November 11, 2026

Ordinarily on Veterans Day, I'd be out and about, graciously accepting free meals for showing proof of having been in the Navy.

My right hip precluded that random bopping 'round, but that's not to say that I didn't celebrate the day!

I started off watching the 80th Veterans Day Parade in Savannah, brought to my living room by WTOC (CBS), the only ones who covered it.

Good for them!

My focus, as was theirs, was on that shuttle bus.

Doug Andrews had invited me to ride that with him and others, but I abstained.

I'm glad I did, as the veterans on that bus were all declared to be 'Grand Marshals' for this year's parade!

Promptly at 11:11, the 3rd ID Band and Color Guard started playing!

"The Star-Spangled Banner" rang out sweet and clear!

 

I just know those ten honorary Grand Marshals enjoyed it as much as I did!

I'm glad I knew three of those men.

Doug Andrews and John Parker looked especially military in their uniforms, unlike our evenings at the Two First Posts meeting.

As for Jimmy Ray, he's looking very, very old, but he was in good spirits.

After the band's serenade, the ten veterans got back on the shuttle to finish their ride along the parade route.

That's good; the parade lasted 1 hour, 40 minutes, and that would have been too long for those fellows to be sitting outside.

 

I took care of some things here then I was off to the 2 PM screening of "Jimmy" out at the AMC.

I knew it was about Jimmy Stewart's service in the Army Air Force during World War II, making it very appropriate for this day.

A veteran - me! - watching a movie about another veteran!

I also had a free pepperoni pizza, courtesy of some AMC reward points, as well as some AARP reward points.

The movie was incredibly good, revealing him to actually be the caring human he portrays on the silver screen, which made it all the more real when he mourned the loss of some of the men he led in the airships.

Then, when he returned to the United States, he had a hard time trying to find himself again, suffering through PTSD before it had a name.

Fortunately, his friend, Frank Capra, saw how lost he was and offered him a lifeline when no one else would.

And that became "It's A Wonderful Life", one of my favorite movies ever.

Wow.

Kudos to K.J. Apa and Max Casella for their roles as those two men!

Nice to see Neal McDonough putting his heart out there as Stewart's father.

Outside the cinema, I ran into Monica McDermott and we spoke briefly.

While we were chatting, a British transplant inserted himself into our conversation, then continued talking to me for about another fifteen minutes.

Hope I run into him in the cinema again!

It would be nice to have a movie buddy once more.

 

But I couldn't linger, as I had Wednesday Night Supper to attend!

Tonight's $8 meal was fit for an opera singer, as I told all!

Chicken Tetrazzini it was, with broccoli and carrots, so I didn't get a salad.

Dessert was an awesome apple pie that looked like it came straight off "America's Test Kitchen"!

I would have eaten a second slice, but they were all gone.

My dinner companions were Walt and Pam again, and you can just see a smidgen of that big man in the photo.

We were serenaded by Kaye Deffley, Billy Hester, and JJ Collins when it came time for us to sing the blessing.

I guess they wanted to make up for having Jason do it solo last week!

 

No leftovers for me this time, either... I had a movie to attend!

NCG Cinema has their Naughty And Nice Holiday Film Festival going and I'd seen the 'nice' on on Sunday.

That was "Daddy's Home 2", the 2017 blended-family comedy with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, plus their 'dads', Mel Gibson and John Lithgow, respectively, all celebrating Christmas together and singing "Let Them Know It's Christmas Time" - really funny!

I had intended to watch 2022's "Violent Night" after, but saw that the cinema would be giving out free popcorn to veterans on the 11th... so I bought the ticket for this night instead!

Good call, as I had NCG reward cash to get the bottle of water free!

What a wonderful way to wrap up this Veterans Day: watching another good man take out a bunch of bad guys, all while saving Christmas for a little girl!

Go, Santa, go!

(smile!)

leftovers, part 5

"Girlfriend, when are you going to stop having leftovers and actually cook?"

