Night of the Sudden Storms

Began the day with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Catra and Scorpia couldn't be happier "Once Upon a Time In the Wastes." Turns out their unique talents are quite suited to dealing with the low-lifes and bounty hunters who make their living in the desert. They even take over a lizard-man's gang. Meanwhile, Adora, Bow, and Glimmer try to make sense of a message left by Mara, the original She-Ra. Catra and Scorpia do manage to capture Adora. They all end up going back to the Fright Zone when they find out that Shadow Weaver is still alive...

I rushed out to work this morning and was still five minutes late. Fortunately, that was the worst thing that happened all day. The Acme was even quieter than it has been lately. We're between holidays, and a lot of people may not have gotten their money yet. I barely had carts to gather. I was in and out with no trouble.

Went straight home and into lunch and The Wild Wild West. "The Night of the Grand Emir" has Jim West and Artemis Gordon protecting a despotic emir of a desert kingdom from an assassin group who wants him out of the way. Dancer and assassin Ecstasy LaJoie (Yvonne Craig) would seem to have the most reason to eliminate the emir, as he threw her out of his country, but another young man (Richard Jaeckel) may be even more dangerous.

I finally admitted to myself that I'm going to be doing a lot of riding at night from now on. I bought two lights for the front and back of my bike along with the lights on my helmet. I got them on quickly, then headed out to the Thomas Sharp School. It was more-or-less the same deal as yesterday, only this time, all of the kids were in the cafeteria/gym. Thank heavens there were, because we had a lot today, almost 30 little guys alone. They were just as antsy, too. New Jersey teachers have their convention tomorrow and Friday, which means the kids will have a long weekend off. 

Once again, it was a relief when we all finally made it outside. I chatted with kids looking for their parents, or just watching the leaves fall. The tree in on their playground grounds and the ones just outside the fence are starting to turn gorgeous shades of gold, lime green, and rust. The kids are fascinated by the leaves! We picked up and admired big ones, ones with the prettiest colors, ones that had seeds attached too. I went down the slides, chatted with little kids taking breaks, and argued with one of the girls who wanted one last ride on the swings and would not get off and go inside.

Went straight into dinner and Match Game '76 when I got in. Donna Mills and George Kennedy finished out their week on the show. Donna must have really liked her "new kid on the block" kiss from Gene. She kept asking for more! Mary Wickes made her first appearance on the show the next week, and she was also pretty happy with her kiss from Gene. Joey Bishop wasn't quite as thrilled when Gene tried kissing him!

After dinner, I started the re-write of The WENN Nutcracker Suite. Most of the prologue remains the same, with a few added details, like the rag doll and stuffed lion are now Betty's favorite old childhood toys instead of random old toys she bought at the five and dime. Let Annie the Rag Dolly (Maple) help out in the mouse fight with a wooden spoon. Mack the Lion (Mackie) still hides. Once again, changed details, like the Nutcracker moves more stiffly and can't speak and has to get a sword that's too small from a soldier, since his was lost years ago. 

Finished the night with The Love Boat. "The Groupies" are a therapy group who follow their psychiatrist (Richard Deacon) on board the Pacific Princess. They keep coming to him with their problems, especially when two of them (Elaine Joyce and Jerry Van Dyke) fall for each other. "Doc's Nephew" (Willie Aames) and Doc compete for the same woman (Michelle Phillips.) An Australian actor (Tristan Rogers) puts on "The Audition" for a tough Broadway and soap director/producer (Susan Lucci) who had once rejected his auditions, then regrets it when he realizes he's actually in love.

Oh, and it had been windy, warm, and off-and-on cloudy all day. Sometime around 9-10 PM, I heard rain coming down. Haven't heard it in a while. I don't think we're supposed to get the big rain until the weekend.

Biking Angels

Started off my morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. "A Royally Mad Tea Party" goes off the rails quickly when the Queen of Hearts and Dad Hatter end up arguing over croquet. They separate the tea table, but Dad Hatter has the tea cups and jelly jam, and the Queen has the tea and crumpets. Alice and the other kids come up with a plan to show them that they need what the other has. JoJo Dodo has been staying with Fergie and his family while her father was at sea. Fergie hopes that "JoJo's Bye Bye Party" will have a dessert that represents all the fun they had together...but JoJo assumes they're cutting her out.

Took Uber to work again. The bike repair guy wasn't going to be around until the afternoon. Fortunately, there were no problems this time. The morning driver got there in 7 minutes; the afternoon came in less than 3. Neither took longer than five minutes to get me to work, and there was no traffic.

Work remains dead as it has been the entire week. I actually had enough time to do everything they wanted me to do, including cleaning out the bathrooms and gathering the trash. It was a gorgeous day for pushing carts, too, sunny, breezy, and in the lower 80's. 

Got my schedule around noon. In good news, more time off, and Wednesday is the only early day. In bad news, fewer hours than I had even before the last two weeks. I got the hours I have the last two weeks because the head bagger was busy or on vacation.

Did my grocery shopping after work. Restocked oranges (mandarins were on sale), yogurt, soda, and granola bars (Made Good were on sale with an online coupon). Finally found a Coke Zero that literally had my name on it. (Lauren reported getting one with her name on it weeks ago.) The Acme's been pushing lemon-flavored "limited edition" treats. I thought I'd try the lemon tortilla chips. There was a pack of slim sparkling water on a really good sale that might be worth trying, too. 

Went upstairs when I got home to change and put everything away. Watched The Persuaders while I got organized. I never did finish "The Old, the New, and the Deadly" when I watched it last year. Danny becomes the target of a French count (Patrick Troughton) when he mistakes him for having taken a priceless statue. It could save the reputation of the father of the young woman he's blackmailing...if the woman's husband doesn't knock Danny and Britt to heck and gone first!

The guy from the bike shop arrived while I was upstairs. He took the bike with him to his shop after I gave him the spare tire and inner tube. I puttered around on the computer until he returned. To my shock, it cost $67, due to him having to fix spokes on the rim, too. And he wouldn't take cash, only credit card. I assumed he'd want the cash. Since he did do a good job on the bike and was nice about it, I did pay with credit card and gave him a tip.

It was such a nice afternoon, I decided to test the bike and went for a ride in Collingswood. Stopped at Innergroove Records to make up for them not being open on Easter. He was an hour from closing, so I tried to go through everything quickly. I still made some good finds, including one I adored as a ten-year-old:

Tiffany - Hold An Old Friend's Hand (My sisters and I absolutely loved the cassette in the late 80's and early 90's. I listened to it constantly, especially the first song "All This Time.") 

Wynton Marsalis - Think of One

The original 1971 cast of Follies (Yes, I have this on CD...but I've never seen such a pristine record copy. This is my favorite Sondheim show. It was on the dollar shelves, too!)

Ran across a new bakery a block down from Innergroove. Mario's Cookies just opened a few weeks ago. They too were almost closing, so I went with their daily special. The chocolate chip brownie cookie was just that, a chocolate chip cookie with a brownie middle. Oh yummy. So soft and chocolately! 

Actually, the real reason I was in Collingswood was to hit the bank. The records only cost me 10 dollars, the cookie 3. I kept any dollar bills and put the remaining $30 back in the bank. 

Headed straight home after that. Watched Charlie's Angels when I got in. Kris is a "Caged Angel" when she goes on the inside to find out who has been forcing innocent inmates to take part in robberies. One of the women is a huge, hulking brute who, along with the warden and two other women, forces girls with connections to large companies to join their robberies. While Kris deals with their abuse and befriends one of the inmates, the others do research to find out what they're up to.

Switched to Match Game '77 next. This wound up being one of the wilder episodes of the year. Brett gave an answer that was censored. Gene bent over to read the question to a contestant and showed far more of his rear than anyone ever wanted to see to the camera. The whole thing ends with Gene freaking out, trying to get the director to fade to commercial. 

Finished the night at YouTube. Thought I'd check out another different version of Snow White. This one is very obviously a dubbed East German film from 1955. The dwarfs look and sound like the children they are. It's kind of bizarre to hear them sound like the 10-year-olds Snow White assumes them to be. On the other hand, this one largely sticks to the original Grimm's fairy tale. The wicked queen attacks Snow White three times, not just with the apple, and Snow White coughs the apple out instead of being awaken with a kiss. The Queen's death is more in line with the Disney version (though she's struck by lightning here). 

Match Game Productions ran the first All-Star Family Feud special tonight. Four of the most popular shows of 1978 - The Love Boat, Soap, Eight Is Enough, and Three's Company - played each other. Some of this was flat-out hilarious. John Ritter was adorably dorky even on a game show, Bernie Koppel could never seem to spit any answers out, and Susan Richardson made some absolutely hilarious faces when she couldn't come up with an answer. In the end, no one in the late 70's could beat Jack Tripper. Despite John's own obvious nerves on Fast Money, Three's Company won $10,000 for their charity. 

Here's the show, so you can see how all of this went down for yourself! 

Family Feud All-Star Special #1

Somewhere Near Oaklyn

Began the morning with breakfast and What's New, Scooby Doo? It's "Safari, So Goodi" when the gang go on a safari in the African jungle to film the animals there. Trouble is, there might not be any left to film. Animals have been vanishing, and there have been sightings of shape-shifting glowing demons in the area. Daphne wonders what makes a honeymooning couple so lovey-dovey and Fred wants to film all the animals he can find, but Shaggy's more worried that vanishing animals will mean his beloved best friend will disappear, too.

I was going to take my bike to work...but the back tire felt low when I started to roll it out. Sure enough, it was flat. Not only is the back tire harder to fix, but there was no time to replace it before work. I had to call Uber...and of course, the driver didn't show up for 15 minutes. Which meant I was a few minutes late to work.

