At the Library

Started off the morning with breakfast and The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't. I went further into this cute holiday special from Hanna Barbara at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2023.

The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't

Called Uber after I got organized. Today is the first day of the final Cherry Hill Library book sale of the year. The driver going to the library arrived in five minutes, though for some reason, she kept cutting through meandering back roads and took forever to get where she was going. The driver going home didn't even take a minute to arrive and thankfully stuck to the highways.

I'm glad I went early in the afternoon of the first day. They surprisingly weren't that busy. I could actually walk around in the room where the children's books were sold without bumping into anyone or being trampled. The meeting room with the adult books was busier, but could have been worse. I was mainly looking for Christmas presents. I did end up getting a book for Finley and two for Khai. I also got two books for myself, one a novelization of an old favorite childhood movie, one a mystery set in Cape May:

Dick Tracy by Max Allan Collins

Midnight Snacks are Murder by Libby Klein

No records, but I did find three CDs, plus a two-CD set:

Soundtrack from A Goofy Movie

Christmas Eve With Johnny Mathis - Johnny Mathis

Christmas Portrait (Special Edition) - The Carpenters

Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (This is the 2-disc set. I have the concert recorded onto DVD from a tape, but this set has a lot more music that didn't find its way onto film, including more songs from Follies, Dick Tracy, and Into the Woods, along with a lesser-known movie song, "I Never Do Anything Twice.")

After I got home, I made my Christmas lists. No, it's not what I want. It's what I'm giving. I give physical gifts to all the kids on my list (who don't need the extra sugar), plus Jessa, Lauren and Amanda, who come from small families and don't have a lot of people giving them gifts. I also made my Christmas card list and baking list. I bake five kinds of cookies. If I have time, I might make pumpkin bread or some kind of sweet bread, too. (No candy this year, though. It came out so badly last year, I'm afraid to try again.)

Watched the Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Thanksgiving episodes as I worked and had lunch. Daniel's saying "Thank You, Grandpere!" when he comes to visit before the big Thank-You Day celebration. "Neighborhood Thank-You Day" has the Neighborhood of Make-Believe come together in the Enchanted Garden to hang Thank-You Cards and eat a big feast. Daniel doesn't know who he's thankful for, until Mr. McFeely saves the cards from being blown away.

Daniel may be even more excited for "Margaret's First Thank-You Day" than Margaret herself. As the youngest resident of the Neighborhood, Margaret gets to hang her thank-you card first. They do make it to the feast, but poor Margaret has a cold, and her father ends up taking her home. Poor Daniel misses his sister, so he and his mother take home a piece of the strawberry trifle they made for her.

Hurried out to the Thomas Sharp School after the cartoons ended. Everything went much the same as it did yesterday, only today was chillier and a little windier. I don't know why the kids kept taking off their shoes and jackets! For one thing, the playground is covered in mulch. As one of the older boys discovered, that's not much fun to walk on in your sock feet. For another thing, we're way past summer weather now. The coats were necessary, no matter what they thought. One of the younger boys claimed they couldn't find their coat. The teachers pretty much spent the rest of the evening looking for it. I comforted one of the girls who had almost lost a ring she liked and was still scared.

Went straight into Happy Go Lovely when I got home. I go further into this charming British backstage romance with David Niven and Vera-Ellen at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Happy Go Lovely

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner. Comedian and What's My Line panelist Soupy Sales made his only appearance on the show during the week I saw. He was joined by Betty White and former Klingon Madelyn Rhue.

Finished the night with Music From the New York Stage Volume Three: 1913 - 1917 3-CD set I picked up on vacation in October. This is a British collection of songs recorded for American shows made during the second decade of the 20th century, many of them recorded in England with American voices. Probably the best-known come from Al Jolson, including his seminal recording of "You Made Me Love You." They also had more comic numbers for Jolson like "Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soliders" from Dancing Around and "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday on a Saturday Night?" from Robinson Crusoe Jr. Other comic numbers include Van & Schenick's "Hawaiian Sunshine" from The Century Girl, black comic Bert Williams declaring "I'm Neutral" in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1915, and Joseph Cawthorn claiming "You Can't Play Every Instrument In the Band" in The Sunshine Girl.

The other big genre in this era was the operetta. Most of them were imported from Europe, like The Lilac Domino and Miss Springtime, but there were popular ones made in America, too. Victor Herbert continued his run of hit shows with the charming fairy tale Sweethearts, while Rudolf Friml got a little more American with Katinka. Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin both got their starts writing comedy material for operettas. By 1917, they were writing music for their own shows, with Kern putting out small-scale shows in the Princess Theater like Have a Heart and Berlin doing the more lavish Watch Your Step. 

There were also revivals of older shows that hadn't done well on their first hearing. The operetta Rob Roy had gotten overshadowed by the similar Robin Hood on its debut, but it did prove to have some fine songs on a second hearing, including "Who Can Tell Me Where She Dwells?"

Cloudy With a Chance of Angels

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and two classic Goofy "how to" shorts. "The Art of Skiing" takes us to the Alps, where Goofy hits the slopes to show us how not to go sliding down a hill. "How to Swim" has Goofy learning all the swimming moves, even diving and surfing...but he always manages to end up in a dry pool or practicing swimming moves in traffic.

I rushed to work after that...and still arrived slightly late. Thankfully, that was the worst that happened all day. Between the continuing cloudy weather and being between holidays, we just weren't that busy. Maybe it's just as well. For some reason, we got two e-mails complaining about our water fountains being dirty. I did scrub them as best I could with cleanser, though no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't quite get the hard water stains out.

Went straight home after work ended. Watched Charlie's Angels while eating lunch. "Angels On the Run" have the ladies trying to figure out what happened to a singer's trucker husband. Two men were seen leaving with him right before he disappeared from a bar. Turns out they were thieves who hid a certain important package in the dirt cargo the man was carrying. He left it with one of his many girlfriends (Elaine Joyce) on mistake. Kelly takes the wife's place while the other two figure out what's going on...and when she's kidnapped too, Bosley and the ladies follow to find out just what happened to that package.

