open letter to S. Truett Cathy

Dear Mr. Cathy,

Today was a very trying day for me.
I had traveled to the Chick-Fil-A on Mall Boulevard, here in Savannah, Georgia, for my April calendar card promotional reward. Today was the final day for me to collect my promotional item and I had scheduled the trip to Chick-Fil-A as a treat while running my errands.
Have I mentioned that I am lactose-intolerant?
Well, I am.
The promotional item for April, as you know, is the frosted lemonade. The beverage consists of a half-cup of lemonade, with no ice, with a scoop of ice cream in the cup.

How do I know?

That's how it was eventually served to me.

A half-cup of lemonade,
no ice.

A half-cup of ice cream.


When I had ordered the beverage, I had told the young woman that I was lactose-intolerant. Instead of having the frosted lemonade, could I simply have the regular lemonade?
No, that was not possible.
Well, since I could not have the beverage with the ice cream, could I simply have the ice cream on the side?
No, that was not possible.
She consulted with her manager, "Miss Cleo", who confirmed that the only way I could obtain the beverage was with the ice cream in the lemonade.
Was the ice cream already mixed into the lemonade, or placed into the lemonade, such as in a lemonade float?
The drink was served as a float.
Well, then, why couldn't the ice cream simply be omitted or served on the side?
The cash register wouldn't be able to handle that, the young woman said.

Trapped in the drive-through by traffic, I was forced to proceed, slowly, up to the window.
When I arrived at the window, the young woman there stared at me in silence. I reminded her that I was the one who could not eat ice cream. (I do wish I had gotten her name for you.) She again told me that the beverage could only be served with ice cream and that it was not possible for me to have just the lemonade portion.
At that point, I asked for the manager's business card and the 800-number for the corporate office.
I also turned off my car engine and prepared to wait, as it was clear that the manager ("Miss Cleo") was unwilling to come talk to me.
Within moments, a young man came to the window, professing to be the manager. He began, at once, to prepare me the lemonade and ice cream as separate items, telling me that he had to do the same for another customer earlier.
Clearly, he was not "Miss Cleo", but he did handle the issue.
I did not receive the manager's card, nor the 800-number.

I am very disappointed that the entire process took so much of my time.
My niece's gift to me, of the calendar with the monthly treats, has been somewhat tarnished by the entire experience.
I would suggest that dairy products be omitted as promotional items... or that management be trained in the best manner of dealing with substitutions for customers with health issues which preclude their partaking of dairy products.

At the very least, I would expect management to not lie to me, as "Miss Cleo" certainly did.
I have been a customer of Chick-Fil-A ever since its arrival in Savannah at the Oglethorpe Mall when I was in high school, in the mid-1970's.
I am very disappointed in the actions taken today by the personnel at the franchise on Mall Boulevard. I do hope this was an isolated incident and encourage more training of those personnel.

Hoping for better,

Faustina Smith

birthday cards for nieces

This was for
my niece,
Zaida,
and should
actually arrive
in time
for her birthday.

This one is
winging its way
to my second cousin,
Jenna,
now 15.
She has been
that age
for over a month.

stray thoughts about baseball games past

For those who aren't versed in such things, the above photo was taken after a winning game. In this case, the game was played on our turf and we won, so the Sand Gnats players all ran back out onto the field for some congratulatory, glove-knocking, high fives. Woohoo!
Last night was the last game of our first home stand. I was teaching, as that's what I do on Monday and Wednesday evenings, as I have done for twenty years now.
I missed the game.
That led me to looking through the "drafts" folder on my phone, flipping through notes made at games past. For the sake of clearing up some space on my seven-year-old flip phone, those notes are going to be moved here for safe keeping.
Let's just hope I remember where they are!

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

The following were all before the death of my stepbrother, George, in September, 2013. How can I be sure they predate his death?
When I had visited him in the hospital, I shared a baseball joke with him. In return, he shared a joke with me. I still have the punchline in my "drafts" folder.