Thankfully, that was the worst thing that happened the entire morning. We were even less busy than we have been the past few days. In addition to people being on vacation or waiting for their money next week, the weather was too gorgeous for shopping. It was sunny, hot, breezy, and clear, in the upper 70's, without a cloud in the sky. I was able to clean the bathrooms, gather the trash, and do cold returns with plenty of time for the carts, too. No really major problems. I didn't even have trouble getting an Uber going home. They arrived in 5 minutes. 

When I got in, I watched Alice's Wonderland Bakery while changing and having a snack. Princess Rosa laments that she hasn't seen enough of Wonderland to finish her mural depicting the entire land. Alice and the guys take her on a "Roamin' Holiday" to visit Wonderland's more hidden attractions, including the rarely-seen bubble-blowing caterpillar. "The Proof Is In the Pudding" when the Queen of Hearts puts the kids and their entries in a bake-off on trial for having jumbleberries. She overate them once and has now banned them from the court. Alice eventually figures out how to remind her of why she loves them and should give them a second chance.

I asked a friend of mine if she knew of any bike repair shops closer than the ones in Cherry Hill and Deptford. I can change the front tire, but it's harder to do the back one. She recommended Gradient Bike Repair in Audubon, which apparently has been mentioned on an Oaklyn community Facebook board we both frequent. They also have a van filled with supplies that allows them to make house calls. Alas, I wasn't able to get an appointment with them until Friday at 4:10. It'll have to do. I'll just take Uber or walk for the next day and a half. 

I was immensely cheered by the arrival of my last two birthday/Easter presents to myself from eBay. I've had the Beach Boys album Still Crusin' in one form or another since it debuted in 1989. Lauren compared it to the Monkees' album Pool It! from two years earlier (with a better cover), and she's not far off. This was the Beach Boys' attempt to get 80's hip, but frankly, most of the songs are far better than those on Pool It. "Kokomo" was the iconic hit from the movie Cocktail, but my favorites are the catchy title song from Lethal Weapon 2, the adorable "Make It Big" from Troop Beverly Hills, and the romantic fantasy "Somewhere Near Japan." 

Yes, I know this has never been regarded as the Beach Boys' best album. It's so low on new material, the album finishes with "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "California Girls," and "I Get Around," which had all turned up in 80's movies. "In My Car" and "Island Girl" aren't great, and the version of "Wipe Out" with the Fat Boys is almost too cheesy to be true. I have too many fond memories of listening to my cassette constantly in the early 90's to be harsh on this one.

I enjoyed that so much, I put on a far better-regarded Beach Boys album after Still Crusin' ended. Pet Sounds was a game-changer for them and the industry in general. You get everything from classical to jazz to the Boys' group harmonies here. It did well enough in 1966, but ran up against too much strong competition, including the Beatles' Revolver. Nowadays, it's seen by most music critics as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. One of my favorite ballads, "God Only Knows," debuted here, along with the afore-mentioned "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and their iconic version of the folk song "Sloop John B." 

Switched to The Love Boat next. In fact, I went with the second episode of the series. Dale Reilly (John Ritter) is so desperate to be near the girl he's obsessed with, he dresses as a woman in order to share the only available cabin with another woman. Turns out the poor girl (Tovah Feldshuh) was left at the alter by her fiancee. "Oh Dale!" becomes her emotional support while dodging an amorous Captain Steubing. A constantly quarreling couple (Sherman Helmsley and LaWanda Page) rekindle their marriage after they're stuck in an elevator during "The Main Event." A wealthy man thinks his wife (Jacklyn Smith) is having "A Tasteful Affair" and hires a private detective (Dennis Cole) to follow her, but he falls for her instead.

Watched Match Game '77 during dinner. Character actor David Lansburg joined Marcia Wallace and Lee Merriweather this week. Brett came in for some ribbing when "Portland __" came up in the Audience Match and she brought up her home state of Maine.

Finished the night at YouTube checking out something else I remembered well from my childhood. Disney doing stage versions of its shows goes back far further than the Aladdin that's currently on Broadway. In 1981, it produced a lavish version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for Radio City Music Hall. The Disney Channel showed this from time to time in the 80's. I think we may even have taped it at one point. There's a few additions to the movie here. Snow White sings "I'm Wishing" with all of the girls in town by the well, her father is alive and kept in the dark by the wicked queen, and we find out where the queen came from and how she came to marry the king. 

In good news, as appropriate for a big Radio City production, there's some awesome sets. I like that well and the multi-level dwarfs' cottage that splits open to reveal the inside. The humans costumes are accurate to the movie, and the animals actually look pretty cute (despite being upright and walking)...but the dwarfs' costumes are downright terrifying. You can see the opening for the eyes on Dopey in particular, and it's really creepy. The dwarfs in the live-action film look like masterworks of CGI compared to those frightening get-ups. 

Yeah, that alone makes this just for those who remember watching it on cable in the 80's like I do or are intrigued by a stage Snow White. Everyone else is fine with the original animated film or seeing the current live-action film in the theater.  

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Live at Radio City Music Hall

Thunder In the Fall

Began the morning with breakfast and one of the most unique holiday cartoons ever. "Thanksgiving for the Memories" is from the Q-Bert segment of Saturday Supercade, a 1983 anthology of animated video game shorts. Q-Bert's teacher tells her students how the Q-Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower and competed to see who could get the most work done. Q-Bert and his fellow pilgrims work diligently on their settlement, but a jealous Coiley trips them up wherever he can. When Q-Bert's little brother Q-Bit runs away, it'll take the combined effort of all of the settlers and their new Native friends to rescue him.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. No trouble getting a ride either way. Both women arrived within six minutes, easily dodged traffic on Nicholson Road, and got where they were going in less than five minutes.

Generally, work was pretty quiet. Everyone is probably waiting to do their Thanksgiving shopping over the weekend and next week. I did have trouble at one point when I tried to help a young man wrap his flowers. I couldn't remember how to do it. He ended up having to help me, which was embarrassing. Otherwise, I was mostly either sweeping the store or outside gathering carts. There were clouds leftover from the rain we had last night and a few puddles this morning, but they were gone by the time I went home. It remained windy and relatively warm, in the mid-60's. 

Since I was taking Uber, I picked up another 12-pack of those holiday Hint flavors after work. I found a holiday-themed 8-pack of Sparkling Ice sparkling water, too. Also grabbed a box of 40 Christmas cards that were on sale for a mere $3.74. 

Oh, and I heard from a company in Moorestown that wants me to do an interview for a customer service representative job. As long as I'm not dealing with hundreds of people and their money a day, I don't see how it could hurt. I'll see them with Dawn tomorrow. 

Changed, then went straight into fixing the bike when I got home...and that's where the trouble started. I could get the rim off the bike, but I couldn't for the life of me get the tire and inner tube back on. They were the right size. I checked three times. They just wouldn't settle in the rim. One side would go in, and the other would stick out. I spent over two and a half hours trying to figure out what I was doing wrong with that bike tire. I finally gave up around 5:30 and decided to buy a different tire and see if that would work. I bought a mountain bike tire to have better traction on the road, but maybe it was too big for the rim.

Calmed down with inventory work. Added the London Sister Act, Skyscraper, and Snoopy: The Musical. All three are recent finds. Snoopy came from Abbie Road last year, Skyscraper from eBay in 2021, and Sister Act from the Woodbury store On the Record in 2022. 

Continued with the second season of The Monkees during dinner. Micky's made to think "I Was a 99 Pound Weakling" when he's targeted by devious exercise guru Sha-Ku (Monte Landis). He takes him up on his offer to impress a pretty girl, but Davy and Peter insist there's cheaper ways to exercise. When Micky overdoes the working out and tries to serve them health food, they drop in on Shah-Ku's to prove that this guru is an unhealthy phony.  

"Hillbilly Honeymoon" gives us a new, more modern look for the Monkees. Peter's now an out-and-out hippie in bright floral shirts and beads, Davy and Mike have shorter hair (though Mike retains his hat here), and Micky has finally let his go full-on Afro. The four find themselves caught in a rural war between the Weskitts and the Chubbers when they're just passing through. Ellie May Chubber takes a shine to Davy, annoying her Weskitt boyfriend. Davy's buddies rescue him from the Weskitts, then try to make the hillbilly worthy of a bride.

Finished the night online with the Disney Babes In Toyland from 1961. I went further into this charming operetta with Annette Funicello and Ray Bolger at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2018.

Babes In Toyland

And yes, we finally got rain. In fact, we got an enormous thunderstorm, which I most definitely was not expecting. The massive boom at one point shook the windows and scared me to death! It seems to have settled down now, but it's supposed to continue raining in one form or another for the rest of the night.

Autumn In Knight Park

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. Velma's saying "Watch Out, It's the Willowaw!" after her Uncle Dave is discovered to be missing. Local Natives blame the spirit of an owl who is said to carry off its victims after they hear its screech. Velma's not convinced, but for once, it's Shaggy and Scooby who find the clues when the Willowaw and two walking owl spirits chase them into a cave that holds a vast treasure.

Rushed out the moment the cartoon ended for this week's job hunting session with Dawn at Haddon Township. She didn't find anything, but I applied to a marketing firm in Deptford, a medical supply manufacturer in Haddon Heights, and an office in Philadelphia. I applied to another office in Collingswood yesterday...and Dawn was so keen on them taking me, she actually went to the office later and encouraged them to consider me. They're not doing interviews again until after Thanksgiving, but she did say they seemed interested.

After I left Dawn, I rode down to Collingswood and picked up a French onion roast beef sandwich, Coke Zero, bacon-seafood chowder, and hand-made potato chips at Haddon Culinary. Took my bike across the street and a few blocks down Collings Avenue to Knight Park. While it remains dry and dusty, the weather was otherwise gorgeous. It was sunny, breezy, and a bit cooler, in the upper 50's. I settled down at a series of wooden tables near the picnic pavilion and enjoyed my delicious lunch while watching college students stroll across the yellowed grass and listened to toddlers scream at the playground.

