Getting Organized

Had a lot to do when I got up this morning. I wanted to organize as much as I could get away with before work. After breakfast, I finished shelving the DVDs, then moved the media history books to the large shelf they were on in the other house. Found another closet with narrow shelves hidden behind the main door. That was perfect for the little odds and ends that originally went in the antique desk.

Watched The Easter Promise while I worked.  Twelve-year-old Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas) is thrilled when Broadway actress Constance Payne (Jean Simmons) returns to her hometown of Clear River, Nebraska in April 1947. She boasts to her girlfriends that her father knew her in high school. She invites her to dinner and convinces her to give out the prizes at her school's big style show. Unfortunately, Constance turns up drunk and spoils the event. Even after that, Addie asks Constance to give her and her friends acting lessons. The first session goes very well, but by the second, Constance has gone on a bender again. Addie's ready to give up, but her grandmother (Mildred Natwick) reminds her that spring is a time of renewal...and of giving life and friends a second chance.

Touching and funny, especially the first half with the girls in Addie's room and the style show. Cora Sue's peach "Hollywood" dress was my favorite, but the tulip applique outfit was genuinely cool, and Addie's rickrack dress was adorable (loved the hat!). I also like how much this reminds me of my sisters and I during Easter when we were Addie and the girls' ages. (Only we dyed hard-boiled eggs instead of blown ones.) Highly recommended during the Easter holidays for families, especially ones with girls Addie's age.

Switched to It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown as I pulled out the remaining boxes of records. The Peanuts are also getting ready to celebrate the spring holidays. Sally's shopping for Easter shoes, while Peppermint Patty tries and tries to show Marcie how to color eggs. Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beatle does that. Sally's skeptical after the infamous no-show with the Great Pumpkin at Halloween. Lucy would rather hide and find her own eggs.

Went to live TV for Match Game '78 as I changed into my work clothes and had a quick lunch. Raymond Burr made his only appearance on the show during this week, joining David "Bosley" Doyle and Elaine Joyce. Elaine jokes about Raymond deciding to speak today, which he does, quite eloquently. Meanwhile, Brett makes use of her hips to illustrate a question, leading to her idea of a stripper dance, including a very nice high kick!

Rushed out to work shortly after the episode ended. The hurry wasn't necessary. We were dead almost the entire day. Dead, and for once, had plenty of help. Despite it being Senior Discount Day, it was in the 70's by the time I went to work, and just too beautiful for shopping. We were so quiet, I spent an hour after break doing returns. Even after they pulled me back to the registers, I still didn't have that much to do. For all that, the day went very quickly with no problems, and I was in and out.

Went straight home and upstairs to watch Sister Act after I got off. I go further into this popular 1992 comedy with Whoopi Goldberg as a Reno lounge singer who turns a convent choir into a smash at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Sister Act

Since I was already on Disney Plus, I finished the night with Bluey. It's "Easter," but the girls are disappointed when their Easter baskets are empty. Bingo thinks the Easter Bunny forgot them. Bluey encourages her as they find a series of clues that leads them all around their home in search of chocolate eggs. 

Harts In Springtime

I was so glad to awaken to a sunny, breezy morning after the bad weather yesterday. Had a quick breakfast, then pushed my way past gardens of tulips and spicy-smelling hyacinths. Dashed down the road and just barely got to work on time.

I wish I hadn't. Work was a royal pain in the rear today. People were frequently fussy and not in the best moods. I'm tired of everyone complaining because New Jersey is banning plastic and paper bags at the stores next month. I don't see what's so hard about buying a few reusable bags. They always say our plastic bags are too thin, and now they're whining that we won't have them. Wish they'd start being more specific on the soda sales that you can only mix flavors, not brands. People keep bringing two of one brand and one of another and not being happy when they don't get the sale. Sorry, but the soda companies don't play nice with each other. Thank goodness they sent someone in for me so I could go home. 

Changed when I got home, then spent the next few hours organizing the front room. Moved the media history books to the same large shelf they were on at Jodie's house. It's about the only place they fit. The children's books went into a large Ikea shelf and a narrow folding shelf. The movie DVD boxes and TV show sets went back on the DVD rack. Used a smaller shelf for the Walt Disney Treasures and cartoon sets. 

Watched Match Game '77 as I worked. Brett wore her own flowered hat in tribute to Minnie Pearl as I got home...and was annoyed to see Minnie dressed normally. Minnie resumed her hat and ruffled dresses in the next episode. The others tried to figure out "__ Sense" in the Audience Match and what came out with the thermometer when it was removed from Mrs. Brown.

