Wild Weekend Matches

Began a late morning with breakfast and the soundtrack from Having a Wild Weekend, which I listened to the first half of last night. Having a Wild Weekend, the only movie vehicle for the Dave Clark Five, was a bit of a surprise when I reviewed it two years ago. I was expecting either a wacky Beach Party imitation or an imitation of the Beatles films. It ended up being a surprisingly moody and dark black and white teen romance. The "wacky" sequences and songs like "Catch Us If You Can" and the title song, weren't nearly as lovely as the gentle romance between Clark and a female model who wanted to visit an island she was interested in buying. 

Hurried off to work as soon as the record ended...and I was still ten minutes late. Not a good thing, as we were massively busy today with long lines. In fact, this is probably the busiest we've been since before Christmas week. I didn't have much help this time, either. The morning bagger was there for the first hour, and they pulled one of the college boys to help push carts in the last hour. In between, I did everything myself, including sweeping, cleaning up a big milk spill in front of the dairy cases, and cleaning up a mess in the women's bathroom. It was cold and gale-force windy, too. The sun was in and out all day, but it did emerge long enough for a lovely red and gold sunset before I went home.

Checked the Eagles game score throughout my shift and when I got in. I'm afraid the Eagles aren't going to the Super Bowl this year. The 49ers simply out-ran them, especially in the second half. They won 23-19. To tell the truth, I didn't really think the Eagles were going to get to the Super Bowl again after they played so badly during the second half of the season, but I did hope they'd last a little longer in the playoffs. (At least they made the playoffs. The Chiefs didn't, for the first time in years.)

Took a shower, grabbed dinner, did a few chores, then finished off with tonight's Match Game marathon. This one had more episodes featuring numbers or counting. I arrived just in time for the episode in 1976 where Scoey Mitchelll and Charles Nelson Reilly switched seats and personalities. Brett turned up next to Charles for the first of two weeks, along with Vicki Lawrence and Ronn Lucas and his dragon puppet Scorch in an episode from 1990. In an episode from the summer of 1976, Gene announced that Richard would be hosting a brand-new show called Family Feud in the fall...which would pass Match Game in the ratings to become the number one daytime game show a year later. Brett wasn't too happy about the answer to a question that Lynn Deerfield gave earlier in 1976, while everyone argued in 1978 over whether "sailor" matched "man." 

Play the Numbers Game and learn to count the Match Game way in this wild marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - The Numbers Game (1-25) Marathon Part 2

Music and Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and the soundtrack from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. To be honest, most of the songs from the original film didn't make it into the remake. Of the ones that didn't, my favorite is Snow White's sweet "With a Smile and a Song," which she sings to the animals after she wakes up in the forest. The CD I found at a yard sale a while back also includes two cut comic numbers for the Dwarfs, "Music In Your Soup" and one intended for the party spot that was taken by "The Silly Song," "You're Never Too Old to Be Young."

It's still pretty cold...and I still have a nasty cold myself. I've been coughing and blowing my nose like crazy since New Year's Eve. Decided I'd take Uber to avoid the weather. That might not have been the smartest thing on a cold Sunday morning. It took 16 minutes for the driver to arrive, and I ended up being late. Ironically, the driver coming home came in 2 minutes. No trouble getting to or from there.

Work wasn't a problem, either. I was outside the whole time. There was a boy there to do the sweeping and the inside trash. I did gather the trash in the employee room, but I was mainly pushing carts and enjoying the day. It was sunny, breezy, and still fairly cold, in the mid-30's. 

Had to grab a few things I forgot yesterday after work. Needed cough drops and pads rather badly. Grabbed Propel to hydrate my poor dry throat. 

After I got home, I put everything away, then vacuumed and Swiftered the rooms. Made the bed, too. I have six blankets on my bed, and they eventually start to fall off if left for too long. Plus I just put the bears from under the tree back.

Listened to two of my recent record acquisitions as I worked. The Vamp of the Roaring 20's is a follow-up to the soundtrack to the TV show The Roaring 20's. It's the same deal - Dorothy Provine, backed by eight chorus girls, singers, and two small combos, performs hits of the Era of Wonderful Nonsense. There's a couple here that even I haven't heard of - "Freddy the Freshman," "Doin' the Sigma Chi," "Bashful Baby," "He Looks at Her and Then He Goes Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha," "I Know that You Know," "Mama Goes Where Papa Goes," "You've Got That Thing." Fun stuff if you love the songs from this time period.

I never even heard of Ellie Greenwich until I heard of this show, but apparently she wrote Leader of the Pack and many huge hits of the early 60's with her then-husband Jeff Barry. Other popular songs she wrote in part or in full, here performed by her friends Annie Golden and Darlene Love, include "Be My Baby," "Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry," "Do Wah Diddy," "And Then He Kissed Me," "Hanky Panky," "Chapel of Love," "Christmas - Baby Please Come Home," "I Can Hear Music," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Maybe I Know," and "River Deep, Mountain High." 

While this seems like an early form of the jukebox biography that would begat shows about Greewich's fellow Brill Building writers Carole King and Neil Diamond in the last ten years or so, it was heavily re-written between off-Broadway and Broadway to be more like a revue. Considering it only ran for two months and got bad reviews, that doesn't seem to have worked. It's apparently done better in regional theaters. Here, it comes off as a vanity project, with Greenwich playing her older self and her friends dominating the proceedings. It doesn't help that Greenwich isn't nearly as well-known as Diamond or King today. Unless you're a huge fan of these songs or Greenwich, you're probably better off looking for the original recordings.

Switched to the Eagles game next. That did not go well. They started off well enough against the Commanders in the first half, but faltered by the time of the second. They ended their season on a low note, with the Commanders taking them down 24-17.

Finished the night back at YouTube with dinner and the second half of that Match Game body marathon. The most famous "body part" incident is Gene Rayburn accidentally telling a lady she has a pretty something besides dimples in one of the most infamous bloopers in TV history. There's also Richard answering "Hand" to "Trench __" in the Audience Match and continuing the joke for the rest of the episode (and for several years thereafter), and the time during the Syndicated series when a physical therapist helped Patty Duke with her knee...and a besotted Jack Jones ran out for her to do the same for him. 

Marcia Wallace got censored for referring to a certain male body part in one 1977 nighttime episode. Another nighttime episode had Brett, Charles, and Richard Paul singing about "The Eyes of Texas," while the contestant ended up in Jamie Lee Curtis' lap. Eva Gabor showed off her bare shoulders in a ruffled top in 1976, while Abby Dalton, Fannie Flagg, and Brett Somers walked off when a contestant talked about women's chests in 1974.

The body really is a wonderland in this hilarious look at the crazy things our bodies can do!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Your Body Is a Blank (Part 2) Marathon

Glad All Over

I slept in this morning. It was closer to afternoon when I grabbed a granola bar and listened to Snack Time. This is Barenaked Ladies' one children album. Some of the songs are totally hilarious. It opens with the western spoof "789," on the old "seven ate nine" joke. "Food Party" goes into "The Canadian Snack time Trilogy," consisting of the title song, "Popcorn," and the dark-ish "Vegetable Town." There's also the wacky 80's spoof "Drawing" and the sweet and sad "Bad Day." I don't know if other adults would be interested, but if you're a Barenaked Ladies fan with younger kids, you might get a kick out of this.

I didn't finally head out until past 1 PM. Since it was late, I decided I'd have brunch out. My first thought was Sabrina's Cafe, but it was apparently everyone else in Collingswood's first thought, too. The line was so long, I went across the street to Paloma Restaurante instead. They were busy, but there was no line, and it wasn't anything like Sabrina's. I sat by the window looking out on East Collings Avenue, enjoying my hot tea, crispy bacon, and Tres Leches French Toast with sliced strawberries and sweet butter. Yum! So good, and just enough "three milk" topping.

Strolled up and down Haddon Avenue for the next hour or so. Didn't see anything interesting at Clutter or Haddon Culinary. Even at 40 percent off, most of the Christmas cards and decorations at Occasionette were still too expensive. I forgot Collingswood Music is closed on Sundays. I looked in the Candy Jar's windows, but the last thing I need is more candy! 

I did find a rather sweet, soft white Vulpix hidden behind Bulbasaurs at the pop culture collectibles store Time Lapse. Vulpixes are usually fire Pokemon. I didn't know they came in an ice version. She was just such a pretty miss, I bought her despite her $14 cost and her tag being in Japanese, which meant I didn't know her name. (Later research revealed that she's an Aloan Vulpix. Then her name is now Aloa. She'll be a winter stuffed animal and will stay in the living room with my Winter Marie until late March.)

Did even better at Innergroove Records. Dug a couple of interesting titles out of the $2 bin, along with one from the children's albums I'd been looking for: 

Martin Mull - Four Hits, No Errors: The Best of Martin Mull

Two collections, the K-Tel R&B-themed Super Bad and the truly eclectic Columbia Starburst

The spurge was the original 1959 soundtrack from the Disney Sleeping Beauty. At $19.99, it was the only LP over $2 I picked up today...but it has a gorgeous watercolor cover depicting Princess Aurora sleeping and the original George Burns orchestrations. 

Headed down to Phidelity Records in Westmont next. I did almost as well here. Grabbed three records from the $2 crates:

The Spinners - The Spinners

The Moody Blues - The Present

The soundtrack from the underrated Dave Clark Five comedy-drama Having a Wild Weekend

And three CDs: 

John Coltrane - My Favorite Things

Bobby Darin - The Bobby Darin Story

Super Hits of the 70's: Have a Nice Day Vol. 4 (I've been picking up these collections of 70's one-hit-wonder singles since college.)

