yours in the double bond, y'all!

Just now, I finally completed updating my profile in the upcoming new edition of the directory of Alpha Chi Sigma brethren.
Woohoo! i even got it done before the deadline!

Here's what I wrote:

"After graduating from FSU in 1996, I moved back to my hometown, Savannah, GA. Fall of 2014 was my 20th anniversary of teaching survey chemistry to "those scared to death of it" at my alma mater. Sure, I've taught other courses, too, but none have brought as much reward as has my contact with the future nurses and radiology technicians.

Since my divorce in 2007, I've been reinventing my life and rejoining old pursuits. That includes more involvement in AXE, of course! I attended my first national Conclave this past summer and very much enjoyed meeting brothers from all over the USA and reconnecting with others! I look forward to more enriching friendships as time progresses ever forward.

I have been a brother for more than 25 years, getting my start with Gamma Beta at FSU during my years there. Since 2012, I have the honor of being a Brother For Life; my stepfather's death had given me a little "free money" and I, in turn, invested that in the Reserve Fund to help promote the future of this grand fraternity.

Yours in the double bond, y'all!"

Short and sweet... just like me!
(smile)

And here's the photograph I included. This was taken back in...2012?...no, 2011... when the Armstrong Alumni were going to East Broad Street School every month to read to the first-grade children. This shot was taken on a special day celebrating the works of Dr. Seuss, whose writings I have long enjoyed.

"chemistry of green eggs & ham"
That was the caption I submitted. Nice, n'est-ce pas?
(smile!)

GGBD 2015

Just wanted to let y'all know: The Goth Girl is all grown up and gone away.
She turned 18 in September, got back together with her first love, and is every bit a senior in high school.
Sorry.
It's been a fun ride, for sure.
But no more black nail polish.
No more punk rock schoolgirl.
No more kvetching in french. (Like that couldn't be translated.)
No more headbanging about saying SWIRLY.
No more longing for impossible things.

Yeah, I'm going to miss her, too.

drunken noodle soup

Well, it sounded reasonable enough.
As I had tests to grade and was not going to venture out to trivia tonight, I would do the next best thing.
Our group usually calls itself "The Drunken Noodles" (in lieu of the "Inebriated Fettucine" or some such nonsense). In honor of that sobriquet, and making use of the lone bottle of beer languishing in my refrigerator for the past year, I would prepare Drunken Noodles Soup!
Seriously, it sounded like a good idea.
However, the beer was far too hoppy and bitter, as it turns out.
YUCK.
I tried to remedy the situation by adding some Original Mrs. Dash.
No improvement at all.
Sweetening was definitely needed.
Fine.
I threw some honey into the concoction.
Not a recipe to repeat, but marginally edible.
Very marginally.
Sure sounded like a good idea.

did i miss a memo?

Tonight, I'm watching the Oscars and missing Mama.
It started with J.K. Simmons' acceptance speech for his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "Whiplash". He urged people to "call your mom. Don't text her or message her, call her. And if you're lucky enough to have both parents still alive, call your mom and your dad."
I started bawling right there and then.
Good thing I wasn't at that Oscar party with the 40+WSN tonight, was my first thought, when I regained composure. I had begged off, due to this allergy or cold or whatever I have. I had felt badly about not going. Now, I was glad I was in the safety of my own home, with no need to explain why I was losing my mind.
Everyone here knows why I'm losing my mind.
(smile)
Then I resumed watching the show, especially enjoying the talented Neil Patrick Harris. And, of course, the musical bits and all of the lovely clothes donned for the evening.
Patricia Arquette's speech after she won for Best Supporting Actress for "Boyhood", the moving words of the two women who won for "Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1", the humble tone of the once-freckle-faced man behind "Big Hero 6".
How did I know he once had freckles?
He told us in his acceptance speech, sharing the story of him telling his mom and dad, as a "freckle-faced boy", that he wanted to work for Walt Disney when he grew up.
Moms and dads have had a lot of public thank-yous tonight.
Was there a memo that went around, reminding attendees to honor those who brought them into the world?
Perhaps there are no more thank-yous to parents than in previous years... might that be the case? Am I simply more attuned to those words of homage this year?

