Love From the Children

Started the morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Little Bear chases "Father Bear's Nightshirt" when the wind blows it off the clothes line. He follows it to the river, where he picks up a nice surprise with it, too. Little Bear learns "How to Scare Ghosts" when he discovers a trio of raccoons making music outside. His parents are the ones whose presence frightens them away. Little Bear, Duck, and Cat corral a reluctant groundhog to help them "Search for Spring."

Hurried to work on the bike after the cartoon ended and just barely got there in time. Thankfully, that was the worst thing that happened all day. The Acme was pin-drop quiet almost the entire morning. In fact, I spent the morning outside, pushing carts and dodging repairs on the roof. The head bagger took over the sweeping and indoor chores. I was in and out with no trouble whatsoever.

Oh, and I got my schedule for next week at work. It's perfectly normal. I do have six-hour days on the weekends, Sunday early due to the morning bagger taking off that day. Wednesday is the only other day, and it's a normal four-hour shift. I'll be able to enjoy a full day off on Monday (the schools are closed that day) and will have plenty of time to put up Halloween decorations and do research on low-income housing options. 

Since I had to get to Thomas Sharp fast as possible, I took the Black Horse Pike. That might not have been the greatest idea. It did get me there in about 20 minutes by bike, but the traffic was iffy and the sidewalks were narrow and filled with obstacles. I was just glad to turn off into West Collingswood, and then onto Collings Avenue.

The moment I walked through the back door into the cafeteria, four of the girls squealed my name and ran right over to give me (or my legs) huge hugs! I never had such a lovely greeting or felt more appreciated. The kids don't know how happy I felt when they hugged me. 

Today was a half-day at Thomas Sharp. They were just finishing lunch when I arrived. I ate my lunch with the few remaining kids who hadn't finished theirs, either. After I ate and the girls put their lunch bags in their backpacks, we got everyone outside. Since there were only 12 kids today, I let them on the swings the moment we hit the playground. There was some arguing, mainly over who would swing with whom, but most of the kids finally got tired of waiting. By the time we went inside at 3, the two remaining girls were playing on the patio with one of the boys, while the other three boys were chasing each other around the slides.

At least it was a gorgeous day for all the running around. It's still sunny, breezy, and warm, probably in the lower-mid 70's. Couldn't be nicer.

When we got them back inside, half of the kids made more bead necklaces. The others settled down to color copier fall pictures with me. I found a picture of a spider and autumn leaves one kid started coloring, then abandoned. That little spider was too adorable to leave with one black leg, so I finished the picture. Other kids colored in beautiful butterflies or scenes of fall flowers and pumpkins, or back-to-school apple artwork. By 4 PM, there were only 3 little boys and 7 older kids left and plenty of help. They let me and another teacher go early.

Stopped at Dollar General on the way home. Healthy Kids is having a Halloween party for our students on the 30th. Each teacher is supposed to decorate their table and provide containers of treats for the kids. I've already decided that I'll give my kids their own Mystery Bags, since I already make them for trick-or-treaters. Bought the bags and vampire teeth.

Went straight into vacuuming and dusting when I got home. Watched The Price Is Right on Buzzr while I worked. The first episode pit a lady against a very big and quiet gentleman. The "story" Showcase was country vs city living, including a truck. The generic showcase had bedroom furniture, luggage, and a trip to Acapulco. The lady didn't bid high enough on that truck. The gentleman ended up getting a beautiful new bed and the trip to Mexico.

Let it continue into the 5 PM Price while I dusted. There were quite a few big winners here. One college-age male flight attendant was thrilled when he became one of the few people I've seen get all four honks on One Away and walk away with the car. An older woman had no trouble with Hit Me, either. Alas, a young woman had far more trouble with Three Strikes, getting all of the numbers but one before she got that final strike. Two men, the flight attendant and a sweet older gentleman who looked like Ernest Borganine, made it to the Showcases. Two stories this time. Janice became "Sherlock Soames," finding clues leading to a trip to Venice. Holly and Dian kept fighting over who was top Girl Scout as they revealed prizes leading to a camper. The older man went over on the Venice trip. The kid got his camper.

Had dinner while watching Match Game '77. The first hour finished out the week with Craig Morris, Roz Kelly, and Joyce Bulifant. Brett was more than happy to pant over Anson Williams during the second hour. Richard was probably questioning a lot of his life choices when he found himself caught between comic southern belles Mary Ann Mobley and Fannie Flagg.

Finished the night back at Paramount Plus with The Love Boat. Who else but Vincent Price would star in the second-season Halloween episode "Ship of Ghouls?" He's a mentalist whose work has gathered quite a few aging groupies, to the annoyance of his fiancee (Joan Blondell), who ends up spending the night in the Captain's cabin. Two parents who recently got back together (Gary Collins and Mary Ann Mobley) have trouble keeping their young son (Charlie Aiken) from lying to everyone he meets. His lies end up saving a model (Barbara Anderson) and friend of Julie's whose face was scarred in an accident. The boy's attention and Gopher and Doc competing for her make her feel beautiful again. 

Somewhere Out There

Started off early with one last trip through the upstate New York countryside. It was a little cloudy, but neither rainy nor even that cold. We had one last breakfast at a fairly quiet Denny's. We made our own slams again. I replaced the turkey bacon with original bacon. Lauren replaced her sausage with fruit. Yum! They were still good, even if I couldn't finish the pancakes. 

Denny's and Cracker Barrel are less than 5 minutes from the Albany-Renesslaur Train Station. We sat on chairs by the closed for Sunday post office until my train started lining up. I gave Lauren a hug before getting into line. I didn't buy food this time, since I was getting on earlier. I told Lauren to give her parents and Rico and Elliott my love. I really did have a good time! Lauren's my best friend, and I'll miss her, even if we can talk online.

(Oh, and Lauren spent the rest of the day doing her own grocery shopping and stuff at home with her parents. And apparently, she'll be seeing Rico again on Wednesday.)

Thankfully, this time I had no trouble for the rest of the day. Every train arrived on time. They were also full to bursting. I spent the ride to New York wedged next to an older woman who mainly read. I admired the stunning views of sail boats bobbing on choppy silver waters past ancient, crumbling castles on tiny islands, smoke-belching factories, and sprawling hotels and mansions. 

Unlike the train going to New York, the one coming from Albany goes straight into Moynihan Train Hall. They were full to bursting, too! People lounged on their luggage in every corner and crevice, waiting for their train. The lines for the downstairs bathrooms were so long, I ended up lugging my bags upstairs to use the quiet bathrooms there. 

Had lunch at the Food Hall downstairs. This is a more lavish version of a typical mall food court. Given I was in New York and the only time we had pizza this week was at the Colonie Center Sbarro's, I had to get a slice of mushroom and a slice of cheese. Yum! Real mushrooms with just the right crust. I barely managed to find a seat near the Irish bar, but I did find a place to eat. Tried a banana bread latte afterwards at Starbucks. Yum! Sweet, but it really did taste like liquid banana bread.

The train to Philadelphia was actually a commuter train to Harrisburg, and it might have been even busier than the one to New York. It was so full, I just dropped my stuff in the last seat on the car where I didn't have to put my suitcase in a rack. A young woman, probably college age, settled next to me with her own bags. She spent the trip to Philly reading her phone. I spent it watching the rain fall on Newark arenas, New Jersey suburbs, and graffiti-laden factories outside of Philly

Instead of calling Uber right away when I arrived at 30th Street Station, I bought a ticket for the NJ Transit train. It wasn't leaving for over an hour, but it was quarter of 5 when I got in. I had so much trouble picking up Uber at the train station the past few years, I figured it was worth the wait. I bought a tuna and cucumber hoagie and ranch sweet potato chips from the food booth (they still haven't finished remodeling their own food hall) and had dinner, then went to the bathroom and read One Poison Pie until they announced the NJ Transit train had arrived.

Unlike the other two trains, the Transit wasn't remotely full. The only other people riding in the car with me were two curly-haired college age boys in Eagles sweaters. For once, it actually left the station on time. The only trouble we had were the lights going out and having to fix them briefly in Pennsauken. Otherwise, they ran on time too. It finally pulled into the Cherry Hill Pavilion around quarter of 7.

I picked up Uber at the big Shop Rite in front of the Pavilion. It's easier (and cheaper) to get a ride closer to home and at a place where the driver might actually see me. No trouble here, either. The driver arrived in seven minutes and got me back in a little over 10. Considering how wet everything in Camden County was, it must have rained pretty hard earlier. Now I'm glad I spent most of the day on the train. 

Finished the night after a shower and putting everything away with the Sunday Match Game marathon. Given the entire run of the show spanned most of the Sexual Revolution, there was an awful lot of sex talk on this show. If Orson Bean wasn't joking about stripper's chests coming off, Richard Dawson and Gene Rayburn were panting over barely-adult contestants. 

One of the most famous episodes of the syndicated run got very into sexual matters. Betty White turned up in a short red dress borrowed from Sharon Farrell. As Sharon said, she did look fabulous, and she knew it. Later, McLean's answer to what a farmer thought should be an Olympic sport somehow ended with Sharon Farrell on top of Richard Paul. There was also the guy who claimed he started his children's day with laughter...but his wild, Joker-like cackling sent McLean running to Gene's door instead. 

It's all about the birds, bees, and the changing attitudes about what goes on between romantic partners in this hilarious and provocative marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Sex Party Marathon

Oh, and I got my schedule yesterday. In good news, I don't work at the Acme again until Wednesday. Unfortunately, I also got an extra day on Friday, and for some reason, an 8 hour day on Saturday. Head bagger must be taking the day off again. 

Out In the Sunshine

Got a really quick start this morning with breakfast and a classic Mickey Mouse short. "Mickey's Rival" introduces Mortimer Mouse, a long-nosed rival for Minnie's affection. Minnie thinks he's adorable, but Mickey doesn't appreciate being made fun of. Then a bull attacks, and Minnie sees the vast difference between someone who is "a perfect scream" and someone she can rely on.

Thankfully, Uber worked out just fine today. I called the one going to the Acme late, but they came in 10 minutes and got me there just in time. The one going to Thomas Sharp also took 10 minutes. I got there slightly late, nothing to worry about. It took me a few minutes to find one going home at rush hour, but when I did, they came in 5 minutes.

No trouble anywhere else, either. The Acme was dead as a doornail. I spent the entire time outside, pushing what carts there were. The head bagger did the sweeping and the trash. It was cloudy and breezy when I went to work, but the sun started coming out towards the end of my shift. By the time I was walking to the Audubon Crossings Shopping Center in the back of the Acme, it was sunny and gorgeous, in the lower 80's.