Made a quick stop at the Westmont Acme on the way home. My throat got so dry while I was at Phidelity, I needed some kind of liquid refreshment! Ended up with Fresca and the Diet Coke With Lime. Also used the bathroom here.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park...which may not have been the smartest thing I ever did. It started to rain as I passed the spraying fountains and empty dark trees. I carried my bike up the stone steps that lead up to East Clinton to speed up my trip home. 

Put the Philadelphia Eagles-Buffalo Bills game on the radio while I got organized. The Eagles were playing really well during the first half I listened to, pretty much pushing past the Bills. They apparently lost that momentum during the second half, but their defense put up enough of a fight for them to just barely beat the Bills 13-12. 

Finished the night with a shower, dinner, and the last Match Game weekend marathon of 2025. We saw the first episode for the show's biggest winners, or the one where they had their biggest win. For instance, the marathon starts with the episode from 1975 that introduces the lady who said she'd belly dance if she won $5,000. (For the record, she didn't.) There was also smoky-voiced Evelyn and sweet George of the big white smile in 1976, and bespectacled coal miner Terry in 1978. Dear older man Bill was the first person to win big on the Star Wheel after it debuted in June 1978. 

The four biggest winners on the show were lovable ladies. Sweet Janet Finn, with her nervous little dances and slightly wicked sense of humor, first appeared in 1974 and went on to be the show's biggest winner at that point. Her good friend and neighbor Carol Bartos would beat her record over a year later in 1975. Gorgeous blonde Darlene managed to win big in 1976 while spending the week flirting with Richard Dawson. Gentle Carolyn would be the all-time money winner on the last weeks of the CBS run in 1979, ultimately taking home over $30,000. The first big $20,000 winner on the nighttime show was also a sweet lady, who in fact only got there when she won a tie.

Get to know the biggest champions ever on Match Game in this truly winning marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - All Time Winners First Win Countdown

A Merry Bear-y Christmas

Began the morning with breakfast and Sheriff Callie's Wild West. Toby wishes he could have an animal to ride, like Sheriff Callie and Deputy Peck. After he gets carried away by animal rustlers who steal Santa's reindeer and gifts, he gets help escaping from one of the reindeer. He thinks Comet is "Toby's Christmas Critter," but there's an even cuter (and equally horned) critter waiting for him at home. It's "A Very Tricky Christmas" when Tricky Travis and Oswald the Bear set up a marching band for the town, then steal their tree. They think it'll make them happy, but their hearts grow three sizes when they see that what really makes the citizens of Nice and Friendly Corners happy is being together for the holidays.

Hurried out as soon as the cartoon ended. The Acme surprisingly wasn't busy early-on, though it picked up at noon. The head bagger took the sweeping for the first half of my shift. By the time my break rolled around, it had picked up enough for her to take a register. I swept and gathered carts for the rest of my shift.

Went straight into grocery shopping after work. I'm hoping this will be my last big trip before Christmas. There was a buy two, get two sale on Nature's Valley granola bars. Tried a slightly more expensive brand of granola that had made a Christmas cranberry pecan flavor. Bought bagels for lunch this week and restocked clementines, apples, and yogurt. Grabbed that White Cranberry Spiced Sprite Zero, along with Orange Cream Coke Zero. Picked up treats for Rose's dogs Oreo and Cider, which were the last Christmas gifts I needed to buy. 

Hurried home, then changed and watched Yogi's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper while putting everything away and getting organized. Yogi and Boo Boo head off to the big city to see all their Hanna-Barbara funny animal friends, not realizing their friends had gone to Jellystone to see them. While they're in the city, they dodge animal control officers by playing Santa in a department store. When a little girl thinks Yogi really is Santa, they do their best to give her a nice Christmas...until her wealthy father sends cops to find her.

Headed back out around 3. My first stop was the Dunkin' Donuts on the White Horse Pike. This isn't normally the first place I'd go out for lunch, but I did get that $25 gift card from one of the kids in the after-school program. Not surprisingly for quarter after 3, the place was pretty quiet when I came in. It was just me, the workers, and two teens getting snacks. I had a hot chocolate, a chicken wrap, and a green-frosted donut drizzled with vanilla glaze. Yum. The chicken wrap was small, but surprisingly tasty, hot and dripping with cheese and red peppers. I enjoyed my donut so much, I got a cream-filled one on the way out, too.

I was on the other side of Oaklyn to deliver Christmas presents to my old neighbors on Hillcrest. Brought cookies to two older single women with small families and a larger family whose mother just died of cancer a few months ago. They live next-door to what was Dad's house, and the mother was supportive and very helpful during the trouble I had finding a home in late 2021 and early 2022. Delivered cards to a single mom and her son and a female couple a little further down Hillcrest.

Besides, it was too nice to be sitting inside all day. Yesterday's in and out clouds and strong winds had been replaced by radiant blue skies, fresh breezes, and normal lower 40's December temperatures. Even most of the puddles had disappeared by 3:30. If it wasn't for a few puddles and the saturated ground, there would be no indication we had huge rain and snow storms at all this week.

Went straight into Santa and the Three Bears when I got home. I go further into this charming short animated movie from the early 70's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Santa and the Three Bears

Switched to Christmas Eve On Sesame Street while working on the Three Bears review. I went further into the first Sesame Street holiday special on Christmas Eve last year.

Merry Christmas Eve! - Christmas Eve On Sesame Street

Finished the night with something different on YouTube. Instead of Match Game, we looked at Password and Password Plus Christmas and New Year's episodes. The only 60's Password holiday episode had Peter Lawford and Lee Remick playing with a revolving door of stars, including director Otto Preminger and songwriter Stephen Sondheim. 

Password Plus got somewhat more into the holidays. They really did it up right the first year in 1979 for two weeks, starting with Barbara Rhodes and Bill Anderson. The lavish decorations and beautifully decorated tree continued into a hilarious week with Bert Convy and Carol Burnett. Burnett in particular is a great Password player, and Convy certainly wasn't bad. They both won their contestants quite a bit of money that week. Brett Somers played her only Password Plus week at New Year's 1979 with Ross Martin...and showed why she would never do Password again when Martin wiped the floor with her. 

After the ailing Allen Ludden was replaced with his friend Tom Kennedy, fancy decorations were replaced by star power. Christmas week 1980 was dominated by the all-star quartet David Doyle, Debralee Scott, Gina Hecht, and Dick Gautier. The ladies did far better than the guys did. Debralee, in fact, just won the week over Gina. Susan Richardson and Bill Cullen joined in for the rare New Year's 1980 week. Betty White and Pat Sajak visited for Christmas 1981 and got nifty Password Plus jackets, while Tom Poston and Edie McClurg saw the New Year's out with streamers and party hats.

The Password is...holidays! Celebrate the holiday season with these classic guess-the-word games!

Game Show Saturday Classics - A Very Password Plus Christmas

Oh, and the Eagles started slow, but they eventually out-ran the wayward Washington Commanders 29-18.

Winter Wonderland Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and True Value Happy Holidays CDs. My original cassette version of Volume 28 was the first Happy Holidays collection I bought, way back in 1993 when it was the only Christmas music I could afford. Jim Croce headlines with "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way," while Clint Black has the hilarious "Till Santa's Gone, I Just Can't Wait (Milk and Cookies)." We also get a lovely "Blue Christmas" from K.T Oslin, Elvis Prestley's version of "Here Comes Santa Claus," and Alabama's "A Candle In the Window."

Volume 30 kicks off with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by "Orchestra True Value," aka True Value's attempt at doing Manheim Steamroller. Barry Manilow follows with his own "Because It's Christmas." George Strait celebrates "When It's Christmastime In Texas," while Air Supply gives us "Winter Wonderland" and Carnie and Wendy Wilson sing a charming medley of "We Three Kings," "Silent Night," and "The First Noel."

Volume 31 was the first Happy Holidays CD I bought. This was the first time I'd heard the Eartha Kitt "Santa Baby" or Frank Sinatra's "I'll Be Home For Christmas." "Snoopy's Christmas" by the Royal Guardsmen has everyone's favorite beagle pilot fighting the Red Baron. We also have Dean Martin's version of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," Donna Summer's "White Christmas," Amy Grant's short but charming "Santa's Reindeer Ride," the Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick," and Andy Williams' classic version of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

Switched to the Eagles game on my little scan radio during lunch. They've been playing badly lately...but the Las Vegas Raiders is one of the worst teams in the NFL. They almost literally ran rings around them. In fact, from what I gathered later, the Raiders never got anywhere near the end zone. The Eagles creamed the heck out of them 31-0.

And yes, it did snow last night. I think we may have gotten five inches. I awoke to the most Christmassy scene possible. I felt like Ralphie in A Christmas Story waking up on Christmas morning. The bare trees and backyards were frosted with a thick layer of white. Fortunately, the Oaklyn Public Works is good at making sure the streets are plowed. The streets were perfectly clear by 1:30. I had a harder time getting an Uber driver. Two canceled on me before one finally stuck. They took almost 20 minutes to arrive, which meant I was late getting to work.

Thankfully, that was the worst that happened all day. The Acme wasn't really that busy. Though the snow was ending by the time I arrived, it was bitter cold. Not all of the parking lot had been plowed, making pulling carts treacherous. They ended up sending one of the male cashiers out to help me. At least there were no major problems, and I was in and out.

Good thing, since I had to pick up a few things I forgot yesterday. I gave a friend the last of my vanilla, I'm low on brown sugar, and I need coconut for Cherry Coconut Bars. Wasn't sure how much parchment paper I had, either. It took a little longer to find an Uber to take me home, but when I did connect, they arrived in less than the listed 7 minutes.

Finished the night after dinner and a shower with tonight's Match Game marathon. Cars, vehicles, and transportation turned up fairly frequently in questions, and more rarely in Audience Matches like "Volkswagon __." There was one the day Rita Moreno really got into Gene's new-kid-on-the-block kiss and revealed her answer too early in syndication and on the 1978 episode that ended with Brett and Jack Klugman's mock wedding. An episode during Steve Allen's only week on the show had one, too, and on the episode before Gene wore his infamous plaid suit in 1973. Susan Richardson and Gary Collins were the for the nighttime episode with the Audience Match "__ Mobile."

