September Songs

Began the morning with a very quick breakfast before dashing out to work. Dodged traffic on both Pikes; a lot of people were probably on their way to the Shore or local festivals. Barely got to work on time. 

Thankfully, though we were busy the entire day, I spent it pushing carts and gathering trash. Swept a few times, but a college-age girl took it one time, then a teen boy did the last two. Glad he came in the last hour or so to help with the carts, because we were swamped. The carts kept emptying so quickly, I'm not sure they could have spared me at a register today, even if they wanted to.

At least the weather remains decent. It's still sunny and breezy, but it's also much hotter, and far more humid. Heavy clouds gathered on the horizon later in the afternoon, but all they did was look cute and cool things off slightly.

Rode past fire trucks a block from me as I headed home. Considered checking it out, but pushing carts really tired me out. Went straight home instead. (Incidentally, I later discovered there was a fire in one of the apartments over a salon. No one got hurt, including firefighters, but two families and the salon need to find other places to stay and style hair.)

Wet straight upstairs after I got in. Changed, had a snack, and relaxed while watching If I Had My Way. I go further into this vehicle for Bing Crosby and child soprano Gloria Jean at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Labor Day! - If I Had My Way

Worked on writing for a little while after the movie ended. Marcia takes them downstairs, to Brett's annoyance. She just wants to get her boys out and get to her tea party. Richard's more interested in creating another invention.

Broke for dinner at 7. Checked out Alice's Wonderland Bakery while I ate. This cute Disney Junior series is basically a cross between the Disney Alice In Wonderland and Muppet Babies. The great-granddaughter of the original Alice now bakes scrumptious and unique goodies in Wonderland. Her best friends are ever-worrying Fergie the White Rabbit, goofy Hattie, the Mad Hatter's grandson, and the Queen of Hearts' daughter Rosa, along with her cat Dinah. They learn lessons via the recipes in the sentient cookbook Cookie handed down to Alice by her grandmother.

Rosa has an "Unforgettable Birthday" when the "surprise" Alice creates for her birthday party proves to be a bit too much for her guests. The guys help her bake an unbirthday cake to make up for the mess. The Cheshire Cat claims he's having an outside party for all his friends, but it turns out he's really having a "Picnic for One" when he gets lonely and invades the picnic Alice and her friends are on.

Finished the night on YouTube with Lawrence Welk. Welk and his musical family celebrated Labor Day in 1969 and 1976 with songs about occupations and working. In '69, Art teacher Jo Anne Castle's students are more interested in painting their teacher's piano while she plays "The Painter's Rag" than a portrait of their teacher. Bobby Burgess and Cissy King played dance instructors both times. Their 1969 act got a little more creative, using "Dancing" from Hello Dolly to depict Cissy as a teacher showing Bobby how to move. Arthur Duncan also performed "Milkman Keep Those Bottles Quiet" in both episodes, first with a chorus of working men at Andrea Willis' diner in '69, then with a chorus of annoyed housewives in '76. Also in '76, Anacani sings of being "The Peanut Vendor."

Tossed in an episode labeled "September Songs," also from '76, for good measure. Truthfully, the episode doesn't feel especially fall-ish. It's a random mish-mash of everything from Arthur Duncan dancing and Larry Hooper singing about being "Cute," Ava Barber bemoaning "Lonesome Me," and Bobby and Cissy doing a mambo to the band performing "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree" and Welk's own "My Old North Dakota Home." (Although the girl singers' joke about them risking their careers performing their boss' bad material was pretty funny.)

Celebrate our working men and women and the end of summer with these tuneful Welk episodes!

Salute to Occupations/Working People - 1969

Salute to the Working People - 1976

September Songs - 1976

In Our Home Town

Since I got up earlier than usual, I decided to reverse my chores and start the day with laundry. It was very busy when I arrived there at 9:30. I guess I wasn't the only person who heard we were supposed to be having storms later in the day. At that point, though, it was still sunny and breezy, though hotter and a bit more humid than yesterday. I didn't really have a lot of laundry to do anyway, mainly towels. I was in and out in an hour.

When I got in, I put my clothes and towels away, then went right back out again. Given the sunny, hazy day and it being quarter after 11 by the time I got going, you won't be surprised to hear that Newton River Park was busy with bikers, dog walkers, joggers, and parents with their kids in the playground. I even saw a man sunbathing on a bench! I couldn't blame him. It was getting hotter by the minute, and the scenery sure was gorgeous. The trees are a rich green, and the honeysuckles smell divine.

The Haddon Township Library, on the other hand, wasn't that busy. There were some people on the computers, but otherwise, not much going on. I was able to shelve all of the DVDs, for kids and adults, with no problems. Took nothing out for myself; I have other things I want to get done this week.