I actually left for school early. I wanted to stop at CVS on my way there. Anny's birthday was Monday. I got her a Dunkin' Donuts gift card. Got money for the Cherry Hill Library Book Sale tomorrow, too. 

Arrived early at the Thomas Sharp School. They were just settling the kids down with toys and coloring when I arrived. We mostly ended up spending the day outside. By quarter of 4, it was cloudy, but not windy, and nowhere near as cold as yesterday. I chatted with several of the kids and let them play with the buttons and laces on my winter coat. One of the little girls said two other girls wouldn't let her play with them, so I told the girls I watched a show that afternoon about three women detectives...and they had no problems letting the other girl be their third. One of the parents brought a baby with her, and though the poor little thing was apparently sick, the kids were utterly fascinated by her. They kept leaning over, staring at her, and stroking her head.

We were outside for so long, we didn't go in until it started to get dark around quarter of 5. One of the teachers had laid sheets of paper on the library tables and let the kids draw stenciled pictures on them. I did a yellow daisy, and one of the older girls added a flower pot. One of the older boys did a butterfly in beautiful, creative colors. It was just winding down when I finished.

Finished Charlie's Angels when I got home, then watched Match Game '76. Two TV personalities of the mid-late 70's made their only appearances on Match Game during the two weeks that ran tonight. Pat Moriata had just switched to his own show, the short-lived and badly received Mr. T and Tina, after appearing on Happy Days when he turned up in mid '76. He spent most of the week dodging Gene's bad Japanese jokes. Robert Hegyes of Welcome Back Kotter had a more pleasant experience, even though he wasn't that great of a player. 

Finished the night with Murder She Wrote. "The Bottom Line Is Murder" when the ruthless host of a consumer affairs program based in Denver is found killed, days before an expose on possibly harmful teddy bears is about to go on the air. His producer, whose wife is a friend of Jessica's, is accused of the crime, but Jessica doesn't think things add up...and then realizes that the host may not have been the original target.

Dolls On Veteran's Day

Began my Veteran's Day with breakfast and Idol On Parade. I go further into this 1959 British military comedy that made a star out of singer-songwriter Anthony Newley at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Saluting Our Veterans - Idol On Parade

Spent most of the morning dressing the dolls. Molly, Samantha, and Josefina wear their original "meet" outfits. Molly is in her blue argyle sweater, blue felt skirt, the white dickey with the rickrack trim, white socks, and strap shoes borrowed from Sam. Josefina wears her red "meet" skirt with the brown flower print with her long-sleeved nightgown camisa, as the shift that came with the outfit is short-sleeved and too chilly for November in New Jersey. Sam wears her mauve checked dress. I have a really hard time squeezing Felicity into her blue and gold brocade dress (the outfit the most recent version of the doll came in), but she looks so pretty in it that it's totally worth it.

Jessa's ready to do art inside on cold November days in the late 90's Artist Outfit with the lime green t-shirt, fringed overalls, and splatter-print button-down shirt and matching high-top sneakers. Ariel wears the beaded flared jeans from the 2004 modern meet outfit, the boots Whitney originally came in, and a square-necked turquoise and teal peasant blouse Lauren sent ages ago. I love the soft white dress with the red flower print and attached red cardigan I found for Whitney a few years ago. I wish I could get a human-sized version of the dress without the attached cardigan. Kit's in an eBay find, a hand-knitted burgundy sweater with a brown, yellow, and green plaid wrap skirt. Barbara Jean looks elegant for class at Cherry Hill High East in her black and magenta mini-dress with the white satin top, black velvet collar, and soft magenta jacket.

Switched to the Donald Duck wartime shorts as I cleaned up and ate a quick lunch. From 1942 to 1944, Disney did a series of shorts that had Donald as a frustrated soldier in the Army. These honestly came off more like mini episodes of MASH than the surreal lunacy they were doing over at Warners and Famous Studios in the early 40's. "Donald Gets Drafted," and he thinks he's going to be a big flying ace. He ends up dealing with cranky Drill Sergeant Pete instead. He does manage to get in the air during "Sky Trooper," but Pete puts him in with the paratroopers. Their attempt to push away a missile while in the air has explosive consequences!

My favorite of the Donald Duck wartime shorts is "The Vanishing Private." This is the only time in the entire series that Donald gets the better of Pete. When Pete tells Donald to make the cannon "hard to see," he covers it with an invisibility paint. After Donald gets the paint on himself, he leads Pete on a wild chase after "the little man you can't see" all over the base.

"Fall Out, Fall In" is more typical. Donald wants to eat and sleep after a long, grueling hike, but first his tent won't cooperate, then his fellow bunkmates make too much noise for sleeping. "The Old Army Game" is more disturbing today. Pete chases Donald around the base after he's gone AWOL, but it has what Donald thinks is more drastic consequences when he's hurt. "Commando Duck" is the last Disney war short, and the only one to get Donald into actual combat. Donald goes to a (heavily caricatured) Japan, where he proceeds to wipe...no, wash...out the enemy.

Speaking of caricatures, the most famous Disney war short is probably the Oscar-winning "Der Fuhrer's Face." Donald's surreal nightmare about dealing with the Nazi's control of Germany is one of the most imaginatively animated pieces of work Disney ever did. Even the jaunty title song became a hit for comedy orchestra Spike Jones and His City Slickers.

Rushed off to school just as "Commando Duck" was ending. We did get outside for about 40 minutes around 3:30-4 PM. Admittedly, it wasn't the nicest day for running around a playground. While we never got the snow other parts of the northeast reported, it was cloudy, windy, and very cold, in the mid-40's. I did have a lot of fun hopping with one of the little girls in the leaves blown up against the chain link fence around the playground. There weren't enough leaves to jump in, so we hopped in them instead. We had so much fun, some of the other kids did it, too. 

Once again, after we got in, we split up the kids. Half stayed and colored and played with toys in the cafeteria. The others played Heads Up 7 Up in the library. That started out all right, but the older kids kept picking the same people, and the younger ones were often too shy to pick anyone. I was actually kind of grateful when we eventually gave up and moved the kids back to the cafeteria.