Oh, my! Lady Gaga just sang a musical tribute of the tunes in "The Sound of Music" - and she played it straight! She truly has such a good voice, when she isn't hiding behind a contrived stage presence.
Even more marvelous - the lovely Julie Andrews joined her afterward on the stage! Then Ms. Andrews introduced the line-up for those nominated for Best Original Soundtrack (which went to "The Grand Budapest Hotel")! But first she talked about the fifty years which have passed since she was a lass of thirty who sang as Maria the governess.
Wow.

I'm back again!
I had to go watch the rest of the show!
Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor! Very nice! And he made sure to dedicate his Oscar to the honor of those afflicted with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as ALS. You know, that disease that destroyed the body of Stephen Hawking, but couldn't touch his mind. I'm so glad the bfe and I saw "The Theory of Everything" together!
Best Actress was won by Julianne Moore, for a film I've had two opportunities to see with others. Seriously. Plus, the man at the jazz concert talked to me about it, as his wife had recently died after several years in the unrelenting grip of Alzheimer's Disease. He told me "Still Alice" is true to the effects of the illness.
Three times it's come up. I guess that means I really should go see it.
"Birdman" won for Best Picture!!! Yeah!!!
It's director, Alejandro Iñárritu, won for Best Director, too! Oh, wait, they call that Best Achievement in Directing now. Perhaps they always did and I just missed it?
Anyway, I very much enjoyed that one! I found Michael Keaton to be the absolute best choice for its lead. Why? Who better to portray a man trying to escape the large shadow cast by his superhero character, a man showing he can act without the aid of a costume and cinema's special effects?
I look forward to seeing that one again when JAVAFLIX Savannah next convenes. Ah, to be able to discuss my thoughts with others after a second viewing! Or, perhaps, it would be more correct to say 1 3/4 viewing. You see, I missed the first 20 minutes or so the first time I saw it... Nice to have a free second chance!
Perhaps I'll try to see "Still Alice" while it is still here.
"Whiplash", I hope, will have a rescreening some time, too, now that it's won an Oscar. I hope.

more jumble'd puns

The carpenter was done with the new door. He exited after making a good entrance.

She had to give up tennis for a while, but she was now back in the swing of things.

She made such a good witch because she was crafty.

The prices on the granite floor tiles were rock-bottom.

When she browsed the internet, she was site-seeing.

The scarecrow didn't have a brain, making him absent-minded.

When Medusa was bitten on the neck, she had a bad hair day.

When it came to repairing cars, the auto body shop did a bang-up job.

After buying the condo in the high rise, they lived it up.

The wild ox wouldn't shut up, making the others tired of the yakety-yak.

When Jack Nicholson got the lead in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film, he was the Shining star.

When the bread factory burned down, it was toast.

He was going to quit teaching at the acting school because there was too much drama.

Getting a good deal at the swap meet involved a lot of give and take.

The quarterback's girlfriend broke up with him, but he was going to try to court her back.

He would be hired as their new sneakers salesman because he was a shoe-in.

They sold the land their plant nursery was on because they outgrew it.

When the machinery at the lumber factory broke down, everyone was milling about.

He poked his skeptical buddy with the new spear to prove his point.

When she saw the fancy new cafe that served Earl Grey and Chai, she thought "LA-TEA-DA".

He asked if the mattress came with a warranty and the salesman told him he could rest assured.

After the White House was completed in 1800, it had a First Family.

He complained about how full he was, and his wife wanted him to stop his bellyaching.

The policeman in the pizza parlor wanted to keep the piece.

If you thought the center of the Earth was as hot as the surface of the sun, you'd be core-ect.

The zombie jingle writer was de-composing.

The Zombies made a snowman in the dead of winter.

jokes and puns, jokes and puns!

From my friend, Pat Andres:
……………………………………………………………………………………..
The biggest lie I tell myself is ..."I don't need to write that down, I'll remember it."
Wouldn't it be great if we could put ourselves in the dryer for ten minutes; come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller!
Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet!
I don't trip over things, I do random gravity checks!
I don't need anger management; I need people to stop pissing me off!
Old age is coming at a really bad time!
Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can & the friends to post my bail when I finally snap!
I don't have gray hair. I have "wisdom highlights".
My people skills are just fine. It's my tolerance to idiots that needs work.
Teach your daughter how to shoot because a restraining order is just a piece of paper.
If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would've put them on my knees.
The kids text me "plz" which is shorter than please. I text back "no" which is shorter than "yes".
I'm going to retire and live off of my savings. Not sure what I'll do that second week.
Even duct tape can't fix stupid ... but it can muffle the sound!
Why do I have to press '1' for English when you're just gonna transfer me to someone I can't understand anyway?
Of course I talk to myself, sometimes I need expert advice!
Oops! Did I roll my eyes out loud?
At my age "Getting lucky" means walking into a room and remembering what I came in there for.
Chocolate comes from cocoa which is a tree ... that makes it a plant which means ... chocolate is Salad!!!

from my friend, Cedric Stratton:
……………………………………………………………………………………
Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: 'And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?'
She simply replied, 'No peer pressure.'

