Look to the Paper Rainbows

Began the morning with breakfast and Pac Man. Pac Man believes he has "A Bad Case of the Chomps" after he's chomped the ghosts one too many times. The ghosts follow him to the hospital, hoping to keep him thinking he can't chomp them. The Pac Family goes "Goo Goo at the Zoo" when Pac Baby first befriends a baby gorilla, then frees all of the animals.

One again, I called Uber early...and once again, I had no trouble getting a ride. The driver arrived in 7 minutes. There was only a little traffic around the corner of Collings and the White Horse Pike, nothing major. I even saw classes of older kids trooping back from seeing the Collingswood High Schoolers perform Mamma Mia! at the Scottish Rite Auditorium, including a few of the ones in the after-school program. In fact, I arrived first and got all of the toys out for the kids well before the other teachers and assistants arrived.

Good thing I did. We had 24 kids today, 9 at my table. The ones at my table cleaned up pretty well, but they were kind of wild in the bathrooms. (I did get lovely hugs from a boy and a girl while we were waiting for the last kid.) They were much crazier after lunch. Boys threw Duplos and wouldn't clean up their towers when they fell, and the kids coloring on the papers taped to the tables just ended up arguing over them. Two of the girls ran around and screamed so much, they had to be put in time out.

Thankfully, the library was open today. We were able to move the kids there for a really cute art project. The head teacher already cut out black construction paper "pots." We glued them onto white paper, then gave the kids "dot" markers that make dots when you press them. They made rainbows coming out of the pots with the markers and glitter glue...or at least, that was the idea. Some of them did rainbows. Two of the boys just smeared the markers and glue around. Most of them went all over the paper. It did rather look like unique leprechaun magic...even some benign dark magic, as I told one boy who went with black, gray, and red dots. While their artwork dried, the kids danced to the version of "I'm Still Standing" from Sing, "Try Everything" from the first Zootopia, the theme from PJ Masks, and songs from Moana. 

When there were six kids left, we took them back to the cafeteria for snack time. After we ate, we took the remaining five younger kids and nine older ones outside to play with balls on the blacktop area behind the school building. The blacktop has a small basketball court and several picnic tables against the chain link fences on either side of the enclosure. I'm so glad we got them outside. It was chilly but sunny, and the wind had died down to a far more reasonable breeze. I kept an eye on four boys and the oldest girl playing soccer and two of the older girls walking around doing hilarious old lady imitations by leaning on the Wiffle Ball bats. By quarter of 5, we were down to two younger kids and five older ones, and I was able to go home.

Stopped at Speedy Mart to get a bottle of grape Propel on my way home. It was too nice to take Uber this time. I just walked myself. My knee ended up being sore, but it was such a lovely day, it would have been a crime to take Uber again. Not to mention, it was pretty quiet. I walked past a few people who were on their way home too, but there was very little traffic. 

When I got home, I took down the St. Patrick's Day decorations and put up what I have for Easter. Easter is my third favorite holiday of the year after Thanksgiving and Christmas, and by far my favorite of the spring and summer holidays. I have a lot of Easter decorations, so many that I didn't have the room to put them all out. There's the two Sees Chocolate tins that Mom sent me a few years ago. I thought they were much too pretty to get rid of. There's Patchy the Bunny, the big resin bunny statue I rescued from a thrift shop almost 20 years ago. There's the porcelain bunny in the lavender dress and the one holding the basket that Mom sent me for my birthday about 15 years ago. 

I have a big, beautiful die-cut cardboard hanging of a darling duck and bunny among decorated eggs that I hang on the door to my bedroom. There's Flora Bunny and Freddie Frog, the rolly-polly plastic toys who no longer play music, but are still pretty cute. There's the basket with the "chocolate" bunnies, the plastic "double boiler" and "chocolate" and silver bunny mold from Kit's limited-edition Easter outfit. I found the two bunnies on strings in calico dresses with dangling button legs at thrift shops, and the pink felt door hanger with the lavender bells at a dollar store. The folksy raffia garland with the dangling pastel painted wooden eggs went over my window. The smaller yellow tinsel garland went over my bedroom door, and the large white one is on the entertainment center.

Watched The Price Is Right and Match Game Syndicated while I worked, and later as I had dinner. Came in just in time to see them spin the wheel on Price. Two ladies made it. For once, one way underbid on a "little-known fan clubs" showcase that included a sports car. The other was merely 800 off on a "walk down Main Street" showcase that included a spa and a day bed and got herself a nice, soothing spa.

