we just may make that opening yet!

"Let me guess: you were at another American Legion meeting at Two First Posts, right? Are the new doors in?"

 

Not yet, but that should be finished by mid-May. This brand-new wall should be done by then, too! It'll separate the hall-for-rent area at 5511 Montgomery Street from the canteen and bar at 5509 Montgomery Street. And the nice front doors we already have will fit into those rectangular openings of the new wall. Looks like progress is happening!!!

"And is that Brenda Pough standing there, all dressed up?"

 

It is indeed! She and I chatted about those high heels she was wearing! As I told her, I used to wear shoes like that, back in my 20's and 30's, when I was going to school at Armstrong. Me and my BFF would go all over River Street, on those cobblestones and on those steep stairs, and not think a thing about it!

 

"Oh, I remember well! It's a wonder y'all didn't break your ankles. Who are the two fellows with her? Are those Billy Cope and John Parker?"

 

They are! After we went over to the tables for our 6 PM meeting, we were still waiting on a couple of people. That's when Billy whipped open his laptop to reveal more progress: he'd installed the security cameras! Hooray!!! We were able to watch Eddie Patterson get out of his truck and come on in - yes!!! I guess that means Billy successfully met up with Doug Andrews at the bank! Hooray!!! I even saw TVs in boxes in the conference room, so Joe Cetti met up with Doug, too! So good to see progress!!!

"Hallelujah!!! A new wall, televisions, security set up, doors on the way... and are those markings for the storage closet for event tables and chairs?"

 

You are correct, my dear! And Kay and Mike want to set up an area for a couple of dart boards to entertain the troops. They plan to decorate the wall with the badges of the different units at HAAF.

 

"That sounds great! Wait... they were there??"

 

Yep! And we spent almost 90 minutes on going through the contract they'd written. That was a bit of slow slogging at first, as they didn't have printed copies and we had to wait to folks to pull it up on their laptops or phones. Kay let me follow along on her 'puter. Who would have thought a three-page document would take that kind of time?! But, remember, Doug is a lawyer and he knows how things should be worded. By the time Mike gets the wording changed to reflect the rights and responsibilities of 5509 as opposed to 5511, it'll be good to go. Everything was covered, from which utilities were paid by which entity to who was responsible for keeping the bathrooms clean.

 

"Wow! That's a lot of fine detail."

 

Hey, it's all legalese, so everything has to be spelled out. After they left at 8 PM, the rest of us had a brief meeting, with the biggest item being the hiring of Eric of Post 500 as the building manager, in charge of setting up and breaking down for all events. Eddie asked if we had someone from Post 36 to join him, but Doug explained to him that none of our members were under the age of 75. Of course I spoke up then! "I'm only 67 and I won't be 68 until next month!" LOL! That's when Doug said, "I was talking about the men of our post." LOL!

 

"Well, they folks of Post 500 already knew that. You'd made that clear at a meeting a couple of months ago, right?"

 

Yes, but Doug had not been present. I think Eddie and John just wanted to clear it with him before they put any of their members into paid positions. You know, they were just dotting those i's and crossing those t's.

 

"Heard. So, what time did you get home?"

 

The meeting was officially over at 8:50 PM. We were all beat, but we were satisfied that we'd made steady steps toward May 25th. That's really important to Doug. It'll be his 57th wedding anniversary! My guess is he wants to have that special dinner here at the Two First Posts' canteen. I just may do that myself! Now, I'm going to eat the Spicy Salmon Roll I got from Publix earlier and watch "The Floor". Nice to look at Rob Lowe, ya know? (smile!)

today, i was 1 of 5

I was invited to this forum about three weeks ago.

The Ralph Johnson Hospital in Charleston wanted to hear from veterans about their care with the Savannah VA Center.

Even though the time would be 9:45 AM, I agreed to take part.

Even though that meant I would have to rise by 7:30 AM, so I would have time to take my Synthroid, have breakfast, and drive southside.

Why did I make the choice to be there?

I believe that if I want the right to complain, then I must accept the responsibility to give praise.