A balk, a sliding center field catch, a double play - all b4 the 3rd inning!

My boys! My boys! My boys are on fire! 2 runs in the 1st, 2 sliding catches in the 2nd! Then a 3rd run in the 2nd!

Such a pretty catch and throw by SS! Almost like he was dancing!

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

These other lines are from the 2014 baseball season.

Man on third brought in by a balk, third and short dancing under a pop and allowing our man to get a double.
Our guy makes it to third on a wild pitch, but catcher tried to throw him out but threw WILD and our guy picked himself up from his slide into third and ran, making it to home between the catcher's legs, his feet hitting home as the catcher got the ball.
"SAFE!", the umpire called.
Yeah!

My tongue tripped around my eyetooth and I couldn't see what I was saying.

I made Willie speechless! Lol.
We were talking about the SAL hierarchy and I was rattling it off, then turned to him and asked, "Right?"
He laughed and laughed!

stray thoughts under blue skies

So, there I was, cruising south on the Truman Parkway, under blue skies and with a sweet breeze shifting into the car to ruffle my hair.
Ah, life is good!
And into my head popped this thought: Today is my last lecture!
Mind, it wasn't "this is my last lecture of the semester".
No.
Today is my last lecture!

I don't know what it meant, but I do know the words had an effect on me.
My next thought? "If this is my last lecture, I'm going to really enjoy it!"
Instantly, a good mood and a smile settled over me.
And I did enjoy this last day of lecture.
That started with my enjoyment of my Office Hours. Only two students came by, but that was okay! I had brought my daily newspaper with me in case my time was my own. Fortunately, one student was there for most of the ninety minute session and we had a nice time discussing all manners of things.
Then, I dined with Dominic on an Earth Day feast from the Galley. What a grand mood booster!
A little break, then it was 6:00 PM. Time for class!
Tonight's lecture was on beta-oxidation and glycolysis and deamination. It was a deviation from the usual order in which I taught metabolism. Usually, I follow the book's order, but not this time. I had led last week with basic digestion, then introduced the nucleotides and dinucleotides, pointing out the B vitamins and the similarity to the nucleotides of the DNA and RNA. I had then launched into the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain. Ordinarily, the breakdown of glucose would have gone first, but not this time.
That naturally left the secondary catabolic processes for the final lecture. The first catabolic processes, in which large carbohydrates, lipids, and protein molecules are digested into their component monosaccharides, fatty acids, and amino acids, had already been covered. The tertiary catabolic processes, in which the two-carbon portion of acetyl-coenzyme A was oxidized to carbon dioxide and resulted in the production of adenosine triphosphate, had also been done with great attention.
Now, the time had come to transform the monosaccharides, fatty acids, and unneeded amino acids into acetyl groups for passage into the energy-generating CAC and ETC. Woohoo! Let's make those final reactions count, shall we?
And we did.
I had fun, too!
What a great last lecture!

Earth Day

jumbled up in blue

Thanks to Bob Dylan for the title! The man was recently in town for a concert, so that brought him to mind.
I'm not saying that the lyrics have anything to do with these puns gleaned from Jumbles and crossword puzzles... but the color does appear in one of them.
(smile)

When the Jumble creators appeared at the live event, everyone enjoyed their "punny" business.

Building an elaborate doghouse in the backyard was his pet project.

Getting a cash advance on his credit card wasn't in his best interest.

Both houses were for lease and their decision would be based on the differ-rents.

He graduated with a degree in street building, which made him a "road" scholar.

It was finally payday and the new employee got a reality check.

Great balls of fire! Stars!

The math teacher hired an architect because she wanted a new addition.

A concern for one in the fast lane is a speed trap.

An adder is a calculating snake.

The campground's population goes up when people become inhabit-tents.

After he stole second, the baseball players touched base.

If Ichabod Crane was going to outrun Sleepy Hollow's horseman, he'd need to keep ahead.