Match Game Syndicated mostly continued the week with Fannie Flagg, Lee Merriweather, and Fred Travalena. In fact, it would be Lee's last week on Match Game. She went out in style when she and Fannie did a kick line to show a British contestant who the Rocketts were that was definitely the hit of the show! Fannie stuck around for the last episode and Robert Pine and Dolly Martin joined in to see a woman say she'd just come to the show to see Charles Nelson Reilly in the flesh, which certainly impressed Charles.

Finished the night at Tubi with Storybook International. Determined to rid his village of the robbers who stole money from even the poorest peasants, a young man becomes "The Robber Chief" by stealing three cows from a merchant. He then proves to them that it literally takes a village to deal with crime when he calls in his parents and the other villagers to help him catch these devils, before they take more of their hard-earned money.

Alphabet Matches

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the original cast album for Hello Dolly! Yes, that's Charles Nelson Reilly as Cornelius Hackle, introducing "It Only Takes a Moment." He was Tony-nominated for the role, in fact. Carol Channing is Dolly here, and was such a hit in the role, she would appear in all Broadway revivals of the show for over 20 years. Eileen Brennan gets a nice "Ribbons Down My Back," and Channing really goes to town with the famous title song and the hilarious march "Motherhood." 

It was so late by the time I finally finished breakfast and got dressed, there wasn't really time to take the bike to work. Thank heavens the Uber driver only took 4 minutes to arrive in the morning. They took 11 going home at 4. No trouble either way, no traffic anywhere. I got to work on time.

I spent most of the day pushing carts. At least it was a gorgeous day for it. Sunny, breezy, still dry, warm but not overly so, probably in the lower 80's. We were surprisingly quiet for a Sunday. Most people are either out of town for the holiday weekend, waiting for the beginning of the month, or enjoying the nice day. I did get stuck gathering an overflowing outside trash bag that broke and sent debris everywhere. One of the managers ended up coming outside to help me clean up that mess.

Soon as I got home, I changed and went straight into tonight's Match Game marathon. (I'd have dinner a bit later.) In honor of back to school, MGP chose episodes that represented letters of the alphabet again...but this time, he did it in reverse order. They started with Z, for Zoe the camerawoman whom Gene pointed out in an episode. X was for Xmas, which Gene mentioned on a syndicated show. W was for William Shatner, Captain Kirk himself, who appeared on two memorable weeks in 1975. V was for Valerie Bertanelli, who finally let her episodes from 1978 be seen two years ago...and I'm glad she did. For all her discomfort, it was a pretty fun week. T was for comedian Tom Deeson, who did a week in 1978. S was for Sharon Farrell, who appeared during a memorable week in 1978 and during the syndicated run.

There were memorable episodes further up the alphabet, too. R was for a pair of Richards, Paul and Dawson, who appeared together during one of Richard Dawson's last weeks in 1978. P was for soap star Pat Crawley, who did a week in 1976. O was for raconteur and long-time stage star Orson Bean. M was for Marcia Wallace, who was represented by an episode of Match Game '90 where she got to answer the Head-to-Head. 

Some of the best episodes of the night came from the beginning of the alphabet. H was for Henry Morgan, best known as a panelist on I've Got a Secret, who did a week in early in 1978. G was for cowboy Guich Kotch from Hee Haw. F was for two Fannies, Fannie Flagg and Mark Goodson's mother Fannie who was seen in the audience during an episode. E was for glamorous Eva Gabor. D was for Dick Smothers, who did two weeks in 1977. C was for "Mama" Cass Elliott, who appeared on one of the funniest weeks of 1973 before her untimely death. B was for giggly comedienne Betty Kennedy, who was a semi-regular during the syndicated era. A was for Audrey Landers, who appeared on a PM episode featuring a pregnant contestant who closely resembled Patty Duke.

Let's do the alphabet in reverse with these hilarious episodes!

Match Game Sunday Classics - The Reverse Countdown of Alphabet Game (Z-A)

I also worked on Hilary and the Beasts. Maple and Victor are more than happy to turn over Victor's volumes and volumes of paperwork and the records to the FBI and Agent Dawson from Scotland Yard. They've been after Pavla for years, but the moment they would close in on her, either the information on her or the informants would vanish. Pavla tries to seduce the cops, but they're immune to her charms and haul her off screaming. 

Summer Dreaming

Began the morning with breakfast and Disney Silly Symphony shorts. "Merbabies" has the tiny infants frolicking among the waves, getting involved with a local circus and thanking them for the show. "The Grasshopper and the Ants" is a charming fable where a grasshopper tries to convince an ant to dance to his fiddle instead of working. The Queen Ant scolds him for playing rather than getting things done and reminds the Grasshopper that winter is coming. It is indeed...and the Grasshopper learns a lesson about when to work, and when to play when he's stuck outside in the snow with no food or shelter.

