Dwayne Johnson singing "You're Welcome." There is one genuinely good new song, "Along the Way," and some of the chorus songs are expanded from the animated version. Otherwise, if you have the soundtrack from the animated version, you're probably fine just looking for "Along the Way" separately. 

I headed out to run errands after the episode ended. My first stop was the book kiosk down the block to drop off something I just finished. Found an interesting Halloween cozy mystery, 15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Breecher. I was originally going to buy a birthday card for a friend and hydration mix at Dollar General after I dropped off the bag of clothes in the back, but the line was so long after someone threw a fit over not being able to use a coupon, I left with nothing. I got a better card, a gift card, and hair clips and used the bathroom at CVS. 

It was a gorgeous day in the neighborhood. Though it was slightly warmer and more humid than yesterday, it still wasn't anything like last week! It was sunny, breezy, and perfectly clear. The haze had vanished with the storms on Saturday night. Couldn't have been more perfect for a long walk down the White Horse Pike. I had lunch at Dunkin' Donuts to finish up the gift card I got from one of the kids. Had a bacon and egg sandwich on a multi-grain bagel, very yummy mini hash-browns, a cream donut, and a "SunCloud Lemonade." Basically, this was lemonade with marshmallow topping, and it was sweet but not bad. 

Made a very short stop at Family Dollar after I finished lunch. I was hoping to find that hydration drink mix. Nope, they were out. I once again walked out with nothing and just went home.

After I got home and took the laundry downstairs, I spent the next few hours looking up housing counselors online. I'm going to need help to figure out what I can afford, what condos are right for me, and how I can get them. I narrowed it down to two companies, Clarifi and NJ Citizen Action. I'll decide which one to use and contact them on Wednesday after work. 

Listened to the Stage Door Canteen 4-disc record set as I worked and put the laundry in the dryer. I have no idea why the first three albums in this set were made by Heartland Records and the fourth was an RCA Special Products release. They're all the same idea, though - hit songs from the World War II years. Some of them, like the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Rum and Coca Cola," "It's Been a Long, Long Time," "I've Got Spurs that Jingle Jangle Jingle," and Frank Sinatra's version of "Saturday Night" remain iconic today. Others are definitely of their era, like "Mairzy Doats," "Pistol Packin' Mama," "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," "Chickety Chick," and "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen." 

Match Game '75 was starting as the last record in the set was ending and I brought the laundry upstairs. Most of tonight featured the hilarious week with Dick Gautier in his blonde wig for the Mel Brooks Robin Hood spoof When Things Were Rotten, ingenue Melinda O. Fee, and Betty White. Melinda got a standing ovation from the crowd when she finally gave a right answer! The ingenue in the next week was The Belle of Amherst herself, Broadway star Julie Harris. Harris was a close friend of Charles Nelson Reilly, and she was too sensible to deal with Gene Rayburn's amorous "new kid on the block" shenanigans or William Shatner panting over her.

Finished the night celebrating the 60th anniversary of Chuck Barris' first hit show, The Newlywed Game. Host Bob Eubanks asks four just-married couples questions to see how well they knew each other. It got a head start on the competition when CBS preempted Password to show a politician's news conference, but it ran as planned. The spicy innuendo between the couples and the questions about "makin' whoopee" made the show a hit right out of the gate. It was such a success, it even had a nighttime series that ran from 1967 through 1971. 

By the early 70's, daytime standards had begun to loosen considerably. Suddenly, "makin' whoopee" wasn't quite the big deal it had been a few years before. Not to mention, it had stiff competition from the NBC soap Days of Our Lives. ABC ended the daytime version in 1974. The show had more luck in syndication, where it ran from 1977 until Chuck Barris overstepped his bounds with the controversial 3's a Crowd and all of his shows were ended in 1980. 

The Newlywed Game returned as a series of specials on ABC in 1984, hosted by Jim Lange. To date, this is the last time the show has run on the regular networks. It returned to syndication in 1985 as The New Newlywed Game. Eubanks hosted until 1988, when he was replaced by Paul Rodriguez. Saturday Night Live comedian Garry Kroeger hosted a heavily revamped version of the show once again on syndication in 1996 that had the couples answering questions via videos. When the new format proved to be a bust, Eubanks returned with a more professional set and the original format until 1999. 