We couldn't come up with a new salad pun... if you have a good one, lettuce know.

After sinking the winning basket, he and his teammates had a ball.

King Kong wanted to play for the Yankees, but he was too large for the big leagues.

The Cyclops' son wanted an action figure for his birthday, so they bought him a G-"eyed" Joe.

The Cyclops couldn't help but notice the new arrival after she caught his eye.

He wanted to go out to lunch with his friends after the marathon, but he needed to run.

The zombie couple worried that their son was becoming a deadbeat.

The weather forecast ended up being incorrect, which was predictable.

The firewood business was doing so well that there was a backlog.

After bumping into the celebrity on the street, she was "star-struck".

An evening of tv viewing is remote control.

An oysterer works in bed.

Characteristic carriers are DNA.

A new aluminum exterior was being installed where they resided.

The big cat finished the test quickly because he was a "cheat-ah".

She wanted her husband to take out the trash, but he considered himself to be indisposed.

The arachnid had her legs examined by a doctor after becoming worried about her spider veins.

They raised chickens and grew pines on their "pole-tree" farm.

They would let her open her birthday gifts after everyone was present.

When it came to repairing his car, he was fixated.

While trying to get the huge fish into the boat, the fisherman was sent reeling.

The new wind farm was producing "all-turn-ative" energy.

He told his wife he was going jogging, but he should have run it by her first.

When they decided not to pull an April 1 prank on readers, their editor said No fooling.

The latest in foal fashions is Arabian chic.

Beauty needing a lift is a blue belle.

A testy lover is a cross beau.

Bitter suite is a musical work expressing resentment.

Napped fabric, without a doubt? Easily suede!

Widow's pique is a surviving spouse's irritation.

Measly computer storage is petty cache.

Did you know Don Knotts was a Fife player?

Bridezilla's fabric of choice is power tulle.

more pineapple upside-down cake

I've been wondering what was wrong with me. I've been on the edge of tears for days now.
Sometimes, the tears have been overwhelming.
Twice, while watching movies that should not have been tear-producers, I have found myself sobbing. "Furious 7" was one of them; I passed off the tears as being in sympathy for the real-life death of Paul Walker and figurative death of that action-packed series about fast cars.
Yesterday, an animated film about aliens seeking a new planet, "H@ME", was the culprit. I had to sit in the theatre until everyone left so I could regain my composure.
I actually had tears in my eyes earlier yesterday at the ballpark. I was sitting with Lynn, as her daughter Lauri was not there. She was regaling me with the tale of her dancing at the breakfast place on Tybee. Someone had said that she and her daughter were their favorite mother-daughter pair. I voiced my agreement, while trying to hide my tearing eyes from her.
I had thought, maybe, that missing my mother was the cause. I have already received a couple of emails from sites promoting Mother's Day items. Already. It's almost a month away!
So, I was blaming those sites.
Today, I realized that more was going on.
It's pineapple upside-down cake time again.
Time to remember Sam.
Time to remember Daddy.
Time to toast those gone with hunks of pineapple upside-down cake.
The Galley had that on the lunch menu today, too. I knew as soon as I saw it that they had made it for me.
True, they may not have realized that they had done so.
But there are no coincidences.
I had the piece above for Sam.

Then I had a second piece for my Daddy.
i thank You, God, for this gift.

How do I know this was not just a coincidence?
I don't usually dine at the Galley for lunch. I eat an early dinner there, on Mondays and Wednesdays, prior to my 6:00 PM lecture.
Lunch is eaten at home, if I awaken early enough to have a breakfast instead of a lunch.
Not today.
I found myself checking the Galley's website this morning, telling myself I might have lunch instead of dinner. Right away, I spotted the cake on the lunch's dessert listing. Nice cake!
Then I looked at the dinner menu. Oh, no! Breakfast for dinner! And no special cake, either!
I am so glad I looked at the menu.
On top of all of the hugs I received and gave last night at the Odd Lot show, the gift of the "nice" cake has reminded me of how fortunate I am to know such love.

