Laughing Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and the 2011 revival cast album of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. John Larroquette won a Tony playing Biggley, the stuffy president of the World Wide Wickets Company to Daniel Radcliffe's ambitious window-washer J. Pierpont Finch. They're both having a lot of fun here, especially on "Grand Old Ivy" and the big finale number "Brotherhood of Man." Larroquette also does well by the spoof ballad "Love From a Heart of Gold" with Tammy Blanchard. As good as the original cast is, this certainly has its virtues as well, especially if you're a fan of either star.

Called Uber after I finished breakfast and got dressed. No trouble here. The driver going to work came in 9 minutes. The one going home came in 5. No traffic either way, and I got to work in plenty of time.

No trouble at work, either. On one hand, it's still hot and thickly humid, but it was also sunny all day, without a cloud in the sky. I had more help this time, too, and for longer. The Sunday morning bagger is usually pretty reliable. Once he left, I had help from one of the college boys for the last 45 minutes. I spent the entire afternoon pushing carts...but I made sure to pace myself and go inside and get a drink of water from the bottle in my locker or empty trash cans or fill the toilet paper in the women's bathroom every half-hour or so. 

Listened to The Hit List after taking a much-needed shower. This K-Tel 2-disc set features some of the biggest hits from 1982. The first disc has most of the better-known songs today, including "867-5309/Jenny" by Tommy Tutone, "Keep On Loving You" by REO Speedwagon, "Caught Up In You" by 38 Special, "You Better You Bet" by the Who, and the first hit from Huey Lewis and the News, "Do You Believe In Love?" Most of the songs on the second disc are less familiar today, other than "The One That You Love" by Air Supply, "Slow Hand" by the Pointer Sisters, and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police.

Finished the night at YouTube watching the Sunday Match Game marathon while eating dinner. Brett Somers started off on the third week of the show and quickly became the show's second regular. Though she originally sat next to Richard Dawson in the ingenue seat, she was eventually moved upstairs to the second seat and would remain there for the rest of the original run. By the end of 1973, she'd been joined by Charles Nelson Reilly on her right. They became the best of drinking buddies and played hilariously off of her, whether he was making fun of her jewelry or she made fun of his toupee and his never wearing socks.

Brett had a comic feud with the person who handled the buzzer that ran through most of late 1973 and 1974. It got so ubiquitous, there were even questions about what she'd do the buzzer holder if she could get her hands on them, or how she'd stop them from buzzing her. Her complaints would often end up with a joke "buzzer" being used, like a raspberry noise or a cow bell. If Brett wasn't trading quips with Charles, she was doing it with Betty White. The two of them loved teasing each other about their ages and about the hold Betty had on her husband host Allen Ludden.

There were times when Brett could get a little too salty for her own good, like the 1977 episode where her answer about what movie Lassie didn't like making was censored. There was also the time in 1976 when she used her rear end as an answer to a question, or when she flipped off the audience. On the other hand, for all the jokes about her bad answers, she was sometimes the only one to get a question right, like during the syndicated run in 1980 where she was the one who finally got an answer after three tiebreakers and received a deserved standing ovation. 

Brett's then-husband Jack Klugman was the one who recommended her to the show in the first place. They appeared three times together in 1973 and spent all three weeks fighting. They got so bad, comedian Stu Gilliam asked why they put him on the "military level." By the time Jack reappeared on the show in late 1978, they'd been divorced or separated for at least three years. That didn't stop Jack from practically climbing on Brett during a question, or the others holding a mock wedding for them in the finale.

No one had more fun on the show than Brett! Belly laugh your way through the hot summer with these hilarious episodes!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Brett Somers Marathon: Laugh Your BLANK Off & Flip You Off!

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)

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

Ain't No Stopping Us Now

Had breakfast around 11, then Lauren and I strolled down to the Collingswood PATCO. It wasn't a bad day for a walk around Old City Philadelphia. It remains sunny, breezy, and bright blue, if warmer and slightly more humid than yesterday. The PATCO is a far more efficient beast than the NJ Transit. The train to Philly arrived within two minutes of us buying tickets and hurrying upstairs. (Oh, and the remodeling is now focused outside. They've long finished the escalator and elevator.)

We got off at the Franklin Square station and went straight around the corner to Franklin Square. I've been wanting to show Lauren this beautiful park since I visited here last August. The Chinese Lantern Festival was even more beautiful this year than it was last year! Flowers were the theme. We were greeted by towering daisies, sunflowers, lily pads, and gorgeous purple fabric blooms. I saw a soccer and baseball-themed "Philly" display near one of the entrances, and fabric horses who looked real enough to jump over the fence.

The fountain wasn't running and none of the food booths were open at quarter of 12, but everything else was ready to go. We played the mini-golf course. It was a lot of fun! The obstacles are all based on Philadelphia landmarks, like Elfreth's Alley, the Ben Franklin Bridge, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (they even have Rocky's footprints next to the course). Lauren got two holes in one, one of them right through the Chinatown Friendship Arch. There's even one with "records" representing hits from Philadelphia International Records, like "Me and Mrs. Jones" and "Ain't No Stopping Us Now." The last course has the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Lauren won, but only by a few points. We were flanked on one side by two middle-aged gentlemen who gallantly allowed us to go on ahead of them, and three college students who laughed a lot and seemed to really enjoy themselves.

After we finished, we headed down Race Street to the Race Street Cafe for lunch. Despite its name, this small brick-and-wood-paneling watering hole is really more of a local bar. Lauren had tilapia tacos she said were delicious. I tried them when I ate there last year and found them to be too spicy for me. I went with a nice, simple grilled chicken sandwich and slender, salty fries.

The Race Street Cafe is just steps away from 2nd Street. Our first stop here was A Four Foot Prune, which specializes in Muppet memorabilia, character toys and media from the 50's through the 90's, and anything Liza Minnelli ever did. Lauren found two cute bags - one with Snoopy, one with a scene from The Monster at the End of This Book that matches a shirt she has - and some pins and patches. I found a small Dakin Bear dressed as a pilgrim girl, with a turkey on a ribbon, for only $2. I think the kids will love Jim Henson's Muppet Babies Big Book of Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales, with its adorable illustrations depicting Rolf as Humpty Dumpty, Skeeter and Scooter as Jack and Jill, Kermit as Wee Willie Winkie, and Piggy as Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. I only dug up one record, but it was one of the Tale Spinners for Children series from England, Sinbad the Sailor.

We crossed 2nd Street to check out Brave New Worlds, a popular local comics book shop. This is a lot more organized than the book stores, a long, dark room with shelves and shelves of comic books, manga, and toys. I didn't get anything here. Lauren got a figure for a friend and Marvel Meow, with Marvel characters hilariously interacting with cats and other pets.