Carnie Wilson hosted the first season of the Game Show Network revival in 2009. Sherri Shepherd took over in August 2010, and would continue to host until the show ended in 2013. The Game Show Network version was based heavily on the original, with more of a modern neon set and the three couples from the syndicated show.

Make a little whoopee of your own watching some of the funniest newly married couples to ever grace a game show in these wacky, romantic episodes!

The Newlywed Game (1967)

The Newlywed Game Syndication (1979)

The New Newlywed Game (1984)

The New Newlywed Game (1985)

The Newlywed Game Syndication (1996)

The Newlywed Game (2010) 

Pride Lands and Matches

Started off the morning with breakfast and Rhythm of the Pride Lands. Originally an independent project by Lebo M, Disney came on board after The Lion King was a massive success. "He Lives In You" would later be reworked as the opening number for The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and "Lea Halalea (Holy Land)" and "Lala" would be rewritten as "Shadowlands" and "Endless Night" in the stage Lion King. "Warthog Rhapsody" had been intended to introduce Timon and Pumba before being replaced with "Hakuna Matata" and would be given new lyrics for Lion King II 1/2 as "That's All I Need." 

As funny as "Warthog Rhapsody" and Lebo M's charming version of "Hakuta Matata" is, my favorite numbers here are ones that haven't shown up in other projects. The stirring "It's Time" and chorus number "One By One" give you a real sense of African rhythms that Elton John and Tim Rice's more rock-ish music from Lion King lacks. I used to love this album when Mom gave it to me for my birthday in 1995. Honestly, if you have Lion King fans around or love world music, this album is worth tracking down.

I didn't even have time to finish the album before rushing off to work. I did get there on time...but I probably could have been indefinitely late. Not only were we dead the entire day, but one of the college boys came in an hour after I did and took over the indoor sweeping chores. There wasn't really much for me to do besides dodge the men upgrading the lighting in aisles 3 and 4 and enjoy the absolutely stunning weather. This was probably the nicest weather we'd had in a week. It was breezy, sunny, and warm without being boiling hot, probably in the lower 80's. The humidity and smoke had likely disappeared with yesterday's storms. 

After work ended, I went straight home, changed...and took a nap. I've had a long couple of weeks, and I really needed sleep badly. I passed out for two hours and was still tired when I rolled out of bed around 5:30.

The Match Game marathon had already started by the time I got up. Character actor and singer Charles Nelson Reilly started on the show early in 1973, on the same week as his friends Bert Convy, Brett Somers and Betty White. His busy schedule meant he was the last of the three regulars to join the show permanently...but he quickly became one of its cornerstones. He was often the funniest thing about it. You never knew what he'd do, like the time he drummed up suspense for a Head-to-Head answer that would make sweet Janet Finn the show's all-time champ in 1974 (and got beat up by half the panel for being such a ham), or changed places with Scoey Mitchelll in 1976, claiming they'd had the world's first "race change" operation. He saw Gene Rayburn pull the strings off Elaine Joyce's halter top in '74 and his boss and one of the show's producers Mark Goodson sit in for him when he was "getting his hair nailed on." 

He went to Broadway from late '74 through mid '75 to direct what would be the hit one-woman show The Belle of Amherst. When he came back, he made one of the most unique entrances in TV history, via wires and a stuffed bird he dubbed Harry, whom he claimed had flown him there. He worked best with Brett Somers, his long-time drinking buddy, like the time they dressed as cowpokes and sang back-up for Bill Anderson when he performed his own song for Debralee Scott in 1976. He even had fun in the nighttime shows, like the one from 1981 where he offered his own toupee to a balding but charming and personable young man. 

It only takes a moment to enjoy the antics of one of the most beloved stars on the entire show! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - Charles Nelson Reilly - Best Episodes on Match Game

Harvests and History

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "Pleasure Valley" seems to be the ideal amusement park to all of the Shirt Tales but Pammy. Turns out she's right to question this seemingly innocent carnival when she learns that the barker has a far more sinister plan than feeding them too many hot dogs. "The Ghost Out West" is trying to drive the group from an abandoned ghost town. They decided to turn things around and get to the bottom of the mystery by playing ghosts themselves.