 

Actually, with my right leg slowing me down and requiring the use of a cane, cooking has become a bit of a chore. So, as long as I can keep having part of a previous meal to serve as the bulk of another, I'm doing that.

 

"Alright, alright, no need to get your feathers ruffled. Why don't you tell me about the birthday party yesterday?"

 

Oh, yes, that was good, though it was a bit smaller than I'd expected. This was the last one before Alyssa and Leila become teenagers and I thought some of their friends from school would be there. I was wrong.

 

"None of them showed up? Wasn't the party in Hinesville?

 

Yes, at the Irene B. Thomas Park, off Fort Screven Way.

 

"Hmm. And why does it look like Alyssa is sitting there with a black eye?"

 

It's just make-up, to make her resemble one of the anime characters. Apparently, the 'Hello Kitty' world has exploded in the 40+ years since I met it in Okinawa.

  

"Of course it has! Generations have been spawned from that first feline! LOL!"

 

Hahaha! That's an amusing mental image, given how quickly cats make more of themselves!

 

"You're welcome! Why didn't Leila follow suit and paint up her face?"

 

As I've mentioned before, she is seeking her own identity, and she is even teaching herself to play guitar! How about that!

 

"Very impressive! Maybe you can find something along those lines to include with her Christmas gift."

 

Perhaps so. I printed out gift cards for their magazine subscriptions and put those in the birthday cards. Alyssa's gift is "Girls Life", which will hopefully be a guiding light for her. As for Leila, she needs a challenge, so "Highlights brainPLAY" should certainly be stimulating... as well as very different from the gift for her sister. Leila even asked me if it was to be a puzzle! I explained that it was a book of puzzles and riddles and she was pleased about that. Good!

 

"Oh, that is good! I do hope that means you and she will become closer. I know it's hard, as you don't get to see them nearly as often as Christina's daughters, but keep making the effort."

 

I will, most definitely. I think Michael is finally in a better place, mentally, and that will help. His hair is growing out really nicely, too! And did you notice the shirt that Miyah is wearing? That was her race shirt, and she wore her medal the whole time! I'm very proud of her! She was the fifth runner to cross the finish line in the Girls On The Run 5K. I'm proud of Chloe, too, because she finished the race. They even gave her a medal for being there!

 

"And did you bring home a leftover from the party?"

 

I did! My outlaw Melinda had bought six pizzas, expecting a bunch of hungry 'tweens, and the eleven of us only emptied two of those boxes. She gave me two slices of the pepperoni and I'm having those for breakfast while I watch Asbury Memorial on fb. Yum, yum!

 

"Are y'all still doing GOB? Who is that singing?"

 

That's one of the SCAD Bee Sharps, don't ya know. I have no idea why they are part of the service, but I do love to listen, so I'm going to go now. This young man just did "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" and I don't want to miss any of the music! Later!

leftovers, part 4

Here's Chloe, smiling, but not smiling, as she puts it.

See, no teeth showing!

Hahahaha!

She was seated to my right at Olive Garden last night.

Her mouth has teeth that haven't quite come in, so she's a bit of a snaggle-toothed chica.

Here are the tic-tac-toe games she and I played after dinner.

Those were on the back of her kid's menu.

Four of the games were a draw, but I managed to win that last one!

I'd like to say it was due to my skill, but it was because her sister was distracting her.

Here are the tic-tac-toe games I played with her sister, by the way.

The first and third games were won by the 'cat', but I won the second and she won the fourth.

Why do we say the 'cat' won?

My first niece says because 'cat' is 'tac' backwards!

I don't know if she meant that as a joke or if she was using logic, but I like it!

And here's Miyah, sitting to my left, and, like her sister, she is giving me a smile that isn't a toothy grin!

Also like her sister, she has teeth that haven't finished finding their place.

I'm glad I don't have any memories of waiting for my mouth to set itself up!

I wonder if they will?

So, why were they in Savannah on a Friday night?

Miyah was racing this morning for the Girls On The Run 5K!