Hurried off to work after the second cartoon ended. No trouble here whatsoever. We were dead the entire morning. Never even got mildly busy. Though I did have to figure out what to do with a glass a customer broke and bring an abandoned cart up front, I mainly swept the store and gathered carts. The nice weather may have contributed to the quiet, too. It's a bit more humid, but still sunny and otherwise pretty decent for July.

Picked up a turkey hoagie, Orange Cream Coke Zero, and Old Bay bagel chips for lunch, then headed home. Ate and changed while watching the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus on Disney Plus. Evidently, the original Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was so popular on Disney Plus, they just updated the original format with new graphics and a few new additions. One of those additions is "Mickey's New Helper," a mini version of the Helping Hands in the Clubhouse that Professor Ludwig Von Drake built to be helpful for Mickey and the others. Its attempt to stop the Clubhouse Hot Air Balloon ends with it getting carried away in the balloon and the others going after it. 

Switched to Remember WENN after I ate. Betty's wondering "Who's Scott Sherwood?" after she discovers that Scott wasn't exactly aboveboard about how he got his job at the station. Pruitt's wondering the same thing. He slithers into the station spouting a word Scott is terrified to hear - audit. Thanks to his Memorial embezzlement scheme, Scott ends up losing his job. The others rally to his defense and end their shows, but Betty doesn't think he's worth saving when she discovers how badly he lied about knowing Victor Comstock.

Speaking of Victor, Jeff ends up returning to England in "The New Actor" to pick up where he left off in London after that explosion. His departure leaves WENN short an actor. That's fine for Pruitt, who still wants to undermine the station, but Mackie Bloom is now overworked AND underpaid. Help finally comes from a most welcome...and unlikely...source. 

Returned to Disney Plus for Island at the Top of the World. In 1907, Sir Anthony Ross (Donald Sinden) arranges an expedition to find the titular island where whales go to die. His son Donald (David Gwillim) was searching for it when he disappeared. He's joined by archaeologist Professor Ivarsson (David Hartman) and French aviator Captain Breaux (Jacques Martin) and his poodle. Captain Martin gets them up north in his dirigible the Hyperion, despite losing a propeller during the trip. They manage to snare Inuit guide Oomiak (Mako) when he admits he knew Donald before making their way to the island. Turns out yes, it does exist, and Donald is there, along with the farmer's daughter he's fallen for, Freyja (Agneta Eckmeyr)...but they almost end up being put to death by the fanatical Godi (Gunnar Ohlund) before Freyja rescues them.

Strange action film is probably attempting to play off earlier Disney live-action adventures like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Moonspinners, but just ends up being weird. The first half in the Hyperion, with Captain Breaux and his poodle, is honestly fun and even charming. The Hyperion dirigible is so cool, Disney still houses a version of it at Disneyland Paris, and they even use the name Hyperion as their publishing house. It's the second before and during their arrival at the island where this falters. Mako's character is stereotypical and annoying, the frequently untranslated Norwegian even more so. Most of the actors are somewhere between bland and obnoxious, and most of the special effects are painfully obvious, even in the air. Though not the best thing Disney ever did, the enjoyable first half makes this worth seeing for fans of old-fashioned adventure.

The Sandlot is infinitely simpler...and a lot more fun. Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) has just moved to a small California town in 1962 and has an easier time making friends with Erector sets than kids his own age. He finally ends up joining a group of ragtag boys who spend the summer playing baseball on a local field and avoiding "The Beast," a massive junk yard dog who hides their balls when it goes over his fence. Most of their adventures, like chasing girls at the pool and beating a local little league team who taunted them, are fairly harmless. It's not until Scotty inadvertently borrows his stepfather's (Denis Leary) much-loved baseball autographed by Babe Ruth (Art LaFleur) and they lose it over the fence that the kids finally confront "The Beast"...and they learn what separates the legends from the mere heroes.

This was my brother Keefe's favorite movie in the mid-late 90's. He'd watch it constantly during baseball season. Given it's now considered to be a cult film and one of the most underrated comedies of the 90's, he's not the only one. It's pretty simple and not exactly long on plot, but if you're just looking for a fun baseball comedy to watch with your kids or have fond memories of this yourself, you'll want to grab your bat and ball and join the game.

Worked on Hilary and the Beasts throughout the afternoon. Hilary calls C.J to wish him and Mackie a happy 4th of July. He tells her he talked to the FBI men. Pavla has not only seduced two producers and left them listless (and willing to give her parts), they also discovered that other men have gone missing after having relationships with her. Someone was going to give the agents information on the groups Pavla worked with in Europe that would have gotten her deported, but they and their information vanished. 