Match Game PM was one of the funniest of the later episodes. As Dolly Martin pointed out, Debralee Scott spent the main game flirting with a handsome young contestant. Her interest in him came to a head during the Audience Match. When Deb gave him the top answer for "__ Turkey," she kissed him and wouldn't let go! The panel tried to break them apart, while Bill Daily hid them behind his coat.

Grabbed more DVDs from the closet to put on while watching my first official Easter special of the year, The First Easter Rabbit. Stuffy was a toy bunny given to Glinda for Christmas, but he's supposed to be destroyed when she comes down with scarlet fever. A fairy takes pity on him and turns him into the Easter Bunny, symbol of springtime for all children. Ice wizard Zero just wants to find April Valley, Stuffy's new home, and turn it into a land of snow and ice like the rest of the North Pole.

Finished the night at The Roku Channel with Hart to Hart after a shower and putting the flattened boxes in recycling. In "Color Jennifer Dead," Jennifer's mostly delighted to have her portrait painted, but her happiness dampers quickly when the artist turns up dead and the portrait vanishes. She and Johnathan navigate the world of fine art to figure out why a fastidious art lover is so intent on killing off the artists he sponsors. 

Remembering the Games

Started off the morning with a quick breakfast and a peek out the windows. It was gorgeous and sunny...but also windy and much, much colder. Windier, too. I dodged the gales all the way to work. Even the sun couldn't warm things up today.

Despite the wind, we were busy almost the entire day, with some orders numbering in the $600s. Everyone's getting ready for Easter and spring break. We had long lines, even with enough help for a lot of the day. I guess a lot of people figure it would be cheaper to eat at home this year. Once again, my relief came on just in time, especially since I was in the express lane and couldn't shut down.

Rushed straight home after that. I was finally able to start shelving books and records tonight. I unloaded the children's books onto the larger Ikea shelf and the taller shelf next to it. (After trying to fix the bottom of the taller folding shelf and not doing well. I can't find the nails that go in there.) Got the boxes of doll clothes away from the window and into another closet, along with the boxes of journals that are here. 

Listened to the original Broadway cast of The Little Mermaid while I worked. This debuted in New York in 2007, but it had more than its fare share of problems. Mermaids were on rollerblades to simulate them being in the water, and there was a whole subplot with Prince Eric having to choose his bride among many at a ball that added nothing to the story. I honestly do like some of the new songs, though, including the lovely "Her Voice" to give Eric a song of his own. 

Had dinner, then kept right on working. The art supplies went back on a few shelves in the entertainment center. Most of the media books went on the other side, though they may move when I find the rest of them. Put out a few crates for records, but I'll pull the rest tomorrow after work or Tuesday morning. Put the record player on a crate and played a K-Tel album while I worked.

Finished the night online with game shows on YouTube. I tried to find vintage Easter game show episodes, but all I came up with was a Match Game episode from 1975. Brett and Fannie show up in the beginning wearing ugly spring hats.  They later somehow migrate to Tom Bosley and Gene Rayburn.

Instead, I dug into my childhood for game shows I watched on USA Network in the 80's. From 1986 to the late 90's, USA ran game shows all afternoon. Some were older, but most were either just finished their runs or syndicated shows, like the revival of Jackpot with Geoff Edwards and the Bill Cullen version of The Joker's Wild. 

(Ironically, the copy of The Joker's Wild I found online came not from its USA run, but from its original syndicated run on the Philly ABC, WPVI Channel 6. I don't remember seeing it there, and we watched Channel 6 all the time. My mother swore by Action News and would never miss Good Morning America and Donahue, and she and Dad loved General Hospital. Incidentally, the ad for Action News prominently mentioned Jim Gardner. He's such a fixture of the 5PM newscasts at Action News, he's only just retiring this year after more than 40 years on the air.) 

USA also played low-budget game shows from Canada like Bumper Stumpers. This cute word-based show had people figuring out the phrases on vanity license plates. Those who guessed the main plate right could move on to unscramble a series of plates. French Canadian weatherman Al Dubois really keeps the show flowing.. I always enjoyed trying to unscramble those plates or figure out what they said.

I first encountered Let's Make a Deal and Press Your Luck on USA around 1987-88 and watched the heck out of both. That's why I was so excited when Deal turned up on Buzzr two years ago, and why I enjoy watching Press there, even though they tend to run the same couple of episodes from 1984-85. It's fun to feel like that kid watching game shows or having them in the background while reading on a sunny summer afternoon. 

Watched The New 25,000 Pyramid regularly on CBS in the early-mid 80's and enjoyed seeing it on USA just as much. Denise Miller and a very young Michael J. Fox get to help contestants guess seven subjects in a box on a pyramid. If they get up to 20, they get to go to the Winner's Circle. There, they guess groups going progressively higher on the giant pyramid board. 

