As The Station Turns 4/26

 Mrs. Late Guy had a thing to do on Sunday afternoon so I went in an hour early. The place was mobbed. I haven't seen it that busy since "the war" and the price increase. Also the wind was blowing so it meant I was going to have a bad day. And I was off. 

I was watching the goings on across the street, some guy had pulled into the pumps wrong so he was trying to turn around and pull in to the diesel pump. There are acres of room over there and you can drive all they way around the building but instead he was trying to pull forwards and back up, with a trailer, back and forth, back and fourth, it took him a good ten minutes to finally get around to where he could finally get to the pump without dragging the trailer across the barriers. And in two minutes he could have pulled around the building. Oh well, I was entertained. 

A woman got a soda, but used a coffee cup. It's no big difference to me, I knew what to charge her, however she couldn't figure out what lid to use. She was trying to use the lids labeled for the soda cups, since she got soda, instead of the ones labeled for the coffee cups, which she was using. I kept telling her to use the right lids, but she got soda so shouldn't she use a soda lid? Then her daughter got involved and I got really frustrated. They finally said, "these are for the coffee cups" and I told her "Yes, you are using a coffee cup". If there had been a point in my life when someone listened to what I said I would be pissed but after all these decades I'm use to it. 

The Homeless Millionaire came in and he was all wired up. He counted through his stuff, said something strange, and left. I saw him ride it bike through oncoming traffic and head across the street. Then he came storming back to the Truck Stop and asked for a pack of cigarettes Being-Sure-To-Put-Emphasis-On-Every-Word. I knew his brand so I was already halfway to getting them while he was still talking. I rang it out, he mumbled something and then stormed out. Later the Late Guy came by and I asked what happened across the street. The Random Woman was ringing up his smokes and he got pissed that it was taking too long. She said if he didn't behave himself she was going to start asking for his ID, which he probably doesn't have. The got into a shouting match and she told him to not come back as he stormed out. He'll have forgotten by the next day and go back, and be nicer. He keeps talking about heading south or even out to L.A. and I won't mind. 

The Last Guy told me the company was gearing up to sell hot foods like hot dogs or nachos. Oh I'm not looking forward to that. I've worked at places that do that stuff before and it's a mess, plus the waste and all the health department regulations. These days you have to pass a food handling class and I can't imagine someone like Stinky being able to do that. This is a disaster waiting to happen. 

For the second time since I moved over to the Truck Stop I've had to change out the soda syrup. What the heck? Can't it run out on someone else's shift? And of course I was busy the whole time. 

A guy with an EV came in looking for a charging port. I told him where the closest one was but he said they didn't fit his car. I though those things would be universal, one design for all cars but I guess they have to make things difficult. Anyhow I gave him directions to another place even though I have no idea what their plugs are like. Also wouldn't they have them listed on Google?

An Earth Wanderer came in, I could barely understand what she was saying, she was an interesting one. She asked if she could fill up her water bottle and I told her sure. She did and then left. So that didn't turn out bad which was nice. Usually when the wind blows the real nut jobs come out but that didn't happen today.

Business slowed down so I figured it was a good time to get something to eat, trail mix by the way since I know better than to try to eat anything hot. Sure enough, a woman came in and was looking around. She was complaining about reducing sodium in her diet and boy did she pick the wrong place to come. She finally left and then another truck driver came in, he was describing everything in the store to someone on the phone. He finally left and I got swarmed. An hour later I went back to eating.

A guy came in looking for DEF at a pump (Diesel Exhaust Fluid). I told him nobody around here had that and he left. I'm sure he didn't believe me. Happy hunting dude. 

I started my end of the shift stuff but two women came in and wandered around the whole store. At one point they got into an argument about the amount of chocolate chips in the various packages of cookies. All I wanted was for them To Leave! Finally they came up to the register so I could ring them out, then they decided the needed something else. ARRRRGGGG! Then the Boss came in and every time I tried to step away from the register he asked me another question. He usually runs in, does his stuff and leaves but today he wanted to hang out. he finally left. 

I bagged up all the restroom trash and was about to carry the bag out to the dumpster and again I got swarmed so I has to set it off to the side. An older guy came in and was waiting for someone to fill up at the pump and naturally he had to hang out right in front of the register. I can't tell you how much I hate that. Go away so I can do stuff or other customers can buy stuff. Some people have zero awareness of the universe. 

Once again the place cleared out so I figured I would do the ice in the soda machines early. I went to the office got out the step ladder, took the lid off the machine and three vehicles pulled up on the lot. I quickly ran back to the office to turn off the light and close the door. Sure enough all the people who came in headed straight back there despite the big sign that say DO NOT ENTER. NO RESTROOM. If I had left the door open they would have gone into the office, wandered around and then figured out the lack of toilets probably meant something. 

Stinky showed up early, thank goodness since I had been at work for 8 1/2 hours. However after buying his cigarettes and a sandwich he stood at the end of the counter staring out into space, while I dealt with a register problem. Finally 10 minutes later he logged on and I was able to close my drawer. Seriously, it's a small town, you should know how long it takes to get from your house to work, if you aren't going to clock in then don't come in I don't understand people.

