Cranberries and Turkey Feathers

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Garfield's Thanksgiving. Garfield is not a happy camper when Liz not only puts him on a diet the day before Thanksgiving, but Jon invites her for dinner. Jon can't cook something the size of a turkey to save his life. Good thing Grandma from the Christmas special knows what to do.

Spent the rest of the morning working on something I've been wanting to do for almost two weeks. I bought two containers of fresh cranberries from the farm market, but haven't had the time to make them into cranberry sauce. Finally did that this morning. I think I either didn't mash them enough, didn't boil them enough, or overdid the water, because they did not thicken. I just let the sauce cool in the hope it would thicken before running off to the Thomas Sharp School.

It had rained off and on all morning. Though it wasn't raining by the time I rode there and looked like it hadn't rained in a few hours, the playground was still pretty wet. There was no thought of taking the little kids out today. After I ate lunch with them, we took them to the library to hear What Was I Scared Of?, Room On the Broom, and the Piggie and Elephant story The Thank You Book. They were rowdy, spending more time messing around with the chairs than listening...but to be fair, they were all squished up front in that small library and didn't have a lot of room to sit down.

After that, we traded rooms. The younger kids moved to the cafeteria to watch The Land Before Time on a teacher's cell phone, while the older kids watched the feature-length animated The Grinch from 2018 in the library. One of the teachers brought popcorn and pretzels, which meant everyone got a free snack. Some of the kids continued coloring turkeys and fall scenes in the cafeteria. After they got tired of that, they used play clay and made turkeys from pipe cleaners, Popsicle sticks, feathers, and glue...but that made just as much of a mess as the turkey hand project from last week. 

The head teacher said I could go early, but I did stick around for an extra half-hour to help clean up the feather mess and wipe down and organize toys and games before everyone comes back on Monday. The kids in the cafeteria were tossing around a Nerf ball and the ones in the library were finishing The Grinch when I headed out around 4. 

(Oh, and the rain returned around 6:15 and continued, sometimes heavily, off and on for the rest of the evening.)

Put on Planes, Trains, and Automobiles when I got home. All ad executive Neil Page (Steve Martin) wants is to get home to Chicago in time for his Thanksgiving dinner, but he has the worst case of bad travel luck ever. The plane is cancelled, the train breaks down, the crammed-full bus only goes to St. Louis, and there's no rental cars on the lot. He also keeps encountering Del Griffith (John Candy), a shower curtain ring salesman who is the nicest guy you'll ever meet, but is also a chatty mass of bad habits. As the two men travel in any and every way they can across the frozen Midwestern landscape, Neil discovers why Del is on the road during a holiday...and why he has a real reason to be thankful for his home and family.

What's likely director John Hughes' best movie features a hilarious script and career-best performances from Martin and Candy as the two very different men who navigate every possible obstacle on the road to Chicago. Their chemistry carries the movie, even when it takes a forced left turn into sentimentality near the end.

Switched to The Plymouth Adventure after a shower. This one goes further into the history behind the holiday. Spencer Tracy is Captain Christopher Jones, the grizzled head of the Mayflower charged with taking a group of 102 colonists to the New World on the tiny Mayflower. Among those traveling are Puritans, a strict religious sect who are going to America to avoid persecution in their native England. Jones doesn't trust them, especially after he falls for Dorothy Bradford (Gene Tierney), the wife of the group elder William Bradford (Leo Genn). Carpenter John Alden (Van Johnson) has his own sights set on pretty Priscilla Mullins (Dawn Addams), but she seems to favor Captain Miles Standish (Noel Drayton). 

Tierney and Tracy are by far the most interesting thing about this spectacular action drama. The other winner here are the special effects. They won an Oscar in 1952, and they still look darn good today, especially the huge storm near the middle of the film. 

Had dinner while watching three very different Thanksgiving sitcom episodes. Barney Miller's "Thanksgiving Story" has Miller and his men frustrated over not being able to go home for the holiday. Their Thanksgiving takes a strange turn when they have to deal with a group of mental health hospital escapees who invaded an automat and a man who stabbed his mooching brother-in-law in the hand with a fork during Thanksgiving dinner.

Things aren't much better in Korea on MASH. Hawkeye and Hunnicut hit "The Yalu Brick Road" to get an antidote for the salmonella from Klinger's cheap turkeys that left almost the entire base sick. They not only manage to get the medicine, but pick up a Korean soldier who keeps surrendering to them on the way. Meanwhile, Father Mulcahey has to keep Hot Lips and Winchester from killing each other, and Rizzo (G.W Baiely) wants to get his hands on Klinger and squeeze the life out of him when he's up to moving.

The swashbuckler spoof Jack of All Trades wins the award for most creative holiday episode. In "One, Two, Three, Give Me Lady Liberty," Jack and Emilia discover that Napoleon is building an enormous woman statue he intends to send to the US. Emilia is flattered when the diminutive emperor insists on using her face for the statue, but she's not as thrilled when she finds out why he's really sending it. Jack finally gets Napoleon to admit his plot at their Thanksgiving dinner, then insists on another Thanksgiving tradition to distract him - football! 

Here's even more specials to tide you over before your own turkey dinner tomorrow!

Looney Tunes - Tom Turk and Daffy

The Berenstain Bears Meet Big Paw

Alan King's Thanksgiving Special: What Have We Got to Be Thankful For? 

Buttons and Rusty In The Turkey Caper (A Chucklewood Thanksgiving)

Intergalactic Thanksgiving (Please Don't Eat the Planets)

Tennessee Tuxedo - The Romance of Plymouth Rock

Calvin & the Colonel - Thanksgiving Dinner

Tex Avery at MGM - Jerky Turkey

Nickelodeon's Thanksgiving Fest 1989

BC - The First Thanksgiving

Terry Toons - The Landing of the Pilgrims

Casper the Friendly Ghost - Do or Diet

Gram Bear's Thanksgiving Surprise

Winds and Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Garfield's Thanksgiving. Garfield is thrilled that the holiday with the biggest feast and the most food is coming up, until Liz the veterinarian puts him on a diet right before the holiday. Even worse, Jon invites her over for Thanksgiving dinner. Not only does Garfield ruin the vegetables, but Jon has never cooked a turkey in his life, and his mind is too focused on his date to do much cooking anyway. Good thing Grandma Arbuckle from the Christmas special knows what to do.

Switched to Pac Man, which is now at Tubi, while I stripped the sheets on my bed, then put the warmer tan striped flannel ones. This is the original 1982 Hanna-Barbara show my sisters and I loved when we were kids. Premise is pretty simple. Pac Man (Marty Ingalls) and his wife Ms. Pepper Pac (Barbara Minkus) chomp ghosts to save their Pellet Forest from the evil Mezmeron. "Rip Van Pac" has Pac Man sleeping for 20 years after drinking a witch's potion. When he wakes up, he discovers Mezmeron has taken over Pac Land and has to help the younger generation find new Power Pellets. "Happy Pacs-Giving" is Grandma Pac's retelling of the first Thanksgiving. The Pac-Pilgrims are so grateful to have chomped the Native ghosts, they hold a big feast...and invite the ghosts, too.

Moved to Dailymotion for The Mouse On the Mayflower while I put all of the CDs I've listened to lately in my CD books. I went further into the only Rankin-Bass Thanksgiving special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2020.

The Mouse On the Mayflower

Headed out early after Mouse On the Mayflower ended. I had a few things I wanted to pick up at Dollar General before I went to work. Got bags for the Christmas cookies next month and a card for my brother Keefe's birthday tomorrow. Stopped at Crust n' Cravings for quick slices of cheese and tomato, basil, and mozzarella pizza.

Rushed in slightly late, which wasn't a good thing. The kids were really rowdy today. We had a hard time with some of them on the playground. One of the boys took his shoes off (forgetting he had to step on mulch once he got off the slide), and it took forever to get several of them into their jackets. They don't want to acknowledge that it's just not summer weather anymore! It's barely fall weather. In fact, it was darn cold today, cloudy and gale-force windy, probably in the upper 40's. 

The kids weren't out for very long anyway. The wind was so bad, we took them inside early. We tried to let them play silent ball and musical chairs in the cafeteria while other kids colored printed pages or built with Duplos and magnetic tiles, but they got too crazy and made too much noise. Two of the teachers moved the musical chairs group to the library. The ones who stayed made enough noise. I had to fight with one of the younger girls who shouldn't have been messing around with scissors, and scold two of the older boys for making a mess of the Duplos.

Hurried home, took my laundry downstairs, and watched Match Game '76 while eating a quick dinner. Ron Pallilo of Welcome Back Kotter became the actor from that show who appeared the most on Match Game along with Debralee Scott. He was sweet, funny, not a bad player, and handled Brett's flirting pretty well. I actually kind of wish he'd turned up more often with Deb after the show ended.

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite as well. Betty's surprised when a tiny white fairy flutters to the ground. When she grows to human-size, she resembles Enid, the young intern who joined the station a few months before. Mr. Eldridge finally gets the horrified Snowflake Fairy to admit that the Mouse King's guards attacked the fairies and kidnapped Sugar Plum Fairy Hilary and Cavalier Jeffery. She's a prisoner in the Mouse King's furnace. He was turned into a dancing doll on a music box and given away.

Finished the night on YouTube honoring the career of Jack Clark, whose birthday would have been next week (after I finally remembered to bring up the laundry). Gentlemanly Jack Clark was a true California native who is mostly today remembered as an announcer, but did host a few shows. His first hosting gigs was as a substitute for vacationing hosts on major shows. He stood in for Allen Ludden several times on the original Password and Bill Cullen on The Price Is Right. 

He seemed to be the go-to man for pilots that never quite sold. In fact, he wouldn't get a full hosting gig on his own until the show Dealer's Choice in 1974. Three contestants play a series of gambling and number-inspired mini-games. The winner gets to roll for prizes. Kind of a mess, and I can understand why this only lasted a year. 

Clark's only hit as a full-on host was The Cross-Wits from the late 70's. In this cross between Password Plus and crossword puzzles, two celebrities help a contestant guess the answers on a crossword that is really a series of clues. The contestant who guesses the most puzzles gets help from one of the celebrities in guessing 10 crosswords in a minute in the bonus round. Fast-paced and fun, I really wish more of this show would turn up online. Nipsey Russell, James Hampton, Elaine Joyce, and Rosemary Forsyth are the stars who help out in the episode I have here.