Probably my favorite game I watched on USA that hasn't turned up on Buzzr is Tic Tac Dough. I loved watching contestants keep rolling along and answering trivia along with them on the screen. Then there was the bonus round, where I always hope they'd get the prize package and avoid that scary roaring dragon! Wink Martindale was a charming and occasionally even intense host. 

Take a walk down memory lane with me, where characters are always welcome, even in game shows. (Look for the original commercials on many of these shows. And thanks to Wink Martindale and his channel for the Pyramid episode!) 

Match Game (1975)

The New 25,000 Pyramid (1983)

Press Your Luck (1983)

Tic Tac Dough (1984)

The Joker's Wild (1984)

The All-New Let's Make a Deal (1986)

Bumper Stumpers (1987)

Jackpot (1989)

Dreams In the Spring

Started off a beautiful, sunny, breezy morning with a quick breakfast before settling down to do some work and writing on the laptop. Brett finds herself and Richard rowing two boats on a moat outside the White Castle. She tries to get Arlene to tell her what'll happen to her and what happened to the White King Gene and Queen Helen, but she's maddeningly obtuse about it.  

I stopped at quarter after 12 to throw on clothes, grab a snack, and make my way out on time, for once. Just got to work on time, too, dodging traffic on the Black Horse Pike.

Work didn't start off badly, but by 3 PM, we had long lines and once again, not enough people to deal with them. It's the week before Easter, and people are starting to stock up candy, non-perishable dinner supplies, and their hams and roasts. I did cause trouble in my last order when the customer kept pushing the wrong buttons on the card machine, and then I did and took off his whole order instead of only part of it. Thank goodness he eventually let it pass, and the girl who came in for me arrived right before that happened. 

Something else that never happened was rain. We were supposed to have a storm later in the day, but the worst we had were heavy dark clouds. Even those started to break apart as I hurried home across Oaklyn. Saw one of the neighbors earlier, and she asked me if I wanted to come over for dinner. I initially said yes, then changed my mind and texted her that I was too tired. All I wanted was to go home.

Changed, then put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while having leftovers for dinner. "Mickey's Springtime Surprise" is an egg hunt for Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto. Mickey and Minnie leave clues for the others to follow that lead to the location of decorated eggs...or they would, if Funny Bunny Pete didn't keep getting ahead and switching them around! The gang have to use various tools to figure out where he hid them, then get ahead of his antics. 

Finished the night on YouTube after a shower with Little Nemo: Adventures In Slumberland. I go futher into this dreamy late 80's fantasy from Japan at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Animation Celebration Saturday - Little Nemo: Adventures In Slumberland

In the Morning Sunshine

Started off a quiet morning with breakfast and checking the weather. Couldn't have been a nicer day. The rain was chased off in the night, replaced by perfect blue skies and no wind. Dropped off paperwork that needed to be sent to the union in a mail box on the White Horse Pike and was on my way.

Wish I could have stayed out in that weather all day. It was gorgeous this morning, warm and sunny, perfect for pushing carts. I did it for the first three hours of my shift, but another bagger came in around noon, and they moved me to cashiedring. Maybe it was just as well. We got so busy later in the day, I probably would have ended up there anyway. One of the cashiers broke her leg and can't come in, and we had no replacements. By rush hour, there were lines down the aisles, and many customers weren't happy. 

I'm not thrilled with my schedule, either. I asked for my birthday off on Thursday, but that's also my only day off next week! I hate it when I work more than seven days in a row without a break. I'm already beyond tired, and when am I supposed to get laundry or anything else done? 

Picked up a few things after work. Found low-sugar Special K bars, a bag of salt-free natural almonds, and a bag of baby carrots for snacks. Grabbed salads to take to work next week. 

Went straight home after work and into Match Game '77 while eating almonds and having dinner. Conny Van Dyke gives Charles a surgical robe with his name on it leftover from her latest trip to the hospital...but he's not too thrilled with the gift. 

For some reason, Buzzr skipped the last episode of that week and went into the next one...but I wasn't complaining too much. Grand Ol' Opry comedy legend Minnie Pearl proved to be a delight in her only week on the show, a good player and a very funny, down-to-earth lady. She even turned up in her trademark flowered hat and frilly dress for a kiss from Gene. Joyce Bulifant decided she wanted to join in the fun too, turning up on fellow southerner Fannie Flagg's lap despite not being on the game that week. 

Finished dinner and cleaned up while watching Match Game PM. Ted Lange loans Gene his pin from a Russian-set episode of The Love Boat when Charles complains about his suit being too funeral. Meanwhile, Joyce is being goofy again, this time sporting an ugly fluffy purple sweater she claimed to be self-conscious about. She also gets in a crack at Richard Dawson as an answer to a question about where Jackie the Comic gets all his bad jokes. 