Hilary has her own solo dream sequence shortly after talking to C.J. She finds Jeff in the rose garden, dressed in his tux from "From the Pen of Gertrude Reece" and "Pratfall." He gives her scarlet roses and tells her in no uncertain terms that no, he doesn't love Pavla. He loves her, but was forced to marry Pavla to save friends. It didn't work - she attacked his friends and stole their voices and humanity anyway. 

Pavla finally turns up, gloating that she married Jeff as her ticket to fame and fortune...and to silence his and his friends' knowledge about her activities. She has that knowledge locked away in the darkness, she claims, and has silenced the voice that broadcasted it to the world. Hilary has absolutely no trouble whatsoever decking Pavla, but her triumph is short-lived. She ends up held back, watching as Pavla gloats that she intends to take Jeff as slave, a monster like the ones that attack them in the dreams, by the end of the year. Hilary is finally knocked out before she can attack again.

Put on Match Game '76 during dinner. Fannie Flagg was hilarious with a funny little older man contestant. Richard insisted that he kiss her after the Head-to-Head, rather than him...and she rather got into it, especially the first time!

Finished the night after a shower with MASH. The actress who played Hilary Booth, Melinda Mullins, played a French nurse who falls in love with Charles Winchester (David Ogden Stiers), only for him to reject her after she admits she wasn't married to her previous lover despite living with him. They're not the only ones dealing with "Foreign Affairs" in the last season. A stuffy PR man (Jeffery Tambour) wants to bring a North Korean flyer back to the US as a hero, but he'd rather stay in his country. Hawkeye and Hunnicut arrange for a South Korean man who acts as translator for them to go in his place. 

Good Vibrations

This time, I started off the morning by heading out on my bike. I was originally going to have breakfast at the American Legion. I thought they usually have their pancake breakfasts on the first Sunday of each month, but they weren't open when I stopped at their house on Newton Avenue. 

Ended up riding further down to Audubon for brunch at the Legacy Diner. Their parking lot was so jammed full, I was sure I'd never get a seat. Thankfully, one of the small tables was open. Had deliciously sweet coconut pineapple pancakes with syrup, whipped cream, and butter and two iced teas. The waitress was a sweetheart, joking with me about my vacation and talking about her own previous trip to Cape May. I made sure to tip her extra.

Stopped at WaWa on the way back to Oaklyn. I had no trouble picking up money for vacation. Grabbed two sodas, too. Coke was two for $4.25; I got Orange Cream Zero and Cherry Zero. For a Sunday, the line wasn't bad. Everyone must have been at brunch.

Went straight home after that. Had a quick lunch, then dusted the bedroom and washed the windows while listening to The Beach Boys In Concert. This collection of performances from various concerts in 1972 and 1973 wound up being their biggest hit in almost 8 years...and it's not surprising, with the great line-up here. The album kicks off in the Boys' native LA with "Sail On, Sailor," and goes on to give us some of the Boys' biggest hits from there. "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" and "Surfer Girls" are especially good, and I'm always glad to hear my favorite Boys song "Heroes and Villains."

Worked on editing Land of WENN for the next two hours after I finished cleaning. Betty, Mackie, and the others arrive in Port Harbor, a ritzy resort town on the edge of a wide lake. Every year, the town holds a Summer Arts Festival with a theater contest for the best plays. Betty hopes to win the contest and earn money to continue their journey and get in touch with Lady Hilary Booth, who owns the Pearl Knife and Water Talisman.

Jeff does manage to convince his imperious former diva wife Hilary to see their play. She's impressed enough to order re-writes, so she can star in it too. She's less open to discussions of joining Betty's quest. Her father and her mentor Giels Aldrych were killed for being openly against the Shadow Realm. Hilary would prefer to remain neutral and avoid their fate. 

Betty spends a busy week writing, rehearing the show, dealing with Hilary's demands, and exploring Port Harbor. On one of her trips into town, she meets Doug Thompson, a sweet and gentle lawyer. They become good friends, and though she agrees to attend Hilary's big end-of-the Festival ball, she's not sure it's really love. 

Scott has his own problems in Port Harbor when he meets one of Palermo Racine's flunkies at a dive on the waterfront. The lizard-man tells him they'll let his debts go if he turns in Mackie, but Scott won't do it. He turns the man into crystal instead before he can shoot him and sends him back to Racine. 

A week later her "Valiant Journey" play is a success, and Betty and the others win the contest. While heading back through the halls, Betty encounters Scott hiding in the shadows. He's been watching her and Doug all week, waiting for her to be alone. He finally invites her on a midnight stroll on the lakefront during the ball.