He's best-remembered today as the announcer for Wheel of Fortune from 1980 to 1988. I wish I remembered him better. My family was just starting to watch the nighttime show when he passed away in 1988. I have a typical syndicated episode from 1985 here to give you an idea of why he was so beloved on the show.

Clark was one of the hosts who took part in that three-week Game Show Hosts Tournament on Card Sharks in 1980. He did really well, too. He came in third after Bill Cullen and Alex Trebek. He played Gene Rayburn in the consolation round...and it made me wish Clark had turned up on Match Game. There can't be two more different MCs than dirty old man Gene and gentlemanly Jack. Watching them butt up against each other was hilarious. 

Spin wheels, guess the crossword puzzle, and take on the house with the gentleman announcer of game shows!

Password (1963)

The Price Is Right (1965)

Dealer's Choice (1974)

The Cross-Wits (1979)

Card Sharks Host Tournament Semi-Finale (1980)

Card Sharks Host Tournament Week Finale (1980)

Wheel of Fortune (1985) 

The Girl from Oaklyn

Began the day with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. Alice and her friends are looking forward to the "Dance of the Cherry Blossoms," an annual event in Wonderland. They want to teach the newest blossom all about their home, but she's having so much fun with the flowers, she never leaves the garden. Even as she performs with the others, they realize that what matters is she enjoyed her first time in Wonderland, no matter what she saw. Millie the Carpenter is introduced in "Alice and the Carpenter." Sensible little Millie knows just how to fix Alice's stove when it's broken...and she also knows that making a cake is a lot like making a building, starting with creating a firm foundation.

I had to rush to work after that. I was one minute late...but thankfully, that was the worst thing that happened all day. The store was dead the whole morning. The only time we were even mildly busy was around 11:30-noon. Other than that, no trouble whatsoever.

Hurried home and changed, then watched two Scooby Doo Halloween episodes while eating lunch. "The Headless Horseman of Halloween" from The Scooby Doo Show invades their friend's costume party at her huge old mansion and seems to be oddly interested in a diamond necklace her aunt wears. Mystery Inc tries to find out what this pumpkin-wearing creep is really after, before they end up losing their heads as well.

"A Scooby Doo Halloween" from What's New, Scooby Doo? takes us to Banning Junction, where Velma's aunt and uncle have a farm. Shaggy and Scooby are looking forward to trick or treating and the town's fall festival, but they have to put their Halloween on hold when Halloween symbols appear in the corn crops and the ghost of the town's founder seems to be doing his best to ruin the holiday.

Hurried off to the Thomas Sharp School next. The kids were delighted to hear several books, including their favorites Hop On Pop and Pete the Cat, before we all went out to the playground. They love it when I push them on the swings, even the ones who are capable of swinging themselves. I followed the ones on the big set and went down the slides a few times, too. It was cloudy, cool, and still very windy, but not as cold as it had been yesterday. At any rate, the kids had a wonderful time when they weren't all arguing over the swings, and we had to argue to get them back in. By the time they were playing Pictionary and building with magnetic tiles, there were few enough of them to let me go early.

Watched the tail end of The Price Is Right when I got in. An older man won Any Number Can Play, a tough game that involves guessing which numbers go in a car, a smaller prize, and into a piggy bank that usually has a few dollars in it. It's rare anyone guesses the right numbers for the car! Apparently, they had messed up the prices on the earlier Cliffhanger game and ended up giving the military officer the prize from there, too. The non-story Showcase had two women checking out a dune buggy and a game room; the story showcase was "things for two," ending with two tickets to a Mediterranean cruise. The lady who bid on the dune buggy won.

Went into Match Game '76 during dinner. The end of the hilarious week with Scoey Mitchill and Susan Howard featured Scoey and Charles sitting in each other's seats and pretending to be the other...including the other's skin color. 

Spent the rest of the night working on Maplepunzel. Victor himself stops the wedding when he rips off Pavla's veil and flat-out tells her he finds her disgusting and wouldn't marry her for all the armies in the Seven Kingdoms. Scott finds enough energy to add that he saw Pavla let go of the hair Victor was climbing on the tower, letting him fall into the thorns and become blinded so she could trick him. He also saw her take Maple's voice and send her off to the wastelands that had been Hope Springs.

Furious, Pavla sends her monsters after the wedding party. Though the King and Queen manage to evacuate the guests, Scott is too tired to defend himself and is easily captured by one of the ogres. Another grabs Betty the deer, who unlike Scott, goes down kicking and biting. Hilary begs the creature to let the only thing she has left go, but her sleepy plea falls on the ears of a ugly monster who just doesn't care. 

Maple confronts Pavla at the podium. She's shocked when she manages to hit Pavla with a gold light. Pavla had told her that her magic was in her hair, and she had none left. Pavla's shocked when she gets hit, but she recovers her composure long enough to use her own magic to send her into the ground. Walter goes to wake up his mama as Pavla grabs the flailing Victor and forces him onto her griffin. The last thing Maple sees before she passes out, other than Walter's black nose nuzzling his mama, is Pavla stroking Victor's throat and whispering into his ear as they take off into the blue sky.

First watched Garfield's Halloween Adventure on YouTube as I worked. Shaggy and Scooby aren't the only ones looking forward to trick or treating. Garfield and Odie are excited to go around and get candy dressed as swashbuckling pirates, until their attempt to take a boat across the river ends with them being stranded on a strange island. Now they have to get home, before pirate ghosts come after their treasure, and them as well.

Finished the night with Getz/Gilberto. This is one of the seminal jazz albums of the mid-20th century, a soft bossa Nova that debuted Astrid Gilberto's famous breathy rendition of the standard "The Girl from Ipanema." Other Spanish jazz melodies include "Para Machudchar Meu Coracao" and "O Grande Amor." 

Laughter In the Rain

Began the morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. "The Looking Glass Leap" has Alice, Fergie, Cookie, and Hattie accidentally jumping into the Looking Glass World, where chess imagery reins supreme and everything is backwards. Alice has been feeling blocked on creating a new recipe. There's nothing interesting in her pantry. The Silver Queen encourages her to look at ingredients in a new way and try something different. Hattie has his father the Mad Hatter's favorite cake recipe, but he can only remember a few pieces of it. Alice and the kids journey to Looking Glass World, where they discover that sometimes, going backwards may be the best way to figure out a recipe. 

Hurried out after that to run errands. First stop was the outside ATM machine at the Collingswood PNC to get rent money. After that, I rode down to Cuthbert and the Audubon Acme. Restocked yogurt, more of those yummy Cliff Bars, honey, soda, blueberries, granola, and lemon and carrot cake cookie sandwiches off the bakery clearance racks. They were only slightly busier than Sprouts down the street. They still had those cherry shortbread cookies on their bakery clearance racks. Also grabbed a turkey wrap for lunch here, along with more soda, dried mango slices, and small yellow fruits called cherry plums that I'd never heard of before.

Hurried home for lunch and Garfield and Friends. It's a "Skyway Robbery" when Jon and his pets are tricked into riding Al Swindler's super-cheap airlines. Jon learns you get what you pay for when the plane doesn't have a right wing, it's a dilapidated mess, the controls go haywire, and they don't end up anywhere near Miami. Everyone at US Acres is too busy making jokes about the grammar error in the message "The Bunny Rabbits Is Coming" to pay attention to Wade freaking out or the weasel stealing from the chicken coop...until the bunny rabbits do indeed come. It's a "Close Encounters of the Garfield Kind" when a seemingly cute alien crashes in Jon's backyard. Jon is willing to let it stay, but Garfield discovers that this adorable intergalactic critter has something more sinister in mind.

Had just enough time to finish eating, grab my rain coat, and hurry out. It had been cloudy, killer humid, and warm all day. I knew darn well those clouds were going to burst sometime. The thunderstorm thankfully waited until the kids at the summer program and I were working on our artwork during Free Play Time to emerge. Some of the girls were nervous about the noise level. Other kids admitted they were concerned with the possibility of more flooding, especially since many of them are from West Collingswood Heights or Collingswood and had parents coming from further away. 

Thankfully, by the time the teachers switched the kids to "human bowling" on the other side of the gym, the rain was down to regular showers and the pyrotechnics were long gone. "Human bowling" seemed to involve five kids rolling soccer balls at the other kids, trying to hit their legs in a less-damaging variation on dodgeball. The kids jumping away from the balls (and the faces they made while doing so) were utterly hilarious. I hadn't laughed so hard in weeks. I did comfort one diminutive miss who was too short and slow to dodge the balls and got upset over it. Otherwise, the kids had a blast playing, and I had a blast watching them.

Went straight into dinner and Remember WENN when I got home. "The Ghost of WENN" seemed more than appropriate for a day that continued to be spooky and rainy. Betty's delighted to put on a horror play that had been performed the decade before, when the station first started. Mackie's a lot less happy about it. The actor playing his role died of a heart attack while reading their lines on page 13. Meanwhile, there seems to be a ghost stalking Hilary, one who is awfully fond of stuffed albatrosses and canned cranberry jelly.

"Caller I.D" says more about the magic of radio and the imagination than almost any other episode on the show. Mackie's doing a late-night music program when a distraught secretary (Alice Playton) calls in and claims she's a passionate listener. She just realized that none of the shows are real, and she's about to jump off the building unless the cast does one last performance for her. They throw together a massive crossover of most of the WENN fiction programs for her benefit...then become the listeners when she finally gets off that ledge.

Finished the night with Burlesque. I go further into this campy guilty pleasure spectacle with Cher and Christina Aguilera at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - Burlesque 

Oh, and I got yet another WENN fairy tale idea. I'm way backlogged, so lord knows when I'll get to "C.J and the Beanstalk." After C.J admits he's feeling unappreciated in "Ghost of WENN," he imagines himself as the young man who sells his cow to a seemingly doddering old peddler (Mr. Eldridge) and gets magic beans. Neither he nor his mother (Gertie) are sure they're real...until she tosses them out the window, and they grow overnight. C.J climbs it to the clouds, to discover the wicked Giant (Pruitt) has captured the Kingdom of the Clouds and now controls the weather. He has turned Queen Betty into a golden harp that sings for him and is keeping her beloved husband Scott deep within the castle. C.J works with the rest of the enchanted court to rescue their rulers and save his own land below from a drought...and rescue the Land of the Clouds' stolen music, sound, and the harmony of nature. 

