Rainy Day Games

Started the day with breakfast and Monchichhis. It's a "Double Play" when the Grumplins create a machine that can turn a Grumplin into a Monchichhi. They target Patchit, the Monchichhis' inventor, repair-monkey, and head of the Happy Works, capturing him when he goes out for a ride on his new helicopter. When the others realize that's not Patchit, they go after him, only for him to rescue them when they're captured and sent to the Grumplins' mines.

It was pouring like crazy when the cartoon ended. I had to call Uber. There was no way I could take the bike...but I called too late. They couldn't arrive for 20 minutes! I ended up being very late, more than 20 minutes. At least there was no such trouble later. The second driver arrived in 9 minutes. No trouble on the road, not even flooding. 

Thank heavens that was the worst thing that happened all day. The rain stopped shortly after I arrived. It started again around 11. As you can imagine, the store wasn't busy. It didn't even pick up a little bit until almost before I was done. Another bagger came in and helped with the carts after around 10 as well. I was in and out with no trouble. Even picked up Bob's Red Mill instant oatmeal on clearance.

Instead of going straight home, I had the Uber driver drop me off at WaWa to use the ATM machine. Grabbed a Caramel Coconut Smoothie, Chicken Teriyaki Wrap, and Miss Vickie's chips there, too. The smoothie was frankly a bit watery, but the sandwich was yummy when I got home. Thankfully, the rain was long gone by the time I was at WaWa, though it remained cloudy and thickly humid. I did get home dry.

Did something different when I got in and watched Sesame Street. The brand-new special "Storm On Sesame Street" has everyone in the neighborhood preparing for a major storm that's supposed to hit New York. Elmo's dad asks him to find three objects that will help make everyone feel better. He's joined by Abby Cadabby, her mom, and her stepbrother Rudy. Rudy's very nervous about the storm, so Elmo tries to distract him. He's helped by Bert and Ernie (who took in animals) and Big Bird (who is lining up stuffed animals for hugs, including his own Radar teddy). Later, after they see the havoc the storm wrecked on Sesame Street, they play superheros to fix everything, but learn that even the smallest help can have the biggest impact.

Switched to records while vacuuming, dusting, Swiftering, and taking the laundry downstairs. Since I just watched Sesame Street, I started off with Sesame Street Story Time. Luis, Maria, and Bob narrate short original fairy tales featuring the Muppets. Most of them, like "The Legend of the Lovely Linda," "Ike and Ilk," "The Story of Ira and Inex," and "The King Banishes the Letter 'P'," teach letters and their sounds. "The King's Picnic," "The King's Nose," and "The King and the Fireman" go more into the roles of kings and what they do. The theme of "The King's Problem" is very similar to "Storm On Sesame Street," showing how you don't have to be big or fast to do something important.

When We Were Very Young is an adaptation of a book of poetry by Winnie the Pooh author A.A Milne, and is in fact where Pooh made his debut. While ironically they don't use the poem that introduced Pooh ("Teddy Bear"), some of the others are lovely. "Daffydowndilly" and "The Mirror" have a sweet edge of melancholy to them, while "Disobedience," with its reverse of a child trying to care for a wayward parent, has an almost macabre ending. 

Salad Days was a long-running hit in London during the mid-50's, and frankly one of the most peculiar hit musicals I've ever heard. College students Timothy and Jane get married secretly, due to his disapproving family wanting him to find work. They eventually agree to watch a homeless man's piano for a month. It seems like an easy assignment, until they realize the piano makes anyone who hears it want to dance. One of Timothy's many uncles is a government official who bans the piano. After it goes missing, another uncle who is a scientist takes them in his flying saucer to find it.

Um, er, yeah. Good thing the music is genuinely charming, because the story is plain bonkers. Eleanor Drew and John Warner get the sweet "We Said We Wouldn't Look Back" and "Oh, Look at Me," while the more lively "Out of Breath" and "We're Looking for a Piano" are the closest this show gets to chorus numbers. Drew gets two solos, "I Sit In the Sun" and "The Time of My Life." This isn't a big show. It's played on the one piano. It is pretty cute, though, and apparently continues to remain popular with amateur groups in England and the UK. If you like British musical comedies, you'll probably want to hear this, but it's not for someone looking for a meatier story or one that makes sense.

I almost passed out listening to Salad Days. Switched to the American Musical Theater CD...and I did pass out there after the third song. I went down at around quarter of 5 and finally got up around 6:30. I'll listen to the rest of it later this week. 

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner and after I brought the clothes upstairs. Most of the episodes covered the week with Scoey Mitchelll and Susan Howard. The last half-hour took us into the next week, with Orson Bean, Betty White, and the only appearance of character actress Pat Delaney.

Finished the night after a shower honoring the 100th anniversary of NBC this year with some of their most memorable game shows. Password, for instance, started on CBS when it began in 1961. Password Plus moved the franchise to NBC in 1979, and it would stay there for Super Password starting in 1984. Although Super with Bert Convy was the bigger hit, Plus introduced the format both shows used that had contestants not only guessing words, but how they were all connected into a word. (And Password has gone back to NBC for its current version after Million Dollar Password ran on CBS in 2008.)

NBC wasn't nearly as good at keeping its shows around as CBS. Most of the Chuck Woolery and the early Pat Sajak daytime episodes of Wheel of Fortune are gone for good. The episode I have here from 1979 is one of the survivors. They're missing a lot of Hollywood Squares, too. We do have this episode from early in its short-lived nighttime run with Buddy Hackett in the center square, when it was one of the funniest and hippest game shows on TV.

You Bet Your Life was more fortunate. Groucho Marx's son was able to save most of his father's show from being junked. He absolutely made the right call. Not only is this one of the few surviving game shows from its era, but Groucho grilling contestants and tossing out quips to wanna-be comedians and inventors is still hilarious over 70 years later. 

By the time Classic Concentration debuted in 1988, NBC had largely begun to drop daytime game shows. It would be one of the last game shows on the network, running until 1991. The success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at ABC in 2001 prompted NBC to bring another popular British game show stateside. The Weakest Link is even darker as stone-cold hostess Anne Robinson presides over a group of people who vote off the worst player or "weakest link" after every round. The show ran into audience fatigue with "big money" game shows and didn't run a year. It did much better in its revival with Jane Lynch starting in 2020.

Celebrate NBC's centennial with some of its most beloved and popular games! 

You Bet Your Life (1950)

Hollywood Squares (1968)

Wheel of Fortune (1979)

Password Plus (1982)

Super Password (1987)

Classic Concentration (1991)

The Weakest Link American Premiere (2001)

Going Global Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Monchhihis. This is another Hanna-Barbara cartoon I watched as a kid, mostly during its later run on the USA Cartoon Express. I have no idea how they turned Japanese monkey dolls into little monkey-like creatures who live in trees and need Tickle Crystals to run their Happy Works, which makes them happy. The first episode, "Tickle Pickle," seems more like the half-hour specials for characters like Strawberry Shortcake. After the grump gray monkey-monsters the Grumplins attack their treetop kingdom and shatter the tickle crystals, five of the young Monchhihis take it on themselves to find more before the Grumplins do.

Headed out on the bike after the show ended. Ran some brief errands on the White Horse Pike first. My nephew Skylar's 22nd birthday is Friday. I picked up a card for him and a Propel at Dollar General. Neither they nor Family Dollar had much in the way of foot or heel aids. After the fuss in Dollar General the last time I went in there, at least a lady was nice enough to let me go on ahead.

There was no more putting it off. I rode up to Cooper Urgent Care in Audubon to finally get my heel looked at. I've had a bump on my right heel for weeks that's been fairly painful. I was hoping it would go away, but...it hasn't. Thankfully, unlike when I went there in early March, they only had three other people in the waiting area. After signing in and telling them about my heel, they brought me in within five minutes. 

After they took my blood pressure, I watched Lilo & Stich: The Series (a clumsy alien Lilo dubs "Whoops" wrecks havoc on Pleakley's Domino Rally game) and Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (Ladybug deals with her friend Kagumi's frustrations over her mother being strict with her and a pair of mud-flinging villains called "The Dirtifyers") on The Disney Channel before the doctor came in. I explained my problem. My heel has had that lump for weeks, and it gets worse when I use it for a long time or push it hard.

After she felt around my foot, a sweet young woman took me to the x-ray room. I sat on a table so they could take shots of my heel. Returned to the room and to watching Ladybug and her buddies until the doctor returned. Verdict - heel spur and Achilles tendinitis. I'm to get antibiotics, continue to wear the heel lifts in my shoes, and go to Cooper Bone and Joint next week for a follow-up appointment.

After I got out, I went next-door to WaWa. I had considered eating out, but I didn't like the look of the weather. It was sunny when I started, but by quarter of 2, clouds were gathering, and it was humid and much hazier. It's a good thing I did settle for buying a roast beef and provolone wrap, a bag of PopCorners (popped corn chips that taste like a cross between rice cakes and tortilla chips), and a matcha pineapple smoothie. It started showering lightly almost the moment I stepped out of WaWa. I was just heading down East Clinton when I arrived and the showers got heavier.

(Thankfully, they didn't last long after that. There would be some pretty noisy storms later around dinnertime, but they seem to have subsided for the moment.)

Watched rain-themed cartoon episodes during lunch. Minnie and Daisy are dismayed that there's no rain for their flowers in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Professor Ludvig Von Drake gives them the formulas to make clouds the right shape for their gardens that would rain on them, so they can have their flower show. Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy end up saving them when the Glove Balloon gets stranded on a cloud and they need help to create "Minnie and Daisy's Flower Shower."