Baby you can drive my car and make matches in this marathon on the go!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Start Your Engines (Cars & Automobiles)

Matches and Lovely Ladies

Began the morning with breakfast and Halloween Songs and Sounds. The first half of this Disney collection is mildly spooky songs featuring either Goofy and Mickey or the chorus. Mickey's "They Don't Scare Me" and the hilarious "The Werewolf Song" are probably the best of the Disney character material. We also get two Winnie the Pooh songs, "Heffalumps and Woozels" from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Tigger's "I Want to Scare Myself" from the special Boo to You, Winnie the Pooh! The remaining tracks are all sounds...and as they're likely taken from the later version of Disney's Haunted Mansion sounds album, they're all really too spooky to go with the kiddie songs on the first half.

Hurried off to work the moment the CD ended. Work was a little busier when I arrived, likely due to the Eagles-Giants game just starting. It cleared out pretty quickly after that. Though it did pick up again around 4-4:30 as the game ended and I had some trouble gathering carts then, it never became overwhelmingly busy. Considering what the carts looked like when I arrived, everyone must have come in the morning, before the game. Nice weather may have been a factor, too. Though there were some clouds, it was mostly sunny, windless, and warmer than it has been, probably in the lower 60's. 

(Oh, and the Eagles got themselves together well enough this time at home to beat the Giants 38-28. Good thing they're off next week. There's a couple of important guys who need to heal from injuries, including Saquon Barkley. Not to mention, it'll be busy enough next weekend with people celebrating leftover Halloween parties without an Eagles game, too.)

Had dinner when I got home, then watched two Match Game marathons. The first one was another look at episodes that are rare in one way or another. Either they were damaged and only recently restored, like episode 7 from 1973 with Bob Barker, Richard Thomas, and Michael Lerned or the day after Christmas episode from 1978 with Joe Santos and Fannie Flagg, or they had humor that would be offensive today. The anything-goes syndicated episodes were particularly prone to this. Gene made a "mudball" comment at a contestant in a 1981 syndicated episode that would not only never fly today, but got that episode banned from the airwaves. There's also weeks that haven't been officially cleared by their celebrities but have episodes floating around on YouTube, including the Steve Kanaly week on syndication in 1979 and some of Jimmie Walker's syndicated episodes. 

Buzzr has restored at least twenty episodes or more to the rotation, including two long-lost nighttime episodes. Episode 11 ends with a contestant fully striking out and taking off afterwards. Richard does a comic recitation about a bricklayer who loses control of his wares instead. Episode 74 features Brett trying to be an elegant lady like Eva Gabor with her fan and pearls. It also has Gene making a mildly derogatory comment to a cheerful Asian contestant that may have been the reason this episode disappeared to begin with.

See some of the rarest Match Game episodes of all in this unusual marathon!

Match Game - Around the Years Special Episodes 

Match Game Productions also honored the late June Lockhart, who died on Thursday at the ripe old age of 100, with a marathon featuring her one week on the show. She appeared during Christmas week 1973, which also happened to mark the first of three appearances of suave character actor Jack Cassidy. She got to see Charles appear as Santa on Christmas Day, complete with curly beard and (for some odd reason) a southern accent. The show also made jokes about the show she's still most associated with, Lassie. Brett got censored for her rather pointed answer about what Lassie's least-favorite movie he ever made was in one infamous later episode.

Honor this lovely lady with a jolt of holiday hilarity - no censoring needed!

June Lockhart Tribute - Featuring Episodes with June and Lassie References

Finished the night working on Maplepunzel. Maple, Mackie, and Walter the Bear Cub make their way into the dungeon. Maple turns the bird-monsters guarding Scott into ordinary birds, while Walter gets the keys and Mackie frees Scott. Betty the deer is able to free herself, running away from the ladies of the court Pavla ordered to watch over her. Scott's tired and whispering and not in the best shape, and he still insists on helping the others stop the wedding. He's also delighted to learn that Maple's powers are not only back, but as Mackie tells her, they revolve around what's in her heart, not growing on her head. Maple and Betty lead them to the throne room to stop the wedding, following the depressing dirges Pavla is so fond of. 

The Town Picnic

Began the morning with breakfast and listening to the Sounds of Vancouver 2010 CD. This was the official release for the Winter Olympics that year, and it actually has some pretty decent material for something I picked up out of the cheap bin at FYE. (It was only $1.99!) "The Closing Ceremony Fanfare," "Olympic Fanfare and Theme," and Entrance of the Athletes" are appropriately stirring. "Let's Have a Party" with Eva Avila, Nikki Yanfosky, and Derek Miller is pure fun, while Neil Young and Nickelback go darker with "Long May You Run" and "Burn It to the Ground." "The Maple Leaf Forever" by Michael Buble is lovely...but the subsequent "Made In Canada" medley drags on forever. Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" is a lot more interesting.

I headed out around quarter of 1. Oaklyn finally had its Town Picnic this afternoon between 12 and 3. There were lots of tables filled with handicrafts from local artists, a DJ playing everything from "Golden" to "Magical Mystery Tour," and a few booths from various Oaklyn municipal facilities. I talked to the teacher at the Oaklyn Education Foundation table. Turns out she had been a pre-school teacher at the Oaklyn School for 8 years. She taught older grades before that, but she enjoyed working with the youngest kids the most. We talked a bit about how much we loved working with the youngest students.

Had lunch next. The Civic Association had tables with free hot dogs, meatball sandwiches, chips, cole slaw, and sodas in the very back of the parking lot between Tonewood Brewery and the school. (Apparently, the burgers weren't ready yet at that point, and the heavy wind knocked the pasta salad over and scattered it on the blacktop.) I had a hot dog, meatballs without the roll, cole slaw, and a Diet Pepsi. The meatballs and hot dogs were honestly pretty good, especially the huge meatballs! Grabbed a chocolate cupcake for dessert. They had tables that let you cover your cupcakes in Halloween sprinkles. There was also free water ice, but the line was so long, I didn't have the time for it.

The strong wind may have driven all of the vendors crazy, but it was useful for me. I helped two of the vendors gather their wares when they were blown over, a lady who made lovely coasters and key chains from yarn embroidery, and a sweet older woman in a wheelchair who sold flowers made from pipe cleaners. I chatted with the lady who sold the yarn items and learned a bit about yarn needlepoint. I've tried crocheting, but I always lose interest because I can never keep count, and my rows always end up uneven. Not to mention, I tend to lose interest before I've barely finished larger projects. I wonder if yarn needlepoint might be a tad easier and quicker to figure out. I bought a colorful yarn key chain for Lauren from the yarn seller and three pipe cleaner flowers for Lauren, Amanda, and me from the older lady.

Work was even less of a problem. We were dead the entire afternoon. It got mildly steady when the Eagles game ended around 4, then went right back to being dead. Everyone was either out enjoying the sunny, warm weather, or attending all the local events like the Town Picnic that were cancelled last week due to the nor'easter. I got in and out with no trouble whatsoever.

(The Eagles had a few more problems with the Minnesota Vikings, but apparently came back in the second half to win the game 28-22.)

Took a shower when I got home, then had dinner and went straight into tonight's Match Game marathon. Three Price Is Right models made appearances on the 1973-1982 run of the show. Janice Pennington and Anitra Ford appeared within a month of each other in 1976. Janice's episodes were just on Buzzr this week, in fact (which may be why the YouTube channel's owner ran this marathon). Sultry Anitra only just passed her episodes for re-runs in 2019...and I'm so glad she did. She had one of the funniest weeks of 1976. Richard Dawson spent the week flirting with a gorgeous blonde contestant who not only kept on winning, but became the biggest winner on the sho up to that point, with over $20,000.

The Barker's Beauty who appeared the most on - and got the most out of - the show was feisty Texan Holly Hallstrom. She was a semi-regular later in the run, starting in 1978 and appearing throughout the syndicated run, long after the show left CBS. Holly became known for either wearing tight tops and outfits like the red and white striped off-the-shoulder dress she sported in 1980, or honoring her Texan heritage with cowboy hats and vests. She was also an ardent feminist (as Bob Barker would discover to his chagrin later), complaining about the chauvinistic ideals of the Bo Derek movie 10 a question joked about. She also got to hear a young man admit that he wasn't too happy with his new marriage, a rarity for game shows, on a PM episode.

Come on down and match with three of the loveliest ladies to model prizes on The Price Is Right! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - Match Game With Barker's Beauties 

Oh, and happy birthday to my best friend Lauren! She made it a girl's day out and went to Crossroads with her former co-workers Heather and Sarena. After the mall, they took her to an Applebee's in the area. (She got a blue drink that admittedly looked pretty tasty.)

Dolls On a Sunny Fall Day

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Adora is concerned about "The Price of Power" as the third season begins. Against everyone else's protests, she uses her powers to heal Shadow Weaver. She reveals that Hordak not only intends to open an inter-dimensional portal and bring the rest of the Horde, Adora isn't from Etheria originally, either. Horrified, Adora runs to Light Hope to learn the truth. Meanwhile, Entraptra convinces Hordak to give Catra one last chance. He sends her to the Wastes to gather more First Ones technology.