Rainy Day Harvest

Began the morning with a quick breakfast and Garfield and Friends. "Odielocks" is a retelling of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," with Odie as the little girl who breaks in and eats lasagna and knocks over chairs belonging to three cats. "Quack to the Future" has Orson imagining that he and the other animals have invented a time machine, so he can go back and stop an argument between him and Wade. When Garfield's bed goes "Beddy Bye," Jon takes him to buy a new one...but of course, being a cat, Garfield ends up choosing something very different to sleep in at home.

Made a quick run to the farm market next, despite the ongoing light showers. I work too early to make it there next week! Though it's cooler, in the lower 80's, it's still thickly humid. The showers were off and on as I made my way through the surprisingly heavy crowds. I guess they weren't heavy enough to keep people away from buying their produce for barbecues and family get-togethers. The summer harvest is out in full-force now. Cherries and peas are gone, but zucchini. yellow squash, tomatoes, corn, eggplant, blackberries, peaches, plums, blueberries and onions are all out in full force. I settled for peaches, sugar plums, and rather surprisingly for so late in the season, strawberries. Also grabbed two cheesesteak empanadas for lunch.

Ate quickly while watching Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a MerPup" when Skye and Zuma stay awake on the MerPup Moon to see one of the mythical creatures. Turns out, it needs their help in rescuing its baby from a sunken ship. Skye and Zuma are turned into MerPups themselves to help out. Rocky, who hates water, is less happy about it when he needs to get the side off the ship and save Zuma.

Since it was still showering at that point, I took Uber to work. No trouble here whatsoever. The one going to work came in 9 minutes. The one going home arrived in 7. No traffic either way, and I got to work just in time.

Work was really, really dead for a weekend. Most people were probably either avoiding the weather, or down at the Shore. Though I did fall behind with the carts when I had to clean up a broken Stewart's Orange Soda bottle, other than that, I was mainly either sweeping or outside with the carts. The rain finally stopped around 2:30, though it would remain cloudy, cool, and humid for the rest of the afternoon. I grabbed a sandwich and soda for dinner before heading home.

Took a shower, then had that sandwich while watching tonight's Match Game marathon. Dumb Dora and her male counterpart Dumb Donald were two of the most popular "characters" in questions on the show. Dumb Dora was so popular, questions featuring her turned up as late as the Veteran's Day week episodes of Match Game '90. (And one of them prompted answers that were so sexually-charged, two were censored.) Darryl Anderson of Lou Grant and his long nose got to answer one. So did John Forsythe, two years before Charlie's Angels debuted. A sweet British contestant proved she was no dummy by doing well with these questions in 1974. One of Richard's last weeks on the show (and one of the first weeks for the Star Wheel) in 1978 had a Dumb Dora question, too.

You won't be dumb if you check out the best from the wackiest character to appear on the Match Game roster!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Dumb Dora Marathon

Finished the night with a quickie review for the 1995 animated version of The Prince and the Pauper. I go further into this low-budget Golden Films tuner at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Prince and the Pauper (1995)

Hey There Good Times

Began the morning with breakfast and Garfield and Friends. Garfield kicks things off by telling a story that's "Fit for a King." Jon the Wide was beloved by his subjects for his ability to eat his weight in gold, until a scheming advisor gives him a certain fat cat who eats all his food. While the other animals at U.S Acres are at the State Fair parade, Orson is guarding their vegetables. His brothers give him a copy of Ben-Hur to distract him, so they can steal their crop...but they didn't count on their imaginative brother becoming "Ben Hog" and chase after them in a cart! After Jon gets a flat tire in the desert, Garfield and Odie keep seeing "Dessert In the Desert" and wild mirages everywhere.

Called Uber after that. Today is the start of the Cherry Hill Library Book Sale. I've done well the last few times I hit them. They arrived within 7 minutes, but there were a few problems getting there. I have no idea what the traffic was on the White Horse Pike in Collingswood. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad once we got past Collings Avenue and was fine by the time he dropped me off at Cherry Hill.

The Cherry Hill Library is the largest library in Camden County, and their book sale is likely the largest in the area, too. It takes up most of the basement meeting rooms. I went straight to the boxes and boxes of records, DVDs, and CDs when I got downstairs. The room with the kids' books was even busier, but I did manage to find something. Had such a hard time getting around the main room with the adult books, I had to wait in the back until I could find a path through all those people.

For all that, I did ultimately make some good finds. The CDs were: 

The 1990 studio cast recording of the Rodgers and Hart show Babes In Arms

Dave Brubeck - The Quartet

The Manhattan Transfer - Anthology (2-Disc set)

The Official Album of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, featuring songs from many long-gone rides (especially in Epcot) 

The DVDs were:

Barbie (I was kind of shocked to run across a new and popular movie. The DVD holder was broken, but the DVD itself is fine.)

The Mario Lanza vehicle Seven Hills of Rome

I'm really hot with finding Walt Disney Treasures sets. Came up with Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studios, minus it's tin. This one features The Reluctant Dragon, one of Disney's more underrated films.

No records this time, but I did come up with some great books: 

Hugh Fordin - The Movies' Greatest Musicals Produced In Hollywood by the Freed Unit

Agatha Christie - The Man In the Brown Suit

Elizabeth Peters - The Love Talker

Helen Pierce Jacob - The Secret of the Strawbridge Place

Mary MacLeod - King Arthur 

But my best find today was the very version of Grimm's Fairy Tales my mother had when I was a child, the one that was so old and worn, the cover came off and half the book was stuck together. Though the covers on this one are a bit loose, they're far from off, and the pages are fine. It had the same wonderful color and black and white artwork and obscure stories, like "The Pink," "Iron Hans," "The Raven," and my favorite, "The Lady and the Lion." 

Headed out for lunch around 1:30. It was still thickly humid, but cloudy and much cooler, probably in the lower 80's. I could get away with a stroll down King's Highway. Stopped at Raymond's Pizza for lunch. They were a pretty typical hole-in-the-wall in a brown 70's shopping center, but their plain cheese and mushroom slices were pretty good, and the prices were great.

Continued down King's Highway after lunch another block to The Big Event. I wasn't going bowling alone, but I could get away with the arcade. They were a little busy with bored kids and their parents, but nothing like when Lauren and I were there early last month. I hit the 1000-point jackpot on the Big Reel fishing-themed wheel and got a lot of points elsewhere, including on Nerf Arcade. Got a sweet cherry-red Lamborghini on Crusin' Blast and came in second on the Madagascar course. Between the jackpot and all of my playing, I ended up with over 4.200 points. Was able to get the board game Aggression and a small stuffed animal that'll go to a friend's daughter for her birthday.

I was originally going to go home at that point...but the prices for Uber were way beyond what I was willing to pay for a 20-minute trip. Strolled another block down to the Ellisburg Shopping Center instead. There's a Rita's Water Ice a few doors down from the Whole Foods there. The chocolate vanilla swirl and root beer water ice gelati I had was delicious...and more to the point, by the time I finished it, the prices were far cheaper. The lady arrived in 4 minutes and got me home on the back roads of Haddonfield and Westmont in a little over 20.

Put on Remember WENN when I got home. "Hilary Booth, Registered Nurse" is supposed to go on the air for a big prime-time broadcast of one of her signature soap operas, Valiant Journey...but after Mr. Foley accidentally hits her with the microphone boom, she thinks she's the kindly nurse she portrays on a World War I show. Betty once again has to deal with all this without the help of Victor Comstock, who leaves to broadcast in London after this episode.

Hilary's semi-husband Jeff is in the spotlight when "Valentino Speaks!" He's excited when a movie director chooses him to dub, and then play, Valentino in a rediscovered silent movie. Jeff quickly learns how difficult movie acting is, and how he'd much rather play all the roles he does at the station than be typecast like Valentino was.

"A Capitol Idea" introduces Scott Sherwood, the brash new station manager who claims Victor sent him as his replacement. He's full of wild new ideas for the station, starting with him asking Betty to weave the commercials into the programming to get more ads in. This does inadvertently invent informercials, but it also makes the shows sound alike. Betty threatens to resign and Mr. Eldridge won't come in at all. The others make a mockery out of the shows to get them back. 

(And it's rather appropriate that "A Capitol Idea" was the third and last WENN episode I saw while babysitting during the summer of 1996. I loved how Scott and Betty interacted with each other and the cast. I went to bed that night on the lumpy couch in the living room dreaming of a blossoming relationship between them...and they're still my favorite characters on the show to this day.)

Switched to Tubi for the truly bizarre Earth Girls are Easy. I go further into this 1988 sci-fi comedy about three aliens who crash-land in a manicurist's pool and have to adjust to Earth ways at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - Earth Girls are Easy

Worked on Hilary and the Beasts for the rest of the afternoon. Hilary is still playing phone tag with Doug Thompson and City Hall over a week later, but she has help from an unexpected source. She finds a talking newspaper (Gus Kahana) with the ability to repeat any number of celebrity voices. She manages to get out of those voices that Troll had been married, but "the wrong woman" got him into a contract he couldn't get out of and was the one who came to the mansion. 

She also joins Maple downstairs in the more intimate music room. Maple's grown fond of Miss Organ (Eugenia), who seems to know all of Hilary and Jeff's favorite songs. Her gossip confirms that Troll had been forced to give up his first wife by a nasty "she" to save a friend. Mr. Rabbit (Mr. Foley) turns up too, shyly bringing Miss Organ a lavender rose.

Switched to Match Game '75 during dinner. They'd moved on to the next week by the time I got on. Craig Morris and Fannie Flagg joined in, while Joyce Bulifant was happy to actually get some well-received answers for a change. 

Finished the night with more of my recent record finds. I Love My Wife was Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart's 1977 response to the Sexual Revolution as two couples switched partners and lives. It's too bad the story is as dated as the wide-legged pantsuits and high leather boots on the back cover, because some of the songs aren't bad. The ladies get the country spoof "Someone Wonderful I Missed," while the guys go vaudevillian with "Hey There Good Times." 