The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs and have fun finding them.

My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

Know how to prevent sagging?
Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.

It's scary when you start making the same noises as your coffee maker.

Question:What is the best way to describe retirement?
Answer: The never ending coffee break.

Question: What's the biggest advantage of going back to school as a retiree?
Answer: If you cut classes, no one calls your parents.

QUESTION: What do you do all week?
Answer: Monday through Friday, NOTHING..... Saturday & Sunday, I rest.

Question: How many days in a week?
Answer: 6 Saturdays, 1 Sunday
{My stepdad would have agreed. He said he never got vacation anymore!}

Question: When is a retiree's bedtime?
Answer: Three hours after they fall asleep in the recliner.

Question: How many retirees to change a light bulb?
Answer: Only one but it might take all day.

Question: What's the biggest gripe of retirees?
Answer: There is not enough time to get everything done.
(Mother Pat, my mom-in-law, always said this, too!)

Question: Why don't retirees mind being called seniors?
Answer: The term comes with a 10% discount. Sometimes 15%!

Question: Among retirees what is considered formal attire?
Answer: Tied shoes.

Question: Why do retirees count pennies?
Answer: They are the only ones who have the time.

Question:What is the common term for someone who enjoys work and refuses to retire?
Answer: NUTS!

Question:Why are retirees so slow to clean out the basement, attic or garage?
Answer:They know that as soon as they do, one of their adult kids will want to store stuff there.


from my friend, Barbara Nixon:
……………………………………………………………………………………
Why did the Chicken Cross the Road???

SARAH PALIN: The chicken crossed the road because, gosh-darn it, he's a maverick!

BARACK OBAMA: Let me be perfectly clear, if the chickens like their eggs they can keep their eggs. No chicken will be required to cross the road to surrender her eggs. Period.

JOHN McCAIN: My friends, the chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: What difference at this point does it make why the chicken crossed the road?

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our
side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or against us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken.

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white?

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he is acting by not taking on his current problems before adding any new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross the road so badly. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a NEW CAR so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way the chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough for us.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2014, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2014. This new platform is much more stable and will never reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?


from my fsilm and friend, Bev Lockamy
……………………………………………………………………………………
It was a whole lot easier to get older, than to get wiser.
If all is not lost, then where the heck is it?
I wish the buck really did stop here; I sure could use a few of them.
My wild oats are mostly enjoyed with prunes and all-bran.
I finally got my head together, and now my body is falling apart.
Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

Some days, you're the top dog; some days you're the hydrant.
When I'm finally holding all the right cards, everyone wants to play chess.
It's not hard to meet expenses - they're everywhere.
The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.
Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.

Kids in the back seat cause accidents.
Accidents in the back seat cause kids.
The world only beats a path to your door when you're in the bathroom.
These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter - I go somewhere to get something, and then wonder what I'm "here after".
Funny, I don't remember being absent-minded.


from my Aunt Barbara Narcarti:
……………………………………………………………………………………
Friends - this is almost too sad to forward but I felt I should. Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community.
The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday in Minneapolis of a yeast infection and traumatic complications from repeated pokes in the belly.
He was 71.
Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The gravesite was piled high with flours.
Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.
Born and bread in Minnesota, Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not regarded as a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes.
Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and served as a positive roll model for millions.
Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough, and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.
The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 min.
If you smiled while reading this, please rise to the occasion and pass it on to someone having a crumby day and kneading a lift.

from my friend, Sandy Karlin:
……………………………………………………………………………………
A man said to his wife one day, 'I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time.'
The wife responded, 'Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife said, 'You should do it because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee.
The husband said, 'You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.'
Wife replies, 'No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee.'
Husband replies, 'I can't believe that, show me.'
So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says 'HEBREWS'

A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day -- 30,000 to a man's 15,000.
The wife replied, 'The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men...'

