vacay in georgetown with birds and bananas!

Day 1, Friday

I checked in to Stella's Place about 3 PM.

I had been concerned about the light rain having an ill effect on the afternoon gathering, but it did not!

There's Susan, giving the Rhodesian Ridgeback some love.

She was also trying to distract her from some visitors in the canal.

Such a lovely little family, aren't they?

It's a pair of geese, with four goslings!

The quartet of little ones are so very young that they just have fluff instead of feathers. 

Coco got hold of one of them last week and carried it in her mouth, but didn't hurt it.

Glad I didn't witness that!

Stella and I stayed at the party on the patio with the neighbors for an hour.

That means she still had an hour until her 7 PM dinner bell would chime...

but I made it early for this first night.

It's a special recipe!

One scoop of dry food, four or so green beans, and a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin is what the doctor ordered!

That bit of fiber prevents her anal glands from needing to be expressed by the vet.

A little bit of fiber is good for all of us!

Just ask these two!

Miyah and Chloe both enjoy salad, especially the way it's made at the Olive Garden.

That's where I met them for dinner after their visit to Venita, who is still at Memorial Hospital.

I'm glad I still had a Friday Fiesta with family!

Thanks, Christina, for thinking of me, so we could share this late meal together.

Then I went back to Stella, and watched "50 First Dates" on Comedy Central.

Earlier, I'd watched the back end of "Night At The Museum at the Smithsonian" and the middle part of "Pulp Fiction" on Nickelodeon and FX, respectively.

I don't have access to any of those channels at home...

so this is definitely a vacation!

(smile!) 

Day 2, Saturday

So... today was rainy.

As I tried to explain to Stella, I still cannot stop the rain.

She really does not like to get wet.

Perhaps her breed's homeland of Rhodesia was a drier country before it became defunct in 1979?

All I know for sure is this: to get her to go out and pee, I had to resort to throwing dog treats into the yard.

Seriously.

Even when the precipitation was a mist, as it was in this photo in the late morning.

She was most unhappy about it.

She was even more unhappy when her play date with Coco - i.e., the party on the patio - was canceled due to rain.

She proceeded right then and there to pitch a barking and whining tantrum that any three-year-old child would envy.

Seriously.

Still, I was able to enjoy my vacation anyway!

The cable channels gave me "Up" and "The Bourne Ultimatum", then "50 First Dates" and "The Devil Wears Prada", all with no political 'mercials.

Hallelujah!

Then ESPN surprised me with a little baseball action!

Well, kinda sorta baseball, in the form of the Savannah Bananas taking on the Texas Tailgaters at Kyle Field.

That stadium seats 102,000 people... and it was sold-out!

It was also the largest crowd yet for Banana Ball.

And the home crowd was able to watch their Tailgaters win, too!!!

Good game out there on the diamond... and much more enjoyable to me as it didn't have all the shenanigans and noise in the stands.

(smile!)

we just may make that opening yet!

"Let me guess: you were at another American Legion meeting at Two First Posts, right? Are the new doors in?"

 

Not yet, but that should be finished by mid-May. This brand-new wall should be done by then, too! It'll separate the hall-for-rent area at 5511 Montgomery Street from the canteen and bar at 5509 Montgomery Street. And the nice front doors we already have will fit into those rectangular openings of the new wall. Looks like progress is happening!!!

"And is that Brenda Pough standing there, all dressed up?"

 

It is indeed! She and I chatted about those high heels she was wearing! As I told her, I used to wear shoes like that, back in my 20's and 30's, when I was going to school at Armstrong. Me and my BFF would go all over River Street, on those cobblestones and on those steep stairs, and not think a thing about it!

 

"Oh, I remember well! It's a wonder y'all didn't break your ankles. Who are the two fellows with her? Are those Billy Cope and John Parker?"

 

They are! After we went over to the tables for our 6 PM meeting, we were still waiting on a couple of people. That's when Billy whipped open his laptop to reveal more progress: he'd installed the security cameras! Hooray!!! We were able to watch Eddie Patterson get out of his truck and come on in - yes!!! I guess that means Billy successfully met up with Doug Andrews at the bank! Hooray!!! I even saw TVs in boxes in the conference room, so Joe Cetti met up with Doug, too! So good to see progress!!!

"Hallelujah!!! A new wall, televisions, security set up, doors on the way... and are those markings for the storage closet for event tables and chairs?"

 

You are correct, my dear! And Kay and Mike want to set up an area for a couple of dart boards to entertain the troops. They plan to decorate the wall with the badges of the different units at HAAF.

 

"That sounds great! Wait... they were there??"

