Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year

Began the morning with breakfast and Donnybrook! This 1961 musical version of The Quiet Man has Art Lund as the former prizefighter title character, Joan Fagan as the spirited Irish woman he falls in love with, Eddie Foy Jr. as a matchmaker, and Susan Watson as the village widow. Watson and Foy have the lion's share of the good material here, including their comic numbers "I Wouldn't Bet One Penny" and "Dee-lightful Is the Word." Most of Lund's songs are pretty dull, but Fagan does have a rather nice ballad, "He Makes Me Feel I'm Lovely."

Called Uber after the record ended. I hadn't been to Sprouts in ages, and I needed something at Target, too. Ironically, considering the cloudy and chilly weather and all the trouble I've had getting rides from them lately, they arrived in 4 minutes.

In fact, I started at Target. I was walking past the coolers in the grocery area when I noticed they had a lot of new Slice flavors I'd never seen at the Acme. I wanted all of them, but since I'd also have to carry them, I just got Apple and "Pacific Pop" (likely their version of Mountain Dew) to try. I was really there for a gift card for Mom. I didn't see what I wanted, but I still got her something. Stopped at Starbucks for a tasty Iced Double Berry Matcha (lavender berry foam, berry syrup on the bottom, very sweet). 

I saw a young woman holding a box of Thin Mints when I was at Starbucks. Sure enough, there were two Girl Scouts dancing around outside of Target, attracting customers by singing their idea of "Girl Scouts" horror sales songs with rather macabre themes. They were too funny. I had to get Peanut Butter Sandwiches and their new "Explorermores" (chocolate sandwich cookies with almond cream middles) with that kind of a sales pitch!

Sprouts was the busiest I'd ever seen it! Good thing I didn't need a whole lot. Their coconut milk is a lot cheaper than the Acme's, and they have smaller bottles of buttermilk, too. Raided the bulk bins for lemon-raspberry dried mangoes, dried cranberries, and raisins. Found one of those kids' lunch bags with a sandwich, applesauce, cookie, chips, and small bottle of water on clearance; grabbed the almond butter-jelly. 

I walked home. I won't be doing any walking tomorrow! It's supposed to pour all day. The weather today wasn't much better. It was cloudy, breezy, and chilly, into the lower 40's. Even so, I still sat at a black metal picnic table near a clearing for my first picnic of 2026. You'd never know we're so close to the first day of spring. Though green grass is sprouting through the yellow, the trees remain bare gray husks, and the flowers haven't bloomed. There weren't even many Canadian geese around. It was such a depressing scene, I hurried over the stone steps and down East Clinton to home soon as I finished lunch.

Spent the rest of the afternoon trying to focus on writing and listening to spring or Irish-themed music and Broadway cast albums. Finian's Rainbow debuted in 1947, when the story of a leprechaun who follows the title Irishman and his daughter to the deep south after his pot of gold and end up helping sharecroppers was a breath of fresh shamrock-scented air. Scotswoman Ella Logan headed the original cast, introducing "If This Isn't Love," "Look to the Rainbow," and "How are Things In Glocca Morra." Impish David Wayne joined Logan for "Something Sort of Grandish" and got the hilarious "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love." 

The Music of Spring and Tune Up for Spring are two collections Columbia made to sell at tire dealerships in the early 60's. Ray Conniff's bouncy "Younger Than Springtime" is my favorite from both albums. Rosemary Clooney's "I Could Have Danced All Night" and Jerry Vale's "Camelot"  are a bit more out of place in Music of Spring. Leslie Uggams doing a lovely "April In Paris" and the New Christy Minstrels' "Green Green" are more fitting. Al Jolson's "April Showers," Polly Bergen singing "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year," and the Hi-Lo's "Everything's Coming Up Roses" are the standouts in Tune Up. 

The Broadway version of Once was a surprise hit in 2012 that ended up winning the Tony for Best Musical that year. The 2007 film was already lovely, but it ended up making a rather nice intimate stage show, too, if bittersweet numbers like "Leave," "Sleeping," "When Your Mind's Made Up," "The Moon," and "Falling Slowly" are any indication.

The other famous modern Irish musical is probably The Commitments. I loved my cassette version of the soundtrack as a kid, and I was just as happy to find it on CD a while back. The cast's passionate renditions of "Mustang Sally," "Destination Anywhere," "Try a Little Tenderness," "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," and "In the Midnight Hour" wound up being an even bigger hit than the film and introduced teens of the early 90's like me to classic R&B and blues.

Jessa dubbed Snoopy's Classiks - Beatles on Toys for me last Easter. This is exactly what it sounds like, Beatles songs played on toy pianos, with Sally and Chuck introducing the first number "Do You Want to Know a Secret?" "She Loves You" is just the kids singing that over and over. They do much better by a charming "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" and "Yellow Submarine." "Here, There, Everywhere" and "When I'm Sixty-Four" are the best of the instrumental numbers. 

I couldn't focus on the writing, but I did get a little done. C.J, Sir Scott Sherwood's squire, is guarding the oddly silent and closed gates. Hilary demands to know what's going on. King Rollie the Snake King has taken over, he tells them in a whisper. Lord Comstock opened the gates and let the snake men invade. Sir Sherwood and King Jeffery were supposedly killed in the invasion. Betty and her Heart-Quill are horrified. How could that happen? Scott had his men. He was overwhelmed, C.J softly explains. His men were out searching for Pavla, and he had little protection left at the castle. Betty doesn't believe him, even as he takes the ladies and their mounts through the silent gates and into a quiet, motionless town...

Finished the night with a late Match Game marathon. Handsome Robert Walden was playing a cocky young reporter on the drama Lou Grant when he first turned up on Match Game late in 1978. He had once been a pupil of Charles Nelson Reilly, and Brett Somers certainly had no problems ogling him either. Neither did Patty Duke when she ended up wrapped in his sweater after he stripped it off once. He was there for the infamous syndicated episode where the contestant Ginger gave an extremely strange answer for what a jock caterpillar buys, and he was the one who had to answer her when she gave an even weirder answer for "Cuckoo __" in the Head to Head. His most memorable nighttime appearance pit a handsome Naval officer against a pretty young Israeli woman who didn't seem to grasp the language very well. Marcia Wallace was much happier to match an unusual answer for "He's So __" in another memorable Head-to-Head. 

Go "cuckoo" for this disco-era hunk turned dedicated reporter in these hilarious episodes!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Robert Walden On the Panel 

Rainy Day In the Library

Began the morning with breakfast and Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a Sleepwalking Bear" who wandered out of its cave during a snow sculpture contest. They have to figure out how to get it home without waking it up again. "Pups Save Dude Ranch Danny" have Skye and Chase going after Daring Danny X when he accidentally takes off on a metal horse made by the dude ranch's owner.

Checked my e-mail next and e-mailed Bryanna. She sent me the e-mail of my case worker at the DVR Josh Phillips, but couldn't find his phone number. I e-mailed him and will call her back tomorrow or next week to see if she can get through to him. I really want to talk about buying a condo as soon as possible.

After I did a few things online, I watched Song O' My Heart on YouTube. I go further into the only major vehicle for beloved Irish tenor John McCormack at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! - Song O' My Heart

Ate a quick lunch, then did some writing. C.J, Sir Scott Sherwood's squire, meets them mournfully at the gates. Hilary demands to know what's going on. Scott and King Jeffery are dead, C.J tells them. Killed by Pruitt himself. Victor opened the gates and let Pruitt and his snake men in without a struggle and is now right-hand man to Pruitt himself. Hilary demands to see Pruitt and find out what happened. Good, C.J tells her, Pruitt wanted the ladies brought to him the moment they returned anyway.

Listened to fantasy-oriented soundtracks from the 80's while I worked and as I had lunch. Labyrinth is one of two major fantasy films Jim Henson made during the mid-80's that went on to become cult favorites. David Bowie is the Goblin King and gets the lion's share of the songs, notably the gorgeous ballad "As the World Falls Down" and "Magic Dance." There's also a couple of excellent instrumental numbers - my favorites are "Into the Labyrinth" and "Home at Last."

The Princess Bride is a bit more folksy, as per its comic opera-esque fairy tale story. The ballad "Storybook Love" is the only vocal number, but some of the background score is worth hearing as well. Check out "The Friends' Song," "The Swordfight," and "Revenge."

Considering it was pouring when I called Uber and had been all day, I'm surprised I had no trouble getting drivers. The one going to work arrived in 4 minutes! I ended up being a little early. The one going home only took 10 minutes, despite it being raining and snowing by then.

I think you can guess from the weather that there was no going outside today for anyone. It was cold, wet, and dreary for the entire afternoon. The 9 kids at my table were able to clean up quickly and were only a little rowdy in the bathrooms. Things are a lot crazier in the library. On one hand, at least they finally got the hint about not tearing the paper set out for them to scribble and use animal stencils. In fact, as the head teacher pointed out, they made some rather nice abstract art. Three of the boys kept throwing the rubber food around, even as the other kids were dancing to "Pink Pony Club," "I'm Still Standing," and music from Bluey, Tangled, Frozen, and KPop Demon Hunters. The remaining six kids were still pretty wild with the older kids in the cafeteria when I left.

Took out the trash and recycling and took a shower, then went upstairs with a quick dinner for Match Game Syndicated. Brett found herself caught between her two favorite drinking buddies Charles and David "Bosley" Doyle for the first week of 1981. Paul Williams had more fun with Joyce Bullifant and Edie McClurg (the latter in her debut on the show) on the lower tier.

Went back to Tubi for Storybook International after Match Game. The Hungarian folk tale "Five Loaves" is more of a math problem than a fairy tale. Two neighbors share their five bread loaves with an old man who was going hungry. The man gives them five coins, which one neighbor thinks he deserves more of than he gets. A judge in the near-by town explains why he actually deserves less than he thinks.