Now, to find a distraction for Mother's Day.
This will be my fifteenth one without Mama.
Assistance will be most welcome.

the price is right

Drew Carey did what?!?
He officiated at the mass wedding of a bunch of engaged folks on "The Price Is Right".
I did you not.
This morning, the episode aired.
The whole thing was a bit surreal.
Heck, for this entire week, the show has been a bit surreal.
That all started on Monday, with the episode in which all the players were couples who had just met through match.com. Each person had met the other about an hour before taping began.
All the prizes were designed to be easily split, should it turn out the match didn't work.
That was good.
I tuned in the next day to see if couples-playing would be continued.
It was.
These were all couples who had been married for some number of years.
That meant the prizes were for couples, not single folks.
The next morning, it was military couples.
I missed Thursday (I overslept), but I had made sure to wake up in time for today's show.
Did you know that Drew Carey could perform weddings?
Yes, he can, in the state of California.
You learn something new every day.

Now, I need to go work in my back yard.
The twerps who live behind me don't like purple flowers and have called the city on me.
Again.
I should really just put up a huge wall so they cannot even see into my luxuriously-sized back yard.
That's probably half the problem, too.
They have yard envy.
Mine is, truly, twice the size of theirs.
Maybe they should move.
After all, that is the only way they will be able to have a larger back yard.
Yep, yard envy - it's a real thing, y'all.
Gotta go before they call the city again!

of hotdogs and baseball in the air

Here's hoping Thursday will be dry.
The weather, that is.
The stadium certainly will not be!
Unless, of course, the skies fall.
Then Thursday will be wet.
Let's hope not!

This was Fan Appreciation Day for the Sand Gnats.
They had their first game last Thursday, but not here.
Our first home game will be this Thursday.
I hope.
Unless we have heavy rains.


With a hopeful heart, I picked up the season ticket holder package, which I am splitting with my artist friend, Bill. Last year, I had given him his very own package, but I simply did not have the funds to splurge this year. I have already promised him all of the Thursday night games, as well as those on Mondays and Wednesdays this month, while the semester winds down.
To make sure of an equitable split of the season tickets, I also spent the $25 for me to be a Sand Gnats Silver Slugger. In return, I have thirteen tickets to various games, mostly on Sundays and Tuesdays. So, for those games, I gave the season tickets to Bill, so we can both go together. That will be nice!
Then I gave him all of the Monday games. Mondays are the Kroger discount days, so I can get in for just a buck. (He can, too, then allow those tickets to be exchanged for another game. One of the great benefits of season tickets!)
After the split was done, I counted the tickets he was receiving.
Thirty-five.
Exactly half!
Very nice!
The season ticket holder T-shirt, shown above?
That's for the man who's living large!
Me? I have a snazzy, blue, Silver Sluggers T-shirt!

My brother. Ronnie?
I didn't forget about him!
He got two hot dogs,
a bag of tasty chips,
and a bottle of cold water.
After I had dined at the stadium,
I grabbed a "to go" plate
and went in search of him.
He and Sue Crow were sitting outside Barbara's furniture store, having a smoke and enjoying the breeze.
I joined them, too, for about an hour, chatting and catching up.
It's been a really wonderful day!

docs and dentists, oh my!

Today, at 10:15 AM, I had my physical exam.
Rather, that is the time at which it all began. Because of the car wreck on Saturday, my doctor at the VA Center thought it best to run some additional tests. I was having tingling and numbness in my left hand, from the middle finger to the pinky.
The doctor wanted to find out if I had any damage to my spinal column. I had a Chest X-ray and then a series of x-rays of my neck and upper spine. Seven vertebrae were required to be seen for the C-Spine X-ray and it took a bit of posing to make that happen.
I had to have an EKG, too. My usual sinus arrhythmia had an odd hitch on the fourth beat.
The doctor also checked my abdominal area for any soft tissue damage. Seat belts can take their toll on internal organs, you know.
After almost two and a half hours, I was released.
Results will be forthcoming.
Meanwhile, I had a dental hygiene appointment at 12:50 PM! It had been scheduled for 9:50 AM, but that wasn't go to work, so I had gotten lucky with this later time.
Or so I had thought.
I had hoped to get a little lunch beforehand, but that was clearly not going to happen now.
Oh, well.
I came out of the VA Center to find a message from the first niece.