As I was getting ready to leave I checked my phone and discovered that the Late Guy had tried to call me at 9 in the morning. It was way too late to answer whatever question he had. Plus, he's the manager of the Haunted Station now, he's going to have to figure it out.

Meanwhile Today 4/27

First thing this morning I got a call from the Boss. These days with my screwed up schedule I was going to work on Monday and have Tuesday off. However he wants me to take Monday off and come in on Tuesday. What's up with that? Are they going to shuffle the schedule again?

Anyhow I figured I would go for a walk and dropped by the Haunted Station to see if he knew what was going on. It turns out the Manager at the Truck Stop has to take tomorrow off so Mrs. Late Guy will be covering the afternoon shift today and the morning shift tomorrow. I'll be covering the afternoon shift. Well, that answers that. 

He, the Late Guy, also told me the Part Time Woman is complaining because she doesn't want to be shuffled around from station to station and is talking about quitting. He's encouraging her to do so, I would too. If I have to see her I'm going to bring up how bad things will get once they introduce hot food to the mix. Fingers crossed. 

The Late Guy also told me all the plans he has for the Haunted Station and I said it all sounded good. The problem is that there is limited space and you have to maintain a proper turnover. If you pack too much stuff in you start to have outdated stuff. I wish him the best. 

As The Station Turns 4/25

The day started in a way I hate, the morning shift had hauled all the floor mats outside and hung them on the handicap railing, and of course they aren't going to haul them back in. So I have to do it in between customers. I should mention that I'm working solo these days. Seriously, when you finish cleaning the floor, haul the mats back inside. They even do it on extremely windy days and there have been times I had to chase them down in the parking lot. I didn't miss that when I was across the street at the Haunted Station.

I went outside to check the trash and one can didn't have a bag in it! They pulled the bag, tossed it and didn't replace it. I mean seriously, bring one with you and replace it right away otherwise people are going to start filling it up. Also there were paper towels all over the restroom floors. It's like nobody ever figured out how toss them in the actual trash can, that is right there. Plus they were soaking wet. Someone took a paper towel, drenched it and then threw it on the floor. Why?

The ice cream freezer was empty but the guy showed up and took care of it. However the Manager didn't put the barcode for the new flavor in the register. And of course, every customer who came in wanted that one, not any other kind, just that one. I sold 6 or 7 in the first hour and had to manually enter it each time. When I was across the street at the Haunted Station I could take care of it but over here I'm just a regular peon and hopefully someone took care of it so when I go in on Sunday I won't have to deal with that all day.

A woman came in, and got the ice cream that wasn't priced. I decided to be nice and charge her the retail price rather than the jacked up price the Manager puts them at. But the woman started bitching about the price of gas so she paid the Truck Stop prices. Want me to be nice? Be nice. 

A guy came in and wanted a receipt so I asked him which pump he was on, he said "The one out there" pointing in general. There were four cars on the lot so I printed one for the direction he was pointing to. Later I saw him go out and get in a different car, so he got the wrong receipt. If he calculates his milage off the gallons he's going to be impressed. And, ever since the 1972 gas crisis stations have had numbers on the pumps. That is 54 years. You'd think people would have learned by now, read the pump number before you come inside!

Some guy came in and got coffee and I was sort of watching him. I calculated that he dumped 10 packets of sugar in the cup. If you do the math that comes to 1% sugar in his cup. Hello diabetes. 

I hit a slow spot in the day so I figured I would do a quick check on the walk in cooler. I ran outside to my car, grabbed my jacket and here came the swarm. They hung around for about an hour. The good part was I looked across the street and they were being swarmed too so it wasn't just me. If they would have a second person on shift then I could plan to do a lot of stuff and we'd always be busy. 

So Friday I had dropped by the Haunted Station to see how things were going. Earlier, before I got transferred I had put an order in for styrofoam coolers but there were none in the building, along with several other things I had ordered. On Thursday I had straightened out the coolers at the Truck Stop, they were all just tossed on to one of the coolers. When I went in today I noticed they were all gone and I had a clue as to what happened. Later when the Boss dropped by I asked him if he had taken them and he said yes, there is a fishing tournament going on in a town where they have another station and are selling out, so he took everything here. Why can't that other station plan in advance? But I'm not doing ordering anymore so I don't care. 

I looked out back and there were a couple of people behind the dumpsters. I wondered what they were doing, and I didn't want to know at the same time. They came in the building, but they walked all the way around to the front door. When they left they went out the front door and walked all the way around the building again. Did they not see the back door? I mean it's not hidden. 

The Part Time Woman was working across the street since the Random Woman had a thing on Saturday. I was watching to see what kind of stuff she did during her shift. She took a bag of trash out to the dumpster, and it was perhaps an 1/8th full. The thing was pretty much empty. What a waste of a bag. 

About halfway through the day I got a call from Mrs. Late Guy. It turns out she has to do something on Sunday and so I have to go in an hour early. I don't have any plans and it's an hour of overtime and she let me know well in advance so I don't mind. Plus it's slow so I won't be crazy busy.