They even invited me to come watch, but I kindly declined.

For one thing, they had to be at the Armstrong campus of GaSoU at 7 AM!!!

On a Saturday!!!

That's why my first niece wisely decided to stay in town overnight, so she wouldn't have to get up stupid crazy early to get here.

But the other reason I decided to not attend was the temperature.

As I warned her yesterday afternoon when we were talking on the phone, the air would only be in the upper 50's at 7 AM.

She was glad to know to pack warmer clothes! 

So, I missed the race - which Chloe was allowed to run, too, even though she was a year too young - but I had the pleasure of their company for dinner!

We even had the same waiter (Cayden) that I had the last time at Olive Garden. 

The girls got a kick out me knowing his name!

I had the Chicken Margherita, to change things up, expecting the one with pasta, but I'm happy to have received the entree instead.

That gave me two chicken breasts, and lots of broccoli, too!

I'm about to dine on half of that for tonight's dinner while I enjoy an episode of "The Brokenwood Mysteries".

I would have eaten the leftovers for lunch, but I had a birthday party to attend!

More on that tomorrow!

leftovers, part 3

As I told the young folks working the counter yesterday at AMC, I like to hear Japanese spoken by Japanese people.

After all, I spent two years in Okinawa with the US Navy, and even picked up a bit of the language in those two years, thanks to Brad Nelson.

He was the CTI assigned to me, a CTM, to introduce me to the island and the bus system and the food - thanks, Brad!

As a member of the Interpretive branch of the Cryptologic Technicians at NSGA Hanza, the 6'4" fellow from Iowa was priceless those first two weeks.

Today, while watching this second film from Takashi Yamazaki, I felt right at home, immersed in the language while reading the subtitles.

"Godzilla Minus Zero" was totally magnificent!!!

And the story picked right up, three years later - which is the real time elapsed since the first movie - with the romantic tale of Koichi, Noriko, and Akiko, the little girl they were raising as if she were their own.

Remember, Koichi was the young pilot with PTSD, who found Noriko and the baby in his apartment, but allowed them to stay, with all coming to love each other in the intensely damaged city.

Japan has had three peaceful years since Koichi helped trap him in the ocean and blow him up... or so all thought, until sonar activity indicated the monster was alive.

But now there is a worse creature ravaging the country, a three-headed, winged, lightning-breathing alien that Japan's military cannot conquer.

So the bigwigs concoct a plan: lure Godzilla to the location of the alien and have them fight each other until the alien is dead, then kill off the giant lizard once and for all.

I will certainly see this one again!

Afterward, I popped over to Publix for milk and sushi.

Having had leftovers for several meals, I was ready for something different!

However, I admit to being a bit shocked by the price tag for the five bags of groceries I'd purchased: $110.19.

Could that be correct?

Sure, I'd bought three six-packs of the Ensure High Protein and a gallon of Lactaid milk, and those 4 items made up $43 of the bill.

I also bought a bag of 100 pieces of chocolate-containing Halloween candy that was on sale for $11.

Yikes.

But I'm okay with all that, as it was all on sale, except the milk.

Milk is never on sale.

Sushi is not usually on sale, either, though they do have smaller packs on special for $5 on Wednesdays... but this was a Thursday, and this pack was not one of those smaller ones.

Titled "Salmon Sampler", I felt it was right in keeping with my movie experience on the high seas, as I told Cathy when I spoke to her.

She had called because she heard that flooding was going on in Tennessee and Georgia, so she was concerned about me.

I assured her that damage was all in north Georgia; Savannah hasn't had rain for at least a week now.

I then polished off the three pieces of nigiri sushi, as well as half of the other two rolls, saving the rest for breakfast this morning.

Last night, I also polished off the last piece of WNS ham, the potato bits, the green beans, and the baked apples - thanks, Jason Z of Asbury!

 

Oh, by the way, that creature feature polished off my AMC A*List.

Remember, I'd started that dance card with Carolyn on Sunday, when we watched "Wildwood" and dined together.