Headed out to the Collingswood Farm Market as soon as the cartoon ended. It was late by the time I got there, almost 11:30. There wasn't much left out. The summer produce is out in full now. Berries and peas are gone, replaced by enormous purple eggplants, Chinese beans, red plums, grapes, corn, melons, and every kind of summer squash that ever existed. I bought fat peaches and small, tart red plums, and picked up a cold, minty Chocolate Mint Cream Bar from the Bubba's Creamery cart. Surprisingly, while the Farm Market was busy, it wasn't jammed like usual. The cloudy, thickly humid day and threat of storms might have scared some folks off, plus there was how late it was. They were starting to close as I finished my chocolate mint bar.

Headed down Atlantic Avenue to the PATCO station. Parked the bike there, bought my ticket, and headed up to the tracks. I was surprised to see one of the kids from Thomas Sharp and her family on the platform. They were going in the opposite direction to Philadelphia for a walk around the Independence Hall area. I told them I was going to Haddonfield. I wanted to take another look at the actual Cherry Parke Condos. Her mother asked if I would be staying at the school. For now, yes. I like working with the kids, even if sometimes they overwhelm me when they're all together.

They left before I did. I had to wait another 12 minutes for the train. When it came, there were no problems, and it was fairly empty. It pulled into Haddonfield less than 5 minutes later. 

I got turned around when I got off. Ended up wandering down one of Haddonfield's tree-lined streets past many lovely old Victorian and Edwardian homes. Finally found my way to Haddon Avenue, then down to Tanner Ave to the Bistro for lunch.

The Bistro is my favorite restaurant in Haddonfield. Their breakfasts are amazing! I sat in the nice, chilly, dark-paneled main room and ate thick multi-grain French toast topped with fresh strawberries and whipped butter. Had bacon with that and washed it down with unsweetened peach ginger iced tea. Yum! I'm glad they were able to get me a seat. It was pretty busy in there, mainly with what looked like families and groups of friends out on the town for lunch.

Peeked around in Happy Hippo Toys next. They were even busier than the Bistro with kids and their parents looking for gifts or new toys. Good thing I saw something I wanted right when I walked in. There was a bin of 9-inch Care Bears. I was surprised to see Bedtime Bear and Birthday Bear, whom I've never run into anywhere else. They were a bit expensive, but I ended up with Bedtime Bear. I'd save Birthday Bear for my actual birthday in the spring, but Bedtime will be out all year. (And probably sleeping through most of it.)

Walked down King's Highway next, reading signs about Indian King Tavern, where the Council of Safety met during the Revolutionary War, and Greenfield Hall, the home of the Haddonfield Historical Society. (Both are currently closed and under heavy remodeling.) Found a mid-90's edition of Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace in a book kiosk. Passed the enormous Haddonfield High School and the lovely yellow Victorian building I hope they are remodeling. Turned left at Clements Bridge Road, across from the lovely Wallworth Park. This time, I went down a block to the Cherry Parke Condo buildings.

The condo buildings are pretty identical to the rental apartment buildings further down, with no shutters or balconies. (Though I did see fire escapes on some condos in the back.) It does have what looks like a well-maintained pool. I'm guessing they were all built in the early 50's. They have a charming two-story Colonial design, but they're all showing their age (though Cherry Parke seemed to be in slightly better-shape than the apartment buildings) with junk and old furniture piled against the dumpsters and no landscaping besides patchy green lawns surrounding narrow sidewalks. 

This probably wasn't the ideal day for exploring condos. It wasn't that hot, but it was cloudy, breezy, and thickly, murderously humid. I was soaked as I hurried back down King's Highway, desperate for a drink...and despite the clouds, it hadn't started to rain yet. I finally rested at the smaller Haddon Culinary two blocks from the PATCO Station. I grabbed a Coke Zero and a soft pretzel, then saw that they had coffee and tea drinks and got a very milky chai latte. After I finished, I hurried down to the PATCO and caught the train back to Collingswood, then rode my bike home.