Switched to PBS Kids for Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Katarina and O and their parents and uncle sleep over the Tiger Family's house when they're evacuated due to "A Storm In the Neighborhood." The loud rain and thunder scares the kids, but their parents assure them that they have a plan to keep them safe. "After the Neighborhood Storm" everyone pitches in to clean up, including the firefighters who help remove a tree from in front of the Clock Factory.

Listened to records while doing the laundry and resting my foot. The Broadway revival of The Boy Friend from 1970 was supposed to be headlined by Judy Carne of Laugh-In as sweet Polly Browne. Sandy Duncan was the one who got the lion's share of good notices as Maisie, the boldest of Polly's friends who sings "Won't You Charleston With Me?" and "Safety In Numbers." Jeanne Beauvais as the girls' teacher Madame Dubonnet also does well by "Fancy Forgetting" and "Poor Little Pirouette." 

Put the laundry in the dryer as I moved on to children's albums. Beryl Berney was apparently a journalist, artist, and puppeteer who worked on children's shows in the 1950's and 60's when she did a series of storytelling albums for kids-based Rocking Horse Records. Snow White and Dick Whittington are pretty much the traditional version of those stories, other than Snow White has a unique ending. The Wicked Queen turns so ugly, she destroys her mirrors when she looks into them, including the magic one. 

The Story of Robin Hood is a condensed retelling of the 1952 live-action Disney movie of the same name. The movie itself is good but not great, and that's reflected here. I do like the build up for Prince John and King Richard's mother Queen Eleanor as Maid Marion's boss, and some of Robin's men can be pretty funny. This is nice to hear if you love Robin Hood stories or Disney's 50's and 60's movies, but far from essential. Dal McKennon narrates here. 

Moved to Match Game '75 as The Story of Robin Hood ended. Richard Dawson's then-girlfriend Jody Donovan was such a doll during the week of New Year's, I wish she had come back, no matter who she was dating. New Year's Eve 1975 was celebrated with noisemakers, balloons dropping, and hats for everyone. (Jody's glittering headband and short hairstyle made her look like she'd just walked out of The Boy Friend.) Charles popped a Match Game '75 balloon to reveal '76...then popped that one to show '77, then showed '78 drawn on his thumb.

Finished the night with game shows from Richard Dawson's native England, starting with the two that have been running on Buzzr this month as part of their "Buzzr Goes Global" marathon. Freemantle, Buzzr's parent company, is British, and thus has no shortage of shows from that country. Going for Gold had seven contestants from across the UK and Europe answering questions and playing against each other to see who would continue in the tournament. The show ran for a decade as people tuned in to see who would be moving on to the next week. The episode I have here from 1990 includes a blind contestant and his seeing eye dog who is not only introduced in the opening, but does quite well, making it to the end of the show.

Small Talk is probably one the most hilariously adorable game shows to come out of Britain. Three adults guess how a panel of 9 kids will answer a certain question in this variation on Child's Play. No wonder this ran for two years on the BBC and Buzzr chose it for their marathon. The kids are a riot, and jovial host Ronnie Corbett is obviously having a ball watching them. 

Double Your Money goes way further back. This hit from 1955 was apparently based on The $64,000 Question, but more closely resembles an early form of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Couples answer questions for escalating amounts, leading to the "1,000 Pound Treasure Hunt." This was an early hit for ITV and is one of the earliest surviving TV game shows in England.

3-2-1, based on a Spanish format, may be one of the most unique game shows ever in England. The first half starts as a straight quiz, with couples answering questions. The second half looks something like a cross between Monty Python, Let's Make a Deal, and Beat the Clock. The winning couple does stunts based on the theme of the day (cartoons, in this case), then watch a series of wacky skits and give answers based on clues given by an actor from the skit, a prop they bring over, and what they can remember from them. The winners from that have to choose between a series of prizes. The bad prize on this show will land them "Dusty Bin," the show's robotic comic mascot and official "klunk." Maybe we ought to try mixing variety shows and game shows more often over here in the US, because this was really fun, especially that wacky second half.

Chain Letters is a far more traditional game show. In this 1987 series, three contestants change letters on a computerized word to make another word. The second round had them trying to predict what word one of the contestants would make. The third round had them changing certain letters from a word on the screen. The winner would see how many words they could form by changing one letter in 60 seconds. This was also lot of fun, and pretty challenging. It was enough of a hit for ITV to pull it out again for two series starting in 1995.

The British get far more into their comedy panel shows than we Americans do. Case in point, the irreverent and utterly hilarious Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Two panels of rock musicians guess what will happen in a music video, facts about other musicians, and try to remember the next line of a song. Celebrity guests will pop in to help answer questions and sing the first bars of a popular rock song. The real attraction was watching all of these musicians make jokes about their fellow performers and be delightfully witty. They had such a good time, this ran for almost two decades on the BBC from 1996 to 2015 and was revived successfully for four years starting in 2021. 

Take a summer trip across the Atlantic to make letter chains, dodge moving trash bins, double your money, and watch some of the funniest kids and musicians on either side of the pond.

Double Your Money (1955)

3-2-1 (1978)

Chain Letters (1987)

Going for Gold (1990)

Small Talk (1994)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks Premiere (1996)

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

Started off the day with one of the new Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood episodes currently at PBS Kids. Daniel's excited when "Grandpere Sleeps Over," until he learns that Grandpere will sleep in his trolley bed. His father reminds him that he has to remember other people's needs, too. Likewise, when it's too dark in Margaret's room where he's sleeping, Grandpere finds a way to shed a little light on him. Daniel attends a "Tea Party at the Castle" with Chrissie and Prince Wednesday. They find a friend for him when they make it a stuffed animal tea party and he helps them clean up when they're done.

Listened to the soundtrack from the live-action version of Moana that's currently in theaters as I rounded up clothes to be donated. Other than a different Moana, most of this is pretty identical to the original animated film. They even have Dwayne Johnson singing "You're Welcome." There is one genuinely good new song, "Along the Way," and some of the chorus songs are expanded from the animated version. Otherwise, if you have the soundtrack from the animated version, you're probably fine just looking for "Along the Way" separately. 

I headed out to run errands after the episode ended. My first stop was the book kiosk down the block to drop off something I just finished. Found an interesting Halloween cozy mystery, 15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Breecher. I was originally going to buy a birthday card for a friend and hydration mix at Dollar General after I dropped off the bag of clothes in the back, but the line was so long after someone threw a fit over not being able to use a coupon, I left with nothing. I got a better card, a gift card, and hair clips and used the bathroom at CVS. 

It was a gorgeous day in the neighborhood. Though it was slightly warmer and more humid than yesterday, it still wasn't anything like last week! It was sunny, breezy, and perfectly clear. The haze had vanished with the storms on Saturday night. Couldn't have been more perfect for a long walk down the White Horse Pike. I had lunch at Dunkin' Donuts to finish up the gift card I got from one of the kids. Had a bacon and egg sandwich on a multi-grain bagel, very yummy mini hash-browns, a cream donut, and a "SunCloud Lemonade." Basically, this was lemonade with marshmallow topping, and it was sweet but not bad. 

Made a very short stop at Family Dollar after I finished lunch. I was hoping to find that hydration drink mix. Nope, they were out. I once again walked out with nothing and just went home.

After I got home and took the laundry downstairs, I spent the next few hours looking up housing counselors online. I'm going to need help to figure out what I can afford, what condos are right for me, and how I can get them. I narrowed it down to two companies, Clarifi and NJ Citizen Action. I'll decide which one to use and contact them on Wednesday after work. 

Listened to the Stage Door Canteen 4-disc record set as I worked and put the laundry in the dryer. I have no idea why the first three albums in this set were made by Heartland Records and the fourth was an RCA Special Products release. They're all the same idea, though - hit songs from the World War II years. Some of them, like the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Rum and Coca Cola," "It's Been a Long, Long Time," "I've Got Spurs that Jingle Jangle Jingle," and Frank Sinatra's version of "Saturday Night" remain iconic today. Others are definitely of their era, like "Mairzy Doats," "Pistol Packin' Mama," "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," "Chickety Chick," and "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen." 

Match Game '75 was starting as the last record in the set was ending and I brought the laundry upstairs. Most of tonight featured the hilarious week with Dick Gautier in his blonde wig for the Mel Brooks Robin Hood spoof When Things Were Rotten, ingenue Melinda O. Fee, and Betty White. Melinda got a standing ovation from the crowd when she finally gave a right answer! The ingenue in the next week was The Belle of Amherst herself, Broadway star Julie Harris. Harris was a close friend of Charles Nelson Reilly, and she was too sensible to deal with Gene Rayburn's amorous "new kid on the block" shenanigans or William Shatner panting over her.

Finished the night celebrating the 60th anniversary of Chuck Barris' first hit show, The Newlywed Game. Host Bob Eubanks asks four just-married couples questions to see how well they knew each other. It got a head start on the competition when CBS preempted Password to show a politician's news conference, but it ran as planned. The spicy innuendo between the couples and the questions about "makin' whoopee" made the show a hit right out of the gate. It was such a success, it even had a nighttime series that ran from 1967 through 1971. 

By the early 70's, daytime standards had begun to loosen considerably. Suddenly, "makin' whoopee" wasn't quite the big deal it had been a few years before. Not to mention, it had stiff competition from the NBC soap Days of Our Lives. ABC ended the daytime version in 1974. The show had more luck in syndication, where it ran from 1977 until Chuck Barris overstepped his bounds with the controversial 3's a Crowd and all of his shows were ended in 1980. 