 

Yep! And we spent almost 90 minutes on going through the contract they'd written. That was a bit of slow slogging at first, as they didn't have printed copies and we had to wait to folks to pull it up on their laptops or phones. Kay let me follow along on her 'puter. Who would have thought a three-page document would take that kind of time?! But, remember, Doug is a lawyer and he knows how things should be worded. By the time Mike gets the wording changed to reflect the rights and responsibilities of 5509 as opposed to 5511, it'll be good to go. Everything was covered, from which utilities were paid by which entity to who was responsible for keeping the bathrooms clean.

 

"Wow! That's a lot of fine detail."

 

Hey, it's all legalese, so everything has to be spelled out. After they left at 8 PM, the rest of us had a brief meeting, with the biggest item being the hiring of Eric of Post 500 as the building manager, in charge of setting up and breaking down for all events. Eddie asked if we had someone from Post 36 to join him, but Doug explained to him that none of our members were under the age of 75. Of course I spoke up then! "I'm only 67 and I won't be 68 until next month!" LOL! That's when Doug said, "I was talking about the men of our post." LOL!

 

"Well, they folks of Post 500 already knew that. You'd made that clear at a meeting a couple of months ago, right?"

 

Yes, but Doug had not been present. I think Eddie and John just wanted to clear it with him before they put any of their members into paid positions. You know, they were just dotting those i's and crossing those t's.

 

"Heard. So, what time did you get home?"

 

The meeting was officially over at 8:50 PM. We were all beat, but we were satisfied that we'd made steady steps toward May 25th. That's really important to Doug. It'll be his 57th wedding anniversary! My guess is he wants to have that special dinner here at the Two First Posts' canteen. I just may do that myself! Now, I'm going to eat the Spicy Salmon Roll I got from Publix earlier and watch "The Floor". Nice to look at Rob Lowe, ya know? (smile!)

today, i was 1 of 5

I was invited to this forum about three weeks ago.

The Ralph Johnson Hospital in Charleston wanted to hear from veterans about their care with the Savannah VA Center.

Even though the time would be 9:45 AM, I agreed to take part.

Even though that meant I would have to rise by 7:30 AM, so I would have time to take my Synthroid, have breakfast, and drive southside.

Why did I make the choice to be there?

I believe that if I want the right to complain, then I must accept the responsibility to give praise.

So, I went.

Including me, there was a total of five veterans who chose to be there; 2 Navy, 2 Army, and 1 Air Force.

I'm not sure just how many were there from Charleston - perhaps 8? - as well as three from our VA center.

Jonathon Isaman, the Veteran Experience Assistant Chief, was in charge of the forum, taking names and asking questions.  

There were three, and each of us were asked them individually, making sure each of us had a voice.

That was nice.

 

The first question: "What was going right with our care?"

We liked the MyHealtheVet website (me) and app (the others) as it allowed us to contact our care team at our convenience, with a written record of our needs being addressed.

 

The second question: "What was going wrong with our care?"

By and large, it was the time lag involved with getting community care.

I told them about having to cancel my appointment with Dr. Cobb two days ago because the Community Care in Charleston had not responded to the RFS (Request For Service) from my cardiologist's office. 

The fax of the RFS form had been acknowledged as received by Charleston, both 4 weeks ago when it was initially sent, as well as Tuesday of last week, but nothing else had happened and the original Community Care Authorization had not yet been renewed.

I didn't understand why that CCA had to be renewed in the first place, as it was for continued care of my Atrial fibrillation, a condition which will require care by a cardiologist for the rest of my life.

I also told them that this was not the first time that the CCA for Dr. Cobb had been allowed by the VA to lapse in the years that I've been in his care since February of 2022.

Kirsten Danforth, the Chief of Community Care in Charleston, was there and was able to respond directly to my complaint.

I told her the name of the representative who was the liaison for Dr. Cobb's office and that seemed to be an issue, as she did not know that person.

Another person from Charleston spoke up, about them finding there were phone numbers that went to inactive mailboxes, as those people were no longer there, so they were trying to rectify that, with an end date of June to rectify the problem.

They would also make sure that anyone who was already approved for use as Community Care would receive updated contact lists.

Meanwhile, I asked, why couldn't an alert be sent to the veteran and their community care supplier when a CCA was due to expire, so the need could be addressed and a new CCA issued in a timely manner?

Oh, they all liked that idea!!!

In fact, Ms. Danforth said they would be instigating that right away!

Well, alrighty then!

(smile!)

 

The third question: "What improvement would we like to see?"

Mine was to make sure prescriptions were sent when I would be home.