My schedule is a lot more workable, too. I only work at the Acme on Sunday and Wednesday, and Wednesday is the only double shift next week. Six hours on Sunday does mean I'll miss the Eagles game, but I also have Monday fully off - the Collingswood School District is closed for Yom Kippur - and leave for Pittsfield a week from tomorrow.

Had a quiet, calm bento box lunch at Futomaki Japanese Restaurant in Audubon Crossings. There was no one there but me and an old man in the back. Some people did come and pick up food, but they didn't stay. I enjoyed my California Rolls, fried scallops, rice, vegetables, salad, soup, and crispy salmon in peace. Stopped at Sonic for a banana milkshake afterwards and to enjoy the gorgeous weather. Went back to the Acme to buy more maple leaf sandwich cookies and get 60 dollars for the week before calling Uber.

The after-school program could have been a lot worse, too. We only had 13 kids all together, 5 in my group. I got my kids in and out of the bathroom pretty quickly, with a minimum of fuss. The moment they finished snack time, we took them outside. It was really too nice to stay inside! With fewer kids, I let them on the swings a little earlier, too. There was some squabbling over who would swing with whom, but almost all of them eventually got a turn. Since there were two kids left by 5 PM and two teachers, I got to leave early. 

Got to see more The Price Is Right when I arrived at home. One nervous, sweet lady from Texas did the Grocery Game like a champ. She wasn't the only person who was nervous. Dian had to take the register at the Grocery Game over from Janice, who was out sick, and she was just as scared! Another lady didn't have as much luck with the Squeeze Game. A pregnant woman managed to get the first two prizes on the Range Game, but took too long on the second prize and didn't get the car. The first showcase was a generic dining room. The second Showcase was about as early-mid 80's as you could get. Johnny Olsen found himself caught between models with weird hair who show him what happens on a "punk rock" airline. 

Let it continue into Match Game '76. The first episode introduced a very pretty young student who took so long to answer a question, Gene ended up sitting down and spent five minutes prodding her. Maggie Smith beat her handily. She was finally beaten the next week by a gentleman named Ed Sullivan. Bill Anderson's presence on the panel made for lots of country music jokes. He was joined by Debralee Scott and Fannie Flagg.

Finished the night at Tubi with Manhunt of Mystery Island. This 1945 serial features Linda Stirling as Claire Forrest, the daughter of a professor (Forrest Taylor) whose scientific device could revolutionize energy use, if he and his colleague can be found. She and private eye Lance Reardon (Richard Bailey) follow the trail to remote Mystery Island, where a group of men who are the ancestors of the infamous pirate Captain Mephisto intend to use Forrest's machine for their own gain. Worse than that, they have their own "transformation Ray" that can turn one of them into Captain Mephisto (Roy Barcroft) himself. 

Strange plot, even for a serial, but the mix of pirate lore and science fiction proves to be more potent than you might think. Yes, Claire is constantly rescued, but she also has her own heroic moments, including being the one who actually takes down Captain Mephisto in the end. There's some great set pieces, too. Bailey is a dull stick of wood as Reardon, but Barcroft is obviously having way too much fun as the great pirate captain come to life, and Stirling shows why she was the most popular female serial star of the 40's. One of the last great Republic Picutres serials is a must-see for fans of the genre or unique sci-fi stories. 

Kids and Memories

Began the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel's Babysitter" is Prince Tuesday, who watches him while his parents are out dancing. He's happy to join Dan in his homemade "jungle," to get him into his pajamas, and to help him find his stuffed Tigey when he's missing. "Daniel Goes to School" and is worried when his dad leaves. Dan Sr. reminds his son that he'll be back at the end of the day...and Daniel Junior likewise reminds Miss Elania that her mommy will be back when her locket with her parents' picture goes missing.

Let Family Feud run on Buzzr as I made my grocery list. Started off with the second half of a John O'Hurley episode. They jumped back to early 80's Richard Dawson as I got my backpack together. The episode was actually a special week from 1985 showcasing then-Olympic winners like Greg Loughanis and Evelyn Ashford. (Incidentally, I've seen the full week...and the ladies wiped the floor with the guys.) 

Headed out as the episode got started. I had a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it in. Started at the Target Starbucks. Though it was cloudy and cool, it was also a bit on the humid side. I got a Pumpkin Cream Matcha Latte. Not bad. A little on the fruity side. 

Finished it at Sprouts. Mainly wanted to restock oat milk and more of that Nektar Pop there. (The latter is still buy one, get one free.) The ginger molasses bakery cookies weren't on sale, but they're so good, and they only come out during the fall. The deli container I picked up called the shredded turkey "turkey carnitas." I don't think it tastes like that, but it doesn't taste bad, either, and I figured it would be fine for salads and sandwiches this week.

Rode past the Haddon Township Library and High School to the Westmont Acme next. Restocked granola, blue tortilla chips, soda, Swiss cheese and yogurt. I'm almost out of razors, and I found a good brand of shaving lotion half-price. Went back and got a pack with turkey sliders, green grapes, and flat pretzel chips after I realized I forgot to pick up lunch.

Took the long way home across Newton River Park. It remains green and beautiful there. The breeze whistled through the big green leaves as the sun finally broke through the clouds. I pushed my bike up the path over the hill, ducking under a thin tree that broke and bent over. 

Put everything away, then had lunch and watched The Rockford Files. "The Countess" (Susan Strausburg) hires Rockford to handle a blackmailer (Dick Gautier) who was threatening to turn incriminating photos over to her husband (Art Lund). Rockford sees the blackmailer shot on the beach, only for the cops to think he did it. The gangsters the blackmailer work for have their own reasons to be after him.

I got my schedule at this point, either. I am not happy at all. The days I took off for my mammogram, eye exam, and housing counseling appointments are my only days off. I have three double-shift days, two in a row. On one hand, the eye appointment is on Saturday, which means I have that day fully off. On the other hand, I have a lot to do to prepare for the housing appointment, and when am I going to get my grocery shopping done? 

Headed out to Thomas Sharp School after the show ended. I left so early, I had the time to ride around and enjoy a day that had become sunny, warm, and only slightly humid. I need to be more careful where I ride, though. I ended up on Route 70. There's no sidewalks bordering West Collingswood on Route 70. I stepped in a grass-covered hole and almost really hurt myself. Thankfully, no harm done other than surprise, but I do know to stay away from there now.

We had the same 20 kids we've pretty much had all week, 7 at my table. I did have trouble getting them to clean up, but they were better in the bathroom. This time, we got everyone outside early. It was just too nice of a day for them to not hit the playground this time. Yes, they kept asking me when they could on the swings until I let them on. Two of the boys got into such a fight over where they were in line and when they could go on, we had to separate them. The other kids were happier dancing to "The Best of Both Worlds" from Hannah Montana, "Pup Pup Boogie" and the theme from Paw Patrol, the title song of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, "Zoo" from Zootopia 2, and songs from Moana and Encanto. 

Things went much better once more kids went home. By the time the last girl who hadn't gone on the swings was taking her turn with a friend who loves the swings, there were five younger kids left. We took them inside around quarter of 5. I spent the remaining time drawing Victor, Jeff, and Celia in their "Captain Power" outfits and Grace Cavendish as "The Queen of Darkness" and admiring their coloring in pictures of ice cream cones and unicorns. When I left at 5:15, there were two older kids and one younger one remaining. I stopped briefly at Speedy Mart for a bagel and a Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi on the way home before heading back.

Watched the end of The Price Is Right when I got in. Came in just in time to see the lady who won the second Showcase Showdown. I'm a bit surprised they were playing the Christmas episode in early September. The first "Showcase" was the simpler theme of how to prepare for the holidays. It included Christmas records played on a stereo, Christmas shopping money, and a station wagon to haul gifts. The second one was the "story" Showcase, as ditzy secretary Holly used the prizes (including a sports car) instead of office equipment to create memos.

Let it run into Match Game '76. The second half of the night brought in Greg Morris, Elaine Joyce, and Fannie Flagg. Elaine spent most of the time either flirting with Gene or sniping with Brett, whose quips seemed to really get on her nerves sometimes.

Finished the night with some fond childhood memories on YouTube. Someone uploaded a marathon of two BrainGames episodes from 1983, including commercials and the full version of the famous HBO opening with the camera panning over those miniature buildings as the music builds to a crescendo. BrainGames was usually a half-hour show (though I seem to remember some episodes turning up occasionally between shows) that ran six different funny mini-games based around history, memory, animal trivia, and recognition. 

"Tales of Wrongovia" teaches history as it invites players to spot the bit of history that wouldn't have existed in the time period depicted. "Safari Solitaire" showed four different animals (and one nervous narrator with a Texas accent) and asked viewers to guess which animal lived or did something differently from the others. "Uninvited Guests" had four figures at a posh party. The viewer has to decide which party guest is the gate crasher. "Memory Rock" has viewers trying to remember the details of a rock band scene. "The Riddler" is pretty much standard jokes. "Aceps Gevoya" and "Splatnart" were word scramble games. The first had an alien trying to get home, the second a nurse and mad scientist building a monster. "Whosamawhatchamacallits" is a long word for a guess the person, place, or thing from clues and a distorted picture. "Museum Mistakes" has viewers trying to help a cop figure out what's fake in classic artworks.

We used to love playing along with the games on this one! Some of the information on the trivia games and a lot of the art style is pretty dated...but on the other hand, other games like "Animal Solitare," "Uninvited Guests," and the word scramble mini-skits remain hilarious and fun to this day. Here's the marathon if you also loved to crack open your mind back in the day or think your kids will enjoy this (and can get around the cheap animation). 

HBO Braingames Marathon 

And yes, I do remember the events of September 11th, 2001. Twenty-five years ago, I was beginning the first day of my final semester of Stockton College. I go into further detail at my blog entry from September 11th, 2023. 

Games and Memories

Hot Day On the Swings

Started the morning with breakfast and more of the Monchhichis. Thumkii accidentally cracks one of the "Jingle Pods" used in the Happy Works after he gets caught in the pipes. Moncho and Kyla have been arguing over who is in charge after Wizzar goes on vacation, and it does them no favors when they use his magic to retrieve a pod, only to be captured by moving musical notes who are the land's guards. Moncho and Kyla finally figure out how to work together when they have to save Thumkii and the prince of Harmony.

Spent the rest of the morning listening to A Bing Crosby Collection, Volume 1. According to the back of the album, these are songs recorded from 1928 through 1932 that either hadn't been released at all or were wildly out of print by the time this record came out in 1978. It's interesting how often the liner notes complain about pretty songs like "With Summer Coming On" and "Rose of Mandalay" being old-fashioned and banal. Maybe they were in the disco era, but nowadays, they sound charming. Some of these songs, like "Lazy Day," "I Found You," and an otherwise-lovely "Love Me Tonight" have major sound problems that are acknowledged on the back of the album. "Waiting at the End of the Road" and "You're Still In My Heart" sound better. We even get what amounts to comedy recording, Bing laughing in the background of one of those "smile and go on" numbers of the early Depression, "We're a Couple of Soldiers."