(Speaking of playgrounds, I did notice that the log cabin-themed playground equipment I saw last year near the little log cabin was gone. It was a rusty mess when I saw it. I'd suspected it wasn't long for this world. Not only did the log cabin-type shack remain, it looked like someone repainted it dark green.)

Went for a lovely ride around the neighborhood bordering the park next. I don't know why Rose says the only interesting architecture is in Camden. Some of the houses in Collingswood are gorgeous, dating to between the 1870's and 1920's. There's that enormous Art Deco church hidden on a side street across from a school, too. 

As I rode past Newton Lake Park, I realized that my front tire felt a lot lower than it should have. Yeah, it was going flat. I tried to pump it up again when I got home, but it was no use. It just flattened even more. At least it's the front tire. I can change that myself. Besides, the front tire is beyond bald. It would have gone sooner or later. I bought a new tire and inner tube on Amazon and will just take Uber to work tomorrow.

When I got home, I put everything away, then watched The Emperor Waltz. I go further into this bittersweet confection with Bing Crosby as a traveling salesman who falls for countess Joan Fontaine at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Cult Flops - The Emperor Waltz

Worked on the inventory next. Added Seussical: The Musical, a 1988 studio version and the 1994 revival of Show Boat, Smokey Joe's Cafe, and the Ohio Light Opera recording of Sweethearts. Seussical came from the Moorestown FYE, Smokey Joe's and the '94 Show Boat were Abbie Road finds, and I picked Sweethearts up on eBay. I've had the 1988 Show Boat for so long, I'm not sure where I got it anymore. I think it was a Christmas present from Mom in the mid-90's. 

Broke for dinner at quarter after 7. Watched more Monkees while I ate. "Everywhere a Sheik Sheik" hearkens back to the early first season episodes that had Davy pursued by royalty. In this case, a sheik's (Monty Landis, the only time he didn't play a villain) daughter desperately points him out from the magazine spread they did in the first season in order to marry someone other than father's scheming vizier (Noam Piltik). After the shiek's men kidnap Davy, his friends follow. They think this is a cushy set up at first,  until it becomes clear that someone doesn't want Davy to wed that princess.

Took a shower, then went back to The Monkees. It's "Art for Monkees' Sake" when Peter's uncanny ability to paint replicas of doors is used by two crooked security guards (Monte Landis and Vic Tayback) for him to imitate a painting and them to replace it with the real one. The other three rescue him, then attempt to switch the paintings themselves.

Finished the night with two more recent record finds. The Happiest Girl In the World is a 1961 retelling of the ancient Greek play Lystratia, with Grecian women refusing their favors to lovers and husbands until they end their constant wars. Cyril Ritchard has a double role as the Greek  head of state and the god Pluto. There's some lovely melodies based on Offenbach, but I suspect this was all too close to old-fashioned operetta for most 60's audiences. Ritchard does have fun in his dual roles and there's some amusing E.Y Harburg lyrics, but the rest of the cast is ok at best. Cute if you're a fan of Ritchard, nice but not totally necessary if you're not.

Goin' Quackers! is Disney's only song collection themed around Donald...but the real theme is comedy and folk numbers. Though Donald Duck and Goofy provide the sound for "Dueling Quackers" and Donald is heard in the title song and "A Waddlin' Crazy Guy," most of the songs are attributed to Disneyland choir leader Larry Groce or two guys called Willo and Phillo. Their songs mainly consist of comic ditties like "I'm In Love With a Big Blue Frog" and "On Top of Spaghetti," but we do have Goofy wondering what he'd do "If I Only Had a Brain."

(Oh, and it was clouding up even as I rode home. It finally rained earlier tonight shortly after I got out of the shower, though it's gone now.) 

Night of the Counterculture Cut-Ups

Began the morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. Mystery Inc is in Mexico for a small town's annual fiesta. They're disappointed when a professor and his wife announce that "The Fiesta Host Is an Aztec Ghost" that's scaring visitors away from the nearby temple. Shaggy and Scooby dodge the huge ghost of King Montezuma and his moving statue minion while the other three figure out what it is that Montezuma is really after.

Switched to Press Your Luck while making my grocery list. I came in during the second half...and apparently, the Whammies were so thick in the first half, everyone ended up with two each and no money. One of the women got hit with Whammies and dropped out early. The man just kept winning...until he was hit, leaving the other lady as the only one who didn't get that one last Whammy. 

Headed out after that. Got to Collingswood Family Medicine with barely any time to spare. Things went much better than it has the last time I talked to Dr. Jessica. The blood pressure medicine is working well, I lost a few pounds, and I've enjoyed my walking trips around South Jersey and Philadelphia this summer. I was in such a good mood, she said I wouldn't need to come every two weeks anymore. I signed up to come in November and went on my way.

Made my way across Collingswood and Newton Lake Park and down Cuthbert to Sprouts next. I got to the Westmont Plaza just ahead of the crowds. I didn't need much at Sprouts anyway. Most of the peaches I bought from there last week went bad before I could eat them, so I bought plums instead. Zevia soda and my usual coconut milk were on sale, and I found very orange mango cookies for a good price. 

My next stop was the Westmont Acme. Mostly needed to restock granola bars and yogurt here. I had online coupons for the Made Good bars, for Oikos Protein yogurt, and for sugar-free Chobani. Bought a small tuna steak for dinner tonight and cooked shrimp and cocktail sauce for dinner tomorrow, with slices of pumpkin roll cake for dessert. The Culture Pop remains on sale; got Watermelon Lime and Strawberry Rhubarb. Picked up bagels for lunch this week and water for the trip home.

Ducked around the park this time, going down Cuthbert to Johnson Avenue, and then the White Horse Pike. It was a bit of a hot ride. It's not killer hot and humid like it was a few weeks ago, but it was still warmer than it has been. I quickly bought a pepperoni-stuffed pretzel and soda at A&A Pretzel Shop and was on my way.

Went straight upstairs and into lunch and Buzzr when I got home. I've seen the Sale of the Century Back to School week before, but I didn't mind catching it again. The kids were neck-and-neck for both shows, even after they bought trips, desks, and computers. A pretty and very smart blond cheerleader won in the first episode. The second just barely went to a sweet Asian artist. Neither girl won the grand prize jeep and trip to the Olympics. That ultimately went to a tall, handsome blond boy. 

Put on The Wild Wild West after I ate. "The Night of the Deadly Blossom" has Jim West and Artemis Gordon fearing for the life of the King of Hawaii after four military officers die mysteriously and a cruiser is sunk. Someone is determined to eliminate the king, and while Artemis works as a stevedore, Jim joins an attractive Hawaiian agent to find out what his real plan is.

Got my schedule at this point. In good news, slightly more hours. Two early days, but they're not on Saturday. I'll finally get back to the Collingswood Farm Market. I also ordered a new bike basket from Amazon. The part of the old one that held the basket away from the bike finally broke while going from Sprouts to the Acme. It's been breaking for a while, but I put off buying a basket because I can never find one I like around here. 

Worked on adding to the inventory for the next few hours. Did The Lion King, Tangled, the Disney Tarzan, the two Television's Greatest Hits sets, the Judy Garland A Star Is Born, the film version of Thoroughly Modern Millie, the Time-Life Movie Classics two-disc set, and When Harry Met Sally. I'll finish the soundtracks tomorrow with the Classic Disney collections, then start in on the cast albums.

Broke to make the tuna with leftover pasta primavera around 6:30. Watched Match Game Syndicated while I cooked. Anita Gillette appeared on these episodes for the first time since 1973. I'm not so sure it was a good idea to put Bart Braverman and Debralee Scott next to each other. They spent the week getting on each other's nerves. 

Finished the night with Laugh-In. The Monkees appeared on the show in 1969, when it was down to Micky, Davy, and Mike. Considering how weird their own show was, they fit in quite well there. The regular cast began the show making hot dog and chicken jokes in old-fashioned bathing suits. The Monkees played judge and lawyers in a case involving airplanes that are too noisy, while Davy had to contend with his salesman band-mates getting between him and Goldie Hawn. 

Peter Marshall dealt with his own cut-ups on the nighttime Hollywood Squares. Paul Lynde takes firm command of the center square here. The second episode, with Rose-Marie chiding John Davison for his bad answers, is especially cute.

You don't need to climb a skyscraper to honor the Master of the Squares!

Peter Marshall Tribute - Hollywood Squares Nighttime 1975

May Fair Matches

I actually got up relatively early for a change. Finished off the Howard Pyle Robin Hood and wrote in my journal, then watched Charlie & Lola. We're not the only ones who have been dealing with abnormally hot temperatures. "I am Extremely Boiling" complains Lola as she, Charlie, and her friend Arnold try to figure out how to cool off. She gets upset with Arnold when he knocks her ice cream off the cone and won't share his, but changes her mind when she sees how much fun he's having in his inflatable pool.

Headed out around 10:30. I made a quick stop at one of the book kiosks to drop off a few I didn't want, then went back towards Collingswood. Stopped at the Collingswood Bike Share first. My back tire has a slow leak. It keeps deflating, and I keep needing to pump it. I left it with one of the gentlemen there, then went a block down to the Farm Market. 

The Farm Market is blended into the May Fair for the Saturday before Memorial Day. By quarter of 11, it was teeming with people buying produce for their Memorial Day Weekend barbecues and family get-togethers. I saw zucchini and green beans for the first time. Just ended up with North Carolina blueberries and very sweet and tasty strawberries. 

They were still working on my tire when I returned to the Bike Share lot. Turns out the tire had a teeny-tiny piece of metal in it that must have pierced the inner tube. Thankfully, the tire was otherwise fine, and the metal didn't do that much damage to it. He did say there was a spoke broke that needed to be fixed, but I'll do that another time. 