Took a much-much needed shower, then finished up with dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. In honor of the World Cup ending this weekend, the theme were "countries around the world." Usually, it was jokes about Richard Dawson being from England or Fannie Flagg dressed as Swedish Greta Garbo. Gene attempted fake Japanese with real Japanese character actor Pat Moriata, who just looked at him weird. There would be an Audience Match question like "Made In __." Another time, Gene spent an episode substituting the "blank" in the questions with "Schnick Schnack," which apparently they do in the German Match Game. This led to a round of German accent jokes, especially from Richard, who worked with real Germans and Austrians in Hogan's Heroes. 

One of the most notorious episodes of Password Plus also snuck in. Dick Martin wasn't too happy when he used "France" for "French" and was called on it. He complained so much, Tom Kennedy almost walked off the set twice. The episode went completely off the rails from there. Dick got so goofy, it felt more like an episode of Laugh-In than of Password Plus, and Betty White ran with the lunacy. 

Celebrate matching around the world in the spirit of competition (and learning the difference between "France" and "French") with these wacky episodes!

Match Game/Password Plus Saturday Classics - World Cup Edition (Celebrating Our Countries Finale) 

(Oh, we finally got that thunderstorm about 20 minutes after I got out of the shower. It was noisy, but it didn't linger for long. It returned about two hours later and didn't linger for long then either.) 

Life Is a Highway

Started off today early as I had breakfast and Lauren finished packing to go home. We had some nervous moments when the first Uber driver canceled and the second took 8 minutes to arrive, then we ran into traffic in Pennsauken. Thankfully, the cars vanished long before the gentleman pulled up to the 30th Street Station. They were just lining up for Lauren's train when we arrived. I gave her a hug, told her to text me when she got to New York and to home, and left her to board the train.

(Oh, and other than her bus from Albany to Pittsfield being a bit late, Lauren apparently had no trouble whatsoever today on the road. She's now long at home, having had dinner out with her parents when she got in.)

After I let Lauren go, I went to the NJ Transit ticket kiosk I spied there when Lauren arrived and bought tickets, then got a donut and a matcha latte from Dunkin' Donuts. I have never heard of an ice cream cake-flavored donut. It...wasn't bad. A little dry. It was filled with very sweet chocolate cream. I walked around a little bit after I finished my treat until they announced the 9:14 NJ Transit train to Atlantic City.

Thank heavens, the train actually made it out of the station this time. It was busy with mostly people going to Atlantic City on a day that remained hazy, if not as hot. Other than going a bit slow after leaving 30th Street, I had no trouble on the train whatsoever this time. I got off at the Cherry Hill Train Pavilion around quarter of 10.

Since the train station is behind the big Shop Rite, I thought I'd save myself a trip and do my shopping there. That store is enormous, twice the size of even the Audubon Acme. It took me a while to find everything I needed. Restocked yogurt, soda, deodorant (they had Secret for a good price), and granola. I couldn't decide which cookies to get, so I got a variety pack with M&M, chocolate chip, brownie, and sugar. They had the Nature's Valley wafer bars on a decent sale, too. 

The reason I took the train to Cherry Hill is I figured it would be a lot easier (and cheaper) to catch an Uber home from there. The last three times I called for a ride home from 30th Street Station, the driver missed me or almost missed me. I was right. The driver arrived in 9 minutes and got me home in less than 10. 

Once I got home, I put everything away, changed shoes, made up a check for a bill, grabbed a book I wanted to drop in a kiosk, and headed out again on my bike. I had a lot of errands to run. Dropped the bill in the mail box outside of the post office and the book in a kiosk. It was much sunnier by the time I was out and about and slightly less hazy. At least it didn't smell like smoke anymore.

I had lunch at the Legacy Diner in Audubon. I needed pineapple coconut pancakes and a bowl of melon chunks and grapes. Yum! The pancakes were so huge and fluffy, I couldn't finish them. Surprisingly, given it was past noon by then, it wasn't really that busy. Maybe everyone was avoiding the haze.

