the hills are alive!

"Beg pardon, do you mean the horror film?"

I think you refer to the 1997 "The Hills Have Eyes", right? But, no that is not hardly what I mean. I don't do those kinds of movies. I do, however, adore musicals - yes, even creepy ones like "Spider Baby, The Musical"! (Thanks, Jim Reed and PFS!)

"Is that what you saw recently?"

Lord, no. That's been years ago.
(smile)
I'm talkin' 'bout much more recently! Yesterday, in fact. That's when I had two musicals, including one with my first niece. Two musicals in one day! Plus, a slumber party with my dearest Christina at my house!! So of course I woke up with a song from a long-time favorite, "The Sound Of Music", on my mind!

"Was that one of the ones you saw yesterday?"

Oh, no, my dear, but you're on the right track. That particular musical was full of history. And, surprisingly, there was a lot of unexpected 1933 history in "Annie".

"Surely you jest. There was a history lesson in the musical about the little orphan girl?"

Yes, there was a history lesson, concerning President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and former President Herbert Hoover, and the start of the New Deal to put Americans to work building the highways and bridges and dams still in use today. Remarkably, there were even songs about the New Deal and about the folks left out of Hoover's promise of "a chicken in every pot".
And please don't call me Shirley.
Hahahaha hahaha!

"Yes, dear. Hahahaha hahaha!"

Oh, one more thing that folks tend to be confused about. Annie believed for all her life - all eleven years of it, as of 1933 - that her parents were alive and would be returning for her. After all, she had a note that had been left with her when her folks deposited her at the orphanage. So, she wasn't really an orphan, at least to her knowledge.

"Unlike the other kids left there?"

Yes, that's right, unlike them, and unlike me, too, since 2009. Oh, and here's a fun fact: she was born in 1922, same as my stepdad.

"Okay, I can see how you would glom onto that."

You betcha! She had a lot of spunk, too, just like he did. And even when she found out her parents had died years ago and would never return for her, she still kept her spirits up.

"I'm sure it helped that she had 'Daddy' Warbucks there to immediately adopt her."

No doubt! What a wonderful Christmas gift for her!

"One more thing to clarify, dear. You had mentioned that there were two musicals yesterday, correct?"

Indeed there were and correct you are! I had seen "Mary Poppins Returns" one more time, in early afternoon. It was on my mind because it had been in a crossword puzzle.

"You mean the earlier movie?"

No, not that, and not the earlier play, either. I mean this new movie.

"That was in a recent crossword puzzle."

It was! Connect Savannah had it, in an issue from two weeks ago. The Matt Jones' puzzle was titled "Late To The Movie - What Did I Miss?" and featured truncated titles of four 2018 movies.

"That sounds like great fun! What were the movies?"

Well, let's take a look at the clues, okay? The first one was "2018 movie about Cathy being startled by a big cat?" That turned out to be the easiest for me, as I know the old comic, especially since Sheldon has reminded me about "Cathy" a time or two.

"Yeah, I remember one time, he brought ice cream to Penny because he read that Cathy ate ice cream when she was sad..."

Yes, dear. Back to the puzzle clue, shall we? Okay! So I knew the chick always said "Ack" and I solved all the clues around it to get "anther". Putting it all together, the answer was "Ack Panther", missing the first two letters of the actual movie title.

"Oh, how clever that is!"

Yes, that's one of the reasons I usually love his puzzles. The second movie clue asked "2018 movie about bowling lanes?" and was a bit 'arder to figure out.

"It was a bit what?"

Sorry, that was me trying to affect a Cockney accent, love. You see, the answer was "Pins Returns", meaning, of course, that the bloke had missed a right good deal of the new one about Mary Poppins and those Banks children, don'tcha know?

"Hahahaha! Quite fun, that! Hahahaha!"

Thankyouverymuch. LOL! The third movie clue concerned a film I somehow managed to miss. The clue was obscure, too. "2018 movie about a cinematic alien's voice?" Say what? But after I had the letters "uldtalk", I could solve for the answer: "etcouldtalk". Get it? "Phone home."

"Sweet! So, the movie was "If Beale Street Could Talk". That clue, though, makes you wonder how old Matt Jones is, doesn't it? That alien movie came out in 1982!"

Yeah, I've wondered about his age a time or two. I don't think he's our age, but most likely in his forties, like the bfe. Speaking of him, that final movie clue was for a film he and I saw together this summer! I had to text him immediately to let him know that science fiction movie was in the crossword!

"Oh, do tell! I love that genre!"

So do I! The clue was "2018 movie about an annoying Irishman?" That last word really threw me for a loop! But I guess you're supposed to think "top o' the morning to you" to understand the joke.

"Well, since you mentioned the physicist, I guessed the movie was "Sorry To Bother You". Am I right?"

Yes, you are! Good guess, but then again, he and I haven't seen but that one science fiction movie. The puzzle answer was "obotheryou", which implies that much of the movie was missed by the latecomer.

"I'll say! That first movie clue was the only one just missing two letters from the title. The other three films were missing more than five letters!"

Yeah, it really makes you wonder why someone would go if they were going to be so late.

"Well, maybe they just wanted to hear the Slaughter race song again or the lamplighters doing their 'kick and prance' tune..."

Guilty as charged! (smile)

"Hey, as long as you're there on that A*List thing, then why not?"

That's right, my dearie! Up to three movies a week, with nary a penny more to pay!

"Well worth that $19.95 every month, even if you only see one movie a week."

Sure, but I'd rather maximize the return on my investment. Three films each week is what I strive to achieve, though I sure have been falling short of late. I think I'll make it this week, though.

"As long as there's a musical, you'll make it, I'm sure."

Yes, I believe that is true! And guess what?

"What?"

A new musical is coming out this month, right in time for Valentine's Day! At least, "Isn't It Romantic" looks to be a musical... oh, I do so hope it will be!

"Oh, yes, the new Rebel Wilson movie! I loved her in that trio of "Pitch Perfect" films! Wait a minute... those had singing and dancing numbers, so that makes them musicals, too!"

I guess you're right! I hadn't thought of them that way, but the actors are doing both singing and dancing, sometimes just for the heck of it. So, yeah, that's a musical, alright!

"As Lynyrd Skynyrd says, You got that right!"

Okay, dear, it may be time to wrap this up. But the time reminds me of an odometer reading...

"Oh, yes, from your return home after seeing "Mary Poppins Returns" and finally going to the grocery store..."

... and before joining my niece for dinner at Zoe's Kitchen and "Annie" at the Savannah Children's Theatre. Yep, I feel sure that was Mama's touch there, giving me that 204402 as confirmation that I was right place, right time.

"Right place, right time."

i thank You, God.