Jessa was at home and waiting for me when I got in. We had dinner at the Olive Garden in Cherry Hill near the library. I was feeling the need for comfort food, and I haven't been to Olive Garden since college, when my ex-boyfriend Max would occasionally take me to the one in the Hamilton Mall's parking lot. There was a long line when we arrived. Tons of veterans were taking advantage of a special menu. At least it didn't take us that long to be seated. We both had salad, bread sticks and the Endless Bowls of Pasta. I had angel hair, meat sauce, and Italian sausage. She had rigatoni, meat sauce, and meatballs. Oh, yum! That really hit the spot. Even the salad was incredible. And the bread sticks were so soft and salty! We both took our second bowls home, and I got the remaining bread sticks as well, since Jess said she didn't want hers.

Finished the night with 4th season episodes of MASH on Disney Plus. "It Happened One Night" as the surgeons deal with heavy shelling from the US side, a freezing cold night, a young man who keeps going crazy every time he hears the shelling, Klinger trying to run off, and Radar's nervousness around their new Colonel Potter. Poor Radar is still nervous around Potter, which the older man notes when he writes his "Dear Margaret." It takes a horse Hunnicut and Hawkeye saved to show the young man he has more in common with his new commanding officer than he thought. Father Mulcahey has to deal with his own commanding officer (Ned Beatty), which Hunnicut notes as he writes to his "Dear Peggy." 

Animation Salutes the Troops

Began the morning with breakfast and vintage Superman cartoons. Given the tenor of the comics in 1942, it was probably inevitable that Superman would fight the Axis on the big screen, too. "Japoteurs" has Superman rescuing Lois and a big modern fighter plane from saboteurs who have no idea Lois stowed away on the plane. "The Eleventh Hour" is a shadowy masterpiece with a mature story depicting Superman committing acts of sabotage in Japan. Lois is captured and used to force Superman to stop fighting the Axis, but he still manages to rescue her. "Jungle Drums" switches to the Nazis as Lois and Superman discover a plot to use a native tribe and their temple to down Allied planes. Superman rescues a "Secret Agent" with information on a saboteur group when members of the group go after her.

Spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon working on my resume. I really just need to update it to add my after-school program work and my new childcare skills.  It needs to be reformatted, too. I added the new details, but I'll mess around with the formatting tomorrow or another time.

Watched Popeye shorts while I worked and ate lunch. Superman wasn't the only Famous Studios character to swing faster than a speeding bullet into World War II. Popeye joined the war a couple of months before the US did in "The Mighty Navy." Once the US followed, he appeared in a series of propaganda shorts that mostly depicted his adventures in the Navy and on leave. He dealt with life at sea in "Fleets of Strength" and "Blunder Below." He's not saying "Many Tanks" when Bluto dumps him in the tank corps in order to steal his date with Olive. He delivers "Spinach fer Britain" when he dodges the Nazis in order to bring cans of spinach overseas.

Of course, Popeye dealt with trouble on the home front and on leave, too. "Kicking the Conga Around" and "Aloma of the South Seas" are spoofs of South American stereotypes and culture of the time. The former involves Popeye learning to dance "the conger" to impress Senorita Olive, thanks to spinach. The latter is basically the same deal, without the dancing. "Olive Oyl and Water Don't Mix" and "Baby Wants a Battleship" have Olive and Swee'pea wrecking havoc on Popeye and Bluto's ship. 

Popeye had just finished when I rushed off to the school. Thank heavens the rain that had come down all morning was long gone by 2:30. It was still cloudy, windy, and much colder, in the upper 40's, but not raining. The kids were out for about a half-hour, but it was really too windy and cold for them to be outside for too long. I did have a hard time helping one of the smallest kids in the bathroom, but I did help her out, and her parents thankfully arrived just a few minutes after I got her back. I told her they would!

We split up the kids after that. Half stayed in the cafeteria to draw or play with toys. The others went in the library to play "Would You Rather?" and "Heads Up 7 Up." "Rather" has the teacher giving the kids too choices. One group who wants one choice takes one side, the other group goes to the other. 

I remember playing "7 Up" as a kid in school. Four kids are chosen. The others all lay their heads on their arms and put up their thumbs. The "pickers" push down a thumb, and those who are chosen have to guess who picked them. If they guess, they get to choose. If they don't guess correctly, the picker stays. They were still playing when I headed out.

Went straight home and into the Looney Tunes wartime shorts. Though Warners' first cartoon star Bosko did the World War I short "Bosko the Doughboy" in the early 30's, most of their war shorts were World War II propaganda. Like Popeye, they dove into the war before it even hit the US in "Meet John Doughboy" and "Rookie Revue." Most of their subsequent wartime shorts were either one-off character comedies like Bugs' in their last war short "Hare Meets Herr" and "The Draft Horse" learning that war is no action film, allegories like "Fifth Column Mouse" and "The Duckinators" on how we got into the war and how we planned on winning it, or sketch comedies about life on the home front like "Wacky Blackout" (country living during the war) and "The Weakly Reporter" (city and suburban living).

My three favorite Warners war shorts all came from the wildly warped mind of director Bob Clampett. I watched these during dinner. "Super Rabbit" has Bugs eating a carrot that turns him into a Superman parody. He fights a cowboy (who sounds like a prototype of Yosemite Sam) and his horse until push comes to shove and he dons the uniform of a real hero...a Marines officer. 

"Draftee Daffy" has Daffy doing everything he can to escape "the little man from the draft board," even if it lands them...down there. "Falling Hare" may be the only time one of Bugs' antagonists gives as good as they get when he goes up against a little gremlin sabotaging planes. This fellow is no dope and leads Bugs on a merry chase through the skies, until the plane goes into a free fall!

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite while everything was on. While Betty helps the Nutcracker, whose wooden arm is loose, back to his feet, she gets a chance to look around. Most of the toys and all of the tin soldiers were taken prisoner by the Mouse King's army...except one. Annie the Rag Doll (Maple) finds diminutive Lieutenant Foley hiding behind a gift. He's a new recruit and had never fought a battle until that night. Annie and Betty coax him out from behind the present and tell him it's ok to be scared. Mack the Lion (Mackie) says he's a lot more sensible than most toys.