I told them that when I ordered refills, I could make sure to be home, to prevent porch pirates from stealing them.

However, some of my prescriptions seemed to be on auto-refill and I would not know they were on their way until I received a text message.

That meant I had to try to shuffle my schedule at the last minute, which was not always possible.

Dr. Slappy, the Head of the Ralph Johnson Hospital, told me to let the pharmacy know that I wanted to "park" those prescriptions; that meant they would be held until I requested them.

Very good to know! 

The others hadn't known of that option, either.

 

In an hour, we were done.

I felt like we'd accomplished a lot, and I think some of the others did, too.

I know there was a fellow from Charleston who took notes the entire time.

I'd talked to him beforehand, explaining that I wanted to be on record for having been there so early in my day.

9 o'clock is usually when I wake up, not when I leave home and drive.

I even told him about watching Bugs Bunny on Saturday mornings!

He replied that he watched Westerns.

"Oh," I said, "like 'The Wild, Wild West' on ME TV? I sometimes watch that, too, after the cartoons are done."

Yes, he did watch that old show, too.

Nice to have made that connection with him.

I'm glad I was there today... even though it's still a 'Saturday' for me.

As Frank told me so many years ago, in retirement, every day is Saturday.

But I know today is Wednesday for everyone else, so I stopped by Publix on the way home for the $5 sushi specials on this hump day.

Instead, I found chirashi with both tuna and salmon! 

A special treat!

(smile!) 

 

today i was with the asbury theatre goers!

That's them, facing the stage, unaware that I was taking this photo.

In fact, Tom Lewis, Heidi Hoffmann, and Emily Garrard were so engrossed in conversation that I'm sure they didn't know I was behind them!

We had met up at the Vintage, Savannah Repertory Theatre's first home, for their latest play, "The White Chip".

It was clear from the promotional material that this was about an alcoholic, as that particular token is used by Alcoholics Anonymous to signify that someone "has a desire to stop drinking, or has stopped for 24 hours".

 

In this story, 'Steve' (Chad Darnell) started drinking at age 12, at a friend's house, where the parents were gone and the liquor cabinet was open.

As a 'lapsed Mormon' in Kentucky, where bourbon was king and alcohol was the currency of social activity, he carried on.

 

Then he went to college in Tallahassee, at Florida State University.

Having been there myself for graduate school, I know firsthand what a hard-drinking place that was!

Between being part of the theatre department and going to the football games, alcohol was a way of life and he continued on his path.

It didn't really matter what type of booze it was, he needed it, as it made him more likable, it made him more confident, it made him more successful... or so he believed in his heart of hearts.

It didn't even matter when his fiancee left him, after recognizing his problem and giving him the choice of her or the hooch.

It didn't even matter years later, when the drunken woman he'd taken as a wife in Las Vegas tired of the lifestyle and gave him the same choice.

He was sure that he didn't have a problem, even when he was waking him from blackouts, even when he woke up in a hospital, even when he got fired.

It wasn't until after he'd accumulated a number of white chips from numerous start-overs, going to different AA meetings so he wouldn't be recognized, that he accepted that he was in need of help.

However, faith in Jesus was not the answer for him...

then he went to a Jewish AA meeting...

and learned the chemistry of dopamine... 

and accepted science as the higher power to believe in...

and he was truly saved!

I wish I would have known about Jewish AA meetings when my middle brother was still alive, as I think he would have considered them. 

I wish I had invited my youngest brother to this play.

We could have had quite a talk afterward!

I wish I could have had this talk with so many people.

Oh, well.

I did notice that I was the only one laughing.

There were actually several times that I laughed.

The actors all noticed, and knew it meant I had personal experience.

There were three actors this time: Chad Darnell, as the principal; Casey Bessette, as all the women (mom, fiancee, wife, girlfriend, AA meeting attendee, etc.); and Rob Lawhon as all the men (dad, best friend, boss, airport bartender, AA meeting attendee, etc.).

I think I'll see if there is a filmed version, to share with others.

Right now, I'm going to enjoy the smell of the rain.

It began as I was driving home - splatters of different-sized drops, some very tiny, some huge.

Rain had been in the forecast a week ago, but that changed, with the rain to be postponed another week.

Savannah in particular, as well as Georgia in general, has had a drought going on, with fires breaking out south of us, leaving the air smelling burned and looking gray.

So nice to have all that being washed away...

i thank You, God.

today, i was with king george

"I seriously doubt that, my dear girl. He's been dead for centuries. Or did you get to see "Hamilton" again?"

