farewell to royalty

You can take all the
Harry Potters
with their lightning bolts
o'er their brows,
Put them all in
one room together
and they would have less
power than her.

She was sweeter than
purest honey,
Now she's an angel
of the first degree,
Yes, she was sweeter,
sweeter
than purest honey,
Sweeter than honey,
oh yes,
from the bee.

Honestly, I think Van Morrison would not mind one whit my taking inspiration for the above poetry from his lyrics for "Tupelo Honey".
Especially when such poetry is in memory of the Contessa.
Contessa is now stardust.
I hope the physicist will take solace from that.
I have spent part of the last two days with him.
Contessa died on Saturday afternoon, with her energy ebbing away as the daylight turned to dusk.
He called me on Sunday evening.
No, let me emphasize that.
He called me on Sunday evening.
The man whose every communique has been by text or email called.
Knowing it was his birthday, I sang the tune, then said hello. He wanted to ask a favor of me, he said, his voice not quite right. Would I be able to take him to Fox & Weeks tomorrow (Monday)? Contessa had died and he wanted to take her there for cremation.
Shock.
Definite shock.
For him.
For me.
I had known 'Tess had a stroke last fall, but she had recovered.
I knew her hyperthyroidism had worsened and the bfe was having trouble getting any weight on her slight frame, but that seemed to be a controllable issue.
No, it was Chloe that was the bigger concern, always, with her tumor in her peritoneal cavity. Chloe was the one that had me holding my breath in summer of 2013 when I was tending the girls.
Chloe's health was the reason I had researched pet cremation two years ago. I knew the folks at Tail Spin through First City Network, so trusted their recommendation. The two gentlemen I spoke to at Fox & Weeks about their Pets at Peace were very understanding and gave me brochures for the bfe.
Now, two years later, he had pulled them out for use. For the other cat.
For Contessa.
The cat that whispered to me.
The blue tortoise with the peach blur that controlled the radio waves to make sure I came to see her.
The kitteh that kidnapped my cooler.
The cat-dog who found my hands and my lap to be purr-fect for her.
(Sigh.)
Now, her ashes are in a cloth bag in a Cherry-hued, multi-tone, wooden, Rainbow Bridge urn.
At least I was able to make sure she made it home safely, without the bfe having to endure questions from strangers on the bus about the Pets at Peace bag and its contents.
I know he can handle the ride alone just fine. Time amongst strangers provides a needed breathing period during emotionally-charged times.
But if he had the urn and Contessa with him, he would have to explain the loss, possibly over and over.
I know how hard loss is.
I hope I was able to soften that loss a little for him.

I sure am going to miss that sweet, loving cat.

do ghosts have safe sex?

Funny question, right?
And yet, that was one of the odd topics of discussion last night.

Where were you???

I was actually at a bar, downtown -

Well, that explains it right there -

You should let me finish, please.

Okay, but you know what folks will think when you start out with 'at a bar'.

True, but allow me to clarify. It was after the screening of "Serenity" at the Trustees last night, as part of a fundraiser for a local musician who needs a kidney transplant.

Oh. That must be hard on you, having already watched Sam Johnson die while waiting for a kidney.