her: Are you home?
me: Just leaving doctor. Now to the dentist.
her: Sounds like you're having fun.
me: Oh, way too much fun for one person. Want some?
me: I will gladly share. :-)
her: Nope, I am having enough writing this paper for school.
me: <3

An hour or so later, I was done!
New X-rays of my molars, to check on aging fillings. (They are doing well, thanks.)
Free oral cancer screening with their new whizbang toy, the Velscope. (Interesting device. It felt like she was using a tiny hair dryer on my gums.)
Teeth cleaned, then painted with a mint fluoride treatment. (A touch of gingivitis was present, too, mostly because I have not been flossing. Heck, I haven't even been brushing on a regular basis. My BFF would be quite disappointed with me.)

I had thought I might treat myself to a movie this afternoon, but I did not.
Instead, I stayed home and took care of some paperwork.
I even caught up on all of my lab grading!
Believe me, that is quite a feat!
I also finished off the Oscar Turbot and ravioli from last night. The Bonefish Grill had given me a $10 coupon and I had almost allowed the deadline to catch me. Instead, after class, I dined there. A special on the evening's menu allowed me to have the Oscar Turbot Price Fixe at the same price as not. Odd, right? But here it is.

Oscar Turbot - $22.8 / ,
price fixe $22.8
From the Land of Fire & Ice, Greenland Turbot is the sister to the indulgent Halibut. Sautéed Piccata-style, topped with jumbo lump crab meat, asparagus, lemon caper butter sauce. Served with mushroom ravioli + spring vegetables

The waitress checked and that was correct, so I had the full she-bang... and was even able to use my coupon!
What a deal!
As well as the usual hot and crusty bread, with olive oil, I had a three course meal! A plate full of the fresh and luscious Bonefish House Salad before the fish and its sides arrived. Then, for dessert, the three cinnamon-sugar doughnuts, with a pot of sea salt caramel and a pot of molten chocolate for dipping.
Oh, so very good!!!
I had saved two of the ravioli and half the fish, knowing the doughnuts were coming up. Have to have room for dessert! Especially when it's free!
Plus, I did eat all of my veggies.

The last of that dish was tonight's main course.
Now to chill out a bit before bedtime.
Cood night, gentle readers!
(smile)

better living through volunteering

Dear Tony,

Whew! What a busy couple of weeks I've had! The Savannah Music Festival ended on Saturday night.
By that time, I'd worked for 14 of the 17 days!
Incredible!
I had seen 21 shows, worth a total of $917.
Incredible!
I've heard music from Italy, Ukraine, Brazil, South Africa, France, and nearly every state in the USA! Well, that last part may be stretching it a bit - but not if you include all the states that the various band members were from... and I am! :-)
You know, writing this to you is the first time I've sat down and calculated the worth of my volunteer work. $900 in two weeks for part-time is pretty good money.*
And it was fun, too!
And I met so many new people!
Saturday, I had asked on facebook what to do with my time now that the Music Festival was over.
One of my buddies (Jim Casey) said, "Trick question? The Sand Gnats season starts next week."
Yep, he's absolutely right. The problem is, the first home game isn't until the week after that. Yep, the boys are starting late this year, April 16th. Hopefully that means the nights won't be so cold out there!

with my love!

*if I were to have received the money instead if the free music - but no taxes to pay on the music! Woohoo!

t-boned!