'Cash, cheque or charge?' I asked, after packing items the woman wished to purchase.
As she fumbled for her wallet , I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.
'So, do you always carry your TV remote?' I asked.
'No,' she replied, 'but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured that since the football and the horse-racing were on, setting the TV to a cookery program and coming out was the most evil thing I could do to him legally.'

hollywood, senior style

This was passed along courtesy of my fsilm. What a fabulous idea! I would have liked to give a copy of this calendar to my grandmother, if she were still alive. She would have loved it!


"The Contilia Retirement Group in Essen, Germany made what is probably the best calendar ever with a few of their seniors.
According to German press, 5000 calendars were printed. And they were given out to residents of the senior center, along with relatives and staff.
The calendar models were interviewed about the project and said it was a ton of fun to dress up as their favorite actors.
The shoot was done with professional stylists and photographers to make sure everything looked as cool as possible."

*** Note: This calendar was made for 2014. ***
*** No word on whether a new version was made for this year. ***

January

"Thunderball"

William Buiting, 98

February

"Breakfast at Tiffany's"

Marianne Brunsbach, 86

March

"Titanic"

Erna Rütt, 86, und Alfred Kelbch, 81

April

"Rocky"

Erwin J. von der Heiden, 80

May

"Mary Poppins"

Erna Schenk, 78

June

"The Seven Year Itch"

Ingeborg Giolbass, 84, und Erich Endlein, 88

July

"The Blues Brothers"

Margarete Schmidt (r.), 77, und Lothar Wischnewski 76

August

"Cabaret"

Martha Bajohr, 77

September

"Giant"

Joanna Trachenberg, 81, und Horst Krischat, 78

October

"Saturday Night Fever"

Irmgard Alt, 79, und Siegfried Gallasch, 87

November

"Dirty Dancing"

Johann Liedtke, 92 und Marianne Pape, 79

December

"Easy Rider"

Walter Loeser, 98 und Kurt Neuhaus, 90

to be a last love

On this Valentine's Day, this is my wish.

On this, and every, Valentine's Day, this is my man.
Yes, indeed, I am a MeatLoaf girl, through and through,
doing my best to live life LARGE and LOUD.

<3

flash! Ahhh ahhh!

Yes, I have been staying up until ridiculously late hours.
(Or insanely early, depending on your point of view.)
But that worked in my favor today!
As I was waiting for the coffee to perk, I was searching the television version of the ether to find a bit of lightweight entertainment to begin my day.
Talking heads?
I prefer the music, thanks.
Judges and such?
Um, no.
Sales pitches?
Absolutely not.
And there it was... 1980's "Flash Gordon"!!!
Now, THIS is tv as it should be!

I watched the whole thing, too.
I had tuned in near the start, just after Flash and his friends have been captured by the evil Ming.

Then, near the end, one of my favorite scenes!
Brian Blessed, boisterously blustering!
Here he is in his glory, urging his Hawkmen on,
reprising his childhood role of Prince Vultan!

At last, the evil emperor is pinned down!
(Get it? Pinned down?)
Hahahhaha!

Woohoo!!!!

Flash, sword-wielding,
is stepping up to finish off
the evil Ming...

Success!!!
All hail Flash!
Go, Flash! Go!!!

I couldn't say it any better!
My thanks to YOU, brave Hawkmen!!!

(smile!)

Now, to truly begin my day and head off to school.
Later!

i wanna be a COWBOY, baby!

This joke is courtesy of my friend Barbara.
I've seen it before, but I had not yet featured it here.
Remedied!

A successful rancher died and left everything to his devoted wife. She was a very good-looking woman and determined to keep the ranch, but knew very little about ranching, so she decided to place an ad in the newspaper for a ranch hand.

Two cowboys applied for the job. One was gay and the other a drunk. She thought long and hard about it, and when no one else applied she decided to hire the gay guy, figuring it would be safer to have him around the house than the drunk.

He proved to be a hard worker who put in long hours every day and knew a lot about ranching.

For weeks, the two of them worked, and the ranch was doing very well.

Then one day, the rancher's widow said to the hired hand, "You have done a really good job, and the ranch looks great. You should go into town and kick up your heels." The hired hand readily agreed and went into town one Saturday night.

One o'clock came, however, and he didn't return. Two o'clock and no hired hand.

Finally he returned around two-thirty, and upon entering the room, he found the rancher's widow sitting by the fireplace with a glass of wine, waiting for him.

She quietly called him over to her. "Unbutton my blouse and take it off," she said.