Parked the bike at the rack in front of the Senior Center after it was fixed, then headed down a block to the May Fair. This is Collingswood's huge spring festival, encompassing most of Haddon Avenue. Since Lauren won't be coming until June this year, I promised her I'd take photos of the classic cars at the huge car show. The rows and rows of vintage vehicles were endless. They ranged from a 1920's-era Tin Lizzie to a truck from the 90's. Most of the cars dated to between 1950 and 1975. My favorite was a sleek red and white Ford Crestline and a pretty bittersweet Mercury that was said to be one of only two available in that color. I saw two purple cars Lauren would have loved. 

In addition to the classic car show and the farm market (which closes at noon), the May Fair has a small midway for the kids at the end of Haddon near Westmont. There was a spinning cup-type ride, an adorable mini-merry-go-round, a rock climbing wall for the older kids, and tons of bounce houses. My favorite of the bounce houses were a nifty alien-themed one that seemed to be an inflatable arena for Laser Tag. 

The rest of the fair is given over to many, many different types of craft booths. I saw at least four knitted stuffed animal sellers, but I ended up at my favorite, the one who embroiders such cute faces on her wares. I bought a lovely brick red dragon with crimson wings for myself and something for Lauren. They also had a booth with stuffed animals made from flannel or knit fabric. I bought myself the most adorable flannel cat made from soft white and gray dotted fabric and got Lauren a smaller knit stuffed animal. One of the local banks sold really neat wooden toys that made noise when you shook them for a mere five dollars. I bought a polar bear for me and another for Lauren.

(Incidentally, I named the dragon Persephone and the cat Tabitha.)

The church on Haddon Avenue across from Bank of America and PNC was having a yard sale. One older lady sold beautiful doll dresses with hand smocking trimmed with pearls. I bought Whitney a sweet pink polka dot dress. My favorite find was Christmas Is Coming! 1987, a collection of kid-friendly projects to make for the holidays. This one even includes several intriguing cookie recipes. Mom had - and may still have - all of the Christmas Is Coming! books released between 1985 and 1994. I fondly remember making several of the projects in these books. I know we did the construction paper angels in the '87 book. Mom hung them up around the house until they got too faded to put up anymore. 

Had lunch at Cafe Antonio's Pizza a few doors down from the church. Not only were most of the food trucks and booths way too expensive, but I used the last of my paper money on the dress and book. I ended up with a tasty slice of mushroom, slice of tomato drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette, and Diet Coke. Ate it while watching people stroll by outside.

The fair had already been busy, with tons of people jostling to see jewelry, home-made wooden and metal items, hand-stitched clothes and accessories, beautiful local artwork, and toys for the kids. It was getting even busier as I made my way down to WaWa, probably helped by the sun vanishing behind clouds briefly. Surprisingly, WaWa was busy but not overwhelmingly so. I was able to get my Coke Spiced Zero and get out quickly.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. The sun had returned by this point, and it was incredibly hot and humid, into the mid-80's. That's probably why I saw maybe two other people out in the park. Pushed up the hill and ducked down to Johnson. Everyone must have been either at the May Fair, on vacation at the Shore, or avoiding the heat.

Put on Sale of the Century when I arrived while I got organized. A very sweet woman dominated the episodes between Christmas and New Year's in 1988. Only the charming short guy got anything along with her in the first episode. In the second, she bought a gorgeous hutch (and I couldn't blame her - it really was a stunning piece), and all three contestants picked up something on the Fame Game. She only won the Bonus Round in the second episode, though.

Switched to Give Me a Sailor while relaxing for a while. I go further into this romantic comedy vehicle for Martha Raye and Bob Hope at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Memorial Day! - Give Me a Sailor

Took a shower, then listened to Best Loved Bands of All Time while finishing the blog. Jukebox Saturday Night gives us the flashier bands of the 40's. Big bands were at their height of popularity during the war years, when they provided needed morale boosting. Once the war ended, however, they started to lose ground to more intimate forms of music like rock and hotter, sharper forms of jazz. Among the hits that made the 40's swing were "Now Is the Hour" by Eddy Howard, "Ghost Riders In the Sky" by Vaughan Monroe, "Perfida" by Xavier Cugat, the title song by Glenn Miller, and "One O'Clock Jump" by Count Basie.

Jazz in the 50's tended to skewer more Sweet and Lovely or sharper and hotter as adults searched for the nostalgic music of their 20's and 30's childhoods and their children abandoned the big band sound for rock and smaller combos. Some of the band music that did make waves in the 50's included "So Rare" by Jimmy Dorsey, "Unchained Melody" by Les Baxter, "Mona Lisa" by Victor Young, "Melancholy Serenade" by Jackie Gleason, "The Syncopated Clock" by Arthur Fielder and the Boston Pops, and "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" by Perez Prado.

Switched to the second Judy Garland Quadromania disc next. This one picked up with her big number from Ziegfeld Girl, "Minnie from Trinidad," and a series of songs from her movies with Mickey Rooney. We also get "The Trolley Song," "The Boy Next Door," and the title number from Meet Me In St. Louis and "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe" from The Harvey Girls. Non-movie songs including "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "Aren't You Kind of Glad We Did?," and "Blues In the Night."

The owner of the channel that posts the Match Game and Password chat episodes had trouble with YouTube and couldn't get the episode going until past 9:15. No matter. The random episodes he selected tonight were as much fun as any theme would have been. We mainly saw shows from between 1973 and 1977. We'd just seen the one with Clifton Davies and Brett's shirt with the police patches in strategic places, but it was a cute episode and I was happy to see it again. 

A young redheaded man in 1974 kept chasing Fannie, Brett, and Adrienne Barbeau every time he won. Charles and Richard had to hold him off. Pat Harrington and Brett teased Gene about his checked suit making him look like half of a vaudeville team in another '74 episode. Pat makes a crack about a question being "more than Diana (Dors, Richard's ex-wife) ever did." Far from being angry, Richard ruefully agreed. Robert Urich got to kiss Brett and meet Earl, the little fellow behind the Audience Match board, during his one week. Big ex-football player Rosey Greer got to hear some pretty hilarious answers to what happened when the audience cheered because Gene Rayburn __ Richard Dawson. 

You never know what you'll see next on this hilariously surprising marathon!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Shuffle the Deck Weekend

A Lovely Way to Spend an Afternoon

I slept in so late and got so caught up finishing Rhythm and Clues, it was past noon when I got going. I ate a quick breakfast while watching Press Your Luck. Came in during the second half, just in time to see one guy Whammy out. The lady did too, leaving one guy to play against the house. He eventually won over $2,600, not bad after he hit two Whammies himself. His luck ran out in the next show when a Nebraska law school student managed to be the only one to pick up any cash.

Headed out as the second episode was ending. I had to run a few errands in Collingswood, and it had been a while since I had a nice walk there. Since I've visited Innergroove Records several times over the past few months, I decided to give equal time to the other record store about two blocks away. Collingswood Music is mainly a musical instrument and music lessons store, but it also has a darn good selection of records. I ended up with:

They had a lot of vintage James Bond soundtracks. It was a hard choice, but I finally went with Moonraker (still sealed!), The Spy Who Loved Me, and Octopussy. 

Bernadette Peters - Bernadette Peters (The kid at the desk said he was waiting to see who finally bought this one, considering they had three copies of it in the dollar racks.) 

The Age of Television 

Hooray for Hollywood (Collection of songs and some dialogue from Busby Berkeley Warners movies of the 30's.) 

Ralph Marterie and His Marlboro Men - Music for a Private Eye (themes from 60's detective shows)

Four episodes from The Adventures of Superman old-time radio show

Made my way down Haddon Avenue after I finally made my selection. It was such a lovely day, bright blue, sunny, and still really warm, it made up for a lot of stores in Collingswood being closed on Tuesdays. Thankfully, their library was open. I checked out their shelves and bins of books and DVDs for sale and  ended up with two recent hardback mysteries, Steeped In Malice by Vicky Delany and A Streetcar Named Murder by T.G Herren. 

Backtracked a block to Sabrina's Cafe for lunch. I'm glad I went when I did. I got there around quarter after 2, and they close at 3. They were still surprisingly busy for so late in the afternoon, with several of the long, blocky wooden and metal tables remaining full. I went with one of their seasonal specials, Wheels French Toast, a coconut French toast with blueberry-lemon compote. I was expecting two slices of French toast and some blueberries. What I got was four perfectly-cooked slices of thick coconut French toast swimming in sweet blueberry-lemon compote and topped with whipped cream, toasted coconut, and crunchy coconut streusel. Oh, yum! Sweet, fruity, and just heavenly. 

Had one last stop to make at PNC Bank on the way out. By the time I doubled back two blocks to the banks, there was a line for the outside ATM machines. There was a shorter one inside, too, but I opted to wait there instead. Went in, got my money, and went out.

Headed home after that. I noticed when I locked my bike at the rack behind the Senior Center that it was starting to look grimy. It was time to give it a good scrub. I can't remember the last time I washed my bike. I took it around the back with one of my new washcloths bought from Marshalls and Pine-Sol and gave it as good of a cleaning as I could. It looks a little less dusty, at any rate.

Went upstairs to rest and watch It Ain't Hay. I go further into this Abbott and Costello race track vehicle based on a Damon Runyon story at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

It Ain't Hay

Had no luck with job searching, so I worked on writing instead after the movie ended. Kathleen is surprised when the snow starts. It had been relatively warm just moments before! She hurries off to find shelter as the snow gets worse.

(Oh, and at this point, I saw glimpses of two new Julie outfits at Instagram and on an American Girl blog. One has her in blue shorts and a rainbow pastel heart-print t-shirt that honestly looks more appropriate for 80's girl Courtney. The other, a lavender and teal granny-square crocheted vest and purple skirt, screams 70's as loudly as possible. I might have to get both for Ariel, or at least the granny square one.) 