I hadn't even planned to drive on MLK.
My intention had been to take Henry to Drayton, Drayton to Oglethorpe, and park around Telfair Square, as I normally do when attending events on the west end of downtown.
Then, I could walk over to the Ships of the Sea Museum's North Garden, for my final event as a volunteer for the Savannah Music Festival.
I was even planning to stop in at Carlito's for some dinner beforehand.
That was my intention and I had plenty of time to make it all happen.
Then I ended up in the wrong lane as I approached Drayton, having to drive on by as I could not turn right.
Drats.
Well, should I turn on Bull, then circle back to Drayton?
Nah, I would just go on down to MLK. From there, I could still get over to Telfair Square. Who knows? Maybe I could even park near SOS. That would be sah-weet!
So, at the end of Henry, I turned right onto MLK, staying in the rightmost lane. There was a little traffic, but nothing major. The light at the KFC was yellow when I passed under it, but I had greens for the next few.
Then, at the intersection with Gaston, as I passed under the green light, a most curious thing happened. I felt a push behind me and my car began moving toward the oncoming cars on the left-hand side of MLK. WHAT?! I corrected my aim, removing my foot from the gas pedal, trying to figure out what was going on, moving back into the rightmost lane. In my rearview mirror, I saw the white car move out of the intersection and onto Gaston Street. Realizing that they must have hit me, I took the first right, then circled around the block to go to Gaston Street.
The young woman was furious.
She said she had the green light.
She called the police for us and we both told our stories to Office Nelson when he came.
I was shaking so hard I could barely get my insurance card out. I had to keep leaning against my car and trying to catch my breath.
The driver of the Toyota was fine. Her airbag didn't even open. She must have just started into the intersection when her car hit mine. Did she jump the green light?
Who can say? We couldn't have both had green lights. No one seemed to have witnessed the accident, so I have no idea what will happen next. The officer did not give a citation to me and I did not see him give one to her, either.
Thirty minutes later, we were both free to go. I headed back toward SOS. Too late for any dinner, but at least I found a close parking space and was on time to check in.
I still felt a little shaky, but the work was a welcome distraction.
I was assigned to tear tickets with G. That worked out well for both of us, with us taking turns enjoying a couple of songs before heading back to our post.
We had some good conversations, too! He has a smart phone, so I learned how to count to three in Ukranian (odin, dva, tri, pronounced OH din, vah, tree, respectively). I also learned to say "Welcome", but I've already forgotten part of it.
Anywho... this is the fourth or fifth event we've worked together, starting with the opera matinee. Each time, we've spoken more and opened up more, though still keeping it casual.
Then, on Thursday night, we had worked the "South Africa Meets the American South" early show. He had front door duty, I was in the lobby. When I was able to come in for part of the show, G had come up behind me, to talk in my ear about the show.
Nice! I like that "move". I tried to be casual, because I didn't know if he was actually making a move or was simply trying to be quiet.
But I liked it.
We talked during the intermission and again during the shift change for the second show. He opted to stay and watch part of it; I stayed to help Daniela, the Event House Manager, as she was short a couple of people. G only stayed for a couple of songs, this time with the second act playing first. I don't think the folk music was quite his scene.
So, tonight, I volunteered to tear tickets... and so did he.
Nice.
And we had such good comraderie, too.
Very nice.
After the concert, we were both saying goodbyes to some of the folks: Cindy, Franci, Judy. Barbara was calling the garage to see when they closed.
Good news! They were open all the time!
Then I invited him to join me and Barbara at Carlito's for some dinner.
And he accepted!
And we all had a good time together! He and she talked basketball and retirement locations and guacamole. I joined in from time to time, eating my dinner and listening.
He's very smart and seems to be very kind.
Nice!
And I have his phone number now.
I will try very hard to not get crazy...
...but I make no promises.
Maybe I was driving along the right path after all.
If I had eaten dinner earlier, Barbara and I might have opted for dessert at The Diner. G might not have been interested in joining us for that. We all would have gotten into our cars and traveled separately, losing the thread of our conversation, allowing the moment to slip away.
Odd how things work out.