It was the next best thing! The song, "You'll Be Back", from that show was performed by one of the members of SING at today's concert. Mason Byrd, the teen who sang it as a solo, even dressed the part! He was magnificent!!! He even had us all sing along with him at the end! La di dah di dah, la la la la da di dah! (smile!)

"Most excellent! That must have been great fun for you!"

Oh, it most def was!!! And he didn't enter the stage from the back. Oh, no! He strode down the center aisle to reach the stage, head high! What a grand entrance befitting a monarch!

And that's his dad, Richard Byrd, standing there in the chef's hat at the head of the banquet table. He made all the food for our Italian feast after the concert!!! Pork loin, Penne Vodka with chicken, Caesar salad, green beans with pimiento, mashed potatoes, and plates of pizza with red onion as well as antipasto that included Salad Nicoise!

"Wow, what a feast! Was this the "That's Amore" dinner for the fundraiser?"

You got it! We  had been promised singing with our meal and we got that, too! Each singer gave us an aria from "The Marriage of Figaro", then they whipped out kazoos for everyone there so we could accompany them for "That's Amore"!!! Hahahaha! They even gave us kazoo-playing lessons, as some in the audience had never used those instruments. 

"Hahahaha! That must have sounded both awful and hilarious!"

Oh, it was! I'm glad we'd had the sweet singing from the children to start this bit of fun. The matinee concert featured the Spark Choir, the Kindle Choir, and the Illuminate Choir, each individually. Those would be the seventeen kindergarten to 2nd graders, the twenty-three 3rd through 5th graders, and the fourteen 6th through 12th graders. Plus, they started off with all three groups together, then finished the same.

"What a huge number of singers!!! Wow, that program has grown so much!" 

You betcha. Their inaugural concert, back in January of last year, was done with about thirty-five singers. The one from last April had about that same number. Today, there would have been 54 children singing, if all had been present!!! I'm so glad the City of Savannah has given the program a grant to allow even more involvement of the next generation!

"That's a great accomplishment for SING!"

I even granted them more of my money tonight, in addition to those for the dinner fundraiser. The Asbury choir rehearsal area was filled with Silent Auction items, which I perused before, and during, the dinner. Kathy and Preston Hodges, also at my table, had items they were keeping watch over, too!

"And did you win anything?"

Surprisingly, I did!!! I was the only bidder for a $30 gift card, Kids Meal coupon, Appetizer coupon, and game ("Family Dinner") from Texas Roadhouse... and I 'won' the whole package for just $10. Wow!!! Then, I was the third bidder for a $50 gift card to B&D Burgers in Pooler, and I 'won' that, too!!! My bid had only been twenty bucks!

"Goodness, girl! What great deals you got!!!"

Right? I am so blessed to be part of Asbury Memorial. So many good events and opportunities at this church!

today, my brothers looked at coins in a table

 

Don't believe me?

 

Well, here's the proof!

 

Laura had started it, recognizing that many of the coins embedded in the lacquer were quite old and rather valuable.

 

Tony started looking then, like really looking, and he started pointing out various ones to Smitty.

 

Walking Liberty, Buffalo head, steel pennies - those were just a few of the types.

 

Of course, I had to chime in with a tale from our family history!

Our father once had quite a collection of valuable coins, see?

At some point, Smitty and Ronnie would go into it and take a few out, taking them to the Chu's 7-Eleven store to buy penny candy.

Daddy found out when he was looking at his collection one night.

He was so mad at them!!!

They were probably not yet ten years old.

That's been more than fifty years ago!

Smitty didn't remember any of that, and Tony was just a baby.

I guess I'm the only one now who can tell that tale.

 

So, just where was the S&K Friday Fiesta this evening?

Well, since Claudia was on vacation to Mexico, we were taking a break from that type of cuisine.

All except Laura, that was, who still ordered a shrimp quesadilla!

The rest of us had typical Spanky's fare: Chicken Fingers, Fish & Chips, Spanky's Special Pizza.

Oh, yeah!

Robin and Becca didn't make it, but the rest of us regulars were there, with Long Island Iced Tea flowing for the ladies instead of margaritas.

The guys stayed with beer.

Well, all except me and Tony, who abstained.

 

We all still had a good time, listening to Smitty's story of meeting Billy Currington in Home Depot years ago and Betsy's story of how, and why, she got pregnant at 35 years old.

Her story was new to me, but I knew the one by Smitty.

That must have been between the time "People Are Crazy" hit the airwaves and my leaving work with him to go full-time at Armstrong.

That makes that story at least 16 years old.

And Betsy's, about Addison's way into this world, must be at least a quarter-century old by now.