The Newlywed Game returned as a series of specials on ABC in 1984, hosted by Jim Lange. To date, this is the last time the show has run on the regular networks. It returned to syndication in 1985 as The New Newlywed Game. Eubanks hosted until 1988, when he was replaced by Paul Rodriguez. Saturday Night Live comedian Garry Kroeger hosted a heavily revamped version of the show once again on syndication in 1996 that had the couples answering questions via videos. When the new format proved to be a bust, Eubanks returned with a more professional set and the original format until 1999. 

Carnie Wilson hosted the first season of the Game Show Network revival in 2009. Sherri Shepherd took over in August 2010, and would continue to host until the show ended in 2013. The Game Show Network version was based heavily on the original, with more of a modern neon set and the three couples from the syndicated show.

Make a little whoopee of your own watching some of the funniest newly married couples to ever grace a game show in these wacky, romantic episodes!

The Newlywed Game (1967)

The Newlywed Game Syndication (1979)

The New Newlywed Game (1984)

The New Newlywed Game (1985)

The Newlywed Game Syndication (1996)

The Newlywed Game (2010) 

Something In the Air

Awoke to more torrential rain and noisy storms. The rain was so heavy, East Clinton looked more like an extension of Newton Creek. It was just starting to slow down slightly as I ate breakfast. Watched Shirt Tales as I finished and Lauren got organized. Dinkel wants to dance at the cool new nightclub, but the Shirt Tales are more concerned about a DJ who uses his hypnotic music to keep people dancing, so he can rob them. Digger and Kip use Digger's love of classic music to stop these "Saturday Night Shirt Tales" from getting down so they can catch the crooks. "Dinkel's Buddy" is an archaeologist who has disappeared while investigating a supposedly cursed pyramid. Dinkel goes to rescue him...and the Shirt Tales follow to rescue both of them. 

By noon, the rain was just about gone, and the Uber prices were pretty close to normal. I figured it was safe to call for a ride. The driver arrived in 15 minutes, which wasn't bad, considering the weather. Good thing he was a really nice guy, because the roads were a mess. Half of Camden County was underwater. He had to turn around twice when spots on Route 38 was too heavily flooded to pass. He wasn't happy about it, and it took us almost 40 minutes to get to the Silver Diner, but...he may have done us a favor. I got to see a lot more of Cherry Hill, including a Dollar Tree that was set so far off the highway, I had no idea it was there, and a beautiful, green private golf course. 

The rain had long ended by the time we did get to the Silver Diner. I wanted breakfast after I had lunch there last week, so I kept things simple with waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Lauren had a "smashburger" and a salad. The eggs were dry and the bacon was kind of limp, but the waffles were delicious, perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Lauren had "Berry Brave" blueberry lemonade. I had "Strawberry Spangled," which came in a little mason jar with lots of strawberry pieces. I finally got to try that huge "Star Spangled Banner Explosion" mousse dome. Strawberry and blueberry mousse on yellow and chocolate cake covered in white frosting, surrounded by strawberries and whipped cream. Oh wow! So tasty, but sooo decadent. 

We headed over the pedestrian walkway to the Cherry Hill Mall after lunch. Since it's closest to the entrance, Lauren went to check out Nordstrom. I don't like their prices, and I never find my size there. I peeked around Levi's and found nothing. Wanted to check out Soma Intimates, but not only were they having technical problems and closed early, but just a glance told me their prices were outrageous. Bought a tropical iced tea at Nordstrom's eBar instead. Lauren got a pomegranate iced tea and joined me at the wrought-iron tables outside of Nordstrom's, having had no luck either.

Spent the next several hours going in and out of stores. Macy's up escalator was broken. I had such a hard time finding their elevator, I never really did get to look around there. We took quick looks at Go! Calenders and Toys, Hot Topic, FYE, Old Navy, Famous Footwear, and the just-reopened and expanded Spencer's. (Trivia - the Spencer's at the Cherry Hill Mall is their first store, opened in 1963.) I was the only one who bought anything besides food today. I picked up dark Gloria Vanderbilt jean shorts and a long-sleeved burgundy t-shirt. The latter was on the clearance rack, marked down to $4.49. 

After we finished at FYE, we finally returned to the first level and had dinner early. Unfortunately, Saladworks had closed. They're my usual choice when I eat at Cherry Hill's food court. Their replacement, a kebobs booth, had not yet opened. I just ended up joining Lauren at Charley's Cheesesteaks. She had "The Italiano" (looked like vegetables and salami to me), cheese fries, and a Diet Coke. I went with half of a tasty chicken cheese steak, salty regular skin-on fries, and a sweet peach lemonade.

That pretty much exausted our plans for the Cherry Hill Mall. It was time to go home. We had far more luck with Uber. The driver arrived in 8 minutes, not bad for rush hour in Cherry Hill. By 5:30, it was just partly sunny, windy, and cool, barely in the 70's. The floodwaters had long since subsided. We got back to Oaklyn in 20 minutes with no incidents.

When we got in, Lauren went upstairs, changed, and puttered around. We took our laundry downstairs, and I took out the recycling and took a shower. When I got upstairs after switching the laundry to the dryer, I watched the second hour of Match Game '75. Bill Macy was still appearing on Maude as the title character's hubby when these episodes originally ran. I really wish he came back, because this week was hilarious. Brett and Betty White sniped at each other all week, culminating in everyone's hilarious answers on who would play the beast to Betty's beauty. 

Spent the rest of the night after we got the laundry upstairs honoring the 50th anniversary of Family Feud on Sunday. Feud actually began as a spin-off of the Audience Match on Match Game. Mark Goodson still liked the idea of people guessing survey questions, but instead of contestants and celebrity panelists, we have families playing. Richard Dawson was also carried over from Match Game as the show's first host. 

The show was a huge hit right out of the gate on ABC in 1976. Richard Dawson got so invested in it, he brought his older son and his wife on and started his own feud with producer Howard Felscher. We have the one of the pilots here (and a glimpse of how different the set looked before they expanded it) and a typical Dawson episode from 1981. 

The original Dawson daytime and nighttime versions finally succumbed to heavy competition in 1985. The show returned on CBS in 1988, this time with comedian Ray Combs as the host. I used to love the Combs show! I have fond memories of watching it and The Price Is Right back-to-back on Channel 10 in the late 80's and early 90's. I'm actually kind of grateful that Mom had the cable turned off before they started the notoriously weird Family Feud Challenge with the "bullseye" opening. Richard Dawson replaced Combs in 1994, but Richard was noticeably aged, and it just wasn't the same. The network show finally ended in 1994.

Feud shifted permanently to syndication in 1999. Baby-faced comedian Louie Anderson was the first host of the revived Feud. Though he does have his fans, I found him grating and the set of his version butt-ugly. Apparently, so did the producers. He was let go in 2002 and replaced by Richard Karn of Home Improvement. Though Karn had a better set, he otherwise had the opposite problem from Anderson. Where Anderson tried too hard to be funny and hip, Karn tended to fade into the woodwork. He worked out well enough to stay on until 2006. John O'Hurley came in after him, but he got fed up with the sexual nature of many of the questions and left in 2010. Comedian Steve Harvey, whose humor could occasionally border on the crass, had no trouble with entendres of every stripe. He took over the show in 2010 and has hosted it ever since.

Let's see how the Feud began 50 years ago and the men who kept the families feuding in these classic episodes!

Family Feud Pilot (1976)

Richard Dawson (1981)

Ray Combs Premiere (1988)

Richard Dawson Return Premiere (1994)

Louie Anderson (1999)

Richard Karn Premiere (2002)

John O'Hurley Premiere (2006)

Steve Harvey Premiere (2010) 

Riders On the Storm

Got a really quick start today. I got caught up reading Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man and had just enough time to eat, change, and call Uber. The one going there came in 9 minutes and got me to work in plenty of time. Had a hard time getting one going home. They took 15 minutes to arrive.

Work was a pain in the rear...or stomach. I'd been feeling queasy since yesterday. I didn't have a fever, but I did end up spending a lot of time in the bathroom, especially in the morning. (Which did some good - I was able to refill the toilet paper.) Mother Nature didn't help. It was cloudy and insanely humid this morning, but the sun came out around 1 PM and it got hot again. We were off and on busy, and I had a hard time keeping up with the carts until another bagger came in at 2. 

When I got home, I changed into cooler clothes, then listened to The Jack Sheldon Quintet while I took down the 4th of July decorations. I have no idea why they called the record Hollywood Heroes. Only one of the songs, "Lover," comes from a movie musical. (More specifically, Love Me Tonight.) My favorite numbers were lovely versions of Johnny Mercer standards - "Pardon My Southern Accent" and "I Thought About You."

Returned to reading Daisy Fay while resting, making the bed, and listening to The Best of Julie Andrews. As you can probably guess, the majority of these songs are from the original stage casts of My Fair Lady and Camelot and the movies The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. There's a few more obscure titles here as well, like "O the Days of the Kerry Dancing," "We'll Gather the Lilacs In the Spring" from the British musical Perchance to Dream, "If Love Were All" from Bitter Sweet, and a rather odd live version of "Big D" from The Most Happy Fella. 

Switched to tonight's Match Game marathon for a while. Match Game could be as patriotic as the next show, especially in the years surrounding the Bicentennial. There were jokes about the 4th of July the week dancer and model Ruta Lee made her only appearance on the show in 1973 and in one of the episodes with Ron Valenti (and Fannie flirting with him) in 1975. There was one of the episode in 1978 where Craig Morris really got a kick out of his enormous lime-green sunglasses, and the nighttime episode where Fred Grandy sported a bow tie and sweater that netted him a lot of "Little Lord Fauntelroy" jokes. 

Celebrate the holiday weekend with even more fireworks as Gene and his wacky weirdos teach us American history the Match Game way!