I saw something rather unexpected when headed down the service road past the back of the Library - a backhoe demolishing Crystal Lake Diner. Or what was left of it. I always thought the Crystal Lake Diner was very popular. What happened? A stop at WaWa for a turkey hoagie and skim milk and a glance at today's Courier-Post gave me my answer. I heard fire engines around 11 last night and thought nothing of it - I assumed it was something in Camden. It wasn't in Camden. It was the Crystal Lake Diner burning down. Someone has really got to start fireproofing diners. The Newton Diner on the White Horse Pike in Oaklyn burned down four years ago; Mom and Dad's favorite diner in Rio Grande, the Four Seasons, went up in flames earlier this year.

When I got home, I ate my hoagie, did some things online, and watched the Marx Brothers movie Monkey Business. The first Marx movie written directly for the screen takes them to sea in pickled herring barrels. While they wreck havoc on board and drive the crew crazy, Zeppo falls for the lovely daughter of a gangster (Ruth Hall) and Groucho romances the moll of the gangster's rival (Thelma Todd). After the ship gets in, the Marxes become bodyguards to both groups and find themselves having to rescue Zeppo's girl when she's kidnapped by her father's rival.

Spent the next couple of hours cleaning and doing chores. I stripped the sheets and comforter off the bed; put on the lighter summer sheets and thinner quilt. I reorganized the plastic milk crate shelves in the back of the back storage room and pulled out two old fans to take down to the trash tomorrow. I vacuumed as well as I could. I'll probably do it again next Monday or Tuesday before Lauren comes.

After I finished with the vacuum, I went right in the bath. I soooo needed that. By that point, it had gotten darker, windier, and much more humid. There was a little rain around the time I vacuumed, but I haven't seen any since. I just soaked and enjoyed the jazz music on my CD player.

Put on the MGM musical Summer Holiday as I made pasta with chicken meatballs and sauteed zucchini and leeks for dinner. This sweet coming-of-age tale is a musicalization of Eugene O'Neil's only comedy, Ah Wilderness! Teenager Richard Miller (Mickey Rooney) has some high-handed ideas about life and love that are annoying his father Nat (Walter Huston) and scaring his girlfriend Muriel (Gloria DeHaviland). Meanwhile, his uncle Sid (Frank Morgan) is trying to court spinster Lilly (Agnes Moorehead), but only if he can get a decent job and quit drinking. Richard's ideals finally land him in a bar with a sexy blond chorus girl (Marilyn Maxwell) and learns that small town life might not be so bad, and sometimes, it is better to take things slow.

I really like this Technicolor take on teenage life at the turn of the last century. It was one of Rouben Mamoulien's last musicals, and you do get a lot of his famous use of rhyming dialogue and dialogue flowing from the music to the words and back again. This isn't a typical musical, even less so after MGM cut a lot of big musical numbers in the editing room. Rooney rabidly overacts (and was too old for the role by his own admission); the supporting cast is better, especially Huston as the supportive dad and Morgan as the drunk uncle. It's fun find at the Warner Archives if you're a fan of the cast or of other musicals set during this time period like Meet Me In St. Louis or On Moonlight Bay. 

Interesting Times

I got up at 9AM. It was pretty much the same weather as yesterday - sunny, cool, windy, and on-and-off cloudy. I'll take that. I had a late cereal breakfast and watched Bowery Boys movies before heading to the Acme to pick up this week's paycheck.

Didn't really need a whole lot at the Acme. My shopping didn't take long, and might have taken even less time if I remembered my list. I restocked my yogurt (Dannon is on sale this week). I bought some more beef chunks for stew, and more flounder packs. I grabbed mousse mixes for mousse pies. Stocked up on pens while they're on back-to-school sales. Picked up the Land-O-Lakes Brown Eggs on sale for $2.50.

After I headed home, I put everything away and ate a Peanut Butter and Apple Butter sandwich for lunch. It was getting cloudier and windier, but otherwise, the weather remained decent. It was too decent to hang around inside all day, and I had to run to the bank anyway, so I went for a walk.

The bank was my first stop. As I was giving the teller my check to deposit, she told me the diner down the street in Oaklyn had burned down. I couldn't believe it. I hoped she didn't mean the Newton Diner. I love that place. I just ate there a month ago - that's where I won Twilight the Horse from a crane game. They're food is greasy but good and decently price, and they have great service.

As I strolled down the White Horse Pike, I crossed my fingers and hoped they hadn't meant the Newton Diner. After all, there are at least 14,795 diners in New Jersey. She could have meant somewhere else.

The big red firetrucks next to the Ritz Theater gave me my unfortunate answer. Yes, it was the Newton Diner that burned down. It looked pretty bad, too, at least what I could bring myself to look at of it. I saw some of the roof and walls, but the inside was as black as tar. I just couldn't stand any more carnage and turned down the block next to WaWa. I walked into Audubon via the train footbridge instead of the White Horse Pike.