Worked on writing for a while afterwards. Arlene points out that it's time to move on. She can help them make their next move and get to the White Castle. Brett tries to pass Queen Helen's warning to Sir Richard...but he already knows. He's from Looking Glass Land. His memory works forwards and backwards, too. He still wants to rescue his liege and make sure Brett is crowned queen, though. Arlene finally hands Richard and Brett needles...which turn into oars...

Finished the night further exploring HBO Max with The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Sir Percy Blakeney (Barry K. Barnes) claims to have retired from the rescuing business, though his men continue to aid the victims of the French Revolution. He springs back into action when Chauvelain (Francis Lister) kidnaps his wife Marguerite (Sophie Stewart) and takes her back to France for a kangaroo trial. With the help of ardent Frenchman Jean Tallien (James Mason) who worries his head might be next under the guillotine, he rescues his wife from certain death and helps rally the populace against Robespierre (Henry Oscar). 

I can never resist a Scarlet Pimpernel story, even one that has nothing to do with the books. Mason is really the only remote saving grace here. He shows all the fire and charisma that the frosty Barnes and dull Stewart lack. Only for major fans of Mason or Scarlet Pimpernel stories if you're bored while browsing around HBO Max. 

April Showers and More

Started off a quiet morning with breakfast and checking the weather. It was pouring when I got up, but by the time I was eating, the rain had slowed down. I did hear it was supposed to storm later in the day, so I called for Uber. The driver came in about 11 minutes; I arrived just in time.

I was supposed to be bagging today, but one morning cashier left early due to stomach trouble, and the other called out. I ended up cashiering. It wasn't that bad in the morning and early afternoon. I shelved candy between customers. It didn't pick up until nearly 2 PM...and as usual, we didn't have nearly enough help to deal with them all. The line was still long when I left. I had no relief and barely got out on time.

No luck with Uber, either. Had to wait 20 minutes for one. It was rush hour by the time I finished, not to mention the heavy rain started again. At least the driver was quick once he did arrive and got me home in no time.

Watched Whew! while I changed and had a snack. Elaine Joyce is a great Password player, but she's not so hot at figuring out bloopers. She got to the Gauntlet once and didn't win. Sal Viscuso kept getting his players ahead of her. At least her husband Bobby Van turned up early in the show to cheer her on. 

Worked on writing for a while after the show ended. Brett finally finds the others at a strange shop run by a sheep who can knit with fourteen needles at once. Brett reaches for items, only to find that the shelf is bare, or they've gone to the ceiling! The others are more interested in the sheep and her constant knitting. She's going to help them jump...or float...to the next square and find out what happened to the White King and Queen...if Brett will row them there...

Broke for dinner at 6:30. Made myself a taco salad instead of a traditional taco - spring mix with lettuce shreds, tomatoes, cucumbers, taco meat, and a bit of cheddar cheese. Not bad, if I do say so myself. At the very least, better for me than most traditional tacos would be. 

Took dinner upstairs for Match Game PM. This one started off with Brett encouraging Marcia Wallace's interest in a handsome single contestant. The guy just didn't seem to know what to do with them later, tentatively hugging Marcia and Brett after they give the answers for "Perk __" and "__ Cellar" in the Audience Match. 

Finished the night after a shower with Fashions of 1934 at HBO Max. I go further into this strange semi-musical with one very elaborate Busby Berkeley number at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - Fashions of 1934

(Incidentally, it's continued to rain off and on, sometimes heavily, for the rest of the night.)

Busy Day In the Spring

Began a dreary morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. When "Jodi's Asthma" acts up during a game of splatball, the other kids have to find something she can play, too. Dan gets a taste of being left out when the other kids pass around slices of peach pie, but he's allergic to peaches. Dan and Katarina love playing with little Margaret at the playground, but they have to remember she can't climb steps and join them on the slide. Daniel's new autistic friend Max prefers the xylophone. Katerina and Dan have to find a way for both of them to play along in "Daniel and Max Play at the Playground."

Spent the next few hours doing chores in my room. I hadn't made the bed since before I moved. All the blankets I use to combat the drafts in the attic were falling off! Once I got the blankets on and folded and the stuffed animals on the shelf alongside the bed, I turned my attention to pulling out the warm-weather clothes. While it is supposed to be in the 50's and 60's here this week, it'll be in the 70's by early next week. I won't be needing the turtlenecks or my paisley flannel pajamas for a while. 