Finished the night with Sinatra while working on the review for Song O' My Heart. Come Fly With Me is probably one of his most iconic albums, with its jaunty title number and songs about far away places like "Isle of Capri," "Moonlight In Vermont," and "April In Paris." Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely gets into darker territory, with deep bluesy ballads like "What's New?," "Blues In the Night," "Spring Is Here," and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)." 

Fairy Tales for Children

Got a quick and late start today with breakfast and Paw Patrol. The "Pups Save a Frozen Flounder" when Cap'n Turbot's boat the Flounder is frozen solid in the Antarctic and winds up stranded. They have to cut it free, then navigate it around floating icebergs to safety. No one on Adventure Bay Beach can figure out what the strange swimming creature with the horn is. After some research, the "Pups Save a Narwhal" when it turns out the tusked whale is lost and looking for its family.

Worked on Legendary Tales of WENN while listening to the second disc of Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol 2. I had no idea he recorded versions of "The Mighty Quinn" or "All Along the Watchtower." I preferred quieter pieces like "If Not for You," "I Shall Be Released," and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." 

After Bob Dylan ended, I hurried out for a quick walk. I needed to get money from the ATM machines at WaWa. I grabbed a turkey bacon wrap and a tasty, sweet pineapple matcha smoothie, too. Not to mention, it was just plain too nice to sit inside all day. I didn't have the time for grocery shopping, but I could get this in. The sun was shining, there wasn't the hint of a breeze, and it was warm, in the lower 50's. The vast majority of the snow that impeded my progress on the White Horse Pike Monday had vanished. Family Dollar's parking lot was clear.

I ate quickly at home, then did a few chores before calling Uber. Unfortunately, I ran into the same trouble that I did yesterday...and this time, the weather wasn't the problem. Like I said, it was gorgeous today, the nicest it's been in a month and a half. The driver still didn't come for 15 minutes, and I was still five minutes late to the Thomas Sharp School.

And they did need the help today. There were about 20 kids, not that many, but more than yesterday. The ones that were there were rowdy, too. I had to talk to them about staring at each other in the bathrooms instead of actually going to the bathroom again. One of the girls tried to help her smaller friend, which was sweet of her, but I could handle it. I did better reading books to the kids sitting at the table with the books after lunch. 

They had some kind of after-school club going on in the library, so it was fairly late before we moved the younger kids there. I drew Lady Betty dreaming of Sir Scott and Maid Maple confronting the hypnotized Wizard Victor from my Legendary Tales of WENN fanfic, which fascinated the kids who would watch me draw and ask about the story. The head teacher did have to handle an older boy who got upset because he couldn't go out with the older kids, but she put on "Ghostbusters," "Pink Pony Club," and songs from KPop Demon Hunters and Moana when she got in.  

I decided when I finished that I wasn't waiting for the prices on Uber to go down again. I just walked home. On one hand, I did need to stop at the CVS on the border of West Collingswood and Oaklyn anyway. They're the only place I can find the brushes for my electric toothbrush. On the other hand, my bad knee was sore as heck when I got home. I put it under a heating pad right away.

Went straight into Match Game Syndicated when I got in. Most of the episodes finished out that week with Fred Travelena and his one-man White House and Elaine Joyce. The last one moved on to Vega$ week with Phyllis Davis and Bart Braverman sitting next to each other on the lower tier.

Oh, and I got my schedule at this point. In good news, more hours. In bad news, two 9 to 1 days in a row on Thursday and Friday means two double shifts that'll be hard on my knees in a row...and I somehow got an 8 1/2 hour shift next Friday. I do have three days off of the Acme, from Monday through Wednesday, but then I work three days in a row, two of them along with the school. I would give anything for consistent hours at both of my jobs!

Worked on Legendary Tales of WENN after dinner. Maid Maple LaMarsh and her wood pipe make all of the snakes dance. Betty uses her sentient "Heart Quill" as a flashlight to scare the snakes off. Hilary grabs one to ask what's going on. He only tells her that they were supposed to capture Hilary and bring her to the Snake King Pruitt. Mr. Eldridge appears, telling the ladies that Pruitt has taken over Pittsburghia. Sir Scott Sherwood and his powerful North Star Sword are gone, King Jeffery isn't what he was, and Lord Victor Comstock, the kingdom's trusted wizard, opened the gates and let Pruitt in. The ladies leap on their colorful mounts (Hilary has the alicorn, of course) and rush off to WENN Castle to make sure everything is all right.

Finished the night with more Shirley Temple Storybook Theater. "The Princess and the Goblins" is a retelling of that popular children's book. The Princess Irene (Temple) is a young woman here, though, rather than a child, but she's still not allowed outside of the castle. Her guy friend Curdie is in love with her, and he manages to save her from the Trolls who have never forgiven her father for banishing them. She in turn saves him when they capture him and try to keep him from telling her what's going on...and she saves herself later when the whiny son of the trolls (Arte Johnson) insists she's to be his bride.

I never heard of "The Magic Fishbone" until I found it in a fairy tale collection a few years ago. It's not hard to tell Charles Dickens wrote this story of a very poor king (Rex Evans) who gains a magic fishbone from an eccentric fairy (Estelle Winwood). The king works for a grouchy, miserly boss (Leo G. Carroll) who sounds like Scrooge...and acts like him too when he fires the King. The King wants to use the Fishbone, but his beloved daughter (Lisa Evans) keeps encouraging him to wait. As it turns out, the family is pretty good at making its own luck...but of course, the fairy lends a hand or two as well, including bringing back a handsome suitor for the daughter. 

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

I went to sleep as the snow continued to come down heavily. When I awoke the next morning, it was...still coming down, though not as heavily. In fact, it was hard to tell if it was snowing, or just blowing around. I tried to figure it out while eating breakfast and watching Paw Patrol. "Pups Save a Tiny Penguin" when it's stranded with Alex and Everest on a bridge made of canoes and snowboards. They first have to save them from a whirlpool, then get them to shore. "Pups Save a Cat Show" when the robot kitty Mayor Humdinger made goes out of control and makes all of the real cats scatter.

Switched to Frozen: The Musical on Disney Plus next. This is a recording of the English cast of the stage version of the show. It's pretty much the same as the film with a new prologue showing Anna and Elsa as children with their parents at a summer festival ("Let the Sun Shine On"), a random Act Two chorus number for the owner of the trading post where Anna buys her winter clothes ("Hygge"), a duet after Kristoff first meets Anna where Kristoff points out that her engagement is pretty unrealistic ("What Do You Know About Love?"), a number for Kristoff where he finally admits his feelings about Anna ("Kristoff's Lullaby"), a second song for the sisters where Anna confronts Elsa at her ice castle ("I Can't Lose You"), and a second song for Elsa when she realizes she has to return to Arendelle ("Monster"). 

The adorable "What Do You Know About Love?" is probably the best of the new songs, but most of them aren't as good as the ones from the original film. Though there are some decent lead performances from Laura Dawkes as Anna and Samantha Banks as Elsa, the film isn't really enhanced by stage effects and light shows. The pandemic killed this after two years on Broadway, and Disney saw no reason to reopen it. It did a little better in London, running three years. Honestly, it's not bad, but I suspect it's mainly for stage musical nuts or those with little girls who can't get enough of Frozen and don't mind that it isn't the original.

Moved to Tubi for Good Times during lunch. James and Florida are worried that J.J won't make it his senior year of high school. He focuses entirely on art and girls and has never been seen to crack open a school book. They're surprised when "Junior the Senior" passes anyway. Turns out the principal just wanted to move him along because they're overcrowded and underfunded and can't afford to keep him there. Junior agrees to it at first...but then decides that if he's going to move to the next grade, maybe he'd actually start learning about something along the way.

"The Visitor" is a man from the Chicago Housing Commission who comes in response to an angry letter Michael wrote about conditions in the housing development to his local newspaper. The plump little fellow has obviously rarely left his office, and he gets an eye-opener when he's stranded at the apartment building and learns about the real-life conditions that the Evans and their neighbors live in.

After Good Times ended, I started my next Remember WENN fanfiction. It's over a year and a half after "All Noisy On the Pittsburgh Front." Betty Roberts is waiting for Scott Sherwood to come home from North Africa, even though she's still trying to convince herself that they're only friends. Hilary Booth is furious that Jeff Singer is walking out on her and their shows to seek a correspondent job in London. She was hoping they could remarry and become queen and king of Pittsburgh radio again now that she's gotten her divorce from Scott. Maple LaMarsh is frustrated that Victor Comstock has gone to Washington to deal with W.E.N.N business and has been constantly breaking dates again. 

Maple wonders why it's the men who always run off to war. Why can't the women be the ones who get to run off and leave the men behind? Betty thinks this is a brilliant idea, and the perfect catalyst for a story the head of the Pittsburgh Public School District, the new sponsors for A Book at Bedtime, asked for. They requested an original, slightly dark fairy tale to make the younger children shiver and the older ones cheer. Hilary suggests, of course, that she is the Queen of Pittsburghia, returning home with her scribe and music magician, to find all isn't well in WENN Castle...

Tentatively titled Legends of WENN, this is intended to be a much shorter 80's-style fantasy story than my ongoing Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN, less Game of Thrones and more Willow or darker Princess Bride. I'm hoping I can actually finish this one. I love the idea, and not only is it not tied to a holiday, it's a fully-new idea, not something I came up with years ago. 

Listened to a couple of my recent record acquisitions while I worked. We Are was one of Quincy Jones' last collaborations, this one with jazz fusion artist Jon Batiste. The opening title song smacks of gospel. "Tell the Truth" and "Show Me the Way" get more into the rock, while "Whatchutalkinbout," "Boy Hood," and "Freedom" lean more on the soul side of things. Recommended if you love Batiste or are looking for something that moves out beyond the traditional jazz. 