Finished the night at YouTube with Family Feud. From 1989 through 1991, the Ray Combs Feud did a series of yearly tournaments that pit all five branches of the Armed Services against one another. In 1989, the Army kicked off by, alas, kicking the Navy's rear. The Marines did by far the best. They had the best trash-talking, some of the best answers, and won the Fast Money the most. When they won the second time, one of the largest Marines swept the only woman off her feet! I don't think her feet were on the floor for a good five minutes. 

Celebrate Veteran's Day by honoring the men and women who fought and Feuded for our country with this anything-goes Armed Forces battle!

Day 1 - Army Vs. Navy

Day 2 - Marines Vs. Air Force

Day 3 - Army Vs. Coast Guard

Day 4 - Air Force Vs Coast Guard

Day 5 - Marines Vs. Navy

Day 5 - Army Vs. Marines (Tournament Finale) 

Laughing Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Rhythm of the Games. This is the official music collection for the 1996 Atlanta Games. The big hit here was Gloria Estefan's stirring "Reach," and really, it's my favorite track on this CD. Tevin Campbell's version of "The Impossible Dream" is too overwrought (even for that song), and I wasn't impressed with Corey Glover's cover of "Imagine." Kenny G's "The Champion Theme" was lovely, though, and we have Usher's "Dreamin'" and Tony Rich's rousing "You're a Winner." 

Hurried out to work after the CD ended. Once again, we were busy all day, despite the dreary light rain when I arrived at 1 and the Eagles playing tomorrow night. Thankfully, the rain ended shortly after I arrived, leaving a cloudy, humid, warm for November day. I still needed help from one of the college boys who works in the online shopping department and another who cashiers to gather all the carts. Thankfully, this time, it slowed down considerably by the time I went home.

Listened to another recent CD find while eating dinner. I loved the concert documentary Summer of Soul when I reviewed it in January 2022. There are some fabulous performances here you just aren't going to find anywhere else. B.B King tells us "Why I Sing the Blues." The 5th Dimension perform two of their biggest hits, "Don'cha Hear Me Callin' To Ya" and their smash medley of "Aquarius" and "Let the Sunshine In" from Hair. Gladys Knight and the Pips give us "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," while Mongo Santamaria brings us the salsa side of Harlem with "Watermelon Man." Sly and the Family Stone have a rousing "Everyday People." We end with two fabulous numbers from Nina Simone, "Blacklash Blues" and "Are You Ready?"

Finished the night with tonight's Match Game marathon. Kaye Stevens was...er...well...a bit controversial with panelists and viewers alike. The fluffy-haired red-headed comedienne could be hilarious, with her trademark noisy cackle and the simple fact that she was obviously having a blast. No one on the show seemed to have more fun than she did. On the other hand, the laugh can get grating, she's occasionally not as funny as she thinks she is, she had the habit of flirting outrageously with any single guy she could get her hands on, and she had the habit of shoving herself into frame, notably with Richard (whom she seemed to have a bit of a crush on). 

She was admittedly around for some classic episodes during the weeks she did in 1974. She was there when Burt Reynolds made a cameo appearance on the show. In fact, she stood by his side the entire time he was there. This would be Burt's only appearance on the 70's Match Game. (Sadly, his appearance on the 60's version is lost.) In the same episode, the other famous Bert, Convy, ran off with a contestant. There was the time Charles answered "Cherry" to what a low-rent psychic would use to make predictions with, and when Gene accidentally yanked soap star Trish Stewart off her seat. Jack Carter was a gentleman and helped her up, while Kaye and Brett chewed him out for not being more careful. 

She was also around for some memorable contestants. There was CB Farnsworth, the lanky cop who eventually became one of the bigger winners of 1974. A pretty blonde teacher showed off the pinafore her kindergartners decorated. (It made her look rather like an older Alice In Wonderland.) Before CB, no-nonsense Shirley Kilgore won several games. She made her debut with What's My Line host Larry Blyden. Other semi-regulars who debuted along with her or appeared with her in '74 included Jimmie Walker, Anson Williams (to Brett's delight), Lynda Day George, and Loretta Swit.

Laugh along with the biggest cackler in show business in this wild and wooly marathon! 

Match Game Sunday Classics - The Kaye Stevens Marathon

Oh, and I'm so glad I worked in the afternoon. It wasn't raining when I went home...but by the time the marathon had started, it was raining again, and much harder this time. It's rained off and on ever since, including a doozy of a thunderstorm around 9 PM. The thunder was so loud, it shook the house to its foundation. 

Harvest On the Run

Began the morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. It's "A Spicy Situation" when Fergie can do everything brave Card Guards do, but is too nervous to tell Knight Kira that he's not a fan of spicy curry. Alice and Kira explain that it's ok to say when you're nervous about something, and there are things you can eat with spicy foods to make them less hot. "Iris On the Beach" is the snooty iris from the Disney film, who is so enamored with her first trip to the beach, she moves there. At least, until she realizes it's not for her. Alice makes her understand that everyone makes mistakes, even big ones.

Hurried off to the Collingswood Farm Market right after the cartoon ended. Even at 11:30, they were busy with people buying fall produce for their family get-togethers and Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Though there's more craft booths than food booths now, I still saw peppers, winter squash, pumpkins, apples, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and the first cranberries of the year. I ended up with tiny Stayman apples, cranberries to make my homemade cranberry sauce, and sesame rolls from the Lost Bread Co booth.

Hurried home to watch The Sneeches during lunch. I go further into this Netflix hour-long adaption of the Dr. Seuss short story at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - The Sneeches (2025)

Hurried off to work the moment the cartoon ended. Good thing I got there on time. It was a mess the entire afternoon. Everyone must have finally gotten their food stamps. The carts disappeared so much, and I had such a hard time keeping up with them, they sent one of the boys from the online orders department to help me gather them all. Needless to say, I hurried home after all that! (Especially since it's getting darker earlier now.)