So, I went.

Including me, there was a total of five veterans who chose to be there; 2 Navy, 2 Army, and 1 Air Force.

I'm not sure just how many were there from Charleston - perhaps 8? - as well as three from our VA center.

Jonathon Isaman, the Veteran Experience Assistant Chief, was in charge of the forum, taking names and asking questions.  

There were three, and each of us were asked them individually, making sure each of us had a voice.

That was nice.

 

The first question: "What was going right with our care?"

We liked the MyHealtheVet website (me) and app (the others) as it allowed us to contact our care team at our convenience, with a written record of our needs being addressed.

 

The second question: "What was going wrong with our care?"

By and large, it was the time lag involved with getting community care.

I told them about having to cancel my appointment with Dr. Cobb two days ago because the Community Care in Charleston had not responded to the RFS (Request For Service) from my cardiologist's office. 

The fax of the RFS form had been acknowledged as received by Charleston, both 4 weeks ago when it was initially sent, as well as Tuesday of last week, but nothing else had happened and the original Community Care Authorization had not yet been renewed.

I didn't understand why that CCA had to be renewed in the first place, as it was for continued care of my Atrial fibrillation, a condition which will require care by a cardiologist for the rest of my life.

I also told them that this was not the first time that the CCA for Dr. Cobb had been allowed by the VA to lapse in the years that I've been in his care since February of 2022.

Kirsten Danforth, the Chief of Community Care in Charleston, was there and was able to respond directly to my complaint.

I told her the name of the representative who was the liaison for Dr. Cobb's office and that seemed to be an issue, as she did not know that person.

Another person from Charleston spoke up, about them finding there were phone numbers that went to inactive mailboxes, as those people were no longer there, so they were trying to rectify that, with an end date of June to rectify the problem.

They would also make sure that anyone who was already approved for use as Community Care would receive updated contact lists.

Meanwhile, I asked, why couldn't an alert be sent to the veteran and their community care supplier when a CCA was due to expire, so the need could be addressed and a new CCA issued in a timely manner?

Oh, they all liked that idea!!!

In fact, Ms. Danforth said they would be instigating that right away!

Well, alrighty then!

(smile!)

 

The third question: "What improvement would we like to see?"

Mine was to make sure prescriptions were sent when I would be home.

I told them that when I ordered refills, I could make sure to be home, to prevent porch pirates from stealing them.

However, some of my prescriptions seemed to be on auto-refill and I would not know they were on their way until I received a text message.

That meant I had to try to shuffle my schedule at the last minute, which was not always possible.

Dr. Slappy, the Head of the Ralph Johnson Hospital, told me to let the pharmacy know that I wanted to "park" those prescriptions; that meant they would be held until I requested them.

Very good to know! 

The others hadn't known of that option, either.

 

In an hour, we were done.

I felt like we'd accomplished a lot, and I think some of the others did, too.

I know there was a fellow from Charleston who took notes the entire time.

I'd talked to him beforehand, explaining that I wanted to be on record for having been there so early in my day.

9 o'clock is usually when I wake up, not when I leave home and drive.

I even told him about watching Bugs Bunny on Saturday mornings!

He replied that he watched Westerns.

"Oh," I said, "like 'The Wild, Wild West' on ME TV? I sometimes watch that, too, after the cartoons are done."

Yes, he did watch that old show, too.

Nice to have made that connection with him.

I'm glad I was there today... even though it's still a 'Saturday' for me.

As Frank told me so many years ago, in retirement, every day is Saturday.

But I know today is Wednesday for everyone else, so I stopped by Publix on the way home for the $5 sushi specials on this hump day.

Instead, I found chirashi with both tuna and salmon! 

A special treat!

(smile!) 

 

today i was with the asbury theatre goers!

That's them, facing the stage, unaware that I was taking this photo.

In fact, Tom Lewis, Heidi Hoffmann, and Emily Garrard were so engrossed in conversation that I'm sure they didn't know I was behind them!

