Even in the face of a fall thunderstorm, the fountain in Forsyth Park is beautiful and serene and strong. What a wonderful example for me to follow!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Treasure Savannah more!
Even in the face of a fall thunderstorm, the fountain in Forsyth Park is beautiful and serene and strong. What a wonderful example for me to follow!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
"good" Samaritan
'Tis almost Christmas. A young man is driving along on the parkway, near dusk. He's on the straightaway and allows a momentary lapse in his attention to something else: perhaps the phone, the radio, the cd player, who knows. And BOOM! His car has entered the righthanded curve, still going straight, and collided with the metal guardrail along the left side of the roadway.
A couple is riding on that same parkway, on their way to the Christmas party at their church. They see the car that has hit the guardrail and, recognizing the car as belonging to a friend of their son, they pull over into the leftside emergency lane and exit their car, in the fading twilight, to go check on the young man. And BOOM! They are both sideswiped by a vehicle traveling in the left lane of the parkway.
The wife dies from her injuries; the husband spends a long time in the hospital and after, recovering, learning to do simple tasks again, rebuilding his life and family. The young man they had stopped to help was fine and never in danger, but now must live every day with the realization that his friend's mother is dead because she stopped to help him. The stranger driving the vehicle that struck the couple must live every day with the realization that his ordinary day resulted in the death of one human being and maiming of another.
The author of the local newspaper article called the couple "Good Samaritans". Evidently, that author was not familiar with either the origin or the meaning of the phrase. The Samaritans, or "Keepers of the Law" of God, held themselves apart from the other Jews, who they regarded as having altered Judaism. In other words, two different sects of the same religion, both believing they are in the "right" and despising the others for being in the "wrong". According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus told a parable concerning an interaction between a Jew and a Samaritan. The Jew had been brutally beaten and robbed and left on the road to die. A priest and a fellow Jew passed by, but did not stop to help, having concern only for themselves. Then a Samaritan passes by and, asking "if I do not help him, who will?", he stops his travel to give aid to a man who is not only a stranger, but also a man despised as being a Jew. THAT act of giving non-biased aid to a stranger is what made the Samaritan a GOOD Samaritan. To follow in that person's footsteps, one has to give aid to strangers in need, even though one may be biased against their creed or race or gender or sexuality.
It is worth noting that the actions of the good Samaritan had no ill effects on others around him. The good Samaritan aided one who was hurt, but did no harm to others.
The couple in my story were NOT good Samaritans. They KNEW the young man they stopped to aid. They were friendly with the young man, as parents are toward the approved friends of their children. They had stopped that darkening evening to give aid to someone they both knew and respected.
It is unfortunate what happened afterward to the couple. It is more unfortunate what happened to the young man and his friend and the couple's family. It is more unfortunate what happened to the driver of the car which hit the couple, and what happened to that person's family.
A good Samaritan act it was not.
A couple is riding on that same parkway, on their way to the Christmas party at their church. They see the car that has hit the guardrail and, recognizing the car as belonging to a friend of their son, they pull over into the leftside emergency lane and exit their car, in the fading twilight, to go check on the young man. And BOOM! They are both sideswiped by a vehicle traveling in the left lane of the parkway.
The wife dies from her injuries; the husband spends a long time in the hospital and after, recovering, learning to do simple tasks again, rebuilding his life and family. The young man they had stopped to help was fine and never in danger, but now must live every day with the realization that his friend's mother is dead because she stopped to help him. The stranger driving the vehicle that struck the couple must live every day with the realization that his ordinary day resulted in the death of one human being and maiming of another.
The author of the local newspaper article called the couple "Good Samaritans". Evidently, that author was not familiar with either the origin or the meaning of the phrase. The Samaritans, or "Keepers of the Law" of God, held themselves apart from the other Jews, who they regarded as having altered Judaism. In other words, two different sects of the same religion, both believing they are in the "right" and despising the others for being in the "wrong". According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus told a parable concerning an interaction between a Jew and a Samaritan. The Jew had been brutally beaten and robbed and left on the road to die. A priest and a fellow Jew passed by, but did not stop to help, having concern only for themselves. Then a Samaritan passes by and, asking "if I do not help him, who will?", he stops his travel to give aid to a man who is not only a stranger, but also a man despised as being a Jew. THAT act of giving non-biased aid to a stranger is what made the Samaritan a GOOD Samaritan. To follow in that person's footsteps, one has to give aid to strangers in need, even though one may be biased against their creed or race or gender or sexuality.