Had dinner and took a shower, then finished the night with the Match Game marathon. There was an awful lot of running, jumping, and exercise going on in Television City during the 70's. Gene would jump on the lower tier desks and run around the studio. McLean Stevenson twice chased Gene all over the studio, both times in an attempt to neck with him. Gary Burghoff did it to him once. 

Of course, Gene wasn't the only one running. Jack Klugman was so excited over a big win at the end of a 1981 PM episode, he ran all over the studio and the audience! Panelists would frequently run off-stage or into the audience to kiss people or ask questions, too. There were also many questions about running, and Audience Matches with "Run __." 

Get your daily does of exercise the Match Game way with this fast-moving marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Running and Jumping Marathon

Before the Storms Came

Slept so late, it was past 12:30 when I finally got moving. Started things with brunch and Paw Patrol. "Mission PAW: Pups Save the Royal Concert" have the Patrol rescuing their favorite rock idol Luke Stars when power-obsessed pooch Sweetie locks him in a tower and swipes his jewel-crusted microphone, intending to take over the concert herself. Sweetie wrecks havoc again, this time sending the animals being cared for on the royal grounds crashing all over the castle. "Mission PAW: Pups Save the Princess' Pals" has them chasing the animals, then help Sweetie when the elephant gets stuck in the mud.

I also got my schedule at this point. In good news, slightly more hours, and the weekends are later. In bad news, still not enough hours. You'd think I'd be getting more, since a lot of people are off for Veteran's Day, but it has been pretty quiet lately. It probably won't start picking up until next weekend, when people start thinking Thanksgiving.

Hurried out next to go grocery shopping. Stopped at the A&A Pretzel Shop for a quick lunch. Since it was so late, I ate my two pretzels and stuffed cheese steak pretzel at Newton Lake Park, on a black iron picnic table near Beachwood Avenue. It was still crazy-windy, but it was also a little warmer, in the lower 60's, and partly sunny. Not too bad for what will likely be my last picnic in the park of the year.

Started off at the Westmont Acme this time. I mainly needed to restock soda (Bloom Pop and Popwell were on sale) and yogurt. Found a bag of Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Latte Nuggets on clearance for $1.32. Made Good bars were on sale as well, and I had an online coupon for the Choboni yogurt. Grabbed two bags of granola and the generic mixed-fruit jelly. 

Sprouts wasn't much busier than the Acme had been. Instead of digging into the dried fruit bins, I grabbed plastic containers of fall-themed lemon curd mango slices and apple fritter-flavored dried cranberries. Also picked up coconut milk, soda, sparkling water, and the buy one, get one half-off cookie deal (just went with ginger molasses this time). 

After I got home, put everything away, and talked to a friend, I watched two more Storybook International episodes on Tubi. The Japanese tale "The Mysterious Woodcutter" has a shy woodsman saving a young girl from being kidnapped by ruffians. The girl is besotted with him, but he has his own reasons for avoiding her attentions.

"Simpleton Peter" is a sweet, gentle boy who just can't seem to do anything right. When his mother becomes sick, and then dies, he goes to an old woman to ask her for intelligence. She asks him three riddles. When he can't answer, he thinks he'll never be clever...but then he meets a beautiful girl who is intelligent herself, and realizes that being smart isn't everything. There's also being accepted for what you are.

Switched to Match Game '76 during dinner. Buzzr is now on the week with Fannie Flagg, Bill Daily, and squeaky-voiced soap star Bennye Gatteys, This was also the week that Richard announced he was hosting a brand new game show, a little thing called Family Feud...

Finished the night with The Pit and the Pendulum. I enjoyed The Raven so much last month, I thought I'd try another Vincent Price/AIP horror extravaganza. This one gets more into genuine horror turf and somewhat closer to the original Edgar Allen Poe short story. In 1547 Spain, Englishman Francis Barnard (John Kerr) visits the ancestral castle of his brother-in-law Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price), trying to figure out what happened to his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele). Apparently, she died in the castle's torture chamber of a massive heart attack, or sheer fright. Someone, however, is stalking Nicholas. Someone is making him think Elizabeth is still alive...or is she? What really happened to her in that torture chamber? And how will Nicholas react when maybe she's not quite as dead as he thinks?

While this uses some elements of The Raven (including the dead wife not being so dead), it's otherwise spookier and more eerie. Roger Corman may have been a cheapskate, but he knew his scares. This is genuinely spooky, with Price pitch-perfect as the man driven to madness by childhood trauma and his wife seemingly having come back to life. While this isn't as bloody as some other horror movies of the 60's and 70's, it does have an eerie elegance all its own (and explores an era in history that doesn't come up often in historical fiction). 

Oh, and it started raining somewhere around midnight and has rained off and on ever since.

Ghosts of Autumn Past

Began the day with a quick breakfast and What's New, Scooby Doo? It's a "Block Long Hong Kong Terror" when a dragon from a Chinese New Year's parade attacks Shaggy and Scooby in Hong Kong. Shaggy's more interested in getting his rubber duck fixed and befriends the daughter of the rubber duck's creator, who would rather be an Acrobat with a troop than a toy maker. The dragon stole an expensive candy ring...and for some reason, seems obsessed with chasing Shaggy and Scobby everywhere.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. No trouble getting to Woodbury. The driver going there picked me up in around 8 minutes. I caught the one going home at Goodwill. Surprisingly, they only took 5 minutes, despite it being the start of rush hour. There was a little traffic going there, but nothing that took too long to get around. All the traffic at 3:30 was going in the opposite direction.

Got off at the Colonial Diner for brunch. This elegant black and white striped building is considered to be one of the better diners in South Jersey, complete with bar and modern wooden floors and walls. I had a delicious vegan strawberry and banana-topped French toast. Yum! The four small, thick rounds of multi-grain bread were just enough to eat in one sitting, and it was topped with a ton of fruit.

Made a quick stop a few doors down at the Town Market for Fresca, then strolled to downtown Woodbury. Woodbury is a gorgeous area. Some of the buildings, especially downtown, go back to the 1700's. I passed by a cemetery during my walk with tombstones showing dates going back to the 1760's. They were pretty busy, too, probably due to the beautiful sunny, windy day and the kids being off this weekend.