The Fabulous Mae West performs not only her own songs, but familiar numbers from other media that certainly fit her double entendre-laden personality. "A Guy What Takes His Time" and "They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk" are probably the ones here that are most associated with her. I also liked "Love Is the Greatest Thing" and "I Want You - I Need You." 

On the Way to Cape May

We started off a gloomy morning with breakfast and Garfield and Friends. "China Cat" brings Garfield and Jon out to dinner on Chinese New Year. The owners of the Chinese restaurant they go to for dinner freak out at Garfield on sight, leading them to explain the legend of how a very similar orange cat out-ate a dragon and got chased away by it. Roy wants to be a "Cock-a-Doodle Dandy," but a tired bear keeps attacking him when he plays the morning wake-up bugle. Bo and Orson find a way to put the bear to sleep. Garfield is a "Beach Blanket Bonzo" when he falls for a lovely lady cat during a trip to the beach and have to deal with her well-muscled boyfriend.

Since Jessa texted last night and said she wouldn't be able to take us to the Shore until later, we decided to take advantage of the downtime and check out the Oaklyn Town-Wide Yard Sale. Considering it was starting to shower lightly even as we got out the door, there were quite a few sales around. Lauren found a really nice purple long-sleeved shirt. I bought tasty tart lemonade in pouches with straws for Lauren and me from an enterprising young lady.

We strolled into Collingswood for the Saturday farm market. They were surprisingly busy, even with the ongoing showers. Cherries, peas, radishes, and cucumbers debuted this week. Lauren didn't get anything, but I couldn't resist the first cherries of the season.

My original thought for lunch was Sabrina's Cafe, but they had a long line when we arrived. There was no line - or anyone else - at Paloma Restaurant, the new Mexican place across the street. She had fried potatoes and an omelette with farm-fresh veggies. I had the churro French toast with strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. It was much better than the soggy French toast I had here on Easter. They didn't overdo the syrup this time. 

Since we already explored Collingswood, we headed back towards Oaklyn after lunch, cutting through Newton Lake Park. I was glad to see that the playground equipment is done there, too, even if today was hardly the right weather for using it. The rest of the park is looking pretty good, too. Vibrant emerald green leaves shaded us from the worst of the weather. The mulberry trees are bearing fruit now, too. We passed by several laden with berries as we headed down to the White Horse Pike.

I wanted to go that way because I needed to stop at Dollar General. I got a larger pack of batteries, so I don't run out again, and more of that limeade drink mix. Lauren got an energy drink. Other than a long line, we were in and out.

Jessa texted and said she'd pick us up at 1:30. We had time before we left for the Shore to relax and watch Remember WENN. Hilary is "The Diva Who Wouldn't Die" when Dusty Foxx (Rue McClanahan) drops her character from The Hands of Time in favor of Hilary doing a gossip show, From Hilary's Booth. The show is a failure when all of Hilary's gossip is about her, prompting her to do whatever she can from being killed off on her favorite soap opera!

It was closer to 2 when Jess finally arrived. We were originally going to the Cape May County Park and Zoo in Cape May Court House before heading to Cape May, but first of all, Jess missed the turn-off. Second, even if she hadn't, the zoo closes at 4:30. By the time we made it down there, we would have had a half-hour to walk around a sprawling complex. We ended up going straight to Cape May instead.

Jessa drove us briefly down to Cape May Point to see the lighthouse and World War II watch tower before returning to the Washington Street Mall. She couldn't find anywhere to park in that mess but a spot on West Perry, a block from Swain's Hardware and the big mini-golf course. Every single parking lot was full to capacity, even the ones next to Collier's Liquor Store.

I led the duo past Wilbraham Park, the sliver of greenery where the Gazebo is and the Halloween Parade starts to the Washington Street Mall. Since we were on the Mall, I thought we could eat at the Ugly Mug. This local watering hole is so named for the many, many mugs hanging over its ancient bar. It's narrow and dark in there, with heavy wood paneling and low lighting. Mom worked here as a chef in the mid-80's, and Dad hung out at the bar until we moved to North Cape May in 1994.

There's a reason the place is so popular. The food is genuinely good, and the portions are huge. Jess had a bratwurst and sauerkraut sandwich. I had a massive local fried flounder on a bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, and house-made tartar sauce. Lauren had an enormous Caesar Salad. Lauren's salad was too big to finish, but the rest of us ate all of ours. 

I wasn't going to let us leave the Washington Street Mall without hitting up the Fudge Kitchen for treats. Though the people giving out free fudge samples weren't around today, there were plenty of goodies lined up inside. It's exactly the same as it was when I was a kid, rows and rows of chocolates, coconut macaroons, salt water taffy, Irish potatoes, many different types of fudge, and novelty candies lined up on shelves and a long counter in a narrow room. We even got to see a guy start to make fudge in a big copper kettle in the front window. I ended up with small containers of two favorites, mini coconut macaroons and mini fruit slices. 

We were in and out of stores for the next hour. None of us bought anything at the humor-related store. I mostly just wanted to show the girls the Toy Company and the Zoo Company, where many of my childhood toys came from. I looked over the Cape Atlantic Book Store at the mini-mall, but didn't get anything. I don't know if the girls got anything at Dellas 5 & 10, but I picked up a Cape May t-shirt. We jumped into the bathrooms behind the lingerie shop before heading back. 

At least the weather had suddenly started to cooperate. It showered off and on during the ride down to the Shore. By the time we hit Court House, the sun had started to come out. It fully emerged when we hit Cape May, and stayed out for the rest of the evening. 

It was past 7 when we returned to Jess' car. Wildwood is best at night, anyway. We took the Garden State Parkway up to the turn-off to Wildwood, passing the Snow clams cannery and the marshes where many local families (including mine) go crabbing, before heading over the George Washington Bridge to Rio Grande Avenue. I got to point out the massive pink and turquoise WaWa where I used to meet visitors when I lived in Wildwood. My apartment was behind a building on a one-way street, and it was just easier to meet people who were unfamiliar with the area at a giant pink and turquoise 50's-themed convenience store.

Jess had an even harder time finding a place to park in Wildwood. She drove up and down Atlantic Avenue (allowing me to briefly point out where I used to live on Montgomery in the early 2000's) before finally settling on the lot behind the Gateway 26 Arcade in North Wildwood. I even gave her the money for it. 

There are tons of arcades on the Wildwood Boardwalk, but Gateway 26 is the cheapest, and one of the largest. They're the only arcade left on the boardwalk - and maybe in New Jersey - that still have 25 cent cranes. In addition to the usual array of stuffed animals representing Stitch, Spongebob, Squishmallows, and whatever else is cool this summer, there were a lot of cranes with stuffed seagulls holding fries in their beaks. Someone who makes the stuffies around here has a sense of humor. I kept trying for one, and didn't get a keychain version until I did the five dollar "play until you win" crane. (And eventually gave the keychain seagull to Lauren, who came away with nothing.) I naturally had to play ski ball, too, and they still have the old wooden machines in the back where you roll the blue rubber ball into holes and light up card suites.

Jessa wanted Kohr's Ice Cream back at Cape May, but I pointed out that there's a Kohr's on every block in Wildwood. Lauren didn't want any, but Jess had a vanilla cone with sprinkles, and I ended up with a chocolate-peanut butter swirl with chocolate peanut butter. I thought it would be less messy to have it in a cup...but they gave me so much, it still overflowed and ended up on my hands. Good thing I always bring wet wipes with me. 

Though it was past 9 and we really didn't have the time for rides, we did explore a couple of stores. I found a really nice yellow "Endless Summer" Wildwood t-shirt on the clearance rack at one store for $4. I kept trying to talk the girls into playing water gun games, but they get expensive at night, and I don't think anyone wanted to compete with one another. 

I finally won a larger stuffed seagull at Mariner's Arcade near the entrance to Mariner's Landing. This was a really unique one, a pizza-delivery seagull with a box representing real-life boardwalk pizza parlor Sam's Pizza who was eating his own wares. I did get him, but the box got stuck on the claw! Jess had to go get one of the guys to retrieve him.

We left shortly after that. Jess meant well, but to tell the truth, it was past 10 when we left, and neither Lauren nor I were up to singing Brittany Spears and Christmas carols when the signal for her cell phone (and her music) gave out as we passed through the Pine Barrens. I wasn't really up to arguing over why I don't drive with her, either. (I can't focus well enough to drive. I don't trust myself on the road behind an enormous vehicle that could potentially hurt someone if misused.)

Took a shower when we got in, then finished the night with the last hour or so of tonight's Match Game marathon. The theme tonight was episodes that were either filmed right before or right after the end of a season or a hiatus. I did get to see two nighttime shows that were done as season finales, one of the last with Richard before he left in 1978, and the one with Pat Moriata in 1976. (The latter is apparently set to premiere on Buzzr soon.)

Find out how Match Game went on its own vacation in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - The Hiatus Returns & Back from Summer Break

Oh, and here's tonight's Musical Dreams Movie Reviews review!

Animation Celebration Saturday - Cinderella (1994) 

Rainy Day Blues

Began the morning with breakfast and Garfield and Friends. "Mystic Manor" is supposedly a haunted house, but it's closed. When Odie wanders into the house, Garfield has to chase him around its many frightening tricks and monsters, or no dinner! It's "Flop Goes the Weasel" when Wade Duck accidentally runs into the chicken-eating weasel and catches him. Everyone says Wade is a hero, which gives him a swelled head...until the weasel comes back and the chickens now expect him to catch it. Jon is shocked to learn "The Legend of Long Jon," his pirate ancestor who turned traitor. Garfield discovers a hidden secret in his diary that may change what people believe about the buccaneer.

Spent the rest of the morning watching Let's Dance. I go further into the only pairing of Fred Astaire and boisterous comedienne Betty Hutton at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Let's Dance

The weather was dreadful when the movie ended. It was unseasonably cold, not even in the 60's, and had been showering heavily all morning. This mess would continue pretty much the entire day. I called Uber. Fortunately, no trouble there. The driver going to Thomas Sharp School arrived in 5 minutes. The one going home took 9, but in his defense, he was picking me up during rush hour on a rainy day.

I think you can guess that the kids were really crazy now. They hadn't been outside - at school or home - for two days. They yelled, threw things, and chased each other for the entire three hours. And yeah, we didn't go out today, either. There were 35 of them squeezed into that small gym. At least they calmed down a bit when we broke out the magnetic tiles. They really love those, especially the boys, even if they all fight over the wheeled train flats.