Switched to New Faces next. I go further into this filming of the popular 1952 review that introduced Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostley, and Carol Lawrence to audiences at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

New Faces

Spent the next hour and a half dressing the dolls for October. Ariel wears the Our Generation Retro white satin shirt and pink ascot, knitted coral vest, and brown plaid skirt. Barbara Jean also wears an Our Generation 60's outfit, in this case a knitted chevron-print skirt in red, brown, black, orange, and white, with a white blouse and orange cuffs and collar. Whitney is in the black and purple floral dress with the black lace trim I got from the Barrington Antique Center a while back. Josefina wears her pretty BeForever "meet" outfit with the red and blue flowered skirt. Felicity is in her original "meet" outfit; the orange and red rose print is perfect for fall. Samantha's ready to climb trees in her blue windowpane check play dress with the ruffly pinafore. Molly's also ready to play in khakis, her red hula sweater, and the dickey from her meet outfit. Kit's in her original "meet" outfit with the floral skirt and lavender twin set as well.

Switched to The Backyardigans while eating a really quick lunch. Mad Scientist Tasha wants her assistant Austin to retrieve Wolf-girl Uniqua, Vampire Pablo, and Mummy King Tyrone, but they're all "Scared of You" and keep running away. Not to mention, it's Austin's birthday, and he's upset that no one seems to have noticed...but there's a reason Tasha wanted to get him away from the lab...

Headed out to the Thomas Sharp School after that. The kids are still pretty wound up from Book Fair Week. We read them Pete the Cat and played animal charades with them inside, then spent the rest of the afternoon outside. In fact, we were outside for so long, the older kids eventually joined us near the end of the session.

No wonder. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was sunny, breezy, and bright blue, probably in the mid-60's. Couldn't have been a nicer fall day. This was no day for anyone to be inside. We danced to "The Train Song," "The Robot Song," "Sharks In the Water," "Let It Go," and several songs from The Lion King and KPop Demon Hunters while I pushed kids on the swings and tried to keep them from being on for too long. (There's only two swings!)

I stopped at the White Horse Grill for dinner. Had a yummy (if messy) grilled chicken sandwich and tasty sweet potato fries while watching the Phillies-Dodgers game. (Neither they nor the Eagles did well. The Phillies lost to the Dodgers 2-1. I don't know how the Eagles lost to the Giants later on 34-17, since the Giants aren't very good.)

Watched Match Game '76 when I got home. George Kennedy made his debut on the show this week and proved to be one of the best men to play the game, and likely the best player to frequently sit in the male ingenue (first) seat along with Nipsey Russell. Lee Merriweather had more fun taking a leaf from Betty White and rolling up Gene Rayburn's trousers. 

Finished the night with Bewitched. Darren doesn't think a female client is "The Cat's Meow" when she's more interested in seducing him on her yacht than talking advertising. When Samantha refuses to snoop, Endora takes matters into her own hands...er, paws.

Going Mobile

The day began very well, with a drive through the upstate New York countryside to Denny's for one final breakfast today. Lauren had the French Toast Slam this time. I made my own slam. Went with buttermilk pancakes, scrambled egg whites, turkey bacon, and since I didn't eat most of the hash browns on Friday, a cute little crock of strawberries, bananas, and grapes. Yum! Just as good this time around. Denny's makes really good pancakes. They must make good French toast, too. Lauren's vanished just as quickly.

We started out early and didn't want to spend all morning sitting around at the train station, so Lauren drove us over to Crossgates for one last go at Dave & Buster's instead. I ran around a surprisingly busy arcade for a little under 50 minutes. Got Peach on Mario Kart again; this time, I came in first. I had over 3,200 points...and was also totally out of room in my luggage. I had to struggle to fit everything in! I'll save it for the next time I hit the Dave & Buster's in my area, which will likely be during my Christmas vacation week.

Lauren finally pulled into the parking lot at the Albany-Renesslauer Train Station around quarter after 12. Even then, there was still plenty of time for me to pick up a turkey club wrap for lunch and to chat with Lauren before they started boarding the train. I gave Lauren a big hug and joined the line. I had a lot of fun this week, and I always miss Lauren badly afterwards. She's my best friend, no matter how many guys she falls for. 

The only other thing that went right today was the trains all ran on time. Everything left on time and arrived on time. Even the Keystone train was on time. They were also both very, very full. I was next to a college student going to New York who spent most of the trip sleeping. An older woman who spoke a language I didn't recognize sat next to me on the train to Philadelphia...and held me up when she didn't realize I wanted to get off there and wouldn't move. 

At least the weather continues to be nice. It remains sunny, warm, and breezy. The view going to New York was absolutely gorgeous. It looked like a fairyland of bobbing sail boats, shining white mansions, crumbling factories, and squat protective Victorian lighthouses. Honestly, that train ride is one of the best parts of the trip.

Moynihan Train Hall was busy with weekend travelers on their way home when I arrived. After a bathroom trip, I spent most of the time there just walking around. I did buy a bagel tuna sandwich from the bagel shop for dinner, since I figured it would be fairly late when I got in and I'd just want to get home.

That's where I ran into trouble. First of all, when I got in, I went to the wrong side of 30th Street again. Second, I couldn't find any of the drivers in the dark! I had no idea where the first one ended up, and they canceled. The second and third ones were for some reason directed to the Edgewater Apartments near-by, and then I couldn't find the black vehicle on the third one in the dark and missed him. I was frantic by the time I called the fourth one. Some nice people suggested how to use the Uber app. I already knew, but at least they were kind, and they praised my Pokemon backpacks. This time, I stayed put and did catch the fourth one...who got caught in traffic. I didn't get home until well after 8:30, more than two hours after I got in.

(The Eagles didn't even do well. They somehow lost to the Broncos 21-17 after being ahead for most of the game. No idea what happened there.)

Checked my schedule after I got organized and took a shower. As I'd suspected, I don't work at the Acme again until Wednesday, and it's the usual 9 to 1. I do have a 10 to 5 on Saturday that I'm dreading. And yes, I'm back to Thomas Sharp School tomorrow. I did miss the kids. 

Finished the night with the second half of tonight's Match Game marathon. Comedy writer and comedienne Ann Elder was one of the earliest semi-regulars in the 6th "comedienne" seat. She appeared fairly frequently from 1973 through 1975. Like Fannie Flagg, she was inclined towards wearing elaborate t-shirts to show off her decolletage, including one covered in sequins that said "Hollywood" a friend made for her. Another time, she wanted to show everyone the Emmy-shaped charm Richard Dawson got for her charm bracelet...which turned out to likely be her actual Emmy. She was around that crazy week where McLean Stevenson kept running out and kissing Gene or Richard, too. 

See how one of Laugh-In's best writers handled things on the other side of the divide in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Ann Elder - Best Episodes on Match Game (w/Awards Trophy)

Music and Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and the Broadway original cast album for Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair. This 1997 stage version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's only musical made for film mostly uses songs taken from lesser-known projects along with all of the songs written for the original film and one for its 1962 remake. Of the additions, my favorites are the gorgeous ballad "So Far" for Wayne and Emily from the experimental Allegro and two songs from Pipe Dream, "The Man I Used to Be" for Pat and "The Next Time It Happens" for Margie. Nothing you absolutely must hear unless you're a huge fan of the film, but a pleasant enough listen if you run across it.

Kitty's Kisses goes back even further. In this recently-restored 1926 musical, Kitty is a young woman posing as a married woman to get a hotel room...and is mistaken for another married woman. Not the most exciting story, but some of the songs are charming. The opening "Walking the Track" is adorable, and the trio "I Don't Want Him" is absolutely hilarious. Once again, not the greatest thing ever, but worth checking out at least once if you're into the musicals of the 20's. 

Listened to the Eagles-Rams game on my scan mini-radio before I went to work. The Eagles started off badly, with the Rams out-running them. The Rams had just pulled ahead when I went to work. I later heard from several co-workers that the Eagles made a last-minute play that won them the game 33-26.

Work was surprisingly busy, considering the game was still on when I arrived. I had trouble gathering carts all day. I'd go out and fill them, go inside to sweep, and then go back out, and they'd be empty again. It had finally just started slowing down a little bit when I finished. 

Hurried home, took a shower, grabbed leftovers for dinner, and finished the night watching tonight's Match Game marathon on YouTube. Jo Ann Worley is best known today for appearing on the first four seasons of Laugh-In and for her animation voices, including as the Wardrobe in the original Disney Beauty and the Beast and Hoppo in The Wuzzles. She started off in 1974 and would appear sporadically through 1976. She mooned over a handsome mountain man sporting long hair and thick beard and heard a question asking what Frankenstein's monster would do if he had Brett's brain. 

She probably did her best work in the 1990-1991 show. There, she got to show off her soprano voice, joke with Charles about appearing with him in The Mikado, and flirt with handsome contestants in mullets. She did really well by those guys, winning them money in the Head-to-Head at least four times. 

Bring your fan and your own operatic aria to honor this lady who makes music and laughter in equal measure! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - With Jo Ann Worley on the Panel

Into the Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and the original cast of Into the Woods. Bernadette Peters headlines this dark Stephen Sondheim blending of several fairy tales, including "Rapunzel." Peters has one of her most famous Broadway roles as the witch who cursed the Baker (Chip Ziem) and his wife (Joanna Gleason) to never have children. I love how it represents the original versions of these stories. Cinderella goes to the festival, not the ball, and she goes three times. Birds sent by her deceased mother give her the gown and slippers, not a fairy godmother. Little Red Riding Hood is eaten by the wolf, though the Baker saves her. Jack steals from the giant, who never stole from him...which is why the giant's wife comes down to attack them in the second half. 

Given my love of fairy tales, you probably won't be surprised to hear this is my second-favorite Sondheim show after Follies. There are some absolutely brilliant performances on this album, particularly from Peters and Gleason, while Danielle Ferland is a hilarious and feisty Little Red. While I've heard good things about the 2002 and 2022 revivals as well and I do like the 2014 film, the original cast still has performances that are worth hearing (and a few lyrics and songs that were eventually revised as well).