When I was at the Haunted Station on Friday I grabbed a bottle of spray cleaner because there is nothing at the Truck Stop. I figured if I left it out it would be gone the next day. So there is a high shelf in the office that is packed with old electronic crap that could be thrown away I got out the ladder and found a space on the top shelf where I could put the bottle, put stuff in front of it and nobody else will see it. Seems like a lot of work just to clean the restroom but there you are. Also I'm still in the habit of working at the Haunted Station so every time I leave the office I check to make sure I have my key, since the office door at the Haunted Station automatically locks behind you. 

Frankie The Cop came by, he's trying to quit smoking but was having a massive craving so he was going to bum one off the Late Guy. I told him everything that had been going on, he wasn't surprised they fired the Doofus. I was going to ask if they were watching for the Doofus to bust him for drunk driving, again but I'm not going to get into that. We chatted about the joys of being in a management position and then he had to go. 

I had to put paper towels in the ladies room but it's a new dispenser that I had never dealt with before. First I had to figure out how to open it, it just has a push down release, then I had to figure out how the towels go in the machine. They feed over the top, under the first roller, back across the second roller and then under another set of rollers to be cut off. Some engineer really really went nuts with that one. 

So I took my hidden bottle of cleaner and did the restrooms. I got them cleaned up nice and all I had left was to dump the trash, and that's when the family with all the small children came in and headed straight to the restroom. They stuck around for an hour, plus the swarm that followed them. When they all left I was glad that I hadn't dumped the trash because now they were full of diapers and piss soaked shorts and a lot of soaking wet paper towels, plus the ones they threw all over the floor. So I got to clean all that up for a second time. btw, I was busy enough in the last hour that I didn't dump the outside trash, the graveyard shift can take care of that. 

Stinky showed up and after he did his shopping, because he knows they are watching him now, he started to slowly count in his drawer. As I was waiting the cops came flying up, stopped in the street in front of the station, got out of their cars and were looking at something, or someone. I could't tell because someone pulling a trailer had parked at first pump and was blocking my view. They didn't stick around long so I never found out what was going on. 

The day before when I left I noticed the Part Time Woman was still across the street even though she can close a little early and leave by 10. I wanted to look again today but someone was blocking the west side exit and I had to pull around to the east side one and it wasn't until I got home that I realized I never looked. But the good news was that I had turned on my outside light so I could see the door knob and the key hole. I forgot the day before and had to dig out my flashlight. 

Kate And Allie 21-25

 Rear Window

This episode premiered on February 11th 1985. The lead in show was Scarecrow and Mrs. King and was followed by Newhart. It ran opposite movies on ABC (Obsessed With A Married Woman) and NBC (Two Fathers' Justice)

Chip's friends are all busy and he's bored and starts to annoy everyone. He starts dumping stuff from the medicine cabinet into the toilet but it foams up and makes a mess so Allie ground him to his room. While looking out the window he sees a man and a woman, later she's laying on the bed and the guy comes out with a knife. Nobody believes he saw a murder and think he's just trying to get attention. The girls come to the room and see what Chip has been looking at, the guy hauls a trunk into the room. Jen comes up with an idea, go across to the apartment, get the address and then call the place to see if the woman is asleep. The girls see the guy bring Chip into the apartment, everyone freaks out. It turns out the guy is a magician and the legs are from his "saw a lady in half" act. Allie tells Chip the story about the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Dated References

Kate and Allie go skating in the park. They use double axle skates instead of in line.

The girls are trying makeup. Chip says he likes makeup and they tell him he isn't suppose to. In the gender neutral modern world they would have gotten a lot of complaints for that one.

Allie pays the girls $2.50 an hour to play with Chip. That was good money for a 14 year old back in the day.

Jen comments that Kate rented Rear Window on cassette. VHS had been around since 1977 so it is funny she'd refer to it as that.

The title and plot refer to the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock thriller movie.

Lovely Rita

This episode ran in its usual time slot. It ran opposite Hollywood Wives on ABC and Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Special on NBC

Kate's father comes by because he can't find her office number, he tells her he is planning on getting married to Rita and wants Kate to meet her. Kate doesn't like Rita, she thinks she is pushy. Kate tells her father the truth and he reconsiders getting married. He gets really depressed and starts to become a burden on the family. Jen has a talk with Kate about accepting the new woman in her father's life. Kate talks with her father and he decides to go through with the marriage. 

Dated Reference

Jen and Emma are studying The Four Food Groups. Today we learn the Food Pyramid.

Kate's father leaves her a number of messages on her answering machine. He hates those new fangled contraptions. 

Disney would buy ABC in 1995 so their specials wouldn't run on NBC in the future.

Kate hates that Rita calls her father Benji, like the dog. The movie series started in 1974

Chip doesn't understand why there is a photo of Kate wearing mouse ears. Micky Mouse ears were still popular in the 80's.

Sons And Lovers

This episode would run in its regular time slot. It ran opposite the movie A Bunny's Tale on ABC and Evergreen on NBC

Ted compliments Allie and her painting and compares it to Cezanne just to bug Kate. Allie gets stuck in the elevator with a student, Steve. He turns out to be a photographer, he says her painting is too rigid, and shows her his portfolio of photographs. He takes her photo and then shows up at the apartment to ask her permission to display her photo at the gallery. Steve cooks dinner for the family. In the dark room he starts to flirt with Allie and then kisses her. Allies runs out and exposes the unprocessed film. After they go see a movie Steve invites Allie to his apartment, At first she rejects him but later agrees, she shows up early and runs into his mother, it's very awkward. After a conversation Allie decides to go home rather that have a fling with Steve.