Once I got home, I had dinner while watching the Remember WENN second season finale "Magic." There's excitement in the air and on the air when Hilary and Jeff put on their mind-reading act for some of the most influential men in Pittsburgh, including Amazon Andy sponsor Kurt Holstrom of Holstrom Construction. Scott and Betty reveal to Holstrom that the decoded messages on "Andy" haven't been making sense of late. When Scott decodes the messages, they learn that Holstrom - and the station - are more deeply involved in espionage than any of them could have guessed. And all of that is before a certain station manager who was believed dead in London turns up alive in the Green Room...

The second season runs with the sitcom formula, with some of the wackiest episodes of the entire show. I honestly prefer the more heartfelt Christmas episode, although "Some Good News, Some Bad News," "Scott Sherwood of the FBI," and "Close Quarters" are also excellent. A few of the episodes don't quite land. "Behind Every Great Woman" has always bothered me. Hilary and Scott treat Betty badly during the entire episode, and neither of them really get into trouble for it (although Ruth does get her comeuppance). As mentioned, though I love the interns and wish we could have seen more of them, there's something kind of off about "Don't Act Like That" too. By and large, this is one of the two best seasons of the show...but things get kind of complicated from here on out...

Took a shower, then finished the night listening to CDs while I worked on reviews. I've had my original Billboard Top Hits CDs since they were the only discs I could afford to buy at FYE in college, but I haven't seen them anywhere else in years. The 1975 and '77 both have some terrific songs. Top Hits '75 includes the Captain & Tenille's charming "Love Will Keep Us Together," one of Linda Rondstat's best ballads "When Will I Be Loved," Neil Sedaka's comeback with "Bad Blood," the Elton John hits "Island Girl" and "Philadelphia Freedom," and the first tinge of disco with "Get Down Tonight."

By 1977, the disco trend was in full flower. "I'm Your Boogie Man" by KC and the Sunshine Band, "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave, and "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" by Leo Sayer all reflected the popularity of dancing the night away under mirrored balls in this era. Other favorites from '77 include "Undercover Angel" by Alan O'Day, the driving "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston, and Rose Royce's bouncy ode to the "Car Wash." 

English/Aussie duo Air Supply is one of the most definitive of the "yacht rock" or soft rock groups of the 70's and 80's. Their heartfelt ballads were a major part of my early childhood from 1980 through 1985. They even got a song on the original Ghostbusters soundtrack, "I Can Wait Forever." Other familiar hits on The Definitive Collection include "Lost In Love," "Two Less Lonely People In the World," "Every Woman In the World," "All Out of Love," and "Here I Am." 

Front Page Games

Began the morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. "A Highland Fling With a Monstrous Thing" takes the gang to Scotland. They're supposed to be visiting their friend Aggie McDuff's castle, but it's closed to visitors. Seems the ghost of Aggie's great-grandfather has been sighted in the area, using his bagpipes to lure what appears to be the Loch Ness Monster. The gang head into the deepest, least-explored sections of the castle to solve the mystery.

Got Linda and James' cards and surprise together while watching Garfield and Friends. Garfield's not happy when Jon takes him and Odie on one of their occasional camping trips in "The Bear Facts." He's even less thrilled when they're attacked by Binky the Clown's dancing bear, and the only thing that can make him happy is Jon singing a silly little song he can tap along to. The US Acres farm animals are tired of Wade's constant freak-outs and try to convince him that there's "Nothing to Be Afraid Of." "The Big Talker" is a combative talk show host who insults cats. An offended Garfield finds a way to show him just how useful cats are.

Sent out Linda and James' cards, then headed off to work. Work was no problem whatsoever. Despite a lot more help than usual, we were dead the entire afternoon. The head bagger did the sweeping and the trash, so I pushed carts. The weather was chilly, windy, and cloudy, but it never snowed, rained, or did anything besides be gloomy. 

Took out the recycling and trash when I got home, then changed and brought in my Amazon order. I needed a new bike helmet rather badly. The plastic covering the previous one had become brittle and was breaking of in large sections. Though the one I bought from Amazon wasn't much more expensive than the one I picked up from Target, it was bright white, heavy, and looked and felt more like a motorcycle helmet than a bike helmet. That's exactly what I wanted. It even has lights on the front and back. 

Went upstairs and did some things online, then worked on the inventory briefly. Added Smooth Jazz Christmas and two of the WOGL Ultimate Christmas Album CDs. Smooth Jazz Christmas and Ultimate Christmas Volume 1 came from yard sales in 2010. Ultimate Christmas Volume 4 was an Abbie Road find in 2011. 

Watched Match Game '73 as I worked, and later as I had dinner. That week with McLean Stevenson and Nancy Dussault was pure lunacy, and possibly the best from that year. On one episode, McLean claimed the contestant stole his caps after he helped her get an answer on the Audience Match and they smooched for just a little too long. McLean turned up on the last day of the week naked from the waist up except for a bow tie. He claimed none of the other men would loan him more clothes, then fussed when Gene gave him his jacket. Richard made a crack about having to get McLean to the Largo (a then-popular LA strip club). Joyce Bulifant made her debut the next week, joined by comedian and former host Robert Q. Lewis.

Finished the night at YouTube with game shows revolving around news and headlines. These tended to be either panel shows that had celebrities guessing the news or news makers of the day, or quiz shows. It's News to Me from 1951 is one of the earliest. This early version of Liar's Club has contestants trying to guess if the news story the panelist describes is true or not. Honestly kind of fun, especially watching the panelists interact with each other and hear the stories being told. John Charles Daly of What's My Line? is the host.

Canadians had the similar long-running Front Page Challenge. Here, the panelists had to guess the news event that the contestant was involved in. Canadians really loved their news-based game shows. This one was around for so long, it was on from 1957 to 1995! The game play is almost secondary to the goofy questions and the interview with the subject in question about the news they're involved in (in this 1976 episode, a Canadian senator). 

That wasn't the only Canadian news-based game show to run for years. Headline Hunters ran for a decade on CTV, from 1972 through 1983. Host Jim Perry gives clues to a subject in the form of headlines. Contestants guess the subject from the clues. Simple and addictive, no wonder this one ran for so long. 

Wink Martindale tried his own variation with the syndicated Headline Chasers in 1985. Two couples guess hangman-style headlines, then answer questions about the headline. The "Headline Extra" had the winning couple trying to guess a headline without buying too many clues. Not bad, but probably not enough to stand out in what was an overcrowded field in the mid-80's. I do remember catching this and enjoying it occasionally on USA and local channels.

PBS had their own fun with the news in 1978. We Interrupt This Week was their very first shot at a game show. BBC host Ned Sherrin led a panel of "Home" and "Away" celebrities involved with jazz and classical music or literature through a series of ridiculous or comic questions. It's almost a game show precursor to another British import, Who's Line Is It Anyway. It's a shame the episode seen here seems to be the only one available at the moment. This show was really fun.

Meet the news makers, chase headlines, and interrupt this week with these games that bring new meaning to the words "Action News."

It's News to Me (1951)

Front Page Challenge (1976)

We Interrupt This Week (1978)

Headline Hunters (1981)

Headline Chasers (1985)

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Began a cloudy gray Christmas Day nice and warm inside with Colliers Harvest of Holidays. Of the three longer pieces, my favorite is "Flora McFlimsey's Christmas." Santa recruits an old doll who has wandered down from the attic to be the Christmas gift for one of the little girls in the house. The new dolls make fun of her old-fashioned summer outfit, until the tree angel and her friends the mice find her original Victorian velvet splendor. Little Sophie is encouraged to save her money in an applewood box until her brother asks for a wooden star, and she knows it's the right time to spend her last coin on "A Star for Hansi."

Watched Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales during breakfast. This series of skits was made to fill an hour slot with Charlie Brown Christmas, but it has some entertaining material in its own right. Sally writes to "Samantha Claus," Snoopy deals with Lucy while working as a sidewalk Santa and dodges the cat next door, and Lucy tries to get Linus to buy her gifts.

Moved on to Garfield's Christmas while I got dressed. Jon takes Garfield and Odie to his parents' farm for Christmas. Garfield's not too happy about it, until he bonds with Jon's supremely tough and sarcastic grandmother. Grandma's badly missing her late husband, but Garfield stumbles onto something in the barn that might make her holidays a little merrier.

Ran Little Drummer Boy and Little Drummer Boy Book II next. I went further into these on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog Christmas Eve 2020. 

Little Drummer Boy and Little Drummer Boy Book II

Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas was one of the first Jim Henson productions to use relatively realistic-looking animals, and among the first original holiday specials on HBO. Impoverished Emmett and his Ma are facing a bare Christmas, until they hear about a talent contest being held in the nearby town on Christmas Eve. They give up the things they use for their regular work for their acts...and while it doesn't work out like they expect, they get something even better in the end.

I called Rose to see when I could come over...and as it turned out, it was not today. She and her family were going to Craig's parents house in Westmont for Christmas. I was very disappointed. I was looking forward to spending time with them and giving them my gift after I had such a lovely Thanksgiving with them. She said I could come over on New Year's Day after the Mummers' Parade instead.

Ended up joining a friend and  her family for Christmas instead. I had a lovely book shaped tea tin for her, sheet music books for her daughter, cookies for her son and his girlfriend, and a bag of treats for their cat. They and my friend's sister gave me a pair of wonderfully warm fur-lined knitted boot slippers and tons of candy, including chocolate-covered sea salt caramels, a bag of Goetz caramel creams, and a whole box of assorted Russell Stover chocolates. 

After we opened gifts, I quickly rode my bike over to Rose's. I had to bring her gifts over today. The cookies weren't going to keep another week. I left the bag with their presents and cookies on her front stoop, then went for a short ride around the neighborhood behind the school. Maybe it's just as well that I wasn't out for long. Though it wasn't raining or snowing, it was also chilly, cloudy, and damp. Not the nicest weather. I hurried back quickly.