Broke for dinner and Match Game '77 at 7 PM. The first episode began with Charles joking about Brett's white jacket making her look like a nurse. The others are more interested in commenting on the lady wearing a shirt that said "Baby" with an arrow pointing at her stomach. The second show has everyone singing "On Top of Old Smokey" as an answer to a question about where Ranger Smith ends up when he falls out of his tower.

Finished the night listening to some of my recent record finds as I worked on my It Ain't Hay review. The Johnny Mathis album I Just Found Out About Love would seem to be a special collection of songs with music by Jimmy McHugh intended for the Columbia Music Club. I do have "Sunny Side of the Street" elsewhere, but the other songs are new to me. My favorites were the opening "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening" and "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street." 

Hooray for Hollywood brings together many songs and some bits of dialogue from Busby Berkeley/Warner Bros musicals of the 1930's. I was pleased to see that they didn't always go with the obvious choices, here. Among the rarer songs are "Spin a Little Web of Dreams" from the semi-musical Fashions of 1934, "The Lady In Red" from In Caliente, and "I'm Going Shopping With You" and "The Words are the Music In My Heart" from Gold Diggers of 1935. Surprisingly, two major Berkeley films of the period - Gold Diggers of 1933 and my favorite, Footlight Parade - are not represented. Still, it's nice to have songs from movies that don't turn up as often nowadays. 

A Fair Day for a Harvest

Began the morning off with Strawberry Shortcake again. Strawberry goes "Around the Berry World" in 80 days when mouthy Ginger Snap bets the Purple Pieman that she can do it. Peppermint Fizz ends up accidentally joining her. Peppermint moans and groans every time something bad happens, but Strawberry won't let anything slow her down, not broken boat hulls or busted tires or the interference of the Pieman and Sour Grapes. 

Headed out the moment Strawberry ended. It was too nice not to! We hadn't had such a perfect, gorgeous day in ages. Sunny and warm but not too hot, with a cool wind blowing under a bright pale blue sky. It was just the right type of day for running my remaining errands. 

Started off at the Collingswood Farm Market. Needless to say, they were packed with people buying produce for school lunches, Rosh Hashanah dinners, and the last barbecues of the season. Berries and peaches are gone, but I saw the first Brussels sprouts, gooseberries, winter squash, pumpkins, and pears of the season. I figured Cortland apples and grapes would be enough for the week. 

My back bike tire was completely bald, with not a speck of tread left on it. I was surprised it lasted as long as it did. I'd been wanting to take it to the Collingswood Bike Share and ask them if they had a spare back tire I could use, but I never had the time until today. Yes, they did have a tire I could use. It wasn't brand new, but it was in good shape and had a lot more tread than my old one! I stood by while the gentleman put it on and oiled my dry chain. Ten minutes later, I was off again.

After a quick stop at WaWa for Propel, I headed back across the street and into Westmont. As I rode along Westmont Road, I noticed a blockade and an officer with a squad car blocking off the part of Crystal Lake Road around the pool area. A balloon arch in soft autumn shades hovered over her vehicle. I totally forgot about the Fall Festival Haddon Township holds every year. It's basically a smaller version of the May Fair in Collingswood, with games, craft booths, a merry-go-round, tilt-a-whirl, and bounce houses for the kids, food trucks, and a classic car show. I bought two small stuffed animals made from soft yarn for me and for Lauren and a kiddie cup of Black Cherry Bordeaux water ice from Primo's booth before heading on.

The real reason I was in Haddon Township was because I thought the Haddonfield Library was having its big book sale today. I didn't realize until I arrived that it was last weekend. I ended up using their bathroom and moving on.

Oh well. Since it was on my way, I made my way back to the Fall Festival at Crystal Lake Road. The classic car show was only a block and not nearly as big as the one in May, but there were still a few beauties there. I took photos of them for Lauren. Tossed ping-pong balls into little plastic fish bowl containers because it was sponsored by Ovations Dance Studio, where my niece Finley takes her lessons. The teachers in charge of the booth seemed to know her well and praised her work and how cute she was. Won three cheap, bright-colored velvet scrunchies. 

Made two quick stops when I got back into Oaklyn. Needed pads at Family Dollar; grabbed a bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper, too. Bought three pretzels for later and a Cheesesteak-filled Pretzel for lunch from the pretzel shop.

When I got home, I went straight into lunch and The Wacky World of Mother Goose at YouTube. I go further into this Rankin-Bass retelling of several nursery rhymes at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Wacky World of Mother Goose

(Oh, and I won't be doing reviews while I'm on vacation, but I will be updating this blog as usual. Regular reviews will resume the 26th, the day I come back.)

Spent the rest of the afternoon online, working on writing. Joyce can't help being nervous about the deep, scary woods they're passing through. Charles is only slightly less scared. He hopes there's nothing out there that eats hay. It's Rover, however, who sees the short metal man rusting by the river...

Watched Buzzr's Press Your Luck 40th Anniversary marathon while I worked. I came in just as a woman won a car on her last remaining turn that was enough to make  her the champ. I'd already seen some of the episodes (like the one where the guy cheered very loudly to the crowd after he surprisingly won over $11,000 in cash and prizes), but others were new to me. We even got a Christmas episode with a Whammy chorus. 

Finished the night after dinner and a shower with the Match Game Saturday Classics marathon on YouTube. Comedienne Marcia Wallace was on Match Game for so long, she started early in '74 and made her last appearance towards the end of the 1990-91 run. Her down-to-earth sarcasm and moxie made her a stand-out among some of the weirder or more cutesy characters who turned up on the show. 

Her willingness to mouth off got her into trouble once. One of her answers during a 1977 PM episode was censored. Another time, Gene and Richard played tic tac toe on her bare shoulders after the former got marker on them. There was also the time when she got her first match after many, many misses and everyone in the studio cheered. During the syndicated episodes, she asked Gene to spray her dress so it wouldn't stick to her thighs, sat briefly in Brett's spot while she was doing a play, and listened while a contestant went on and on about the worms she had to feed her daughter's frogs. 

Match wits and answers with Bart Simpson's favorite teacher and Bob Newhart's favorite receptionist in this wacky marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - With Marcia Wallace On Panel

Farm Markets and Yard Sales

I overslept this morning and got moving later than I'd hoped. There was a lot going on today, and I didn't want to miss it. I changed, ate breakfast quickly, grabbed my bags, and hurried out.

Started off at the Collingswood Bike Share next to the Farm Market. This fenced-in area is filled with bikes for rental or selling to Collingswood residents...but it's also where volunteer bike mechanics fix everyone's bike problems. I was very tired of my loose chain coming off. It happened three times in two weeks. I left the mechanic there to tighten it as I went across the street.

The Farm Market was mobbed with people shopping for barbecues, birthday parties, and family get-togethers, or taking time-out from the Collingswood Town-Wide Yard Sale. Saw zucchini, yellow squash, scallions, and cucumbers for the first time this season. I bought those amazing ruby-red strawberries and beautiful cherry tomatoes in many different colors.

Rode around Collingswood for a while after I retrieved my bike. It was cool, cloudy, and damp, all of which were welcome after the dry heat we've had lately. My ride ended up being rather pleasant. Found the children's book version of Christmas Eve On Sesame Street at one house across from Knight Park, along with a hot dog bought from a boy cooking them on an indoor grill. Another sale a few blocks down had four books for a dollar. I bought The Swiss Family Robinson, a collection of adventure stores, a cookbook with recipes for one or two people, and The Taste of Home Baking Book, along with a two-disc CD collection of music by the Mamas and the Papas and "Mama" Cass Elliot solo. 

Made my best finds riding back to Oaklyn down Collings Avenue. One house on Collings near the high school had several lovely 60's and 70's-style home made doll outfits on a blanket. I picked up two long-sleeved coats or dresses for Barbara Jean, one in red corduroy trimmed with lace and ribbon, the other in woolen green plaid. There was also a flowered sundress that will go to Ariel or Whitney. A house on a side street yielded Timeless Tales Volume 3, a collection of Disney shorts. Four of them - Ben & Me, Morris the Midge Moose, Casey at the Bat, and Little Hiawatha - aren't currently on Disney Plus. (In fact, I bought the disc to have Ben & Me for the 4th of July.) 

Didn't have as much luck in Oaklyn. For one thing, it was past 12:30 by that point. I briefly rode down Hillcrest, then across West Clinton and down to Kendall. I didn't see Rose and her family around, but I did buy a lemonade from a family who was earning money to help another family's beloved dog have surgery and got a free water and soft pretzel from the new tae kwon do studio that moved in next to the soft pretzel shop.

Went home and changed quickly while watching What's My Line on Buzzr. I arrived just in time for this black and white episode's charming Mystery Guest. It was a very young and adorable bespectacled Sammy Davis Jr. Arlene Francis guessed him right. She'd seen his nightclub act. Francis carried over to the early Password episode with Sandy Bergman that was on as I was leaving for work.

Made a brief stop at Common Grounds Coffee House before I went to the Acme. I wanted lunch, but ended up buying a French Vanilla Chip muffin for later, along with a Vitamin Water lemonade. It was too busy to sit down or wait around in a long line.

Work was busy for most of the night. In addition to all those barbecues and get-togethers I mentioned, it's the beginning of the month and the end of baseball and softball season for local Little League teams. If people weren't buying barbecue fixings or huge beginning of the month orders, they were stocking Little League concession stands. Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 6 that I was able to leave with no relief and no need for one.

Had dinner while watching Journey Back to Oz on YouTube. I go further into this Filmation adaptation of the Wizard of Oz sequel The Marvelous Land of Oz on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Animation Celebration Saturday - Journey Back to Oz

Finished the night on YouTube with the Match Game Classics Saturday Marathon. Tonight's was a tribute to MASH actors who appeared on the show. Energetic Gary Burghoff (who replaced Charles Nelson Reilly in the third seat from late 1974 to mid-1975), wacky McLean Stevenson, and sarcastic Loretta Swit were the most commonly seen MASH stars on the 1970's and syndicated version of the show. Stevenson, in fact, took over Richard Dawson's "smart guy" seat late in the Syndicated run. Stevenson and Burghoff also appeared on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1983 and '83, along with William Christopher and Larry Linville. 