Match Game Sunday Classics - 4th of July Marathon

Lauren was originally supposed to arrive at 10 PM. She got nervous and switched to a later train. I called Uber to Philadelphia around 10. To my surprise, the lady arrived in 4 minutes, and she was really sweet about it. There was no traffic at that hour of the night, not even in Philly. I loved getting to see all of the buildings lit up in reds and whites and blues, including one that was striped. She pulled up to 30th Street Station within 20 minutes.

On one hand, I'm glad to see they're almost done remodeling 30th Street Station. The scaffolding is gone, though nothing in the food court is open yet. On the other hand...Lauren was supposed to arrive at 10:45. She didn't finally get in until past 11 PM. I initially read my phone on a booth, but I couldn't sit down and walked around, checking the time until she arrived.

I saw why she was so late the moment we stepped outside. The thunderstorm that had threatened off and on all day chose that moment to finally hit. It was pouring, with noisy thunder and huge streaks of lightning. The Uber going home cost me $75! I was going to wait, but it didn't look like the storm would be ending anytime soon, and we couldn't stand in front of 30th Street all night. It took her over 20 minutes to arrive. She didn't know where the pick up at the 30th Street side of the building was, then she couldn't see us. Thank heavens Lauren knows about cars and spotted her across the way. The rain slowed down slightly by the time she finally pulled up on East Clinton.

I think you can guess that we're going to sleep in tomorrow after all that! The weather isn't going to be appropriate for our usual first-day walking trip to Mt. Ephraim and Audubon, so we're going to move things to the Cherry Hill Mall and Hillview Shopping Center instead. 

Matching With Father

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Mighty Pups, Charged Up: Pups Vs. the Copycat" has them going against a little cat who belongs to a reporter who greatly admires the Paw Patrol. Frustrated at them stealing his owner's attention, the cat uses the meteor fragments to imitate their powers, make Humdinger their sidekick, and build their own makeshift tower. The Pups make discoveries of their own when they learn that when they touch paws, they gain more superpowers. It helps them repair the train tracks Copycat damaged and bring down his rickety tower.

The Shirt Tales have even stranger adventures over at their city park. In the first season finale "Dinkel's Ark," the Shirt Tales find a way to build a boat and rescue animals stranded in a flood without Dinkel knowing..and while bringing him along for the ride. Dinkel becomes "The Duke of Dinkel" when he hits his head and thinks he's royalty. He insists on staying at the Ritz and dining in the best restaurants, but thinking he's royalty makes him fussy and rude. Pammy, Rick, and Digger try to figure out how to bring the real Dinkel back, before he really gets into trouble.

Hurried out even before the cartoon ended. On one hand, we spent most of the first hour or so in the library. The cafeteria was being used for the older kids' graduation, or "step up," ceremonies, and they hadn't gotten around to putting the tables down. We had 19 younger kids, 8 in my group, but barely any older kids. Those who "stepped up" had likely gone home with their parents. For all that, the kids could have been worse. They were noisy, but they mostly enjoyed coloring and building with magnetic tiles. 

We ended up spending the vast majority of the afternoon on the playground. Last night's huge thunderstorm  left bright sunshine, brilliant blue skies, and cool, blustery winds in its wake. It couldn't have been a more perfect day in June. I had a nice chat with one of the younger boys about which pieces of mulch he could break and which were too thick to bend before they were finally allowed on the swings. Even there, they behaved pretty well. They've gotten the idea about waiting in line by now, even if they complain about it. By the time they let me go at quarter of 4, we were down to 3 kids, and one was leaving with his brother when I did. 

I made a really quick stop for a bathroom break at CVS on the way home, since the bathrooms in the school were being cleaned when I left. They didn't have what I needed, though. I finally decided I could live without a fancy drink and rode home.

When I got home, I took the recycling out, took my laundry downstairs, and watched more of The Swamp Fox. "Tory Vengeance" wrecks havoc on Francis Marion and his men when Toby, the little boy who worked for the Videauxes and carried messages to the Swamp Fox, is killed while on a delivery run. At the same time, Francis' nephew Gabe Marion (Tim Constadine) returns with a commission in the Rebel Army...but he's captured by Tories who attempt to torture him and find out who the Swamp Fox is. Francis' men do rescue him, but when he's killed by one of the Tories, Francis vows revenge.

Switched to Match Game '74 while eating dinner. The night started with the hilarious week featuring announcer Gene Wood (in his only appearance on the show as a panelist) and Amanda Blake of Gunsmoke. Wry Orson Bean sat in Charles' seat the next week, joined by Betty White, hilarious quipster Jack Carter, and in her first of three weeks on the show, Cuban bombshell Louisa Moritz.

Brought my laundry upstairs, then finished the night with episodes featuring fathers on Match Game, either real-life ones or ones on TV. Richard Dawson, McLean Stevenson, Gary Burghoff, and Michael Lembeck all brought their actual children on the show. McLean's daughter Jennifer wore a Star Wars t-shirt and, as Didi Carr pointed out, was "a chippette off the old block." Gene Rayburn came in carrying Gary's darling daughter Gina and Patti Deusch's son Max in an earlier episode from 1978. Richard Dawson brought his stylish younger teen son Gary on for his birthday in 1975. Michael Lembeck brought on his young son to celebrate Father's Day on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1984.

Fictional fathers appeared on Match Game, too. Tom Bosley of Happy Days did one memorable week in 1975. Michael Landon of Little House on the Prairie was the first man to sit in the male ingenue seat on the show's very first week in 1973. Robert Pine, who is best known nowadays as the father of actor Chris Pine and for being one of the only actors to last through the entire run of CHIps, was a semi-regular from 1978 through 1981. I have him in one of his three nighttime episodes, and the only one where he sits in Richard's old seat and gets a shot at the head-to-head.

Celebrate Father's Day this Sunday with some of the funniest fathers around in these delightful episodes!

Match Game Premiere (1973 - Michael Landon)

Match Game (1975 - Tom Bosley)

Match Game (1975 - Richard Dawson)

Match Game (1978 - Gary Burghoff)

Match Game (1978 - McLean Stevenson)

Match Game PM (1980 - Robert Pine)

Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (1984 - Michael Lembeck) 

Hot Spring

Began the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. "Cat's Short Cut" proves to be anything but when Little Bear and Owl keep on getting lost and running into strange creatures on the path. "Little Bear's Bad Day" has him breaking his favorite toy boat and spilling everything in sight, but Father Bear reminds him that he's not the only one having trouble. "Captain Little Bear" leads his pretend pirate friends to the Lost Island, where they uncover a treasure. They lose the treasure when the boat fills up with water, but Little Bear does manage to keep one bit of it for Duck.

Spent the next hour and a half making the bed, changing the sheets, putting the summer sheets and quilt on the bed, and watching Hearts Beat Loud. I go further into this charming indie musical about a father who wants to form a songwriting duo with his college daughter at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Father's Day! - Hearts Beat Loud

Switched to Paw Patrol while eating lunch and looking up questions about the law and house hunting to ask Rose. "Mighty Pups, Super Pups: Pups Save a Giant Chicken" brings back Ladybird, who regains her powers after snitching a piece of the meteor from the Rescue Tower. She wants to steal the extra-shiny town bell, but when Chickaletta pecks at the rock, she turns into a giant chicken! The Mighty Pups have to keep Chickaletta from wrecking havoc downtown and Ladybird from stealing the bell. "Pups Stop Harold's Deep Freeze" when he finds another meteor fragment and builds a machine that will freeze the entire town!

Since it was getting late when I called Uber, I spent a little extra to get priority. They did arrive in 7 minutes. I was right on time at the Thomas Sharp School. The driver going home surprisingly picked me up in 3 minutes during the height of the evening rush hour.

Though it was sunny when I got to school, it was also hot and incredibly sticky-humid. It was too humid for the kids to go out today. Things did not begin well. The custodians hadn't been able to put the cafeteria tables back down after gym class. After he did do that, my 8 kids were rowdy in the bathrooms. Three left without waiting for me and the others. Two of the girls messed around. I finally left them with the next teacher bringing her table.

On one hand, we only had 19 little kids all together today. On the other hand, they were noisy in the cafeteria, and even crazier in the library. I did read two of the kids in the cafeteria, and the head teacher read a book about a young boy taming his "elephants" (aka his feelings) by listening to them and whispering to them before we went in the library. They were even noisier in the library. The head teacher had just copied pictures of unicorns and KPop Demon Hunters. One of the girls cried and got very upset when she had to wait to use the black colored pencils. We're short on several colors, including black. It didn't help when the girl next to her drew on her picture. She drew on hers, they both got upset, and I got fed up with them and yelled at them. One of the girls separated herself and calmed down on her own. The other ended up sitting in the librarian's chair in tears before her mother finally arrived. The others danced to "Ghostbusters," "Try Everything" from Zootopia, and songs from KPop Demon Hunters, Descendants: The Rise of Red, and Moana 2. 

We finally got the kids back to the cafeteria around 5. I'm surprised most of them wanted to go outside. Despite some shade along the back of the blacktop, it was really hot, humid, and muggy, too much to be running around, though at least there was a nice, cool, strong wind. The boys played Monkey In the Middle and soccer anyway, while the girls talked and watched them. We were down to 3 younger kids when I left. One was on his way out just as the Uber driver picked me up to go home.

Put on The Price Is Right when I got in. Little Bear isn't the only one having a bad day. Neither of the contestants won the pricing games I saw. One contestant bid on a trip-themed Showcase. The other went for a movie themed one with a car...and alas, both just barely went over.

Things went better on Match Game '74. Most of tonight covered Charles Nelson Reilly's last week on the show before he went back to Broadway to direct a play. Brett went back and forth between claiming she'd cry the entire time he was gone and being glad he was leaving. Gary Burghoff made his debut in Charles' seat during the second hour. We also had the only week featuring Michael Evans, the original Lionel on The Jeffersons. 