Guess it's not just the coins in the table that are old!

(smile!)

today, i went to a 1st-ever play festival

Have I even been out to Savannah Country Day School this year?

I have not, for one reason or another, be it related to weather conditions or a preponderance of American Legion meetings.

 

Time to rectify that situation, and what better event than the inauguration of their very own festival of short plays?

"Spring Shorts" is what that 10-minute play festival has been dubbed!

Doesn't that title encourage one to get out of the house and partake?

Yes, yes, it does, and I must declare it a rousing success!

They put out a call to professional playwrights to submit their works, hoping that a few might actually do so.

James Venhaus, the teacher/director/producer for theatrical shows at this school, told us that they were overwhelmed by the response: 350 plays were submitted for the festival!!!

Wow!!!

Of that gracious plenty, six were chosen, and those were directed by various students in the theatre program.

The festival also showcased five plays written by various students, with those all directed by James Venhaus.

So, there were eleven plays total, some longer than ten minutes, some shorter, with a brief intermission during the two-hour program.

Wow!!!

These were all performed as theatre in the round, with both actors and audience sharing space on the stage.

That made for a more intimate setting, which really helped with the message in these short stories.

The actors would cart onto the stage whatever props were needed, including furniture, for their piece, then cart it off after.

What types of things were used?

Well, this manual typewriter on the desk, as well as several chairs and a table.

The typewriter actually worked, too, and the whole tone brought to mind the play set in the Vietnam era.

As this short play began, a man is sitting and typing, reading aloud his words.

"I regret to inform you that you son has died."

Letters to parents of soldiers lost in the war.

Wow.

After a day of typing such letters, he goes home and needs to recover, but he has a teen daughter waiting and he is her only living parent.

She suggests they listen to some music to ease the mood...

but when she turns on the radio, she gets Don McLean...

carrying on about "the day the music died"...

and her dad gets up and turns it off.

Here's the thing: after he leaves the room, she turns the radio back on...

and "American Pie" is still playing.

That's because it's almost nine minutes long.

Of course it would still be on!

Bravo to Kharis Ott for writing "Bad News On The Doorstep"!!!

[That's a line from the song, too - nice that others listen to lyrics.] 

By the way, not only did she write that play, but she directed another one ("Surprise", a comedy about a 2-minute psychic going through yet another breakup), and acted in two others.

Wow!!!

She wasn't the only one to do such a feat.

Hannah Smith wrote "Walls" [about the drama unfolding in three neighboring apartments], directed "Kung Foolery" [comedic physical fighting between husband and his mother-in-law], and acted in two others.

Kensie Glass acted in one and wrote "Cast Party", which reminded me of all the fun and drama of those I've been to over the years!

(Shout-out to the 'Hugh Mongus D' that crashed the party!)  

Samantha Hendrix acted in three plays and directed two plays, a comedy ("Party Princess" who wore wrong-colored dress for 4-year-old's birthday party, to mother's chagrin) and a more serious piece ("Blocked", about a 26-year-old who is missing her birthday because she is trying to write).

Anna Sapere wrote "Love At First Sight" (a failing romance after girl has memory loss) and acted in two plays, one of which was "Blocked".

Her costar in "Blocked", Suri Desai, also directed a play called "Finding Time" (a sweet romance of two friends who keep running into each other in scavenger hunts).

Jack Lerch was the only male student to act and direct.

He acted in two plays (featured as "Hugh Mongus D" - that's got to be a pun!) and directed "Baby Charging Station". a comedy about a guy who takes care of a robotic baby in a Child Development class in order to meet a girl.

That brings me to Caroline Bergmann, who acted in two plays and wrote "Voices In The Hall", my other favorite tonight.

'Maeve', a freshman is waiting for her sister to get stitches in the hospital and chats up the guy sitting in the same bank of chairs. 

His name is 'Callum' and he's waiting for his friend to get out of surgery.

He and 'Jonathan' are senior football players and were in a car wreck.

He goes off to find a doctor to ask about his friend.

That's when 'Elise' comes out, bandaged head, and 'Maeve' starts telling her about 'Callum' and 'Jonathan' and 'Elise' thinks her sister is playing a prank.

After all, the family knows that 'Elise' says she can see ghosts and that's how she ended up bumping her head!

But 'Maeve' insists 'Callum' is real... 

'Maeve' doesn't believe in ghosts...

right?

Only she has to now, as 'Elise' tells her that car wreck was real a year ago and both of the football players died.

Really good!

And guess who played 'Callum'?

Jack Lerch.

Very nice... and a very nice evening out for me!