Found something I remembered from my childhood on Tubi. I watched the 1990 TV version of The Flash occasionally as an 11-year-old, mainly because Mark Hamill played the Joker-like Trickster and I was in my all-out Star Wars obsession phase at the time. In the pilot film for the series, forensic scientist Barry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) is struck by lightning while surrounded by highly dangerous chemicals. He discovers he has super speed and can run so fast, he literally breaks the sound barrier. STAR Labs scientist Tina McGee (Amanda Pays) keeps track of his speeds and abilities. He uses his newfound powers to fight a motorcycle gang with very strange weapons who killed his brother (Tim Thomerson) in a shootout. 

Now I wish I watched more of the show in 1990. I actually quite enjoyed this. Some of it hasn't dated well; the biker's gang look more like the Foot Clan from the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and even have a similar hide-out, and some of the special effects are obvious today. On the other hand, this is relatively dark for sci-fi TV in 1990 - it doesn't shy away from discussing the death of a major character or showing Barry's relationship with Iris West (who leaves after the pilot movie) and Tina. 

Still a lot of fun if you're a fan of the DC Comics characters, the Flash, or sci-fi from this time. 

Had a quick chili lunch before rushing off to my first appointment of the day. Unfortunately, I hit traffic trying to cross Cuthbert and arrived at Walgreens five minutes late...which turned out to be a moot point anyway. Their system went down while I tried to get checked in, and the lady couldn't do anything. Not only that, but I hadn't known this would require fasting. I ended up buying a birthday card for Rose (hers is tomorrow) that I hope she actually accepts. I'm not buying her a gift card. I'm afraid she'll just throw it away and not even bother with it. 

Had a far easier time a few blocks down the road at South Jersey Radiology on the border of Westmont and Haddonfield. They were the first office you saw when you entered the building. In fact, I was there so early, they took me ten minutes ahead of time.  I laid down on on a doctor's bed. The lady spread something warm and thick on my neck. She pushed on one side of my neck with something soft for a few minutes, then the other. That's all there was to it. I cleaned up my neck and was back on the road in less than ten minutes. 

Between chilly, cloudy weather and getting close to rush-hour traffic, I went straight home. Avoided said traffic by taking the back roads and riding through Newton Lake Park. Took a shortcut across a path over a hill. The path was a muddy mess, but it did get me home a little faster...and it revealed that all this rain has been great for the local flora. The grass is emerald green now, with patches of buttercups and dandelions sprouting everywhere. The trees are in full flower, sprouting creamy white and lime green and pale shell pink.

Had a snack while watching Press Your Luck. I tried watching Match Game '79 earlier, but they kept repeating the first question over and over. Thankfully, that problem seemed to have been fixed by 4 PM. Whammies really flew fast and furious in this one. The champ Whammied out at the last minute, making a young gentleman who won a trip to Rome the new winner.

Went straight into writing after that. White Queen Helen explains to Brett that she has no difficulty remembering things forwards and backwards...and not only is Sir Richard Dawson the White Knight in danger, but so is she. Brett can't get her to reveal what will happen before she seems to prick her finger. She didn't...then. She knew it was going to happen, and it does happen. Helen tells Brett she needs a lot of practice to imagine "six impossible things before breakfast." She ends up chasing after her shawl again, and Brett follows her into the next square...where she becomes a sheep (Arlene Francis) in a shop.

Watched Match Game PM while getting organized and finishing up things online. Two lovely young ladies, Debralee Scott and Jonelle Allen, bookend an unusually dapper McLean Stevenson (who is hoping for his own series) while joking that a well-dressed contestant with a stiff blonde hairdo looks like Barry Manilow. Charles doesn't have nearly as much fun trying to figure out "Escape __" in the Head-to-Head or listening to Brett ranting about the state of the New York subway system. The girls singing "The Battle of Jerico" and making fun of commercials shilling music collections. 

Switched to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while having leftover chicken, carrots, and potato fries for dinner. "Mickey's Treasure Hunt" is one of the few episodes to take place almost entirely at the Clubhouse. Mickey finds five clues that'll lead to a treasure full of gift bags and play jewels. While he uses the Mouske-tools, Donald claims he and Goofy will find the treasure their own way...but the things they bring back are anything but treasure!

Finished the night on Paramount Plus with a two-part The Love Boat episode from the fifth season. Farnsworth (Lloyd Bridges) is a millionaire who brought all of his relatives along to figure out who will make it into his will...but a lovely lady (Linda Evens) who seems interested in him makes him rethink "Farnsworth's Fling." Turns out the lady has her own agenda, with the help of her friend (Jessica Walter), Farnsworth's niece who believed he ruined her father. His daughter (Morgan Fairchild) and her ex-husband (Grant Goodeve) find themselves to be "Three In a Bed" when her stuffy fiancé (Alan Fletcher) show's up, too. Merrill falls for the daughter of an old flame in "Merrill, Melonie, and Melonesia." "Gopher Farnsworth Smith" believes himself to be related to Farnsworth and entitled to a share of his fortune. 