Finished the night listening to one of Journey's biggest hit albums. Raised On Radio introduced the huge hits "Girl Can't Help It," "Be Good to Yourself," and the ballad "I'll Be Alright Without You." This was the definition of "power pop" when I was a kid, with chord-heavy numbers like "Once You Love Somebody," "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever," and the title song. 

(Oh, and it did finally rain...around 10:30, by which time I hope the kids were long in bed. It was a doozy, too, with buckets of rain and thunder and lightning and strong winds.)

The New Doctor Is In

Began the morning with Shirt Tales. The "Nearsighted Bear" is a circus performer who refuses to wear his glasses...until the Shirt Tales rescue him when he tries to run away and bounces all over town. The mysterious villain the Hand has stolen all of the money from popular rock group the Patriots' charity tour. Big fan Rick is excited to lead "The Magical Musical Caper" to recover the money and find the Hand.

I thought I was just on time when I hurried out to my doctor's appointment...but I forgot it was at 10:20, not 10:30. I was five minutes late. They took me almost as soon as I came in. After I got my blood pressure checked (slightly high, but I hadn't taken my medicine - I needed to eat first), I talked to Dr. Lauren, my new physician. She turned out to be a round younger woman who sort of looked like my best friend Lauren. 

She checked all of the usual places, like eyes and ears, then asked me for my history. I told her about everything that had gone on this year and all of the stress I was under between the two jobs, the arthritic knee, and trying to find a condo. Yes, I can now admit to myself that I am under a lot of stress. I'm trying to do a lot, and I'm doing it on my own. She suggested therapy, but...I think I've had enough therapy. I need action and real connection, not just talk. They were busy and I had to wait a while, but they did do my blood work and confirm that I was able to work with children. After they took the needle out of my arm, I was all set to go.

I treated myself to brunch at the Westmont. I hadn't been over there for a while. I had chocolate chip pancakes with a bowl of fruit. They were very quiet, especially for lunch hour, with only one or two other pairs of friends chatting in booths. The pancakes were excellent, even if the chocolate chips were on top of the pancakes, rather than in them. The fruit was sliced pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, and strawberries in a bowl, and as such wasn't bad. Had real unsweetened iced tea to wash it all down.

Went straight home and into The Rockford Files. Rockford is hired by a snobbish young millionaire (James Woods) to find out who killed his father in "The Kirkoff Case." The police think the young man did it. So does the father's gold-digging mistress (Julie Sommars). Even Rockford's beginning to wonder after the head of the local mob (Abe Vigoda) claims he did it, too.

Switched to something different while I ate a quick lunch. I found a channel on YouTube devoted to Hungarian Folk Tales, short fairy tales animated to resemble Hungarian art. They're simple but charming, and I started with one story I know from other cultures - "One Eyed, Two Eyed, Three Eyed." This is a Cinderella variant with a good sister with two eyes. Her one-eyed and three-eyed sisters are ignored by suitors, which makes them jealous. She has a goat that gives her food. When they order the goat killed, she buries the bones. She's the only one who can pick the golden apples on the tree that grows in their place, catching the eye of a handsome prince.

Headed to Thomas Sharp after the cartoon ended. I'm not the only one diving into fairy tales today. Many of the kids were dressed as kings, queens, princesses, and princes themselves. One little boy wore a full king costume, including a crown and plastic scepter. A little miss was a lovely queen in a tiara and a fluffy white and blue dress. There were two little Rapunzels, a mini Elsa in an ice-blue dress, a girl in a sundress with huge poofy sleeves, and one who just settled for a Disney Princess shirt. Some of the boys wore golden paper crowns.

Thank heavens things went much better than they did at the end of last week. For one thing, not only was the head teacher back, but one of the teachers for the older kids who was in a car accident and had been out since spring break had fully recovered, too. We had 22 kids, 11 at my table. I read a Sesame Street board book, a Cars Golden book about Mater and Lightning McQueen, and Emma In Charge, a very cute story about a bossy brown bear cub playing teacher for her toys, to a few of the kids after snack time. 

There were a few problems when we got outside. The two Rapunzels would not let one of the other girls who was dressed normally play with them. The young miss was so disappointed, I turned her towards two of the other girls instead. One of the Rapunzels fibbed about her parents coming to try to get on the swings sooner. Another girl refused to put her shoes back on, then threw a fit when I wouldn't let her have a second ride on the swings until she did. Oh, and having them line up when it's time to swing is working out just fine. I just need to keep the line from getting too close to the kids doing the swinging.

At least the weather was great for all the running around. In fact, it was perfect. Golden sunshine with a soft blue sky and a wonderfully cool breeze. Couldn't be nicer for early June. 

Took out the recycling, took the laundry downstairs, then watched Match Game '74 while eating dinner. Most of tonight finished off the week with Gary Burghoff and Elaine Joyce. The second hour picked up with the first week for Richard Deacon, Nipsey Russell's only appearance in the third seat next to Brett, and Petticoat Junction sister Gunilla Hutton in her first and only time on the show.

Returned to YouTube next for more Hungarian Folk Tales after the laundry was done. "The Fox Princess" is a wily female fox who poses as a princess so a kind young prince can marry the real bride. "Brave Prince Nick" defeats dragons with many heads to restore the sun, moon, and stars to the sky. "The Water Fairy" steals a young man she'd been promised before he was born. His grieving wife brushes her hair and spins until the fairy releases him...and even then, they end up on the opposite sides of the world before they meet again. "The Two Princes With Hair of Gold" are killed by a treacherous witch who wants her daughter to marry the king, but they return to their father in a most unexpected way. "The Hedgehog" is adopted by a poor man and his wife after he helps them, a king, and a merchant out of the woods. The merchant's daughter won't marry him, but the king's kind daughter will. He repays her gentleness by showing his true form.

Here's the channel, so you can see these lovely short fairy tales from Eastern Europe yourself!

Hungarian Folk Tales

Finished the night back at Tubi for Storybook International. "The Blind Beauty" is the daughter of a merchant in Indonesia who had let go of a kind, hard-working young man when his jealous foreman accuses him of stealing. It's the foreman who causes the trouble, scaring away all the merchant's customers, until the merchant has nothing, and his daughter has gone blind. Meanwhile, the young man has made a good name for himself, working for his uncle. He's now ready to help the girl and her father, and she doesn't need eyes to know what true kindness and hard work is. 

Celebrating Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Mighty Pups, Super Paws: Pups Meet the Mighty Twins" introduces Ladybird, an obnoxious thief who is addicted to all things shiny. When she snitches a bracelet with a bit of meteor from a gold chicken statue downtown, she gains flight and super-strength. Twin golden retrievers Tuck and Ella try to hold her off, then turn to the Paw Patrol to help. When Ryder sees how well they're working with the others, he gives them super powers too...ones that prove very useful in infiltrating Ladybird's steel nest and rescuing Mayor Goodway!

Headed out after that. My first stop was PNC Bank to get rent money. I couldn't get it outside, so I went inside. Couldn't get it there, either...until I realized I was using my credit card. Oops. That did it. Once I used the right card, I took out money with no trouble.

Had lunch at Sabrina's Cafe, partially because it's one of the few restaurants in Collingswood that's open on Monday. As such, they were fairly busy when I sat down at one of the thick blonde wood tables. I tried their sour-sweet hibiscus iced tea, turkey bacon, and Banana Chocolate Chip Pudding Pancakes. The turkey bacon was limp, slightly greasy, and not that great. The pancakes were huge, dripping with banana pudding and whipped cream, and while there weren't a ton of chocolate chips, they were a pretty good size. They were yummy, but proved too big to finish.

I rushed home to turn over the rent money and watch The Pirates of Dark Water. "The Dagron Master" is a little greenish fellow who claims he can help Ren and Niddler find one of the treasures after they wash up on his island during a storm. He gives Ren armor to protect him from the dragon-like dagrons...armor that turns him into one of them. Niddler has to help him remember his humanity, before the Dagron Master sells him to Blarth.

Hurried out to Thomas Sharp School even before the cartoon ended. It was honestly busier than I expected, considering we're now on the last three weeks of the school year. Apparently, from all of the boys in tropical-print shirts and the girls in fabric leis and bright flowered sundresses, today was their Hawaiian Day. We had 26 excited kids all together, 11 at my table counting one from another table who had to use the bathroom right away. 

I'm glad we got them outside when we did. It was way too nice for anyone to be inside for long! Though it clouded over a little while we were on the playground, it was mostly sunny, bright blue, and windy. They're still arguing over the swings. I got so fed up with all the squabbling, I finally told them to make a line next to the swing set. The first two in line would get to use the swings, then the next two. If you get out of line and go run around, you lose your turn and have to get in the back. That worked well enough for most of the kids to get on. At one point, two of the girls were swinging in perfect unison! By the time two boys were seeing who could swing on their stomachs the fastest (and were utterly hilarious doing so), we were down to 6 kids. Two went home just as the head teacher let me off slightly early and took the others around to the blacktop to play with the older kids.

Made a quick stop on the way home. I needed soap and thought it would be cheaper at Dollar General. Bought a new kind of all-natural soap and a Bodyarmor drink. Unfortunately, the line was so long, it had to be split in two. Took me a little while to get out of there.

Watched Match Game '74 after I took out the recycling, took the laundry downstairs, and got dinner. Tonight's episodes let Patti Deusch play on the same panel as her equally wacky comedy writer husband Donald Ross for the first and only time and introduced sweet Janet Finn, the adorable mother of 9 children who eventually went home with over $14,000. Patti was in the middle of controversy when producer and judge Ira Skutch wouldn't match "spot" with "puddle," but matched "stain" and "little yellow spot," claiming they were more specific. 