Ended up at On the Record next. This small record shop is more expensive than most similar stores in South Jersey, but it does have its virtues, one of which is an extensive collection of (somewhat cheaper) CDs and cassettes along with the vinyl. To my delight, I found two more True Value Happy Holidays records for my collection, Volumes 15 and 21. I also picked up a 2-Disc collection of Fred Astaire songs, some of which didn't come from any movie, and two CDs as Christmas presents for Lauren.

Headed right next door to the thrift shop after I finished with the records. I picked up a better hardback copy of A Christmas Carol with Arthur Rackham illustrations for me. I've had my paperback copy since college, and it's dog-eared and falling apart. Found a book on being a big sister for my little niece Aurora who just became one and two CDs for Lauren's parents.

Dashed across the street next to Woodbury Antiques. This is pretty much the local one-story version of the Barrington Antique Center, with more emphasis on genuine antiques. In fact, my best find there was a lovely old vintage teddy bear, a real brown and gold German girl with a frayed pink ribbon around her neck. Her tag says she's a Hermann bear; research reveals that this company still exists in Germany today and is still making bears. One eye is sunken in, probably pushed by her previous owner. Ursula doesn't see very well, but she's still a lovely old bear. I also got a good copy of a book Mom used to read to us as kids for Mom to read to Aurora and Elijah, a cute vintage refrigerator magnet for Lauren, and the double CD set That's What I Call Christmas 3. 

Continued down Broad Street past the Aldi's and out of town. The Goodwill is a ten-minute walk from the downtown area, amid a sea of car dealerships, fast food restaurants, and a large Acme. They were mobbed when I arrived at 3. In fact, all I ended up getting there was a pair of jeans for work. 

After I got home, I put on Something to Sing About. I go further into this independent 1937 musical with James Cagney as a band leader who becomes a reluctant Hollywood star at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Cult Flops - Something to Sing About

Jessa picked me up to go out to dinner at quarter after 6. I enjoyed my lunch at Mission BBQ last Saturday so much, I recommended it to her for dinner. Apparently, she knew it better than I did. There's a slightly older and smaller Mission BBQ in Deptford. I used that free sandwich coupon to get a tasty pulled chicken sandwich. The macaroni and cheese was perfectly thick and cheesy, but the green beans and bacon was way too spicy for me. We chatted about Rose inviting us for Thanksgiving, my trying to get a place, and what it would take for me to secure a loan.

Finished the night after a shower working on my Sing About review and listening to the Busby Berkeley at Warner Bros CD set I picked up during vacation. These are the full, original numbers, complete with dance breaks, from nine Berkeley musicals (and the semi-musical Fashions of 1934). While it is fascinating to hear all of the music, including for songs like "Spin a Little Web of Dreams" from Fashions and "The Lady In Red" from In Caliente that don't turn up that often anymore, I will add that these numbers definitely lose something without those kaleidoscopic Berkeley visuals. Most of them frankly go on for way too long, and a few, like the simpering "Honeymoon Hotel" from Footlight Parade, haven't dated well. This is mainly for major Berkeley and 30's musical enthusiasts like me. 

Night of the Sudden Storms

Began the day with breakfast and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Catra and Scorpia couldn't be happier "Once Upon a Time In the Wastes." Turns out their unique talents are quite suited to dealing with the low-lifes and bounty hunters who make their living in the desert. They even take over a lizard-man's gang. Meanwhile, Adora, Bow, and Glimmer try to make sense of a message left by Mara, the original She-Ra. Catra and Scorpia do manage to capture Adora. They all end up going back to the Fright Zone when they find out that Shadow Weaver is still alive...

I rushed out to work this morning and was still five minutes late. Fortunately, that was the worst thing that happened all day. The Acme was even quieter than it has been lately. We're between holidays, and a lot of people may not have gotten their money yet. I barely had carts to gather. I was in and out with no trouble.

Went straight home and into lunch and The Wild Wild West. "The Night of the Grand Emir" has Jim West and Artemis Gordon protecting a despotic emir of a desert kingdom from an assassin group who wants him out of the way. Dancer and assassin Ecstasy LaJoie (Yvonne Craig) would seem to have the most reason to eliminate the emir, as he threw her out of his country, but another young man (Richard Jaeckel) may be even more dangerous.

I finally admitted to myself that I'm going to be doing a lot of riding at night from now on. I bought two lights for the front and back of my bike along with the lights on my helmet. I got them on quickly, then headed out to the Thomas Sharp School. It was more-or-less the same deal as yesterday, only this time, all of the kids were in the cafeteria/gym. Thank heavens there were, because we had a lot today, almost 30 little guys alone. They were just as antsy, too. New Jersey teachers have their convention tomorrow and Friday, which means the kids will have a long weekend off. 

Once again, it was a relief when we all finally made it outside. I chatted with kids looking for their parents, or just watching the leaves fall. The tree in on their playground grounds and the ones just outside the fence are starting to turn gorgeous shades of gold, lime green, and rust. The kids are fascinated by the leaves! We picked up and admired big ones, ones with the prettiest colors, ones that had seeds attached too. I went down the slides, chatted with little kids taking breaks, and argued with one of the girls who wanted one last ride on the swings and would not get off and go inside.

Went straight into dinner and Match Game '76 when I got in. Donna Mills and George Kennedy finished out their week on the show. Donna must have really liked her "new kid on the block" kiss from Gene. She kept asking for more! Mary Wickes made her first appearance on the show the next week, and she was also pretty happy with her kiss from Gene. Joey Bishop wasn't quite as thrilled when Gene tried kissing him!

After dinner, I started the re-write of The WENN Nutcracker Suite. Most of the prologue remains the same, with a few added details, like the rag doll and stuffed lion are now Betty's favorite old childhood toys instead of random old toys she bought at the five and dime. Let Annie the Rag Dolly (Maple) help out in the mouse fight with a wooden spoon. Mack the Lion (Mackie) still hides. Once again, changed details, like the Nutcracker moves more stiffly and can't speak and has to get a sword that's too small from a soldier, since his was lost years ago. 