It is worth noting that the actions of the good Samaritan had no ill effects on others around him. The good Samaritan aided one who was hurt, but did no harm to others.
The couple in my story were NOT good Samaritans. They KNEW the young man they stopped to aid. They were friendly with the young man, as parents are toward the approved friends of their children. They had stopped that darkening evening to give aid to someone they both knew and respected.
It is unfortunate what happened afterward to the couple. It is more unfortunate what happened to the young man and his friend and the couple's family. It is more unfortunate what happened to the driver of the car which hit the couple, and what happened to that person's family.
A good Samaritan act it was not.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
heartbreak
Tonight, I came away from a film sobbing. I had cried several times during the film, but as soon as I hit the safe anonymity of my car, I was reduced to open-mouthed sobs.
The troubles just kept piling on and yet you knew this moment in time had been building for quite a while.
The man was married to a woman he loved very much, but could no longer live with. She was bipolar and had not taken medication since her pregnancy with their second child, their son. He wanted to believe her when she said she was better, she was using light therapy and it had changed her life over the last few months, she loved him and wanted the family back together. He wanted to believe, but was scared to be hurt again, was afraid of having the children hurt again.
The man was having problems with his job. He was a middle man between people needing work and people needing to sell a product. The people needing work were illegal immigrants. So, one group of illegal immigrants were making the products being sold by the other group of illegal immigrants. The cops were being paid, he was being paid, the person in charge of one group of immigrants was being paid. The man was trying to do right for everyone, but he was in the middle when one of the groups was arrested and deported and again when the others died of gas inhalation in a locked, airless warehouse room.
The cemetery where his father was buried had been bought and was to be destroyed so a shopping center could be erected. His father's remains are to be removed and he and his older brother have to decide what to do. The man never knew his father, as his father had died in another country before the man's birth. The brothers must decide whether to cremate their father's body and what to do with the ashes.
The man had been having health problems, but delayed going to a doctor until far too late. His prostate cancer had already spread and was in his very bones. The doctor told him he had only a few months left to live. Now, the man must prepare for his own death.
What would YOU do? Your life is literally falling to pieces before your eyes and you have children who will need care, a brother who is sleeping with your unstable wife and supplying her with cocaine, a job that has vanished into thin air, and your own mortality staring hard at you every minute of every day.
Heartbreaking.
The troubles just kept piling on and yet you knew this moment in time had been building for quite a while.
The man was married to a woman he loved very much, but could no longer live with. She was bipolar and had not taken medication since her pregnancy with their second child, their son. He wanted to believe her when she said she was better, she was using light therapy and it had changed her life over the last few months, she loved him and wanted the family back together. He wanted to believe, but was scared to be hurt again, was afraid of having the children hurt again.
The man was having problems with his job. He was a middle man between people needing work and people needing to sell a product. The people needing work were illegal immigrants. So, one group of illegal immigrants were making the products being sold by the other group of illegal immigrants. The cops were being paid, he was being paid, the person in charge of one group of immigrants was being paid. The man was trying to do right for everyone, but he was in the middle when one of the groups was arrested and deported and again when the others died of gas inhalation in a locked, airless warehouse room.
The cemetery where his father was buried had been bought and was to be destroyed so a shopping center could be erected. His father's remains are to be removed and he and his older brother have to decide what to do. The man never knew his father, as his father had died in another country before the man's birth. The brothers must decide whether to cremate their father's body and what to do with the ashes.
The man had been having health problems, but delayed going to a doctor until far too late. His prostate cancer had already spread and was in his very bones. The doctor told him he had only a few months left to live. Now, the man must prepare for his own death.
What would YOU do? Your life is literally falling to pieces before your eyes and you have children who will need care, a brother who is sleeping with your unstable wife and supplying her with cocaine, a job that has vanished into thin air, and your own mortality staring hard at you every minute of every day.