Rushed out at noon. It was too late to eat lunch out, so I stopped at Speedy Mart and bought an enormous blueberry muffin and an apple. Got bagels for lunch this weekend there, too. I just made it there in time. I was grabbing my apple just as a big group of teenagers out of Collingswood High School down the street arrived looking for snacks. I bought my lunch and the bagels and rushed out, arriving at Thomas Sharp just in time.

We had the same amount of kids today, 12, but this time, we started with 7 older kids and five younger ones. I spent a lot of the afternoon reading books in the after-school program's book bins and the Muppet Babies fairy tale book I bought in Philadelphia during vacation to two enthralled little misses. One of the girls did request we skip "Little Red Riding Hood" because the wolf scared her, even though I showed her that Piggy and her granny were ok in the end. Otherwise, they both loved it.

We still had all 12 kids when we went outside this time. On one hand, I could understand why the wanted to take the kids out earlier. It was a gorgeous day. Sunny, hot, and humid, but not to the degree of yesterday. On the other hand, there were too many of them to go on the swings right away...and most of them weren't happy about that. They asked us "can we go on?" every five minutes until we let them on. And then, all they did was argue. There's only two swings, and they're very popular. At least they all got on at least once before we all went back in. I drew with one of the little girls on a sheet of paper taped to a table in the cafeteria. By the time they let me go at quarter after 3, there was one younger kid left and five older ones.

I rode across Newton Lake Park, down Lees Lane and across Cuthbert to Westmont Plaza. Started this week's grocery shopping at Sprouts. In all honesty, I didn't really need much there or at the Westmont Acme. Picked up oat milk, buy-one, get-one soda, and half-price bakery vegan chocolate chip caramel cookies at Sprouts. I didn't like the price on their shredded chicken, so I thought I'd try sliced turkey steaks instead. Restocked yogurt, tuna, granola bars, and granola at the Acme. I had online coupons for grapes and apples, and Olipop soda was on a really good sale. They still have slices of that "patriotic" red, white, and blue cake left from the big 4th of July celebrations on clearance, too. 

Cut through Newton Lake Park going home. Everything is so fresh and green! The path over the hill to the Haddon Township Environmental Center smells so wonderfully earthy. The woods were dark, with cool breezes rustling through the deep green leaves. The rain has really done the grass and trees some good. I was just glad it wasn't so dry anymore, even if the ground under me was a bit muddy.

Ran the second half of The Price Is Right on Buzzr while I put everything away. Started off with a college girl who claimed she didn't know anything about The Clock Game, but won her two prizes in excellent time anyway. Likewise, the lady after her kept getting the rules wrong in The Race Game, but she still won all four prizes on her second try. The third lady didn't have nearly as much luck with Plinko. She only managed 100 dollars. The generic Showcase had trips to England, India, and Japan and a fancy globe. The "story" Showcase let Professor Johnny Olsen go back in time to show flapper Janice how a stereo was an improvement on a Victrola, and a sports car could outrun any gangster! Janice must have really gotten into being a flapper. She kept doing the Charleston to the Dixieland music, even as the credits ran.

Got my schedule at this point, too. In good news, slightly more hours next week. Bad news, I work on Labor Day...and I work more hours than I should be. I'm supposed to only work 9 to 1 on weekdays. They have me at 9 to 2. I need to remind them that I can't always do that. 

Let it continue into Match Game '76. Bert Convy, Patty Duke Astin, and Fannie Flagg joined in for the entire two hours. Charles brought the pregnant contestant a suitcase after she won the Head-to-Head a third time, "just in case something happened." Bert kept trying to kiss and hug the contestants, even when he wasn't the one giving answers on the Audience Match.

Finished the night with more fourth season Remember WENN. "The Follies of WENN" is the burlesque show Scott puts on when a friend of his offers him $1,000 to stage a girlie show on a Sunday. The station intends to use the money to save Mr. Winthrop's (the nervous sponsor from the first season) school. Meanwhile, Betty and Maple want rooms in the new wing of the boarding house where Betty lives, but they're both afraid that the people who run it won't approve of their jobs...until the head chairman (Mickey Rooney) claims he wants to take the show to Broadway!

The station may be heading for a "Pratfall" when they're nominated for 16 Golden Lobe Awards, Pittsburgh's prestigious radio award. Eugenia tries for truth in radio and actually work out during her exercise program, while Scott looks for a letter from Victor and Hilary tries to butter up the others when she finds out someone at the station is in charge of the nominations for the Lifetime Achievement Trophy.

Sweet Cream Summer

Began the morning with breakfast and the third season opener of Little Bear. "Owl's Dilemma" is he can't find a quiet place to sleep. Birds chirp at his treehouse. Frogs croak at the pond. Mother Bear and Little Bear make too much noise moving dishes around. Owl finally settles things with two cupcakes. Emily and Little Bear open their own "School For Otters." The goofy otters don't seem to show much interest in learning, but they reveal just how much they were listening when they show them what they love to learn. Little Bear and Father Bear goof off a little too much while "Spring Cleaning," so they make Mother Bear a picnic.

Finished my grocery list, then headed out to run errands. Made a brief stop at the Oaklyn Post Office to send a bill before dodging noon traffic on Cuthbert and riding down to Haddon Ave. I wanted to find a record I saw listed at Phidelity, but...they were closed for the day. I was really disappointed, but then I looked across the street. Groups of people were gathered around the entrance to what had been McMillan's Bakery before they closed last year. I finally decided to cross Haddon Avenue and check it out.

I crossed even as official-looking men cut a wide scarlet red ribbon. Turns out DiBartolo's Bakery, another recently-closed family bakery, and Mt. Ephraim bakery Del Bueno's bought and heavily remodeled the building. Talk about the best of all possible worlds. I parked my bike and joined the crowds checking out the new digs. It was twice the size of the old McMillan's, taking over the entire first floor of the building. Everything was white and chrome and shiny and clean. Even the floor had a unique satiny silver-gray finish. One door led to bins and bins of rolls and shelves of Del Bueno's Italian butter cookies. I think the famous Del Bueno's machines spitting out fresh rolls may have been in the other I didn't explore. 

I couldn't decide, so I went with a plump cream donut. Oh yuuuuumm! Turns out one of the grandsons of the original McMillan's is working at the bakery. He must have shared his family's recipe for the best darn cream donuts in South Jersey. It was so full of thick, buttery cream, it came out the sides. Totally amazing, and it more than made up for Phidelity's day off. I stopped at WaWa for a Cherry Cream Float Coke Zero to wash it all down.

Doubled back to the Westmont Plaza for lunch. I hadn't eaten at the Westmont Bagel Shop in a while. Kept things simple with my favorite spinach and feta omelette, a toasted everything whole wheat bagel, and home fries. Oh, this was yum, too. I finished everything but half of the home fries. Bought two bagels for lunch this weekend on the way out.

Did my grocery shopping next. I didn't really need a whole lot at either store. Picked up oat milk and dried mango slices. Cookies and soda were buy one, get one 50 percent off. I'm so glad their ginger molasses cookies are out again! I had to get two. One of the Nixie diet sodas came with a coupon, so I got two of those. 

Dodged more traffic and road repair on Cuthbert going down to the Westmont Acme. They were only slightly less busy than Sprouts. Grapes and large containers of blueberries are on really good sales. Restocked yogurt, prebiotic soda, granola, and granola bars. Had good online coupons for the Acme's generic organic blue corn chips and an online rewards coupon. I also got my $60 for the week here, instead of waiting for Sunday.

The road work on Cuthbert was such a pain, I cut across Collingswood to the park instead of going straight there. Newton Lake Park is largely in better shape. I think they're just adding railings to the new fishing piers now. It was a hot, sunny, incredibly humid day. There were only a few people out walking dogs as I made my way past children playing at the playground on my way back to East Clinton.

When I got in, I put everything away while watching Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a MerPup" when Cap'n Turbot insists he saw one during the Mystical Merpup Moon. Chase the cop thinks they're just stories. The others, especially Skye and Zuma, believe the stories. Zuma and Skye stay awake to see a merpup...and get their wish when one not only comes to them for help, but turns them into merpups so they can go under the sea. The Merpup's baby is trapped in a shipwreck that may collapse any minute! They have to call the others to help out, then to help Zuma when he's trapped. 

Got my schedule at this point. It's thankfully back to weekends and early Wednesday. There's enough hours on the weekend that my paycheck shouldn't take too much of a hit, but not so many that I'll be overwhelmed. School starts next Thursday, too. I put in for my late September-early October vacation time with Healthy Kids, too. (I'll put in for the Acme vacation time next week.)

Went down for a nice, long nap at 3:30. I was so tired, I didn't get up until 5:30. Spent an hour finishing Reel Murder by Mary Kennedy, then watched Match Game '76 during dinner. Most of the night finished out the week with Bennye Gattleys and Bill Daily. Fannie Flagg stuck around for the next week, joined by two cute, funny, and diminutive actors, Sarah Kennedy and Gary Burghoff. 

Finished the night with Remember WENN. Hilary is "Courting Disaster" when Jeff's supercilious lawyer Drake Stanley (Andrew Seear) claims his client is suing her for $100,000 in damages. Maple and Betty know something isn't right and get Stanley to appear on their court show Tell It to the Judge. While Scott defends Hilary, Gertie helps the ladies get through to Jeff and find out what's really going on.

The cast says "And How" when they're chosen to broadcast the last episode of the network western The Strange Loner featuring it's original stars. Unfortunately, when the Loner himself turns up drunk and unable to perform, the others have to figure out how to replace him. Betty's more worried about helping Joseph Greyhawk, the kindly Native American man (real Native American activist Russell Means) who plays the Loner's Native sidekick, keep his role. Meanwhile, everyone's thrilled with Eugenia's new discovery, an Italian pie called pizza. 

Listened to the soundtrack from Casablanca after the episodes ended. I pretty much had to after "Pen of Gertrude Reece" yesterday. This Rhino CD includes all of the music and a lot of the dialogue, along with an alternate version of "Knock on Wood," a Dooley Wilson number that was cut from the film ("Dat's What Noah's Done") and the full, gorgeous rendition of "As Time Goes By." 

Summertime Blues

Started the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Gusty winds blow "Minnie's Mouseka-calendar" all over Hot Dog Hills. Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto have to follow the wind and the pages to retrieve them, so Minnie knows what she's going to do this week (and they can teach the kids in the audience about the days of the week).

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. I was going to go grocery shopping after work, and I thought it would be easier to carry food home in a car. Unfortunately, I called too late. They took 12 minutes to arrive, and I barely got in one minute late. They took 14 minutes going home at 1:30.