We had met up at the Vintage, Savannah Repertory Theatre's first home, for their latest play, "The White Chip".

It was clear from the promotional material that this was about an alcoholic, as that particular token is used by Alcoholics Anonymous to signify that someone "has a desire to stop drinking, or has stopped for 24 hours".

 

In this story, 'Steve' (Chad Darnell) started drinking at age 12, at a friend's house, where the parents were gone and the liquor cabinet was open.

As a 'lapsed Mormon' in Kentucky, where bourbon was king and alcohol was the currency of social activity, he carried on.

 

Then he went to college in Tallahassee, at Florida State University.

Having been there myself for graduate school, I know firsthand what a hard-drinking place that was!

Between being part of the theatre department and going to the football games, alcohol was a way of life and he continued on his path.

It didn't really matter what type of booze it was, he needed it, as it made him more likable, it made him more confident, it made him more successful... or so he believed in his heart of hearts.

It didn't even matter when his fiancee left him, after recognizing his problem and giving him the choice of her or the hooch.

It didn't even matter years later, when the drunken woman he'd taken as a wife in Las Vegas tired of the lifestyle and gave him the same choice.

He was sure that he didn't have a problem, even when he was waking him from blackouts, even when he woke up in a hospital, even when he got fired.

It wasn't until after he'd accumulated a number of white chips from numerous start-overs, going to different AA meetings so he wouldn't be recognized, that he accepted that he was in need of help.

However, faith in Jesus was not the answer for him...

then he went to a Jewish AA meeting...

and learned the chemistry of dopamine... 

and accepted science as the higher power to believe in...

and he was truly saved!

I wish I would have known about Jewish AA meetings when my middle brother was still alive, as I think he would have considered them. 

I wish I had invited my youngest brother to this play.

We could have had quite a talk afterward!

I wish I could have had this talk with so many people.

Oh, well.

I did notice that I was the only one laughing.

There were actually several times that I laughed.

The actors all noticed, and knew it meant I had personal experience.

There were three actors this time: Chad Darnell, as the principal; Casey Bessette, as all the women (mom, fiancee, wife, girlfriend, AA meeting attendee, etc.); and Rob Lawhon as all the men (dad, best friend, boss, airport bartender, AA meeting attendee, etc.).

I think I'll see if there is a filmed version, to share with others.

Right now, I'm going to enjoy the smell of the rain.

It began as I was driving home - splatters of different-sized drops, some very tiny, some huge.

Rain had been in the forecast a week ago, but that changed, with the rain to be postponed another week.

Savannah in particular, as well as Georgia in general, has had a drought going on, with fires breaking out south of us, leaving the air smelling burned and looking gray.

So nice to have all that being washed away...

i thank You, God.

today, i was with king george

"I seriously doubt that, my dear girl. He's been dead for centuries. Or did you get to see "Hamilton" again?"

It was the next best thing! The song, "You'll Be Back", from that show was performed by one of the members of SING at today's concert. Mason Byrd, the teen who sang it as a solo, even dressed the part! He was magnificent!!! He even had us all sing along with him at the end! La di dah di dah, la la la la da di dah! (smile!)

"Most excellent! That must have been great fun for you!"

Oh, it most def was!!! And he didn't enter the stage from the back. Oh, no! He strode down the center aisle to reach the stage, head high! What a grand entrance befitting a monarch!

And that's his dad, Richard Byrd, standing there in the chef's hat at the head of the banquet table. He made all the food for our Italian feast after the concert!!! Pork loin, Penne Vodka with chicken, Caesar salad, green beans with pimiento, mashed potatoes, and plates of pizza with red onion as well as antipasto that included Salad Nicoise!

"Wow, what a feast! Was this the "That's Amore" dinner for the fundraiser?"

You got it! We  had been promised singing with our meal and we got that, too! Each singer gave us an aria from "The Marriage of Figaro", then they whipped out kazoos for everyone there so we could accompany them for "That's Amore"!!! Hahahaha! They even gave us kazoo-playing lessons, as some in the audience had never used those instruments. 