Heartbreaking.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
treasure savannah, 7
This is one of my favorite venues downtown. Dance, theatre, music, film - it's all BETTER here in the Lucas Theatre. Timeless beauty combined with modern functionality equals enhanced visions of artistic endeavors. I took this tonight while there for the Savannah Music Festival. Junior Brown was fabulous and performed two hits from the past, including everything on his 2005 "Live at the Continental Club" album... and gave me a new song to enjoy, "The Ghost of the Opry"! Now, I just need to find a link for that song!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Treasure Savannah, too
At the southmost end of Veterans Parkway, as you near the Abercorn exit, this lovely view awaits. I do believe it is one of the prettiest views here and always take out of town visitors to see it with me.
I also enjoy driving this parkway, lined with marshes and stands of tall trees, with a train trestle in the distance and not a house in sight. How very nice!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
William Shatner shouted my name!!
True, he wasn't shouting for ME, specifically, but it was still a rather nice experience to hear a well-known star of film and television saying MY NAME, loudly, over and over. Oh, yeah!
I attended the Shatnerfest today, an eight-hour celebration of William Shatner's eight decades on this planet. Woohoo!!! Compiled and hosted by the inimitable Jim Reed, who has to be Shatner's biggest fan, the event showcased four films which have been largely ignored, but which featured the pre-Captain Kirk era man.
The film in which William shouted my name was a 1974 thriller titled "Impulse". And, no, before you get all excited that someone was shouting "Faustina", let me clarify: he was shouting the diminutive form of the name. Namely, "Tina". But, still, I'll take what I can get! The character was a bratty teen who didn't like him dating her widowed mom and she made sure he, and all others, knew it. She had a valid point, though. His character was a nervous time bomb, killing off any who touched him wrong. Yes, indeed, this was a side of Shatner I think very few have ever seen! Definitely a treat, though the film was straight 70's schlock, including the music and clothes.
The best film, even according to standards of the Cannes Film Festival, was "Incubus". Filmed in 1966 in the Big Sur of California, it featured the language of the world, Esperanto. Oddly, the art-house film was inadvertently destroyed and thought to be gone forever, until a copy was found in France about 35 years after its debut. To me, one of the best parts of this black and white battle between good and evil was actually getting to HEAR the language being used. When I was in high school, I remember learning some Esperanto, finding some similarities between it and Spanish, but I never was fluent in it. These characters all spoke it as if the words were native to them. Nice!
The above films were bracketed by a 1968 tv pilot ("Alexander the Great", which also featured the pre-Batman Adam West) and the 1977 "Kingdom of the Spiders", a cautionary tale of man's inhumanity toward other life on this planet. While both were quite good, with the first being a movie I most likely DID see when I was a kid and the latter one I almost missed tonight, I think I enjoyed the other two more so. Maybe camp and arthaus are simply so different from much of today's cinematic fare, lending them a freshness beyond their shelf life.
The Shatner Fest is over and I have the T-shirt and collectible pins as proof of my attendance. Now, time for bed!
I attended the Shatnerfest today, an eight-hour celebration of William Shatner's eight decades on this planet. Woohoo!!! Compiled and hosted by the inimitable Jim Reed, who has to be Shatner's biggest fan, the event showcased four films which have been largely ignored, but which featured the pre-Captain Kirk era man.
The film in which William shouted my name was a 1974 thriller titled "Impulse". And, no, before you get all excited that someone was shouting "Faustina", let me clarify: he was shouting the diminutive form of the name. Namely, "Tina". But, still, I'll take what I can get! The character was a bratty teen who didn't like him dating her widowed mom and she made sure he, and all others, knew it. She had a valid point, though. His character was a nervous time bomb, killing off any who touched him wrong. Yes, indeed, this was a side of Shatner I think very few have ever seen! Definitely a treat, though the film was straight 70's schlock, including the music and clothes.