Finished the night with The Love Boat. "The Groupies" are a therapy group who follow their psychiatrist (Richard Deacon) on board the Pacific Princess. They keep coming to him with their problems, especially when two of them (Elaine Joyce and Jerry Van Dyke) fall for each other. "Doc's Nephew" (Willie Aames) and Doc compete for the same woman (Michelle Phillips.) An Australian actor (Tristan Rogers) puts on "The Audition" for a tough Broadway and soap director/producer (Susan Lucci) who had once rejected his auditions, then regrets it when he realizes he's actually in love.

Oh, and it had been windy, warm, and off-and-on cloudy all day. Sometime around 9-10 PM, I heard rain coming down. Haven't heard it in a while. I don't think we're supposed to get the big rain until the weekend.

Nothing But the Tooth

Began the day with a very small and quick breakfast and Doc McStuffins. "Doc McStuffins Goes to Washington" when she's called to do a tour of the White House with then-first lady Michelle Obama. Mrs. Obama herself asks Doc to fix a child's toy, but when the toy wanders off, her stuffed animals have to find them while Doc distracts the First Lady. "Winded Winnie" is a toy tiger cub who is supposed to blow up balloons for Doc's brother Donnie's birthday, but after one try, she can't do it. Doc reveals that, while humans with asthma like her brother need doctor's visits to clear the gunk out of their lungs, toys just need to be dusted.

Hurried out when the cartoon ended. I was late getting out to my 11:30 dental appointment. Thankfully, I was only 5 minutes late. It was just a cleaning anyway. It didn't take very long. The technician scraped and cleaned my teeth, then she polished them. I made my next appointment for early January and was on my way in a little over a half-hour.

Celebrated the successful completion of what will very likely be my last health appointment of 2025 with lunch at the Westmont Bagel Shop. They were really busy when I arrived. I'd never seen it so busy in there! Every booth in the front was full, so I settled in the back. Tried their cheese steak omelette, cheese steak beef meat with cheese, peppers, and sauteed onions. Oh yum! A wonderful melding of flavors. It was so filling, I did eat my French toast (cinnamon sugar-dusted) bagel, but couldn't finish the home fries.

Hurried straight home after that. Watched I Go Pogo while getting organized for work. I go further into this obscure stop-motion adaption of Walt Kelly's beloved satirical comic strip from 1980 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Election Day Special - I Go Pogo

Headed off to the Thomas Sharp School a little bit early. Good thing, too. We needed all the help we could get today. The kids were in the library due to the music class running overtime, and they were really antsy. Half of them couldn't or wouldn't sit down. The teacher tried to read a book about hibernation to them, but it was a bit dry, and rather long. None of them really paid attention to it. (One of the kids probably grabbed it randomly off the shelf and asked her to read it without realizing what it was about.)

It was a relief when we all trooped outside. For one thing, the weather was stunning. Cool but not freezing, windy, sunny and bright blue, even as the sun went down. I chatted with the girls, convinced three older boys to race their Hot Wheels on the sidewalk leading to the side door rather than on the slides, and danced with some of the littlest ones. When we did go back inside, I worked on drawings of my ideas for The WENN Nutcracker Suite, specifically Betty's now-moving toys lining up for battle and spoiled Princess Pirlipat attempting to turn Betty into her own living doll.

Finished Pogo when I got home, then went right into Match Game '76. The week with Dick Martin and Fannie Flagg finished out by the end of the night. The last episodes brought in big George Kennedy, lovely Donna Mills, and the truly unique Patti Deustch. Needless to say, Gene was thrilled to give Donna her "new kid on the block" kiss...and Donna seemed pretty happy, too!

Put on You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown when I got out of the shower. The votes are in at Charlie Brown's school. There's no way he'd win, so Linus gets the nomination for student body president. Aside from a botched radio interview show, the campaign actually seems to go pretty well...until Linus gives a speech on his favorite topic, the Great Pumpkin.

Finished the night with two election-themed vintage sitcom episodes. Richie Cunningham learns more about "The Not-Making of the President" than he likely ever wanted in Happy Days to when he falls for a girl campaigning for Adelai Stevenson in 1956. His father, an Eisenhower devotee, is furious that his son could even consider voting Democrat and having his own opinions...until he realizes that the speaker for the Republican side at the Arnold's youth rally is Fonzie.

"The Election" doesn't go so well for the cops on Barney Miller either. They spend their Election Day dealing with a shoplifter who stole underwear from a local department store, a lady who threw a toilet out her window because her husband wouldn't let her vote (Brett Sommers), and a local cop running for public office. The lady has no idea who to vote for, and the cop doesn't prove to be so popular. 

Inventors and Harts

Began the morning with breakfast and What's New, Scooby Doo? "Camp Comeoniwannscareya" almost acts as a throwback to the late 70's-early 80's cartoons that just featured Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy. Shaggy and Scooby are counselors at a summer camp who are mostly pretty popular with their campers...until a green glowing toxic monster starts attacking them. The kids take it on themselves to figure out what's going on, and how it connects to the summer resort their director is planning to build on the site.

Took the laundry downstairs, then spent the next hour and a half or so vacuuming, Switer-ing, and dusting my rooms. Watched Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl on Netflix while I worked. Wallace (Ben Whitehead), a cheerful cheese-loving British inventor, has just invented a garden gnome named Norbot who does all the garden work, to the consternation of his dog Gromit who loves his garden work and wishes Wallace would be less reliant on technology. Turns out Gromit has a point when penguin criminal mastermind Feathers McGraw of the short The Wrong Trousers hacks into his computer and takes over Norbot. Norbot builds a whole army of garden gnomes to steal items from around town that will allow him to escape prison. After the police confiscate Wallace's inventions, the duo look for low-tech ways to pursue this webbed-footed criminal, before he makes off with the Blue Diamond.

