Bedtime

Eyes are blurry and I have to get up for work tomorrow morning, but before I shut down, there's this I want to remember...

Somebody else mowed the lawn today.  Actually there were two riding mowers out there, and two guys sharing the trimming and loose-grass blowing duties.  Taking away a chore I dislike is a sure way to get on my good side.

Found a reference to the 1953 Ford 50th anniversary show, and how about that, there's a kinescope on YouTube.  Two hours of big stars, some more long-lasting (Ethel Merman, Mary Martin) than others (Wally Cox, Kukla and Ollie without Fran Allison).  And hey, the show that the New York Times reviewer called "Terrific!" still holds up today.  Forty-five minutes in, and I haven't once felt like forwarding to something else.

Let's see, what else?  The first episode of the new season of Cocaine and Rhinestones, focusing on Starday Records, where George Jones got his start.  I like this history podcast as much as You Must Remember This.

Wally Cox again:  a 1953 Mr. Peepers.  That was one of those shows I knew only after it went off the air, and due to its reputation I've tried watching it more than once, but the Reynolds Aluminum commercials hold my attention more than the show.

The motion-detector light went on once this evening.  Not a cat, not even a raccoon.  For the first time, a fox.  Not very red, though, and I didn't get much of a look at it before it turned tail and ran, so if someone else were to tell me it was actually a coyote, I couldn't swear they were wrong.

Saw a clip from Groucho's Bell Telephone Hour version of The Mikado on YouTube.  That's NBC saying thanks for all those seasons of You Bet Your Life.  Later, found the original videotape of Of Thee I Sing, shown once on CBS in 1972.  That's CBS saying thanks to Carroll O'Connor for All in the Family.

So anyway, I cannot say my current feelings can be described as "languishing."