The best film, even according to standards of the Cannes Film Festival, was "Incubus". Filmed in 1966 in the Big Sur of California, it featured the language of the world, Esperanto. Oddly, the art-house film was inadvertently destroyed and thought to be gone forever, until a copy was found in France about 35 years after its debut. To me, one of the best parts of this black and white battle between good and evil was actually getting to HEAR the language being used. When I was in high school, I remember learning some Esperanto, finding some similarities between it and Spanish, but I never was fluent in it. These characters all spoke it as if the words were native to them. Nice!
The above films were bracketed by a 1968 tv pilot ("Alexander the Great", which also featured the pre-Batman Adam West) and the 1977 "Kingdom of the Spiders", a cautionary tale of man's inhumanity toward other life on this planet. While both were quite good, with the first being a movie I most likely DID see when I was a kid and the latter one I almost missed tonight, I think I enjoyed the other two more so. Maybe camp and arthaus are simply so different from much of today's cinematic fare, lending them a freshness beyond their shelf life.
The Shatner Fest is over and I have the T-shirt and collectible pins as proof of my attendance. Now, time for bed!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
how kids perceive their grandparents
I received this as an email and thought it was great fun with a dash of truth. Enjoy!
1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Grandma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!" I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye....
2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 62. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"
3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice,
"Who was THAT?"
4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like. "We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods."
The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"
5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said, "No, how are we alike?'' "You're both old," he replied.
6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story.
"What's it about?" he asked.
"I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."
7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these colors yourself!"
8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."
9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised "Mine says I'm 4 to 6."
10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting." she said. "How do you make babies?"
"It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."
11. Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked.
"Sure," said the young boy confidently. 'It means carrying a child."
12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties.
"They use him to keep crowds back," said one child.
"No," said another. "He's just for good luck."
A third child brought the argument to a close."They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."
13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."
1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Grandma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!" I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye....
2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 62. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"
3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice,
"Who was THAT?"
4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like. "We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods."
The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"
5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said, "No, how are we alike?'' "You're both old," he replied.
6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story.
"What's it about?" he asked.
"I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."
7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these colors yourself!"
8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."
9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised "Mine says I'm 4 to 6."
10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting." she said. "How do you make babies?"
"It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."
11. Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked.
"Sure," said the young boy confidently. 'It means carrying a child."
12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties.
"They use him to keep crowds back," said one child.
"No," said another. "He's just for good luck."
A third child brought the argument to a close."They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."
13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
rap for an ex-Cowboy
There's a man called Crazy Harold in Sandfly G A
Got drafted by the Dallas Cowboys back in the day.
Found out he had a heart murmur, never got to play.
Yeah, those were his glory days.
If not a Cowboy, an Indian would do
With leather and feathers his shrines he would strew
Chanting the blessings that only he knew
By the light of the sun, under clear skies of blue.
*** I wrote this in church on Halloween of last year, using the stub of pencil from the attendance pad. The sermon was on "Jekyll & Hyde: Your True Identity" and, somehow, this poem came full-blown into my consciousness. I have had several dealings with Harold over the years - I hope he is well.
Got drafted by the Dallas Cowboys back in the day.
Found out he had a heart murmur, never got to play.
Yeah, those were his glory days.
If not a Cowboy, an Indian would do
With leather and feathers his shrines he would strew
Chanting the blessings that only he knew
By the light of the sun, under clear skies of blue.
*** I wrote this in church on Halloween of last year, using the stub of pencil from the attendance pad. The sermon was on "Jekyll & Hyde: Your True Identity" and, somehow, this poem came full-blown into my consciousness. I have had several dealings with Harold over the years - I hope he is well.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
treasure savannah, 5
The Sugar Shack, a Tybee landmark for as long as I can remember - and THAT has been a few decades! This was taken last Sunday, about 6 pm, with a fog bank so thick you couldn't even see the ocean. It was surreal and magical and eerie, simultaneously. THAT is Savannah.
Friday, March 4, 2011
treasure savannah, 4
Oh, one of my favs for many years! 606 East, a slice of fun for all ages, with a side order of tatet tots. Yeah!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
treasure savannah, 3
Yes, that IS a woman with a bare midriff walking a small goat in the Christmas parade at Tybee, on the 4th of December. What a lovely day it was, as is the case more often than not.
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