Dated References

In the park Kate gets her kite stuck in a tree, she does a Charlie Brown imitation. 

A student, Steve, lets Allie use his 35MM camera. Today it would be digital.

Steve looks up Allie's address in the student directory. In the modern world universities don't want to be held liable for stalkers so they don't put out such things anymore.

Steve offers to develop Allie's photos. In the modern world you take them on your digital.

While leaving a movie Allie and Steve pass a poster for Cats. The musical started its Broadway run in 1981.

When Steve asks people at the bus stop if Allie should come back to his apartment a woman asks "Is This Candid Camera?" The classic show started as a radio program in 1947. It had several TV revivals including a special in 1983.

Author Author

This episode ran in its regular time slot. It ran opposite the movies The Gauntlet on ABC and Romance On The Orient Express on NBC

Kate and Allie's old college professor Owen Ives is going to be on a late night talk show. He wrote a book about a professor who is in love with one of his students. They both began to wonder if it's about a real student, if it was one of them. They each read the book and figure that it's about the other one. The professor will be signing autographs and they figure they have to go and find out the truth. Each woman fantasies about being the character in the book. Allie goes to the signing and the professor signs her book "to my inspiration", however he signed all the books to his former students the same. When Allie plans on meeting the professor Kate finally tells her the truth, Allie decides to go meet with him anyhow, and confront him. It turns out the guy is married and wanted to meet Allie to discuss what happened to the students of the 60's. 

Dated Reference

The kids are very excited that Bruce Dalton is going to be on TV, however he's appearing on Midnight Talk. The only way they can watch is to stay up late. Today you'd just catch the repeat on YouTube the next day. (Bruce Dalton is a made up name for the show)

The late night show is having a film about Gerald Ford. Jen says "Didn't he do something?" Ford had been President 9 years earlier. Ted, the plumber, tries to explain who he is to Chip and mentions Spiro Agnew, Chip thinks that is a made up name. Did you google Spiro Agnew?

Allie says she didn't stand in line for an autograph from Art Garfunkel, former duo partner of Paul Simon. 

Dead Cat

This episode ran in its regular time slot. It ran opposite the movie Kicks on ABC and a special The Most Beautiful Girl In The World on NBC

Chip is upset that his dog can't live with them. (Country Dog, episode 15). Kate brings home a kitten to solve the problem, however the kitten is dead. Kate goes back to the pet store but it's closed, now they have to break the news to Chip. Later in the night Chip goes to talk to the dead cat. The pet store refuses to exchange the cat, Kate says she's going to take the owner of the pet shop to court but Allie explains how the bureaucracy works. Kate insists so Allie takes the dead cat to the vet to find out how it died. The vet tells Allie the cat had distemper so Kate plans on going back tomorrow, meanwhile Chip is planning Iggy's funeral. They get caught trying to bury the cat in Central Park and get fined. Kate comes back with a live cat. Chip is still upset that the original kitten is dead and rejects the new cat. Kate points out that Chip has never really learned about death so they both go to talk to him. In the end, everyone is happy, except the dead cat.

Dated References.

Kate and Allie are doing the tourists stops of NYC. Kate suggests they go to the World Trade Center. This was 16 years before the 9/11 attack. 

Another 5 episodes down. And the 1980's were a strange time. 

Kate And Allie 16-20

 Piano Lesson

This episode premiered on December 10th 1984. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Raiders 24-Lions 3) and a movie on NBC (The Sun Also Rises part 2)

Max, Kate's ex husband, is heading to L.A. to peruse his acting career, his birthday present to Emma is his old piano. Emma and Jen have a crush on the piano teacher, Waldo. He invites Emma to his concert until Kate finds out it starts at 11 PM, on a school night, he invites Kate instead and Emma gets mad at her. Walter brings a demo tape to Kate, Emma gets angry again and attacks Kate for stealing her "boyfriend" and sending her father away. Allie tells Kate that she has to start acting her age. Kate and Emma have a mother daughter talk. 

Dated References

Walter, the piano teacher, says his band is cuttitng an album, New Wave, a less harsh version of Punk. Allie asks if he's like Talking Heads, Culture Club and The Clash. She also mentions Jackson Brown, Joe Jackson, Michale Jackson. 

Walter drops off his demo, on cassette.

Allie is looking at Polaroid photos. 

Harley Venton plays Max in this episode. 

John Loeffler plays Walter the piano teacher. He is best known for composing the theme to the Pokemon series and the theme song for Kate And Allie. 

New Years Eve

This episode premiered on  December 31st, 1984 (New Years Eve). It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite movies (Samuel Fuller And The Big Red One) on ABC and (Hard Knox) on NBC.