Worked on Maplepunzel while the record was on. One day, as she's cleaning the hovel and Hilary and Betty are napping, Maple picks up Hilary's lavish hand mirror...and is shocked to discover a handsome young man in the glass instead of her own face. Hilary wakes up and tells Maple not to touch the mirror. The man on the other side of the image is her former fiance, Prince Jeffery of Wennaria. Prince Victor's missing brother was forced to marry Pavla, who then bound him to the mirror when she found out he wasn't the heir to the kingdom. He has the ability to show the past in the mirror world. Scott insists on him showing how Hope Springs fell and what happened to Hilary and Betty.

Switched to the Tale Spinners version of Cinderella while getting ready for work. This British album imported by United Artists Records is more of a pantomime version of the story. She has a friend named Buttons, and her stepmother is unusually screechy. It mostly follows the Perrault story, other than some additional servant characters.

Headed out to work after the record ended. Work was busy when I came in, not as bad when I left. The Eagles game started at 4:25. They were playing the Kansas City Chiefs in what amounted to a Super Bowl rematch. I did have to put away cold items and fell behind on the carts early-on, but other than that, there really weren't any problems. I was in and out, enjoying the warm, slightly cloudy, breezy day despite sweating like crazy.

(Oh, and apparently, though the Chiefs-Eagles rematch was a far harder-fought battle than the Super Bowl, the Eagles still came out on top 20-17.)

Spent the rest of the night when I got in with dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. Sweet comedienne Sarah Kennedy had just come off the last season of Laugh-In when she made her first appearance on Match Game in 1975. Her legal training and charming good nature helped make her one of the better players in the fourth "ingenue" seat. She may have sounded like a five-year-old and looked like she was approximately 12, but she was a tough little thing. She actually picked up Gene on her first day after he grabbed her and tried to run off with her.

Sarah appeared from '75 through 1977, always in the fourth season seat. She was on the week with a nervous Hans "Captain Hook" Conried and turned up on what would be the last week for dancer and host Bobby Van. She saw Johnny Olson help ask a question about his announcing the very first game show ever featuring Cleopatra and Gene grab her for a kiss, only for Brett run down and give him a good smack with her card! There was also the feisty female contestant who admitted she was from the real Encino and the funny little old man who had a crush on Brett. 

Have a laugh-in with this wacky sweetheart who proves you don't have to be a big lady to be smart or charming!

Match Game Sunday Classics - With Sarah Kennedy On the Panel

Back to School Again

Began the morning with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Adora learns to "Roll With It" when she, Bow, Glimmer, and the other princesses use a role-playing board game to work on their plan to attack a Horde fortress. Adora learns that you can't prepare for every single little thing, but you can delegate responsibility to your friends and use their strengths to your advantage.

Switched to Fairie Tale Theatre while I started posting Hilary and the Beasts at my writing blog. (I'll finish it tomorrow. It's a lot longer than I realized!) Shelley Duvall herself appeared as "Rapunzel" in an early first-season episode. She's a bit old for the role of a sweet girl who learns more about men than she ever wanted when a prince (Jeff Bridges) climbs up her long hair and into the tower. Gena Rowlands is better as the witch who keeps her locked away.

Headed out early to have lunch and run errands before the after-school program began. I was probably the first person at Crust N' Cravings on Collings Avenue in West Collingswood, about five minutes from Thomas Sharp Elementary School. Because I was so early, it took them a few minutes to bring out my slices of cheese and mushroom pizza...but it was worth the wait. Oh yum! Tons of cheese and the softest crust I'd ever tasted. 

After lunch, I hurried across the street to the Speedy Mart. This small convenience store boasts two types of food that WaWa doesn't - fried chicken and bagels. I haven't tried the chicken, but I got their bagels earlier in the year, and they were excellent. I got four for lunch tomorrow, on Saturday, and next week. Even with lunch and the stop, I was still 20 minutes early for work when I arrived at the school and ended up riding around the block until it was time to lock up my bike and head inside.

In all honestly, I wasn't really expecting a huge crowd today. It's the first day of the school year. Many kids may still be on vacation with their families or doing other things. I think we had 15 kids, 9 of whom were pre-school age. At least they all behaved pretty well, especially once we took them outside. It was too nice of a day not to go outside! Though it was warmer and more humid, and I saw heavy clouds on the horizon, at 2 PM, it was mostly still sunny and breezy. One of the teachers even brought a speaker, so we could blast "Happy," "Can't Fight This Feeling," and "Uptown Funk" for the kids while they played. 

By the time we got back in, only three younger kids remained. There was so little to do, they let me go early. I stopped at CVS to use the bathroom and get a second dry erase board. I want to write down my goals for the month along with my schedule. In this case, my goals for September are to help settle the kids into the after-school program, get at least half-way through Maplepunzel by the time I leave for vacation on the 27th, and get ready for vacation. 

Posted more of Hilary and the Beasts while watching an earlier TV version of "Rapunzel" on YouTube. Shirley Temple's Storybook Theater was an early 60's predecessor of Fairie Tale Theatre. Same idea, only the less wispy adult Temple does the narrating here. Agnes Moorehead is the witch in this version, who discovers that Rapunzel and Prince Peter's love is stronger than either pity or her trying to hypnotize the girl into staying at the tower.

Watched College Holiday after "Rapunzel" ended. I go further into this unique tale of college kids and comedians putting on a show to save a California resort at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Back to School Again - College Holiday

Switched to working on Maplepunzel next. Pavla turns up at the tower three days later with a fancy mint green gown. She intends to present Maple at court in Berliania soon, as she's betrothed her to Berlania's financier and one of her top advisors. Maple wants nothing to do with the frilly and cutesy dress or any suitor, until Pavla hypnotizes her into it again. 

Just minutes after she leaves, Maple hears what she thinks is Pavla's voice again, calling to climb her hair...but this person climbs faster and far more awkwardly, and their Czech accent is atrocious. It's not a woman at all, but a tall, balding man with a commanding presence in a navy uniform. He introduces himself as Prince Victor of Wennaria. He's the "surprise" Scott mentioned. He hired Scott to help him find his lost brother Jeffery. Jeff vanished searching for his fiancee Queen Hilary after the invasion of Hope Springs. Princess Betty had been Victor's fiancee, but while he liked the girl, he spent most of his time leading his armies and barely knew her. 

Maple is thoroughly besotted with the courtly, chivalrous, noble Victor. The more she listens to him and talks to him, the louder her voice gets, and the quicker the fog left by Pavla's hypnosis lifts. She spends the entire night listening to his stories of Wennaria, his parents, and his long search for his missing brother. The night goes so quickly, she's barely noticed how late it is. Victor promises to return at dusk, after Pavla leaves, and tell her more about Wennaria and his travels.

Watched Match Game Syndicated while writing and eating dinner. We started off with the last two episodes of the week with McLean Stevenson, Janelle Allen, and Debralee Scott. Deb stuck around for the next week, where she was joined by Fred Travalena and his dozens of voices.

Finished the night with two Disney soundtracks on CD, one more recent, one older. Tangled is Disney's version of "Rapunzel." To be honest, though it's a cute movie that's been successful enough to inspire a theatrical short and a TV show based on it, it's a little too goofy to be a huge favorite of mine. The ballad "I See the Light" was the hit, but I like the hilarious "I've Got a Dream" for Rapunzel and the goons at the Snuggly Duckling Bar and "Mother Knows Best," Mother Gothel's chilling villain song. (Donna Murphy, who did the voice of Mother Gothel, played a very different kind of villain in the second season Remember WENN episode "Behind Every Great Woman.")

Cinderella was a far bigger hit in 1950. In fact, it was such a smash, it would help to fund most of Disney's projects for the rest of the decade, including Disneyland. The collector's edition CD I found in Philly last year includes a pile of songs written for the film but not used, along with familiar favorites like "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and "Bibbidi-Bobbdi-Boo." Of the cut numbers, my favorites are the charming comic ditty "I'm In the Middle of a Muddle" as Cinderella wishes she had more help and the sweet waltz "The Dress My Mother Wore." 

Oh, and though the game was delayed by a thunderstorm (and one Eagle got ejected for spitting on the Cowboys quarterback before the game even began), the Eagles did finally overcome the Dallas Cowboys to win their first game of the season 24-20. 

Match Bowl Champions

Got a quick start today with breakfast and another Goofy sports short. Goofy shows "How to Play Football" in a hilarious take on gridiron rivalries that's one of his funniest shorts. It's Taxidermy Tech vs. Anthropology A&M in an absolutely insane fight to the finish. Taxidermy elects to keep its star player off the field until the last minute...but when he's run over by the competition, his coach has to revive him pronto!

Called for Uber. My stomach is still really off, even if the rest of me feels fine. Not to mention, I wasn't sure what the roads would be like by 4:30 or so on Super Bowl day. I'm actually glad I did. The lady going there arrived within 7 minutes, wore an Eagles jacket, was in a great mood, and said she'd given her family's vintage one to a nephew who appreciated it. The guy going home came in 11 minutes and at least dodged the traffic on the White Horse Pike. 

She wasn't the only one in a good mood. Everyone at work was really happy today, from my co-workers to the customers to the Girl Scouts who sold cookies by the front door. I saw every variation on Eagles gear existing, including on the Girl Scouts! It was awesome. This was the most cheerful our customers have been since Christmas. People really wanted this win. And there were a lot of them. We were really busy today. I needed help doing the front trash, which was overflowing because I hadn't had the time to get to it. At least the Sunday bagger and afternoon bagger were there to help out. The weather could have been worse, too. It was windy and cold, but the clouds that were out this morning had broken up by the time I finished.

I even ran into Rose and Finley around noon, the latter toting a stuffed black kitty. Rose invited me over to her house for the Super Bowl. I would have loved to, but I didn't think my stomach would be up to it. I declined and later texted her that I'd be bringing her kids Valentine's treats later in the week.

Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 4 PM that I had no trouble doing my own grocery shopping. In fact, I mainly went to work for Mylanta. Grabbed lots of ginger ale, ginger lemon soda, and lemon-lime soda, both prebiotic and regular zero Sprite. Restocked granola bars, yogurt, and bagels for this week. Bought white chocolate chips to make strawberry white chocolate chip cookies, which I intend to give out for Valentine's Day.

When I got home, I went straight into the shower, then got a little dinner and went upstairs. Puttered online while watching It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown is less concerned about the outcome of the big game and more about escorting the Little Red Haired Girl, the school's homecoming queen, after the game. Too bad he's the kicker and Lucy's holding the ball...

Switched to the game on Tubi after the cartoon ended. First of all, more Super Bowls ought to be in New Orleans. The National Anthems were played by Dixieland and jazz musicians, and they were terrific. Second, this was an amazing game. The Eagles took the reigns from the very first and ran with them. They sacked Patrick Mahommes six times, including a strip-sack, got five turnovers, and got points on two interceptions. In fact, I was disappointed that the Chiefs didn't really wake up until the third quarter. They're a genuinely good team. They did finally manage to get points on the board, but it wasn't enough to out-run the Eagles. The Eagles won the Super Bowl 40-22. 

(And I heard they literally flooded the streets elbow-to-elbow and climbed garbage trucks in Philly! All we got here in the South Jersey suburbs were fireworks and a lot of cheering.)

Went back and forth between the game and the Match Game marathon on YouTube after that started, then finished the night with the marathon. Gene Rayburn loved his fancy suits, and some of them could get pretty lavish. His two most (in)famous were likely the god-awful green and red plaid and the gray checked with the pink bow tie that Brett and Pat Harrigan joked made him look like half of a vaudeville team. There was also the tuxedo with the very flashy gold and black vest made from a piece of fabric he apparently got in China. He was especially proud of a pair of wingtip shoes he wore on several occasions.

Gene occasionally went casual, too, notably the episode when he sported a turtleneck and jacket. Betty White rolled up his pants legs, revealing plaid socks. He ended up giving them to a woman in the audience. Richard helped him with his shoes. He wore red suede shoes on a later PM episode. Brett sported a black velvet gown that Charles joked made her look like an opera diva. The Audience Match got really wild when Richard Paul, Brett, and Charles sang "The Eyes of Texas" as an answer to the "The Eyes of __" and the contestant ended up in Jamie Lee Curtis' lap. 

Some of the fashion on the syndicated shows could get pretty interesting as well. Ted Lange once came on an episode and demanded Fred Grandy give him his suit back, leading Fred to strip on the air. Gene stripped once, too, when the panelists complained about his bland gray suit. McLean Stevenson borrowed a suit jacket from Gene, and then a blue one when he didn't like the plaid. He didn't do much better with Ted dressing him in a white suit and cowboy hat that made him look like he'd gotten lost on the way to the set of Dallas. As Brett said several times during the suit coat incident, he had no flair for fashion. 

Check out some of the most fashionable suits and memorable fashion disasters of the 70's and early 80's in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Best Dressed and Fancy Suits on Match Game

Alphabet Matches

Began a cloudy morning with breakfast and Prime Time Musicals. I picked up this collection of songs from rare TV musicals of the 50's and 60's from eBay back in 2020. I really wish more of these musicals were currently available somewhere. There's some great songs here. Music from TV shows and films that are lost or not currently online including the robust title song of No Man Can Tame Me, the sweet "Listen To Your Heart" from a version of Pinocchio with Mickey Rooney as the wooden boy, "Much Too Happy Dancing" from a Hansel and Gretel that originally featured Red Buttons and Barbara Cook, and the gorgeous "Ride On a Rainbow" from a musical Ruggles of Red Gap. 

Rushed off to work before the CD ended. We were even busier when I got in at 11 than we were yesterday, but this time, I had more help. The morning bagger swept the store until he left at 3. I only had to do it for the last half-hour. It's a good thing I was able to focus on the carts. They kept disappearing. I wouldn't get close to catching up until the Eagles-Commanders game started at 3 and cleared out our customers. Helped that the weather was largely better, too. While cloudy, it was also warmer and less windy. 

Hurried straight home and checked the score of the Eagles game, and would continue to do so all night. Unlike the last time the Eagles played the Commanders a few weeks ago, they dominated the game full-stop. The Commanders never had a chance. The Eagles steamrolled over them in one of the highest-scoring games in NFC Championship history, 55-23. (The Chiefs-Bills game was apparently a lot more interesting. The Chiefs just barely beat the Bills 32-29. Looks like the Super Bowl on February 9th is going to be a rematch of two years ago. This is going to be really interesting.)

I would eventually have dinner and take a shower, but I mostly spent the rest of the night on YouTube watching the Match Game marathon. We had another alphabet-themed marathon, with each episode having a panelist or theme that corresponded to a letter. In the first episode, for instance, A was for Arlene Francis and Avery Schriberer. Soap star Brenda Dickson represented B, singer Connie Stevens and host Bill Cullen C. D was for Dick Smothers, E was for Ethel Merman. 

The later letters were harder to find. T was for Tom Bosley, who did one fun week at Easter 1975. U was for the lady who accidentally flashed her underwear while hugging Richard in a very early 1973 episode. Vicki Lawrence was V in her 1978 week. William Shatner, who did two weeks in 1975, was W. X marked the crosses on the front of the lower tier desks from mid-1978 through 1982. Y was for the Audience Match "You've Gotta Be __" in a 1981 syndicated episode. Z was for Zorro, who was mentioned in a question in a 1975 episode with Louisa Moritz and Sheldon Leonard. Gene had to demonstrate who Zorro was when a sweet Japanese-American lady didn't recognize him.

Learn your ABCs the Match Game way in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - The ABCs of Match Game Countdown

Lovers In the Snow

Began the morning with a late breakfast and the musical version of Golden Boy. Sammy Davis Jr. headlined this 1964 Broadway reworking of the 30's play. Here, he's an angry prizefighter from Harlem who falls for white woman Lorna (Paula Wayne), the girlfriend of his manager Tom Moody. Apparently, just the idea of a white woman in love with a black man was shocking at the time. Nowadays, I'm more concerned that the upbeat songs by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams don't really reflect the downbeat drama. "Don't Forget 127th Street" and "The Road Tour" are completely random chorus numbers. "This Is the Life," the first act finale, is much better and wound up being a fair-sized hit at the time.

The copy of Golden Boy I got from Innergroove in 2017 also came with something called Hoboken Saturday Night by The Insect Trust. Research reveals this was a jazz-rock fusion band from the late 60's-early 70's. Hoboken was their second and last album, and though melding jazz and rock can produce some pretty strange sounds, there are some interesting songs here, with my favorites being the title number and "The Eyes of a New York Woman." 

For once, I broke with plenty of time to call Uber. The driver arrived within five minutes. I had to feed a friend's cat and rushed out just in time to catch them. Though it was raining by that point, it was still just rain, and not doing anything besides being wet. We got to the Acme in five minutes. I arrived early enough to buy chocolate chips for a recipe I plan on making tomorrow.

Work surprisingly wasn't that busy, even before the Eagles game began at 3. I guess everyone got their panic out yesterday, or the rain scared them off. I had no trouble gathering carts, not even when the afternoon bagger left at 3:30. The rain stopped around 2; the clouds even broke up at one point. By 4 PM, however, stinging, silvery sleet fell in torrents. That was gradually replaced by all snow around 5. I spent the last half-hour in the parking lot dodging the snow plow and frantically gathering the last of the carts. 

Considering how hard the snow was coming down by 6, it goes without saying I had a harder time getting a ride home. The first driver wasn't arriving for 25 minutes...and canceled about half-way through that. The second finally came in 12 minutes. For a guy driving in a snowstorm, he was very pleasant and funny. As he said, we got home slow, but we did get home without incident.

(The Philadelphia Eagles had their own fun in the snow. From what I gathered, they handled the messy weather slightly better than the Los Angeles Rams, enough to beat them 28-22.  They'll be having a rematch with the Commanders next week for the NFC Championship.)

Grabbed dinner when I got home and fed my friend's cat, then spent the rest of the night watching tonight's YouTube game show marathon. This time, the theme for Betty White's birthday weekend was game shows Betty appeared on with Allen. Considering they met while playing the original 1961 Password, it's appropriate that their first joint appearance as husband and wife was on a week in 1963 on a week with their good friend Jack Paar. Jack definitely wasn't in Betty's league as a player, blurting out at least one Password (though he did do decently at the Lightning Round).

Password wasn't the only game show the Luddens did together in the 60's. They appeared on What's My Line together as Mystery Guests twice, the first time to announce their marriage. Their friend Arlene Francis figured it out both times. They also appeared on the panel of the network Line and syndicated To Tell the Truth together in the late 60's and early 70's. (Truth ended with a man who lost his home and family in a forest fire and wrote a book about it; I hope it's still in print, considering what's going on in LA now.) Betty stumped Allen as the Mystery Guest when he was on the panel of a 1970 episode hosted by Wally Bruner. 

In addition to the famous week Allen and Betty did together on Match Game in 1975 and the surviving 1981 nighttime episode, Allen did a week solo in 1974. After he gave a really lousy answer, Brett tore it up and handed it to Betty in the audience! A few minutes later, Fannie Flagg handed Betty her bad answer, too.

Betty appeared several times on Liar's Club, which Allen began hosting in 1978. Buddy Hackett, Peter Haskell, and the show's producer Larry Hovis join her in this hilarious show that had panelists giving descriptions of weird antiques and contestants betting on who was telling the truth about it. They also appeared many times on Tattletales. I got to see the last day from the week they did with Jamie Farr and his wife Joy (who remains with him to this day) and Eddie Mekka and his then-girlfriend Shirley.