"Hahahaha! That must have sounded both awful and hilarious!"

Oh, it was! I'm glad we'd had the sweet singing from the children to start this bit of fun. The matinee concert featured the Spark Choir, the Kindle Choir, and the Illuminate Choir, each individually. Those would be the seventeen kindergarten to 2nd graders, the twenty-three 3rd through 5th graders, and the fourteen 6th through 12th graders. Plus, they started off with all three groups together, then finished the same.

"What a huge number of singers!!! Wow, that program has grown so much!" 

You betcha. Their inaugural concert, back in January of last year, was done with about thirty-five singers. The one from last April had about that same number. Today, there would have been 54 children singing, if all had been present!!! I'm so glad the City of Savannah has given the program a grant to allow even more involvement of the next generation!

"That's a great accomplishment for SING!"

I even granted them more of my money tonight, in addition to those for the dinner fundraiser. The Asbury choir rehearsal area was filled with Silent Auction items, which I perused before, and during, the dinner. Kathy and Preston Hodges, also at my table, had items they were keeping watch over, too!

"And did you win anything?"

Surprisingly, I did!!! I was the only bidder for a $30 gift card, Kids Meal coupon, Appetizer coupon, and game ("Family Dinner") from Texas Roadhouse... and I 'won' the whole package for just $10. Wow!!! Then, I was the third bidder for a $50 gift card to B&D Burgers in Pooler, and I 'won' that, too!!! My bid had only been twenty bucks!

"Goodness, girl! What great deals you got!!!"

Right? I am so blessed to be part of Asbury Memorial. So many good events and opportunities at this church!

today, my brothers looked at coins in a table

 

Don't believe me?

 

Well, here's the proof!

 

Laura had started it, recognizing that many of the coins embedded in the lacquer were quite old and rather valuable.

 

Tony started looking then, like really looking, and he started pointing out various ones to Smitty.

 

Walking Liberty, Buffalo head, steel pennies - those were just a few of the types.

 

Of course, I had to chime in with a tale from our family history!

Our father once had quite a collection of valuable coins, see?

At some point, Smitty and Ronnie would go into it and take a few out, taking them to the Chu's 7-Eleven store to buy penny candy.

Daddy found out when he was looking at his collection one night.

He was so mad at them!!!

They were probably not yet ten years old.

That's been more than fifty years ago!

Smitty didn't remember any of that, and Tony was just a baby.

I guess I'm the only one now who can tell that tale.

 

So, just where was the S&K Friday Fiesta this evening?

Well, since Claudia was on vacation to Mexico, we were taking a break from that type of cuisine.

All except Laura, that was, who still ordered a shrimp quesadilla!

The rest of us had typical Spanky's fare: Chicken Fingers, Fish & Chips, Spanky's Special Pizza.

Oh, yeah!

Robin and Becca didn't make it, but the rest of us regulars were there, with Long Island Iced Tea flowing for the ladies instead of margaritas.

The guys stayed with beer.

Well, all except me and Tony, who abstained.

 

We all still had a good time, listening to Smitty's story of meeting Billy Currington in Home Depot years ago and Betsy's story of how, and why, she got pregnant at 35 years old.

Her story was new to me, but I knew the one by Smitty.

That must have been between the time "People Are Crazy" hit the airwaves and my leaving work with him to go full-time at Armstrong.

That makes that story at least 16 years old.

And Betsy's, about Addison's way into this world, must be at least a quarter-century old by now.

Guess it's not just the coins in the table that are old!

(smile!)

today, i went to a 1st-ever play festival

Have I even been out to Savannah Country Day School this year?

I have not, for one reason or another, be it related to weather conditions or a preponderance of American Legion meetings.

 

Time to rectify that situation, and what better event than the inauguration of their very own festival of short plays?

"Spring Shorts" is what that 10-minute play festival has been dubbed!

Doesn't that title encourage one to get out of the house and partake?

Yes, yes, it does, and I must declare it a rousing success!

They put out a call to professional playwrights to submit their works, hoping that a few might actually do so.