Work was a pain in the rear. Someone dropped a 6-pack of mini cans of Coke on the floor. Thank heavens they were small cans. It wasn't a big spill, but that and bringing unwanted crab claws back to the seafood department put me behind in carts. No help today, either. The older man spent the morning scrubbing the produce displays. At least the weather was gorgeous for all the running around. It was breezy, sunny, and dry, barely in the 80's.

Not happy with my schedule next week at all. In good news, it's mostly four-hour shifts except for next Saturday, and that's a normal six hours. In bad news, only two days off again. I don't know why I'm getting all these hours. We're usually dead in August. It's not the head bagger. She works regular hours this week. I'm guessing they're still in cleaning mode.

I did do my grocery shopping after work. Restocked blueberries, yogurt, granola bars, sliced Swiss cheese, tuna, and probiotic soda. Bags of Bear Naked Granola were $3.99 each if you bought two. Decided to try what Acme calls their "dot cakes," round plastic containers layered with whipped cream and cake and topped with sprinkles.

When I got home, I changed, put everything away, and went back out on the bike. My first stop was the Westmont for lunch. Needless to say, they were quiet by almost 3 PM. I think I saw one or two other old men eating there. I had three deliciously fluffy blueberry pancakes with cinnamon butter and very tasty thick, chewy, crunchy bacon. 

Stopped at Sprouts to do the rest of my shopping. I found large bags of leftover dried cranberries from the bulk bins for $1.09 each! Bakery sugar cookies weren't on sale, but I like theirs better than the Acme's. I got sugar cookies. Also grabbed oat milk and nectarines. The Acme had been relatively busy when I was shopping earlier, but despite it being the start of rush hour by then, Sprouts wasn't bad.

Watched Remember WENN as I put everything away. Betty's wondering "Who's Scott Sherwood?" after Victor's revelations and her discovery of his letter of recommendation in the previous episode. So is Rollie Pruitt (Jonathan Freeman), the nasty, miserly financier from the second-season episode "Christmas In the Airwaves." He returns with an audit that leads to Scott being fired. The others rally to his defense, but Betty wonders if he's worth it, especially after she discovers the extent of his lie about how he got his station manager job.

"The New Actor" has Jeff leaving the station for war-torn London to pick up where he and Victor left off. That leaves Mackie and Mr. Eldridge playing all the male parts to exhaustion. Pruitt's not thrilled about them spending money on another actor at all, let alone when Scott auditions...but Betty stands up for him, even if she doesn't really trust him yet.

Didn't have too many other ideas, so I switched to The Price Is Right on Buzzr next. I'm guessing this one dates to 1984-early 1985. Bob's hair is a little gray, Johnny Olsen is announcing, and the Johnny robot butler is prominent in one of the Showcases and a bidding intro. If nothing else, someone not only didn't constantly ask for the rules of Blank Check, but won the game with no problems. A poker player knew what she was doing and easily won the Poker Game, too. The regular Showcase had an elegant theme as Johnny-bot and Holly introduced a lovely tea set, dining room furniture, and a gorgeous baby grand piano. The second Showcase was themed around a trip to Palm Springs, including a dune buggy and a sports car. The lady who bid on the sports car went way over. The one who bid on the dining room got her furniture and that sweet piano.

Let it run into Match Game '76. Tonight covered the remaining week with Jimmie Walker and Elaine Joyce, including Darlene's last episode after she brought home over $22,000. The lady who beat her flung herself into Gene's arms and wouldn't let go for anything! Gene had to announce the commercial over her. The next week brought back Broadway legend Ethel Merman, along with Avery Scriberer and Joyce Bulifant.

Finished the night at Paramount Plus with another Paw Patrol special. "Jet to the Rescue" introduces the obnoxious Duke of Flappington. He steals a jewel from the Princess of Barkingburg that, when combined with a gem he already has, will allow him to lift the entire town of Barkingburg into the air! He traps everyone but Skye, Everest, and Tracker in the castle. Skye wants to help, but she's terrified of the Duke's eagle-like ship and his eagle Jean-Claude. It's not until she sees Sweetie confronting the Duke in her own ship does she manage to conquer her own fears and save the town and the jewels. 

Fairy Tale Harts

Started off a late morning with breakfast and more brand-new episodes of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Grandpere helps Daniel get ready for his swim lesson. Daniel wants to go right away, but "Daniel's Morning Routine with Grandpere" means he needs to get dressed, eat, brush his teeth, and put on his shoes first. Likewise, Miss Elania is excited about the zither her dad Music Man Stan brings back from his store, but "Miss Elania Gets Ready for Bed" and takes her bath before he can play her a good-night song.

Watched the tail end of Family Feud Canada while making my grocery list, then headed out. My first stop was Dollar Tree. I'm still trying to find charcoal moisture eliminators for my attic rooms. I didn't see them there either, or at Target. I did get a quick Iced Orange Matcha Latte and spinach, tomato, feta, and egg wrap at the Target Starbucks for lunch. They were surprisingly quiet for noon. The kids must have been at the pool or riding around on their bikes.

Did my grocery shopping next, starting at Sprouts. I mainly wanted oat milk and dried mango slices here. Nixie sodas were on sale, and the cream cans had coupons attached with rubber bands. I'd been wanting to try their new strawberry cream flavor anyway. Their bakery chocolate chip cookies had a half-price sticker on them. Italian plums weren't a bad price, and I love the ones the farm market sells. Found shredded rotisserie chicken in a container for meals this week. 

Dodged road repair on Cuthbert that blocked the entrance to the auto parts store next to the Westmont Acme. They were slightly busier than Sprouts, and I needed a lot more here. I restocked granola, peanut butter, yogurt, tuna, chick peas, and bagels. Had online coupons for Icelandic yogurt and Popwell soda. Raspberries and small containers of blueberries were on sale for a dollar each. PopCorners weren't on sale, so I grabbed the Acme's generic organic blue corn chips instead. They didn't have Fresca this time, so I grabbed another bottle of Sprite Zero & Tea.

I did cut through Newton Lake Park going home, but I went past the playground and the stone gazebo rather than down the back path (which is still partially being worked on). I could see some of the improvements that had made the park hard to navigate for the last few months. There was a sidewalk that now led from the street to the park path. The park itself is gorgeous, too. All that rain has made it largely emerald green and lush. The trees waved in the breeze on a hot, humid day as children and their parents ran around the new playground equipment.

Watched Remember WENN as I put everything away. Betty and Scott are eager to set up their own gossip show after a popular gossip columnist trumps their soap The Hands of Time in the ratings. Sponsor's wife Dusty Foxx (Rue McClanahan) claims she absolutely wants Hilary to star in her own gossip show...but what she really wants is Hilary off Hands of Time. Hilary is no Rona Barrett. Her gossip is all about her. When that show's canceled, Hilary becomes "The Diva Who Wouldn't Die" as she does everything she can possibly think of for her character Elizabeth to stay away from death's door.

"Behind Every Great Woman" also starts with a joint Scott-Betty idea that goes awry. This time, Betty wants to turn their arts magazine show into a music show featuring Hilary singing the latest hits of Monogram Records. Hilary, however, has stage fright at the last minute, prompting Betty to jump in and sing for her. She does so well, Hilary and Scott insist on her being Hilary's voice permanently. No one is happy about this, least of all Betty...especially when Broadway star Ruth Getty (Donna Murphy, the last of the three Broadway divas who guest-starred on WENN) turns up at the station and wants to sing with Hilary. 

Got my schedule at this point, too. In good news, more hours and two days off this time. In bad news, I'm working most of the week again, including another 8 1/2 hour day next Saturday. Either the head bagger is on vacation again, she's finally retiring, or she's doing a lot of cashiering this week. 

Spent the rest of the afternoon listening to quieter retellings of popular fairy tales on record. The Peter Pan Alice In Wonderland may be my favorite of their recordings that I have. Alice is hilarious, the characters are funny, and there's some nice songs. I especially like the dreamy title number and "The Queen Has Commanded" as Alice comments on the Queen of Hearts' crazy croquet game. (There's also the nifty book whose art style looks more like "Alice as interpreted by Marvel Comics in the 70's.") 

Douglas Fairbanks Jr provides the deep, resonating narration for Beauty and the Beast and Other Stories. Though "Beauty," based on the original Villenveuve French tale, is lovely, the stories on the other side are a bit more interesting. The Norwegian "The Princess On the Glass Hill" is a male Cinderella story that has a put-upon son gaining three different armor from three golden apples that allow him to ride up the title hill and save the royal lass. "The Boy Who Kept a Secret" from Hungary is the most unique of all. A young boy refuses to tell his secret for so long, he's shut up on a tower. The King's daughter takes pity on him and helps him out, but her father isn't as happy about it. 

Snow White and Rose Red and The Goose Girl starts with a charming musical retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales. Two sisters rescue a bear from a curse and try to help a fussy, mysterious gnome whose beard keeps getting caught everywhere. Celia Johnson of Brief Encounter narrates The Goose Girl. A servant forces a princess to trade roles with her and insists on her tending the geese. She keeps making the boy who works with her lose his hat, until he gets fed up, tells the prince she was supposed to have married, and convinces her to tell her confession to him behind locked doors.

Switched to Match Game '76 after dinner. Buzzr started with the last episode from the week featuring Bill Cullen and long-time Price Is Right model Janice Pennington. I swear, both the original and later sets of this show have minds of their own. At one point, the turntable with the contestants went the wrong way as it switched around to the Audience Match. Gene had to push it himself to fix it. The rest of the night was devoted to the week with Joey Bishop and soap star Janice Lynde, including Gene giving an eager Lynde her welcome to the show kiss.

Finished the night with Hart to Hart. Jennifer finds herself caught up in a "Highland Fling" when she interviews the elderly head of a Scottish clan, only for the man to supposedly die of a heart attack the next day. The ruthless head of an American corporation is awfully eager to become the head of the clan and get his hand on the crumbling family castle. The head of the Scottish Society nominates Jennifer to take over after it's discovered she might have a Scottish great-aunt. Jonathan smells a Scotch rat, especially after two more people attached to the Highland Games and the nomination for clan leader end up dead.

Remembering In Wonderland

Awoke at 7 PM...and called out. There was one thing I wanted to do, but I mostly wanted to rest up for my 8 1/2 hour day tomorrow. Not to mention, my heel is still pretty sore. 

I started the day with breakfast and PAW Patrol. "Pups Save the Parrot" when Carlos' parrot Mateo runs away to the top of a temple. When they find his pet, they protect its nest from a hungry eagle. "Pups Save the Queen Bee" from the lighthouse after Cap'n Turnbot finds a hive in a lighthouse light. Skye helps to transport the hive to Farmer Al's bee farm.