I texted Jessa earlier in the day, and she said she was already in Philadelphia and didn't mind giving us a ride back from 30th Street if I found another way there. I ended up calling Uber. They took 14 minutes to arrive, and it cost me over $37, but despite some evening rush hour traffic in Cherry Hill and on the Schuylkill Expressway, I got there just in time.

Which proved to be a moot point. Lauren's train was late. I spent more than 20 minutes wandering around the busy station, waiting for her train to come in. I finally gave up and went to the bathroom...and Lauren ended up finding me not five minutes after I got out. It then took us even longer to find where Jessa parked. It wasn't with the other cars. It was on 29th Street, where the cabs pick up and drop off.

It took us even longer than that to get home. Many streets downtown were blocked off. We saw people strolling down the streets carrying rainbow flags. Today's the first day of Pride Month. It must have been a big parade or block party. She wound slowly through South Philly and Old Town before finally turning onto the Ben Franklin Bridge. We had no trouble after that, finally getting in around 8 PM.

After we got in and Lauren put her things upstairs, we went right back out. Lauren wanted to stretch her legs, and considering I'd been inside for much of the day, it wouldn't hurt me, either. My first thought was Phillies Yummies, but they close at 6 on Sunday. We ended up at WaWa. She got a Pepsi Zero, a Mountain Dew, and a chipotle turkey sandwich. I bought my soda earlier and settled on a mint cookies and cream smoothie.

At least the weather was decent. Though it remained blustery and cool, the clouds had largely given way to soft sunshine. There was even a lovely pink and blue sunset as we hiked home.

Spent the rest of the night watching tonight's YouTube marathon. Match Game Productions continued to honor the late Loretta Swit, this time with episodes of the other two game shows she made prominent appearances on. She was one of the better players on the $10,000 and $20,000 Pyramids during their runs. One full week of $10,000 with her and a full week and an episode of $20,000 survive. The $10,000 week is an all-star special with her and McLean Stevenson playing David Spielburg and Anita Gillette of the short-lived TV version of Bob & Ted & Carol & Alice (and kicking their rears - Spielburg wasn't very good). Her $20,000 weeks with Clifton Davies and Peter Boneranz are even more fun, especially the big wins during the latter.

She appeared even more often on Password Plus, doing four weeks in 1979 and early 1980 before Allen Ludden left. Her first week had her doing battle with an irascible Jack Klugman, who spent the time fending off jokes about the bucket hat he wore to cover his balding head. Big, goofy John Schuck was her partner during her second week. Ron Masak proved to be a far sharper partner several months later. Her last appearance on the show was with smooth, laid-back action star Greg Morris. She probably did the best with Schuck and Klugman, though she tended to do better with the puzzles than with the Alphabetics bonus round.

Lorretta turned up on Hollywood Squares in 1979, late in its original syndicated run. Her surviving episode has her joined by Florence Henderson, Rose-Marie, George Gobel, Lance Kerwin, and Victor Borge, with Paul Lynde presiding over the center square. Though I don't think she did as well here as she did on Match Game, she certainly had no trouble tossing out zingers to the contestants. And speaking of Match Game, the hilarious nighttime episode featuring the adorable little old man who called himself Tiger showed up here, too. 

Celebrate Swit's life with some of her most memorable game show appearances!

Sunday Night Classics - Loretta Swit Game Show Tribute

Oh, and as we always do on our first day of vacation, we're going to visit Bob at Abbie Road Music tomorrow, then head to the Audubon Crossings shopping center for lunch and to check out the stores there.

Angels of the Morning

Began the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. Big bulldog Mr. Tough substitutes for Huckle's teacher Miss Honey while she's away. Like Billy Dog in the first season, he seems demanding at first, until the he takes the kids on to find fossils and show why he's been pushing them. The pharaoh demands that Imhotep build "The First Pyramid" as a monument to him. Imhotep gets so caught up, he neglects his son Timhotep. The boy, however, is the one who makes him realize what's wrong with his design. Speaking of Billy, he's nervous when his mother goes on "The First Date" at an amusement park with a gas station attendant. He considers the date to be a test, but let's say the fellow passes with flying colors.

I wasn't sure what Mother Nature was going to do, so I took Uber to work. Though the driver arrived in five minutes, he didn't know about the repairs on Nicholson. He went all the way around to the Black Horse Pike, and I was almost late. I had a harder time getting a driver at 5:30. The first one canceled, and the second took fifteen minutes to arrive. At least Nicholson was open by then, and there was no traffic going home.