The Book Trader is two blocks down from Brave New Worlds. It's a wonderful used book store, with rickety shelves filled from floor to ceiling with books, records, CDs, DVDs, and videos. This time, Lauren didn't find anything. She spent the time relaxing by the fiction and foreign language sections on the second floor. I did dig out two cast album LPs:

The original Broadway cast of Little Me with Sid Caesar playing the seven loves of a Hollywood starlet

The original London cast of Salad Days...which I was kind of shocked to find. Though this charming small-scale musical was a huge hit on the West End in 1954, it played off-Broadway in 1958, didn't do well, and hasn't tried the US since. 

And four books:

Standing In the Rainbow and The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg

Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies by Ted Chapin

The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey (I did take this one out of the Haddon Township Library about 15 years ago, but that copy is long gone.) 

Last year, I wandered around in Old City until I found my way back to Franklin Square...but that wasn't going to fly this time. For one thing, we were both carrying heavy bags with books, records, toys, and other items. For another, Lauren wanted to hit up Fashion District Mall. Not to mention, while not killer humid like it's supposed to be later in the week, it was much hotter than yesterday. I called an Uber driver, who arrived within 7 minutes and got us to Primark in less than 5.

Lauren briefly explored Primark, an Irish department store, when we arrived. They don't really carry my size, so I just waited in the main mall until she came out and admitted she didn't find anything she wanted. We walked around a bit and got sodas before going upstairs to Round 1 on the third floor. Even newer spaces in Philly can be deceptively small on the outside. Though this doesn't have some of the games seen at other arcades in South Jersey - no skee ball, no ring toss - it does have pinball. I ran from Star Wars pinball to The Munsters pinball (did really well with that one) to Bust-a-Move to Space Invaders. Came in second with a sweet cherry-red Lamborghini on Crusin' Blast. I earned over 2,500, but just decided to save most of it for when we go to Deptford tomorrow. I went with a darling white Beanie Baby kitten named Amelia. 

By that point, we were tired, hungry, and sore. Time to take the PATCO home. I got us turned around a bit, but we did manage to make it to the 8th Street Station by 5:30. We took a jammed-full rush hour train back to South Jersey, getting off at Westmont.

I thought we'd try something different for dinner. The Haddon Diner is just two blocks from the Westmont PATCO Station. I figured it would be less busy and closer to the station than the Collingswood restaurants. (Not to mention, a lot of them aren't open on Mondays.) They were busy, but not so much that we didn't quickly get one of the sweet stenciled wooden booths. Lauren had a BLT and a Yankee Bean Soup she loved. I had banana and pecan pancakes that were so fluffy and tasty and fat turkey sausages. 

I also thought it would be easier to pick up Uber here than in Collingswood...and I was right. It took me a while, but I finally got a driver who came in 15 minutes and got us home in less than 5. No traffic here or, thank heavens, in Philadelphia.

I took the recycling out and we put our laundry in the washing machine, then put on Match Game '75. I came in time for the first day of Carol Bartos' run. Dr. Joyce Brothers and Bill Daily got to match one of her more peculiar answers, one that had Gene wanting to drag Dr. Brothers to her own couch! The next week was Game Show Host Week, with Bob Barker, Arlene Francis, and (ironically) Fannie Flagg. 

Moved to Tubi for Hard Boiled Mahoney. Slip and Sach are at a private eye's office, trying to get the money he owes Sach, when Salina Webster (Betty Compson) comes in and mistakes them for the detective. She offers them $50 to find her lost sister. Slip trails the sister, only to see a man shot. Turns out the two women in question aren't related. Phony medium Armand (Dan Seymour) has incriminating letters that are blackmailing them. Slip, Sach, and their buddies have to dodge the police (who think Slip did it) to bring Armand to justice...but first, they have to get off Professor Quizard's (Bryan Foulger) radio show by driving him crazy!

Finished the night with more of Daredevils of the Red Circle. By the time of chapter 5, "The Ray of Death," former prisoner Harry Crowel (Charles Middleton) has gotten the idea that there's someone tipping off the trio of Daredevils. He intends to kill off anyone in the household he talks to regularly, starting with Granville's granddaughter Blanche (Carole Landis). The boys have to restore the electricity on an old mine and get Blanche and several workers out of there before it's flooded...and before Crowel's goons electrocute the entire lot of them. 

Sunny Afternoon

We were up so late, I grabbed a really quick breakfast and called Uber the moment we were both ready. The lady arrived in 8 minutes, not bad for quarter after 11. We arrived at Abbie Road in Mt. Ephraim in a little over 5 minutes.

Abbie Road is a wonderful record/CD store on King's Highway in Mt. Ephraim. Lauren and I have been friends with Bob, the kindly, grizzled older owner, for years. He greeted us warmly with hugs and asked us how we'd been. I've been buying media from him since I moved here in 2006 and he was still in Collingswood. He always gives us the best deals. His store is one large room filled to the ceiling with shelves and shelves of CDs, records, and music DVDs. Lauren found five CDs, including a rare Micky Dolenz singles set, the That Was Then, This Is Now Monkees greatest hits collection, and a 2-disc Elvis set. I only got one record, but he was having such good CD sales, especially on jazz titles, I ended up with 13 CDs. The one record was the soundtrack from Murder By Death (another movie I didn't know had a soundtrack). The CDs were:

The cast album for the 2011 Broadway revival of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette 

Top TV Hits, a 1995 2-disc Entertainment Weekly collection of TV theme songs 

Soundtracks from Casablanca and Batman Forever

Rhythm of the Pridelands, a 1995 CD of African-style music "inspired by" The Lion King (I've had the cassette version since it came out - I didn't think there was a CD.)

Songs That Got Us Through World War II, collection of hits from the early 40's

Eartha Kitt - "Miss Kitt," To You

Julie London - The Unforgettable Julie London

Miles Davis - Porgy & Bess and Doo-Bop

John Coltrane - Giant Steps

Dave Brubeck - Jazz Impressions of Japan and Quiet As the Moon (The latter is the soundtrack from an episode of the Peanuts series This Is America, Charlie Brown.) 

By 12:30, our stomachs were starting to rumble. It was time for lunch. Neither of us felt like waiting that long, so we just got pizza at Tony Roni's on the corner of King's Highway and the Black Horse Pike a couple of blocks down from Abbie Road. Lauren had pepperoni and a square slice of cheese. I had the regular triangular cheese and a "supreme" - basil, tomato, mozzarella, and very small pepperoni slices. She got a Diet Pepsi. I had an iced tea. We timed things right, too. We'd just started on our pizzas when a line of big men in hard hats and bright yellow road construction vests came in to order lunch. 

Though it was much hotter than it has been, probably in the mid-80's, sunny, and thickly humid, it was still nice enough for a walk down the Black Horse Pike to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center. We started off at Goodwill. Lauren didn't get anything here, but I found the James Cagney gangster drama White Heat still in its plastic and AM Gold 1969, a collection of hit songs from the year in question that includes "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" by BJ Thomas, "These Eyes" by the Guess Who, "Someday We'll Be Together" by the Supremes, and "Put a Little Love In Your Heart" by Jackie DeShannon. 