I must admit, I have been distancing myself from the events hosted for Keith. It isn't that I don't know him, because, well, you would be hard-pressed to find someone active in the music or downtown scenes who don't know him or know of him. I've danced to the music of his various bands for some few years now.
The fundraisers, especially those involving local bands, also remind me of the failed attempt we had at one of the bars. The Mercury Lounge, one of Sam's favorites, had agreed to host Samapalooza, with a long list of bands to play the event. Jim Reed even wrote about it in the local entertainment paper. But the work to organize and promote the event was done by Jeff and I, Wendy and Mike, and Annie. Oh, and Sam, who faithfully wrote about in his "I need a kidney" blog.
April 2, 2005, arrived. We were all there, ready to go! We even had some really great prizes to raffle off! The bands showed up when they were supposed to and the music was great!
But the bar changed how things were to be done. No cover charges were to be charged for the event. (They were afraid their regulars wouldn't come off the $5 for entrance.) The raffle tickets sold would be good for all drawings, all day, not sold from one drawing to another.
What difference did that make? Well, folks came in for free, spent a dollar for a raffle ticket, then took up room at the bar all day long. Not only did that limit the funds to be made, but it also limited the turnover of the crowd, what with Fire Marshal codes and all that.
The Mercury Lounge really let us down.
We barely cleared $1000, after expenses.
We had more fundraisers, of course. The quest was to hit $5000, which would then merit a matching grant by the Georgia Transplant Foundation.
By the end of May, 2005, we were about 60% to that goal.
The fundraiser at another drinking establishment, The Bar Bar, fell through, after being rescheduled twice. That was a shame, as Sam would have been the DJ that night and could have truly made 'The Big Score', as he called it.
The one on Flag Day, Sam's 39th birthday, was a lot of fun, but didn't raise much. The Sand Gnats were having a promotion which was a take-off on the tv show, "Survivor", and we sold tickets for the game. Sam was selected to throw out the first pitch for the Savannah Sand Gnats and sat with folks he didn't see often. To me, that was more of a success than anything we had done at the bars.
Oh, and lest I forget, there was the one at Steed's for his last birthday. That one was coupled with karaoke and requests - with Sam singing songs for cash. We all had a blast and he had pocket money - and lots of birthday wishes! - for his 42nd birthday.
I consider that a success, too.
Now, it's a new day and I guess I'm protecting myself, and my heart, by keeping Jim Reed's fundraisers for Keith at arm's length.

Totally understandable.

Tonight was the second of two screenings at the Trustees, both to benefit Keith. Jim, and his Psychotronic Film Society of Savannah, had wagered all they had on this venture. I had worked as an usher at the Lucas and missed about the first 45 minutes of the Nathan Fillion film tonight. I don't know, maybe I didn't miss that much, as I know there was a raffle beforehand. I came in when the space battle was going hot and heavy.
Good timing!

Most excellent! I know how you enjoy those. (smile)

I do! It was a really good action flick, too. I'd like to see the whole thing some time.
Meanwhile, back to the present. I have a Pink Flamingo fundraiser for JinHi to get to and this post is taking longer than expected.

Well, that's because you started talking about Sam...

Yes, I did, and glad of it.
Anywho, I knew the peace Guy was in town and at the Trustees, so I waited out front. Soon enough, I was joined by him, Joe Buttner of New Jersey, Carolyn, Teri, and Jim. We all walked over to the Irish bar and settled into a booth to talk of all manner of things. Devil dogs, queer versus gay versus homosexual, ICE, oral and anal sex as contraceptives, and ghosts.
Those topics just riffed right off of each other, being revisited a time or two and even merged.

Well, what would you expect, after folks started drinking?

Hold up, hoss, neither Carolyn nor I were drinking. Everyone else had a beer or two over the two hours we were there. And most of the talking was between me and Jim. I certainly realized during our talks that he and I are from different generations.
Much of the time, I can neglect that age gap.

Even so, you had a good mix of ages there last night.

We did! No one under forty, but that's okay.
You know what? I think I'm done here. I had thought I was going to expound upon ethereal spirits, but maybe some other time.
(smile)
Off to see JinHi about some birds!
Then, I'm going to treat myself to a free jazz concert, the first in months. Maybe I'll even run into those same ladies again!
Wish me luck!

Good luck, dear! Enjoy the sunshine!

that bird is not with those others

The title is a line I wrote on my phone's draft pad some time ago. I was looking at the sky, as I do, and noticed some birds. There was a group that were obviously traveling together, in a pretty tight formation. Then, there was this other lone bird, winging in the opposite direction.
At the time, I felt a kinship with that solo flyer.
I would even venture to say I've identified with that bird for most of my life.
Not that that is a bad thing!
(smile)
When I found the following card, I thought it perfect as a return note for my youngest brother's latest note.
Trust me, it really is!

Dearest Tony,

That bird is not like those others.
You know, that bird in the middle. His necktie stripe is a bit crooked and that's why the other two are looking at him.
Hahaha!

I really like the Halloween card! I take it that someone there is the artist? William Vito?
Tweety with the cat tail over his arm was a perfect tie-in with a movie I saw at the Savannah Film Festival, about a boy who had to kill cats in the barn and collect their tails for proof. Pretty gruesome stuff, but i guess that's life on a farm.
Your card was waiting in my mailbox when I got home from that movie. Nice coincidence!

The weather has cooled off again, but i have hopes it'll find its way back to warm in just a few days.

I can't believe it's only two more weeks until i see you for a belated birthday! Would Saturday or Sunday be better?

with my love!