Continued with more vintage game shows at YouTube after I brought the laundry upstairs. Today begins Buzzr's big Game Show Month marathon celebration. Buzzr started in 2015 as a channel to show vintage game shows after Game Show Network dropped most of them. Match Game was on almost from the beginning (the only re-run they share with GSN). They've shown the Richard Dawson and Ray Combs Family Feud off and on; currently, the Dawson version runs early in the morning. The four existing versions of Password, from the 60's original through Million Dollar Password, have all been on the line-up at one time or another. Currently, Password Plus is a prime-time staple, while the later color episodes of the original 60's Password mainly run late at night.  

They've also run rarer shows, as part of their regular line-up and as filler in marathons. Child's Play, with adults having to guess words from kids' descriptions, and Trivia Trap, a quiz show pitting three "seniors" against younger players, were huge flops in the early-mid 80's that were parts of their early line-up and can still be occasionally seen on the channel (including this month). Black-and-white shows like What's My Line used to be early-morning staples, but they're now mostly seen in marathons. 

Buzzr really loves their shopping shows. The 70's and 80's versions of Let's Make a Deal have been on the schedule off and on (mostly recently earlier this year). They had the Wayne Brady Deal on just a few months ago....for about four weeks before they unceremoniously yanked it from the schedule. Bob Barker Price Is Right episodes from the 1980's and Drew Carey episodes from the late 2000's seem to be far more popular, despite both having separate channels dedicated to them. 

They adore Concentration, too. Classic Concentration with Alex Trebek is one of their most-run shows. The Jack Narz syndicated Concentration from the 70's has been run on the station sporadically. Currently, it's another late-night show. 

Celebrate National Game Show Month and Buzzr's 16th birthday with the best the station has had to offer!

What's My Line (1965)

Concentration (1976)

Match Game (1978)

Family Feud (1981)

Password Plus (1982)

Child's Play (1983)

Trivia Trap (1984)

Let's Make a Deal (1986)

Super Password (1987)

The Price Is Right (1988) 

Blowing In the Wind

Began the day with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The gang goes on a two-part "Super Adventure" when Power Pants Pete seems to be shrinking everything in sight, including the Clubhouse. Professor Ludvig Von Drake gives them all superpowers, but they can't seem to work together. They'll need to learn in a hurry when they find out that Pete's under orders from the real mastermind, an old rival of Mickey's who shrinks the clubhouse and Mickey too. 

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon looking up mortgage brokers and finding out what they do. It seems they do the heavy lifting in house-hunting, dealing with banks and shopping around for the best loans. To be honest, this is all sounding a little complicated. I need to talk to a friend who was a realtor about home buying and Rose about the legal side before hiring anyone. I'd like to explore Cherry Hill further and get to know it beyond the malls and hospitals, too. I'll save talking to the big guns for mid-July, after Lauren visits and the furor over the 4th of July and the World Cup have died down. 

Listened to the Miles Davis album Milestones while I worked and as I cleared and organized papers laying on top of the printer. One of his most popular early albums introduced his own title song (originally "Miles") and "Sid's Ahead," but his best songs here were written by others. "Straight, No Chaser" was written by and is usually associated with Thelonius Monk, but he does a rather nice version of his own on side B, along with the traditional number "Billy Boy."

Left a little bit early to have lunch at Common Grounds Coffee Shop. They were busy, but not enough that I couldn't get a seat on the bench along the wall. Had a delicious slice of spinach-tomato-feta quiche, along with a Peach-Matcha Sparkling Refresher (green tea in sparkling water with peach syrup - not bad, actually, a little sweet) and a deliciously moist slice of banana-chocolate Chip bread. I did enjoy my lunch, but I got out later than I planned and was slightly late to the Thomas Sharp School.

Not a good thing, as we were pretty busy today. There were 23 kids, 9 at my table, and one of the teachers called out. We did borrow one of the college boys to help while the kids were eating snacks and we were in the cafeteria, but we were on our own after snack time and outside. They were pretty wild again today. I had trouble with one of the kindergartners at the bathroom. He would not stay in the hall, running on the steps and climbing on the banisters. I literally had to carry him off and put him down in the hall.

Things went much better when we finally got outside. For one thing, the weather was gorgeous, much nicer than I expected. It was off and on cloudy, and while it did spit very slightly at a few points, it was nothing like yesterday morning. It was also not as hot as the weather forecasts claimed. The strong wind kept it not only cool, but cold. I regretted not having brought a sweater. There was a little bit of arguing over the swings, but by and large, the kids seemed to have a great time outside, sliding cars down sides and dancing to "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, "The Pink Tiger Hunt," "I'm the Bravest Star," "Welcome to New York" by Taylor Swift, "Pup Pup Boogie" from Paw Patrol, the themes from Bluey and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and songs from Moana 2, Frozen, and KPop Demon Hunters. 

We had such a great time on the playground, it was past 5 when we took the remaining 4 younger kids to the blacktop to play with the 8 older kids. The kids went briefly inside to put their backpacks away, then went right back out. They were all still playing soccer and basketball when I finally headed out. 

Soon as I got home, I made pancakes for dinner with the last of that gluten-free mix. Oh yuuuum! I made banana-berry pancakes with banana and dried cranberries. Spread them with peanut butter and blueberry preserves and poured honey over them. I hadn't had pancakes that came out that well in years. Threw in some hot chocolate later.

Watched Match Game '74 as I ate. This was the hilarious week with McLean Stevenson in the first male ingenue seat that was probably the best from that year. Betty White, comedy writer Ann Elder, and slightly dazed singer Joanie Sommers watched as McLean complained about Brett never hearing the question, turned up in the contestant's desk, tried to kiss Richard when a contestant won the Head to Head, and chased Gene all over the studio.

Finished the night with The Inspector General as I organized my lotions and beauty supplies, cleared out old ones, and organized my shopping totes. I go further into this classic historical comedy with Danny Kaye as the mistaken title character at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

The Inspector General (1949) 

Wild Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "The Humbolt Ghost" edges into Scooby Doo territory as the animals try to figure out where the ghost haunting an old mansion came from and what it's after. "Figby, the Spoiled Brat Cat" looks adorable, but he causes nothing but trouble when the Commissioner insists that Dinkel and the animals watch him.

After I took the laundry downstairs, I spent the rest of the morning looking up credit unions, whom I suspect may be the only ones I could get a loan from at this point...and realized that I don't really know anything about buying a condo at all. I've never bought anything this big before. The biggest thing I've bought before this was a bike, and that cost about $300. I looked up phrases like "closing costs" and what needs to be done before you put money down. I thought you just got a loan and bought a condo.

Keep in mind that I'm doing this alone. I really don't have many people I can ask. Later this week, along with doing more research on buying condos, I'll look up local mortgage brokers - people who help loans and home buying for a living - in this area and see how much they cost and check their reviews. I just want out of the attic at this point. I was hoping to be out by early next year, but considering I was turned down by a major bank and Camden County, I'm wondering if I'll ever get out at all.

Listened to records from relatively recent animated and family musicals while I did research and put the laundry in the dryer. Trolls is probably best-known today for the massive hit "Can't Stop the Feeling," which is on here twice (in the film version and Justin Timberlake's smash single), but the soundtrack has other virtues. The kids in the after-school program love the medley "Move Your Feet/D.A.N.C.E/It's a Sunshine Day," but my favorite number is Poppy doing whatever she can to "Get Back Up Again." 

Although The Garfield Movie isn't a musical, there's some pretty decent songs on the soundtrack. Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and Dean Martin's "That's Amore" turn up in two of the most memorable scenes in the film, but the big hit was "Good Life" by Jon Batiste. Hannah Waddingham gets the hilarious declaration "I'm Back." Callum Scott's "Then There Was You" is also a lot of fun.

The live-action Snow White had a lot of problems last year, but its soundtrack wasn't one of them. The utterly adorable version of "Whistle While You Work" that had Snow White working together with the dwarfs and animals to clean their cottage is by far my favorite number. The lively opener "Good Things Grow" is my favorite of the songs written for this film version. Alas, Gail Godot isn't really much of a singer and does no favors to her song "All Is Fair."

Broke for a quick lunch and to rush out to the Thomas Sharp School. Lunch took longer than I thought, and I ended up being five minutes late. This was absolutely not a good thing. We had 26 kids today, 10 at my table, and they were all totally insane. Two of the girls and a boy hid under the table in the cafeteria, where they are not supposed to go. Two older girls kept trying to bother one of the boys, who was just trying to draw. I had to separate them all twice. The head teacher had to threaten to keep all of the boys who had been playing with magnetic tiles with staying inside to get them to clean up their mess.

It was just as crazy when we got outside. For one thing, though the sun came out as the kids ran around, it was still windy and chillier than it has been, probably in the lower 60's. There were still so many kids when we went out, it was quarter of 5 before they were allowed on the swings. They pushed each other and knocked each other over. Even when they did finally get on the swings, one of the boys accidentally let go when he was swinging high and ended up hitting the ground hard. He more had the wind knocked out of him than anything else, but the head teacher took him inside. The kids drawing with chalk on the concrete listened to "I'm Still Standing," "Swab the Deck," and songs from The Lion King, Moana, and Frozen. 

I made a very brief stop at Dollar General for electrolyte drink mix sticks on the way home. When I got in, I had dinner and watched Match Game '73. Most of tonight's episodes were devoted to the only week featuring Pat Harrington, later of One Day at a Time. One episode from this week had Gene turn up in a gray checked suit with a pink bow tie that Pat and Brett (accurately) claimed made him look like half of a vaudeville team. This was also the episode where Pat said to Richard Dawson "that was more than Diana (Dors, his ex-wife) ever did for you." Richard, whose divorce from Dors had been difficult, to say the least, ruefully agreed. 