The girls want to hold a New Years Eve party. Allie says it will give her something to do that night but they don't want her around. Allie starts making suggestions for NYE resolutions, Jen needs to stop biting her nails, Chip needs to stop picking on his sister, Emma needs to practice the piano more (remember that last story from a few sentences up?) and Kate needs to quit smoking (this was the first episode where we see her smoking). Kate tells Allie she needs to give up chocolate. The family puts on a play about the dangers of smoking. Allie smokes a cigarette for Kate and Kate eats chocolate for Allie, Kate is getting second hand smoke which is the same as actually smoking. The women decide to go to Time's Square to watch the ball drop. After going to a slasher movie and a dive pizza place they wind up in the laundry room eating.

Dated References

Allie calls a cloud "X-Rated". The X rating was applied to movies that featured "adult content", strictly audiences over 18 years of age. However the MPAA didn't copyright the rating so porn movies began to advertise themselves as "X Rated" even adding extra X's to sound even dirtier. In the 90's the MPAA changed the rating to NC-17. Today you can watch porn on the internet regardless of the rating system.

When Kate and Allie quiz the girls about their party Emma says "It's like Cagney and Lacey around here" Cagney and Lacey was a show about two female detectives. It ran from 1982 to 1988

Kate and Allie plan to go to a movie, dinner and then to Time's Square to watch the NYE ball drop. In the real world you have to show up by 10 AM for a good spot and to get through security.

The pizza place has a photo of Telly Savalas on the wall. Best known for the police drama Kojak, He passed away in 1994

Ted the plumber is going to Switzerland on NYE instead of on a date with Kate.

This was the last episode of 1984.

Back To School

This episode premiered on January 7th 1985. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite movies on ABC (The Thorn Birds) and NBC (A Reason To Live)

Allie is on her way back to college but she's worried about fitting in. She has to take a hard biology class. She wants to skip school when Chip gets sick but Kate hires a sitter instead. Kate finds out that the professor has been insulting Allie and decides to help her out. Allie gets caught cheating and the professor threatens to get her expelled. She tells the family that she is going to quit school and instead get a part time job. Kate forces her to confess and enjoys the irony, and then convinces Allie to talk to the professor. Allie makes up a story about her ex abandoning her and the children however the professor points out that her nice clothes give away that she's not poor. He tries to dismiss her and she gets mad. The Dean decides to not expel Allie but transfer her to another class, it turns out the Dean is a divorced woman who went through all the stuff Allie had claimed she had been through. 

Dated References

Allie has a choice between three notebooks, Snoopy, Michael Jackson or plain. Most college kids take notes on their laptops in the modern world.

The kids get Allie an Everly Brothers pencil box. After breaking up in 1973 the brothers had gotten back together in 1983 to do a classic tour.

Allies says her hard professor wanted to be John Houseman. The actor was best known for playing the tough law professor in the movie The Paper Chase.

Chip is wearing Battle Of The Planets pajamas. It is a Japanese Anime series that began broadcasting in America in 1979. 

Kate points out that it's 2 o'clock in the morning and even Johnny Carson is asleep. For those who don't know who that is he was the second host of The Tonight Show. He retired in 1992.

Charles Marries Claire

This episode premiered on January 14th, 1985. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite movies (The Hearst And Davies Affair) on ABC and (The Execution) on NBC

Clair and Charles have broken up. He compliments Allie on getting her life together and brings her a skeleton to help her study biology. She invites him to dinner at the apartment and then he invites her to go to dinner with him and the kids. Tom the Plumber comes by to build a puzzle with Kate and Emma. Allie goes out for a drink with Charles after dinner, Chip hopes they are getting back together. Allie and Charles get a room at a hotel. Kate isn't happy that Allie flunked her anatomy test, she's falling back into her old habits of being a housewife while Charles enjoys the attention, but he hasn't made a decision about Clair yet. Charles tells Kate that he had a long discussion with Clair, they decide to get married, Kate gets mad at Charles and tells him that Allie has to dump him so she won't be upset. Kate tells Allie that Charles has to be away from him in order to get his life in order. Later Charles calls Allie and tells her he's getting married. 

Dated References

The sandwiches at the deli: Bob Newhart, Rodney Dangerfield, Joey Bishop, no Mr T.

Charles is watching reruns on TV. Today we call that streaming. Like what I'm doing right now.

Allie says her mental state is like someone lifted a "bell jar" off her. This is a reference to the Sylvia Plath novel The Bell Jar.

If She Goes, I Go

This episode premiered on February 4th, 1985. It ran between Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Newhart. It ran opposite a movie on ABC (Consenting Adults) and Dirty Dozen: The Series on NBC

Kate's boss jokingly offers Emma a job, however Kate is trying to hide it from Allie so they aren't together at work all day and then at home every night. Emma tells Jen about the job who then tells Allie, who goes in and applies. Allie screws up several reservations by mixing up the airline codes with the airport codes. The boss wants to fire Allie and Kate threatens to quits in protest. Allie says it was all her fault and will leave voluntarily and Kate should keep her job. Allie gets upset since Kate keeps telling everyone how she said the boss shouldn't get mad at a trainee who didn't know how to do the job, the two have a fight and they stop talking to each other. The girls come up with a plot, Chip has been playing with handcuffs all week, they get him to handcuff the two women together. Chip handcuffs them through the kitchen cart, Allie tries to crawl through but gets stuck. Allie says she's sick of always getting saved by Kate.The show ends without showing how the got out of the cuffs or the cart.  