We were in and out of stores for the next hour or so. Lauren bought candy at Five Below and Marshalls. I got nice illustration markers and glitter markers for a friend's teen daughter at Five Below and mini coconut patties at Marshalls. I never do well at Ross, but Lauren picked up two pairs of shorts. She got energy drinks that were 2 for 5 at the Acme. I got the Powerade Water that's on sale for 99 cents and had an online coupon for the Xochital blue corn chips. 

Took another long walk after we left Acme, this time down the Black Horse Pike and Kendall Boulevard into Oaklyn. After all that walking, we needed a stop at Common Grounds Coffee Shop. Thankfully, they were less busy than they tend to be earlier in the day. We had no trouble getting a seat while Lauren had a root beer coffee float (she said it was delicious - really tasted like root beer and coffee) and a cannolli (which she also liked). I had a slice of my favorite crumb cake and strawberry shortcake crusher. I didn't realize it had coffee in it. Oh well. I could use the caffeine (even though it did give me heartburn later). 

The Score Records is directly across the street from Common Grounds. I've been dying to show this place to Lauren ever since it opened last August. In addition to records, CDs, and DVDs, it also sells stickers, pins, motel-style keychains with funny sayings, t-shirts, local art, and mini album covers on refrigerator magnets. The owner is also a total sweetheart. Lauren grabbed two pins, three keychains, and a Weird All Even Worse magnet. I found two records and a CD. The CD was Madonna's Something To Remember. The two records were:

Fire Into Music, a jazz/funk collection

The Commodores - Nightshift

After we finally got home, we rested for about an hour and a half before heading back out to get dinner. We weren't up for much more than picking up sandwiches at a quiet Crown Chicken and Gyro. Lauren got a kebobs gyro. I had a chicken sandwich that was amazing, perfectly fried and juicy. We both had their tasty thin greasy-dry fries. She got a Diet Coke. I had a citrus diet green tea that was so good, I wish I asked the girl at the counter where they got it from.

I had Match Game '75 on before and after we went to get dinner. Most of the night finished off the week with Joan Collins and Scoey Mitchelll. Spencer for Hire and Vega$ star Robert Urich and soap sweetheart Jamie Lyn Bauer appeared next week...much to Brett's delight when she got to give Urich his welcome to the show kiss!

Finished the night with Paw Patrol. Snooty Winnie Winnington thinks the jumping contest is for her horse Felicia. She has to drive into the swamp when Mayor Goodway tells her it's a frog jumping contest. "Pups Save a Show Jumper" when Winnie's van and Felicia's truck get stuck in the bog and Chase and Rubble have to pull them out. "Pups Save the Salmon" who can't get around a beaver dam to the ocean. Skye also has to rescue Alex from being stuck in the logs on the dam. 

Flower Power

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. Bogey ends up "Horsin' Around" when they enter a retired cab driving horse in a race so he can boast to all the race horses that he was in one. It's "Mission: Mutt" when Dinkel sends a sweet old dog to the pound and the Shirt Tales bust him loose.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. To my surprise, it arrived in 2 minutes. In fact, I had no trouble with Uber at all today. The one going to Thomas Sharp came in 6 minutes and got me there early. No traffic anywhere.

I had been wondering why I was working Thursday and Friday. The head bagger did the sweeping and indoor chores. I gathered carts, but it was dead as can be this morning. There just weren't that many out there. The floral department manager eventually asked me to help her with flowers for graduations and Mother's Day instead. I put small graduation balloons on sticks in a display and cut lavender and sage green netting, fit it into flowered bags, and put potted hyacinths into the bags.

Wasn't up to much more than lunch at Applebee's. Enjoyed a juicy cheeseburger and nicely-seasoned fries while watching the Phillies play the Giants and giggling at a 2-year-old boy who kept bouncing up and down in the booth in front of me and grinning. Went back to the Acme to buy straws for drinking soda (the silicone kind you can clean) and pick up the Uber after I ate.

Got to the school in plenty of time. There were far fewer problems today than there have been lately. For one thing, we only had 22 kids all together, 7 at my table. For another, we had more than enough teachers around for once, including one of the heads of the program. I owe the Phillies for getting my group to calm down in the hall by the bathrooms. The custodians were listening to the game on their radio in their office, and the door was open. Some of the kids couldn't help stopping to listen, too. I told them to be quiet, or they might make the Phillies lose! (Which they didn't. Later research revealed that the Phillies barely beat the Giants 6 - 5.)

It also helped that we once again got them out to the playground relatively early. I had trouble keeping them off the swings until more kids went home. Two of them fibbed to me that the head teacher let them on when she hadn't. Once they did get on around 4:30, I had to argue with a few of them to get them to allow their friends who were going home to have a turn. On the other hand, they chased one of the teachers around, pretending she was that elusive Pink Tiger. It was hilarious to see them running all over. Those who didn't run or swing danced to "Pink Pony Club," the themes from Bluey and PJ Max, "Pup Pup Boogie" from Paw Patrol, "Try Everything" from Zootopia, and songs from Moana, Frozen, Encanto, and KPop Demon Hunters. By 5 PM, we were down to 2 little kids and 5 older ones, and I was allowed to leave early.

It was still a nice day at that point, too. It was so nice, I walked home. Though there were clouds on the horizon and it was windy, it was also mostly sunny at that point and fairly warm, in the mid-60's. I just crossed at Collings Avenue after a quick stop at Speedy Mart for a drink and a treat, passing the park and Dollar General on my way home. 

(It didn't start raining until around 7-7:30. It's rained off and on for the rest of the evening, though I don't think it's raining now.)

Had dinner while watching Match Game '91. For some reason, they skipped way ahead to the week that featured the second of comedian Soupy Sales' two appearances on a version of Match Game. He may have been older, but he was just as goofy as ever, including when he ended up handling a $10,000 Head to Head. He was joined by Pam Stone, Charles, Jimmie Walker, and comedienne Andi Matheny.

Finished the night working on that Michael review while listening to some of my new music acquisitions. The K-Tel collection Gold Rush '79 Volume 2 lives up to its name with some of the biggest hits from that year. Side one alone features "Knock On Wood," "Shake Your Groove Thing," "An Everlasting Love," and "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)." The major hits on side 2 were "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "Every 1's a Winner."

The Color Purple debuted on Broadway in 2005, and though it was a huge hit that ran three years, it got mixed reviews from the critics. Fortunately, you can't see the overblown production the critics fussed about here, just the powerhouse performances from LaChanze as Celie, Elisabeth Winters as Shug, and Felicia P. Fields as Sofia. Some critics complained about the deemphasis of the relationship between Shug Avery and Celie (there would be similar grievances about the film version of the musical as well), but they do get the gorgeous ballad "What About Love?" LaChanze scores with "I'm Here" and the title song, while Winters gets the jazzy "Push Da Button." Yes, the story is fairly depressing, but the music and performances alone make this worth checking out for fans of the novel or those who like their musicals on the meatier side.