Despite being listed as the soundtrack from A Boy Named Charlie Brown, what I picked up at Barnes and Noble last week is actually a reprint of the non-special Peanuts Vince Guaraldi album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. As such, there's some really good performances here. Along with "Linus and Lucy," we have "Oh Good Grief," "Blue Charlie Brown," "Baseball Theme," and "Happiness Theme (Happiness Is)." (I am going to keep looking for the real soundtrack to A Boy Named Charlie Brown, though.)

Moved to the first disc of that Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II set next. "Lay Lady Lay" is my favorite number here, and possibly the best-known number on this half of the set. "Watching the River Flow," "Maggie's Farm," and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" are other stand-outs.

The snow had long vanished by 4:30, and the roads were largely clear. It wasn't even that windy anymore. I figured it was ok to run errands and use up the last WaWa gift card I got from the kids for Christmas. I had been right about the snow. There was a lot of it, true, at least 9 inches, but it was wet, heavy, and fluffy. In fact, most of it was melting even as I dodged unshoveled sidewalks and huge piles of icy slush. I did drop off two books in one of the library kiosks, but I decided the sidewalks on the back roads were too messy to take them home.

WaWa wasn't that busy, despite it being one of the few places open on a snowy Monday. I got money for a friend, then used the last of my gift card on a soft pretzel and a Chocolate Coconut Smoothie. I tasted more chocolate than coconut, but it was still sweet and wet, which was really all that mattered at that point. 

Maybe I should have done the back roads again instead. The sidewalks on the White Horse Pike were only slightly less messy than the ones in the neighborhood. No one had shoveled or plowed around Family Dollar at all, not even their parking lot. I hope they weren't open. At least it wasn't that cold, either, probably in the perfectly normal upper 30's-lower 40's. 

Put on Match Game Syndicated while I had dinner. Bob Donner, former beauty queen Marjorie Wallace, Bill Daily, and Marcia Wallace figured into this week. Marcia spent the week joking about how much she and Marjorie looked alike (they didn't) and trying to rein in Bill Daily's perpetual nervousness. Bob Donner spent it writing unique artwork for his cards.

Finished the night at YouTube with more Match Game, this time at YouTube, in honor of Black History Month. The second African-American panelist to appear on the new Match Game after Della Reece was comedian Stu Gilliam early in 1973. No wonder he never came back. He spent most of the week trying to meditate between Jack Klugman and Brett Somers and their perpetual battles. Mannix's secretary Gail Parker had more luck joining the panel in dealing with overly excited contestant Dorothy the day after New Year's 1974. Comedian and impressionist George Kirby appeared later that year, just in time to see Richard literally throw Brett's shoe out when she asked him to fix it. 

Isobel Sanford of The Jeffersons turned up on the show twice, most memorably early in 1976. She helped win big money for a very sweet contestant who was such a doll, Marvin Hamlisch and Charles Nelson Reilly wrote a song about her. 

Nipsey Russell and Scoey Mitchelll probably appeared the most of any black panelist and got the most out of their appearance on the show. Nipsey appeared off and on from 1973 through 1979. Scoey first turned up in 1974 and would appear through early in 1982. I have a typical episode with Nipsey and his famous poems from 1978, and Scoey's last appearance in 1982 (that also included a brief but memorable striptease from Betty White). 

Arsenio Hall was probably the most memorable of the black panelists to appear exclusively on The Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour. His quips and jokes really made that show, and he was frankly one of the best things about a wildly uneven format. Jimmie Walker of Good Times first turned up in 1974, when the show was just starting its five-year run. He became so associated with the show, he would appear throughout the original run and turn up on Match Game-Hollywood Squares and Match Game '90 as well. Like Marcia Wallace and Vicki Lawrence, Jimmie probably did his best work in the 90's show, where he was slightly more subdued and less obnoxious. I have his first episode (and Mary Wickes') here, where he ogles a very pretty contestant.

Celebrate Black History Month with some of the most memorable panelists ever on Match Game!

Stu Gilliam (1973)

Gail Parker (1974)

George Kirby (1974)

Isobel Sanford (1976)

Nipsey Russell (1978)

Scoey Mitchelll (1982)

Arsenio Hall (1983)

Jimmie Walker (1990)

Winter and Taxes

First of all, I awoke to a white world. Everything was covered with shiny whiteness...but the street. Though the street was cleared here, it's more than likely it hasn't been elsewhere. Oaklyn is the best local town at cleaning up the streets after a major weather disaster. The Collingswood School District was closed today, and I was already off the Acme until Wednesday. I went nowhere but home today.

Started things off with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Millie and Melody want their Aunt Minnie to play with them, but she's too busy setting up "Minnie's Winter Bow Show." They accidentally make a mess of the decorations, then run out. Minnie follows them into the Glove Balloon, which ends up taking them to the top of Mistletoe Mountain. They have to help Snow Fairy Clarabelle find her snowflakes, then retrieve her reindeer to pull a sleigh that will take them back to Minnie's show. On the way, they help a family of yeti get across a frozen pond.

Moved to Remember WENN after breakfast. Betty's left wondering "Who's Scott Sherwood?" after Victor's major revelations during "In the WENN Small Hours." So is Rollie Pruitt, who has caught wind of Scott's memorial scheme and fired him. The others rise to Scott's defense and end their shows. Betty's not sure he's worth defending, especially after Scott finally confesses how he really got his station manager job.

Betty and Mackie are dealing with the fallout in "The New Actor." While Betty tries to negotiate with Pruitt to get Mackie a raise, Jeff insists on returning to London after hearing one of Jonathan Arnold's (Victor) broadcasts. Now WENN is so short on help, Mackie's playing roles with himself. They're desperate to hire anyone...but Betty's not sure the very familiar former con-artist they end up hiring is worth a second chance. 

After breakfast, I moved to Turbo Tax to get that done. This is slightly more complicated with two jobs, but still nothing that takes more than an hour. I still own no property and have no dependents. Thanks to that second job, I'll only be getting about $470 back from Federal and $40 from the state. That's nowhere near what I usually get, but any kind of money is better than none. 

Switched to Tubi for a double feature of two wacky winter comedies from the 80's and early 90's after I took my laundry downstairs. Ski Patrol  is a pretty typical slobs vs snobs teen comedy from 1990. The ski patrollers are in charge of the mountain run at Pop's (Ray Walston) resort. The land is coveted by a smarmy developer (Martin Mull) who wants to build a much larger and more lavish resort. He hires a group of jealous ski instructors to sabotage the ski patrol and make the resort look bad to the local Forest Ranger (Deborah Rose). After they're stretched too thin and the Ranger sees their mistakes, the Forest Service is ready to shut them down...unless they can find a way to prove that they're not the ones wrecking havoc on the mountain. Meanwhile, the patrollers have to deal with a very strange hard rock nut named Suicide (Sean Gregory Sullivan) who wears two masks to represent his dual-sided personality and the short head of the patrol (Leslie Jordan) they're constantly making fun of.

I'm not surprised this came from the creators of the Police Academy franchise. It's basically a less raunchy Police Academy on skis with a great cast. In addition to Walston, Jordan, and Mull, we have comedian T.K Carter as resident singer and karaoke-machine owner Iceman, George Lopez as the Hispanic explosions expert Eddie Martinez, and future director Paul Feig as hapless Stanley, who tried and failed seven times to get on the Ski Patrol. My sisters and I used to love this when it turned up a lot on cable in the early 90's. It's still a lot of fun if you're looking for something goofy and not much else or are a fan of Police Academy-style slapstick ensemble comedies.

Hot Dog - The Movie has a little of the authentic ski bum flavor that Ski Patrol lacks. In this case, the focus switches from the ski patrol to skiing competitions. Harkin Banks (Patrick Houser) is on his way to Squaw Valley, California for a major ski festival when he picks up 17-year-old runaway Sunny (Tracy Smith). They're both disgusted with Rudi Garmisch (John Patrick Reger), a spoiled hot shot European skier who has won all the major awards. Despite excellent performances by Harlin and veteran skier and bar-owner Dan O'Callahan (David Naughton), it looks like he might take this one too...until Dan challenges him and his entourage to a winner-takes-all free-for-all downhill race. Now Dan, Harlin, and their friends have to avoid Rudi and his cheating to prove who the real "hog dogs" on the mountain are.

This movie is way better than it has any right to be. Naughton, Reger, and Shannon Tweed steal the movie as the veteran skier who joins the Championship for one more day in the sun, the spoiled European champ, and the (slightly) older woman who seduces Harlin at first. The Japanese skier (James Saito) is pretty stereotypical, but he's also portrayed as a member of the gang who takes part in most of the same antics as the others. The ladies, especially Smith, don't always come off the best either. Ski culture, on the other hand, is portrayed so authentically, this was a surprise hit in 1984 and remains a favorite of a lot of real skiers to this day. If you're also a skiing fan and can handle more sex than usual for one of these teen comedies, this is definitely worth checking out the competition for.

Switched to Buzzr for Match Game Syndicated next after I finally brought my laundry upstairs and put it away. We had a first for game shows in these episodes as blind contestant Glenn and his beautiful service dog Princess competed. Betty White adored Princess and helped take good care of her. Meanwhile, Eva Gabor was a trooper when she talked about how another contestant had accidentally kicked her toe and taken off her toenail, and she said she now had a cheaper pedicure.

Listened to the Wicked: For Good soundtrack after dinner while working on Once Upon a Time in the Land of WENN. I haven't a single clue as to why this got such horrible reviews. The performances are still fabulous, especially from Ariana Grande as Glinda. The mix of practical and CGI effects still look gorgeous. The show's big ballad, "As Long as You're Mine," can be found here, and we have two decent new songs, "The Girl In the Bubble" and "There's No Place Like Home." I'm wondering if the critics were expecting it be just as lighthearted as the first half...and were shocked to find it most definitely isn't. If you're a fan of the show or of The Wizard of Oz and don't mind the darker take on this franchise, or you loved the first movie, this is absolutely worth checking out too.