Dated References

Kate has a Rolodex on her desk. This was a carrousel of cards that would contain the names and numbers of people you routinely dealt with and needed to look up quickly. Today you just scroll through your phone. 

The computer had a dot matrix printer with the sprocket feed.

Ted the Plumber comes by to watch Casablanca on TV. In the modern world you can watch it whenever you want. Although VCRs were available the were between $400 to $600 each and to buy a movie would cost $60 per tape. 

Five more down. I probably should have looked up how many episodes there were before I started this. 

Kate And Allie 11-15

Candidate

This episode premiered on November 5th, 1984. The lead in show was Scarecrow and Mrs. King and was followed by Newhart. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Redskins 27-Falcons 14) and a movie on NBC (Airplane)

Allie loses her wallet, two minutes after she cancels her credit cards someone shows up with it. The woman who returns the wallet invites Kate and Allie to come down to a campaign office where she works. Allie visits and gets drafted into stuffing envelopes and then falls for the candidate, they end up kissing. The next day Allie meets the candidates wife and quits the campaign. The candidate wins the election. 

Dated References

Allie loses her wallet and has to cancel her cards. Today you could just block them and if they turned up in 24 hours you could reactivate them

Allie has a Gimbels card. The store officially closed in 1987.

When Allie tries to uncancel her credit cards Kate says "This should be on That's Incredible". This was a TV show that ran from 1980 to 1984.

The campaign office has a bank of pay phones.

And on a side note, the name of the Washington DC team has been changed to the Commanders.

Kate And The Plumber

This episode premiered on November 12th, 1984. It ran in its usual time slot. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Seahawks 17-Raiders 14) and a movie on NBC (Victims For Victims-The Theresa Saldana Story)

Kate breaks the faucet and Allie hires Ted the plumber, he has arachnophobia so Kate has to hang out with hi while he works on the water heater. After chatting Ted asks Kate out on a date but she turns him down. The next day the handle on the kitchen faucet falls off and Ted just happens to be in the neighborhood. Kate agrees to go out on a date, he takes her to an avant-garde play. The two have a fight over how they perceive each other, Kate walks out of the play. Ted follows her home and insists she go to dinner. They have a fight at the restaurant but end up making out in the living room. Kate goes with Ted on an uptown emergency, she doesn't get back until 6:45 the next morning.

Dated References

Kate complains that a payphone costs a quarter. Today you'd be hard pressed to find a payphone. 

Kate complains about all the new phone companies. In 1982 AT&T agreed to avoid a federal lawsuit and break up their company into what became known as the Baby Bells. As a result other companies began offering phone services. 

The family plays Trivia Pursuit. The game was released into the U.S. market in 1983 and became beloved and hated by people all over America.

Ted has a beeper for emergencies. 

Ted charges them $42.50 for fixing their sink and adjusting the pressure. Today it would cost you $45 for a plumber to walk through your door.

When Kate spends the night with Ted Allie gets a shocked look while Kate has a "winky winky" look. Nobody actually says anything but we know what they were doing all night. 

Gregory Salata plays Ted Partelo, the plumber. He'll become a regular on the show.

The Safe Caper

This episode premiered on November 19, 1984. It ran in its usual time slot. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Saints 27-Steelers 24) and a movie on NBC (Fatal Vision)

While trying to hang a painting Allie finds a safe behind the plaster. Kate calls Ted, the plumber from the previous episode, to come over and drill out the lock. They find an old letter, a guy was breaking up with the recipient of the letter because he lost all his money in the stock market crash of 1929, but he never mailed it. Kate decides to track the woman down based on the address on the letter. It turns out the woman had gotten engaged and was going to break it off with the guy. Kate tracks down the guy who wrote the letter, he's living in a nursing home in Brooklyn. They schedule a meeting but he decides that he doesn't want to see her because she planned on dumping him. Kate convinces him to come to the apartment, the couple decide to go and talk. They don't hit it off and decided to go their separate ways, they both ask Kate and Allie to talk to the other person for them. 

Dated References

The letter in the safe has a 02¢ stamp from 1929. Today a stamp costs 78¢

Allie mentions that love stories only happen on The Late Show. Those were movies that would run after the late news. Today you can stream movies any time you want. The Late Show With David Letterman would premier in 1993.

The couple in the letter were going to meet at the Biltmore Hotel in 1929. It closed in 1981 and was torn down. 

Using the name and address on the letter Kate looks up the woman's number in the phone book but it turns out to be her brother. He gives them the woman's current phone number. Do they even print phone books in the modern world? Who in the modern world would give out someone's phone number to a complete stranger?

The classic Hollywood actors mentioned in this episode: June Allyson, Irene Dunne, Greer Garson, Dorothy McGuire, Mary Pickford and Douglass Fairbanks senior. 