See your favorite members of the 4077th have a crazy good time, whether they're in Korea or Burbank!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Salute Stars of MASH On Panel

Super Shows On a Not-Super Day

Slept in later than I'd wanted to and barely had time for my journal, breakfast, and the 2018 Muppet Babies. "Kermit and Fozzie's Eggcellent Adventure" takes them all over the back yard on the Easter egg hunt. Fozzie keeps rushing into things, ignoring Kermit's attempt to make plans, until he realizes that it's better to use your head and figure out a problem then run right into it. Animal's so eager to see the city of Ratlantis, he won't use the bathroom. He's embarrassed by "Animal's Little Accident," but the other kids admit it's happened to all of them. When you have to go, you have to go.

Headed out shortly after that ended. I wish I hadn't. Work was a pain in the rear. I was tired and frustrated. I kept messing up and getting upset. We were really busy, too. It's the beginning of the month, Passover starts this week, Easter is next week, baseball just started last week, and March Madness ended today. There was at least one person who bought way too much and we had to put away a quarter of her order, and I held up the line getting a price for another because there was no one in the meat department to put a label on it. 

They eventually pulled me to sweep and push carts. It was really too nice to be inside all day, anyway. It was sunny and still a little windy, though not to the degree of the weekend. It did cloud over a bit later in the day, but long, fleecy clouds, not heavy, threatening ones. Even outside, I still barely had the time to do much more than sweep and push those carts. Rushed out soon as I did one last round with the carts.

And of course, I'd barely gotten a block on the bike when the chain came off. Darn it! I was too tired to try popping it back on. I ended up walking home and feeling very tired and sore. A neighbor did help me get it back on later. The chain is old and does need tightening; he said he might try to get it to the bike shop in Cherry Hill later in the week.

Went straight upstairs and into Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies. The Easter Bunny is sick and Bugs is busy, so Granny tries to find a replacement among the Toons. This is really more a salute to Oscar-winning shorts from Termite Terrace than a holiday special. Among the classic cartoons seen here are "Knighty Knight Bugs," "Birds Anonymous," "Robin Hood Daffy," and "For Scentimental Reasons." 

Did a quick episode of Bluey before I took my laundry downstairs and ate dinner. It's "Easter," and Bluey and Bingo are looking forward to getting chocolate eggs from the Easter Bunny. They're disappointed when they find no eggs in their pouches. Turns out that funny bunny hid the eggs in a special place, and it's up to the two puppy girls to search all over the house for them. 

Finished the night with three episodes of The Super Mario Bros Super Show on Tubi in honor of The Super Mario Movie debuting Wednesday. I do remember seeing this on various syndicated channels as a kid in 1989 and thinking it was fun but a bit strange. That's putting it mildly. Mario (Lou Albaino) and Luigi (Danny Welles) are normal Brooklyn plumbers living in a basement who encounter all sorts of strange people, from a spoiled girl who claims to be an orphan (Dannica Keller) to Albano's fellow wrestler Sergeant Slaughter, who wants them to fix his "Steam-O-Matic." Frankly, the wrap-around sequences don't make a lot of sense and are pretty silly, even by kids' shows standards, and the Italian stereotypes run pretty thick here. No wonder they were dropped after this first run of shorts.

The cartoons make only slightly more sense. Mario becomes "King Mario of Cramealot" when he pulls the Golden Plunger out of a sink and fights Bowser for the throne. "Butch Mario and the Luigi Kid" dodge Sheriff Mouser when Bowser claims they're outlaws in order to rescue Princess Toadstool. They get a grumpy genie to provide "Mario's Magic Carpet" to help them rescue Toadstool from Bowser and a nasty sultan.

Very strange stuff. At least the live action wrap-around segments did manage to get an interesting array of semi-famous people, including Elvira in one memorable episode. The cartoons are typical DiC of the time, funny but with so-so animation and goofy movie spoof storylines. Mario's main interest seems to be in his stomach more than anything. There's also this revolving around the first two Super Mario Bros games. Many of the characters, especially the ones from Mario 2, may not be as familiar to kids nowadays. Honestly, I'd see if you can catch a few of the cartoons sans the wrap-arounds or skip them unless you have really fond memories of when this was first on the air. 

Oh Christmas Tree

Got a really quick start today. Finished Chocolate Caramel Murder, then grabbed breakfast and headed out. Not much time for anything else! While the sun had emerged since yesterday, the wind remained, and it was bitter cold, barely in the 40's. 

Frankly, I would have preferred being outside in the cold to dealing with everything going on at work. Not only were we off-and-on busy with often-demanding customers, but for some reason, Acme picked the first week of the biggest shopping month of the year to rearrange the store. I don't know why they couldn't have waited to do that until after the New Year. Some shelves are still cleared; other things were put into temporary spots. No one can find anything, and customers complained endlessly all day. We had two call-outs, one a bagger. They had to pull a cashier to bag, which meant we were down two cashiers and had no help.  

Something good did come out of the chaos. The Pledge dusting spray I bought a while back is now on clearance. I've been meaning to buy more while they're cheap, but they're usually buried in the back near the pharmacy and I kept forgetting. They dumped the cleaning products on shelves right in the front of the store that used to hold fire starters and charcoal for barbecues. Hard to miss them when they're almost literally right in front of your eyes.

Went in the back to change into a regular shirt soon as they pulled a kid from the bakery to come in for me. Headed down to West Clinton in Oaklyn for a quick dinner before their Christmas parade and tree lighting. I didn't feel like pizza, so I snuggled into Common Grounds Coffee House instead for a muffin, slice of tomato, spinach, and feta quiche, and their "London Landis Fog" (Earl Gray tea with vanilla and foam). 

The tea came with me as I walked my bike down West Clinton. Locked it up at the railing alongside the fire station so I could join in the pre-parade madness. Kids ran around the shared City Hall/fire station parking lot, having duels with sparkling fiber-optic wands that glowed and glittered in the darkness. I even got one for the daughter of a friend of mine. Mothers from the Oaklyn Civic Association gave out free coffee and donuts, while other parents milled around, chatting with their friends and making sure the kids didn't get too rowdy.

It was nearly 7:30 before the first fire truck sirens blasted over the White Horse Pike end of West Clinton. Oaklyn's Christmas Lights Parade just gets bigger every year. Almost every local town had at least one truck wrapped in winking lights. The Grinch waved from one truck. Another sported an inflatable penguin in an airplane on its roof. Still another went with inflatable toys, teddies and dolls and such, and another had red-nosed wooden dalmatians. A woman firefighter happily danced and waved to the crowd on another one. 

The little girls next to me had only one person in mind. They kept screaming for Santa through most of the parade, even mistaking the Grinch for him. They were through the moon when the Oaklyn trucks rolled down the street and Santa finally appeared in his sleigh on top of the very last vehicle. 

The parade isn't the only place where Oaklyn's Civic Association stepped up its holiday game this year. There's twice as many decorations in town as usual, too, including a gorgeous lit snowflake banner across the main commercial block on West Clinton and a tree at City Hall that's five times the size of their usual one. Some of the mothers were disappointed that the tree was too big for homemade decorations from the kids...but most of those are usually made of paper or clay that end up wet and mushy on the ground by the end of the season, anyway. It still looked pretty when Oaklyn's oldest volunteer firefighter (he's been there for 50 years!) pressed the button and brought up the lights. 

Went straight home after that. My Amazon Cyber Monday packages awaited me when I got in. I desperately needed lights for my bike. I bought another package of narrow lights that screw onto your tire valves, like the ones Linda Young sent me a few years ago. Also had gifts for Amanda and the daughter of a friend and a huge 400-slot DVD holder that was on a good sale.

Finished the night as I organized the DVD holder with Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. I go further into this earlier rock biopic spoof with John C Reilly as the greatest rock legend who never lived at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

May Fair Harvest

Started off a gorgeous morning with a quick breakfast before heading off to Collingswood. Every year on the Saturday before Memorial Day, Collingswood holds a huge May Fair on Haddon Avenue. This is the first time in three years I've been able to get there. Not only did I work the Saturday before Memorial Day last year, but it rained too hard for anyone but ducks to be out and about.

My first stop was the Collingswood Bike Share, a fenced-in area filled with bikes for rent near the parking lot where the farm market is usually held. Yes, they were willing to fix my chain. All the guy did was pull back the wheel, tighten it a little, and oil it. Took less than five minutes. I was serenaded by the volunteers singing Weird Al Yankovitz's "Fat" to "Bad" on the radio as they worked.

Locked the bike at the rack across the parking lot as soon as they finished, then headed off to the May Fair. Even at quarter after 10, they were already elbow-to-elbow busy. I dodged families and elderly car enthusiasts as I headed down to the classic car show first. There were so many cars packed onto Haddon Avenue, I think I walked four or five blocks and still didn't see them all. My favorite were several cherry-red vehicles, including a beautiful red and white Chevy, and a scarlet Red Baron-themed roadster with Snoopy and the Red Baron merchandise in the hood.

The rest of the fair consists of a midway for kids with small rides and bounce houses on the other side of Haddon Avenue, a craft show in between them, and the regular Farm Market on a side street. I went there next before they closed. (They close at noon, earlier than the rest of the fair.) They were so packed, I could barely walk around. Was able to get blueberries from North Carolina, along with first-of-the-season strawberries, asparagus, and a zucchini. 