Got my schedule before I left. While I do have fewer hours next week, including a normal 9 to 1 on Wednesday, that'll give me the chance to rest my heel. I'm less happy about another 8 and a 1/2 hour workday next Saturday. I dread tomorrow and next week. 

The one thing I wanted to do was go grocery shopping. I could have gone to one of the Acmes, but I decided to stick to my original plan for today. Called Uber to get me to Shop Rite in Cherry Hill. The Uber going there arrived in 10 minutes. The one going home came in 13 and cost a bundle, but it took me forever to find anyone willing to take me home at the start of rush hour. Other than running into traffic on Cuthbert Road going home, there was no trouble either way.

In fact, I heard from Cooper Hospital in the Uber going to Cherry Hill. They were able to get me in next Tuesday. It's at 9:30 AM, still pretty early, but it's also in Moorestown. I'll get to see the huge new hospital attached to the Moorestown Mall.

Shop Rite was really busy today...and seemed even more huge. They have so much stuff in there! I grabbed oatmeal cookies on sale and thought I'd try a small coconut cream pie in a plastic container. Restocked yogurt, blueberries, plums, granola, oat milk (it's really cheap there), and probiotic soda. Found heel pads for the backs of your shoes that I hope will help reduce friction on my sore heel. Grabbed PopCorners and a roast beef hoagie for lunch. (And I'm glad I called out of work. It was sunny, humid, and very hot today, without a shred of breeze. Pushing carts in that would not have been fun. It'll be bad enough tomorrow.)

Put everything away when I got home, then watched Remember WENN while I ate lunch. Most of the cast is excited when big-time Broadway producer Adrian Carr (Julian Glover) produces a nighttime version of their daytime soap Valiant Journey. Unfortunately, an accident with a microphone boom leaves Hilary thinking she's "Hilary Booth, Registered Nurse" right before the broadcast. Betty has to bring Hilary around without Carr finding out...and without the help of Victor Comstock, who is leaving to broadcast in war-torn London.

"Valentino Speaks" when director Ted E. Peck (Simon Jones) insists on the cast dubbing a lost Valentino film. He's so impressed with Jeff, he convinces him to finish the movie. Jeff thinks he's going to be a huge Hollywood star, but it turns out movie acting is a lot harder than it looks. (Incidentally, the "lost" Valentino movie seen here was Valentino's last film Son of the Sheik.)

"A Capitol Idea" introduces roguish con-man Scott Sherwood (Kevin O'Rourke), whom Victor apparently sent to replace him as head station manager. Scott begins by bringing so many sponsors into the shows, he basically invents informercials. Betty's furious, but the others are willing to go along with it, until they realize they'll be making nothing off their commissions from the sponsors and turn the tables.

Honestly, I had no idea what to watch after that. I put on the 1986 BBC miniseries version of Alice In Wonderland before switching to Match Game '76. No semi-regular did better in his first week than George Kennedy. He ended up being one of the show's best players, matching more often than not. Gene Rayburn would be happier if Betty White and Lee Merriweather left his pants legs and socks alone. 

Finished up with the rest of Alice. On one hand, I'm glad they went for a miniseries with this. It honestly works better with the episodic structure than a movie does. There's some flat but lovely sketchy backgrounds, especially when Alice is wandering around in the garden before meeting the Queen of Hearts. This is also a musical, with some dreamy, meandering songs. Not bad, but beware of the sometimes grotesque costumes, especially for the Queen of Hearts and Mock Turtle. 

All Around the Town

Began the morning with breakfast and Monchhichis. TooToo, the sweet white Monchhichi in the pink skirt, wants to help her friends more than anything, but her aid tends to end in disaster. Feeling unwanted, TooToo runs away to the Underground, joined by fast-talking Thumkii. She gets into "TooToo Trouble" when the others have to rescue her from wart hogs who make her their queen and sacrifice to a huge dragon-like creature.

It was so late by the time I got up, my schedule had been posted at the Acme's website. I am not happy at all. On one hand, far more hours...too many. My only day off is Wednesday, and I have an 8 1/2 hour day next Saturday! The head bagger must have gone on vacation. I didn't expect this. They just hired all of those new baggers, and they couldn't spread things out? What are they going to do when she finally gets to retiring? I have two jobs. I can't always be there. 

I wasn't in the best mood when I headed out to run errands. It was so late, I figured I'd just get lunch somewhere. Had pizza at Montegrillo, the narrow, brand-new restaurant in Collingswood. A slice of regular cheese, a slice of chicken and vegetables, and a bottle of water cost me $8. I enjoyed it in peace and quiet other than two pre-teen boys chatting quietly in the back.

Moved on to the bank next. I made too many transfers online and was hoping to get money out of my savings account, but...I can't on an ATM machine, there's no tellers at the Collingswood branch anymore, and I didn't really want to hike all the way down to Haddonfield. I'll get money on Monday.

I was mostly out to do this week's grocery shopping. The Westmont Acme was closer, so I went there first. They had buy one, get one free blueberries and dollar Chobani yogurt. Picked up two bagels for lunch this weekend and found inexpensive slices of strawberry cake roll for a special dessert tonight. Good sales on granola bars and Special K crisp bars, too. Restocked granola, soda, Swiss cheese, and tuna. Rode up to Sprouts after that for sugar cookies, oat milk, dried mango slices, plums, and more of those 99 cent containers of prebiotic dried berries and pineapple. Zevia diet soda was buy one, get one half-off. 

By the time I finished at Sprouts, it was starting to get busier. The Acme was relatively busy, too. It was almost 3:30, the start of rush hour. Not to mention, it was hot, sunny, and killer humid. I waved to the kids at the daycare program at the Westmont Plaza (including one from Thomas Sharp who cheerfully greeted me) and made my way home.

I was so tired when I got home, I managed to put most everything away, but passed out before I could put the container with the granola bars back. I did start to finally watch The Movies Begin. This Kino Lorber DVD covers some of the very first experiments with moving photography in the late 1890's (some of it quite racy and involving a lot of nudity), a lot of shots of everyday life at the turn of the 20th century, and two distinct early pioneering efforts, Georges Melies' iconic early sci-fi tale A Trip to the Moon and the influential western The Great Train Robbery.

Switched to Storybook International at Tubi while I got organized. "The Foolish Lad" is a cross between the series' earlier "Simpleton Peter" and the German tale "The Princess Who Never Laughed." George can never seem to figure out how to do things, but he always manages to come out on top anyway. He tries to sell butter to rocks and manages to find money under them. He tries to sell dairy to the river and rescues a wealthy man from drowning. He tries to sell sausages to a dog, then goes to the mayor in the hope that he'll make the dog pay. The mayor has his own worries about his melancholy daughter...but she's feeling a lot better after she hears George's tale.

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner. The week ended with that long curly wig migrating to the head of Fannie Flagg. It made her look (and sound when she attempted a bad Brooklyn accent) a lot like Maple LaMarsh on Remember WENN. Bonnie Franklin made her debut on the show the next week, joined by Scoey Mitchelll and Patti Deusch. Gene had a cold, so Richard had to give Bonnie her welcome-to-the-show kiss (the only time he would get to do that). He also tried to get Scoey to blow his cigar smoke in another direction.

Finished the night back at Tubi for The Iron Mask. This would be Douglas Fairbanks Sr's last big swashbuckler. In something of a follow-up to his earlier Three Musketeers, Fairbanks once again plays D'Artagnan. This time, after his friends are forced to leave Paris and his beloved Constance (Marguerite De La Motte) dies, he becomes the father figure to Louis XIV (William Bakewell). Though Cardinal Richeliu (Nigel De Brulier) has died, he made sure to hide that the queen had twin boys. When Louis' twin appears, the villainous Count De Rochefort (Ullrich Haupt) puts Louis in an iron mask and his brother on the throne. D'Artaganan fakes his death to find out what's really going on here. 

Alas, I saw the 1952 re-release with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. providing a rather intrusive narration. The original full silent movie with titles is currently available on Kino Lorber DVD and on YouTube. 

Dreamers Under the Sun

Started off the morning with the last episode of Shirt Tales. It's "Mayhem On the Orient Express" when the Engineer and his fawning partner who steal trains take off with the engine of the most famous train of all, with Bogey and Kip onboard. The others have to rescue them and keep the passenger cars from falling back. They're in Switzerland for "The Cuckoo Count Caper." The Count De Minuit wants to hypnotize the Shirt Tales and use them to finish his massive cuckoo clocks! Kip catches wise, then breaks Pammy out. It's up to the girls to save their guy friends and stop the Count from turning them into clockwork mechanisms. 

And that's that. Unlike Pac-Man, which started strong in the first season but degenerated into a mass of bizarre stories and useless additional characters in its second, the second season of Shirt Tales mostly improves on the first. The first season isn't bad, but never seems to figure out what it wants the Shirt Tales to be, and there's a little too much focus on Dinkel and outside characters. The writing is sharper in the second season (Pammy in particular gets some hilarious lines), and cheerful Kip is a welcome addition. I genuinely regret that they ended the show by mid-way through the second season. It's not the greatest thing ever, and some episodes (like "Saturday Night Shirt Tales") were dated even when the show came out, but it's charming and funny enough to get a recommend from Hanna Barbara fans and kids who love animal stories. 

Hurried out to work after that. There were at least two other baggers working with me, including the head bagger. I thought she wasn't going into a register until 11, but they put her there early. I had no idea she hadn't swept the store. On the other hand, it was only slightly busier today than it had been on Wednesday. It's the end of a month without a lot going on after the 4th of July. Most people are probably on vacation, or were out enjoying the beautiful, sunny, breezy weather. It was so dead by the end of the morning, and I had so little to do, I spent the last half-hour putting away items people didn't need.

Got my schedule while I was at work. I have fewer hours, which I expected for the reasons I mentioned above. We're well between major holidays, there's not a lot going on besides Phillies games, and most people are on vacation. However, I go in early when I do work, and I have 7 hours for some reason next Saturday. 

Did my grocery shopping after I finished. Restocked granola, yogurt, oat milk, soda, tuna, cherries, and cookies. Blackberries and the Acme's generic small trash bags were buy one, get one. Bought two bagels for lunches at work this weekend and a turkey-cranberry sandwich for lunch today. They had the Sprite Zero + Tea here, too, so I got that and a Coke Cherry Zero. Found tea cakes, little turned-over cupcakes covered in icing, on the bakery clearance rack. 

Changed when I got home, then had lunch while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Taking Turns at Show and Tell" is more complicated when O and Dan want to both use the same apron. Teacher Harriet suggests they take turns, with O using it to play restaurant, then Daniel using it for show and tell. The kids are restless, but they do have to wait their turn when show and tell beings. Daniel has to wait to use the bubbles when Miss Elania already has them. He learns about "Taking Turns at the Pool" when he has just as much fun playing with them as Elainia does blowing them. Likewise, Prince Wednesday has to wait to use a pool noodle. He pretends to be a fast fish with his mother Queen Sarah.