James Venhaus, the teacher/director/producer for theatrical shows at this school, told us that they were overwhelmed by the response: 350 plays were submitted for the festival!!!

Wow!!!

Of that gracious plenty, six were chosen, and those were directed by various students in the theatre program.

The festival also showcased five plays written by various students, with those all directed by James Venhaus.

So, there were eleven plays total, some longer than ten minutes, some shorter, with a brief intermission during the two-hour program.

Wow!!!

These were all performed as theatre in the round, with both actors and audience sharing space on the stage.

That made for a more intimate setting, which really helped with the message in these short stories.

The actors would cart onto the stage whatever props were needed, including furniture, for their piece, then cart it off after.

What types of things were used?

Well, this manual typewriter on the desk, as well as several chairs and a table.

The typewriter actually worked, too, and the whole tone brought to mind the play set in the Vietnam era.

As this short play began, a man is sitting and typing, reading aloud his words.

"I regret to inform you that you son has died."

Letters to parents of soldiers lost in the war.

Wow.

After a day of typing such letters, he goes home and needs to recover, but he has a teen daughter waiting and he is her only living parent.

She suggests they listen to some music to ease the mood...

but when she turns on the radio, she gets Don McLean...

carrying on about "the day the music died"...

and her dad gets up and turns it off.

Here's the thing: after he leaves the room, she turns the radio back on...

and "American Pie" is still playing.

That's because it's almost nine minutes long.

Of course it would still be on!

Bravo to Kharis Ott for writing "Bad News On The Doorstep"!!!

[That's a line from the song, too - nice that others listen to lyrics.] 

By the way, not only did she write that play, but she directed another one ("Surprise", a comedy about a 2-minute psychic going through yet another breakup), and acted in two others.

Wow!!!

She wasn't the only one to do such a feat.

Hannah Smith wrote "Walls" [about the drama unfolding in three neighboring apartments], directed "Kung Foolery" [comedic physical fighting between husband and his mother-in-law], and acted in two others.

Kensie Glass acted in one and wrote "Cast Party", which reminded me of all the fun and drama of those I've been to over the years!

(Shout-out to the 'Hugh Mongus D' that crashed the party!)  

Samantha Hendrix acted in three plays and directed two plays, a comedy ("Party Princess" who wore wrong-colored dress for 4-year-old's birthday party, to mother's chagrin) and a more serious piece ("Blocked", about a 26-year-old who is missing her birthday because she is trying to write).

Anna Sapere wrote "Love At First Sight" (a failing romance after girl has memory loss) and acted in two plays, one of which was "Blocked".

Her costar in "Blocked", Suri Desai, also directed a play called "Finding Time" (a sweet romance of two friends who keep running into each other in scavenger hunts).

Jack Lerch was the only male student to act and direct.

He acted in two plays (featured as "Hugh Mongus D" - that's got to be a pun!) and directed "Baby Charging Station". a comedy about a guy who takes care of a robotic baby in a Child Development class in order to meet a girl.

That brings me to Caroline Bergmann, who acted in two plays and wrote "Voices In The Hall", my other favorite tonight.

'Maeve', a freshman is waiting for her sister to get stitches in the hospital and chats up the guy sitting in the same bank of chairs. 

His name is 'Callum' and he's waiting for his friend to get out of surgery.

He and 'Jonathan' are senior football players and were in a car wreck.

He goes off to find a doctor to ask about his friend.

That's when 'Elise' comes out, bandaged head, and 'Maeve' starts telling her about 'Callum' and 'Jonathan' and 'Elise' thinks her sister is playing a prank.

After all, the family knows that 'Elise' says she can see ghosts and that's how she ended up bumping her head!

But 'Maeve' insists 'Callum' is real... 

'Maeve' doesn't believe in ghosts...

right?

Only she has to now, as 'Elise' tells her that car wreck was real a year ago and both of the football players died.

Really good!

And guess who played 'Callum'?

Jack Lerch.

Very nice... and a very nice evening out for me!

today, i walked on a research vessel!