They started Elf shortly after I got in. My friend's son and his girlfriend are big fans of this wacky and heartfelt 2003 comedy. They even had Elf wrapping paper. Buddy (Will Farrell) is a very tall elf who discovers from his adopted father (Bob Newhart) that he's actually a human. His birth father Walter Hobbs (James Caan) now works for a publishing company that's desperate for a best-seller. Buddy's delighted that he's found his father, but Walter finds him to be more of a nuisance, especially after he inadvertently insults a writer (Peter Dinkalage) by saying he's an elf. He has more luck when he falls for department store worker Jovie (Zooey Deschanal), charms his stepmother Emily (Mary Steenburgen), and wins over his half-brother Michael (Daniel Tay) after helping him with bullies in Central Park.

After Walter insults him, Buddy takes off. He couldn't have left at a worse time. Santa's sleigh crashes in Central Park, and there's not enough Christmas spirit to take him back into the skies. It'll take a concentrated effort from Jovie and everyone Buddy has touched on his journey to prove that Christmas spirit really can be found everywhere, even in the hearts of jaded New Yorkers.

Some of Farrell's brand of manic comedy may not work for everyone, and there's dated aspects (like how that short writer is treated) that would never fly even 20 years after this film's release. Still, there's enough charming and enjoyable moments to make this a favorite of many. Farrell and Caan are the stand-outs as the man-child who wants everyone to love Christmas like he does and his taciturn, frazzled father. Well worth checking out if you're a fan of Farrell or are looking for a more recent Christmas film for older kids and teens.

The movie ended literally just as my friend declared dinner was ready. We had huge lobsters, tails and claws and all, with sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, cucumber salad, and a stuffed butternut squash for her son's vegetarian girlfriend. It was all amazing, especially those juicy lobsters! The sweet potatoes tasted just as good dipped in butter as the lobsters did.

Headed upstairs after dinner to finish the night online. What little I saw of the Match Game Christmas Day marathon was a repeat of yesterday's, but I did get to see Rip Taylor in a Santa costume. I did better with other shows. We continued yesterday's 1978 Card Sharks as that lady, to her delight and shock, went on to pick up almost $20,000 on the Money Board. Bob Eubanks' first Card Sharks Christmas pit a young lady against a very funny older man.

Family Feud celebrated Christmas 1979 with gifts for Richard and the contestants singing carols for him. Charles continues to spend the week on Match Game '76 complaining about not being able to play Santa that year while the others get to know a woman who brings a sock-type puppet along to help her nerves. Rip Taylor, on the other hand, did get to play Santa on Match Game '90...three days late. Debralee Scott and Gina Hecht continue to do well on Password Plus, once again making it to the Alphabetics round. Gary Collins did get his contestant to the Super Password bonus round, but he misunderstands a word and just gets the lady confused. 

Finished the night with The Walt Disney Very Merry Christmas Parade from 1988. Joan Lunden and Alan Thicke are the hosts here, with Regis Philbin interviewing the crowds and plugging the then-upcoming Disney-MGM Studios. Sarah Purcell hosted the segment in Disneyland, while Scott Valentine tried to get on the just-about-to-open Splash Mountain. Almost all of the floats but a beach-themed one and one with the Country Bears represented a then-popular Disney animated film. We even saw movies like Robin Hood and The Jungle Book that would likely never even be mentioned in a Disney parade today! The show begins and ends with dancers doing Christmas Carol medleys. The opening has them dancing down Main Street. The sleigh-based finale is performed at Cinderella Castle.

Here's all of tonight's programming, so you can enjoy your own vintage Christmas! And I hope you had a wonderful holiday with all the family and friends you love to match with.

Match Game - Merry Christmas Blank-a-Thon

Match Game (1976)

Card Sharks (1978 and 1986)

Family Feud (1979)

Password Plus (1980)

Super Password (1986)

Match Game (1990)

The Walt Disney Very Merry Christmas Parade 1988

Last Harvest of the Season

First of all, here's my review for Wicked at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. (Spoiler alert - I loved it.) 

Family Fun Saturday - Wicked Part One

Second, got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the Casper the Friendly Ghost Thanksgiving short "Do Or Diet." Casper befriends a turkey who laments his fate on the Thanksgiving dinner table. He tries to help him slim down, but that turkey loves to eat too much! Casper proves more effective scaring the farmer away instead.

Hurried out to the final Collingswood Farm Market of the year after the short ended. Despite the chilly, windy day, they were elbow-to-elbow with people buying Christmas gifts from the craft tables and produce, cheese, apple cider, and bread from the produce and bakery booths. I grabbed small apples and apple cider from the orchard booth, cranberries from a booth largely selling vegetables, an apple cider donut from the Barclay Farms booth as a treat, and Thanksgiving flowers for a friend's table. 

Rushed home after I finished. Watched Garfield's Thanksgiving as I got ready for work. Garfield's holiday is upended when not only does Liz the veterinarian put him on a diet the day before the holiday, but Jon invites her over for dinner. Jon can't cook something the size of a turkey to save his life, and Garfield messing around with the food because he can't eat it doesn't help. Good thing Grandma from the Christmas special knows what to do.

Went straight to work next. Work was crazy when I got in, to the point where I had a hard time keeping up with the carts. Good thing the head bagger was actually bagging today. They were testing out a lot of new cashiers and didn't need her there. I did have to sweep for the first couple of hours, until a college-age bagger arrived later and took over that. It slowed down enough by 5:30 for me to barely need to do anything outside.

After I got home, I went in the shower, then grabbed dinner and finished the night watching the Match Game Saturday Classics marathon. Richard Dawson had so many wonderful moments on the show, the marathon is in two parts. Richard was on the show from the very start, in the same seat between the ingenue and the comedienne. At least in the early years, he seemed to have a lot of fun, flirting with contestants and panelists alike. 

In 1974, he gave "Trench Hand" as an answer for "Trench __." He and the others would continue to joke about eradicating "Trench Hand" over the years. He and Gary Burghoff happily flirted with a goofy single woman who claimed she "fooled around" in early 1975, and he saw Gary wearing a wig he claimed to get off Brett and Alejandro Rey flirt with a lovely Argentinian. He twice wore a sequined shirt to compete with well-endowed Fannie Flagg and her fancy sequined t-shirts next to him and applauded sweet ingenue Melinda O'Fee when she finally got an answer. 

He could be even funnier in the nighttime episodes. One of the most hilarious Match Game episodes ever was a PM show from late 1975. He gave "Color Television" as an answer to "Admiral." Gene bet him that it wouldn't be on the board...but Richard always knew best. 

Match along with one of the most beloved panelists on the show in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Celebrating Richard Dawson - Special Match Game Episodes (1973-1975)

In the Summertime

Began the morning with breakfast and Garfield In Paradise. Garfield's not happy when Jon drags him to tropical tourist trap Paradise Island, especially after their hotel turns out to be a rat trap whose owner spouts Jack Benny jokes. Things pick up considerably when the vintage car Jon rented takes a left turn into a village belonging to natives who worship doo-wop and live by a volcano that is about to go off!

Called Uber soon as the episode ended. They arrived in less than three minutes, and didn't even need two to pick me up going home. There was no traffic either way. I arrived and departed from Cherry Hill with no trouble whatsoever. 

The enormous Cherry Hill Library was having its second book sale of the year this weekend. The sale wasn't as big as the one in April,  nor was it as busy when I first arrived. I actually managed to make it into the room with the children's books and make some interesting finds. The CDs, records, and DVDs were all in one room with the books this time, too. 

Ultimately ended up with six books:

Devil May Care by Elizabeth Peters

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat During Difficult Times by Catherine May

The Winter of Enchantment by Victoria Walker

The Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs

The Grim Reader by Kate Carlisle 

New Complete Book of the American Musical Theater by David Ewen (The Cape May Library had this copy from 1972 in the late 80's and early 90's. I used to take it out all the time. While it naturally lacks information on shows made after the 70's, it also covers long-forgotten musicals going back as far as the 1870's.) 

Two CDs:

James Taylor - October Road

The two-disc original cast album for Miss Saigon (I had this on cassette at one point, but got rid of it.) 

The two records were early Bette Midler titles, Songs for the New Depression and Live At Last.

Went for a walk after I left the library. It was too nice of a day not to! The haze and humidity had been replaced by blue skies, fresh winds, and a dry warmth that felt wonderfully refreshing after the last few weeks. I saw a shopping center with a bakery and a bagel shop I thought I'd try. Alas, the bakery turned out to be closed for the owners' summer break, but the bagel shop was open. I bought four bagels at the bagel shop and got a drink from CVS before calling for a ride home.

Made my grocery list when I got in while watching Match Game '77 on Buzzr's Christmas In July marathon. This was the episode from early in 1977 where Charles, frustrated that he hadn't been able to dress as Santa for Christmas, turned up in his Santa costume anyway a few weeks later. A semi-amused Gene let him stay in character the rest of the episode. 

Headed back out after the episode ended, this time on my bike. I was originally going to do grocery shopping tomorrow, but the weather is supposed to be terrible. Went in Dollar Tree first to see if they have a bag big enough for a friend's birthday present. They didn't. Had a little more luck at Sprouts. Grabbed breakfast sandwich bars and granola bars, coconut milk, their chocolate peanut butter cookies on sale, and two cans of Culture Pop soda. 

Stopped at the Westmont Diner for lunch. They were fairly busy, despite it being nearly 3 PM at that point. I originally thought of having pancakes, but ended up with a huge "Sunrise Quesadilla" with eggs, sausage, peppers, and tons of cheese. Yum! The hash browns were good, too. Had a pleasant late lunch. 

Went up the hill next to the Westmont Acme. Wanted to try something. I had an online coupon for a free container of the Acme's generic Cool Whip. Found a simple key lime pie recipe on Pinterest that just required Cool Whip, lime jello mix, lime yogurt, and a graham cracker crust. I also restocked yogurt, cherries, those Made Good soft breakfast bars, and Olipop soda.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. I'm surprised I didn't see more people out and about, given what a gorgeous day it was. I wanted to take the path over the hill and up to the Environmental Center, but it was blocked by a fallen tree. I had to be very careful making my way around that!

Watched the second half of The Price Is Right as I had cherries for a snack and got organized. Surprisingly, as these hadn't been announced for the Christmas In July marathon, the episode I saw had Christmas decorations up around the studio. One of the Showcases had a Christmas theme. The other was a spoof of 9 to 5, with Holly as a clumsy, literal secretary who uses the prizes to inadvertently wreck havoc in her office. 