Went back out after the cartoon ended. Acme doesn't have the greatest selection of foot gel pads, and what they do have is overpriced. I've had a lump on the back of my right heel where the Achillies tendon is for weeks now. I hope the heel lifts and covering the back of my foot where the heel gets rubbed with callus cushions will help. 

I was home and finishing Mockingbird Court when the phone rang. It was Clarifi, calling to confirm my desire for housing counseling. On one hand, they're so booked, I won't be able to see them at Cherry Hill until noon on September 17th. That does give me more time to explore Cherry Hill and Voorhees and round up all the paperwork they required. 

Watched The Love Boat after I finished the book and put it away. The captain says "Take a Letter, Vicki" when he makes her his secretary after she complains she never gets to do anything useful. The others realize why when she's a little too good at her job, putting out endless memos and skipping meals to get it all done. A man (Jim Stafford) claims "The Joys of Celibacy" to defrost a frigid young woman (Carlene Watkins), but really ends up falling for her instead. The ladies of "The Floating Bridge Game" try to come between their fourth player (Nanette Fabray) and a charming dentist (Robert Alda), until they realize how much they love each other and play matchmaker instead.

The first half of Match Game '75 finished out the week with Rona Barrett and Clifton Davies and introduced a sweet, charming middle-aged lady named Dorothy. Dorothy, who sobbed whenever she won, became one of the bigger winners of the year. She continued into the week that introduced Ed Asner and brought in shy chanteuse Julie London. Gene gave Julie her welcome to the show kiss, while Brett got to kiss Ed.

Finished the night at Tubi with The Storyteller: Greek Myths. Jim Henson once again experimented with fantasy tales told by a human (in this case, Michael Gambon) to a Muppet dog. Only four were made before Henson's death, one of which was "Perseus and the Gorgon." Perseus (Jeremy Gilley) wants to stop mean King Polydectes (John McEnery) from marrying his mother Danae (Kate Buffery) and travels to find Medusa (Frances Barber) and cut off her head. On his way, he gives an eye to the Graeae to make them give him directions and tells Atlas, who holds up the world, that he'll find a way to make his burden easier. The King doesn't think this boy can do it, but Perseus is nothing if not determined, especially after he finds a way to keep Medusa from turning him to stone. 

Life Is a Highway

Started off today early as I had breakfast and Lauren finished packing to go home. We had some nervous moments when the first Uber driver canceled and the second took 8 minutes to arrive, then we ran into traffic in Pennsauken. Thankfully, the cars vanished long before the gentleman pulled up to the 30th Street Station. They were just lining up for Lauren's train when we arrived. I gave her a hug, told her to text me when she got to New York and to home, and left her to board the train.

(Oh, and other than her bus from Albany to Pittsfield being a bit late, Lauren apparently had no trouble whatsoever today on the road. She's now long at home, having had dinner out with her parents when she got in.)

After I let Lauren go, I went to the NJ Transit ticket kiosk I spied there when Lauren arrived and bought tickets, then got a donut and a matcha latte from Dunkin' Donuts. I have never heard of an ice cream cake-flavored donut. It...wasn't bad. A little dry. It was filled with very sweet chocolate cream. I walked around a little bit after I finished my treat until they announced the 9:14 NJ Transit train to Atlantic City.

Thank heavens, the train actually made it out of the station this time. It was busy with mostly people going to Atlantic City on a day that remained hazy, if not as hot. Other than going a bit slow after leaving 30th Street, I had no trouble on the train whatsoever this time. I got off at the Cherry Hill Train Pavilion around quarter of 10.

Since the train station is behind the big Shop Rite, I thought I'd save myself a trip and do my shopping there. That store is enormous, twice the size of even the Audubon Acme. It took me a while to find everything I needed. Restocked yogurt, soda, deodorant (they had Secret for a good price), and granola. I couldn't decide which cookies to get, so I got a variety pack with M&M, chocolate chip, brownie, and sugar. They had the Nature's Valley wafer bars on a decent sale, too. 

The reason I took the train to Cherry Hill is I figured it would be a lot easier (and cheaper) to catch an Uber home from there. The last three times I called for a ride home from 30th Street Station, the driver missed me or almost missed me. I was right. The driver arrived in 9 minutes and got me home in less than 10. 

Once I got home, I put everything away, changed shoes, made up a check for a bill, grabbed a book I wanted to drop in a kiosk, and headed out again on my bike. I had a lot of errands to run. Dropped the bill in the mail box outside of the post office and the book in a kiosk. It was much sunnier by the time I was out and about and slightly less hazy. At least it didn't smell like smoke anymore.

I had lunch at the Legacy Diner in Audubon. I needed pineapple coconut pancakes and a bowl of melon chunks and grapes. Yum! The pancakes were so huge and fluffy, I couldn't finish them. Surprisingly, given it was past noon by then, it wasn't really that busy. Maybe everyone was avoiding the haze.

Stopped at WaWa on the way home. I wanted to pick up money for the Collingswood Farm Market tomorrow. Tried a small banana bread smoothie. Yum! Brown sugar syrup, graham cracker crumbs, and real banana. It really did taste like banana bread milk. 

Soon as I got home, I went down for a nap. I've had a long couple of weeks! I went down at quarter of 1 and slept until past 2:30.

After I got up and got moving, I made the bed, then pulled out more things I didn't want or need or had replaced over the last two weeks for another bag that'll go to Goodwill. Listened to some of the many records I bought over the past two weeks while I worked. Although the jaunty Rascal Flatts version of "Life Is a Highway" was the hit from the original Cars, my favorite number is the sadder and more downbeat "Our Town" by James Taylor on the rise and fall of Radiator Springs. I also like "Find Yourself" by Brad Paisley and the Chuck Berry version of "Route 66." 

Thank heavens that chip on the High Anxiety soundtrack from when I bought the disc didn't impede it being able to play. We not only get the theme song and "If You Love Me, Baby, Tell Me Loud" from High Anxiety, but songs from every Mel Brooks movie made up until 1978. Which means, yes, we also get "Springtime for Hitler" and "Prisoner of Love" from the original Producers, "Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst" from the rarely-seen The Twelve Chairs, "The Ballad of Blazing Saddles," "I'm Tired," and the brief "The French Mistake" from Blazing Saddles, and "Puttin' On the Ritz" from Young Frankenstein. There's even a bit of the score from Silent Movie.

Radio Active and Images are K-Tel collections from the early 1980's. Radio Active from 1982 leans on harder rock like "You Better You Bet" by the Who, "Take It On the Run" by REO Speedwagon, and "Super Freak" by Rick James. Ballads are the theme on the quieter Images from 1980, including "Should've Never Let You Go" by the late Neil Sedaka and his daughter Dara, "Do That To Me One More Time" by the Captain & Tenille, and "Too Hot" by Kool & the Gang.

Switched to Match Game '75 next. The first hour was the second half of the week featuring Barbara McNair and Alex Karras. I think Alex had a bit of a crush on Lola Kiss, the lady wrestler from Transylvania, after she managed to pin him! He sure turned red when she kissed him for giving her a right answer on the Audience Match. The second hour brought in Scoey Mitchelll and a pair of goofy Pattys, Duke and Deustch.

I also got my schedule at this point. Good news, more hours. Bad news, they're all early. I was hoping they'd ease me back into work, but the head bagger and Sunday bagger must have taken time off again. 

Finished the night at YouTube with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Wizards of the Lost Kingdom is a more recent episode from 2017 diving into another low-budget 80's sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Young wizard Simon (Vidal Peterson) must find his way back to the castle to rescue the princess from the evil sorcerer Shurka (Thom Christopher) with the help of lone wolf warrior Kor (Bo Svenson). Ok, yeah, it's pretty obvious this one is a Roger Corman cheapie from his "made in Argentina" phase. There's ample stock footage from his other 80's fantasy films, the special effects are just light shows, Simon is an obnoxious little jerk, and most of the "monsters" are off-the-rack puppet suits. There are a few effective moments, though, notably when Simon is lured by a beautiful woman who turns into a genuinely scary giant insect! Otherwise, this one is for true lovers of cheesy 80's fantasy only. 

Cherry Hill Park

I slept in...and actually slept this time. I didn't get to calling Uber until past 12:30. The driver going to the Cherry Hill Library arrived within 8 minutes, not bad for rush hour. We did hit a little traffic in Haddonfield, but still arrived at the Cherry Hill Library in less than 20 minutes.

The Cherry Hill Library is the biggest library in the Camden County area, and it has the largest remaining book sale. They didn't have records this time around, but there were plenty of CDs, children's books, adult books, and tons of DVDs! Lauren bought four classical and instrumental CDs for her father. The children's book section was too noisy and busy for me to find anything there, but I had more luck with the other sections. I got the cozy mystery Stranger In the Looking Glass by Jan Fields, Fletch Lives on DVD, and four CDs:

Hot! Hot! Hot! - Pier 1 Imports collection of tropical-themed songs from 2002

Jimmy Durante - As Time Goes By: The Best of Jimmy Durante

The Rolling Stones - Rewind

20 #1 Hits of the 20's (They had CDs for the 30's, 50's, and 60's too, but I figured this had the rarest songs.)

After we finished, we got soda from the vending machine in the cafe area, then went next-door to Casa Puebla. This Mexican restaurant is so local, it's in a normal residential house. It was surprisingly busy for 1:30 when we arrived with families and local workers looking for tacos and burgers. Lauren had fried pork tacos for lunch. I had an enormous and very tasty chicken burrito with tons of Spanish rice. That huge burrito filled me up so much, I barely had room for a cup of pineapple water ice. Lauren went with a non-alcoholic Pina colada. It came in a hollowed-out pineapple, topped with pineapple rings, whipped topping, a cherry, and one of those little paper Japanese umbrellas. And yes, she drank the whole thing and loved it.

It was cloudy, killer humid, and relatively cool as we made our way down King's Highway, probably in the lower 80's. Big fat drops started splashing down when we were less than a block from Lucky Strike. Thankfully, we made it there just as the shower was getting heavier. 

Lucky Strike (formerly The Big Event) has been Cherry Hill's premiere bowling alley for over 60 years. As you can guess on a day with such nasty weather, it was busy with families, college students, and couples on dates. Lauren and I played three games. To be honest, neither of us are very good. Lauren won all of the games and got the highest score at 73...but I'm the only one who got two strikes in the second and third games. (We also got to see more World Cup games on the monitors, along with golf. Research later revealed that Spain beat Belgium 2 to 1.)