The classic films: Waterloo Bridge and An Affair To Remember 

Pirates

This episode premiered on November 26, 1984. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Dolphins 28-Jets 17) and a movie on NBC (Rearview Mirror)

Jen is up for the lead in the school production of Pirates Of Penzance, however so is Emma. Emma is a better actor but Jen is a great singer. Neither of the girls can dance. Jen gets the part and the girls get into a "girl" fighting. Kate and Allie sleep in the girl's bunk beds so the girls can sleep in separate rooms. The two girls talk and they sound just like their mothers. In the end Jen plays the lead and Emma is an extra.

Dated References

Jen says she up for the Linda Ronstadt part in Pirates. The movie version came out in 1983

Country Dog

This episode premiered on December 3, 1984. It ran opposite Monday Night Football on ABC (Chargers 20-Bears 7) and a movie on NBC (Children In The Crossfire)

Wednesday is Chip's birthday, but it's also Charles night with him, Clair is planning a party. Charles agrees to swap out and see Chip on Tuesday. Charles takes the kids to the circus for Chip's birthday and has a clown greet them at the door. Charles sends Chip a computer for his birthday so Allie gets Chip a dog. The dog use to live in the country and wants to go out for the night. All the neighbors start complaining about the dog barking too much. Allie tells Chip that she's going to have to give the dog away to a farm. Allie gets mad at Charles, he says he has to buy expensive gifts to make up for not being there so Allie suggest he spend more time with the kids. Charles volunteers to keep the dog at his place. The dog is going upstate to live on a farm, hmmmm.

Dated References

The home computer costs $1500. A top of the line computer in the modern world costs $1200.

Chip is happy that his new computer comes with floppy discs. 

There weren't a lot of references to things specifically in the 80's in these episodes. I hope that changes in the next five.

The Lottery Experiment, March

 Week 11

This week's Sunday temptation was the game #666, I kid you not, that is the official game number. I was doing a count to see if I needed to order more tickets and I realized the game is down to its last 13 tickets and the game is in slot #13. This was the universe telling me the ticket was evil but probably a winner. However, I'm trying to stick to the rules so I didn't buy it. By the way, later in the week a regular bought the ticket but he didn't come back in so I'm guessing that he didn't win. Saved $5.

Someone won the Powerball so I don’t have to buy one for at least three months.

A guy came in and wanted to buy 6 lottery tickets, however the first ticket in the display was jammed, it was not coming out. I went and got the key for the rack and opened it up, somehow the ticket was folded back in on itself and really stuck in the feed wheels. I got out the 6 tickets behind the jammed one and then worked it out. It was in bad shape and nobody was going to buy it. I figured what the heck and got $5 out of the Alternate Funds to pay for it. The jackpot is $200 and I won...$5, so basically it was a push. I decided to put the money back in the Alternate Funds to save for another future purchase. I guess that worked out in the end.

So I was asking myself the usual question, since I already bought a ticket this week should I still buy a Saturday ticket? On the one hand the mid week ticket was a push, I won back what I spent, but on the other hand I generally only win once a week so if I buy a second one I'd probably lose. Turns out the Fates intervened and there was a problem at the station, the place is closed for the weekend I have Saturday off, I don't have access to the tickets. I could go to another retailer but I'd have to scratch off the whole ticket to see if I was a winner and if so I'd have to cash it in at that station. In the end I accepted this week's win and didn't buy a Saturday ticket. 

Week 12

Someone hit both the Powerball and the Mega Millions so I won't have to worry about those for a long time.

Work has been a disaster lately, first the tanks got shut down because the accountant forgot to file important paperwork about the last inspection. So we can't accept a load of fuel until they pass a new inspection, and it's a pain to get a certified inspector to show up. While we were shut down they moved me to a different station that doesn't sell lottery, I started to wonder if I was going to miss this week's ticket, or would I have to go somewhere else and then cash it out there. But then a relay between the register and the pumps locked up and they need to get a technician to come check it out, so the boss moved me back to my station even though I can't sell fuel. So after all that I worked on Saturday morning and was able to buy a ticket for this week. 

On Saturday I had $9.60 in the Tip Jar. There are three tickets I haven't bought yet, one $10 ticket and two $5 tickets.Two weeks ago I planned on buying a $5 ticket so I figured I would get it. It has a potential jackpot of $10,000, which would be nice. And, I actually Won...$5. So, for the second week in a row it's a push, I got back the same amount I spent. I haven't lost anything but I haven't come out ahead either. Well, next week I'll have a choice between a $5 ticket and a $10 ticket. Work is slow so unless someone loses 40¢ I'm probably have to dip into the Alternate Funds.

Week 13

It's Temptation Sunday, when I start thinking "these numbers are good, I should buy a ticket" or "the calendar date lines up perfectly for a Powerball ticket, after all it's just for fun" and then I violate my rules and end up in the negative. Today things were different, a guy came in and started buying tickets, he won some, he lost some. He wanted to tip me a $5 ticket, I would have preferred the cash but I wasn't going to be rude to him and took the ticket. It was one I was planning on buying in the future so I could check it off my list. It has a potential jackpot of $5000 so I waited until the guy left before I checked it, so he wouldn't get mad if I won big. It turned out to be a winner, $10. However this created a new problem, how did I count this in my overall totals. I didn't buy the ticket, it was a tip. I don't have to add the $5 into the amount I spent but do I include the cost of the ticket into my earnings? I decided that I would treat it the same as a found ticket. I'm marking down that I got a tip ticket but not into my earnings, and the $10 into the win column.