Took a shower after the episodes ended, then made the bed and finished the night with other game shows featuring celebrity panels. These were some of the earliest game shows on television. If a game show in the mid-50's wasn't a big-money quiz show, it had a select group of well-dressed celebrities trying to guess who a person was or what they did for a living. In the case of Make the Connection from 1955, the panel has to guess the connection between two people. Hispanic bandleader Xavier Cugat and his wife, singer Abbe Lane, were the guests on one of the surviving episodes and gave the panel a lesson in playing Latin musical instruments. With Gene Rayburn hosting and Betty White on the panel, this show is just a tiny bit less formal than most of its ilk. 

The 70's upped the comedy quotient. The syndicated I've Got a Secret from 1973 retained later host Steve Allen and gave Richard Dawson major exposure. The episode I have here with Don Knotts is pretty typical of the show as a whole. (And I learned something, too. I wonder if they still use that lady's recordings telling you the time over the phone?) Match Game was leaning heavily on wacky shenanigans by the time of this episode in 1978. Poor Richard's hand is crushed by a huge contestant, and he ends up whispering his answer to a very nervous Marcia Wallace.

Panel games were fewer on the ground in the 80's. Most of them moved too slow, and the celebrities proved expensive. Bert Convy and Bert Reynolds' Third Degree from 1989 attempted to bring back the "panelists guess what a person does." In fact, this has a lot in common with Make the Connection. Once again, the panel has to guess how two people relate to one another. It wasn't really all that exciting despite some interesting guests and barely lasted 8 months. 

Kids had more fun with Figure It Out on Nickelodeon in 1997. This is basically Junior I've Got a Secret, with a panel of Nick teen celebrities (including Amanda Byrnes in the episode I have here) and a ton more slime. Summer Sanders is the energetic host. 

Guess along with some of the wackiest celebrities on TV as they try to figure it out, make connections, and give related people the third degree!

Make the Connection (1955)

I've Got a Secret Syndicated (1973)

Match Game (1978)

Third Degree (1989)

Figure It Out (1998)

Applesauce for the Teachers

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus. They finally debuted more of this show online last month. It's "Mickey's Movie Night," and most of the gang is going to help Picture Pete get his new drive-in theater set up. Chip and Dale help give out magnetic tickets, Daisy and Clarabelle set up the hit-the-pyramid game, and Minnie and Mickey find a way to distract the audience while Pete winds the film. Chip and Dale would like to see the movie, if only Donald would push that big green button in his car...

Hurried out after the cartoon ended. I got out later than I thought and was ten minutes late to PNC for my appointment with them. Everything went fine after that. I talked to the head banker, and he was really nice. He agreed that I can't live in an attic anymore. At this point, I don't care what the housing market is like. I'm not waiting another year and half for it to go down, if it ever does. I need a real home. 

It was such a gorgeous day, it was too nice to eat inside. I bought a "Haddon Sunrise" egg, cheese, and tomato sandwich on whole wheat bread, potato chips, iced chai latte, and dried mango slices and apple rings at Haddon Culinary. Ate my lunch on one of the wooden benches against the side of the building. Yum! The sandwich was delicious, the chai the best I ever tasted. The weather couldn't have been more perfect too, windy, sunny, bright blue, and just warm enough, in the lower 70's.

When I got home, I dug out my food processor and finally decided to make applesauce. I have a pile of apples from the Acme and the farm market that I really can't eat right now. My gums are still a little sensitive from having that tooth pulled last week. There was also the one that was half-going bad. I sliced the good half of that one, cubed the rest, boiled them until they were soft, loaded them into the food processor, added honey, and let the processor go until it was smooth. Ohhhh yummy! It was perfect. I added slightly more honey, but otherwise, it was nice and smooth and just sweet enough.

Watched Shirt Tales after I finished cleaning up the kitchen. It's a "Vacation for Dinkel" when he claims he has "animalitis" and goes on vacation to Hawaii to get away from his charges. The Shirt Tales follow him to help him have a restful vacation...but the cure winds up being worse than the sickness when he wears them out! "Wingman" is a super villain in a crow mask who uses crows to steal from banks. The Shirt Tales track him down and expose his plot.

Headed out to the Thomas Sharp School after the cartoon ended. As I rode along the sidewalk alongside the school, I saw colorful, beautifully-drawn chalk artwork declaring that teachers are the best and thanking the teachers in the school for all they do. There were huge papers on the doors to the library, the custodian's office, and the cafeteria too where kids could write down their appreciation for those teachers and workers who help them with their books, keep their school clean, and make sure they get proper lunches. Apparently, tomorrow is Teacher Appreciation Day. I thought it was so sweet, especially when some of the older kids stopped to write their thanks on the cafeteria paper.

There were 23 kids today, 10 at my table, and they were pretty wild. I had a hard enough time with the ones at my table. It was even worse in the cafeteria after snack. Two of the girls got into a fight. I yanked one away much harder than I should have, and she got upset. I apologized to her and held the girls back to talk to them. As it turns out, they'd been best friends pretty much since birth and talked things out on their own after the one girl calmed down.

Considering the gorgeous day (and the fact that it's supposed to rain later in the week), I am so glad we got the kids out to the playground today! They were utterly hilarious, chasing each other around and dancing to "Sharks In the Water," "The Pink Tiger Hunt," "Try Everything" from Zootopia, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, the themes from Bluey, PJ Masks, and Paw Patrol, and songs from Moana, Moana 2, and Trolls. 

They finally got on the swings by 4:30, and they all wanted to be pushed, even the ones who are capable of swinging themselves. One little boy got mad, and I'm pretty sure he kicked one of the girls in the stomach on purpose when he was swinging. Thankfully, she was fine once she got her turn. Other than that and some squabbling, we had a great time out there. There were only 2 girls left by 5 PM, so the head teacher let me go 15 minutes early.

I stopped at CVS on the way home. In addition to needing to use the bathroom, I wanted to pick up a gift card for Mother's Day. I also got corn remover pads. I hope those work better than the bigger callus removers. They didn't get rid of the whole callus - it must have been that bad. It's still sore.

Put on Match Game '91 and had dinner when I got home, after I took the laundry downstairs. Most of tonight was devoted to the week when Fred Travelena, Dolly Martin, Khrystyne Haje of Head of the Class, and comedian Jason Stuart joined Charles. Dolly was as sweet and funny as she was on the 70's-80's Match Game with her husband Dick, while Fred was frankly much funnier than he was in the syndicated Match Game or Match Game-Hollywood Squares.  

Speaking of Match Game, I finished the night at YouTube with episodes that featured either real-life mothers, or women who played mothers on TV after the laundry finished. The second week of the show featured Richard Thomas and his Waltons mama Michael Lerned, the only actors from that show to appear on any version of Match Game. Lerned seemed to enjoy herself that week, but poor Thomas looked like a deer caught in the headlights. (Incidentally, the episode I have here was only available in an incomplete copy for years due to audio issues on the original tape. Buzzr cleaned up the audio as well as they could last year.)

Isobel Sandford was a lot more game in early 1976, just as The Jeffersons was getting started. In fact, she was hilarious, and I wish she'd shown up for more than two weeks. She helps a very sweet and funny young lady with the Head-to-Head in the episode I have here and gets to hear Marvin Hamlisch and Charles Nelson Reilly serenade her. One Day at a Time single mother Bonnie Franklin turned up later in the year and did several weeks through 1979, including the one I have here where Gene questions her sitting position.

Real-life mothers appeared on the show as well. Patti Deusch and Jo Ann Pflug were on the panel while pregnant in 1975. Patty Duke, the mother of five children (including MacKenzie and Sean Astin), gets to admire the blue utilitarian suit Gene Rayburn bought on his trip to China in the 1978 episode I have here. Elaine Joyce anticipated "Take Your Child to Work Day" by bringing along her daughter Taylor Van to an episode in 1981. 

Mothers appeared on other versions of Match Game, too. Barbara Billingsly was among the Leave It to Beaver cast members who appeared during New Year's week on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. (I kept expecting her to speak jive, or at least be trailed by 10 Muppet Babies.) Vicki Lawrence, Mama herself on Mama's Family, was one of the best things about the 90's Match Games. The episode I have here from 1991 features her wild feud with host Ross Schafer when she criticizes his rather ugly tie. 

Match with your mother and some of the best mothers on TV in these delightful shows!

Match Game (1973 - Micheal Lerned)

Match Game (1975 - Patti Deusch) 

Match Game (1975 - Jo Ann Pflug)

Match Game (1976 - Isobel Sanford) 

Match Game (1976 - Bonnie Franklin)

Match Game (1978 - Patty Duke) 

Match Game Syndicated (1981 - Elaine Joyce)

Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (1983 - Barbara Billignsly)

Match Game (1991 - Vicki Lawrence)

Sunny Day Sweeping the Clouds Away

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. This Hanna-Barbara series debuted around the same time as Pac Man on NBC initially in 1982. I fondly remember watching it and Pac Man on the USA Network Cartoon Express animation block later in the 80's. Five small animals in shirts that change color and light up with phrases escape their caretaker Mr. Dinkel in the park and solve mysteries or rescue each other. Their first mystery is "The Case of the Golden Armor." They have to figure out how a suit of armor walked out of a museum and who has been smuggling gold. They have to rescue one of their own when two ambitious circus owners steal Pammy Panda and force her to star in "Crumbling's Circus Caper."