Trembling, he did as she directed. "Now take off my boots."

He did as she asked, ever so slowly. "Now take off my socks."

He removed each gently and placed them neatly by her boots.

"Now take off my skirt."

He slowly unbuttoned it, constantly watching her eyes in the fire light.

"Now take off my bra." Again, with trembling hands, he did as he was told and dropped it to the floor.

Then she looked at him and said, "If you ever wear my clothes into town again, you're fired."

***** ***** *****

HAHAHAHA! Isn't that a hoot?
I wonder if "Fifty Shades of Grey" will have such tension in it?
Speaking of that, here's the birthday greeting I sent to the ex:
me: hAppY biRthDAy! I hope you have turned FIFTY with no shades of gray!
him: Very clever! Thank you dear.

And here's the conversation I recently had with my first niece:
her: We still have a date on Friday the 20th right?
her: I will be bringing a date... his name is Christian. You may know him as Mr. Grey.
me: Does your husband know?
me: Actually, i plan to go see Sam and Tony that weekend. Unless it snows. Or i meet the man of my dreams.
her: Ok fine. Maybe I can talk to Christian and see if he wants to go on Sunday afternoon instead. How does that sound to you?
me: That will work nicely. I do hope he is willing to make that work, though i know there will be a price to be paid. :)
her: Oh, by the way, my husband knows about our date but not that I'm bringing along Christian lol! :)
her: I may just have to bite my lip.
me: lol!

I've decided to cancel my trip to north Georgia next week. The weather promises to be utterly miserable there, so I will stay here.
Gotta let the first niece know!

valentine winging northward!

Hey, Dood!

I'm doing much better now. My frame of mind has been restored to a cheerier tone, thanks to good hugs this weekend. From whom, you ask? Have I met the man of my dreams after all??

Well, no, that hasn't happened. (At least, not to my knowledge.) I still have hopes that it will, but that day has not yet arrived.

Maybe today is the day? Maybe!

Back to who was hugging me last weekend. First was Ronnie. Yep, our brother, Ronnie. I called him Saturday morning to see if he would join me at IHOP and he said yes! We had a good time there and he ate every bit of his sirloin tips with onions and mushrooms. Did you know he loves mushrooms?

Then, that afternoon, Christina and I went out for Mexican food. Always a favorite for me! Both her and that type of food! :-)

And on Sunday, I met Bonnie in Bluffton for lunch and a movie. She brought Merritt (9) and Conner (6) with her, too! Many hugs!!!

As the card says:

Valentine's Day
is a wonderful time
to think of the people we love,
So you can be sure
on this Valentine's Day
You're someone
that I'm thinking of.

(I added three exclamation points at the end.)

with much love!

100% San Diego

Oh, sweet! I can't recall the reason I had known of this video, but I do remember that my little sister, Sue, and her entire family were to be five of the one hundred people selected to represent the city of San Diego, California.
That's right: five people I know were to be in a video!!!
That was in fall of 2013. Perhaps Sue told me about the project when she was here around that time? Or maybe she mentioned it on facebook?
No matter how that occurred.
I had bookmarked the link and waited for the video to be added. And waited. And waited.
Finally, the wait is over! I can watch my peeps in this historic "play", as the media dubbed the event. Perhaps the misunderstanding arose because the piece is being hosted by the La Jolla Playhouse.
I don't think the media reporters understood the premise of the work.
"100% San Diego" is one of Rimini Protokoll's research projects in statistics. The goal was to obtain 100 people who reflect the classification categories of the three million in the population of the city. For example, the census revealed that 31% are Hispanic, 23% are couples with children, 44% are religious, 16% are 25 to 34 years old. That should mean that 31 of the people selected for the study are Hispanic, 44 of them are religious, et cetera.
Questions will be asked of the group, questions which will visually display their personalities, opinions, and hobbies on the stage. How so? The 100 people will move to the half of the platform which corresponds with their individual answers.
It's an interesting experiment.
How did they find the people for the study? Casting calls?
Nope.
Protokoll's people cast the first person.
I have no idea what algorithm was used to select this person.
Then that person cast the next person.
That next person then cast another.
And so on, until the 100th person had been chosen by the 99th person.
I don't know how valid such a process would be for obtaining a diverse sample of a city's population. I certainly have my doubts as I know five people in the group and they are all related to each other.
So, scientifically, I would have to say there are some flaws in the experimental set, making the results unfit for serious analysis. Of course, if I were to see the demographic breakdown for the total sample set, then I might amend my position.
If...then...
Meanwhile, I can enjoy the pictures of the San Diego branch of my family!