My 8 1/2 hour shift was quiet until the evening rush hour hit around 4-4:30 and everyone stopped for groceries on the way home. Thankfully, other than putting a few cold items away, I spent most of the day outside pushing carts or sweeping inside. It showered very lightly around 11:30-12, but was otherwise killer humid, cloudy, and far cooler than it has been, in the lower 70's. 

Worked on the inventory after I changed. Started the soundtrack CDs with the animated Disney Aladdin, the original animated Anastasia, Animaniacs, and the 1982 Annie. Anastasia was a Christmas present in 1997, the year the movie came out. I loved the movie and its soundtrack so much, I begged Mom for it all that December, and I've had the CD ever since. I don't remember when or where I got Annie from anymore. It was either the Borders that used to be just outside of the Hamilton Mall, the FYE at the Hamilton Mall, or an early Abbie Road find when he was still in Collingswood. 

I broke for dinner promptly at 7 PM. I wasn't going to miss tonight's Match Game Syndicated episodes. They got to that wild week with Ginger, the sweet contestant who gave some of the strangest answers I ever heard. Even she realized how strange her answer to the question about what a jock centipede wears on his feet, and then there was how Roger Dobowitz spelled her answer...

Finished the night after a shower on The Roku Channel with Charlie's Angels. "Angel Baby" gets fairly dark for this show when a young Air Force officer whom Kelly helped out during her years as a cop ends up in jail after trying to find his pregnant girlfriend. She was going to give her baby to a shady company that claimed it would find a family to adopt it. Turns out it's a front for a traffic in black-market adoptions. Kelly goes straight to the heart of the matter as an unwed mother, Sabrina and Bosley pose as a wealthy couple hoping to adopt a child, and Kris as a desperate woman trying to ferret out the head of the organization and the murderous thug who works for him. 

Matches on a Rainy Day

Began the day with breakfast and Originals Musical Comedy 1902 - 1935. I hadn't realized until I looked the cover over today and saw a scan bar that said University of the Arts Libraries. It must have ended up at Molly's when the University of the Arts closed. This collection of songs from musical theater stars going back to the early 1900's is the kind of thing you'd generally find at an arts college library. The oldest song preserves vaudeville star Blanche Ring singing "I've Got Rings On My Fingers"; the most recent is Eleanor Powell singing "What a Wonderful World" from the revue At Home Abroad.

It was cloudy, thickly humid, and showering lightly when I left for work. I didn't trust Mother Nature and called Uber. They arrived in 5 minutes this morning and 9 after work. There was a little traffic on Nicholson going there, otherwise there were no problems.

It remains busy at work. It wasn't crazy like yesterday, but it was still busy for August. They had the Sunday morning bagger to do the sweeping and put everything away, so I focused entirely on the carts and gathering the outside trash. It was tiring, but thankfully, there were no problems whatsoever. I stopped to pick up pads and more of that 75 cent Poppi orange soda on the way out.

Changed and put everything away, then had dinner and finished the night with the Sunday Match Game marathon. Comedian Arte Johnson is best-remembered today for his many impersonations on Laugh-In, including that of a German soldier and a dirty old man. He first turned up on Match Game in 1974 on the week with Michelle Lee before Charles left for Broadway and would continue to appear sporadically through the syndicated era. He turned up one last time in 1991 during a stint on General Hospital. 

Arte got in on some of the best episodes of the entire show. He was there in 1974 when Englishman Richard answered 'Benedict Canyon" to "__ Canyon" in the Audience Match and for the delightful week with Kukla and Ollie in 1979. Later that year, he joined Bart Braverman and Erica Hope on one of the earliest syndicated weeks, managing to hug a lady no-handed after he won her a Head-to-Head. When Gene complained about having to use a short microphone, he reminded him that some people have to deal with more than a microphone being short! The lights went out on Gene's entrance during a PM episode with Susan Richardson and Ronny Graham. 

Have a verrry interesting time with this funny man  who is long on laughs in this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Arte Johnson On the Panel

Isn't It Romantic

Began Valentine's Day with the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. They only have one long piece for Valentine's Day, but it's "The Valentine Box" by Maud Hart Lovelace. Julia is new in town and fears she won't get any valentines at her school party. She ends up befriending Margaret when her valentine's blow away, and then she leaves her bag with her best friend's valentine in the snow.

Watched Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You during dinner. I went further into this sweet tale of Pooh and the gang trying to save Christopher Robin from "the Smitten" bug at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog last year.

Valentine's Short Subject Special - Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You

Hurried off to work soon as the special ended. I had a far harder time getting there. Some Uber drivers went on strike today to protest their working conditions. Thankfully, they were only those who had to haul people to airports. Got a driver in 11 minutes this morning and 7 in the afternoon. No traffic either way.