I finally got further on Land of WENN. Duchess Hilary Booth's husband Duke Jeffrey Singer just returned to Londchester to help with the war against the Shadow Realm there. Not only does she miss him terribly, but she's upset that Elizabeth (Betty) Roberts and her acting troupe are moving on the Parched Mountains too to find the Earth Talisman and staff. She's even more shocked when a woman dressed in an icing-colored dress arrives at the Bedside Manor stage, claiming she's Pavla Nemcova, Jeff's new wife. Scott Sherwood, the shadowy head of the Rebel Society, knows Pavla is really an evil Candy Witch who may have harmed Jeff, and he knows what she really wants...an audition with a major producer. 

Finished the night at YouTube with spelling and word games after I made the bed. Two of the major champs in this genre remain Password and Match Game. They're simple, addictive, and a lot of fun to play along with. We have three examples here, with Password Plus from 1981 and Super Password from 1987 and one of the funniest episodes from the first year of the revived Match Game in 1973. 

Another word and spelling game champ is Scrabble, and it's another one that's seen a recent revival. Chuck Woolery is the host of the original version from 1986 that had people calling for letters and unscrambling words. The Pyramids are a bit simpler. Celebrities help contestants guess a certain category by naming object or people in that category. I have a rather infamous episode of $100,000 Pyramid from 1991 where soap star Stuart Damon has to figure out what to say for "Things That are Stiff" that won't get them taken off the air. John Davidson is the amiable host here.

Not all word games are massive hits. Smush debuted on USA in 2001 and didn't even last a year. This game is so simple, the contestants play in a set that resembles a living room of the time, and the audience is mostly on the floor or couches. Three contestants have to decide what smushed phrase two clues make, like "Karen Allen Ludden." Ken Ober is certainly no stranger to casual pop-culture based games and has a lot of fun with the material, but it might be a little too casual and low-budget to make much of an impression.

Have fun describing words, guessing phrases, and describing the category with these heart-pounding and hilarious word and spelling games!

Match Game (1973)

Password Plus (1981)

Scrabble (1986)

Super Password (1987)

$100,000 Pyramid (1991)

Smush (2001)

Winter Wonderland Matches

I awoke at 7 to a winter wonderland. Everything was white, including the street. Normally, Oaklyn is the best town in the area at clearing the streets. If the streets here weren't clear, none of them in the area were passable, period. I called Acme, told them there was no way I'd be able to get an Uber today even if my knee was up to pushing carts in deep snow, and went back to sleep.

It was still coming down when I got up again, and the dark gray sky basically said that it would continue to come down for a long time. I think you can guess that no one went anywhere or did anything today. I spent most of the day in front of my laptop, listening to records and going through Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN, seeing what needs to be edited and where I left off. 

In fact, I spent a lot of the afternoon putting a dent in the records I've bought in the last few months. Soundwaves is a K-Tel release from 1980. There's some really great stuff here, some of the biggest hits of the early 80's - "Upside Down" by Diana Ross, "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc, "I Wanna Be Your Lover" by Prince, "I Was Made for Lovin' You" by Kiss, "Lost In Love" by Air Supply - but my favorite is one I didn't even know existed until I bought this. I know Meco did a Star Wars: New Hope disco instrumental medley (it still turns up on the radio from time to time), but I had no idea he did one for Empire Strikes Back, too. It's pretty awesome. You've never lived until you've heard an electronic version of "The Imperial March."

I thought two Rupert Holmes records from the early 1980's suited both the snowy weather and the story I was working on. Anyone who's seen Remember WENN or heard the cast albums for Curtains and The Mystery of Edwin Drood knows Rupert loves playing with masks and hidden identities, and that's the theme of Adventure from 1980. "The Mask" sounds like Victor in the third season, "Blackjack" might as well be Scott Sherwood's anthem, and Betty certainly was "Cold" to him during much of the third and fourth seasons. "Adventure" is what Scott wanted with Betty, and "You'll Love Me Again" and "I Don't Need You" have a lot of Hilary and Jeff in them.

Full Circle from a year later is somewhat similar. Things are a bit more romantic here. "You Remind Me of You" has a title from the Marx Brothers, but is honestly very sweet. There's also "Loved By the One You Love," "Love at Second Sight" (Hilary and Jeff again), "My Lover's Keeper," and the title song.

The Moody Blues' The Present wasn't nearly as big of a hit as Long Distance Voyager, their previous album, had been, but that doesn't mean it lacks merit. "Sitting at the Wheel" and "Blue World" were minor hits at the time, and there's the dreamy "Running Water" and "Under My Feet." In fact, it made for rather nice reflection music on an afternoon that kept switching between snow, frozen rain, and sleet.

Finished the night with dinner, a shower, and the Sunday Match Game marathon. There were quite a few panelists named Robert or Bob who appeared on the 1973 - 1982 run of the show. The first and most prominent was Price Is Right host Bob Barker. He turned up on the second week and would appear sporadically through 1980, usually to promote Price. He had some of his most memorable episodes in the late CBS run and early syndication, including the time he protested Gene covering the slit skirt of a pretty casting coordinator and when his chair broke and sunk below the desks. 

Bobby Van was the other regular "Bob" during the 70's run. He was usually seen with his dancer wife Elaine Joyce, but he did make occasional appearances on his own from 1973 through 1977. His first appearance on the show was sitting next to Elaine on the top row in 1973...and one of their answers to a question was so sexually-charged, that episode is now banned from the airwaves. 

Three Roberts and Bobs were semi-regulars during the later and syndicated years. Robert Walden of Lou Grant, a former student of Charles Nelson Reilly, turned heads and made hearts flutter from 1979 through 1981. Robert Pine, the only actor to last through the entire six seasons of CHIPs, was a genial "dad" presence from 1978 through 1980. Character actor Bob Donner of Mork and Mindy started off in 1980 and would last through the end of the syndicated series in 1982, making occasional appearances on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour as well.

There were other guys named Bob or Robert who only appeared for one or two weeks. Robert Vaughn of The Man From U.N.C.L.E appeared twice, in a memorable week in 1973 with Nancy Dussault and McLean Stevenson, and again in 1975. Comedian and game show host Robert Q. Lewis and Robert Culp of I Spy and The Greatest American Hero made their only appearances early on in 1973. Broadway star Robert Morse did a hilarious week in 1974 where he imitated an ape and accidentally blurted out an answer. Brett was more than happy to kiss action star Robert Urich during his only week in 1975. Robert Mandan of Soap did incredibly well in 1978, probably the best of any star who only played one week. 

Get to know a lot of guys named Bob in this hilarious and happily snow-free marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - The BOB Marathon 

Oh, and you've probably already guessed that the Collingswood School District, including the Thomas Sharp School, is closed tomorrow. I checked their website around 3 PM. Good thing I'm already off of the Acme on Monday (and Tuesday) anyway. I'm not going anywhere tomorrow but here. 

Baking Matches

I woke up at 7 AM...and promptly called out. My knee was too sore for pushing carts. If I had worked in the morning, I might have reconsidered, but I wasn't supposed to be in until 1:30. Working in the afternoon means I'm just helping with the carts. They'd live without me today. 

Went back to sleep after that. When I got up for good, I had a nice, warm breakfast while watching winter-related animated specials. Frosty's Winter Wonderland brings Frosty the Snowman (Jackie Vernon) back, to the delight of all his kid friends. Frosty's lonely when they're inside at night, so they create a "snow wife" (Shelly Winters) they dub Crystal to keep him company. Trouble is, they can't figure out how to make her "all livin'" at first. Meanwhile, Jack Frost (Paul Frees) is jealous of Frosty's popularity and would love to blow those snow people right off the map.

Frosty Returns from 1992 was one of the last cartoons made by Bill Melendez, and as such, comes off as more of a cross between Rankin-Bass and a Peanuts holiday special. This time, Frosty (John Goodman) appears to two kids in a town whose winter carnival is threatened by an industrialist (Brian Doyle Murphy) who created a spray that quickly removes snow. The kids know that the kind of magic winter needs can be found in good friends and cozy days, not quick ideas.

I went further into another Rankin-Bass winter special, Jack Frost, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2020. 

Jack Frost

After that ended, I switched to YouTube for Dot and Keeto. I also go further into the fourth movie in the long-running Dot series from Australia at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Dot and Keeto

Spent most of the afternoon looking over my Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN story. With The WENN Nutcracker Suite having stalled and it being past Christmas anyway, I thought I'd double back and take a look at this Game of Thrones-esque fantasy I've been working on for a decade. I started it in August 2015, worked on it off and on through early 2016, then dropped it after I got into Star Wars. Started it again last May, but ultimately switched to Hilary and the Beasts instead. 

It's the early 4th season, between "And If I Die Before I Sleep" and "Hilary's Agent." Betty is writing a new series for a sponsor who was inspired by her When In Rome script and asked for a deeper fantasy story than usual for a radio show. As usual for Betty, her problems, including the three men in her life, intrude...and explode into the story of Elizabeth Roberts (Betty) who discovers her destiny as the Light Guardian even as she deals with the two men in her life, noble King Victor (Comstock) who is currently a spy, and former Prince Scott (Sherwood), who now steals from the rich in the woods and leads the rebel faction. 

After Dot and Keeto ended, I decided to try something downstairs. I still had buttermilk and coconut leftover from Christmas baking. I made Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread from The Taste of Home Baking Book, adding coconut to the batter and sprinkling it along with the cinnamon sugar between the layers. Oh yuuuummm! It came out perfectly, sweet and spicy and moist, and smelled amazing in the oven. I haven't made anything this good in ages. And it only took me about 10-15 minutes to put together, too. 