Here's Sue,
introducing herself
and talking about
her marriage to Cyndi.

Above, she is joined by her adopted son, Cooper.

In the lower right of this photo,
the two adopted daughters,
Riley and Dylan,
rush to catch up.

Now, all are together,
with Cyndi holding Dylan's hand
(in the upper right of the frame),
and Riley trailing in the middle.

I don't know what the question may have been, but Dylan is clearly announcing her position!
(She's in the mottled top and gray leggings.)
Riley (off to her left) seems to agree!

Cooper, standing to the left in a dark green shirt in this shot, doesn't seem to have a strong opinion on the topic at hand.

Here's the challenge: where are they in this group photo???
I guess I will play that game some other time!

final farewells to fellow beach lovers

Farewell to you, Panda Ann.
Why attach that sobriquet to her given name?
She would have it no other way.
Of that, I am certain.
She chose to be known as Panda, ostensibly because of the huge tattoo on her left side.
Or was it on her right?
She had revealed it one night at the post-Philo Cafe-discussion at Chili's, but that was long enough ago that the details are lost to me.
Perhaps her wardrobe was carefully chosen to reflect that choice in her new identity.
She was always sporting the black hat with her dark clothes.
When did she get the tattoo?
I don't recall ever knowing that.
Was the work done here in town?
Somehow, I doubt it.
I think it more likely that it was done overseas.
Ann Kropf Unemori.
Now, her ashes will travel to Sandusky, Ohio. (That is also the home of the Merry-Go-Round Museum which I visited during my Midwest-Canada Adventure in 2012.)
Her presence will remain here, though, in the form of her son and two daughters. Two of the three have been active in the philosophy group for the past few years. At last Monday's meeting at Savannah Coffee Roasters, her son even proposed a topic that she had requested of him for the coming Monday's discussion. Now, he will chair the upcoming meeting, as her topic was elected by those of us present.
What topic, you may ask?
"What impossible thing has occurred that you never thought would happen?"
I wonder if Daniel will have an answer from her to share with us. I imagine he will, since she had requested that he broach the subject.
I wonder if her answer will involve dying at age 55 while both of your parents are still alive.
Regardless, that should make for a lively round of ideas. I would imagine, though, that the term "impossible" may need to be defined first.
(smile)
Some of her other favorite topics? "Is it better for your enemies to lose or for you to win?" "Who will be left alive when the aliens come?" "Is revenge best served cold or hot?"
Ah, yes, her contrariness will be missed.
And how did I know about her fondness for the beach?
Her son told me.
On Monday, as the six of us (me, Cedric, Connie, Gwen, Ellen, and Daniel) were continuing in each others company at Chili's, as is our wont, he was talking about his mom and her last few days. He related that Cedric had brought his guitar to Hospice and played "Amazing Grace" as the last song. He said how much that song had meant to all of them.
He also spoke of a kindness on the part of the team transferring his mom from the hospital to Hospice. When they asked if there was anywhere she wanted to go, she had responded that she would like to see the ocean, as it had been a while. So, down to Tybee they went. They didn't stay long, but they did set her up so she could enjoy the view one more time.
That was very good of them.
I know she appreciated it greatly.

Marlin was a beach lover, too.
She had found Tybee to her liking thirty years ago and decreed it as her new home.
Living down there and dancing on the sand certainly agreed with her.
I had no idea she was 75 years old.
That's almost Mama's age.
I had thought she was just a few years older than me.
This photo shows how wrong I was about that.
I had snapped it as part of several to commemorate the occasion at the August 11, 2009, ballgame. Dr. Cedric Stratton, the British contingent of Philo Cafe, was to sing the national anthem in his rich baritone and some of us fellow philosophers had come out for morale support.
None of us knew that Carl Fleischaker, the former sailor sitting beside her, would be dead in just three short months.
Marlin took his death very hard. She was especially hurt that the news took so long to get to her. She even quit coming to the philosophy group for a couple of years.
Now, she's gone, too.
Marlin Jeanette Brown-Gordon.
The news about her traveled to interested parties much faster. She would have been pleased about that improvement in communication.
(See? Facebook is good for something, after all.)
I will miss seeing you at the Sand Gnats' games, your mass of platinum curls bowed over the score sheet, your Pink In The Park jersey announcing your presence behind home plate and three rows in front of Mister Willie on the green-painted wooden bleachers.