Put everything away, then watched Back to the Beach. I go further into this very 80's spoof of the Beach Party movies featuring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Back to the Beach

Broke for dinner and Match Game Syndicated at 7 PM. Phyllis Davis of Vega$ and Charles Siebert of Trapper John MD appeared on the show for the first time in these episodes. Gene's not thrilled when he has a hard time finding his breath spritzer to kiss Phyllis in the opening! Charlie would rather he just kissed his hand.

Finished the night with two of my recent CD acquisitions. Destroyer probably remains the best-known album KISS put out and their biggest hits. It certainly features a lot of their most popular singles, including "Detroit Rock City," "King of the Nighttime World," "Shout It Out Loud," and the smash-hit ballad "Beth." Most of the songs on The Blues Brothers: The Definitive Collection came from their live performances and includes dialogue. It also includes great songs from the 1980 movie like Ray Charles joining them for "Shake a Tail Feather" and Aretha Franklin's "Think." 

The Good Life

Got up early this morning to drop Lauren off. Her train left at 8:30 AM. She was watching The Price Is Right when I was finally ready to go. I called Uber...and considering it was 7:30, I was surprised to get one in three minutes. Lauren wasn't quite ready herself, but we finally got her luggage loaded and off to Philly within a few minutes. We did hit traffic on the Schuylkill River, but arrived at 30th Street Station by ten after 8.

Shortly after we got in, they started lining up for Lauren's train. I gave her a hug and let her go there. We always have fun together, and this extra-long trip was no exception. I bought a drink from the Dunkin Donuts' counter, waved good-bye to her as she boarded the train, and headed out myself. 

Once again, I had no trouble getting a driver, despite it being 8:30. He arrived in four minutes. This time, we hit no traffic anywhere, not even on the bridge going past an empty Citizen's Bank Park. I was back in Oaklyn within 20 minutes.

Went inside, grabbed a bag and my bike, and went back out. I had grocery shopping to do and errands to run. First, however, I wanted breakfast. Since I had to hit Target and Sprouts, I ate at the Westmont Bagel Shop. Had a tasty egg white and vegetable omelet with provolone cheese, hash browns, and a blueberry bagel. I ate the bagel and the omelet, but had no room left for most of the potatoes. 

Hit Target next. They still didn't have the vitamins I wanted. I ended up buying a larger bottle of Target's generic women's gummy vitamins that was only slightly more expensive.

Didn't need a whole lot at Sprouts, either. Took advantage of clearance sales to pick up Annie's Organic granola bars on a good sale.  Decided to try their new cherry granola cookies. Got my coconut milk here, too.

Rode down the hill and past the fast food restaurants and Haddon Township High School to the Westmont Acme. I mainly needed to restock yogurt. Ollipop was 4 for 10, 50 cents off one with an online coupon. The Jiff peanut butter was finally on sale, too. Grabbed apple butter and more Kind bars on clearance. None of the stores were remotely busy. I was in and out of each in 20 minutes.

Took Newton Lake Park going home. By this point, it was almost noon. I saw kids lining up for Mr. Softee and considered joining them. The line was so long and daunting that I decided I'd wait and get ice cream later. Pushed my bike on the trail over the hill and past the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Society building, passing another guy coming down with his bike on my way.

Watched the 1986 Card Sharks when I got home. They were in the midst of their Young People's Week. I got to see a boy just barely beat a slightly older girl, then pick up good cash and a trip to Hawaii. Two more kids were working their way thought the board as they ended.

Switched to Peanuts by Schultz as I had lunch and checked my schedule. Though this was technically supposed to be set in spring, most of it either revolves around Snoopy's eccentricities or the infamous kite Charlie Brown can't fly. In "No Strings Attached," Lucy gives Snoopy Charlie's kite when he's fed it up with it not flying. Lucy comes to blows with Snoopy, whom she sees as a "Crazy Mutt." 

We see what happened when Lucy learned she had a new baby brother and why Re-Run hates outings with his mother in "The Last of the Bunch." Lucy tells Charlie to make his own "Philosophy," which Sally is much better at. Charlie has to remind her that "Being Nice" is more important when he writes her letter to Grandma.

Incidentally, I barely have a schedule next week. I don't work again until Wednesday at the usual 9:30. I don't even work on Father's Day. I suspected this would be the case. It's probably the reason I got two weeks off with no fuss. I'll bet I made more money on vacation this week than I would have actually working. At least I do have a floral department day next Friday, probably to help with graduation bouquets.

Put on The Garfield Movie soundtrack while I put up the patriotic decorations. I would have done it before Lauren arrived, but I thought it would be a little much with all of her stuff, too. Spangle and Glory were joined by America Cares Bear, a mini-Spangle, and another mini Beanie Baby, Liberty. Three folk-art angels with u, s, and a on them went on the entertainment center next to the TV. The big folk art Uncle Sam is on the coffee table. Taped the big cardboard flag on the door to the bedroom. The smaller flags are on top of a record crate, the larger ones behind my collectible bears.

The hit on the Garfield soundtrack is the one heard throughout the film, "It's the Good Life" by Jon Batiste. Hannah Waddington's "I'm Back" number, with its comically scary lyrics and demands to her mooks throughout the song, is the other favorite here. Callum Scott also does a nice "Then There Was You."

Vacuumed and dusted the floor while listening to the Jane Powell triple-soundtrack. Royal Wedding is by far the best of the three movies highlighted here. We have two standards, Fred Astaire's "You're All the World to Me" (which he sings while literally dancing on the ceiling in the film) and Powell's "Too Late Now." Their comic tough-guy routine "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I've Been a Liar All My Life," is funny too. Carmen Miranda gets the best songs from Nancy Goes to Rio, "Love Is Like This" and "Magic Is In the Moonlight." The dull songs from Rich, Young, and Pretty aren't nearly at that level, though "Wonder Why?" isn't bad. 

I tried to go online, but I kept nodding off. I finally went down for a nap around 5:30, despite the heavy wind and continuing sticky heat. At least it was a bit cloudier by that point, and not as hot.

Awoke to heavy rain. I think I caught the tail end of a thunder storm. It was slowing down, even as I rolled out of bed. By the time I put on Match Game Syndicated and was trying to find something for dinner, it was long gone, though the heavy wind remained. Debralee Scott, Gary Collins, and Dick Martin join in to make fun of Gene's ugly tweed green and brown plaid suit in the beginning. North Jersey native Debralee later shows off a better New York accent than the contestant from Queens. Brett's delighted to be sitting between Bart Braverman and Robert Walden in the second episode.

Since it had cooled off considerably by 6:30, I went out for a walk. It must have dropped 20 degrees since I'd gone down for a nap. I've been wanting to try the new Hispanic ice cream parlor on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike since it opened, but it's only open after 5, and I never felt like going out then. Even with the heavy wind and cooler weather, they were still busy with kids getting sundaes and Mexican street corn. I went home with a large, tasty, and rather expensive coconut milkshake. At least it was sweet, cooling, and filled with actual coconut shreds.

Took a shower, then finished the night with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Future War was one of the most-recent movies they covered, having only debuted in 1997. A human from the past being used as a slave by cyborgs (Daniel Bernhardt) dodges the dinosaurs they use to track him by staying with a nun (Travis Brooks Stewart). They ultimately get help from a local gang she's had dealings with in the past.

Oooh boy. Ripe cheese of the cheapest sort. For one thing, as Crow points out, the title is a misnomer. They're not in the future, and there's no war. The acting is terrible. The dinosaurs move well enough, but they're totally out of place. The vast majority of the film involves people talking in dull warehouses. The whole thing is just flat out ridiculous. I wouldn't go anywhere near here without the robot wisecracks unless you really, really like cheesy sci-fi action from the 80's and the 90's. 

Thank You for Being a Friend

Began the morning with Family Feud. The competition between The Young and the Restless and The Price Is Right continues, this time with Restless as the big winner. Holly Hallstrom had by far the most fun as she teased the hot soap guy who would face off with her. There was also her rather violent answer to what she would do to her boss in her fantasies. (I think Bob Barker looked a little nervous.)

We headed out at around 11. This time, I called for Uber to get us there quicker. The pleasant gentleman picked us up in less than five minutes and pulled into the parking lot at the pizza parlor across from the Wal Mart in Somerdale in less than 10, hitting no traffic on the way.

Turns out it was too early for the pizza parlor to be open. We ended up at Applebee's instead. Lauren had two gift cards she wanted to get rid of. She had a sweet and spicy crispy chicken sandwich, while I went with a tasty grilled bacon ranch. We both had iced tea and perfectly seasoned skin-on fries.

The other reason we ate at Applebee's is it's right next to the Cinemark movie theater. I had that free pass leftover from a few weeks ago after my first attempt at seeing The Garfield Movie got cut short due to a fire alarm. There were no such problems this time. We slid in just as the commercials began.

Incidentally, The Wild Robot and Moana 2 win for the most interesting ads. Certainly, there's room for more of Moana's discoveries across the Pacific, while Wild Robot looks like a charming parable about connecting with nature. I'm not as sold on Mufasa: The Lion King after that photorealistic Lion King remake from 2019 turned out to be more boring than majestic. 

I'm not going into details on The Garfield Movie because of spoilers, but both of us ended up enjoying it a lot. It plays like a feature-length episode of Garfield & Friends or The Garfield Show, which tended to be more action-oriented than the slice-of-life comics. Chris Pratt is a delight as the fabulous feline, while Samuel L Jackson is hilarious as his con-artist father. Hannah Waddingham also has a marvelous turn as the Persian whose desire for revenge spurs the plot. The stretchy animation adds to the fun, especially the utterly darling kitten Garfield.

My one big complaint is I wish they'd done more with Jon. Garfield's relationship with Jon is a big part of the comics. It's barely explored here. I also wish there'd been less focus on characters we barely know. Critics have come down hard on this for not following the comics better. I say they have followed the source material. The more action-oriented cartoons often featured one-off characters who would never be seen again after the episode and heavier slapstick and violence than turned up in the comics. 

I say, if you're a fan of the Garfield TV shows who doesn't expect this to be exactly like the comics, this is worth checking out for the funny voice actors and animation alone. 