As usual, we have a corking good mystery with two of the funniest animated characters from jolly old England. Aardman Animation always manages to do amazing things with these two, especially the silent Gromit (who doesn't even have a mouth). I haven't seen The Wrong Trousers in ages, so I don't really remember what happened with Feathers McGraw to land him in prison, but I do know he's a truly unique and very funny villain with plans that are even more elaborate than Wallace's. We also get some funny bits with an older Inspector (Peter Kay) and his eager new recruit (Lauren Patel), who ardently pursue the duo when they think they'll lead them to the diamond. If you loved the previous Wallace and Gromit adventures or are a fan of British animation, or just want to show your elementary schoolers a really funny mystery, this one is highly recommended.

Switched to Hart to Hart while getting ready for school. "You Made Me Kill You" is one of the most terrifying episodes of the entire series. Johnathan is completely unaware that his kindness to a woman in his accounting department (Kathleen Lloyd) has her completely infatuated with him. She's obsessed with getting rid of Jennifer so she can have him all to herself. She attempts to gas Jennifer at a party, then attacks her in her car. Johnathan has to pursue them, before this insane stalker wrecks any more havoc on his life and Jennifer's.

Hurried out a little early to have lunch at Common Grounds Coffee House on the other side of Oaklyn. They were relatively busy for past 2 PM when I arrived, though I did get a seat near the bench. This time, I had my Pear Spiced Chai warm, along with a slice of vegetable medley quiche and a "morning dew roll" (aka a knotted pastry with cinnamon - not bad). Ate very quickly, as it was almost time for me to go to work.

Though we did color pictures with pumpkins and turkeys and Pokemon when I arrived, we once again spent most of the afternoon outside. I had a nice long chat with several of the girls, including an older one who claimed she was sitting aside because her stomach felt funny (though she seemed fine later when she was running around with the others). We admired the leaves falling from one of the big trees in the playground area, looked for ladybugs, and saw a bug that had made itself resemble the mulch, likely for protection.

After I got home, I finally put the laundry in the drier, then went straight into Match Game '76. I saw the first episode on the Disney marathon yesterday. The remaining episodes brought in Fannie Flagg and Dick Martin. A sweet male contestant accidentally tried to kiss Fannie instead of Brett, who actually gave him the top answer for the Audience Match. He got his wish for Fannie when Richard used her as his "surrogate kisser" after the Head-to-Head.

Went to Shout TV for Mystery Science Theater 3000 after bringing my clean laundry upstairs. Eegah (Richard Kiel) is a caveman who falls for a very pretty young lady (Marilyn Manning), kidnapping her and her father (Arch Hall Sr.) and holding them in the desert. Eegah doesn't really cause any harm until the girl's boyfriend (Arch Hall Jr.) shows up with a gun. Eegah is determined to get his lady love back, even if it involves him wandering around civilization and grabbing her in broad daylight.

This ripe 60's cheese is, for all the bad acting, surprisingly sweet. The relationship between Eegah and Roxy is kind of oddly adorable. Certainly, Kiel is a lot more interesting than the dull, rather unattractive Hall Jr. The robots spend the movie pretty much pointing out the same thing. Not a masterpiece or anything, but worth checking out if you love mid-century horror or "so bad it's fascinating" B-flicks.

Finished up Maplepunzel while the movie was on. The evil is vanquished. Queen Gertie and King Tom (Eldridge) arrive with the restored Hope Springs army and Pruitt, putting him under arrest for treason to the crown. Maple gets her voice back, and Mackie explains about her heritage. Victor and Walter the Bear Cub are kissing her when...Maple awakens in her own bed. Her fever has broken, and she does feel better. She hears Betty and Scott performing on the radio when there's a knock at the door. Victor brought her lunch after his train was delayed. He can't stay, but Maple still hopes there will be something between them someday...

Though it didn't take anywhere near as long as Hilary and the Beasts, it still took longer than I thought it would. I had a lot of distractions, though, including vacation. My next story should take less time...because it's a re-write of The WENN Nutcracker Suite. I was never quite satisfied with how the original comic version from 1999 came out. I'm going to redo it, deepen the stakes and characters, and bring it closer to the original The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A Hoffman. I intend to keep some of the original, including the opening, so hopefully this one shouldn't take quite as long to write. I'm going to try to start it tomorrow or Wednesday. Maplepunzel should be posted at my writer's blog tomorrow. 

Finished the night at YouTube with musical game shows to honor the discovery of previously-lost Musical Chairs episodes last month. This variety-game show made history as the first game show with a black host, singer Adam Wade. Wade and a rotating assortment of guest stars would perform a song for the contestants. The contestants would either guess which lyric came next, or who originally performed the song. Players would be eliminated until the winner went on to the bonus round, where they had to put the lyrics of the song in the right order. 

Though the singers include the Spinners. Alaina Reed, Bobby Rydell, and soap star Mary Stuart, this was probably too complicated to make a dent in a crowded game show market. It ran for four months as an unlikely lead-in to Match Game and was gone by Halloween 1975. Too bad. The game is kind of fun to play along with, and it is great to hear all those singers.

Face the Music from 1980 gets even weirder. Ron Ely leads three of the strangest contestants in game show history in guessing which celebrity a series of songs are relating to. Honestly, the game is strange enough. The oddball contestants are the cherry on top. Here, we get an older lady who is frankly a little too enthusiastic, scaring the young Asian man next to her.

The Pop n' Rocker Game from 1984 is very similar to Musical Chairs, though as you can guess from the title, the focus is more on rock. Jon Bauman got his first hosting job outside of his "Bowser" persona as the host asking rock trivia questions. The Bangels are among those making musical appearances here.

The most famous "guess the song" game show is likely Name That Tune. One of its most successful versions was in the late 70's, when Tom Kennedy helmed the hit syndicated show. Two contestants Dare each other to guess what song is playing in the fewest notes possible. Winner goes on to guessing the Golden Medley, as series of songs going by in rapid fashion. I love every version of this venerable favorite, and this one is no exception. Kennedy had one of his best-known gigs here, and that "Golden Medley" is genuinely exciting.

Sing and play along with some great shows and better music with these tune-filled games!

Musical Chairs (1975)

Musical Chairs (1975)

Musical Chairs Series Finale (1975)

Name That Tune (1977)

Face the Music (1980)

The Pop n' Rocker Game (1984)