I will miss both of these women.
I wish I could have known them better.

161161

Home again.
I think I'm home for the evening, too.

Today was a good day.
This morning, I attended an oceanography lecture titled "Buried Alive: Life Beneath The Seafloor". I had found out about it last week via, of all people, my department head, who had posted the information on D of C&P fb page.
Must have been angels looking out for me.
The title alone begged for my attention.
I'm glad I had rsvp'ed for the event, so it was waiting for me when I finally lumbered out of bed. I barely had thirty minutes between my awakening and the start of Dr. Beth Orcutt's Distinguished Lecture.
It was certainly a good way to start my day.
Yes, even without coffee.
There were quite a few high school students in attendance, which was very good. The room in the library at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography had some retired and older folk present, too. I liked that - an all-ages presentation.
I learned that Google Earth is for much more than looking at friends' houses. Did you know there are hundreds and hundreds of data bases out there, awaiting analysis, full of information collected from the ocean floor for better than forty decades? No need for graduate students to spend years collecting data before writing their dissertations - just use this information.
I lunched there with a retired biology professor, O.C. Lamb, as well as some of the staff personnel at SkIO. He and his wife live in Darien and he suggested a couple of places for me to check out (Skippers, The Wine Bar) and I suggested one to him (the Sunbury Crab Company). Very nice gentleman for a conversation about the ocean.
Afterward, I went downtown, in search of a free ticket to tonight's performance by the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. Sadly, it was "sold out". No surprise, really, as this event for the 26th Annual Savannah Black Heritage Festival has been strongly promoted and will be in a small venue. At least I can always watch them on youTube!
I thought about buying a ticket for the Harry Connick, Jr. concert coming up... but it's on Thursday evening and that time is already been designated for a memorial gathering for my friend, Marlin.
I guess it's another instance of the angels looking out for me.
I'll listen to his music on one of my CD's that day.

So, off to home, to grade papers, to work crossword puzzles, to wash a week's worth of coffee cups and sundry other unbroken dishes.
Then... a diversion was warranted.
Something lowkey, not requiring thought.
I chose "The Wedding Ringer".
Excellent choice it was, too!
Light-hearted, full of laughs, a definite rOmP!
Just what the doctor would have ordered.

Now, I'm safely nestled in my warm house.
My car, with its new palindromic mileage, sleeps in the driveway.
Everything is going to be alright.

still blooming

Everything is going to be alright.
The Japanese magnolia is already in bloom.

death takes two more

This is turning out to be one hell of a year.
Two of my philosophy friends died today.
I'll have more to say soon.
But not today.

experiment gone wrong

The coffee cup is fine.
That missing chip?
That's been gone for many, many years.
Even if it had finally broken, I have another cup exactly like it, as I bought both cups that same shopping trip to the store on Gate 2 Street in Okinawa, back in 1982.
You know, just in case one broke.
Now, both cups are fine, but two of my breakfast plates are shattered.

What happened, you ask?
Well, in preparation for the pouring of freshly brewing coffee, I had withdrawn the clean, unchipped cup from the dishwasher to place on the coffee stand. I noticed the cup felt abnormally cold and wondered if that meant the dishwasher was open to the outside air or if the cup simply seemed to be colder.
So, I opened the cupboard where I keep all my coffee cups. They're on the lowest shelf, in that cupboard above the kitchen counter.
Reaching for the duplicate, but chipped, unicorn-bedecked cup (to do an exact thermal comparison), my clumsy hand instead managed to allow it to skip across the shelf...
and drop down onto the counter...
where it directly broke one breakfast dish before bouncing onto the edge of a bowl atop the other...
causing that dish to also shatter.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion.
But the chipped cup was fine.

What about the temperature of the ceramic?
Was it the same as the one from the dishwasher?

Um... what?
No, no, the one that was in the cupboard was notably warmer.

The two dishes which broke were "Pomegranate" and "Peach".
They were my favorites, of course.
My breakfast dishes were the four dessert plates I had bought at Angela's yard sale, several years ago, when she and her daughter were moving out to Richmond Hill to live with her parents.
Now, "Apple" and "Pear" remain.
Ah, well.
I guess I will simply need to wash dishes more often.
And maybe not keep dirty ones on the counter.