wildlife refuges and misfit toys

"Those two things don't seem to go together."

 

Just hang on there! I've not even started talking and you're already making remarks. Can you just chill for a second?

 

"Can do! Carry on!"

 

Thank you.

Tonight, One Hundred Miles had its first event in Savannah since June. Wait, I take that back.

This was their first lecture here at this local office since April. There have been two early morning events - hikes - but I didn't make it to those, of course.

 

"Of course. being somewhere at 8 AM is not your jam."

 

Correct.

So, I'd been awaiting this Naturalist 101 lecture for months. 

Other options came up for my time tonight, like another meeting at Two Firsts and a choral concert at Savannah Country Day, but I stayed true to OHM. 

So many choices at this festive time of year!

 

"For sure! You had several choices for yesterday, too, but you opted for the family gathering for Annaleigh's birth instead. Very good decision!"

 

Thank you... I'm so glad I was there for that! 

If Christina had not called when she did, I would have been downtown for opera, as I have been in the past. Though that would have been nice, being at the hospital for a one-time event was most def the right choice. 

I still have no clone, you know. 

Perhaps I can get one from Santa!

 

"Hahahaha! Yes, dear. Your Polar Express seems to have jumped the track. Now, what was this lecture about?" 

Oh, yes, the science event!

Titled "Our Coastal Refuges", I was expecting Matthew Emmer to give an inspiring speech to encourage us to go out and enjoy the seven wildlife refuges we have at hand.

Well, maybe not right at hand, but all within a 100-mile radius.

See what I did there? Worked in a reference to OHM?

 

"Yes, my girl, I caught that."

 

Good!

He did talk of all the different refuges that are part of the Savannah Coastal Refuges umbrella. I had not realized that included the Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge, Blackbeard Island, an area of Tybee Island, or Wolf Island. I did already know of the Savannah Natural Wildlife Refuge, located in South Carolina, as I have been there. I also knew about Wassau Island, though that is only accessible by boat. Pinckney Island is another with limited access, and that's down to once a week. That may become even more limited, thanks to the current POTUS. The budget cuts imposed by the White House this year have left only 200 employees to manage 573 wildlife refuges throughout the United States.

 

"Oh, no. Well, that just means unmanned visitor centers, right?"

 

Not just that, my dear.

It also means a lack of protection for the flora and fauna of those many refuges. Without people there to monitor the lands, invasive species can move in and take over, eradicating the existence of the natural species. Think of kudzu and how prevalent it is. Now, imagine our marshlands overrun with Chinese species of grasses transported unwittingly on ship exteriors. That's the future if the situation doesn't improve.

 

'Yikes! I'm sure the POTUS doesn't have a clue, blind as he is about science. I doubt he cares, either, as he has a limited shelf-life remaining on this planet."

 

Sad, but true about the 79-year-old man.

 

"Well, I hope the whole lecture wasn't a downer."

 

No, it wasn't, but I was glad to have chosen to watch it on fb instead of IRL. That meant that afterwards I was free to watch "Georgie & Mandy" and "Ghosts", both of which were very good! Then I caught Jimmy Fallon's "Christmas Seasonings" special and enjoyed his brand of zaniness and all his musical guests, like the Jonas Brothers and the Rockettes. Very entertaining!

 

"Most excellent! Good to get your spirits back up!"

 

Then I chose to watch "Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune", mostly because it had Taye Diggs as a contestant. I've felt much closer to him ever since he was part of "The Real Full Monty", that TV special Anthony Anderson put together last year. Him and Ethan Hawke especially impressed me with that fundraiser for prostate cancer awareness.

I also recognized Sebastian Maniscalco. Did you know he and Ryan Seacrest are both 51 years old? That means they're within a year in age of the physicist!

 

"Yes, he was 52 last month."

 

Correct!

I don't usually tune in for "CWOF", but I'm glad I did this time.

As they were guessing the puzzles to determine who would go first for the last round, "On The Map" was the category.

Taye Diggs got every one of them, including the third, one that's close to my heart: The Island Of Misfit Toys.

Right place, right time.

(smile!) 

 

"Most definitely. (smile!)"

you are the sunshine of my life...

Dearest Mama,

Happy 88th birthday!!!

That Stevie Wonder song naturally sprang to mind, only partly because of the change in the weather.

Today has been the first with sunshine in five days!

I'm so glad the Universe brought this light for your special day!

I wore your Christmas tree pin today, too.

The occasion warranted me to dress a little nicer than I usually do, you know?

This shawl-necked sweater was certainly a step up from my older v-necks, but it needed something more.

This pin, which has been up by your photo in the living room since last Christmas, was perfect.

Glad it was close at hand!

(smile!) 

After all, I was off to meet the first niece when I left home.

She and her two girls had called to say they were coming to town: Chelsea was having her baby!!!

Annaleigh Pippin arrived just before 1:30 PM, weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds, 13 ounces!!!

She was also almost 21 inches long.

I took Miyah to meet her around 4 PM and I think the littlest girl was expecting her to be the size of a doll.