Lucky Strike also has a small arcade in the back. It doesn't have as many games as Round 1 or Dave & Buster's, but it's cheaper and the games use far less points. Lauren and I spent the next 40 minutes or so running from Nerf Arcade to Lane Master bowling to the cranes to the basketball games. I came up with over 2,800 points...but there was no one at the prizes counter. I saw a sign that said you had to go get the lady at the front desk if you wanted something. It was already pretty late. I decided to save my points for another time.

Thankfully, the rain was long gone by the time I called Uber. It was slightly sunnier, if still very humid. The driver arrived in 9 minutes and got us to Ollie's in less than 10. I'm glad he took the longer route down Clements Bridge Road. I got to point out Sussex House, the Playa Del Sol, Jefferson Health, the pizza place, and the dessert bar to Lauren.

People who only shop at the Cherry Hill Mall and don't check out the other stores next to it and in back of it on Church Road are really missing something. The Ollie's is huge, stuffed full of all kinds of books, discontinued food, and other great random junk. Lauren bought bags of candy and trail mix. I got The Peanuts Lunch Box Cookbook, recipes intended for lunches and kid-friendly snacks, based on (and showing the) original comic strips.

Led Lauren a block down to the brand-new Red, White, and Thrift that opened in March. This good-sized store used to be a Big Lots, meaning it had plenty of room for clothes, home goods, toys, and media. I found one paperback mystery, Murder of a Snake In the Grass by Denise Swanson, a pair of Faded Glory jean shorts (haven't seen that brand in years), and one CD, the second American Musical Theater Smithsonian collection. My best find here was a fluffy stuffed Share Bear. She looks like the design from the 2002 run - she has lighter lavender fur, her eyes are more like the originals, and she has her original soda with two straws tummy symbol. Lauren came up with more workout shorts.

IHOP is almost directly across from Ollie's, so we went there for dinner next. The only other people in the place when we came in was a dad and his two lively daughters. I had yummy strawberry banana pancakes, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and hash browns I didn't have the room to finish. (Oh, and I appreciate that IHOP's pancakes aren't the size of the plate. They're a lot easier to eat in one sitting.) Lauren had a massive spinach and mushroom omelet topped with cheddar cheese and salsa and said it was amazing. I had an iced tea. Lauren had a vanilla coffee latte that she said was more like a vanilla milkshake with a little coffee flavor. It was just picking up when we headed out. 

Our final stop of the day was 2A Thrift at the Cherry Hill Plaza next-door to the Cherry Hill Mall. Thank heavens they finally finished remodeling the exterior! We had no problems getting inside. I found the movies Enchantment and Buck Privates on DVD (I've been looking for Buck Privates - I have its sequel, Buck Privates Come Home, but I've never been able to find the original), a sleeveless blouse with a beautiful stained glass-like leaf design, a K-Tel record collection Images, and the CD Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook. Lauren picked up a few tank tops for working out.

With the construction ended, we could call Uber right from 2A Thrift. The driver arrived in 15 minutes just as the sun went down. He had to take an alternate route because of an accident on the turn-off to Cuthbert Road, but we still got home in 15 minutes.

I finished the night after a shower with Beauty and the Beast on YouTube. From what little I can gather online, this Ruby-Spears animated special is from 1983 and was made for something called Kenner Family Classics. I never heard of it, but I wish I had. It honestly follows the Perrault version pretty well. It's one of the few animated retellings of the original story I've seen to include Beauty's brothers (who love her and make a misguided attempt to rescue her from the Beast) as well as her spoiled sisters and where her father doesn't mind her being with the Beast as long as it makes her happy. Considering the prince is turned into a Beast for turning a fairy away, I can't help but wonder if someone at Disney saw this version before they made theirs. 

Oh, and I got my schedule while watching YouTube. To my surprise, I have no schedule. I'm off Saturday along with the rest of my second vacation week. I wasn't expecting that! Either the head bagger came back, or they corralled enough college boys to not need me that day. I'll go to the farm market...then probably spend the rest of the day watching movies or napping. 

How to Beat the Heat

Began a late morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "The Outer Space Connection" sends Dinkel, Kip, and Bogey into orbit when they're accidentally trapped in a rocket that takes off. The other Shirt Tales follow in their super-sonic vehicle that can turn into anything. They end up on "The Forbidden Island" when they help a parrot figure out why the "Fire God" is scaring people away from his jungle home.

Worked on my grocery list while watching Supermarket Sweep. This later show (Dave wears a weird tie) is another one where one team, in this case the Team One college ladies, dominated the proceedings. They got the most time and had twice the grocery haul as the other teams. Their youth may have prevented them from figuring out what Good Start is in the bonus round run, though...

Oh, and I got my schedule at this point, too. I do work on Sunday, 9 to 3. Lauren won't arrive until 10 PM. I got the rest of the week off for vacation. Not a moment too soon, either, since it's supposed to rain the first two days anyhow. We can just hit up malls until the weather subsides. 

Called Uber after the show ended. I already decided to cut my shopping down to just the Westmont Acme this week. I'll do Sprouts with Lauren next week when she visits. It's too hot for a lot of running around, and I don't really need much as Sprouts anyway. To my shock, the first driver arrived in less than a minute! She was a really nice lady, too. The second one came in a more normal 9 minutes. No trouble anywhere, not even Cuthbert.

I probably could have done my grocery shopping tomorrow, since I do have work, but I know better than to do major shopping on a holiday. Despite the ongoing heat, it was still really busy. I had to duck around a lot of people to stock up on yogurt, blueberries, apples, cherries (I won't have the time for the farm market tomorrow), chocolate chip bakery cookies, prebiotic soda, Swiss cheese, granola, and Clorox travel-pack wipes for my mini-backpack. Had a good coupon for Tresemme Curls Conditioner. Thought I'd try the strawberry cake roll slices, then forgot I had them. (Oh well, 4th of July dessert tomorrow!) Grabbed a pack with tuna salad, crackers, muenster cheese, and green grapes for lunch. 

Put everything away when I got home, then napped, read, and rested while watching Yankee Doodle Dandy and the 1962 version of The Music Man. I went further into these classic 4th of July favorites at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in June and 4th of July 2019.

Happy 4th of July - Yankee Doodle Dandy

The Music Man

The moment The Music Man ended, I headed out. Even at quarter of 7, it was still hazy-blue, sunny, and steamy. I think it was even hotter than yesterday, into the lower 100's. Surprisingly, WaWa was almost as busy as the Acme had been earlier. I guess I wasn't the only one who decided she'd rather have a hoagie and a mocha mint smoothie than actually cook anything. I used the last of my gift card from one of the kids and their family on the smoothie and a small turkey hoagie on a whole-wheat roll.

Ate dinner while watching the final Match Game '75 episodes of the day. Soap star Brenda Dickson joined Gary Burgoff and Patti Deusch. To be honest, she wasn't really much more than a pretty face and didn't play very well. Even Patti got more creative than she did. 

Finished the night with the eighth and final episode of The Swamp Fox. Marion insists his new recruits deliver those "Horses for Greene" mentioned at the end of the previous episode. The mountain man brothers Mary picked up on the ship would rather be dancing with pretty senoritas at a local inn leftover from Zorro, until they end up in a trap. Marion has to install some discipline into them and make sure those horses get to the right place. 

I ended up really enjoying this. I know Davy Crockett was a bigger hit, but this one is just as much fun in its own right. I loved the emphasis on Mary, including a whole episode, "A Woman's Courage." Shame she suddenly vanishes in the last show. The mountain men are funny but no substitute. The earlier episodes tend to be darker going, especially the death of Francis' nephew in "Tory Vengeance." If you're a fan of American Revolution history or Nielson's days as an action star, or want to check out a different side of history from Disney, this miniseries is well worth your time. 

Before the Storms

Began the morning with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Daniel and Margaret Visit the Farm," and Daniel rides Peaches the horse for the first time. He's nervous, but his father holds his hand. Daniel does the same for Margaret when she's too scared to feed the ducks. Daniel's parents take him and Margaret on a 4th of July picnic to watch the "Fireworks and Fireflies." The fireflies make Margaret nervous, so Daniel holds her hand again until she's chasing them...and they both need their parents' hands when the loud fireworks frighten them.

Switched to Super Password briefly while I finished making my grocery list, then headed out. First stop of the day was the Westmont Plaza. My niece Finley will be turning 9 next Friday. I got her a card at Dollar Tree (along with soap) and a gift at Target. I also grabbed more of that tasty, fruity Iced Blue Coconut Matcha Latte from the Target Starbucks. 

Strolled further down the Westmont Plaza to Sprouts next. They were having a buy one, get one half-off sale on their bakery cookies. I loved the oatmeal-cranberry-walnut I got last week, so I went with those and snickerdoodle. The Annie's Homegrown chocolate chip granola bars are still on clearance, and those little bins of dried berries and pineapple are still 99 cents. I got one of the former and two of the latter. Grabbed oat milk and found strawberry fruit spread that was also on clearance. 

Rode down the hill next, past the library and high school and Burger King and McDonald's to the Westmont Acme. The weather isn't supposed to be appropriate for running to the farm market tomorrow, so I got my cherries and blueberries today. Restocked microwavable popcorn, yogurt, Swiss cheese, soda, granola bars (Nature's Valley were buy 2, get them for $1.99 each), low-salt tuna, and granola. Every store I hit up today was busy. It's close to the beginning of the month and a week from the biggest holiday of the summer season. 

Cut across Newton Lake Park going home. Considering it was hot (probably in the mid-upper 80's), thickly humid, and cloudy, the park was busy too when I was there. It's beautiful there now, with the emerald green trees waving in the breeze. I pushed my bike up the path over the hill, enjoying the earthy scents and ducking under a low-hanging branch.

Ran more cartoons when I got home as I put everything away, starting with Shirt Tales. "Kip's Dragon" was fired by a puppet show owner when he couldn't act like a dragon. Kip and the Shirt Tales try to teach Sparky to act like a dragon...but when his former boss captures his new friends and intends to make them the act, Sparky has find the dragon in himself. It's "Double Exposure" when a crooked photographer (who looks amusingly like a taller Gargamel) takes photos that can really capture a subject, including money and jewels. Pammy gets her camera mixed up with his and goes after it. He captures them, but it's Kip who figures out how to really get this guy exposed for good. 

Moved to Paw Patrol during lunch. Cheetah is an equally whiny cousin of Mayor Humdinger's who is still angry that Marshall won a driving trophy instead of her. She steals the PAW Patroller bus, hoping to ram down trees and the Monkey Temple and build her own jungle race track. "Pups Stop the Cheetah" from wrecking more havoc with the help of the new, improved PAW Patroller bus Ryder built.