We hiked up the hill to WalMart next. As we headed past the crafts and pet items section, Lauren spied a display with t-shirts and other memorabilia from The Garfield Movie. She bought two t-shirts with Garfield and kitten Garfield on them. I couldn't find any shirts my size, but I did pick up the soundtrack. I also grabbed a Coke Zero, more of those Junkless granola bars and the raspberry lemonade Propel, and a five dollar copy of the Easter/springtime set for that French Peanuts show.

After we got out, we went down the hill to the White Horse Pike and waited for the bus. And waited. And waited some more. The bus took over a half-hour to arrive and was 15 minutes late. We figured out why when, in addition to rush-hour traffic on the White Horse Pike, it kept stopping every two blocks to pick up or drop off commuters.

Finally got off at Haddon Heights around 4 PM. Stopped at Local Links again for a drink. She got the Revolution Cold Brew again. I went with The Purity smoothie - oats, apples, vanilla, almond milk, and cinnamon. Oddly, I tasted more banana than apple, but it was still pretty good. 

There was still a little time before Anthony's Fine Italian Cuisine opened, so we returned to Station Avenue Antiques. I didn't buy anything this time, but Lauren got another necklace with a purple stone, stickers, and another mushroom pin.

We arrived at the door to Anthony's promptly at 5. Good thing, too. The place started filling up not 10 minutes after we arrived. Anthony's is an elegant, expensive Italian restaurant, with two kinds of forks in the cloth napkins and a glass for water and a glass for wine. I wanted to take Lauren out somewhere nice to celebrate her having gotten a promotion at the bank. 

Lauren ate the pepper salad - I don't like olives or jalapenos - and I had crusty bread and olive oil. She had the orecchiette (saucer-shaped) pasta with sausage, broccoli rabe, and olive oil. I had house-made gnocchi in marinara sauce with fresh mozzarella. Both were topped with greens. Oh wow, yum! The gnocchi was perfect, and the cheese was better. I ate all but three, and Lauren demolished hers. Lauren equally enjoyed her lemon-raspberry cheesecake. My chocolate cake gelato - ice cream - was sweet and yummy, with lots of big cake pieces.

Neither of us were up to a long walk or another bus ride after the last one. I ended up calling Uber for a ride home. He arrived in 10 minutes, and got us home in a little over 5. 

Watched Match Game Syndicated when we got in. They celebrated Charles' birthday in the end of the first episode, complete with cake. Brett laments him going away for a few weeks to appear in a Broadway show in the second.

Finished the night at Netflix with The Prom. I go further into bright, shiny musical about four stage celebrities who try to help a lesbian teen take her girlfriend to her prom at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On Streaming - The Prom

And...today was Lauren's last day. She goes home early tomorrow. I have two more days left after today, including Saturday. I'll run a few errands, but it's going to be too hot to do much.

Step In Time

Since I got up early, I had the time for breakfast and a couple of cartoons, starting with Garfield and Friends. It's a "Trial and Error" when Garfield accuses Odie of stealing his pie, and Odie insists on a trial. He's about to get blamed for it when Nermal catches the real culprits. Orson reveals how he found and hatched Booker and Sheldon and why Sheldon remains in his egg in "An Egg-Citing Story." "Supermarket Mania" has Jon lured to a big new grocery store with promises of huge sales. Not only is everything marked up outrageously, but the owner treats  his employees badly and his food isn't nearly as fresh as Gramp's across the street.

Stayed at Tubi for The Busy World of Richard Scarry. "Lowly Breaks His Leg" when he falls out of a tree. As he only has one leg, he keeps demanding Huckle get him everything, including a just-so strawberry milkshake. He finally learns his lesson when the tables get turned and it's Huckle who is hurt. "Cucumber in Machu Picchu" takes the intrepid photographer and her assistant to the Andes mountains. They must find out who is stealing the gold rings from a sacred temple, before they're locked in the temple forever. Huckle and Lowly worry about "The Plight of Penelope Parrot" when Helga's beloved pet flies out a window and they have to chase her all over Busytown.

Headed out to the movies after that. I'm tired and my back aches, so I thought I'd take Uber there. The driver arrived in 8 minutes. There was no traffic whatsoever...but when we pulled into what will be the new Amy's Omelet House in Somerdale, it was empty, and the windows were covered in paper. They announced the remodeling back in December! I assumed they'd be long done by now.

It was such a nice day, I decided I would walk the remaining four blocks to the movie theater and see what I could find for lunch. Two blocks down on the White Horse Pike, Mia Tierra Columbia was supposedly opening in "early 2024," but it's now mid-2024, and their windows and doors were boarded. I ended up at Soprano Pizza by default. I think I made the right choice. Their pizza was amazing. The girl behind the counter kept recommending the vegetable, and no wonder. It was covered in huge pieces of vegetables. I tried that and cheese steak, cheese steak meat covered in American Cheese. The slices were enormous, bigger than the plate. I had them with a Coke Zero as I admired the Sopranos TV show and Frank Sinatra photos and posters on the wall. 

As I crossed over the White Horse Pike, I heard the sound of children's laughter. I noticed kids happily running around a playground. Walking down a quiet residential street brought me to the Somerdale Park School. I'm glad the kids seemed to be on their recess. This was no day to be inside, even for schoolchildren. 

Cutting through the road going past the school grounds took me to a back service road that was mainly industrial parks and a baseball field for the kids. I'm so glad I had off today. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, especially after yesterday. It was sunny and warm but not overly so, with a wonderfully fresh wind. It did remain a bit humid, but not nearly to the degree of yesterday! 

The road conveniently took me past the nursery (with its sharp-smelling hills of manure) to the huge WalMart in front of the movie theater shopping center. I skipped them for the time being and headed down to the shopping center to pick up a soda from Dollar General for the movie. Since I had time, I peered around in Snipes, a hip urban sneaker store. I did see a pair of New Balances I liked, but they were way beyond my budget.

I still got into the theater more than 20 minutes early. Showed them my ticket, then used the bathroom and peeked at other theaters before walking into the one for The Garfield Movie. I settled down to enjoy the show...for less than 10 minutes. They had almost finished a commercial for Inside Out 2 when suddenly, the screen went blank and lights began to flash. No one knew what was going on. 

Turns out the fire alarm had gone off. I was eventually evacuated outside with not only everyone from Garfield, but dozens of children on field trips. I have no idea what happened. I couldn't see any smoke rising from the theater, or much of anything at all. After one of the employees gave me a free pass to make up for the incident, I decided it was too nice to hang around and listen to the kids scream at each other and just walked up the hill to WalMart early.

WalMart was even busier. Good thing I didn't need a whole lot. I once again had luck with finding a complete series set for a good price here. McHale's Navy was $30, not as cheap as The Wild Wild West, but not bad for four seasons and two TV movies. My stepfather used to love that show. I watched it with him all the time as a kid. And unlike Wild Wild West, it's not easy to find on streaming. I also picked up Orange Raspberry Propel mix and those cinnamon Junkless bars, neither of which I can find anywhere else.

Since I had time, I doubled back down the Pike to WaWa. They were also busy, but I wanted something to drink besides a soda and to make change. Picked up a watermelon Propel and a pretzel...then got a second pretzel for tomorrow when I still didn't have enough change.

The bus arrived right on time around 3 PM. There was a little early rush hour traffic on the White Horse Pike in Haddon Heights and Audubon, but it wasn't enough to be a major delay. The bus wasn't full, and I had no trouble getting home.

Put on There's No Business Like Show Business after I got in and took out the trash and recycling. I go further into this massive vehicle for Ethel Merman, Dan Dailey, and Marilyn Monroe at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - There's No Business Like Show Business

Worked on writing for a while after the movie ended. Sir Michael is a handsome, gentle man who loves his magical mother. He was also considered a threat to Lady Jacqueline when he refused to help her overthrow his mother, so she cursed him into being a rabbit everywhere but his mother's domain.

Broke for dinner at 7 PM. Watched Match Game Syndicated while I worked. Patty Duke and comedian Alfie Wise joined in this week. I wish Alfie had come more often. He obviously enjoyed himself and didn't play too badly. He did get to see Charles go down to soak up the audience's adulation when he was certain his answer to "__ Shoulder" would be on top...and his reaction when it wasn't.

Finished the night with soundtracks featuring music by the Sherman Brothers in honor of Richard Sherman, who passed away on Sunday. If you grew up between the early 60's and the early 2000's, you're probably familiar with at least one song of theirs. They mainly worked for Disney, but they also did music for other studios, usually specializing in family shows. 

Probably their best-known score is Mary Poppins. No matter what P.L Travers thought of their music, they actually helped shape the screenplay, making sure song and story matched unusually well. The catchy "Chim-Chim-Cheree" won the Oscar, but I'm going to agree with Walt Disney himself and say my favorite song from Poppins is the gorgeous ballad "Feed the Birds." It ably demonstrated the Shermans' ability to write slow numbers for musicals without traditional girl-meets-boy plots. Other songs I love here include the chorus number for Bert and his chimney sweep buddies "Step In Time" and Mary's "Spoonful of Sugar." 

Disney tried for something similar with Bedknobs and Broomsticks. In some ways, I enjoy this more than Poppins. The story is less meandering, Angela Lansbury is delightful as apprentice witch Eglantine Price, and the backdrop of London and the English countryside during World War II gives it an air of danger and grit that Poppins lacks. Lansbury gets the non-romantic ballad here, the touching Oscar nominated "Age of Not Believing." I also enjoy "The Beautiful Briny Sea" and "With a Flair" for an unusually roguish David Tomlinson.

The charming Summer Magic is one of Disney's more underrated live-action musicals. Haley Mills and Burl Ives head a cast of bucolic character actors making the most of a slight but sweet story about a now-broke Boston family who move to a big yellow house in Maine, where they befriend the locals and deal with the arrival of a snooty cousin. "Femininity" revels in the Sherman Brothers' fondness for long words as it spoofs the courtship rituals of the early 20th century, while Ives scores with "On the Front Porch" and "The Ugly Bug Ball." 

The Shermans moved to United Artists for another underrated family musical, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The lengthy story of an eccentric inventor who spins stories about a fantastic car for his children and lady friend tends to annoy critics, but I've always had a soft spot for it. "Truly Scrumptious," the children singing to the title heroine about how much they appreciate her, is my favorite song here. I also like "Posh" and "The Roses of Success" for Grandpa and the big chorus routine "Toot Sweets" that anticipates another candy factory-set family musical, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.