vacay in georgetown on may the fourth and cinco de mayo

I usually have a few folks that remind me of the day for lisping Jedi knights, but not this year.

Only my ex texted me for the occasion.

Thanks, Jeff, for starting my day with dancing Darth Vader!!!

I was only too glad to pass him along to brighten the lives of others! 

(smile!) 

I finished the rest of the Italian salad that Dawn had left in the fridge.

Salami! Pepperoncini!! Ham! Tomatoes!

I've really enjoyed that for the last three days.

The party on the patio was spent sans birds of any kinds.

Susan, Terry, and I talked of food mostly, with them asking about meatballs in the freezer.

Sorry, Charlie, none of those!

Today's vacation film festival consisted of "Wreck It Ralph" and "Ralph Breaks The Internet", shown back to back on Freeform.

So good to hear my favorite Disney Princess song again!

(smile!) 

My Tina Tuesday just happened to coincide with several other events!

First off, this was the 25th anniversary for Smitty and Mary - woohoo, y'all!

Plus, this Cinco de Mayo was also a Taco Tuesday - that meant I needed to go to the store for Mexican foods for dinner.

First, though, had an appointment with Dr. Diaz.

He's my neurologist at the Savannah VA Center and today was the discussion about the MRI results.

What a gorgeous day to be told that all was well with my brain!

He said there was some shrinkage, but totally normal for my age.

Woohoo!

Off to celebrate with some other older folks at the AMC, there to see "The Devil Wears Prada 2", twenty years after the first one.

Those fresh faces of Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt have become the same as that of my 43-year-old first niece!

I had not realized they all shared her age.

As for Stanley Tucci, he's 65, like my brother Smitty.

And Meryl Streep is 76... just a could pf years behind my friend, Carolyn.  

Good movie, too!

Then, at last, to Publix for the makings of my south-of-the-border dinner!

I also picked up a few other items, like milk, and still saved $21.22 on my trip.

That's 30% off on groceries!

Plus, I took care of my appointment and movie and still returned in plenty of time for the party on the patio!

That made Stella happy.

She was on the back porch, waiting to rendezvous with Coco and her owners, for almost thirty minutes.

I sat out there with her, enjoying a glass of milk and the afternoon warmth.

Tonight, after dinner, I'll have a series of "How I Met Your Mother" to enjoy. 

Yes, life is good on vacation!

(smile!)

vacay in georgetown, where stella awaits

Ah, another Sunday morning of basking in the sunshine as the chimes gently swayed in the breeze!

 

Hahahaha!!!

 

I was talking about my Saturn!

 

Here's the ridgeback, doing the same.

 

She prefers lying on the pine straw.

 

As for me, I was in one of the rocking chairs, letting my tootsies enjoy the warmth.

 

Ah, such a nice start to the day!

 

After the play downtown, I was back in time for the party on the patio.

 

Susan and Terry were both amazed at my timing!

 

Stella was thrilled, and even more so by the crane that had come to visit the canal.

 

Just follow her line of sight, looking just to the right of the tree reflection.

 

How about this shot?

 

I snapped it after Susan fed the fish, so the crane had moved to seek dinner.

 

Such a tall, long-legged bird it was!

 

I didn't see it catch any fish, but I left it alone, as did Stella and Coco.

 

Good dogs!

 

Now, it's time to add to my vacation film festival while here!

Today, I've had "Monsters, Inc.", "Rush Hour", and "Gemini Man".

Such a smorgasbord!!!

(smile!)

vacay in georgetown, making time for bella

"Hey, girlie! I think you got the name wrong. The dog is Stella, remember?"

You are correct, but so is what I wrote. Today was the preview of JinHi's play, "Bella", up at the Historic Savannah Theatre. I've been waiting to see that for months! It's definitely part of my bday68 celebration!

"That's right! You got a special reward in the kickstarter campaign so your ticket to the play would be included. Well, good for you! How was attendance?"

Amazingly good! I had looked at the kickstarter page to try to guess, and I was way off. The downstairs at the theatre was nearly full!!! I sat over to house left and had a fabulous view. Inessa Purple - remember her from the Lucas volunteer days? - caught me in the lobby and we sat together. So great to see her again!

"She hasn't changed at all! Same curly blonde hair as always! But why so many chairs on stage? I thought this was a one-woman show... right?"

Oh, it was. JinHi was the only one up there during the performance. After all, this was the story of her life and her battle against cancers and tumors that began when she was 14 years old. That's when her family found out she had the bone cancer in her left leg. Her dad had been PCS'ed to Italy and life was glorious! She loved the people and the gelato and the fact that everyone there would greet her with "Ciao, Bella"!!! All of that made her feel so beautiful!!! She had a year of bliss before the sarcoma took her leg.

"How brutal for a teen to have to deal with that."

I know. Mama had a problem with fibrous cysts that led to her losing half her palate and all her upper teeth when she was just 15 years old. The doctor did the surgery during summer vacation, so she wasn't around school kids, but, still. She spent most of that break waiting for the dentures and then getting used to them. I never, ever, saw my mother without her teeth in place.

"Yes, I know. You didn't even find out about that until you were in high school. That was probably about the time the doctor found a fibrous cyst in your right breast."

That sounds right. JinHi had recovered from her leg amputation and was in college before the next hit from her body. Headaches led to the discovery of a tumor in her brain that took two surgeries to remove. Fortunately, it was benign, but it did have hair and teeth, so that was unsettling. That was during her 20's. In her 30's, growths in her reproductive organs were found. She and her husband were trying to have a baby, but instead she had to have a hysterectomy. 

"Damn."

Yeah, that's pretty harsh. So she started Muse Arts Warehouse as her way of taking care of the artistic community. Then, in 2012, a growth appeared in her right lung, a beast she called a "moonmallow" due to its shape on the CT scan. Fortunately, it was Stage 1, and was handled by a partial removal of that lung, along with chemo. And all seemed to be well again, for two years. She has been battling Stage 4 lung cancer ever since.

"Damn!"

This show was born from that extended battle. A friend suggested she go back through her fb posts and gather up all that data. So, that's what she did. She refers to "Bella" as "43 years in 45 minutes" and that's about right. In August, she'll be going to the Fringe Festival in Scotland. Tickets for her show at that venue are already available. I wish I could be there, but the airfare alone is a staggering expense.

"Heard. Hey, I just noticed something. You never addressed all of those chairs on the stage!" 

Oops. Sorry, I forgot. Those were for the post-play question and answer session with JinHi and her crew, plus a live auction of memorabilia. There will also the results of the silent auction held before "Bella". All auction proceeds will go to help fund meals and such for the trip. I placed a couple of bids, but lost out.

"How was the Q and A?"

I couldn't stay. I need to get back to Georgetown so the dog can have her play time. Glad I got to have this 'play' time for me! Like that pun? (smile!) Good to see so many I knew! Inessa, Pam Sears of Armstrong, the Soucy clan, Bill Dawers, and even several from Asbury (Cheri and Billy Hester, Tom Lewis). Nice turnout for JinHi, Savannah's theatre royalty!

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.