And speaking of musicals, here's that review of Michael, on the life of Michael Jackson, I promised yesterday.

Michael (2026) 

Spring at the Library

Began the day with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel Explores Nature" when he and his family have a picnic outside and see cardinals building their nest. "Daniel's Nature Walk" shows Dan, O the Owl, and his uncle X all the wonders of nature in the rain as they go for a stroll outside.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. To my surprise, the car going to the Cherry Hill Library arrived in 5 minutes. It only took 7 minutes going home. There was a little traffic on Cuthbert going home, but otherwise, it wasn't bad.

Today was the start of the first Cherry Hill Library book sale of the year. The basement level was bursting with boxes of DVDs, CDs, and records, the meeting room had humor books and children's literature, and the larger meeting room had the adult literature and non-fiction. No record finds this time around, but I did pick up four books, five CDs (one a two-disc set), and two DVD sets. The DVD sets were:

The Adventures of Superman: Seasons 3 and 4

The Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Volume 2

The CDs were:

Springtime Favorites - A Disney Easter and spring-themed kids' album from 1999 

James Taylor - The Best of James Taylor

Hall & Oates - Greatest Hits: Rock N' Soul Part I

The original Broadway cast albums for The Color Purple and Sunset Boulevard (I had Boulevard on cassette in the early 90's, but I got rid of it ages ago.) 

The books were:

The White Lady by Jacqueline Windspear

Miracle On 34th Street by Valentine Davies 

Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerald Jones (I think I've taken this one out of the Haddon Township Library before, but it's been a while.)

American Cooking: The Eastern Heartland (They had all of the early 70's Time-Life cookbooks, including the ones for French, Japanese, and Chinese cooking. I went with the one closest to home, so to speak.)

(At least I didn't argue over whether they could just buy CD cases, like one guy did. If my haul seems big, there were people buying dozens of CDs to sell on line and piles and piles of books for their friends who owned a store to sell.)

Put on The Pirates of Dark Water and had a quick leftover pizza lunch after I got home. "Panacea" is the land where the next treasure can be found, but it's guarded by an enormous crustacean. There's a certain flower that can heal most people, but kill the monster. A shady "bio-transmuter" who combines animals into new species offers a small half-fish, half-mammal to be their guide to finding the flower. The little fellow is annoying, sarcastic, and offends everyone, until Ren figures out what he really wants.

Headed to the Thomas Sharp School after the cartoon ended. I forgot that today is also Take Your Child to Work Day. Most of the kids went to work with their parents. We had 16 younger children, 5 at my table. The kids wouldn't help clean up, and they were noisy in the bathroom...and noisier in the cafeteria after snack! The head teacher finally put on a video about making a "cake" from rainbow slime to distract them from the daughter of one of those working mothers who was watching movies on her iPad.

By the time we got them outside, we were down to 10 kids. Those that remained were allowed to go on the swings from the outset. Despite some squabbling, I did enjoy pushing them. As I pointed out, Moana and her crew couldn't have been more right. What could be better than a perfectly sunny, gorgeous, breezy April day in the lower 70's, not too hot or cold? The kids danced to "I Like to Move It," "Pink Pony Club," "Try Everything" from Zootopia, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, "Pup Pup Boogie" from Paw Patrol, the theme from Bluey, and songs from Moana and Moana 2 when they weren't drawing with chalk or arguing over the swings. The head teacher was just moving the remaining 3 kids to the blacktop to play with the 6 remaining older kids as I left. 

Made a quick stop at CVS on the way home. In addition to a pit stop, the Native shampoo and conditioner I bought still isn't helping my itchy perimenopause scalp. I hope the CereVe works better.

Had dinner and watched Daddy Long Legs when I got in. I go further into this charming 1955 dance musical with Leslie Caron and Fred Astaire at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Daddy Long Legs (1955)

Finished the night with the second disc from the Pisces, Aquarius Monkees set. Truth be told, there's far less of interest here. There's a few songs on the original mono album that sound slightly different from their stereo counterparts, notably the addition of Mike's patter on "Salesman." Most of the other songs are remixes of ones that are already on the album or been heard elsewhere. We do get the unedited version of "Goin' Down" used on the TV show and some alternate vocals for "Door Into Summer." 

Out of This World Matches

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Wonderland. This 2011 modern Alice In Wonderland has a grown Alice following her daughter into a strange modern Wonderland, where the Cheshire Cat is a Hispanic guy who thinks he's invisible, the Caterpillar runs a head shop, and the White Knight looks distinctly like her ex-husband Jack. The Mad Hatter is the villain here, who takes Alice's daughter and then Jack and the others prisoner. Alice has to rescue them and her daughter by remembering that she was once a child, and that to love a child is to love ourselves. 

This wasn't a hit on Broadway, but I think it has some really interesting ideas and a couple of nice tunes. It is a little dark and very confusing, and not everything lands - some of the Mad Hatter's songs in particular are a bit awkward - and there's at least three climaxes too many. Still, this is worth hearing if you want to hear a unique version of Alice or love fantasy musicals.

Hurried downstairs to catch Uber soon as the CD ended. I needed to call Priority, but I managed to get one in 7 minutes that got me to work just in time. The one going home picked me up in 9 minutes and took a little longer to get me home. The driver had to stop at WaWa to use the bathroom.

That was the worst thing that happened all day. The Acme was unusually quiet for a Sunday. The only thing going on right now is March Madness. We're between holidays. Not to mention, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. It was in the 70's, breezy, and deliciously warm and sunny. I pushed carts for the first two hours and wondered how two Canadian geese could get away with sitting in puddles in the middle of the lot. I did have to take over sweeping after the Sunday morning bagger went home. Other than that, there were no problems whatsoever.

Went right in the shower when I got home, then had dinner and spent the rest of the evening watching tonight's Match Game marathon. The 70's-early 80's Match Game debuted around the same time as a boom in science fiction. The original Star Trek TV show was in re-runs, Doctor Who was delighting British telly fans on PBS, and movies like Logan's Run were astonishing audiences. Star Wars: A New Hope debuted in 1977, making science fiction even more popular. 

Many questions referred to what martians found when they landed on Earth, what they ate, or what they left laying around on Mars. There were Martian questions on the episode with the man with the bushy blonde beard Jo Anne Worley was nuts about and the little redheaded fellow who kept chasing all of the ladies, to the point where Charles and Richard had to "defend" them. There was also one on the early '73 episode with "Mama" Cass Elliot and Bill Cullen where Brett's insult to her husband Jack was pointed even for her, especially since Jack sat next to her that week. 

Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, appeared on the show twice. He did better his second week in 1975, which also featured major Broadway star (and friend of Charles Nelson Reilly) Julie Harris. While Gene gave a slightly nervous Harris a kiss, Shatner went after a very pretty contestant when she was trying to give Brett a hug. 

Have a little out-of-this world fun with Captain Kirk and travel to new frontiers with Gene and his wacky weirdos!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Travel Into Outer Space Marathon

Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year

Began the morning with breakfast and Donnybrook! This 1961 musical version of The Quiet Man has Art Lund as the former prizefighter title character, Joan Fagan as the spirited Irish woman he falls in love with, Eddie Foy Jr. as a matchmaker, and Susan Watson as the village widow. Watson and Foy have the lion's share of the good material here, including their comic numbers "I Wouldn't Bet One Penny" and "Dee-lightful Is the Word." Most of Lund's songs are pretty dull, but Fagan does have a rather nice ballad, "He Makes Me Feel I'm Lovely."

Called Uber after the record ended. I hadn't been to Sprouts in ages, and I needed something at Target, too. Ironically, considering the cloudy and chilly weather and all the trouble I've had getting rides from them lately, they arrived in 4 minutes.

In fact, I started at Target. I was walking past the coolers in the grocery area when I noticed they had a lot of new Slice flavors I'd never seen at the Acme. I wanted all of them, but since I'd also have to carry them, I just got Apple and "Pacific Pop" (likely their version of Mountain Dew) to try. I was really there for a gift card for Mom. I didn't see what I wanted, but I still got her something. Stopped at Starbucks for a tasty Iced Double Berry Matcha (lavender berry foam, berry syrup on the bottom, very sweet). 

I saw a young woman holding a box of Thin Mints when I was at Starbucks. Sure enough, there were two Girl Scouts dancing around outside of Target, attracting customers by singing their idea of "Girl Scouts" horror sales songs with rather macabre themes. They were too funny. I had to get Peanut Butter Sandwiches and their new "Explorermores" (chocolate sandwich cookies with almond cream middles) with that kind of a sales pitch!

Sprouts was the busiest I'd ever seen it! Good thing I didn't need a whole lot. Their coconut milk is a lot cheaper than the Acme's, and they have smaller bottles of buttermilk, too. Raided the bulk bins for lemon-raspberry dried mangoes, dried cranberries, and raisins. Found one of those kids' lunch bags with a sandwich, applesauce, cookie, chips, and small bottle of water on clearance; grabbed the almond butter-jelly. 

I walked home. I won't be doing any walking tomorrow! It's supposed to pour all day. The weather today wasn't much better. It was cloudy, breezy, and chilly, into the lower 40's. Even so, I still sat at a black metal picnic table near a clearing for my first picnic of 2026. You'd never know we're so close to the first day of spring. Though green grass is sprouting through the yellow, the trees remain bare gray husks, and the flowers haven't bloomed. There weren't even many Canadian geese around. It was such a depressing scene, I hurried over the stone steps and down East Clinton to home soon as I finished lunch.

Spent the rest of the afternoon trying to focus on writing and listening to spring or Irish-themed music and Broadway cast albums. Finian's Rainbow debuted in 1947, when the story of a leprechaun who follows the title Irishman and his daughter to the deep south after his pot of gold and end up helping sharecroppers was a breath of fresh shamrock-scented air. Scotswoman Ella Logan headed the original cast, introducing "If This Isn't Love," "Look to the Rainbow," and "How are Things In Glocca Morra." Impish David Wayne joined Logan for "Something Sort of Grandish" and got the hilarious "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love." 

The Music of Spring and Tune Up for Spring are two collections Columbia made to sell at tire dealerships in the early 60's. Ray Conniff's bouncy "Younger Than Springtime" is my favorite from both albums. Rosemary Clooney's "I Could Have Danced All Night" and Jerry Vale's "Camelot"  are a bit more out of place in Music of Spring. Leslie Uggams doing a lovely "April In Paris" and the New Christy Minstrels' "Green Green" are more fitting. Al Jolson's "April Showers," Polly Bergen singing "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year," and the Hi-Lo's "Everything's Coming Up Roses" are the standouts in Tune Up. 

The Broadway version of Once was a surprise hit in 2012 that ended up winning the Tony for Best Musical that year. The 2007 film was already lovely, but it ended up making a rather nice intimate stage show, too, if bittersweet numbers like "Leave," "Sleeping," "When Your Mind's Made Up," "The Moon," and "Falling Slowly" are any indication.

The other famous modern Irish musical is probably The Commitments. I loved my cassette version of the soundtrack as a kid, and I was just as happy to find it on CD a while back. The cast's passionate renditions of "Mustang Sally," "Destination Anywhere," "Try a Little Tenderness," "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," and "In the Midnight Hour" wound up being an even bigger hit than the film and introduced teens of the early 90's like me to classic R&B and blues.

Jessa dubbed Snoopy's Classiks - Beatles on Toys for me last Easter. This is exactly what it sounds like, Beatles songs played on toy pianos, with Sally and Chuck introducing the first number "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" "She Loves You" is just the kids singing that over and over. They do much better by a charming "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" and "Yellow Submarine." "Here, There, Everywhere" and "When I'm Sixty-Four" are the best of the instrumental numbers. 

I couldn't focus on the writing, but I did get a little done. C.J, Sir Scott Sherwood's squire, is guarding the oddly silent and closed gates. Hilary demands to know what's going on. King Rollie the Snake King has taken over, he tells them in a whisper. Lord Comstock opened the gates and let the snake men invade. Sir Sherwood and King Jeffery were supposedly killed in the invasion. Betty and her Heart-Quill are horrified. How could that happen? Scott had his men. He was overwhelmed, C.J softly explains. His men were out searching for Pavla, and he had little protection left at the castle. Betty doesn't believe him, even as he takes the ladies and their mounts through the silent gates and into a quiet, motionless town...

Finished the night with a late Match Game marathon. Handsome Robert Walden was playing a cocky young reporter on the drama Lou Grant when he first turned up on Match Game late in 1978. He had once been a pupil of Charles Nelson Reilly, and Brett Somers certainly had no problems ogling him either. Neither did Patty Duke when she ended up wrapped in his sweater after he stripped it off once. He was there for the infamous syndicated episode where the contestant Ginger gave an extremely strange answer for what a jock caterpillar buys, and he was the one who had to answer her when she gave an even weirder answer for "Cuckoo __" in the Head to Head. His most memorable nighttime appearance pit a handsome Naval officer against a pretty young Israeli woman who didn't seem to grasp the language very well. Marcia Wallace was much happier to match an unusual answer for "He's So __" in another memorable Head-to-Head. 