Watched Meatballs online after I ate. Camp North Star in eastern Canada is shaping up for it's wildest summer on record. Tripper Harrison (Bill Murray), the head counselor who lives to break rules, befriends lonely camper Rudy Gerner (Chris Makepeace) the first day. He also has no trouble chasing the no-nonsense head female counselor Roxanne (Kate Lynch) or encouraging the randy CITs to play pranks on camp owner Morty Melneck (Harvey Atkin). There's also snobbish Camp Mohawk, the camp for wealthy kids across the lake, to contend with. Camp Mohawk has won (or cheated into winning) every Olympiad between the two camps. The kids think they're going to lose again, until Tripper reminds them that it just doesn't matter, and it's only games, after all. Rudy has a chance to redeem himself with the four-mile marathon, if he can get past Camp Mohawk's best runner.

Murray and Makepeace steal the movie wholesale as the wacky head counselor and the camper he ends up mentoring. They had so much chemistry and they worked so well together, more scenes were added of them playing carts to beef up the relationship. Not all of this movie has dated terribly well. Some of the treatment of the ladies, especially Tripper harassing and attacking Roxanne in several scenes, can be uncomfortable to watch nowadays. For the most part, though, this remains a lot of fun to watch if you're a fan of other "slobs vs snobs" comedies of the 70's and 80's.

Oh, and I got my schedule at this point. In good news, pretty much the same hours next week...except for the 4th of July, when I work 11 to 5. Maybe it's just as well. I can just make Oaklyn's parade and will have no trouble seeing the fireworks. I didn't really have a whole lot planned for in between them, and it's supposed to be crazy-hot anyway. 

Walked down to West Clinton Avenue after the movie ended. As I started off, I saw a gaggle of 13-year-old kids on bikes sitting in the middle of the road. One had just dropped his bike and was running in front of two dogs behind fences, trying to make them bark. A neighbor finally came out to tell them they were behaving like obnoxious twits and needed to leave the dog alone and get their bikes out of the street, before they were run over. 

Final Friday wasn't elbow-to-elbow crazy like it would be later in the night, but it was still pretty noisy when I got there. It was mostly families and old couples sitting at Oaklyn Manor Bar and Tonewood Brewery, or on benches and blankets and towels on the street next to the Brewery. There were tons of food trucks, and three different inflatable games for the kids - a ring toss, a basketball throw, and an "ax" toss. I did get to check out Inkwood Books' new Bookmobile and bought a yummy root beer float frozen bar from the Bubba Creamery cart, but there wasn't a whole lot more of interest there. I ultimately just headed home after a half-hour. 

Match Game '75 was just starting when I came up with dinner. This one was all about the week with Avery Schriberer, Gary Burghoff, Trish Stewart, and a radiant Patti Deusch. Patti was pregnant at that point, and it seemed to agree with her. I think she even got more answers right.

Moved to YouTube after a shower for The Swamp Fox. It's "A Case of Treason" when Colonel Tarleton (John Sutton) finally figures out what Mary Videaux and her parents are up to with all those parties. He catches her with Francis after one of those balls and arrests both of them. He escapes and follows her with his men in a hay wagon to Charleston. Not only do they free Mary there and send her to New Orleans, but they get more rebels out of prison, too.

Finished the night with three more Hungarian Folk Tales. "The King Who Did Not Want His Daughter to Marry" loves her so much, he turns her into three different animals so she won't wed the prince she loves. The prince finally figures out how to change her back...but even then, the princess still loves her father and is willing to forgive him. 

The "Dyer's Apprentice" is a variation on the story of a boy who won't tell his dream for anything, not to his master, not to the king, not to the princess he loves. It's not until he helps defeat an army that he finally tells the princess his secret. 

"The Jackdaw Girls" is basically a gender-reversed "The Wild Swans" without the prince and nettles subplot. The young boy must find his sisters, whom his mother accidentally turned into jackdaws when he got tired of their squabbling. He's helped by three ancient old women who call all the animals of the world to find out where his sisters went. 

Freedom of Adventure

Began the morning with breakfast and Shirt Tales. "Bogey Goes Ape" takes us into the second season, with a new opening theme and a new Shirt Tale, spunky little Kip Kangaroo. Bogey's more interested in following a lovely lady orangutan about a cruise ship and saving her jeweled necklace than his friends, until he finds out she's not alone. Pammy proves to be a mechanical whiz in "The Rain, the Park, and the Robot" when she creates a robot to help them do their chores. Kip's not as impressed with him, until he saves her from a flooded ditch in a construction site. 

Switched to The Backyardigans on Paramount Plus while getting organized. "Race to the Tower of Power" is the first of six times the show parodied superhero tropes. Here, super heroes Weather Woman (Uniqua) and Captain Hammer (Austin) must beat villains Yucky Man (Pablo) and Dr. Shrinky (Tyrone) to the top of the Tower of Power. The pair that gets there first will be able to grab the key that will allow them to rule the world!

Briefly put on Buzzr as I wrote my grocery list. Double Dare is very different - and far more short-lived - than the familiar Nickelodeon stunt show. This one is a quiz where two contestants in isolation booths Dare each other to answer tough questions. I came in just as someone else went on for host Alex Trebek! Turns out it was the long-time champ, who figured he could get some air time. Alex was mildly amused.

Headed out to run errands next. Started at Target, since I had more time than usual. They didn't have the mouthwash I wanted, but I was able to get five individual pairs of underwear. Considering two pairs got holes in the tops when I pulled the tags off, I don't think they'll last all that long, but they look more comfortable (and breathable) than the ones I bought at Marshalls'. I also tried an Iced Blue Coconut Matcha Latte from Starbucks - a matcha latte with blue foam. Not bad. Really fruity. Tasted more like mango than coconut or green tea.

Sprouts was next on the list. They didn't have good soda sales, but their oat and nut milks are cheaper than the Acme's. I got my oat milk there, along with Annie's Homegrown chocolate chip granola bars on clearance and a box of oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies off the baker's rack. My best find here also came off clearance. Low-cost bags and plastic containers of bulk items were on clearance displays throughout the store. I found a small container of mixed dried berries and pineapple listed for $5.99...but it came up as 99 cents!

Had lunch at the Westmont Bagel Shop after I finished at Sprouts. I was surprised that they weren't too busy for 1 PM. I was able to sit down and enjoy my spinach and feta omelet, toasted multi-grain whole wheat bagel, hash browns, and Diet Coke in peace. As it turned out, the bagel and omelet were more than enough. I didn't have close to enough room to finish the hash browns. (Oh, and surprisingly, there were no bikes on the rack when I arrived. All of the kids must have been swimming at Roberts Pool or skateboarding elsewhere.)

Passed by the library, McDonald's, and the Haddon Township High School (which is now closed for the summer) before ending up at the Westmont Acme. Restocked granola, yogurt, low-salt canned tuna, and soda. Found no-salt canned organic black beans and chick peas. I need more protein, but there was no low-salt canned chicken, and the bagged chicken I've been buying is awfully salty. Finally found the Listerine Gum Protection mouthwash I use in the smaller size on sale with an online coupon. Grabbed olive oil and organic mayo (which was lower in salt than the light mayo) to use for tuna and bean salads. 

Took the long way home across a busy Newton Lake Park. It was a nice day, sunny, breezy, slightly humid, and much cooler than yesterday, in the lower 80's. A lot of people wanted to enjoy it before the weather turns nasty on Monday. I ended up riding uphill to avoid the folks out for walks and jogs (and to get around the work being done on the path near the stone steps going up to East Clinton). The park is in full flower now, green and shady, with a wonderful, earthy smell.

Switched to the only early Bowery Boys movie not currently on Tubi as I put away my groceries. The guys are saying Hold That Baby! when they discover an infant abandoned in their laundry service. Turns out he's the grandson of a recently deceased millionaire whose mother (Anabel Shaw) left him there when her aunts, who want his inheritance, have her committed to a sanitarium. The aunts hire thugs to keep the baby from the reading of the will, and they in turn hire the Boys to keep an eye on him. Sach and Slip manage to dodge the thugs and rescue the mother in the guise of having Sach committed. (Oh, and I suspect a brief blackface gag when Sach attempts to hide the baby from a cop is the reason this one can't be found on streaming.)

Spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening watching The Man Who Would Be King. Sach and Slip are hardly the only best-friend pair to cause mischief. British ex-soldiers Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine), after trying to rob author Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer), take an expedition into Afghanistan in search of Kafiristan. There, they arm the locals with rifles, help them defeat their enemies, and take over the very wealthy country. When an arrow fails to pierce Dravot's chest, they think he's immortal and makes him their king. Peachy thinks they should grab the money and run, but Dravot has found he likes being a ruler and helping the people with their problems...until the princess Roxanne (Shakira Caine) inadvertently reveals that he's far from immortal.

John Huston apparently wanted to make this for 20 years, and it was worth the wait. It was Connery's favorite role and remains Caine's, and it's not surprising, given how much fun they have as the rogues who go looking for money and end up with a heck of a lot more than they bargained for. Stunning cinematography in Morocco and France, too. Maurice Jarre wrote the rousing Indian-style score. I'm also impressed with how relatively close this is to the book, which I have read. My only complaint is how long it is. It takes a while to actually set up - the first half in particular drags. Other than that, if you're a fan of two-fisted adventure tales, Kipling, or the leading men and have time on your hands, you'll want to grab your partner in crime and join the expedition. 

Returned to Buzzr for Match Game '74 next. We're getting close to the end of the year as they finished off Avery Schriberer's first week. Phyllis Newman also appeared but, to tell the truth, she was kind of annoying and took a lot of Brett's teasing personally. No wonder Avery became a semi-regular, but she never came back. James Darren and Juliet Mills had a lot more fun during New Year's week. 

Got my schedule at this point. It's pretty much what I expected and had hoped for. I'm back to weekend afternoons and early on Wednesday at the Acme. On one hand, that means I will be able to hit the Collingswood farm market next week. I'll just move the Cherry Hill trip to earlier in the week, maybe Tuesday or Thursday. 

Watched The Swamp Fox after dinner. The series gets mildly dark for "Day of Reckoning." Francis is determined to find his nephew Gabe's killer. His men not only don't share his obsession, they're sick, worn out, and want to start fighting Tories again. Mary Videux (Joy Page) manages to sweet-talk Colonel Peter Horry (Myron Healy) into giving her medicine for the men. Meanwhile, Francis not only finds Briggs (Robert Douglas), but learns there's someone else who has sworn vengeance against him - Gwynn (Hal Stalmaster), whose family was killed by a man in a mask who called himself the Swamp Fox.

Finished the night with more Zorro at Disney Plus. Don Diego is more than happy to spread the story of "The Ghost at the Mission" to scare Garcia and his men off. It works pretty well with Garcia, but Monastario isn't as impressed.