The Luddens did other versions of Password together. Betty took over hosting for a week during Password '75 so Allen could play the game (very well, I may add). She also came out for the last episode, despite not playing that episode. Betty made frequent appearances on Password Plus, before and after Allen departed. Allen and Robert Pine helped her after she twisted her ankle coming down the stairs one week. She was also around for the infamous episode where Dick Martin argued that "French" should have been accepted for "France." 

Betty continued doing versions of Password even after Allen's untimely passing in 1981. She was a frequent guest on Super Password, including the final episode with Christopher Hewlett. I don't think anyone else would have gotten away with destroying the hated "toaster" used for the Cas$hword mini-game words! She said that Password was like a phoenix and would rise again...and though it took 20 years, she was right. Betty appeared on the 2008 Million Dollar Password with Adam Corolla, hosted by Regis Philbin. They even did a montage of her with Allen on the original Password. She did the last episode of the original Password as well, this time with Frank Gifford years before he married Kathy Lee. 

The password is...true love! See Allen and Betty through the years in this warm and delightful marathon.

Betty White Birthday Celebration - Featuring Episodes With Allen Ludden Together On Game Shows

The Password Is Eagles

Began the morning with breakfast and Curtains. Kander and Ebb initially wrote the songs for this 50's-set murder mystery that debuted on Broadway in 2007. Rupert Holmes ended up re-writing the book and finishing the songs after Ebb and original playwright Peter Stone died, and...yeah, a lot of this does seem like him. There's a distinctly Remember WENN flavor to the tale of a show business-obsessed cop (David Hyde Pierce) who tries to figure out who in the cast of a Broadway-bound show killed its untalented leading lady on opening night. 

I wasn't a fan of this when I first picked it up, but the show has grown on me over the years. Among the better songs are Pierce's "Coffee Shop Nights," his "A Tough Act to Follow" with Jill Paice as the ingenue who falls for him, the lovely "I Miss the Music" for the show's songwriter (Jason Danielely), and "It's a Business" for the hard-nosed producer (Debra Monk). Monk, Pierce, and the book were nominated for Tonys; Pierce got the show's only win. Honestly, if you're a fan of Pierce, Holmes, or Kander and Ebb, this is worth hearing for the performances and some decent songs.

Headed to work before the CD ended. Work began well. It was steady but not overwhelmingly so until around 3 PM...which is when the morning bagger left, of course. And they had no one to replace him until I left. I fell behind on the carts rather badly for the last hour and a half, not helped by being pulled to put cold items away and clean up dropped sushi. 

At least the weather's improved. It's sunny, with a brilliant blue sky, but the frigid wind vanished overnight, and the clouds had blown away with it. It was a perfectly normal for mid-January lower 40's, making pushing carts a pleasure.

I did have dinner and take a shower later, but I spent most of the night watching the second Password Plus marathon. Allen Ludden was already sick in 1979. By mid-1980, he had been diagnosed with cancer and was resting at home. Bill Cullen took his place for a few weeks in April. He was amiable and funny, but tended to chat too much and really moved too slow for this show. Allen returned after a month, but his health was worsening, and he was gone for good by October. His good friend Tom Kennedy took  his place.

Tom may not have been as affable and warm as Ludden, but he was sure as heck hilarious. Some of the funniest episodes of the entire run took place during his tenure. Dick Martin protested when he gave "France" as a clue for "French" and it wasn't passed. Kennedy had to give him a lesson in phonics to explain why they couldn't use it. Gene Rayburn appeared at least three times, and while he wasn't much of a Password player (he tended toward long-winded explanations), his expressions were a riot. Married couple Patty Duke and John Astin played each other twice, and were incredibly competitive - and very funny - both times.

Some of the lunacy that happened on the show was technical and not the fault of the panelists or contestants. Kennedy had to spend half of an episode with Rayburn and Wink Martindale explaining a puzzle that someone at NBC had inadvertently erased. There were also the times when the panelists got a little too into the show. Betty White really enjoyed playing man-hungry Sue Ann Nivens from The Mary Tyler Moore Show during an all-star week, happily flirting with Robert Pine from CHips and Denver Pyle from The Dukes of Hazard. Betty would turn up again later in 1981 with Pat Sajak to celebrate the latter having just taken over Wheel of Fortune. 

Sajak and Martindale weren't the only hosts who appeared on the show. Bert Convy turned up late in 1981 with Marcia Wallace, who sported a really nice Password Plus jacket. Regis Phillbin did a week with Audrey Landers earlier in 1981 to promote what eventually became Regis and Kathy Lee (now known as Live With Kelly and Mark). Though he was retired by 1982, Kennedy's brother Jack Narz still did a week on the show with soap star Steve Ford. Jack got so upset after an especially grueling Alphabetics bonus round, he switched places with Tom just to show him how it felt to give answers instead of read questions (and honestly did quite well). 

Password Plus survived Fred Silverman canceling NBC game shows in favor of The David Letterman Show (which promptly bombed), but not constant schedule shuffling or ending up in the noon spot. By 1982, NBC affiliates were ignoring the daytime programming all together or running news at noon. It finally ended in March 1982. Audrey Landers and Tom Poston were the last panelists who got to hear Kennedy's heartfelt speech about it really being Allen's show and how Password would return. (And of course, it did return, and on NBC...but that's another story for another time...)

Check out more of the best of Password Plus in this delightful and heartfelt marathon!

Password Plus Classics - Best Episodes (1980 - 1982) with Allen Ludden, Bill Cullen, and Tom Kennedy

Oh, and I checked the scores for the Eagles - Packers playoff game throughout the afternoon and evening. Apparently, the game wasn't terribly good, but the Eagles' defense managed to hold off the Packers long enough to win 22 - 10. The Commanders played a far better and more interesting game, just barely squeaking by the Buccaneers 23 - 20 in the last seconds. 

Windy Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and the soundtrack from Bugsy Malone. Paul Williams wrote the period-appropriate music for this hilarious spoof of 30's gangster movies. Unfortunately, letting Williams and two ladies sing everything completely misses the point of this having an all-kid cast. There's still some good material here, including the solo "Tomorrow" for the black janitor kid, the two lovely ballads "I'm Feeling Fine" and "Ordinary Fool," "My Name is Tallulah" for the head gangster's moll (played in the movie by Jodie Foster), and the hilarious "Bad Guys."

Headed to work shortly after the album ended. Work continued to be overwhelmingly busy. We're getting warnings for anything from 1 to 4 inches tomorrow. Yeah, it's not a lot, but it's still enough for some people, particularly those living in areas where they don't plow the streets well, panic. The customers didn't abate even when the Eagles-Giants game began. The Sunday morning bagger helped me early on; that high school kid replaced him for the last hour. I fell behind with the carts when I had to clean up two broken containers (of gravy and butternut squash soup) in a row, but mostly got caught up when I made it back outside.

(Oh, and the Eagles finished their season on a high note. They played their third-string guys and still managed to wallop the Giants 20-13. They'll be taking on the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the play-offs next Sunday at 4:30.)

Though it was sunny today, it also remained bitterly cold and gale-force windy. I called Uber. That was probably a wise decision, and not just because of the weather. The driver going to work took 6 minutes to arrive; the one going home didn't even take a minute. No traffic either way. (The driver going home lamented that he was a school bus driver in Cape May and he'd probably have commute to work in bad weather. Um, Cape May County is supposed to be getting more snow than we are. They're calling for 4 to 8 inches down there. Considering they already canceled school tomorrow for the kids here, it's more than likely they'll cancel it for them, too.)

Put on the soundtrack from The Little Mermaid while changing and getting organized. I've had a cassette copy of this for years, but it's currently in storage, and I'm trying to replace as many cassettes as I can with records or CDs anyway. This isn't my favorite Disney soundtrack, but it does have some fun songs. "Under the Sea" won the Oscar, but that one always seemed kind of random to me. My favorite number from this is the adorable and hilarious "Kiss the Girl" as Sebastian, Scuttle, and every animal on the lake encourage Eric to give Ariel that all-important smooch! Side two is all of the instrumental music. The bouncy "Tour of the Kingdom" and darker "Eric to the Rescue" are the stand-outs here.

Finished the night with today's Match Game marathon. Loretta Swit, Hot Lips on MASH, was one of the earliest semi-regulars. She appeared frequently from 1973 through 1975 and more sporadically thereafter. Her last weeks were early in the 1979 syndicated run. She was there for the week in 1973 with Jack Klugman and Brett Somers sitting next to each other and "Mama" Cass Elliot in the ingenue seat, the only rock star to ever appear on the show. The others all handed around hard hats during a Syndicated episode in honor of the woman contestant who worked on a construction crew. 

She sat next to her fellow 4077th alumni McLean Stevenson during another week in 1973 and put up with his hair-brained answers, finally claiming at one point that they intended to buy him a new Brian and was around for Brianne Leary's last day as a contestant in 1976. Her funniest nighttime episode was the one from 1979 with the little old man who claimed to be a humorist and was so adorable, the young woman contestant next to them claimed they were engaged.

You'll have a hot time in the old studio with the head nurse of the 4077th in this sweet and silly marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - "The Hot Lips" Loretta Swit of MASH Marathon

(Oh...and at press time, it still has not snowed. I don't think it's supposed to start here until very early in the morning.)

Of Feuds and Eagles

I was up so late last night and slept so late this morning, it was past 12:30 when I finally got going. Had brunch while listening to Billboard Top Rock and Roll Hits 1963. I have the revised version from 1993 that features "If You Wanna Be Happy" and "Deep Purple." "Surf City" is an old favorite of mine that I heard a lot growing up by the beach as a kid. Other songs I like here include "Sugar Shack," "Surfin' U.S.A," and the original "Louie Louie." 