Go "cuckoo" for this disco-era hunk turned dedicated reporter in these hilarious episodes!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Robert Walden On the Panel 

In the Heat of Spring

Began the morning with breakfast and The Pirates of Dark Water. The crew finds themselves in a "Break Up" when they arrive at Niddler's home island and discover his people are sold as slaves. Ren helps free them, but when they discover the pirate who stole the first treasure and the compass and the slaver are in cahoots, Ren stays behind to help Niddler and his people. Tula and Teron leave on the ship, convinced Ren and Niddler are lost. They were rescued and set out after them, only to be caught by Bloth on the open seas.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon doing the child care refresher course and the CPR course, both of which were required by Healthy Kids. Thankfully, the refresher course took about an hour. It was the CPR course, which was for adults and kids and was more thorough than the one I did in May, that took forever. I was still working on it when it was time to leave for the Thomas Sharp School. 

Listened to Anderson's Fairy Tales while I worked. This double-CD is a collection of some of Anderson's more fanciful stories. Thankfully, only "The Little Match Girl" is all that depressing, considering what some of his fairy tales can be like. Most of them are adventures like "The Traveling Companion" and "Little Claus and Big Claus," gentle moral tales like "The Ugly Duckling," or slightly more pointed ones like "The Swineherd." Brit Erica Johns provides the soothing narrations.

I hurried downstairs and called Uber soon as I ate a quick lunch. Thank heavens I was able to get a driver in 4 minutes! I arrived only slightly late, nothing like yesterday.

Good thing, too. We had 29 kids today, 9 of them at my table. At least my kids were really good. They weren't too bad in the bathrooms, and most of them came and got their backpacks from the library without being asked. (We started in the library, since the school band was rehearsing in the cafeteria.) Once again, they all wanted to go outside after snack time! 

And who wanted to miss a glorious 80-degree day? It was sunny, breezy, and ridiculously hot for March. Too hot. I kept having to take kids inside to get drinks, when they weren't chasing bubbles or each other or having "no shoes" parties. (We quickly put the kibosh on that one. Mulch was not meant for bare feet.) It was so nice, they were only just going back inside when I went to the other side of the school to wait for Jessa.

Jess finally arrived at 6. We had no idea what to do for dinner and just followed the traffic across Cherry Hill and Pennsauken until she suggested The Melting Pot in Maple Shade. It was a brilliant idea. This dark, modern wood-paneled restaurant specializes in all kinds of fondue. We decided the oil and meat variety would be too much and take too long to cook and settled for Classic Alpine cheese fondue and a dark chocolate fondue for dessert. Oh yuuumm! They made the cheese fondue right at the electric burners on the marble table top. We dipped cubed French bread, chunks of soft pretzels, and sliced vegetables into it. I ordered cubed sausage for some more protein. The dark chocolate fondue came with sliced bananas and strawberries, cubed pound cake, Rice Krispies Treats, and brownies, and bits of chocolate chip cookie bar. Jessa tossed in mini-churros, too. We chatted for so long, we where there almost a half-hour after we finished eating.

When I got home, I finally completed the CPR course, then finished the night listening to the last disc of the Broadway: The American Musical soundtrack. This one kicks off with songs from the huge European rock operas of the 80's and early 90's, including "Memory" from Cats, "Do You Hear the People Sing" from Les Miserables, "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera, and "The American Dream" from Miss Saigon. By the time Glenn Close was singing "With One Look" in the massive Sunset Boulevard, most audiences had started to look for a more homegrown and less bombastic sound. 

La Cage Aux Follies was the first musical with a happy gay couple at its center, and it's anthem "I Am What I Am" spoke for a significant portion of the musical's fan base...even as the AIDS crisis killed off many promising young talents. Smokey Joe's Cafe, Jelly's Last Jam, Movin' Out, and Mamma Mia! were jukebox musicals with infectious, nostalgic numbers like "On Broadway" and "Dancing Queen" getting audiences up and dancing. Hairspray and The Producers proved that smash hit musicals could come from films, with their big chorus numbers like "Good Morning Baltimore" and "I Wanna Be a Producer," while the rock shows Rent and The Boy from Oz introduced promising new talents. At the time the miniseries came out in 2004, the big thing on Broadway was Wicked...and unlike the other shows on this disc, it's still going strong, in New York and London, at press time. Elphaba's big first-act closer "Defying Gravity" is included here. 

Dolls on a Sunshiny Day

Began the morning with breakfast and Pac-Man. Pac Man and Pepper board "The Pac Love Boat" hoping for a quiet anniversary cruise. What they didn't count on was the ghosts tagging along, or Pac Baby, Sour Puss, and Chomp-Chomp ending up as stowaways. The Ghost Monsters commit "The Great Power Pellet Robbery" when they attack the armored car Pac Man is driving, but they get quite a surprise when they discover what the pellets actually are.

Took the laundry downstairs, then spent the next few hours after that dressing the dolls for St. Patrick's Day and the much nicer weather we're having this week. Samantha is in her mint-green and pink Special Day Dress and the red shoes with the bows. I'm so glad I bought that dress when I did in 2015! It's expensive on eBay now, and it looks so cute on her. Molly's wearing a shamrock-print dress with rickrack trim I found at a yard sale years ago. Josefina is in her Harvest Outfit with the sage green skirt and pretty embroidered camisa. Elizabeth's Summer Gown has a quilted petticoat that makes it more appropriate for spring, and it's celery-green color looks lovely on Felicity. 

Ariel is in another hard-to-find retired outfit, Julie's Calico Dress with the red bandana and high brown boots. Whitney wears a yellow Queen's Treasures dress with a ruffled collar and red and green flower print and matching headband. Kit's in her flowered Birthday Wrap Dress with the coral sweater from her Photographer's Outfit and white t-strap shoes. Jessa gets her Girl Scout turtleneck, pull-on khaki cargo pants, and turquoise and white sneakers. Barbara Jean is very mod in her swirling turquoise, orange, yellow, and red mini-dress with the go-go boots and white fur vest. 

Finished out my current record finds while dressing the dolls. I had no idea Martin Mull was a singer until recently. I know him best as a comedian on Clue or tossing out quips on Hollywood Squares or in the host's chair on Fernwood Tonight. No Hits, Four Errors: The Best of Martin Mull reveals he was a comedian as a singer, too, with songs ranging from gospel spoofs ("Jesus Is Easy") to cracks at country ("Flexible," "Eggs") to a disco version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" listed as "Santafly." He's kind of in the same category as Bette Midler - he sang everything, though he's a bit less campy and more laid-back than her.

It's been a while since I visited my favorite couple from Wistful Vista Fibber McGee and Molly. The first episode on side one had Molly and Fibber preparing for a "Canoe Ride" while their wacky neighbors tell them about their planned vacations. Likewise, all of their strange neighbors have their opinions when Fibber uses his "Hunt and Peck" method to write a movie about the history of the typewriter.