In fact, I did a lot more walking than I'd planned, as I parked at the research building rather than near the dock.

I'll see how my right leg feels about that tomorrow.

For now, I'm pretty elated about the experience!

 

This was an 'Open Ship Night' at the SkIO and I was one of the first to arrive for the first tour!

The ship is the R/V Savannah and it's been out to sea for 110 days so far this year, so it took some planning on the part of Jackson Schroeder, the Public Relations Coordinator to make sure it would be in port.

Dr. Mark Frischer, one of the researchers that I met last year, kept the group entertained as each set of 8 awaited their turn.

He was telling us about the gear off to his right.

I was in the second group to board the research vessel.

That's his graduate student, Alyssa Fritz, on the left; beside her is Claire Eilers, a graduate student of Dr. Nicholas Foukal.

They were in charge of our herd of cats.

(smile!) 

They first talked of the equipment on the newly-extended stern.

That work was done in 2024, to lengthen the ship by 11 feet to make more room for NOAA gear on their missions.

That's nice extra income for the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography!

That's good, since the refitting cost 4.6 million dollars - which is a million more than the ship cost in 2001 when it was brand new!

The two young women didn't tell us that; nope, that came from a old Brit in our group who was well-read on such matters.

Very interesting!

After we'd looked at all on the stern, we were led in to the Wet Lab, aptly named as it was the first room in.

The Dry Lab was next, before we turned another corner into the dining area and the galley, which was quite well equipped.

It would need to be, as some of the trips were month-long ventures!

Then we went upstairs to one of the bunk rooms.

It was pretty petite - only half our party could enter the space!

We went up yet another set of narrow, steep, stairs - more of a ladder, really - to the bridge, where Morgan talked to us about the missions.

What a marvelous view!

And did I say "missions"?

Yes, this ship serves not only the researchers here at SkIO, but also marine researchers at other universities, as well as weather missions for NOAA.

Busy as bees they are!

Like I said, that's a good thing, given the cost of the recent overhaul.

We climbed down from that lofty perch on a twisty set of narrow, steep, stairs back to the stern.

That's Claire, pointing out some of the controls in the conning tower. 

The view is toward the A-frame at the back, capable of holding more than two tons of gear and research equipment.

Someone asked her if anyone ever got seasick on the voyages.

Most definitely!

The ship is tall and narrow, with a wide bottom, so it rocks like a child's toy in choppy waters.

She said someone always gets seasick, but you just deal with it.

I remember getting so sick on that little, fast, hydrofoil that ferried us from Naples to the Isle of Capri - that was rough!

I feel for those who sailed on R/V Savannah!

The end of the tour was down in the engine room.

We were advised those steps were even steeper and more twisty than the ones that came down from the bridge.

I told Claire and Alyssa that I would abstain from that trek!

So, I stayed on the stern and talked to Jackson for a while.

When he was called away, I was joined by Terrell Scarboro, the ship's engineer, and we spoke for probably 15 minutes!

I'd been talking with him about the water testing tubes on the deck, telling him that I recalled doing such years ago...

when I was with a high school science group called STERI...

and his eyes lit up...

he had been with that group, too!

I told him there had been two of us from Jenkins High, at least four from BC, and two from Johnson High...

and Johnson was his school!

He'd graduated in 1976, same as me!

But neither of us remembered the other from our time with Charles Schuberth and the Student-Teacher Environmental Research Initiative.

Hey, it's been just over 50 years ago, as that program was for high school juniors, so it's understandable that we wouldn't recognize each other.

Plus, I was busy dating two of the Benedictine Cadets, so, there's that.

Still, it was really nice to run into someone who shared that bit of history with me and was also a Savannah native.

That's really rare for me.

And he gave me a parting gift: a sighting of a dolphin chasing a fish dinner almost into the water's edge as I was headed to the pier!

Wow... what a great shot that would have been! 

today, i was proud of my students

"Your students? You haven't taught for nearly eight years, ya know."