Finished my night with a late lunch-early dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. I'm not the only one who loves good food. Despite Gene Rayburn's frequent admonishment that they weren't supposed to be eating on the air, food was often consumed in front of the cameras by panelists anyway. Charles brought a burger with him during a syndicated episode. In a 1974 show, Richard stole an apple given to Brett by an audience member. Also in syndication, opera singer and avowed pasta lover Diana Sorvino handed plates of spaghetti and meatballs to the panelists. Gene once let everyone try out caviar. There was the contestant who brought kiwi from his farm for everyone to test, too. There were also all of the jokes about the "Russian" club soda Brett and Charles imbibed, and the time Bill Daily spilled water and ended up out of his chair to wipe it up. 

Food also turned up in Audience Matches and Head-to-Heads. Betty helped a Naval officer in a nighttime episode whose answer to her Head-to-Head was a brand of beer. Another one in 1975 had "Pie __." "Mama" Cass Elliot got teased quite a bit about her weight and what she ate during her one week in 1973. There was also the obvious answer to "Club __," given how much of it the panelists (supposedly) consumed. 

Enjoy dinner and a show with the Match Game panelists in this tasty and rib-tickling marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - What's for Dinner Marathon - Featuring Food & Drink Items On Match Game

Oh, and at press time...it still hasn't snowed, iced, or done anything but look ugly and be cold. It hasn't all day. I don't think it's supposed to arrive until later in the morning. 

Let Yourself Go

Began the late morning with breakfast and Little Bear at Paramount Plus. I used to love this show in college, when I'd watch it in the mornings before classes, and I'm glad to see it again. We start off with "What Will Little Bear Wear?" Little Bear claims he's cold, so Mother Bear makes him clothes for the snow. When he remembers he has fur to keep him warm, he finds a better use for his new clothes instead. Sweetly silly Duck can't quite get the hang of "Hide and Seek," so Little Bear helps her. "Little Bear Goes to the Moon," at least in his imagination, when he jumps off a hill and pretends he's landed in space. His mother is more than happy to play along.

I was going to go into Collingswood today, but...though the streets were clear when I finally got rolling today, some of the sidewalks were still icy, and it was very cold. It was cloudy and windy, and though the sun kept trying to come out, I didn't want to take chances. I never went beyond the porch. 

Instead, I settled down with The Twits on Netflix. I go further into this odd animated adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's book at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Twits

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite for a while, then worked on the review for The Twits while listening to some of my more recently-acquired albums. Starring Fred Astaire is a two-disc set of mainly his songs from his RKO movies with Ginger Rodgers, including songs he sang with her or that she performed solo like "The Piccolino" from Top Hat and "Let Yourself Go" from Swing Time. We also get songs from the now-in-the-public-domain Second Chorus, including "Love of My Life," "Poor Mr. Chisholm," "I Ain't Hep to the Step But I'll Dig It," and "Me and the Ghost Upstairs." 

The Now Explosion is a more typical rock collection from 1974. There's some really good numbers here and a few surprisingly deep cuts like "Brother Louie" by Stories, "All Day Music" by War, and "Uneasy Rider" by Charlie Daniels. Better-known numbers here include "It Never Rains In Southern California" by Albert Hammond, "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips, "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern, "Do It Again" by Steely Dan, "Stoned In Love With You" by the Stylistics, and "Rock and Roll Part II" by Gary Glitter.

Finished the night at YouTube with tonight's Match Game marathon. The writers on the show never missed a chance to poke fun at their own medium. From 1974 on, a question would frequently begin like a TV Guide listing, throwing out a comic description of a show ending with a "blank." Though they did have questions about All In the Family and I Love Lucy, most of the gags revolved around the detective shows that were ubiquitous in the 70's and early 80's. Kojak and his bald head, Cannon and his weight, and Ironside in his wheelchair were the most frequent targets, but other lesser-known shows referred to included Harry-O, The Streets of San Francisco, and Banaceck. 

The jokes continued straight through to the end of the CBS run, and even turned up in syndication. Nighttime episodes were featuring cracks at Quincy and The Rockford Files as late as 1981. Charlie's Angels came in for a lot of ribbing after David "Bosley" Doyle became a semi-regular late in the CBS run. 

Scan your local listings for laughs in this hilarious take on the cop shows and sitcoms that defined the 70's!

Match Game Saturday Classics - TV Guide Listings Marathon (Part I)

Christmastime Is Here

Began the morning with breakfast and The Bears Who Saved Christmas. When their family is stranded in a cabin on Christmas Eve, adventurous teddy bear Holly (Mary Kay Bergman) and her brother Christopher (Charlie Adler) take it on themselves to find a tree and make their owners' holiday a little merrier. They're helped by a flashlight that's afraid of the dark (Henry Gibson), a compass with no sense of direction (Johnathan Winters), and a kindly mother beaver (B.J Ward) and her son. 

Hurried off to work after that. I was only alone for the first hour. One of the college boys came in at 10 and took over the sweeping...and then another one arrived at 11 and did the sweeping. I was outside the whole time. At least it was a lot busier today than it was on Monday! People surprisingly had some pretty big orders. I figured most folks would just be grabbing milk and wrapping paper. Even with two other boys helping, we had to work hard to keep up with the carts. 

At least the weather was right for it. It was sunny, bright blue, and very windy, probably blowing 20 miles an hour. The temperatures were in the lower 40's, chilly, but not overly so for this time of year. 

Soon as I finished, I cut across Oaklyn to WaWa. Wanted to make use of those gift cards I got from the kids and get a treat for lunch. I got a roast beef hoagie, a soft pretzel, a peppermint cookies and cream smoothie, and a bag of potato chips. Normally, I'm not a chips fan, but I couldn't resist a bag of mozzarella sticks and marinara-flavored. That's not something I've ever seen before. I did have trouble ringing up the gift cards in the self-checkout machine. Good thing one of the women working at the cash register is a friend of mine and was able to help. 

Went straight home after that. Changed, then watched Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales while I ate lunch. This series of skits was originally made to be filler in an hour slot with A Charlie Brown Christmas, but it does have some entertaining material in its own right. Love Sally writing to "Samantha Claus," her method of getting a Christmas tree when she can't cut it down, and Snoopy's troubles as a sidewalk Santa.

Pulled out the old Christmas photos after I ate. The oldest of these go back to my very first Christmas in 1979, when Bruce and Mom were still together. I'm wearing the cutest yellow Mickey and Minnie Mouse pajamas! I can see toys I'd have for years in the background, including one I still have, TJ the Dakin teddy bear. TJ is currently sitting with the smaller Beanie Baby and Meowchi stuffies on the shelf over the hardback novels. 

There's photos from later in the 80's, too. I can see my second typewriter, the gray and white plastic one that actually typed (my first was a white and orange Tomy Typer), next to me as I open Battle Cat in 1984. There's a Polaroid shot in 1989 of me holding Candi, the porcelain doll Mom gave me that year. I still have Candi, too. Her gold ringlets are messy from many brushings. Her pink ribbon is faded and has rust spots, and her white dress is yellowed and dirty, but she's one of only three porcelain dolls I've kept over the years.

The focus in the 90's and 2000's shifts to Keefe and to Rose's parties with her friends. I should show the kids in the after-school program the photo of Keefe proudly holding out the packs of Pokemon cards I got him. I'm pretty sure that picture was from around 98-99. I'll bet most of the little kids have no idea they go that far back. Keefe's always loved to build, even when he was little. He was so thrilled with the K-Nex sets Mom gave him and the Bionicles Lego sets he got from me. 

Watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation as I sorted through the pictures. All Clark Griswauld (Chevy Chase) wants is a good old-fashioned family Christmas, with tons of presents under a huge tree and all of his family surrounding him. As often happens with Clark, what he imagines and what actually happens are two entirely different matters. The two sets of grandparents he invites over don't get along. The thousands of lights on his house short the neighborhood power grid. His yuppie neighbors Todd (Nicholas Guest) and Margo (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) are ready to strangle him for the mess his antics keep making in their home. Mid-way through, Clark's cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his family turn up in their rattletrap RV and cause even more chaos. In the end, as the tree burns and the SWAT team comes through the windows, Clark finally realizes that we can't make Christmas perfect...but we can make it memorable.

This is an old family favorite of mine that we all watched throughout the 90's. Mae Questal and William Hickey steal the last half-hour or so as dear, senile old Aunt Bethany and her exasperated husband Uncle Lewis. Brian Doyle-Murphy has a lot of fun as Clark's obnoxious boss, too. Scatological and sexual humor makes this for teens just starting their own Christmas breaks and adults who have probably been through almost everything Clark does here at one time or another.

Switched to working on The WENN Nutcracker Suite next. With everyone on the train, Betty has the chance to ask the Nutcracker about Pirlipat. She calls him Scott at first, but he still claims that isn't his name. She gently tells him that she'd never abandon him, no matter how many mistakes he made or how ugly he was.

Watched A Disney Channel Christmas as I worked. Mom taped this blend of two earlier Disney TV specials, "From All of Us to All Of You" and "Disney's Christmas Gift," in 1988, and I've watched it almost every year since. The first half is "From All of Us," with Jiminy Cricket introducing segments from winter or Christmas-related shorts like "Pluto's Christmas Tree," "The Art of Skiing," "Donald's Snow Fight," and the gorgeous "Once Upon a Wintertime." The second half showcases segments from Disney films that depict parties, gift-giving, winter, or magic, the Donald Duck short "The Clock Watcher," the two Santa Claus Silly Symphonies, and the lovely black and white Mickey short "Mickey's Good Deed." It ends with the Past segment from Mickey's Christmas Carol, which was so new when this first debuted, Jiminy says it's "now in theaters."