She was familiar with some of the folks voicing the characters, but neither of us knew anything about the story behind the animated film.

What an enchanting tale it was, of a sister trying to rescue her baby brother!

So many battles between talking animals and other animals or humans!

I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing any of these again, including the two seen on Tina Tuesday, when my adventures in leftovers began.

Now, I'm soon off to meet my first niece for dinner!

Yes, this is another Friday, but not with my brothers.

Last Friday had been a 90-miute call with Cathy Weaver for her birthday!

The week before had been with Carolyn, and the one before that was over at Asbury making bracelets with my Sisters In Faith.

I just may need to see about meeting up with Smitty and Tony on some other night, as my Fridays in fall fill up quickly! 

What a lovely problem to have!

(smile!)

leftovers, part 2

Alrighty then!

This is how to work it in these days of increased food prices!

Last night was Wednesday Night Supper and it was one of my favorites!

Baked ham, baked apples, baked potato chunks - so good together!

For $8, I got all that is visible: the dinner, a side salad, dessert, and drink.

Oh, but that wasn't all!

I sat with Jason Zimmer, on his own tonight as August had school.

After hearing me wax rhapsodic about the meal, he asked if I wanted a to-go box, as we had a lot of leftovers tonight.

(We had a couple of empty tables, unless last week.)  

I gladly accepted and walked out of Holliday Hall with double portions of every part of the dinner itself!

That's why I had a ham and apple wrap for breakfast!

Remember, pork products practically beg for something sweet to accompany them in the meal or follow them as dessert.

Those baked apples, doused with cinnamon, were just the ticket to include in that high-fiber tortilla!

That gave me plenty of energy for the final AARP meeting by Zoom... the final one of this year! Hahahaha!

The majority of us were there: me, Herbert and Brenda Singleton, Wanda Lloyd, Carolyn Barnett, Felicia Shuman, Jeannette Bacon, Janet Cuttray, Connie Cooper, and Sheila Bell.

Gabrielle had Wanda and I recap the events we'd spearheaded, naturally, and when it came time to comment on those mentioned that I wished everyone in our small group had shown support for those three events - MFG 1, the Estates Planning, and MFG2 - by at least registering for them.

Gabrielle agreed that we should do so in the future, even if we can't attend.

Support is a much-needed thing, and our small group should at least be able to do that one thing for each other. 

Maybe that will happen as we have another opportunity to join all together next month at the Holiday Celebration!

No final word on where that will be, but the when is locked down: Dec. 10th.

That will be easy for me to remember, as Mama would have been 89 on that upcoming date.

It's hard for me to try to visualize her at that age.

I'm already five years older than she ever was.

 

And look at that... I've strayed off topic!

Here's where I meant to be: talking about the ZOOM for week four of MOVE!

We covered Modules 5 and 7 today, all about nutrition and such.

I made Fabiana Carvalho laugh twice!

She had asked what food triggers make us overeat.

"I love pizza. It's my favorite food. So trying to find an alternative is tough!"

She sure liked that answer! 

She always reads aloud the answers in the chat, and when she read that, she had laughed, saying "I like pizza, too!", and suggested having it with the cauliflower crust.

If only any of the local pizzarias served such a thing!

I'll miss seeing her next week, as she has a conference, so we won't meet again for this Savannah VA-sponsored event for two weeks.

I guess I'll have to plan something special for the 12th to occupy that time slot!

 

Now, I'm going to have a wrap with those Steak Bites and some Gouda cheese to carry me over until dinner time.

Then, I'm off to visit Godzilla in his latest movie!

I had not realized he's just four years older than me.

Happy 72nd birthday, you big galoot!!! 

leftovers, part 1

Why have I said "part 1" on this post?

Because I have a meal out with others scheduled for tonight and I hope to bring home leftovers from it!

Yesterday was the last day to use a coupon from Texas Roadhouse, so I took full advantage of the situation.