Nope, Annaleigh is about twice that size!

I'm so glad she'll be sharing your birth date.

This was also the birth date of Christina's maternal grandpa, David, who would have been 87 today.

She's fortunate to share her birth date with you and him!

I'm grateful to Christina for calling me to be there.

As I told her, Melinda and Matt, Venita, and Dillon's parents and grandma, we are blessed to have been reunited at Candler Hospital for this joyful occasion!

with much love always!

so many choices... but i chose asbury

I wanted to try out a new venue for me...

Johnson High School, once attended by my niece Emily and nephew Jason...

as it had a 5:30 PM event that was holiday-themed and promised music...

billed as a "Winter Spectacular"!!!

There was also another new venue for me...

Hesse Elementary School, once attended by my nephew Damon...

as it had a 6 PM event which promised several stories in one show...

billed as "Folk Tales"!!!

Then the date for the annual meeting for the members of Asbury Memorial and Wesley Oak had been announced at the beginning of December.

No time had been announced, just the date.

That would again be on Tina Tuesday, a day I reserve for fun.

I hoped the meeting by ZOOM would either be early enough for one of the other events, or late enough to not interfere with either.

Instead, the time was set at 6:30 PM.

That meant both of the new events at the new venues were out.

As a member, my choice would have to be with the church. 

As it was, I was a little late to the ZOOM.

The link sent yesterday had not worked, so I had to check my email to see if a new one had been sent today; yes, of course, there was a late change.

Still, I was there, as can be seen here.

I'm in the top row, second from the left, right next to Rev. Billy.

I was right in time for the report on 'Property', that spoke of the deal the church got on the solar panels installed on the roof.

It also mentioned the need for work on the windows that face Henry Street.

No one mentioned the elevator that had been on last year's agenda.

As the meeting was drawing to a close, I brought up the topic; that led to a lively discussion with Roy Hill of the Finances committee and Tim Steinhauser, with the upshot being that the reason driving its need had been - movement of theatrical props and set pieces from the second floor - had been resolved.

That was because the cost had doubled for the elevator to be retro-fitted to this historic old building.

Good to know!

I also found out the church finances have been bolstered, both by Miss Virginia Holliday's gift ($190 K) and judicious investing of $500 K with Charles Schwab.

Good to know that, too!

All the staff received nice raises and we have a new assistant minister position which is costing about $50,000. 

In fact, the majority of the church's expenses seem to be payroll.

I had not realized that before.

Apparently, it was good that I was there, along with 57 others.

Right place, right time.

i thank You, God.  

back to back winner at msg!

Nope, that wasn't me scoring at Music Bingo - it was Sandy!!!

She won the last game last week, then the first game this week!

That netted her fifty bucks credit for her dinner tonight at Midtown Sports Grill, plus a free cocktail.

She celebrated that new win at once with a Bay Breeze!

Good for her!

I've tried to impress upon my teammates that it was rather absurd how often our table used to win.

After all, there are only four games played each session, yet there are at least twenty people playing on these Monday nights.

We used to represent at least two of those wins each week.

That's ridiculous and against the law of randomness.

Now, we have a winner - like, one, singular - every couple of weeks.

That's much more probable!

I celebrated being out and about by having Totchos as my meal!  

Why'd I say I was celebrating?

Because a cold front moved straight in after the rain clouds left, sprinkling a bit of hell into the weather.

Yet, I was still exercising my privilege as a busy, vibrant, woman to be in the company of friends!

I'd started my day with an 11 AM meeting at Two Firsts Post.

All told, five of us showed for that American Legion scheduled event, but we had a good time in that warm space!

There was me and Joe Cetti for Post 36, outnumbered by Post 500's showing with Sabrina Scales, John Parker, and Eddie Robinson.

We stayed for an hour, waiting for others, chatting.

Good times! 

I'd even been at the cinema for a double header...

seeing "100 Nights Of Hero", a fabulous fable in a similar vein as Scheherazade and her stream of Arabian tales...

then the raunchy comedy, "Fackham Hall", that was in a similar vein as "Airplane!" even though it mocked "Downton Abbey"...

with the two having a common theme: women aren't allowed to read.

Nice to have had an unexpected theme!

Right place, right time!

I'd also gone to Publix for a few items and found this treat!

Just look at all that sushi, made up to be prettier than it needs to be!

I dined on that leftmost roll, with its beautiful topping of diced tuna and avocado, for lunch before the movies.

The rest will likely be lunch and dinner tomorrow, as a treat for being in.

The high in the 40's is just a bit much to draw me out.

All the more reason for me to have joined Sandy and Elissa tonight!

Timing is more than a belt in a car!

Hahahaha!

front porch of the jea!

This was meant as a gift for members of the Savannah JEA, but they opened up the comedy show for any and all... so I accepted the invite!

I tried to get a few others to come, including my Monday-night crew, but they had other plans... so I took myself there!

After all, 'tis the season and I love gifts!

I was amazed by how much talk of Christmas there was by the children at the Jewish Educational Alliance!!!