Moved to the Looney Tunes for Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales. Unlike the Halloween special, this one is all-new material. The first short is a take on A Christmas Carol, with Bugs as Nephew Fred, Yosemite Sam as Scrooge, and Porky as Bob Cratchit. The second takes Wil E. Coyote and Road Runner's usual antics into snow-covered mountains as the Coyote chases his quarry on skates. The third has the Tasmanian Devil invading Bugs' house dressed as Santa and how Bugs gets rid of him.

Next up was Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus from 1974. This charming retelling of the most famous editorial letter in newspaper history has Jim Backus as the voice of Francis Church, the editor who wrote the letter, and the story's narrator. The style screams "Bill Melendez" and basically looks like Victorian Peanuts with actual speaking adults thrown into the mix. 

Put on The Bishop's Wife during dinner. Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven) prays for guidance in building his huge new cathedral. He can't secure the funding from fussy Mrs. Agnes Hamilton (Gladys Cooper), who insists on making it a monument to her late husband. He's working so hard, he neglects his lovely wife Julia (Loretta Young) and his daughter Debbie (Karolyn Grimes) and ignores old friends like the Professor (Monty Wooley). Henry gets quite a shock when Dudley (Cary Grant), an impossibly suave angel, turns up claiming he's the answer to Henry's prayer. Henry doesn't think so when Dudley proceeds to take his place with Julia, and she falls for him. The Professor reminds Henry that he has one big advantage over Dudley. He's human, and Dudley is not.

The cast is simply luminous in this charming tale. Young is so patient and lovely, you can understand why a bishop and angel almost came to blows over her. Grant's debonair angel is a lot of fun, too - check out his quick method of decorating Christmas trees! Highly recommended during the holidays if you're a fan of the trio or looking for a quieter holiday movie.

Finished the night with a couple of specials. I went further into The Small One and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2022 and 2019 respectively.

The Small One

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Raggedy Ann and Andy In the Great Santa Claus Caper has Chuck Jones' fingerprints all over it. The antagonist is a very smart Wil E. Coyote-like wolf. This fellow isn't content to chase road runners. He creates an unbreakable substance he calls "Gloopstick" that he intends to cover Santa's toys with, so the children will have to buy toys from him. When Raggedy Andy is one of the wolf's victims, Ann and Andy avoid the claws on his machine and shows the wolf that their love is stronger than any Gloopstick.

Here's even more classic Christmas specials to watch before Christmas dinner tomorrow!

The Wish That Changed Christmas

The Night Before Christmas (1968)

The Smurfs' Christmas

The Spirit of Christmas 

The Christmas Tree

A Cranberry Christmas

'Twas the Day Before Christmas (A Chucklewood Christmas)

Fleischer Brothers Classics: Christmas Comes But Once a Year

Woody Woodpecker - The 12 Lies of Christmas

The Nutcracker (Russia 1974)

For Better Or for Worse: The Bestest Present

Ziggy's Gift

Olive the Other Reindeer

The Teddy Bears' Christmas

A Wish For Wings That Work

The Adventures of Candy Claus

And as Jiminy Cricket said earlier, from all of us to all of you, have a very merry Christmas, and the happiest of holiday seasons! 

It's a Wonderful Hart

I overslept this morning and didn't get much of a start at all! I swear I set the alarm for 7:30, but it was 8:50 when I opened my eyes. Rushed around, ate breakfast, called Uber, since I didn't think I'd have the time to ride my bike. I probably should have ridden the bike. Uber took 13 minutes to arrive, which means I was once again a half-hour late. At least it only took 7 minutes to pick me up going home, and there was no traffic either way.

At least the Acme wasn't busy. Most people will probably start shopping for their Christmas baking and dinners this weekend. I had no trouble gathering the carts. The weather was gorgeous, too. It was sunny and breezy, and much, much warmer than it has been the last few days! Everything was melting fast, which turned out to be a big problem. The roof over the storage area in the back was leaking like crazy due to all that melting snow. They asked me to mop it up ten minutes before I was supposed to go home! I couldn't linger. I had another job, too. I rushed and did what I could.

Hurried home, changed, and had lunch while watching Hart to Hart. The Harts are shocked when they're robbed during Max's December birthday party in "A Christmas Hart." The robbery occurred while they were listening to singers from the company Jingle Grams perform for Max. After a young man who is a son of a friend of Max's is nearly killed by someone in the company who found him looking through the files, Jonathan and Jennifer go undercover as Jingle Grams performers to find out who's using the company for his own gain and why.

I did take my bike to the Thomas Sharp School. I've taken Uber enough lately. I'll probably have to do it tomorrow or Friday. Though everything was melting, it was still fairly treacherous. Not all the sidewalks had been cleared of snow and ice, and there were huge puddles on the street. Between that and a late start, I was five minutes late for the after-school program.

Not a good thing, as the kids were really rowdy today. Though I think the older ones did get to go on the blacktop for a little while, it will likely be ages before the playground dries enough for the pre-schoolers and kindergartners to go outside and play. After we settled the kids down with colored pencils, books, and magnetic tiles, I ended up reading to some of the kids for an hour. One little girl handed me a Golden Book version of Frozen she wanted to hear. I read that, then she handed me a book about gymnastics. We ended up doing those, plus two original Dora the Explorer titles. a very short Shopkins book, the Little Critter story Bye Bye, Mom and Dad, the Disney Chicken Little from the mid-2000's, and then Frozen again when another little girl asked for it. The time flew so fast, when I finally finished Frozen the second time, it was a little over a half-hour before I had to go home.

Stopped quickly at the Speedy Mart on the way home. They have great bagels. I thought they'd make good lunches for the rest of the week. Jumped in, grabbed two of the last ones they had, paid for them, headed home.

Finished Hart to Hart when I got in, then watched Match Game Syndicated during dinner. Gene Rayburn was more than happy to kiss new kid on the block Jamie Lee Curtis in the first episode. We also had a rather hapless lady who just could not figure out her answers. She took so long with one of her answers, Gene lay down on the floor! A young Kirstie Alley turned up later in the episode as a contestant, looking rather bored by it all.

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite during dinner. Gertie insists on everyone hopping on a train after breakfast. It'll take them quickly to Toyland Castle and Princess Pirlipat. What she doesn't count is the mice army getting the same idea...

Finished the night with It's a Wonderful Life. George Bailey (James Stewart) thinks life has passed him by. He's run his family's loan office all his life, building houses in his community to keep everyone from running to mean, stingy Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). Even though he's married to lovely and sweet Mary (Donna Reed) and loves his kids, he still wishes he could have done more like his war hero brother (Todd Karns). He's really in a pickle when his forgetful Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) leaves the $8,000 they need to keep going at the bank instead of depositing it, and Potter gets his hands on it. When Potter threatens to have George arrested, he attempts suicide. He's saved by Clarence (Henry Travers), a sweet little old man who also happens to be an angel. Frustrated, George wishes he was never born. Clarence gives him his wish...and teaches George that no one is a failure who has friends and a family who love him on his side.

What I love about this dark, yet uplifting movie is the fabulous cast with some of the best character actors in Hollywood. In addition to Stewart and Reed, we have Sheldon Leonard as Nick the Bartender, Ward Bond as Bert the Cop, Frank Faylen as Ernie the cab driver, Lillian Randolph as Annie, the Baileys' hilarious housekeeper, Beluah Bondi as Mrs. Bailey, and H.B Warner as Mr. Gower. I will add that it's not for everyone. Not everyone agrees with director Frank Capra's pro-small town sentiment, it moves at a snail's pace, and the second half is so scary, I was well into my teens before I'd watch this straight through. Even with the above caveats, this is still a classic with one of James Stewart's best performances, and well worth your time this December. 

Christmas Cookie Time

Began the morning with breakfast and the original Rankin-Bass Frosty the Snowman. Given our current weather, I figured this couldn't be more appropriate. Frosty comes to life on Christmas Eve thanks to a magic hat that was thrown away by lousy magician Professor Hinkle. Little Karen and Hinkle's rabbit Hocus Pocus take it on themselves to get Frosty back to the North Pole to keep from melting. Professor Hinkle follows, hoping to get his hat back. He thinks he's won when he traps Karen and Frosty, but as Santa Claus reminds Karen, snow never really goes completely away.

Spent the rest of the morning beginning one of my favorite parts of the holiday season - cookie baking! I made the recipes that use cake mixes as bases today. I first made Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies in 2012, when I was broke and looking to cut corners. The resulting cookies were so delicious, I've used the recipe for Christmas every year since. Chocolate Yum-Yums come from the craft book Christmas Is Coming 1987. The original recipe calls for devil's food cake mix and nuts, but I thought red velvet cake mix and white chocolate chips were more festive. I even replaced a little oil with some buttermilk, which many red velvet cake recipes call for.

Listened to unique Christmas music collections while I worked. Something Festive! doesn't look like a Christmas album. It's bright bird pinata cover screams Cinco Del Mayo, not Epiphany. The song selection is a bit more holiday-oriented. A&M founder and owner Herb Alpert gets two numbers with his Tijuana Brass, "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bell Rock." Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 do "The Christmas Song." Liza Minnelli performs the heartbreaking ballad "Raggedy Ann and Andy," while Claudine Longet gets the gentler "Snow." 

Things picked up with the first volume of A Very Special Christmas. This 1987 collection ups the energy quota with The Pointer Sisters' "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and John Cougar Melloncamp's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Bon Jovi is a "Back Door Santa," Stevie Nicks does a gorgeous "Silent Night," and Run-D.M.C tosses rap into the mix with "Christmas In Hollis." (Hey fellas, mind if I join your Christmas? I love chicken and collard greens!)

Switched from rap and hard rock to soul and R&B for Soulful Christmas. Brook Benton's "This Time of the Year" and a lovely Patti LaBelle "Blue Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland" are my favorites here. We also have Sonny Til and the Oreoles asking "What are You Doing New Year's Eve?" and claiming "It's Gonna Be a Lonely Christmas."