Stopped at WaWa on the way home. I wanted to pick up money for the Collingswood Farm Market tomorrow. Tried a small banana bread smoothie. Yum! Brown sugar syrup, graham cracker crumbs, and real banana. It really did taste like banana bread milk. 

Soon as I got home, I went down for a nap. I've had a long couple of weeks! I went down at quarter of 1 and slept until past 2:30.

After I got up and got moving, I made the bed, then pulled out more things I didn't want or need or had replaced over the last two weeks for another bag that'll go to Goodwill. Listened to some of the many records I bought over the past two weeks while I worked. Although the jaunty Rascal Flatts version of "Life Is a Highway" was the hit from the original Cars, my favorite number is the sadder and more downbeat "Our Town" by James Taylor on the rise and fall of Radiator Springs. I also like "Find Yourself" by Brad Paisley and the Chuck Berry version of "Route 66." 

Thank heavens that chip on the High Anxiety soundtrack from when I bought the disc didn't impede it being able to play. We not only get the theme song and "If You Love Me, Baby, Tell Me Loud" from High Anxiety, but songs from every Mel Brooks movie made up until 1978. Which means, yes, we also get "Springtime for Hitler" and "Prisoner of Love" from the original Producers, "Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst" from the rarely-seen The Twelve Chairs, "The Ballad of Blazing Saddles," "I'm Tired," and the brief "The French Mistake" from Blazing Saddles, and "Puttin' On the Ritz" from Young Frankenstein. There's even a bit of the score from Silent Movie.

Radio Active and Images are K-Tel collections from the early 1980's. Radio Active from 1982 leans on harder rock like "You Better You Bet" by the Who, "Take It On the Run" by REO Speedwagon, and "Super Freak" by Rick James. Ballads are the theme on the quieter Images from 1980, including "Should've Never Let You Go" by the late Neil Sedaka and his daughter Dara, "Do That To Me One More Time" by the Captain & Tenille, and "Too Hot" by Kool & the Gang.

Switched to Match Game '75 next. The first hour was the second half of the week featuring Barbara McNair and Alex Karras. I think Alex had a bit of a crush on Lola Kiss, the lady wrestler from Transylvania, after she managed to pin him! He sure turned red when she kissed him for giving her a right answer on the Audience Match. The second hour brought in Scoey Mitchelll and a pair of goofy Pattys, Duke and Deustch.

I also got my schedule at this point. Good news, more hours. Bad news, they're all early. I was hoping they'd ease me back into work, but the head bagger and Sunday bagger must have taken time off again. 

Finished the night at YouTube with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Wizards of the Lost Kingdom is a more recent episode from 2017 diving into another low-budget 80's sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Young wizard Simon (Vidal Peterson) must find his way back to the castle to rescue the princess from the evil sorcerer Shurka (Thom Christopher) with the help of lone wolf warrior Kor (Bo Svenson). Ok, yeah, it's pretty obvious this one is a Roger Corman cheapie from his "made in Argentina" phase. There's ample stock footage from his other 80's fantasy films, the special effects are just light shows, Simon is an obnoxious little jerk, and most of the "monsters" are off-the-rack puppet suits. There are a few effective moments, though, notably when Simon is lured by a beautiful woman who turns into a genuinely scary giant insect! Otherwise, this one is for true lovers of cheesy 80's fantasy only. 

There's a Kind of Hush

I had a very quick breakfast, then we went outside and called Uber. Honestly, it was hot and humid, but not any hazier than it had been yesterday evening. I was more concerned about the mid-90's heat than the haze. At least we had no trouble there. The driver picked us up in 8 minutes and pleasantly chatted with us all the way up to Red, White, and Blue Thrift at Lawnside. 

Red, White, and Blue replaced the long-empty K-Mart the week before Memorial Day. I did so well there, I wanted to show it to Lauren. I made even better finds this time! Lauren turned up more workout shorts. I found a pair of jean shorts for work, a pair of brown shorts, two records, two books, and 3 CDs (one a two-disc set). The books were:

The Seventh Sinner by Elizabeth Peters

Forgotten Fairy Tales of Brave and Brilliant Girls

The records were:

The Disney Winnie the Pooh retelling of When We Were Very Young

True Value Happy Holidays Vol. III (The earliest True Value Happy Holidays I've found - before that, my earliest Happy Holidays collection was Volume 13.)