Bad Day Rising

Started out a gray morning with breakfast. While it wasn't lovely outside, it wasn't raining at that point, either. I rode to work and actually managed to get there a few minutes early this time. 

Which is about the only thing that went right the entire day. Work was a mess. This is the first Tuesday of the month and the first Senior Discount Day of the month, plus a lot of other people were buying huge orders, too. Some people spent upwards to nearly 800 dollars...and they weren't happy about it. I was supposed to be rounding up carts while the other bagger swept the store, but they kept pulling me inside to take customers. I was gathering trash and recycling the last time they did it. Not only was I there for the remaining three hours of my shift, but I never was able to take the trash and recycling to the back of the store. They remained in an unused register the entire time.

Went straight home, got my laundry started downstairs, and made dinner. I pulled out chicken thighs earlier in the afternoon. Added sliced potatoes and carrots for a simple but flavorful baked chicken meal.  Watched Match Game '76 after I pushed the chicken in the oven. Bert Convy and Patty Duke joined in to help a contestant try to figure out "__ Soda" in the Audience Match and see Gene scold cue card boy Roger Dobowitz for sleeping on the job. 

Went downstairs to try something different. I wanted to used coconut flour to make something for dessert. Alas, it came out very badly. No matter how much water or milk I added, it just stayed dry, and two eggs couldn't bind it. I tried turning the whole mess into a bread, but it didn't close to come together. I finally just threw the bits away. 

At least the chicken and vegetables came out perfectly. Had them with a green salad while watching Match Game '77. Hans Conried, the original voice of Captain Hook from the Disney Peter Pan, and Laugh-In sweetie Sarah Kennedy were on aboard for a very funny episode that saw Betty White and Charles Nelson Reilly switching seats for the first half. Gene kept getting them mixed up, since he was used to them sitting in opposite seats. 

Went downstairs to do the dishes; came back up for Match Game PM. Richard Paul was very happy when the contestant gave him kisses for helping her with the Audience Match. Announcer Johnny Olsen was even happier. When she kissed him in the end, he fainted!

Finished the night on Disney Plus with the West Side Story remake from last year after a shower and putting my laundry away. I go further into this gritty take on the teen version of Romeo & Juliet at my Musical Dreams Movie reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - West Side Story (2021)

Oh, and the rain finally came down around 11 PM, when I was chatting with Lauren and had long been at home. 

Testing Matches

Got a very quick start this morning with a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter and strawberries. It took about 15 minutes to get a ride to Voorhees, and then the guy just had to drive on the highway in morning traffic. When I arrived, I didn't realize it was a group of look-alike triangular gray-blue buildings from the 80's. It took me ten minutes just to find the right building, which made me ten minutes late. 

Thankfully, the one young man and woman in the building were really good about it. She was the neuropsychologist, and he was the one giving me the tests. I brought along a folder of paperwork from my school counseling sessions going as far back as 1987 my mother kept for future reference. 

Adam, the young man, spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon giving me a series of verbal and writing tests. They were mainly to test my memory and cognitive functions. I couldn't remember or figure out a lot of the random patterns involving shapes, squiggly lines, and putting cards with those symbols into a board. My math must have been worse. I can't really remember how to do fractions or long division or multiplication, and especially my old bane, long division. 

Broke to have a salad for lunch in their waiting room (apparently, there was no other place to eat), then went back to matching symbols and doing math and listening to tests to tell if you can tell apart certain sounds like f and th. They finished by giving me paperwork with a series of questions on my mental condition the past few weeks...which, as you may have noticed, hasn't been great. I'm dead tired, under enormous stress, and have lost my home and a lot of family. 

At least the tests ended a lot earlier than expected, around 2 instead of 3:30. Since it was a nice day, sunny, windless, and probably in the lower 60's, I went for a stroll in the area. The office complex was situated next to a very uninteresting shopping center that mostly seemed to consist of a pet grooming store and a huge gym. I considered a snack at Panera Bread before deciding I'd wait until home, and I didn't feel like braving the traffic to check out a huge Target across the street. 

Strolling in the opposite direction revealed a sign for the Voorhees Towne Center. I thought it would be easier to get picked up there than the slightly hard-to-find office complex. Enjoyed my quiet walk past 70's and 80's-era apartments in yellows, blues, and reds and a nice little park and baseball diamond. 