Returned to the world of Frosty during lunch after I packed up the cookies and put everything away. Frosty's Winter Wonderland brings Frosty back, but he's lonely when the kids go inside. They make him a "snow wife" he dubs Crystal, but she's not "all livin'" like him at first. It's not until Frosty makes Crystal a simple gift of love that she's finally able to be with him. Meanwhile, Jack Frost is jealous of Frosty's popularity with the kids. He'll do anything to get Frosty's hat and his magical ability to move.

Called Uber after I finished lunch. Alas, I couldn't get a driver for 20 minutes. Maybe it's just as well. I was able to do some quick chores. The driver did pick me up on time, but it still meant I was 5 minutes late to work. It took them almost 13 minutes to arrive going home. At least there was no traffic either way.

On one hand, we had 22 little kids and 20 older ones today, and as you can likely guess, no one went outside on a snow-covered playground. On the other hand, they were surprisingly not that bad. Bathroom breaks got a little crazy, but that was the worst of it. They mostly colored or played with magnetic tiles. I joined the kids coloring. Drew myself making cookies this morning on one side, Hilary the Sugar Plum Fairy and Jeff the Cavalier dancing while Annie the Rag Doll watches happily on the other. Read one of the littlest girls The Bernstein Bears Go to the Dentist when she requested it. 

There was a box waiting for me when I got home. I hadn't ordered anything. It turned out to be a revival of my annual Kimberly Clark box from Lauren. She and her parents own small stocks in the company and usually send me a box of their products. I kept the box of Kleenex tissues, the packs of tissues, the Cottonelle wipes, and the Thermos cup. I'll give a friend the Viva paper towels. Might see if I can donate everything else somewhere. (Oh, and incidentally, Lauren says she got my box today. She loved everything I gave her, and her parents loved their CDs.)

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner, after I took the laundry downstairs. No idea why Buzzr jumped way, way ahead to the second week of the syndicated series. Debralee Scott and Patty Duke joined in to hear David Doyle attempt impressions (and Brett and Charles not get what they were supposed to be).

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite next. Betty hears Mr. Eldridge and Gertie talking as she prepares porridge for the next day. Gertie tells Mr. Eldridge that Princess Pirlipat, the Betty look-a-like who rejected Prince Scott after he became a Nutcracker, now has the music box with Cavalier Jeff. Jeff was turned into a wax doll dancing on a music box by the Mouse King. She also suspects he has the Christmas Star Sword, the family heirloom that had been stolen from Scott when he turned into a Nutcracker. The Nutcracker insists on sitting next to Betty's bed, though he can't sleep. He insists that his name isn't Scott, that he doesn't know who he is, but Mr. Eldridge knows better. 

Finished the night with holiday episodes of favorite game shows when I finally remembered to get the laundry out of the dryer and bring it upstairs. I had no idea Fun House had a Christmas episode until tonight. It was pretty cute, too. Kids dressed children in the audience as Rudolph, pushed a "sleigh" with flying "reindeer" while dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus, and raced through a Fun House decorated with tinsel garlands and fake snow.

Christmas goes way back on game shows. What's My Line's holiday episode in 1955 featured the Salvation Army Band and Johnny Marks, who wrote the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." (Which the Salvation Army proceeded to play.)  Christmas 1972 on To Tell the Truth introduced three female mall Santas and three gentlemen who claimed to be snowmobiling across the colder parts of the world.

Bob Barker was out sick during Christmas 1974 on The Price Is Right, so Dennis James filled in for him. Alas, he didn't have much luck with the games. I don't think anyone won their Pricing Game in this episode. The Showcases went better. One brought in Santa Claus (Johnny Olsen) to give a list of gifts. The other was gifts that represented A Christmas Carol.

Christmas is for families, too. Wheel of Fortune brought in family duos to play together during Christmas week 1992. A mother and her son had apparently dominated all week, and continued to do so that night. They were the only ones to get any money or prizes, and they won the bonus round, too.

Hollywood Squares got their Christmas party on in 2001 with Terri Garr, Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Mull, Andrea Martin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Loretta Divine, Brad Garrett, and author John Saul, among others. The contestants played equally well, with one lady getting to the bonus round and choosing to keep her big bucks rather than risk an extra question (that she would have been wrong about anyway, as it turned out).

Celebrate the holidays game show style with these festive episodes!

What's My Line (1955)

To Tell the Truth (1972)

The Price Is Right (1974)

Fun House (1989)

Wheel of Fortune (1992)

Hollywood Squares (2001)

Counting Your Blessings

Got a really quick start today with breakfast and Paw Patrol. Mayor Humdinger is horrified when he sees a stranded elf's map and learns that the people of Foggy Bottom aren't considered "nice" enough to get presents, including him. "Pups Save a Bah Humdinger" when he and the Kitten Catastrophe crew steal the Air Patroller and take it up to the North Pole to give Santa a revised list that has Foggy Bottom as the only place he's visiting. The pups follow to stop him before he cuts Adventure Bay out entirely.

Hurried out to Sprouts soon as the episode ended. I wasn't going to have time to hit the Acme today, but I did have time to pick up things here. I got coconut milk, sparkling water, soda, and dug whole wheat flour, sugar, oats, and regular flour out of the bulk bins. 

Just barely hurried home in time, dropped everything off, and hurried back out. Even with all the rushing, I was still fifteen minutes late for work. On one hand, it was the same deal as yesterday with slightly fewer kids. We had 17 children stuck in the cafeteria all afternoon because it remains cold and windy, despite the sunny day. I colored with some children, worked on magnetic tiles with others. One of the teachers had just set the kids watching the Green Eggs and Ham show on Netflix when I was let go early.

I decided I deserved a treat after what had been a very long week. I rode back into Oaklyn but past where I would normally cross the street, down to WaWa. Got a snickderdoodle smoothie, which was basically a cinnamon sugar cookie smoothie topped with cookie crumbs. Not bad. Very sweet, and it did taste like cookie, which is what counts. I stopped at Family Dollar to see if they had something; moved on very quickly when I saw that they didn't and it was busy.

Put on White Christmas when I got home. I go further into the classic musical with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in one of my first entries from December 2018.

White Christmas

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner. Bob Barker continued to appear on the show through 1980, even after it left CBS. His last week had him between Betty White and Dallas ingenue Charlene Tilton. He and Gene spent almost the entire week drooling over Charlene, to the annoyance of Brett and Charles. On one day, Bob gave one of the only right answers during the entire episode and got a standing ovation for doing so. The next day, his seat broke and sank under the table, and the replacement they found him was too high. Betty White sank down with him in solidarity.

Got next week's schedule around this time, too. It's...identical to this week's schedule, two early days on Wednesday and Saturday, one late day on Sunday. On one hand, that should still give me plenty of time to make cookies, which was all I had planned for next week. On the other hand, I'm surprised I don't have more hours. We should be picking up next week as people start coming out of the malls and buying ingredients for their own holiday baking and Christmas dinners. 

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite. Betty overhears Mr. Eldridge and Gertie talking as she lays on Gertie's gingerbread bed. Mr. Eldridge sadly admits how bad Scott's curse is. He remembers nothing about who he is or was. He has no heart or mind, and can neither think, nor feel. He's merely a toy. Gertie explains that Jeff the Sugar Plum Cavalier is now a dancing wax doll on a music box and is in the hands of spoiled Princess Pirlipat, who rejected Scott after he was turned into a Nutcracker. 

Finished the night with more classic Christmas variety specials on YouTube. Perry Como went to New Mexico for his holiday in 1979. This may have been one of his most unique holiday jaunts. Janet DeWitt, Anne Murray, and Greer Garson (who was living with her millionaire husband in New Mexico by the late 70's) join him to show off a chili pepper-eating contest, Christmas among the early New Mexican pioneers, and among the Pueblo Indians.

We went back across the country in 1982 for Andy Wiliams' Early New England Christmas. Dorothy Hamill is a pretty ice-skating teacher, Eileen Quinn of Annie is one of her students, Dick Van Patton runs the general store, and James Gallaway plays lovely flute tunes that sound like they could have come from this era. Williams joins Hamill's students for their school pageant, tries to get Patton to help him find the perfect Christmas gift, and gets into the community spirit at the town's Christmas Eve dance.

When the Clouds Roll In

Got a quick start today with breakfast and "Santa's Workshop" at Disney Plus. This Silly Symphony short is the first of two Disney made revolving around Santa Claus and what he does. In this case, we get to see the elves making toys and caring for the reindeer, and Santa inspecting and loading the toys. I love the parade of marching toys near the end of the short, especially the tumbling teddy and adorable wind-up piggies.

Called Uber right after the short ended. It was still sunny at 9 AM, but it was supposed to rain later. Not to mention, I figured Uber would get me to the Thomas Sharp School faster after work. I just wish they hadn't taken 13 minutes to come! There was no traffic when they did arrive, but that meant I was late.

Fortunately, that was the worst thing that happened all day. Work went just fine, other than I had a lot of cold items to return. It did pick up around 11:30-noon as the clouds pulled in and the lunch rush hour started. Other than that, it wasn't terribly busy, and there were no major problems. I even picked up buttermilk for a baking project and a card for my nephew Collyn's birthday this week.

Called Uber when I came out. Thankfully, this time they only took 7 minutes to arrive. Once again, there was no traffic going to West Collingwood. The gentleman pulled up at the Thomas Sharp School less than 5 minutes later. 

The classes were bedlam when I knocked on the door. I wasn't the only teacher who was late or couldn't come. One teacher called out sick. Another couldn't get out of her other job at all. At least we only had 17 preschool and kindergarten kids when I came in, more than yesterday but still not the big group we had on Monday. I spent most of the time coloring or building with magnetic tiles with them or taking a few kids at a time to the bathroom. One of the boys even gave me the piles of artwork he did today.

