Musings & Thoughts for Friday, January 21, 2022, or: Closely Watched Packages – ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ CD Edition

Hi, there. Dear Reader. It’s late morning here in Lithia, Florida, on Friday, January 21, 2022. It is a chilly day here in the west-central part of the state. Currently, the temperature is 71˚F (21˚C) under mostly cloudy skies. With humidity at 77% and the wind blowing from the northeast at 3 MPH (4 KM/H0, the wind-chill factor is 69˚F (21˚C). Today’s forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies and a high of 79˚F (26˚C). Tonight, we can expect partly cloudy skies and a low of 57˚F (14˚C).

For those of you who are following with bated breath the progress of my package with the Fiddler on the Roof – 50^th Anniversary Remastered Edition 3-CD reissued soundtrack album: per the United States Postal Service, La-La Land Records shipped it late Wednesday and as of 8 AM (Pacific) yesterday, it was in the Santa Clarita (California) Distribution Center, being processed. Also according to the U.S. Postal Service, Fiddler on the Roof –50^th Anniversary Remastered Edition is due to arrive on Monday, January 24.

Of course, whether this prediction is true depends on certain variables, including the weather, the time that the package is put on a plane or truck – it’s a 37-hour drive from Santa Clarita to Lithia if the USPS sends it by ground rather than by air. And since it’s not marked as “in transit,” I’m sure that the small mailer envelope is still at the Santa Clarita Distribution Center. Of course, there’s a three-hour difference between the East and West Coasts, so maybe we’ll see an update later this afternoon with the magic words “in transit.”

I was still living in Bogota when Fiddler on the Roof was in wide release in the U.S. in November of 1971, and it was not theatrically released in Colombia (where it would have been called El violinista en el tejado). I learned of its existence – as well as that of its 1964 stage version – much later. I “discovered” Fiddler in 1979 when MGM reissued it in a shorter (149 minutes) cut to commemorate the 15^th anniversary of the original Broadway production – the one that starred Zero Mostel as Teyve the Milkman.

I wanted to go see Fiddler on the Roof when it was screened in Miami 43 years ago, mainly because John Williams had won his first Oscar for adapting Jerry Bock’s music for the movie version, but alas! No one wanted to go with me, and I didn’t know much about the Metrobus routes then, so I didn’t take public transport to a theater to see it on my own. (Sort of like with Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of West Side Story; I am not familiar with Hillsborough County’s HART system, and even if I did, with COVID-19 still raging, I don’t want to get into a bus or theater with unvaccinated or un-masked people.)

I eventually caught Fiddler on the Roof on television sometime when I was in college; I don’t recall if a friend rented it on VHS or if it was shown on Miami’s PBS station (WPBT-Channel 2), but I saw it once on the “boob tube” before I bought the 40^th Anniversary Blu-ray from Amazon in June of 2018.

Since then, of course, I’ve watched Norman Jewison’s 1971 film a few times. This is the 181-minute original theatrical version, not the shorter version from 1979. I don’t have anything against films with longer running times than two hours, but no matter how good a movie is – I’m looking at you, Schindler’s List! – I am usually too tired to watch a longer-than-average one, especially at night, and especially on weekday nights.

So, yes, I’m looking forward to receiving my Fiddler on the Roof – 50^th Anniversary Remastered Edition soundtrack next week. I can listen to the songs – including my favorites (Sunrise, Sunset and Tradition) – without falling asleep in the middle of a three-hour movie.

Let’s see what happens over the next few days. If my package does leave Santa Clarita today, it might get to Lithia by 9 PM on Monday. I hope so, anyway. But this is the U.S. Postal Service we’re talking about, so I am somewhat skeptical that it will be here on that day.  

Well, this brings us to the end of today’s post, so I’ll say Ciao for now, Dear Reader. Remember, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.