Next stop was the cute booth with the knitted stuffed animals I saw at the full craft show in Collingswood last August. Chose the most adorable peach pig with purple ears for myself, and found a gift for Lauren, too. Sipped a cool pina colada from a smoothie booth while strolling through the midway. It mostly consisted of a Ferris wheel and tilt-a-whirl sized for little kids, a rock climbing wall, and lots of bounce houses. My favorites was the detailed house based around Cars, with a giant Lightning McQueen in between the slides, the nifty candy-themed house, and the one with the castle theme and the dragons painted on it. 

Headed back to the other side of Haddon Avenue for lunch. Several trucks and booths created a designated "food court" between GrooveGround Coffee Shop and DiBartolo Bakery. All of the food was so darn expensive, but a cabbage roll stuffed with rice and beef from a Polish booth wasn't bad. I had it with bourbon-vanilla applesauce. Both were yummy, though the tomato sauce on top of the cabbage roll was extremely salty. It was so busy, I sat with a father and his two sons so I could eat. Made a quick stop a block down at WaWa for a water and a pretzel to complete my meal.

By this point, it was nearly 12:30. I tried to check out a new thrift store, but it was mobbed with kids looking for cheap vintage toys. The crowds were getting heavier and heavier...and so were the dark clouds that gathered overhead. At that point, there was still more sun than clouds, but I wasn't taking chances. I headed home, taking the long way across a sparkling Newton Lake Park to enjoy the sun that remained.

Went straight upstairs when I got home. Watched Match Game '77 as I got organized. This was one of the episodes from the hilarious week that Minnie Pearl appeared with Dick Smothers. Minnie even dressed up in her usual fancy outfit and flowered hat. 

Switched to Hit the Deck on Amazon Prime after the show ended. I go further into this tale of the adventures of three Navy officers on shore leave in San Francisco at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Memorial Day! - Hit the Deck

Dressed the dolls for warmer June weather during the second half. Barbara Jean is in an orange and yellow geometric print sheath dress I found on eBay. Ariel wears Ivy's Rainbow Terrycloth Romper with the vinyl roller skates from an Our Generation Retro outfit. (And apparently isn't much of a skater, as she had a hard time standing up in them.) Whitney is also in an Our Generation Retro outfit, a purple sleeveless rose-print dress with shiny purple shoes Lauren bought her a few years ago. Josefina gets her Weaving Outfit. Molly's sleeveless ruffled Birthday Pinafore is more appropriate for summer than her actual birthday in April. Paired it with the white t-straps from her Polka Dot Outfit. Squeezed Samantha into her frilly pink-tiered Ice Cream Parlor dress. Jessa's in a gray t-shirt and her green culottes from the Girl Scouts outfit, along with green jelly shoes from one of Ariel's Our Generation outfits. Felicity sports a white gown with a bright blue cabbage rose print and ruffled sleeves I found at a doll clothes booth in the Deptford Mall over a decade ago.

Worked on writing for a little while after I finished with the girls. How does one know when they've found the Jabberwock? Follow the smoke trails, says Charles. Brett's not sure she wants to find this creature...but the do manage to find the Vorpal Sword...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Watched a few Looney Tunes wartime shorts for Memorial Day. Bugs drives real-life Nazi leader Hermann Goring crazy when he tries to hunt him down in "Herr Meets Hare." Daffy does the same for an unnamed enemy when he becomes "Daffy the Commando." Gremlins from the Kremlin create a "Russian Rhapsody" when they attack Hitler's personal plane before he can bomb Moscow. "Bosco the Doughboy" fights a war from two decades before as he sings his way through the trenches during World War I.

Finished the night on YouTube with this week's marathon from YouTube channel owner Sam Mitchell. He started doing marathons of classic shows a few weeks ago, but I kept forgetting about them until tonight. This week, he posted episodes of the 2002 Family Feud with Richard Karn. While Karn and the show have problems (including an ugly set), they at least play more like the original show, and Karn at least tried to be decent. Check out Sam's marathon yourself and see how well you do against these fiercely competitive families! 

Game Show Saturday Night Marathon 5/28/2022

Golden Slumbers

Began a cloudy morning with a quick breakfast and a ride to work from a neighbor. I got in with plenty of time...but as it turned out, I could have been infinitely late. It got a little busy around 12:30-1 PM. Other than that, we were dead almost the entire day. I spent the first couple of hours pushing the five carts outside that needed to be done and the rest of my shift filling spray bottles with cleaning liquid, returning cold items, and standing around bored. 

At least it wound up being a nice day to push carts. By the time I got off at 3, the sun was out, and it was a hot and windy day. Took me a little while to get Uber, 13 minutes, but they were on time when they did get there. No traffic either way; I was home within five minutes.

As soon as I got in, I went straight upstairs and into bed. I am still so wiped out. It's been a long couple of months. I'm definitely appreciating that I'm finally getting more chances to rest. Napped for almost two hours and felt a bit better afterwards.

Did some writing after that. Charles and Brett follow the Jabberwock to a cave in the side of a mountain. Neither especially want it to burn them to a crisp, but they also want to find the Vorpal Sword and get out of Limbo. Charles leads Brett in while Brett laments the state her clothes are in.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Watched a very cute episode of Match Game '74 while eating leftovers. One of Allen Ludden's answers were so bad, Gene tore it up and handed it to Betty White and her mother Tess in the audience! Later, Allen proved to be a man way ahead of his time with his answer to "Walking __" in the Audience Match. It may have been a little obscure to audiences then, but nowadays, thanks to a certain hit show on AMC, would likely be the top answer...

Started to make my bed and strip the sheets during Match Game PM. I have no idea where they kept digging up these really tall contestants. In this case, we had a contestant who was 6'8. Gene quickly told him when he asked him if he wanted A or B, he could have anything he wanted! 

Finished putting the summer sheets and quilt on the bed while watching another new episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. The Neighborhood of Make Believe just got a pool, and Daniel's very excited! Queen Sarah, Mrs. Tiger, and lifeguard Prince Tuesday remind him and Prince Wednesday about how rules keep us safe and why "Daniel Follows the Rules of the Pool." He's also excited about joining Queen Sarah, Katerina, and Miss Elaina for "Daniel's First Swim Class," especially getting to blow bubbles in the water! Katerina's upset when a storm rolls in and they have to clear out before she can blow bubbles, but as Prince Tuesday reminds them, being in the water during a thunderstorm really isn't a good idea.

Another neighbor came over and got the chain back on my bike while the show was on. He wasn't able to tighten it, though. I probably will have figure out how to get to Cherry Hill for that. 

Finished the night online after a shower with The Love Boat. Gopher's singing "The Spider Serenade" when he falls for a lady (Jill St. John) who begged him to squish a spider in her cabin, before he realizes she's married. A young man (James MacArthur) wonders if having a "Next Door Wife" is such a bad thing when his ex (Joanna Pettet) gets the room next to him and his fiancée (Susan Buckner). Two cruise ship executives and former middleweight champs (Milton Berle and Alan Hale Jr.) fought each other years ago, but knocked out the referee. They want to settle things now...but learn that "The Harder They Fall" when Captain Steubing ends up in the middle of their feud. 

Against the Wind

Got so caught up in the Dear Canada book To Stand On My Own, about a 12-year-old girl dealing with polio during an epidemic in 1937, it was past 11:30 before I finally got moving. The second half of Match Game-Hollywood Squares was on when I started. The episode featured a mini-MASH reunion, with McLean Stevenson and Larry Linville on the panel. Also saw Charles Nelson Reilly, hilarious older lady Nedra Voltz, and sweet dimpled Bonnie Urseth. 

Did the dishes as they went into Match Game '76. Nipsey Russell, Patti Deustch, and Dr. Joyce Brothers joined in for these episodes. In the first episode, we got a lovely view of Gene's back as he read Richard a question about what Dumb Donald wears in the bullring, and we hear a random door-slam off-camera. The second episode featured a pretty contestant with a lovely soft voice like Eartha Kitt who had such a terrible brain freeze over a question, Gene prompted her and prompted her and eventually sat down to do it. Poor girl eventually became one of the only contestants who got buzzed before she could give an answer. 

Went online for a while after that to fire off e-mails to apartment buildings and fire off a few more. The Village at Haddonfield only had two-bedroom apartments available, and Haddon Court had nothing. Applied to the apartment building at 200 Station Avenue in Audubon, looking up how much I make in a month at the Acme's employee website. 

Heard from the Peddler's Shop in Deptford. I know Rose finally took it there earlier in the day. Thankfully, it was nothing serious, just an ordinary tire puncture. Both Rose and the bike repair man mentioned there's been a lot more punctures and flat tires lately. Maybe it has something to do with a lot more people riding bikes during the pandemic. I forgot to put the nuts attaching the back wheel to the frame back on when I attempted to fix it. Rose couldn't come back for it. She and Craig were in Deptford. They'd put it on themselves when I got back.

Oh, and Rose told me she and her family will be visiting Craig's brother and his family in Maine for Christmas week. What?! I thought they would only be there for maybe a few days in early-mid December, not Christmas Day! I was looking forward to seeing them Christmas Day and maybe Christmas Eve, even if only for a few hours. Where does this leave me? I'll still cat-sit, but I'm otherwise not happy about this at all. Now I'm losing my home and my holidays. 

Headed out for a walk after I got off with Rose. One of the few apartments for rent in Audubon didn't have a phone number. I did e-mail them, but since I couldn't call them, I wanted to see the house myself. 

But first, I had a few errands to run. Anny's birthday was the day before Veteran's Day, and Keefe's is Thursday. Got Anny a WaWa gift card, so she can buy coffee whenever she feels the need. Didn't know what to get Keefe or what he has in Virginia, so I just sent him a Visa gift card from Family Dollar. Also bought my nephew Khai who twisted his knee a get-well-soon card. 

The day was cold, windy, and cloudy. I didn't care. I haven't taken a walk or run anywhere besides Dollar General and CVS by myself in ages. I needed to think and get away. At least it's starting to look a lot more like fall now. The trees are absolutely glorious, bursting into brilliant shades of scarlet, lime, gold, and sienna. I pushed against the wind as I made my way down Atlantic Avenue, over the train bridge hill and past Market Street, the back of the Legacy Diner, and Simply Soups. 