Since it wasn't raining when I got out, I walked home. I had to make one last stop anyway. The post office was still open at that point. Normally, I use leftover Amazon boxes to send my Christmas packages in the mail, but I didn't buy any Christmas gifts from Amazon this year. I just grabbed free boxes from the post office instead.

Packed up the boxes for the post office when I got home. Watched Santa Claus Is Coming to Town while I worked. I went further into this classic 1970 Rankin-Bass special on the origins of Santa at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog way back in December 2018.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

(Oh, and it started raining again not long after I got home. It's rained lightly off and on ever since.)

Switched to Match Game '75 during dinner. We skipped ahead to one of Bob's best weeks. He and fellow vintage game show host Arlene Francis got to see Carol Bartos become the biggest winner the show ever had up to that point with over $20,000. When Fannie gave her the winning answer to "__ Tie" in the Head-to-Head, she even excitedly tossed out her black bow tie.

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite after dinner. After hearing Mr. Eldridge's story of how he was cursed and Pirlipat rejected him, the Nutcracker separates from the others and sits near a window. He finally speaks, telling Betty he has no idea who he is or what his name is. He only remembers falling over the Mouse Queen and loses his sword. Betty tells him how much he reminds her of her friend Scott Sherwood and that she thinks he's very brave. She passes out on his shoulder, and he gently carries her to Gertie's bed to sleep. 

Took a shower, then finished the night with two vintage Perry Como holiday specials at YouTube. We first head to Williamsburg, Virginia in 1978 for An Early American Christmas. Como explains Colonial holiday customs, receives a rare pineapple as a gift, sings and dances with Diana Canova, and shares a cup of grog with John Wayne at a local tavern. (Sadly, Wayne died less than six months after this special's release.)

Angie Dickenson and fashion designer Pierre Cardin joins Como for Christmas In Paris in 1982. Dickenson is thrilled to get a Paris gown, but Como likes his French holiday trips simpler. They encounter two frog puppets who want to dance for Dickenson, sing in a Parisian music hall with the beautiful French singer Line Renaud, and listen to the Boys' Choir of Notre Dame.

Keeping Cool With Kids

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Plus. "SPOTS the Beagle-Bot" is a robotic dog Professor Ludvig Von Drake invented as a companion to Pluto. Pluto and the others try to teach SPOTS how to do all the things real dogs do, but he's more interested in the Professor than in learning new tricks. 

Spent the rest of the morning finishing up the wrapping. This time, I did get everything done, including Jessa's and all of Lauren's. That ends my gift shopping. Anyone else who turns up unexpectedly will get cookies or a gift card. I'll get the gift cards tomorrow or Wednesday. 

Watched My Little Pony: Best Gift Ever on Tubi as I worked. Hoping to lighten their workload, the Mane Six do what they call a "Hearth's Warming Helper" (or a Secret Santa to us humans) and choose one pony to give a gift. Spike desperately changes recipients with Fluttershy in order to impress Rarity, then can't figure out what to give her. Fluttershy falls for a cheap toy being sold by resident con-ponies Flim and Flam as the "must have gift for Hearth's Warming." Applejack helps her get back at them, but they spend all their money doing so. Discord pesters Rainbow Dash into catching a seemingly cute little critter for Fluttershy, not realizing it isn't so cute at night. Pinkie Pie is sent north to get her gift from a trio of flying reindeer who claim she'll understand what it is later. Twilight desperately tries to make Pinkie a certain magical pudding, but her little niece Flurry Heart adds a few too many ingredients, and it floods everywhere. In the end, after they figure out how to fix the pudding and Fluttershy tames the critter, they realize that the real "Best Gift Ever" is their friendship, not something that came from a store.

Had a quick lunch while watching The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas, which is also on Tubi. Most bears hibernate through the cold months, December included. Ted E. Bear, however, is a curious little fellow, and he's most interested in Christmas. He's heard stories about it and wants to see all the colors and lights, but can't seem to stay awake long enough to see it. His girlfriend leaves him over it; he loses his job when he talks about it to the press. He finally stumbles to the big city, where he learns that Christmas isn't just a time of year. It's a feeling...and one that's best spent with someone you love.

Called Uber after I finished eating. It was way too cold to even consider the bike today. It barely got into the 30's! To my shock, the driver arrived in less than a minute. I was at the school in less than five.

Things did not begin well today. The Collingswood elementary schools are on half-days this week, thanks to parent-teacher conferences. The kids were all rowdy and full of energy, and not being able to take them outside due to the cold didn't help matters. Even the big kids stayed in today. They were especially crazy in the bathrooms, bouncing off the walls, running around in the bathrooms, and refusing to listen to anyone, including me. I tried to read to them after lunch, but they would sit down. The head manager kept having to move them further and further back into the music offices/storage area. 

They weren't all that happy when the head manager told them they had to stay at their assigned tables and play with what was there, either. They're used to being able to go to whatever table interests them. That said, I did have some nice conversations with some of the children at my table, including a little girl dressed as Alice In Wonderland who looked like something out of Tenniel. The kids at my table played with magnetic tiles. I made geometric shapes and a "skirt" with the young lady until she was allowed to join the coloring table. I then chatted with the remaining boys until enough kids went home to move them and the tiles to the front of the cafeteria. By 4:30, it was down to three younger kids and eight older ones, and it had calmed down enough for me to go home.

Instead of calling Uber right away, I walked the brief five minutes a couple of blocks down to Speedy Mart on Collings Avenue. Picked up four bagels for lunch this week and a Propel water for later. Once again, the Uber driver arrived quickly - six minutes at the height of rush hour - and other than some traffic on Collings, got me home even faster.

I took the recycling outside, then put the laundry in the washer and watched The Price Is Right. The wheel was hot this evening! A handsome young Air Force pilot and a pretty lady both hit $1,000, and he got $10,000. He did make the Showcases, but way underbid on a donut-themed Showcase with a trio of trips to Solvang, California, Mexico, and Germany. The other lady ended up winning.

Let it continue into Match Game '73 during dinner. They jumped way, way back tonight, likely to honor Bob Barker, whose birthday would have been this week. Barker made his first appearance on the show during its second week, along with Arlene Francis, Della Reece, Michael Lerned, and Richard Thomas. Thomas and Lerned would be the only actors from The Waltons to appear on any version of Match Game. Learned seemed to have a great time, but Thomas looked like a deer caught in the headlights and didn't really seem to get the humor. 

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite next after I put the laundry in the dryer. Mr. Eldridge continues to tell the story of how Queen Mouserinks took her revenge on King Alexander and Queen Lana of Toyland when they trapped all of her sons but one, the equally greedy and mean Prince Rollie. When their daughter Princess Pirlipat refused to marry Prince Rollie, his mother cursed her into an ugly monster who could only be cured by the meat of a certain very hard nut. Scott gallantly cracked the nut for her, restoring her beauty. The furious Mouse Queen bit him and cursed him into the form of a Nutcracker...but not only did he crush her falling over onto her, Prince Rollie stole his Christmas Star Sword, a family heirloom that could help restore him. Pirlipat refused to marry a Nutcracker and banished him and Mr. Eldridge forever.

Finished the night after I brought the laundry upstairs with game shows featuring host Bob Goen. Goen came in late to game shows, having gotten his start as a California-area correspondent for ESPN in the early 80's. He started out on game shows with Perfect Match, a Newlywed Game clone, in 1986. Basically the same deal, only the contestants get to bet on what their spouse will actually say, and there's more fill-in-the-blank games. Though the spicier stories could be funny, it mostly came off like the cheap syndicated imitation it was. It was gone in eight months.

In fact, Goen is another host who never seemed to catch a break. He always ended up hosting flops like Blackout or summer replacement shows like The Hollywood Game. Blackout from 1988 was the more creative of the two. In fact, I have fond memories of watching this one. Two contestants joined two celebrities to solve pun-filled puzzles. One would record the description of a word. The other would push a plunger and "black out" parts of the recording, making it harder to figure out what was being said. I enjoyed it as a kid and was disappointed when it only lasted four months.

The Home Shopping Game from 1987 was much worse. This syndicated show had people playing a word game somewhat similar to Wheel of Fortune for prizes that a contestant from home could call in and win, too. Goen is charming, but the game is dull, and the home shopping aspects are more confusing than exciting. 

The Hollywood Game fared only slightly better. This summer replacement show from 1992 was basically "Jeopardy with movie trivia." Contestants even bet on how well they could answer a question. It wasn't unique enough to stand out at a time when game shows were falling out of favor and didn't even last a month.

Today, Goen is best-remembered as the host of the daytime Wheel of Fortune from 1989 through its demise in 1991. It was the closest he came to helming a hit. Alas, there seems to be no footage of his tenure online at all, other than a few ads and one badly-recorded tape of a tape recording. 

He didn't have nearly as much luck with Born Lucky from 1993. This was part of Lifetime's attempt to create a shopping-game block with Supermarket Sweep and Shop 'Til You Drop, and it was by far the least-successful of the three. Filmed in malls across the country, contestants had a chance to win "Mall Money" by playing various quiz games and silly stunts. Cute, but the mall setting couldn't disguise that it was basically a less-gross Double Dare with shopping components. 

That's the Question would seem to have more going for it. This 2006 GSN adaptation of a Dutch show had contestants answering questions that filled in letters on a phrase. The answer to the question was already shown. The letters would fill in the question, until one contestant could guess what the question was. Fast-paced and actually kind of fun. I wish this one had lasted longer than a couple of months. (And although Goen continues to host live game shows and hosted Miss Universe and Miss USA for several years in the mid-2000's, That's the Question is his last TV game show gig to date.)

Learn movie trivia, try to figure out what the celebrity is saying, and hope you're born lucky with this disc jockey and sportscaster turned game show charmer!

Perfect Match (1986)

The Home Shopping Game (1987)

Blackout (1988)

The Hollywood Game (1992)

Born Lucky (1993)

That's the Question (2006)