The Voorhees Towne Center isn't nearly that charming. Like the office complex, it suffers from being in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by way too much competition, plus I think it's currently owned by a company that doesn't care about it. The whole area was silent as a ghost town. It was eerie. I saw maybe four people the entire time I was there, and that includes in the newer area with the condos and the restaurants. 

I felt creepy just ducking through the main mall. It's dark and still. The only light or movement came from Bath and Body Works and Boscov's. Everything else - the arcade, the food court, the comics store, Friendly's, even Lens Crafters and the medical offices - had closed. It was like they never existed. The entire area was one big void. I ducked out at the main entrance, but forgot I didn't have any paper money on me. I called Uber home as quickly as I could. 

Got home around 3:30. Had a snack and worked on writing. Queen Helen explains how everyone in Looking Glass Land can remember things forwards and backwards. She's about to tell Brett what terrible fate will befall Sir Richard when she yells about pricking her finger on her pin...but there's no blood. She'll prick it in a few minutes. 

Had leftovers for dinner, then spent the rest of the night on YouTube. The owner of the Match Game channel has been really busy lately. He finally got to that much-delayed marathon honoring the late black comedian Scoey Mitchilll he promised over a week ago. As I mentioned during my own marathon a week and a half ago, Scoey's tough demeanor allowed him to get away with a lot of gags the others couldn't dream of. Once, he and Charles not only sat in each other's seats, but took the other's personalities. Another time, he ran out during a question to use the bathroom. During the syndicated run, he took a nap during a question against Gene's entrance door; Gene even brought him a pillow. There was also the time he sat and watched while Gene tore off his t-shirt advertising a local radio station. 

Come check out the best episodes from the toughest man to ever answer a blank-ing question! 

Scoey Mitchill Match Game Tribute

Master of the Squares

Started off my morning with a very quick breakfast. It was raining and blowing when I awoke, but by the time I got to eating, the rain was just slowing down. I didn't have the time to update my Uber and opted to just take the bike instead. It remained windy, but the rain died as I arrived at work. 

Between the weather and this being the first Sunday of the month, work was a mess for almost the entire afternoon. We had long lines, huge orders, and not enough people to deal with them, especially later in the day. Thankfully, it started to slow down by the time I was almost done. I was able to get off just in time with no relief. 

Went straight home and had a quick leftovers dinner, then did a little writing. Queen Helen's acting very peculiar, telling Brett about jam today and jam tomorrow, and talking about how in Looking Glass Land, everyone knows what will happen in advance. Which turns out to be a good thing, as one of the "advance memories" Helen has is of Sir Richard being in danger...

Finished out the night after a shower with YouTube. Peter Marshall just turned 96 this week (after surviving a bout with the virus), so we honored him with plenty of Hollywood Squares. Marshall started out as a stage actor (he did the musical Skyscraper on Broadway with Charles Nelson Reilly) and came to Squares almost by accident. Bert Parks was the host in the pilot, but Marshall took the job mainly because he didn't want Dan Rowan, whom he didn't get along with, to. 

Hollywood Squares involves nine celebrities sitting behind a tic tac toe board. They each have to answer a bluff or multiple choice question. The contestant has to agree or disagree with them. If they're right, they get money. One panelist is "the Secret Square" who has a special prize. The contestant who choose the square and guesses right wins the prize. 

Marshall had a hard time reining in his panelists at first. Match Game-level anarchy didn't really suit this show. After the first year or two, they started scripting the gags, or 'zingers," the panelists tossed out with their answers. This suited long-time center square Paul Lynde just fine. Lynde preferred to work with a script anyway, and tossing out nasty zingers was a specialty of his, as we see in the 1976 nighttime episode I have here. 

While Squares did lose some fans to Match Game in the mid-70's, it remained popular enough to run on NBC until 1980. Like Match Game, it moved to syndication in its final years. Unlike their rival, they also went to the Riviera in Las Vegas for filming. That made no one, including Marshall, happy. They complained about their accommodations and losing panelists to the casino floor. Fortunately, they didn't have to complain for long, The show came to an end in 1981. 

Ironically, Marshall did turn up on Match Game several times during their syndicated years, including one week that started off with him coming in for Gene Rayburn. (Gene often talked about how much the two resembled each other; personally, I don't see it.) He actually played quite well, including a 10,000 Head-to-Head win. 

Like Rayburn, Marshall never found another show that replicated Squares' success. All-Star Blitz in 1985 was a cross between Squares and Concentration. Marshall asks four celebrities questions. If the contestants get it right, they can uncover a word or letter on a huge board until they guess the words or phrase. The show was pretty obviously imitation Squares, and while not without its charms (Betty White turned up in the episode here), it didn't even last a year.