Took my laundry downstairs, then listened to music while doing paperwork for the Acme's health insurance and online work. The Beach Boys' Party! is unique in their history, and frankly in rock history. The songs, though recorded as a normal album, are presented as a real party, with goofing off and chatting in the background. All of the songs were written by other groups, including four originally recorded by the Beatles. Their vibrant "Barbara Ann" was the big hit here. They also mess around with "Hully Gully," "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow," "I Should Have Known Better," "Alley Oop," and even a bit of their own "I Get Around" and "Little Deuce Coupe."

The 1984 Olympics album, the second half of which I listened to while bringing my laundry upstairs and putting it away, was a little disappointing. The vocal selections are good, not great. "Street Thunder" by Foreigner and "A Chance for Heaven" by Christopher Cross are the best of a so-so lot. The instrumental numbers are generally better. John Williams' "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" sound more like they come from Indiana Jones than the Olympic opening ceremony. "Bugler's Dream" and Bill Conti's "Power" are a little less bombastic. In general, this is more for really rabid fans of these Olympics collections like me or huge fans of the musicians involved.

By the time I was finished, it was past quarter of 2. I didn't have the time to buy lunch out like I had hoped, so I stopped at Speedy Mart for a banana, a cinnamon muffin, and a treat. I ate the muffin on my way to the school...and even with eating on my bike and rushing, I was still five minutes late. (I ate the banana with the kids at snack time.)

Not a good thing. For one thing, there were 26 kids today, 9 at my table. For another, we're once again short-handed. Two teachers called out. The younger woman and a slightly grumpy man a little bit younger than me ended up with the younger kids while the head teacher dealt with the older ones. The kids were just wound up - in the halls outside of the bathroom, in the cafeteria. I kept having to argue with one young lady who was running around all day and not listening, though she did give me a big hug later and held onto me me as we went inside. 

Things went a little better when we got the kids outside and let them run around. Though it was gale-force windy and much chillier, in the mid-50's, it was also frankly a lot easier to deal with than the 80-90 degree temperatures we had last week. One of the littlest boys ran to me upset because the new boy wanted to play monster trucks with another boy and not him. Fortunately, he cheered up with the head teacher found the chalk and brought it to the playground. (In fact, that little boy ended up covered in a lot of chalk dust!) They all chased each other in tune to "I Like To Move It," the themes from Spongebob Squarepants, Bluey, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street, Paw Patrol, and Hannah Montana, "Try Everything" from Zootopia, and songs from Moana 2, KPop Demon Hunters, and Trolls. 

We took them inside around 4:40, but they weren't inside for more than 20 minutes before most of them decided they'd rather go out on the blacktop and play ball games. I joined them, since I was leaving soon anyway. Went inside to use the bathroom, then headed back down the White Horse Pike. Stopped quickly at Crown Chicken and Gyro to get a tilapia sandwich and fries for dinner.

Ate dinner while watching Match Game '90. Most of tonight's episodes were devoted to the week with Charles, Vicki Lawrence, Dana Fleming, and Brad Garrett showing off his uncanny imitation of Herman Munster. Bill Kirkenbauer and Sally Struthers returned for the last episode, joined by Meredith MacRae (then a morning show hostess) and Rebecca Arthur (Mary Anne on Perfect Strangers) and her cute little white poodle Emmy. 

Finished the night at YouTube reliving more of my childhood with game shows I loved as a kid. Contraption was The Disney Channel's first - and for many years, only - game show. Two teams of kindergarten-age kids answer Disney trivia based on scenes from movies seen at different "stations" - Books, Animals, Heroes and Villains, and in the bonus round, Magic. The more questions the kids answers correctly, the more "Contrap-tiles" they win for their group. In between rounds, they each do a short race on a "contraption" vehicle, a hand-powered "magic carpet," a hamster wheel of "fire," or a "boat" bike, to win even more tiles. Team with most tiles at the end wins the big prize package. This is a lot more fun than it sounds, especially if you're a Disney fan like me and my sisters. Considering this ran for 5 years, I'm surprised Disney has never tried reviving it with updated movie scenes or doing anything like it again.

Double Dare went even further with the "contraptions" starting in 1986. We loved watching the kids toss gunk around in those "physical challenges" and try to get through the grueling bonus round obstacle course! I actually preferred the imitation Fun House from 1989. Basically the same idea without the "dares" on questions and the obstacle course replaced with a run through the slightly less-messy Fun House. I still prefer the Fun House run to the Double Dare obstacle course. With the Fun House run, all but the slowest kids come out with a lot of money or a really big prize, as they do here.

Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego, which ran on PBS in the early-mid 90's, proved that kids' game shows could be entertaining and educational. At a time when world geography and history was changing daily, three kids attempted to help "The Chief" (Broadway actress Lynn Thigpen), host Greg Lee, and the members of rock group Rockapella track down one of Sandiego's bizarre hench-people and the even stranger objects they stole. In the episode here, Wonder Rat has made off with the Walk of Fame, stars in Hollywood with the names of people who have distinguished themselves in TV, radio, or movies. 

Of course, I watched the occasional adult-oriented game show as a kid, too. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of seeing The $25,000 Pyramid on CBS. I thought all those grown ups trying to describe different subjects were absolutely hilarious. It helped that I recognized many of them, too, like Jo Ann Worley (who did cartoon voices in the 80's and 90's) and Michael J. Fox at the height of his original success with Family Ties. 

Like every kid from the 70's onwards, I looked forward to seeing The Price Is Right when I was at home sick or on a rainy summer's day when the weather was too messy for the beach. This episode from 1990 is pretty emblematic of what I remember about Price Is Right in my childhood as a whole - Bob Barker has white hair, Rod Roddy is announcing in a flashy suit, and there's at least one funny Showcase (in this case, different kinds of "rocks," from a jukebox playing rock music to a car to get you over rocks). 

It was even more fun when Family Feud debuted and ran back-to-back with Price. Despite Mom saying I used to watch the Richard Dawson version with her in the early 80's, I don't remember much about it. I did love seeing Ray Combs field crazy answers from all those families as an older kid, though! 

One of the few things my family did together as a family was watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! on ABC after dinner and World News Tonight. Went with a Wheel of Fortune episode from 1987 that was, once again, pretty typical of what I remember the show being like during my childhood. They even use their winnings to go shopping for prizes between rounds, though there is an artwork prize on the Wheel at one point, too.

If you were a kid in the 80's and early 90's too, I hope you equally enjoy this fond trip down memory lane with some of my favorite childhood game shows!

Contraption (1983)

The New $25,000 Pyramid (1984)

Double Dare (1986)

Wheel of Fortune (1987)

Family Feud (1988)

Fun House (1989)

The Price Is Right (1990)

Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego (1992)

Fiddlers In the Sunshine

Overslept and got too into reading The Daughter of the Pirate King, barely leaving me enough time to eat, get dressed, and rush off to work! Yes, I was late again. No, it didn't really matter. Once again, they barely noticed. We were quiet until noon, when people started turning up from work. I had to clean up some water leaking in the produce department, and this time, I had no extra help. Other than that, there were no problems, and I was in and out. At least the weather remains gorgeous for pushing carts. It was still sunny, breezy, and a little chilly for this time of year, into the upper 50's-lower 60's. 

Changed, had lunch, and watched The Pirates of Dark Water when I got home. All it takes is "A Drop of Darkness" that Ren and the others gather for elderly alchemist Cray to transform herself into a young beauty again. She uses Tula to force Ren to do her bidding and then to marry her...until Bloth turns up with his men, and Cray's potion doesn't turn out to be as full-proof as she thought.

After lunch, I went downstairs to go through my pots, pans, and everything else still in bins. All of my frying pans are a scratched mess and need to be replaced. I've had my largest pot since I lived in Wildwood, and it has burns I can't get off on the bottom. The Crock Pot has a broken top, and I've been meaning to get a better one anyway. I'm debating the blender. There's nothing wrong with the glass pouring vessel, but I've had it for almost 30 years, since college, and I doubt the motor is going to last much longer. 

Cleared out a bunch of cheap cups I picked up from various job fairs, along with the Phillies cup from the game I went to see with Jessa two years ago. Brought my other cereal bowls and one heavy Fiesta bowl for hot cereal upstairs, along with my only remaining silverware. I can't seem to find the container with the silverware, the Tupperware, and the toaster. It must have gotten lost or misplaced during the move. All of that will have to be replaced.

Went back upstairs, put away the dishes, and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching Fiddler On the Roof in honor of the last day of Passover. I go further into this touching 1971 epic about a Russian Jewish milkman and his changing family in the early 20th century at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Passover! - Fiddler on the Roof

It was so late when the movie finally ended, I switched to Match Game '90 while eating dinner. They're still on the week with Phyllis Diller. Chuck Roast turned up on her fourth episode and almost seemed to like her, insomuch as he ever really liked anybody.

Finished the night with two of my recent record and CD acquisitions. The MGM Treasury of Bedtime Stories children's record features short but charming retellings of "The Pied Piper of Hamlin," "The Shoemaker and the Elves," "Rapunzel," and "Puss N' Boots." These are honestly pretty accurate for the time they had, other than the Shoemaker is able to hire help and get better glasses after the elves leave and the Pied Piper brings the children back after a year to parents who are much wiser and more appreciative.

(The back of the cover indicates that MGM did a lot more fairy-tale recordings, including ones with Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Goldilocks, along with story records featuring Tom & Jerry and Mighty Mouse and a story record for The Wizard of Oz, all of which might be worth looking for.)

Bed of Roses was Bette Midler's hit CD from the mid-90's. Most of these songs are touching ballads, like "In This Life," "To Comfort You," "As Dreams Go By," and the title song. "Bottomless" and "It's Too Late" are slightly livelier, but these are mostly Bette in soft balladeer mode.