Also on Sunday one of the games was down to the last ticket and as soon as it was gone I could put out a new pack. I was tempted to buy it, especially since I was $10 up today, but sticking to the rules has been good to me this month and I don't want to mess with it, so I didn't. A customer came in and bought the ticket and it was a winner, $10. It would have been another push so in the end it was all even. And I still have Saturday's ticket to look forward to.

Crap, I came up with a good idea, I'm doing a collage out of old lottery tickets. I've been saving and chopping them up and will be gluing them down to form an image. The problem is I need more blue, and the only blue tickets are the cheap ones that people don't buy. I want to start on the project this week and so I decided I was going to do something, buy some blue tickets, I went ahead and bought 10 one dollar tickets which should be enough for what I want to do. The game has a potential jackpot of $900 so I checked them, I won a dollar on one and a free ticket. I got another of the same game and didn't win so I have 11 blue tickets for my project. This would have been good enough but there is another ticket with a lighter shade of blue that will really mix well. It's a two dollar ticket so I went ahead and bought 5 of them, they are twice as big as the $1 ticket so that will work out. The jackpot is $2100 but when I checked them and all I got was $2 back. In the end I spent $20 on tickets, got $3 back and one free ticket. I printed off a receipt in case I sell the collage and I can write the $20 off on my taxes as an expense. Now I have to cut them up and start laying everything out. Also since this is outside of the regular game I decided to take the money out of the Alternate Fund and keep track of the costs separately. You never know, they may put out another ticket that has a perfect color and I'll have to buy it too. 

This week I didn't have to buy a ticket. Heck I don't have to buy tickets for the next four months. But, I've decided to keep my other project separate from my lottery experiment. I'm still going to count the wins and the losses but if I somehow turn a profit off the other project I'll roll the lost money back into the Alternate Funds and count it towards my wins, since it would be lottery based money. So this week I bought the last ticket I needed to complete the "buy one of every ticket" thing. That means next week I can buy a dollar ticket and stop spending so much money. There was only $7.57 in the Tip Jar and it is a $10 ticket so I dipped into the Alternate Funds for the extra $2.43. The ticket has a potential payout of $500, it doesn't seem like much but the odds are 1 in 7 as compared to most tickets, the odds are generally around 1 in 200,000. The ticket wasn't a winner by the way but I do like the color, it will work well in my project. OK, back to normal next week.

Week 14

We have a new lottery machine. When I set it up it wouldn't go on line. I spent an an hour messing with it but nothing. Then the boss called, he needed me to go work at another location so he told me to lock,  I figured I would put it off until the next day. The woman who works the afternoons came in and opened the place. When I came in the next morning the machine was up and running. I thought it would be fun to buy the first ever ticket issued by the new machine but the system probably had come on line and she sold the first tickets during the night. However it turns out that it still wasn't working when she left, it was a state wide problem with the main system. This meant that I could still buy the first ticket, but which game. I shouldn't have done it but I decided to buy the $10 combo which includes the Powerball, MegaMillions, LottoAmerica and the Roadrunner, the state game. There was a grand total of 38¢ in the Tip Jar so the money came out of the Alternate Funds. I swore I was going to stick to the rules this time around and now I've violated them three times in two weeks. Well, maybe next week.

Powerball- no, Roadrunner-no, Lotto America-no, MegaMillions-no.

Despite wasting money on this week's draw games I went ahead with my usual weekly scratch ticket. I had a grand total of 97¢ in the Tip Jar so I took 03¢ out of the Alternate funds and bought a dollar scratcher, I picked it because I like the color and it will work well in my side project. The jackpot is $500 and I could use that money. I lost. Oh well, it's a really nice shade of purple.

Then a series of off things happened, first I found a twenty dollar bill by the pumps. The Tip Jar went from zero to $20 just like that. Then someone prepaid but they drove off without coming in to get their change. I now had $24.12 to buy tickets with. A problem came up, we got a new lottery machine, and they've been working through the bugs and things have been a mess. Well someone bought the last ticket out of a pack so I had to put out a new one. When I start a new pack I have to authorize it by scanning the bar code on the machine, but when I did it today it said the pack was already authorized, that ain't right. So, to make sure things were done right I had no choice but to buy a ticket. It was a $5 game with a potential jackpot of $10,000. The machine worked and, I Won! $5, it was a push. What a strange day.

And so ended March. I swore I wasn't going to break the rules and then did it multiple times. I need to dedicated myself to my side project so I can at least justify my extra purchases. We'll see what happens next month. 

My March Total

I spent $62 on scratch tickets.

$14 on Powerball tickets.

Won $69

Found a ticket good for a free $2 ticket

Was tipped a $5 ticket.

No cash lottery related tips.

I entered 15 Second Chance tickets on line

At the end of the month I am down $6 in the regular lottery experiment. 

I also have $180.00 in the Alternate Fund

The Art Project

I spent $20 on tickets.

I got one free ticket

I won $3

I'm down $17 but it's for art so....

So overall I'm down a total of $23 thanks to art.