Yahtzee! from 1988 didn't get that lucky. Marshall found himself filming in a casino again, this time from Trump Castle (now the Golden Nugget) in Atlantic City. It's a weird hybrid of Match Game, High Rollers, and Hot Potato. Two teams of same-sex contestants from the same occupation - shop girls and fishermen in the first episode - have to guess what five panelists will say. If they guess enough correctly, they can roll the dice for prizes. Marshall did what he could, but the format was unwieldly, to say the least, and hard to follow. It barely lasted two months and ended in a flurry of litigations between its producers.

Marshall's hosting career went out with the whimper that was The Reel to Reel Picture Show. Two contestants and two celebrities answer trivia on this very, very low-budget PAX TV game show from 1998. As much fun as watching paint dry, especially if you're a movie fan like me and can easily answer the trivia before the contestants do. 

Marshall did have one last blaze of glory. In 2002, he was one of the ten game show panelists or hosts from years passed who appeared on the then-current Tom Bergenon version of Hollywood Squares for Game Show Week. He took over hosting an episode and didn't miss a beat, tossing out quips and questions as if he'd been hosted the show from the beginning. (Also on that week were some familiar Match Game faces - Jimmie Walker, and sitting in one square, the final appearance of Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly together). 

You won't be square if you check out these episodes and honor the king of squares, reels, and complicated dice! 

Hollywood Squares (1968)

Hollywood Squares (1976)

Match Game (1980)

Hollywood Squares (1980)

Match Game (1981)

All-Star Blitz (1985)

Yahtzee! (1988)

The Reel to Reel Picture Show (1998)

Hollywood Squares (2002)

Welcome to the Sunshine

I was so worn out and stayed up so late chatting with Lauren, it was 11:30 before I awoke, and nearly 1 before I got going. Watched The Backyardigans as I had a quick peanut butter and jam wrap and banana for breakfast. Uniqua and Pablo want to convince skeptical tourists Tasha and Austin to go on their cruise through the swamps, so they tell them "The Swamp Creature" is lurking in the reeds. Little do they know that Tyrone the Swamp Creature actually is lurking around and keeps trying to follow them when he hears they're looking for him.

Went for a walk around 1:30. It was too nice of a day not to! The wind finally blew itself out last night, leaving blue skies and warm upper 50-lower 60 degree temperatures in its wake. Spring is really hitting South Jersey now. Shiny buttercups and dandelions grow in yellow starbursts along the lake, and the trees are starting to show the first signs of green leaves. Other trees are laden with tiny white flowers that shower petals overhead like the snow squall from last week. White and purple hyacinths and golden daffodils bloom in every garden. 

Ended up at the Haddon Township Library. Wanted to find books on prediabetes, one of the many conditions I seem to have right now. There were piles of books on that, and at least one on hypothyroidism, another condition I may have on the list Dr. Jessica printed out. I'd love to get my health together without having to take a ton of pills or constantly monitoring my blood sugar levels. 

Most of it may have to do with all the stress I've been under for the past few years. I haven't been out and about as often, either. I haven't had the time to volunteer, and I push carts a lot less than I used to. Haven't been able to get out for a lot of walks or bike rides, either. I was too busy trying to find a place and get my life together. Stopped doing yoga classes when I got tired of riding to Collingswood and paying for the classes. I'd like to do them again, maybe finding cheaper classes closer to home. 

Had a very quick lunch when I got home while watching Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo on Tubi. "When You Wish Upon a Star Creature" brings the gang to the Green Hills Observatory to see a huge telescope. Professor Spaulding used it to find what he thinks is a new star. It turns out that "new star" is a star creature, and alien that's scaring everyone away from their light shows. Shaggy and Scooby are ready to join them, but Scrappy and the others think there's something very down-to-earth about this so-called alien. 

Went straight online when I finished. Did a few things online, including working on my Blank In Wonderland fanfic. Brett follows a white shawl fluttering on the wind to Queen Helen Rayburn, Gene's real-life wife. Helen's normally a very put-together woman, but she's so worried about her husband and their home being under siege, she's a mess. She tries to recruit Brett as a lady's maid, but she has no interest in jam tomorrow and yesterday. 

Put on Doc McStuffins while having leftovers for dinner. "Joni the Pony" is a beautiful purple horse with a flashy long mane that can be raised or lowered by a knob. She loves to show it off, but it gets in the way when she's doing a horse and lamb show with Lambie. Doc finally convinces her that's it's time to raise her hair and get a hair cut. Doc and her crew are "Sleepless In Stuffyland" when Stuffy can't sleep the night before Doc has a big presentation at school and keeps everyone awake.

Finished the night online with The Little Mermaid Live! at Disney Plus. I go further into this hybrid of the live stage show and animated film at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Musicals On TV - The Little Mermaid Live!