The CDs were: 

The 2-disc original cast album for the revue Closer Than Ever

Jack Jones - The Best of Jack Jones

Phil Collins - Dance Into the Light

Since it's two blocks down the White Horse Pike, our next stop was the House of Fun. I sorted through the bins of stuffed toys and looked over the racks and racks of sci-fi, action, and horror DVDs, but saw nothing of interest. Lauren was more interested in the back wall filled with every kind of Funco figure imaginable. She ended up with Captain America poised to attack and Deadpool dressed as Bob Ross. (I am not going to ask there.)

We hiked further down Atlantic Avenue to the Old Rail Tavern for lunch. We ate outside...which might not have been the smartest idea. Flies kept attacking our legs! On the other hand, our sandwiches were really good. Lauren had Southwestern grilled chicken and thick chips. I had fries and the same yummy Italian Chicken Cutlet I had back in May. Very tasty despite the bugs.

After lunch, we headed a block over to the Haddon Heights Antique Center at Barrington. This huge rabbit warren of rooms is filled with everything from antique china to depression glass to recent DVDs and Barbies. Lauren found a few things for her parents. I picked up two older Beanie Babies, Fleece the sweet lamb and Curly the brown bear. 

It may have only been hazy, but it was still really hot. Even the air conditioning at the Antique Center didn't help cool us off. We picked up drinks next-door at the Garnet Grill before heading down Barrington Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, under the 295 overpass and past the baseball field and Haddon Heights Public Works. It took us 20 minutes, but we did get into Haddon Heights, coming out next to Jane's Tea Room on Station Avenue. 

Our next stop was Doc's Finds, a gift shop and record store. Doc's records and CD have more and more begun to dominate. He has tons and tons of great stuff, and I never fail to walk out with something good. He had so much great stuff, I couldn't explore half his dollar bins because they were buried under more records. Lauren bought three CDs. I picked up six records, two of them with multiple discs:

The soundtracks for Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter and Working Girl 

The cast album for the 1970 revival of The Boy Friend with Judy Carne and Sandy Duncan (Still in its original plastic!)

Jefferson Airplane - Bless Its Pointed Little Head

Stage Door Canteen, a 4-disc collection of popular songs from World War II

The Hit List - 1982 2-Disc K-Tel collection

Cabana Water Ice is right across the street from Doc's, so we headed there next. They looked very different from the last time I was in there years ago. They were all white and chrome, with a fill-your-own-frozen yogurt section. I didn't want frozen yogurt. I wanted water ice. Once a family with three boys finally got their ice cream, I ordered a medium chocolate covered strawberry water ice. That turned out to be a very red, very strawberry water ice with chocolate bits. At least it was a lot less grainy than Cabana's water ice used to be! Lauren took longer to decide, but she finally got a gelati - sugar-free lemon water ice layered with vanilla ice cream and pineapple topping. Yum! It was delectably sweet and cool. We watched it while Law & Order: Special Victims Unit played in the background on USA.

By that point, it was past 4:30. We hurried down Station Avenue and across the White Horse Pike to the bus shelter. Thankfully, the 4:42 was slightly late, nothing horrible, and there was no traffic. We got off at Oaklyn and were home within 20 minutes. 

After we put everything away, we went right back out for dinner. This time, we ended up at a very busy Amoto Bros two blocks down the White Horse Pike. This dark-paneled local bar replaced a deli by the same name when that burned down. They were known for their amazing hoagies...and fortunately, both the deli and their sandwiches carried over to the bar. Lauren had a massive triple-decker sandwich that was so good, she ate it all. I couldn't even finish my Pilgrim Turkey Hoagie with stuffing and cranberry sauce. Lauren had sour cream and onion chips. I had regular. We chatted while watching the Phillies-Mets game. (Alas, later research revealed that the Phils lost, 4-1.)

Once we got home, she finished packing and went online. I watched Safety In Numbers. I go further into this 1930 romantic comedy featuring Carole Lombard as one of three ladies showing young millionaire Buddy Rogers how to live at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Safety In Numbers