I knew I was going to see "The Mosquito Bowl" and the new 3-D version of "Nightmare Before Christmas" at the AMC, so why not arrange to have dinner prepared by the steakhouse, ready and waiting for me when I was done?

That turned out to be a great idea, as did the order of the two movies.

I saw "The Mosquito Bowl" first, not realizing it was going to touch on a battle during World War II on Okinawa.

I was left in tears, as I was well acquainted with the massive death toll at those cliffs: 150,000 Okinawan civilians, including children and their teachers, who had been in the caves that riddled those cliffs.

There were also 100,000 Okinawan military personnel also killed when the flamethrowers were used to eradicate people hidden in those ocean-facing caves.

I've been to the memorials there for the children and it's heartbreaking.

My tears were also for the 12 Marines who had played football at that Christmas Eve, 1944, morale-boosting event called the Mosquito Bowl.

i thank You, God, that I followed all that sadness of the world with the love story of Jack Skellington and my favorite Sally.

I definitely needed to get back to me again, and that did it. 

On my way home from the doubleheader, I stopped by to pick up my order: the Country Vegetable Plate, plus the Lil' Dillo Steak Bites.

My total cost was only $3.36 - and that was including tax!

The coupon took off $7.99, then I had two $5 egift cards 'purchased' with AARP Reward Points.

My dinner had been the baked potato, split open and cut apart, draped with the meaty Chili and its shredded cheddar - fabulous!

I always enjoy that combination, and this carryout container let me spread it out for easy dining.

This morning, I ate the House Salad for breakfast.

I had enhanced it with some of the broccoli and carrots from my Fresh Veggies side, so that was extra good!

I even added some of the Steak Bites from the Lil' Dillo meal - gotta get that protein!

I'm still trying to keep up the muscles in my right leg and protein is vital for that.

That's why I had a protein snack a couple of hours later.

That Texas Roadhouse dinner roll has a whopping 10 grams of protein, so that was a good start.

A slice of Muenster added another 5 grams, plus some dairy.

And why the orange juice?

That's obviously the drink that was included in the kids' meal - and it was so good!

It's been a few years since I had OJ.

(smile!) 

 

monday night supper club!!!

I came up with that moniker tonight, and all there really liked it, especially Elissa, so I think it'll stick!

We were at The 5 Spot in Sandfly, which was Sandy's choice.

Silly me, I had gone to The 5 Spot on Habersham, absolutely sure that's where we would meet.

I'd even garnered a table in the back corner, right beside a window!

That would make sure we could all talk and also have a view!

It wasn't until I texted Marcia and Elissa that I realized I was at the wrong location of that local chain.

Drats.

By that time, they were all at the correct locale.

Drats.

But get this: they said they'd gladly wait for me to join them.

Yes, even though that meant we'd not be eating until at least 7, when we should have all been there at 6.

I am so blessed to be part of this group of friends!

Joel was even there tonight, which was nice.

He was last with us for Marcia's choice, at Cava on Mall Boulevard.

 

We all dined on something different!

They had just ordered when I arrived, so I opted for two appetizers.

The Brussels Sprouts gave me my veggies, and the b. Matthew's Black-Eyed Peas Patties provided the protein.

That was just perfect, and my order came out right when theirs did!

Hooray!

I also ended up with Joel's coleslaw; it came with his Fish & Chips, but he doesn't care for cabbage.

Marcia had a salad and the Black-Eyed Peas Patties, sans parmesan.

Elissa had a salmon salad, of course, and Sandy had what she had been missing from the other restaurants: a double Smash Burger!

I have no doubt that was the reason for her choice of this place!

We were at the table in the front window, so we got to wave bye to all the other diners as they finished up and left.

In other words: we closed the place down!

Hahahaha!

It's been a long time since I've been part of something like that.

I loved it!

I made sure to thank all of them at least twice for waiting for me.

We all had hugs goodbye, too.

I'm so looking forward to Elissa's choice next week for our MNSC...

and this time, I'll be sure to read all of the message for the location!

(smile!)