Right place, right time!!!

Front Porch Improv had five members of their troupe present.

I never caught the name of the keyboard man, but the others are Jesse, Abby, Beth, and Ava, and they put on a fabulous hour of fun!!!

I was delighted that they used two of my lines in the comedy skits, too!

The first of those instances was in the second sketch, with Abby and Jesse over at Grayson Stadium playing baseball on the diamond, kinda sorta like I have done there as well as when  I was in Iowa. 

Jesse had just hit the ball, then he pulled the slip out of his pocket and said, "Are we there yet?" - hahaha!

He told her it was his catchphrase... was that a baseball pun?!?!

I'm saying it was!

(smile!)

The next skit that used a suggestion from me was near the end of the hour.

Jesse was up again, this time for "Press Conference", where he had to guess why he was being lauded.

The other troupe members asked him questions and he found out he was a swimmer who had crossed the Atlantic Ocean, pulling an elephant, with Barney as his travel companion... very funny!

And that bit about the elephant... that was mine!!!

Wondering why that would have been on my mind?

A couple of skits earlier was all about asking the audience for jokes.

Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide!

What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frostbite!

Why was the bee's hair spiky? He used a honeycomb!

Hahahaha!

I was going to tell one of Mama's elephant jokes, but missed the chance.

Nice that I got the elephant in there another way.

i thank You, God!

Now, I've been home again, watching the Grand Prix ice skating highlights, aired instead of football by one of the local stations.

Guess what I just saw?

My man, Yuma Kagiyama, winning another silver medal at this event!!!

He's 20 years old now, and still just delightful to watch!

Right place, right time!

(smile) 

rudolph, front and center this time!

I should have been getting ready for church, but knowing Communion wasn't being held led to other plans this wet, chilly, morning.

Breakfast had found me missing Charles Osgood, so I decided to watch "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer", recorded a couple of days earlier.

The bin with my Misfit Island gang was already out of the closet... time to place them into view!

The space in my entertainment center needed its Christmas cheer!

So, I started out with Sam the Snowman, then added Rudolph, placing him in the center of the area.

Very nice!

I added Hermie, Boss Elf, and Tall Elf, as they appeared in the story.

Oh, yes, that was coming together nicely!

Time for Yukon Cornelius and the Bumble then - right!

Then the scene came with the toys "that nobody wanted"...

the little speckled pig...

the airplane that went under water...

the train with the square wheels.

Into my display they went!

That's when I caught that my train was not the one in the movie.

Mine is red with green trim; the movie version is shades of blue.

I must say, I do prefer mine!

It's more Christmas-y!

I placed King Moonraker, as well as the other two Misfits I own - the jelly-shooting water pistol and the cowboy on the ostrich - in the scene.

Something else was needed.

That's when I added the gold chain with the little gold hearts, making sure to end with a puddle of shiny at Yukon's feet.

Yes, that's just perfect!

what if the internet was down for a week?!

That's the premise of "The Day The Internet Died", the latest offering from the middle school thespians at Garrison Arts Academy.

I made sure the cold and rainy day didn't stop me from bopping out to Yamacraw Center For the Performing Arts to partake of this play!

Only $10, too - so, Merry Christmas to me!

And what a fabulous, bright, program, printed on card stock, for my middle blessings wall!

In the program was each scene in the two acts, with each titled and listing the actors.

That's how I found out a Meece and a Padgett were up on the stage!

In fact, that's Maryn Meece, sitting in the chair with the side profile, as one of "The Unusual Suspects".

As a person obsessed with getting friends to 'like' her photos, she was being questioned by the sheriff (Bailey Flowers).

The kid in the paper bag (Lott Byrd) is an internet troll and the other person (James Deacon) is a punk prankster.

All three are fairly crazy since they lost their 'ether' security blanket! 

They all had their own scenes in the first Act. 

Emma Padgett shows up in the second Act, playing an IRL customer service rep for the internet company.

She's so shocked when a customer (Christian Henriquez) actually tracks down the physical office that she has it burnt down!

That lands her in the second trio that gets grilled by the sheriff. 

That includes a Tweeter (Bella Davis) so desperate to get her messages out that she takes over a newspaper stand, as well as the Boss of an IRL meeting (Asa Boothe) who seems to think they're all in a Zoom session.

By the end of the week, some of the townspeople have adapted well to the IRL, all the time, way of life.

Others are having withdrawals from the lack of social media and email so much that they try to use the Post Office for passing their messages!

On the last day of the outage, the mayor (Hayden Epperson), a man obsessed with his image and his hair, announces that he was behind the lack of internet!

Along with the rich guy (Ethan Brandon), they were running an experiment on the town to see how people would react.

Ah ha!!! 

The sheriff had suspected the mayor was involved, but had no proof.

Suddenly, the room was in an uproar of recriminations!!!

Then, a familiar sound interrupts the mayhem... the internet was back!

And the room went quiet as all checked in to the ether they had missed. 

Wow...

beautifully done!!!

Thanks for this wonderful gift!