Switched to Disc Four of the Broadway: The American Musical soundtrack while finishing the dolls and eating lunch. By the mid-60's, the Broadway musical was once again evolving. Rock was the new sound in popular music, and musicals weren't always seen as reflecting the sudden change in tastes. Cabaret, with its sensual opening "Wilkomen," changed what a musical could do and be. Hair, "the New Tribal Love-Rock Musical," was proof that yes, Broadway could do the new sound and sensibility, as "Let the Sunshine In" became a massive hit in 1967. Grease moved from off-Broadway in 1973 and was an even bigger hit, with "We Go Together" being one of the best chorus numbers from the show. A Chorus Line debuted in 1975 and would run for 15 years. Its big finale, "One," with its glittering gold-spangled kick line, wowed audiences even as they related to the dancers' stories of heartbreak. Chicago was overshadowed by A Chorus Line in 1975, but it proved to be ahead of its time. The 1997 revival, complete with the opening number "And All That Jazz," is still running on Broadway at press time.

Broadway had been faltering for years along with New York itself, as urban decay crept in, theaters closed, and people found more of interest at home watching far cheaper plays on TV. Pippin became the first musical to take advantage of this audience, releasing TV commercials and a Motown cast album that proved there was still room for a "Corner of the Sky." Likewise, The Wiz invited audiences to "Ease On Down the Road" with its R&B score. The success of Annie, with the hopeful anthem "Tomorrow," brought family audiences back to Broadway. England returned with power ballads from the rock operas Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar, while Stephan Sondheim pushed boundaries even further with the intimate Company and its "Ladies Who Lunch" and the rousing "I'm Still Here" from Follies. Jennifer Holliday raised the roof and won a Tony with another R&B score, "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls.

Called Uber after the CD ended and I sent off an e-mail to Bryanna, telling her to send me Josh Phillips' e-mail or phone number. I was already late calling them...and I pushed the wrong button! It took them 10 minutes to come as it was. I ended up at the Acme and had to call them again. They took 11 minutes this time, which meant I was 15 minutes late. At least there was no traffic around.

Thankfully, that was the worst thing that happened all day. No one was angry, not even the kids. I got there just in time to take my crew of 6 to the bathroom. They were a little rowdy, but not too horrible...because they all wanted to go outside and play in the now-clear playground. Thankfully, they handled the new no swings, no tag rule well. Only one little girl tried to go on the swings and had to be pulled off. The head teacher brought a bubble wand and let them chase bubbles for the rest of the afternoon. I hadn't laughed so hard in ages. They were so funny! If they weren't chasing bubbles or running around the slides, they were drawing on the concrete with chalk or dancing to "Pink Pony Club," "I'm Still Standing," the theme from Bluey, "Pup Pup Boogie" from Paw Patrol, and songs from KPop Demon Hunters, Frozen, Trolls, and Moana. 

As one of the boys said, it was a perfect day. It was sunny, warm, and breezy, the sky a soft robin's egg blue. Boys stripped off sweaters; girls rolled up dress sleeves. It was so nice, even after we took the kids off the playground, we just let them run around with the older kids on the blacktop in the back and play ball games. Even the little boy who said he wanted to go inside ultimately stayed played with Legos at a picnic bench instead. It was so late when we got them back, I never went back inside, either. I just left from the blacktop.

Took advantage of the nice day and a less-stiff knee to walk home. First stop was Crust N' Cravings for their delicious pizza. I enjoyed a slice of broccoli-tomato, a slice of sausage, and a black cherry Sparkling Ice. Dodged the debris leftover from scraping up snow on the White Horse Pike sidewalks long enough to stop at CVS to use the bathroom and take advantage of a buy one, get one 50 percent off sale and pick up Secret deodorant.

Finally remembered to put the laundry in the dryer when I got home, then took out the recycling and put on Match Game Syndicated. Charles Nelson Reilly was still away doing a (short-lived, as it turned out) Broadway show, so Fred Grandy took over for him in the first three episodes, and Richard Deacon in the last one. Bart Braverman drooled over ladies and showed off his cowboy gear in the first week. Fred Travalena tossed out quips in his many voices in the second.

Brought my laundry upstairs, then finished out the night with charades and acting-based game shows on YouTube. Charades goes way, way back on TV. It was one genre that couldn't be pulled off on radio. Charades has to be seen to be believed. Mike Stokey's Pantomime Quiz was one of the earliest hit game shows on TV. Celebrities have to act out a silly or weird phrase in a certain amount of time. Whichever team acts out in the least time wins money for their charities. This March of Dimes special from 1949 with Vincent Price and Hans Conried, among others, is one of the oldest TV game show episodes to exist today.

Pantomime Quiz would be revived in 1979 as Celebrity Charades. Basically the same deal, even down to the informal living room-like set. Jay Johnson and his dummy Squeaky hosted this version. Unlike Pantomime Quiz, which ran off and on for years, Celebrity Charades only lasted a few months. The premiere episode with Jon "Bowser" Bauman, Richard Paul, and Ted Lange among those doing the charades is the only one currently online.

Goodson and Todman twice tried their hand at a charades show. Showoffs in 1975 had Bobby Van hosting as two celebrities helped two contestants figure out what a word was. The winning contestant then acted out three words for their celebrity partners. They could stop after $1,000, or go until they got $5,000. Alas, ABC wiped most of this show. Only two episodes are known to exist, including the one here with Dr. Joyce Brothers having to bow out of the final round after she twists her ankle, leaving Dick Gautier to do her part alone. 

Body Language did slightly better a decade later. Now, two celebrities act out a series of words that form a puzzle. The contestants have to guess the puzzle. If they win, their celebrity will act out a series of words in 60 seconds. However many words they guessed is what they'll win in the final round. The celebrity then acts out 3 words. If the contestant guesses all of them, then win the money. This is basically Showoffs Plus, but frankly, it's a lot tighter, faster-paced, and more interesting to watch. No wonder it's been a staple on Buzzr off and on for years. In fact, considering how much fun Todd Bridges, Kim Fields, and host Tom Kennedy are having in the episode here, I'm surprised Freemantle hasn't sold or loaned this format to Nickelodeon or The Disney Channel yet. 

The Canadians got a bit more into charades and acting shows than we Yanks did. Acting Crazy was a hit in the early 90's, with series in 1991 and 1994. Basically the same deal as Pantomime Quiz, with two celebrities in two teams with three contestants. No wonder this came back. It's just as much fun to watch as Body Language. Marcia Wallace and Sally Struthers have a blast here with host Wayne Cox.

Charades games made a comeback on TV in Celebrity Name Game from 2014. This time, the pun-filled phrases are replaced by acting out pop culture icons or popular brand names. The celebrities switch teams half-way through. In the third round, the contestants themselves go head-to-head while host Craig Ferguson reads names from a specific category. The bonus round has the winners guessing 10 names behind pictures. One goes into a soundproof Booth while the other guesses clues. If they can guess in 55 seconds without giving an illegal clue, they win an extra $20,000. No wonder this would prove to be popular in syndication and just started running on Buzzr. It's just as much fun to watch, and everyone puts so much energy into it!