Had a much nicer time there. Bob at Abbie Road is having a sale on used CDs. Used 1-disc sets are $4.99; 2-disc sets are $6.99. I bought the album for the long-running 1977 original cast of A Chorus Line from the used sale. Picked up a Chocolate Italian Soda from The TreeHouse Cafe after leaving Abbie Road. Stopped at Willie the Woodsman and Wife's, too, and bought the new WebKinz Gobbler Turkey. Browsed in Act Two Collectibles, but I didn't buy anything.

The weather had become gloomier as I headed back to Oaklyn. The clouds that were just fleecy bits when I was at the Acme were now full and thick, with no blue showing through. It was windy, cool, and gloomy...the perfect afternoon to spend dusting and listening to cassettes of 20s music.

As I dusted the bedroom, I tripped over the edge of my just-made bed and landed hard on my knee on the carpeted floor. Ouch! I don't think I did any permanent damage - I can move it just fine - but my lower left knee is now rug-burned and sore. It's going to have a very nice lump by tomorrow.

In addition to the dusting, I finally did something I've been putting off for a month. I bought an address book at the Wildwood Boardwalk so I could clear all the random phone numbers and addresses off various surfaces in my apartment, including the phone table next to my bed, the junk dresser in the living room, and the refrigerator. I've had my old address book since college, and it was filled with the numbers and addresses of people I haven't heard from in years. Not to mention, almost everyone I know who lives further than down the street from me has moved within the last decade.

After I finally finished the dusting, I made Chicken Therese and spinach and tomato salad for dinner and watched the Japanese animated movie Ponyo. Ponyo is a variation on The Little Mermaid. A fish who is the daughter of a powerful sea god is saved by a little boy who feeds her and takes care of her. She becomes so fond of him (and of the ham he feeds her), she longs to become human herself. When she finally makes her wish come true, it upsets the balance of nature so badly that a storm nearly washes the town where the boy and his mother live away. Ponyo's mother opts to let her daughter become fully human and restore the balance of nature...if she can pass her challenges...

This is a sweet, delightful, simple tale of two kids who learn about the importance of family, the ocean, and friendship. And I especially love the daring, strong-willed mother, who literally out-races a tsunami in her SUV, takes care of old ladies, and cares for her son while her husband is at sea. She reminds me so, so much of my mother when I was 5, right down to the short hairstyle.

Oh, and meet Mayflower, the Gobbler Turkey! The stuffed animal will eventually become a Thanksgiving decoration. The online May will be moved with her mate, Plymouth the Turkey. I'll relocate Alex the Citrus Dragon to the new Cabana Room.

Fire But No Rain

Today was windy, sunny, chilly, and dry as a bone. (When you're getting electrical shocks from grapefruit, you KNOW it's dry.) It was also Laundry Day. While the laundry was in the washer, I watched an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and a Clubhouse "movie." In the episode, Daisy is taking care of a flock of 10 sheep for Little Bo Peep, but they've all run away and she's frantic. The rest of the Disney gang helps her find them. (The pop-up game with Chip and Dale was really cute.) The movie was mildly (and early) Easter-themed. Mickey's about to have a party at the Clubhouse, but just when it's about to begin, the pieces float away with the rest of the crew inside! Mickey has to search for all five pieces in order to find his friends and the Easter party supplies...and find out who made it fly away in the first place.

After the sheep episode, I tossed my clothes in the dryer and ran errands in the neighborhood. I'd been meaning to drop off the last regular film camera from last fall, the one with Halloween pictures and the remaining pictures of my vacation, ever since I'd gotten the money to do so. I finally decided to take advantage of CVS' 1-hour photo processing and do it today. They told me it would be more like one and a half hours. That was fine. I also needed to run to WaWa for milk and eat lunch. In fact, it ended up being more like two hours...and they knew it. They were nice enough to knock $2 off the price because they were late. I finally got home with enough time to put everything away, get dressed, throw a small dinner together, and rush to work.

I wish the bikes were working better. I don't know why the mountain bike is skipping gears so badly. I keep changing gears, but nothing's working. I'm afraid it's going to eventually get stuck and I won't be able to use it at all.

Work was steady-to-dead, with no major problems. The weather, however, continued to be cold, dry, and windy into the night...prime fire weather. There were fire trucks at the park, right next-door to our house and across from the VFW, when I arrived home. I don't know why they were there. I saw no smoke and nothing seemed to be burning, including my apartment. Maybe they were just being prepared.

Whoa...

2 Eateries Gutted In Cherry Hill Fire

...And one of those two eateries just happens to be the Chili's Mary Ann, Erica, and I got the free burgers at a few weeks ago! I can't believe this. My jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw that article in the print Courier-Post in the lounge room in the Acme. I feel so sorry for them, especially that waitress and manager who were so nice to us. : 0 (

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070305/NEWS01/703050339/1006