Went for a short walk to Dollar General after I ate. I was almost completely out of pads. Grabbed granola bars, too, since granola bar sales haven't been great at any of the grocery stores. Treated myself to an Oreo Coke Zero while they're still available. I was hoping to get pretzels on the way back, but I forgot that the pretzel shop closes at 1 PM on Sundays. Not that the weather was great for lingering anyway. While it was warmer and far more damp, it was also gale-force windy, and the sun kept hiding behind heavy gray clouds. Not a great day for hiking around.

Soon as I got home, I had brunch, then spent the rest of the day (sans a shower later in the evening and a quick dinner) watching the continuation of last night's Family Feud marathon. There were even more episodes here, including the pilot and the series finale. The pilot had quite a few differences, starting with a smaller set and a lower, less elaborate board. The game play, however, remained the same from the beginning. There would be lollipop trees added in the last few years. The member of the family who chose the lollipop could win an extra $100 if they got a black-tipped stick.

Other than that, the show didn't change much over the years. Some of the weirder answers didn't change, either. The most infamous was probably the woman who answered the Fast Money question "How far into a woman's pregnancy does she begin to show?" with "September." Her sister was even goofier, giving the non-living "cuckoo" as a type of bird. There was also the supremely bizarre week ABC somehow got the Hatfields and the McCoys to play each other. I don't know if they were the real families, or actors hired to play them, but Richard spent a lot of that week with guns in his face. The final episode shown here even got a pig onstage (in a cage). 

Other ABC Feud specials made a lot more sense. Given they shared the mornings with Feud, it wasn't uncommon to to see daytime - and more rarely, nighttime - soaps playing each other. General Hospital was Mom and Dad's favorite soap in the 1980's, but they never seemed to do well. They lost their first time around to One Life to Live and their second to All My Children. Knots Landing did even better playing Dynasty, the show it spun off of. 

Less melodramatic shows also had a chance at winning for their favorite charities. One week featured vintage favorites like The Brady Bunch and Your Hit Parade. Another pit two very different series about stranded groups, Lost In Space and Gilligan's Island, against each other. (The guy who worked the Robby the Robot suit in the former was kind of cute.) Other shows focused on more recent series like Barney Miller and Welcome Back, Kotter. Charles Fleischer, the future voice of Roger Rabbit, was a riot on the latter. He just couldn't stay still, especially doing the first Fast Money round. 

TV show casts weren't the only ones who played, either. The Dallas Cowboys and their cheerleaders played each other on a sweeps week, with the Cowboys playing much better here than they did this afternoon. We saw the last episode of the week that had popular game show hosts playing each other. Despite flubbing some answers, Jim Perry still helped Betty White, Bill Cullen, Bob Eubanks, and Nipsey Russell do well at the Fast Money.

By 1985, the show had begun to falter in the ratings. Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy drew people away from the syndicated version, while the daytime series had to compete with newer shows like Sale of the Century and Super Password...and the fact that ABC had just plain lost interest in daytime game shows. (They'd end daytime game shows all together by 1991.) The original Feud ended in May 1985 with a heartfelt speech by Richard on how much he enjoyed working on the show. He even acknowledged producer Howard Felsher, whom he'd notoriously clashed with and fought with many times during the run of the series

Check out more of the wackiest groups of people to ever play game shows in the most legendary episodes of the original Family Feud!

Family Feud Sunday Classics - Best Episodes With Richard Dawson Part 2

Oh, and in between all this, I also listened to the Eagles game on my new mini-radio. This time, they played like champs, running rings around the Cowboys at the Linc. The Cowboys couldn't get anywhere near them. The closest they got to them was a fight at the end of the game that ended with three players ejected. The Eagles went on to wallop the Cowboys good 41-7 and win the NFC East and the number 2 seed in the playoffs. 

Oh, and the rain that threatened off and on all day finally started around 7 PM. It's been off and on the rest of the night, though it seems to be off at the moment. 

Baby, It's Really Cold Outside!

Began the morning with breakfast and The Monkees' last album as a group. Christmas Party is also their only holiday album. It was made long after Davy Jones died, but they do include his versions of "Silver Bells" and "Mele Kelekimka" from an earlier album. My Target copy also has "Christmas Is My Time of Year," a number Davy, Peter, and Micky recorded together in 1976, and "Riu Chiu" from the TV Christmas episode. 

"Riu Chiu," with all four guys singing beautifully in harmony and Micky taking the Spanish-language solo, is by far the best track, but some of the others aren't bad. Mike does a lovely "Christmas Song," while Micky has more fun with "Unwrap You at Christmas" and "Wonderful Christmastime." Possibly due to Peter's cancer struggles (he would pass on less than a year after this CD's release), he's only gets "Angels We Have Heard On High." 

Called Uber after the CD ended. It was way too cold and windy to ride my bike today! They arrived in five minutes and took less than five to get to work. For once, I even arrived slightly early. 

No problems at all today. There were at least two other baggers working at one time or another, and they took care of sweeping and inside work. I spent the entire time pushing carts. It was crazy when I came in and picking up again when I left, but could have been worse in between. Everyone went home for parties, baking, wrapping, or the Eagles' game. 

And while it was cold, it was also sunny. The sky was so radiantly blue, it hurt to look at it. The wind, though still bitter, had died down since yesterday, too. 

(The Eagles' afternoon wasn't nearly as pleasant. They seemed to start off well against the Commanders, but Washington caught up in a big way in the second half. The Commanders just barely won 36-33.)

I picked up the last things I'll need for the next few days before and after work. I used up most of my peanut butter on the cookies. Grabbed a turkey cranberry wrap for dinner. Wanted more of that Christmas Hint water, too, since I was taking Uber and could carry it home. 

Had more trouble with Uber going home. The original driver was supposed to come in five minutes. They didn't come in five minutes. In fact, it turns out she canceled, and another driver took my place. At least, once again, there was no traffic on the road, and I was able to get home quickly. 

My first Amazon gifts from Lauren were waiting for me when I got in. I've been looking for the eclectic soundtrack from Deadpool Vs. Wolverine since the movie came out. You have everyone from Jimmy Durante to NSYNC on this album.  I also bought a CD case for my seasonal CDs. I eventually want to transfer all of my CDs to cases, but the binder for the seasonal CDs is falling apart, so it came first. 

Finished with dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon after I got my gifts opened. There were a lot more references to Disney films and fairy tales than you might think on this very adult-oriented show. In at least two episodes. there were questions asking who would play the Beast to Betty White's Beauty. Many questions joked about Snow White's relationships with her dwarfs, including one that asked what she'd use to rub together and start a fire. 

They did quite a few Frog Prince jokes as well; one involved what the frog did after the princess kissed him. Darryl Anderson of Lou Grant sported a long nose in a 1979 episode that inspired many Pinocchio quips. When asked who should play Snow White, Jimmie Walker thought she should look a lot more like him. In another episode, the question asked who Charles would play in Snow White. Most everyone said Snow White, but Jo Anne Worley knew Charles would go for the meatier, villainous role...

Whistle while you match and experience the circle of life with this hilarious and unique marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Disney Marathon

Of Eagles and Pricing Games

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Happy Holidays Vol. 28. This is the first Happy Holidays I bought, way back in 1993 when it was the only Christmas music I could afford. Besides, there's some unique titles here that I've never seen in any other collections, like "A Candle In the Window" by Alabama, "'Til Santa's Gone (I Just Can't Wait)" by Clint Black, and "It Doesn't Have to Be That Way" by Jim Croce. 

It was so late when I finally got downstairs, I ended up calling Uber. And of course, they took 8 minutes to arrive. Even with the rider coming right on time and no traffic, I was still a minute late for work.

Things mostly went well after that. I spent the first half of the afternoon doing carts. When the afternoon bagger arrived, I was pulled to do returns. It took me longer than they thought it would to get the second cart done, but the second cart was filled with small shampoo and cleaning items that I just couldn't find the places for. I got called to go outside ten minutes before I was supposed to be done. I shouldn't have gotten upset, but I don't know why they couldn't have called me before that, or why I didn't tell the afternoon bagger I was done at 4. Thank heavens the Uber driver going home only took two minutes to arrive.

Once I got in, I changed and checked to see where the Eagles game was playing, then finally got my printer working. It wouldn't print the chocolate truffle recipe I wanted last night. Turns out it was just out of ink. I replaced the black ink, and it printed fine. 

(I continually checked the score throughout the afternoon. Though the Steelers started to catch up in the second half, the Eagles ultimately out-ran them 27-13.)

After that, I jumped in the shower, then had dinner. Listened to Christmas With the Platters while I ate. This is the album I picked up from On the Record in October. It's late 50's-early 60's rock group the Platters singing holiday standards, but some of them are very nicely done. Their "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" is hilarious.

Switched to YouTube just as the Platters ended. We finished our Bob Barker's birthday week with a selection of Price Is Right Christmas episodes made between 1979 and 1998. I really enjoyed seeing how the show - and Bob - evolved over the years. The marathon began in 1979, when Bob still had dark hair and Johnny Olsen was announcing. By the time I was 11 on Christmas Eve 1990, Bob's hair was now its natural white and big Rod Roddy of the flashy suits was the announcer. Some of the showcases that had the models as little girls sitting on Santa's knee or that showed them excited to receive prize package "presents" were especially funny.

Come on down and celebrate the holidays with Bob and The Price Is Right!

A Bob Barker 2024 Christmas - Featuring The Price Is Right Christmas Themed Episodes

Finished the night with The Perry Como Christmas Album. I've had this one for almost two decades now. I think it might have been one of the earliest holiday albums I found. I like it much better than my other Como holiday record. The warm and friendly opening number "Christmas Eve" is my favorite, and there's also "There's No Christmas Like a Home Christmas." Other good ones include his renditions of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and "Toyland." 

(Oh, and it finally started raining hard around 8 PM after having been chilly and cloudy all day. It's continued raining, sometimes hard, off and on for the rest of the night.)