Called Uber after the cartoon ended. The one going to work came in 8 minutes. I got to the Acme just in time. The one going to Thomas Sharp took 12 minutes. It took me longer to get a ride home at 3:30, but the driver finally came in 5 minutes.
The Acme was a little busier than it has been this morning, mainly because Tuesday is Senior Discount Day and there's a senior high-rise housing building a block away. I spent the first half of my shift pushing carts and enjoying the continuing beautiful fall weather. It was in the mid-60's, sunny, breezy, and beautiful. I took over the sweeping during the second half when the head bagger ended up in a register. No real trouble, other than I forgot to tell the head bagger I did the sweeping.
Grabbed a few things quickly after I changed. I needed candy to make the Mystery Bags later in the afternoon. Needed something for lunch, too - bought a turkey sandwich with cranberry mayo.
The kids were lining up to go outside when I arrived at the school. Two of the girls at my table got out of line to give me a big hug! I hugged them back and shooed them outside with the others. This time, I did wait about 15 minutes for the kids to go on the swings. It went a bit better than yesterday. The boys still wrestle around the swing set frame, but almost all of the 14 kids who wanted a ride got at least one. Most of them went on two or three times.
There were 9 kids left when we went back inside. Two of the boys built with Legos, but most of the kids settled down for a simple art project. They used stickers with Halloween figures, eyes, noses, mouths, and eyebrows to create their own Halloween character. When the last little girl finished her monster, I read "Feed Big Hilda Hippo Her ABCs" to her. No wonder she brought the book out to read. Her mother says they have a Richard Scarry story at home. I left at the same time she did.
Went straight into setting up the Mystery Bags when I got home. Watched Young Frankenstein as I worked. Fredrick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) isn't too happy to inherit his grandfather's castle and laboratory in Transylvania. He'd rather separate himself from his family's gruesome history, until he finds his grandfather's diary downstairs and wonders if reanimating the dead isn't such a bad idea after all. He and his assistant Igor (Marty Feldman) literally dig up an enormous dead man, but Igor's mix-up leaves this massive creature with an abnormal brain. Fredrick's housekeeper Frou Blucher (whinny) (Cloris Leachman) turns him loose on the countryside. They do get him back, but after an attempt to "civilize" him fails, Fredrick has to figure out how he can tame this beast. There's also the arrival of his prim fiancee Elizabeth (Madeline Khan) when he's courting his female assistant Inga (Terri Garr).
This is my favorite Mel Brooks movie along with Spaceballs. Wilder and Brooks came up with a classic script that's both an affectionate send-up of the old Universal monster films (using the same sets as the original Frankenstein) and a delightful horror comedy in its own right. In fact, the cast had so much fun, they added extra scenes just to keep going! Highly recommended for fans of the cast, Universal horror movies, gentler parodies, or if you're like me and you're looking for a horror film that's atmospheric but not too scary.
Switched to Match Game '77 during dinner. They mainly finished out the week with David Lansberg, Lee Merriweather, and Marcia Wallace. I can see why Lansberg never came back. He was pleasant and funny enough, but otherwise unremarkable. Marcia and Lee were happier that they actually got some difficult questions right for a change.
Finished the night with vintage Halloween sitcom and variety shows, starting with The Muppet Show. Vincent Price headlined the first "theme" episode in the late 1st season. His arrival made most of the Muppets, including Kermit, very nervous, but delighted the monsters, who sang "You've Got a Friend" with him. Price also did a riff on his "Prince of Darkness" persona when he and Uncle Deadly appear in Fozzie and Gonzo's old haunted house, while ghosts sing about how "I'm Looking Through You" and Wayne and Wanda attempt "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."
Alice Cooper's own shock jock persona was well in evidence when he turned up in one of the more controversial episodes of the third season. His appearance became a parody of Faust, with him trying to sell the Muppets' souls. Gonzo is the only taker. Meanwhile, teeth complain of a toothache, a creature eats another creature (and sings about it), and "Pigs In Space" deal with a virus that turns them all into invisible outlines.
It's "A Dark and Stormy Night" when the power goes out on Silver Spoons while Freddy, Ricky, and Alfonso are watching a horror movie marathon. Edward encourages them to use their imaginations to tell a round robin ghost story. It somehow turns into a Frankenstein parody, with three semi-courageous young lads rescuing a lovely lady (Kate) from an evil mad scientist (Edward) and his very polite creation (Dexter).
The Monkees dove into horror four times on their show. I did two of those episodes tonight, starting with "Monkee See, Monkee Die." The Monkees end up stranded in an old mansion on a remote island, surrounded by the eccentric hangers-on of a recently deceased millionaire. While Micky and Mike try to figure out what's going on when people start vanishing, Davy falls for the very pretty granddaughter of the millionaire who just inherited the house.
"Monstrous Monkee Mash" is a more obvious horror parody. Once again, Davy gets caught up in a romance he seriously regrets, this time with a lady who turns out to be the daughter of Dracula. The other three go after him, only for Davy to be turned into a vampire and Micky into a werewolf. It's up to Mike to rescue his friends and figure out how to get these ghouls off their set for good.
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