Willitts Avenue turned out to be a tiny side street just inches from the White Horse Pike. It didn't take me long to find the house with the apartments. It had "A" and "B" on the front and furniture piled on the curb. Didn't see anyone around to ask questions, but I did note that the stairs leading to the second floor apartment were extremely steep and long. It would take me forever to get up there, and would probably be kind of scary in bad weather. 

Walked as far as the WaWa on the White Horse Pike for a Sugar Cookie Smoothie. Unlike their pumpkin spice items, this did really taste like a vanilla butter milkshake. Very sweet, but very tasty. Grabbed a pretzel to tide over my growling tummy until I got home. 

Dodged a lot of kids cutting across the parking lot on their way home from school while I called Uber. I didn't feel like hiking anymore, and it was getting kind of late. The guy showed up in 7 minutes...but after I told him he was going the wrong way, instead of turning off and going down Atlantic Avenue, he took a sudden and fast U-turn on the White Horse Pike. Not only am I pretty sure it was illegal, but he's lucky no one was coming down the road. At least he was just going straight until we got down to West Clinton. 

Put on Press Your Luck while I got organized and had a quick chocolate banana smoothie for lunch. Whammies flew fast and furious today, especially in the second half. The champ had stiff competition from the other guy for a while. In the end, he finally emerged victorious and went into the Hall of Fame with a trip to Curacao, two Whammies, and the second-biggest haul ever on the show. 

Went into writing after dinner, but I couldn't focus. Marcia drags Bill down the hall after Betty. Orson carries Gary (Burghoff) the Doormouse, claiming they'll be able to help and they want to figure out how to get into Limbo and rescue Charles.

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Had crispy pan-fried fish and steamed Brussels sprouts while watching Match Game '77. Everyone celebrated the show's 1,000th episode by helping the contestant with "__ Hips" on the Audience Match, a contestant showing off her incredibly long dark red nails, and Gene literally stopping the show. Richard also gives us a glimpse of things to come when Gene announces the panel for next week and he holds up a card that says "Never Finished School"...

(It's also a good indication of why Buzzr's ending the '77 episodes after tomorrow. I don't think they're quite ready to handle the School Riot yet.)

Let the PM run as I got organized, then switched to jazz as I hit the bath. Even that didn't really settle me down or make me feel better. Normally, I love baths, but...right now, I'm just depressed. Everything is going wrong. I'm losing my home, my holidays, and probably my independence, and I won't get to spend Christmas with most of the people I love. Even with money, apartment owners still don't want me because of my low paycheck and credit score. I don't want to be in South Jersey anymore, but I still have no idea who I am or where I want to be.  

Finished the night online with Star of India on Kanopy. Cornel Wilde is Pierre St. Laurent, a soldier in the 17th century who returns home to France and discovers a beautiful young widow named Katrina (Jean Wallace) living on his property. Turns out his lands were confiscated and sold by Narbonne (Herbert Lom), the greedy and calculating governor of the province. Katrina is really a spy, and she wants Pierre to help her steal back the beautiful sapphire "Star of India" that Narbonne stole from the Dutch government. Pierre befriends Narbonne's mistress (Yvonne Sanson), who informs him that Narbonne keeps the jewel on his sword. It'll take several duels and a flight onboard ship for Pierre to reclaim both this priceless jewel and the lady who wanted it.

Standard potboiler enlivened by a lovely Technicolor production and Lom and Sanson's performances as the mincing governor who's more ruthless than he seems and his intelligent and calculating lady. Wilde and Wallace are stiff as boards with some very dull dialogue and aren't nearly as much fun to watch. 

When Things Were Rotten

Got a rare chance to sleep in this morning. When I did get up, I had breakfast and watched Hogan's Heroes. Hogan convinces Klink that he wants to go "To Russia Without Love" when Kommenant Strausser of the Eastern Front wants to transfer and gives him secret papers. After Strausser turns out to not be what he claims, they have to figure out how to convince Klink to stay.

Worked on writing for a while next. Duchess Marcia's pepper-obsessed cook Miss Mary (Wickes) is the next "witness." She's not much of a witness. All she does is shake pepper around, tell King Allen he should use more pepper in his tarts, and leave. Brett is called on after her...and not only did she see Ira (Skutch) the Knave of Hearts steal the tarts, but she has more than one thing she wants to say to the assembled courtroom...

Broke for lunch at 1. Had the last of that hoagie from the other day while watching more Hogan's. Doubled back to "The Meister Spy," which I started watching a few days ago but didn't get to finishing. The guys and a downed pilot are dismayed when the pilot's commanding officer turns out to be a double agent. Hogan gets him back and finds out what he knows.

I was about to head off to work and to drop Sweet Tea Revenge off in the book drop at the library when I realized my back tire was a bit flat. I pumped it, and it seemed good as new again. Was able to drop off the book and, since I was in that direction, took the long way down Nicholson Road. Barely got to work on time.

Got my schedule when I came in. On one hand, I'll be on vacation starting Wednesday...but I work 8 or 8 1/2 hours every day before that! They couldn't have given me shorter shifts, or even a day off? We're just too short-handed. Another older cashier got tired of his hours and quit, and there's still a lot of people on school or non-virus-related medical leave.  

Work was tiring and a bit of a pain. I was in a register today. We were busy almost the entire evening. While most people were in decent moods, there were a lot of huge orders, and a few folks who took forever. At least one guy ended up putting back a quarter of his order when he figured out he didn't have the money. Thankfully, it slowed down enough by 7 for me to leave without a relief.

And, of course, the tire was flat again by the time I finished. It was too late to call anyone, and I wasn't sure if they could carry me and my bike anyway. I walked home in the dark. At least it's not raining. Cloudy, humid, and warm for this time of year, but not raining. 

I tried as hard as I could to get the tire off when I got home, but it just wouldn't budge. I got the bolts off that held the tire to the frame, but not the ones that held them to the brakes. And then, the chain came off. It took me an hour, and I still couldn't get it off. I'm so disappointed in myself. I should be able to fix my own bike with no trouble. I finally put it in the garage and called Rose. I'll just do Uber tomorrow. 

Dropped my laundry at Jodie's side of the house (with her blessings this time), then finished the night with second season Charlie's Angels. "Mother Goose Is Running For His Life" when a small LA toy company is hit with a series of accidents, including a toy cannon shooting a man who tried to wire-tap the room. Kelly poses as a woman working with the next wire-tapper, Sabrina as a woman who is interested in the toy company for her father's international toy empire, and Kris as a life-sized doll to find out who has it in for Mother Goose. 

Pride and Matches

Began the morning with Blueberry-Lemon Pancakes and Yankee Doodle Mickey. This kid record from the early 80's features the Disneyland Chorus, the Disney characters, and kid singers performing familiar patriotic songs, plus "The Liberty Tree" from the movie version of Johnny Tremain. A very young Molly Ringwauld can be heard on "This Is My Country" and "God Bless America." Mickey sings the title song and joins Goofy, Donald, and the kids for a medley saluting the Armed Services. Mickey honors the Marines and the Air Force, Goofy gets the Army, and Donald, of course, the Navy.

Dashed off to work shortly after the record ended. This time, we were a lot busier, with lines occasionally down the aisles...but we also had more help. It would slow down momentarily, then suddenly get busy again. Thankfully, there were no problems whatsoever. The crowds thinned out enough by 6 for me to get out without a relief or the need for one.

Went straight home, trying to ignore the hot and humid weather. I had to figure out how to get my bike inside. I can't put it in the garage this week. The driveway's being redone. I discovered the hard way when I tried to drag it up the concrete step and into my place that I can't keep it in my apartment, either. Even with Jodie's help, it was a pain to get inside. It also takes up too much room in my narrow hall, which I tried to explain to Jodie in the first place. I may just lock it to a tree starting tomorrow morning.

Jodie gave me an Italian hoagie, which I had for dinner. Listened to my America the Beautiful record set while I ate. I found this collection of patriotic music released in honor of the 1986 Statue of Liberty restoration so long ago, I can't remember exactly when I picked it up anymore. Favorites on the first disc include "American Patrol," "This Land Is Your Land," "The Grand Canyon Suite," and a medley of George E. Cohen songs performed live, with people singing along in the background.

Worked a little bit on my fanfic after dinner. Brett angrily and drunkenly calls Jack out for being a traitor, while her oldest son Adam wants to know what's the "game" the Red King is always saying everyone should play his way. It's more like "everyone needs to follow his rules or else." He orders Orson, Charles, and the Doormouse arrested...but Richard won't let that happen.

Took a shower after I broke, then finished the night on YouTube with more Match Game featuring Fannie Flagg and Charles Nelson Reilly. They would remain popular panelists for the rest of the show's run (though Charles did take occasional hiatuses for other projects). One of Fannie's funniest appearances in 1976 had her wearing a long wavy wig and putting on a Brooklyn accent, making her look and sound a bit like Maple LaMarsh. Charles and tough guy Scoey Mitchilll changed seats and personalities for an episode later that year. Next year, Fannie was really in the dark when the lights went out completely when she tried to give an answer. In 1978, Charles encouraged a young officer to "attack!" when giving his answer.

Charles did some of his best work in a syndicated episode from 1981. Fed up with Charles' constant heckling, Gene turns the microphone over to him and takes his spot. His attempts to take answers and interview the contestant are adorably awkward and probably some of the funniest things he ever did.

Finish up Pride Month with this salute to two truly creatively matching minds!

1976 - Fannie's Grand Southerner Entrance

1976 - Charles Nelson Mitchilll?

1977 - Lights Go Out on Fannie!

1978 - Charles Does His Makeup Onstage

1978 - Charles Orders Attack! 

1981 Synd - Charles Hosts a Question