Two words...acting games! Play charades with some of the craziest actors around in these hilarious pantomime-filled episodes.

Mike Stokey's Pantomime Quiz (1949)

Showoffs (1975)

Celebrity Charades Premiere (1979)

Body Language (1985) 

Acting Crazy (1994)

Celebrity Name Game (2015)

Warm Weather Matches

Started off a late morning with breakfast and more of the Broadway: The American Musical soundtrack. Disc Three takes us to the height of the musical's success in the late 50's and 60's. Cast albums topped the hit parade, and variety programs like The Ed Sullivan Show gave its viewers bite-sized segments from the latest stage and film smashes. This was the era of beloved shows and songs that continue to be widely performed, revived, and talked-about to this day. 

It was also the beginnings of experiments like the truly bizarre Stephan Sondheim show "Anyone Can Whistle" that pushed the boundaries of what a musical could be. England invaded too for the first time since the 1920's with the success of Oliver and Stop the World - I Want to Get Off. Other still-beloved songs from this era include "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from Gypsy, "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music, the title songs from Camelot and Hello Dolly, "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, "People" from Funny Girl, "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler On the Roof, and "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha.

Called Uber after I got a quick lunch together. Unfortunately, I waited too long. It took 13 minutes for one to arrive, and I was late for work. I had a much easier time getting home, even at 6 PM as it was getting dark. Got a driver in 7 minutes.

It was insane at work when I got there. The parking lot was so full with people and cars all trying to leave at once. I was at the cart corral and didn't see exactly what happened, but I heard the crunch when one car trying to get out at the same time as a van ran into it. No one was hurt, but the white car in the back had a damaged front and lost the grill. The mothers driving the cars were furious and were still arguing when I went inside to sweep the store. 

Thank heavens it started to slow down around 4 PM, even as they pulled a college boy from the self-checkouts to help me with the rapidly-emptying carts. The weather could have been worse, too. It was in the lower 70's, with warm air but a stiff, chilly wind that meant I still had to wear a sweater. Though it remained cloudy all day, it has yet to rain like it was supposed to. Other than having to put away a few things when I needed to get outside, I had no trouble.

Once I got home, I had a shower, got dinner, and went straight into tonight's Match Game marathon. Considering the goofy-sexy tone of the show, underwear jokes abounded throughout the entire run. If people weren't almost taking their clothes off, they were giving "undies" or "panties" as answers to questions about what Raquel lost in a poker game or what the conventioneers threw out a window. An "underwear" question helped Carolyn become the all-time biggest champ on the show in 1979 and during the wild week with Foster Brooks earlier in the year. There was one on the week in 1975 with the lady who wanted to win enough to buy a piano (and did), and on one of the last episodes with statuesque Darlene, the long, lean blonde whom Richard had once won a date with on The Dating Game in the late 60's. 

We salute your shorts and take it all off in this hilarious and provocative marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Take Off Your Undies Marathon

Fascinating Rhythms

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thunder and Angels

Got a quick start today with breakfast and a couple of Disney shorts. "Elmer Elephant" is a sweet little fella with a crush on adorable Tilly Tiger. The other animal kids make fun of his nose, until he realizes how useful it is when Tilly's treehouse is on fire, and his trunk makes a terrific hose. Mickey is a minstrel in "Ye Olden Days" who tries to rescue Princess Minnie and Lady Clarabelle from the tower. When he's caught, he has to fight Prince Goofy for her paw in marriage.

It was still raining when I called Uber. Considering this is my first of three busy days in a row, I had no trouble here. The one going to work came in 7 minutes and got me there just in time. The one going to Thomas Sharp arrived in 10 minutes, and I was actually early. I had a harder time getting a ride home. I had to wait nearly 20 minutes for prices to come down, and then it took 16 for the driver to arrive. And there was a little traffic going home on the White Horse Pike.

The rain stopped shortly after I arrived. Even so, we were quiet the entire morning. No trouble whatsoever, other than navigating the newly expanded and rearranged self-checkout area. I swept the store and gathered carts with no fuss.

Went across the street to Rexy's for lunch. This time, I went with a nice, simple Rexy Burger, their steak fries, and yummy Parmesan-crusted rolls. The burger was juicy and flavorful, with huge lettuce leaves and tomatoes and lots of cheddar. The fries were only ok, a bit on the bland side. Washed it all down with unsweetened iced tea before going back across the street to the Acme to rest and pick up Uber.

The kids were a lot more energetic. Thank heavens this will likely be their last full week in the library. The snow is almost entirely gone from the playground, and it'll be warm enough next week for them to get outside. I had 6 kids at my table, and we had 22 all together. My kids were just fine, cleaning up quickly when we went first and not making too much of a ruckus in the bathroom. Once again, we had a harder time afterwards, especially in the cafeteria before we went to the library. I spent most of the time in the library drawing, admiring the kids' work, and explaining my Legendary Tales of WENN story to two of the girls. The other kids built magnetic tile skyscrapers that got way too tall and danced to the themes from Bluey and the 60's Batman show, "Ghostbusters," and songs from Moana, Trolls, and Encanto.  

Went straight into Incendiary Blonde when I got home. I go further into this biography of Roaring 20's "queen of the nightclubs" Texas Guinan with Betty Hutton in this week's Musical Dreams Movie Reviews entry. 

Incendiary Blonde

Switched to Charlie's Angels while I started the review. Bosley is furious and beside himself with grief when Kelly is shot in the head during a routine case in "To See an Angel Die." He, Kris, and Julie keep a vigil at the hospital while Kris and Bosley explain some of their earlier cases to Julie. Yes, the series finale is another clip show, but at least this one has a more interesting plot than the previous third-season clip show "Angels Remembered." 

(Oh, and it started raining around this point...and when it rained, it monsooned. We had quite a storm going for about an hour, including some very noisy thunder!)

Finished the night with the cast album for Woman of the Year. This updating of the 1942 Hepburn-Tracy romantic comedy turns Tess Harding (Lauren Bacall) into a celebrated TV journalist and Sam Craig (Harry Guardino) into a cartoonist. They still get married and still have trouble relating to one another, but the Greek child Tess adopted is now a Russian dancer she's helping to defect, and she has a number with her normal housewife neighbor (Marilyn Cooper) whom she envies. Their song "The Grass Is Always Greener" was so hilarious and such a hit, Cooper got a Best Supporting Actress Tony for 20 minutes of stage time. Sam gets the other great Kander-Ebb number from this show, the gorgeous ballad "Sometimes a Day Goes By." 

The rest of the score isn't nearly at that level. Sam's numbers with his comic strip character Katz are more annoying than funny, the chorus numbers are dull, and the dated side plot with the Russian dancer assures that this is rarely seen nowadays. Even so, if you're a fan of Bacall or Kander and Ebb, this does have a few numbers worth hearing.