All the traffic ended up at the Acme. We were busy the entire morning and early afternoon. In addition to people buying flowers, candy, and fancy dinners for Valentine's Day, it's also Ash Wednesday. They had their traditional 1-day seafood sale for Lent, which is extremely popular. I swept and pushed carts and didn't have the time to do much else. At least it was a gorgeous day for it. Chilly, yes, in the upper 30's, and windy, but not too chilly for mid-February. It was actually quite nice in the sun.

The lines were still long when I finished at 2. I was able to buy a drink and a lovely bouquet of carnations and mums for a friend, but I decided not to wait for a cashier to do a gift card for Jessa. I'll pick it up when I go grocery shopping on Friday instead. 

Soon as I got home, I changed while watching Happy Days. They did their lone Valentine's Day episode, "Be My Valentine," in the fifth season. Joanie, who is enjoying her first real relationship, imagines all of her friends and families in musical vignettes depicting their own romances. Scott Baio did a really cute "Thank Heavens for Little Girls" chorus girl spoof, Donny Most crooned a surprisingly good "My Funny Valentine," and Ron Howard and Linda Goodhead had an even better apache dance, but Marion Ross and Tom Bosley stole the show with their sweet and absolutely spot-on "I Remember It Well." (And no, Henry Winkler did not attempt to sing. Fonzie did a romantic recitation for a group of ecstatic college co-eds instead.)

Headed back out after the episode ended. I had Valentine's Day bags and cookies for Rose and her family, and I never did deliver Jessa's Christmas presents. Besides, it really was too nice of a day to be hanging out inside. I strolled to the other side of town, and seeing they weren't at home, dropped both bags on their front stoop. 

Stopped at Common Grounds Coffee House for a Valentine's Day treat. Their Red Velvet Chai was likely just chai, cocoa, and foam, but it was amazing, spicy and warm and oh so chocolatey. Had it with a small red velvet cake pop. They were busy with high schoolers and college kids just out of class, so I drank my chai on the walk home.

Put on Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers when I got in. A distinctly Elmer Fudd-like Cupid tries to spread love among the Toons. Bugs thinks he's a meddler, but Cupid knows how to get to him, too. This is another collection of random bits and pieces of shorts, but there are some funny moments, including Bugs marrying the Tasmanian Devil to a female devil, Detective Daffy trying to prove a dame is guilty of being something besides crazy about him, and Pepe LePew chasing Penelope around the Foreign Legion.

The Pink Panther has an even tougher holiday in Pink at First Sight. He's so desperate for a pink panthress to love, he ends up squeezing a child's teddy bear. He finally gets a job as a singing delivery boy, thanks to cassettes and a cassette player. That goes even less well when he ends up dealing with everything from a jealous husband who thinks he's after his wife to a group of gangsters who are convinced he sent them a bomb. 

Switched to Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie while job hunting. The Sailor Guardians are excited to make their own cookies for Valentine's Day. Chibi-Usa is delighted when her cookies turn out better than Usagi's, but she ends up giving them to an odd little boy with a flute that can make candies dance. Usagi realizes how precious her daughter - and all children - are when an evil witch steals children to harness their dream energy and open a black hole that can swallow the earth. The Guardians join Chibi-Usa's new friend and head into the Black Dream Hole to make sure their sweet Valentine's Day dreams don't end on a sour note.

I got a very nice surprise at this point. I gave my friend, her daughter, and the neighbor's daughter bags of strawberry white chocolate chip cookies. The kids also got heart-shaped bubble wands and small Valentine's-themed bead craft kits, while the lady got the mums and carnations I picked up earlier. They gave me a smaller rose arrangement in a slim vase, a box of dark-chocolate-covered cherries, and a card. 

Called Mom around this point as well to thank her for the Valentine's card she sent me. I didn't get to talk to her for very long. She was sitting for my one-year-old niece Aurora. All she mentioned is no, she hasn't heard from Rose and her family in a while, either. I presume they're either busy with school and work activities or sick or both.

Worked on writing for a little bit next. Patti admits that yes, the poppies were the Warlock of the West's doing. The bees that attacked them in the woods were, too. Plus, Televisia City may not be friendly to strangers at the moment. They were attacked by the Warlock's army and are skittish about visitors.

Broke for dinner at 7 PM. Watched Match Game '79 as I ate. Fred Grandy made his first appearance during its second-to-last week on CBS. Charles spent the week teasing Brett about her drooling over another younger man sitting next to her. The first episode also featured an appearance by a contestant named Carolyn who would be far more important to the show during the next week...

Finished the night with more Valentine's specials, starting with a Peanuts triple feature. Charlie Brown is nervous about escorting The Little Red Haired Girl to the Homecoming Dance, especially after he doesn't do very well at the game thanks to Lucy pulling the ball away. He proves to be far better at being the life of the party than expected when It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown leaves him in another world. 

Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown explores the various Peanuts romances. Linus is hoping to impress his teacher Miss Othmar with a huge box of candy, which Sally thinks is for her. Lucy destroys Schroeder's piano when he ignores her ranting about not giving her a valentine. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown waits for someone, anyone, to give him a valentine, and Snoopy is putting on melodramatic and messy puppet shows.

A Charlie Brown Valentine was created to fill an hour with Be My Valentine, but it has some entertaining vignettes of its own. Chuck wants to ask the Little Red Haired Girl to the Valentine's Day dance, but Marcie and Peppermint Patty think he's taking them. Meanwhile, Sally wants to make a card for her "Sweet Baboo," but Linus would rather be anywhere on the planet but near her.

Smurfette is also feeling less than lovey-dovey in My Smurfy Valentine. She goes to a wishing well to ask for a Smurf Charming to sweep her off her white heels. Unfortunately, a witch and Gargamel had the same idea. Gargamel wants to use his cat Azreal to wish the Smurfs away, while the witch wants to eliminate all love. Smurfette ends up working with Cupid to foil their plans before the end of an eclipse. 

And I hope you all had a Valentine's Day that was equally sweet! 

Winds of Fall

Began the morning with breakfast and the very first episode of PAW Patrol on Paramount Plus. "Pups Make a Splash" when they have to help Cap'n Turnbot get his boat off the rocks and lead him safely to shore. Rocky, who hates water, is nervous about helping. "Pups Save the Fall Festival" when a storm is coming and the farmer needs to get all her apples and pumpkins into the barn before they freeze. Chase thinks he has nothing to do, until he and Ryder realize their friends are just running around willy-nilly and getting nothing done.

Went straight into Coco after the Pups ended. I go further into this touching story of a young Mexican boy who longs to be a musician and his skeletal friend who wants to be remembered on the Day of the Dead at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Celebrating the Day of the Dead - Coco 

Worked on writing next. Cora doesn't appreciate Stephen's treatment of the hunchback, shoving him away and kicking him around. Nor does she really want to meet his hangers-on in the court, and she doesn't like him sending her parents away so quickly, either. She had hoped to consult her father further on how to find out what Stephen is really up to.

Put on Match Game '77 while eating lunch. This was the week with Greg Morris and Roz Kelly that turned up in a marathon a few weeks ago. A fan came up to the stage and kissed Kelly, who said he was much better than Henry Winkler!

Headed off to work after that ended. Work was a lot busier than it has been, likely due to the beginning of the month. In fact, it was something of a mess. I had to spend a half-hour returning cold items that someone didn't want. I had a harder time keeping up with the carts on my own, too. I never did get to the trash. I was pretty happy to hurry out quickly as I could. At least the weather has improved. It was slightly warmer and much sunnier, though it remains windy and chilly for the time of year. And I ran into Willa, who owns my old home at Manor Avenue, near the end of my shift. She greeted me warmly and even gave me a hug.

Went straight into dinner and Match Game '76 when I got in. Gary Burghoff, sweet Joyce Bulifant, and future night time soap star Susan Sullivan joined for one of the last weeks of the year. Gary yells out his answer to what the chef spray his food with, knocking Gene back a bit. Later on, the top answer to "Ronald __" on the Audience Match isn't the one you probably think it is, especially if you grew up in the 80's like me.

Watched a bit of Match Game '79 after I took a shower. Charles is so sure his answer to "Seeing __" will be right, he walks right up to the Audience Match board...and is more than happy to play for the camera when his answer turns out to be on top. And then he asks for his own show!

Finished the night at Tubi with The Swordsman after a neighbor came and took out the air conditioner. 17th century Scotsman Alexander MacArden (Larry Parks) falls for beautiful Barbara Glowan (Ellen Drew) after he passes himself as a swordsman named Donald Frazer and bests her brothers in combat. Her cousin Robert Glowan (George Macready) has no desire to share her with one of those dastardly MacArdens and sets about framing Alexander for killing one of Barbara's brothers in the hope of bringing down his whole clan.

This is actually quite nice to look at for a B-level swashbuckler. The Technicolor outdoor shooting is gorgeous, especially during the contests and in all those long shots of castles and moors, and the costuming is spot-on for the time period. Drew's all right as the feisty lady, but Parks is out of place and is way too modern to be believable as a Scottish lord of the 17th century. It's also fairly slow-moving. Things don't pick up until later, when Alexander sets out to clear his family's name and win Barbara. Worth a look at least once if you're a big swashbuckler fan like me.