Yes, I was reminded of that yesterday while talking to Cathy of California. She'd called to check in and made sure I knew she was retiring on June 29! I told her I keep thinking it's been 7 years, but... I retired in May of 2018... so next month will make 8 years.

"Yes, indeed. You need to plan something to commemorate that occasion. So, what brought that up tonight?"

Well, you know that crazy TV show I like? "The Game With Balls"? Tonight was the second show of their second season and it had male firefighters - complete with them partially clad in calendar shots!!! - versus male and female nurses. I liked that diversity, as some of my students had been men, too. Anyway, it gets down to one lone firefighter playing three rounds all by himself. All of the others - all five on the nurses' team, as well as his two brothers and the other two from their fire house - had all missed answers and fallen into the pool. Splash!!!

"Oh, wow!"

So, he manages to win them $31,000, theirs to keep. Then he gets to go up against the Golden Balls for $100,000 of prize money. All he has to do is answer five questions correctly, that's all.

"Easier said than done, I'm sure!"

Get this: he chooses "Chemistry" over "Girl Groups". "Chemistry"!!! He says that's the topic he goes for when playing "Trivia Crack", whatever that is. The other four guys applauded like crazy!!! Apparently, he does pretty well with that. And so I was excited to see what would happen in this duel between Nate and those Golden Balls.

"And..."

And he did impressively well! The question that stumped him would have gotten me, too. But the others? He really did know his science! The first question had been a soft pitch. "Which element forms table salt when combined with chlorine?" He knew immediately that was "Sodium"! Take that, you Golden Ball!

"Hahahaha! That was an easy choice, though. Given that the other possibilities were 'Lead', 'Nickel', 'Nitrogen', 'Boron', and 'Hydrogen'."

Very true. The next question was a little harder. "Legume plants are known for fixing which element into the soil?" Well, he ran right onto the space for 'Nitrogen', knowing that element to be good for dirt... and he was right, of course!

"Oh, nice, you caught that in the photo!"

You bet I did! The third question was a bit harder. "Deuterium is an isotope of which element?" My students would have known 'isotope' means 'type of atom of same element' and that 'Hydrogen' has two isotopes, Deuterium and Tritium. Somewhere in his mind, he know that, too!

"Very good! Three questions down, two to go!"

The fourth one asked: "Galena is the primary ore of which element?" He recognized that to be a metal and chose 'Lead'. Bravo! I feel like my students would have gotten that, too. But the fifth, and final, question? That was tough. "Which element has a Curie point?'

"Yikes! What's a Curie point???"

Well, as Jay told us afterward, a Curie point is "the temperature at which a metal loses its magnetism". That's not anything I ever recall talking about, ever. I would have thought it had something to do with its radioactivity, given Marie Curie's work. However, it's named for her husband, Pierre Curie, not her. Oh, well!

"So, what was the answer? 'Nickel' or 'Boron'?"

'Nickel'. I bet he'll never forget that! I know I won't. Nice to learn something new, especially when it's from an unexpected source like a game show.

sent billy and joe to the bank

 

I feel like that was the biggest thing that got accomplished at this meeting.

We were gathered together - me, Michael T, Brenda, Sabrina, John, Eddie, and even Larry Jackson - yet again at the Two First Posts of Georgia, trying to iron out the wrinkles that persisted and threatened to mar our planned opening on May 25.

The front doors had not been ordered, much less replaced.

The security system electronics and wiring had not been bought, much less actually installed.

The televisions and mounting hardware for the bar and dining area had not been purchased, much less installed.

Why were those not yet accomplished?

All were awaiting funds to be delivered.

Seriously.   

After almost exactly a month, those were all delayed by money.

Seriously.

The worst of it was this: the money was in the bank, but trying to arrange a time for the money man to meet with the three purchasers was gumming up the works.

But Eddie was texting on the phone with the money man during much of the meeting, and toward the end of the second hour - yes, two hours of stirring, with nothing yet cooked - he told us that Justin, the contractor, would be meeting with Doug at the bank at 10 AM to get the funds to order the doors.

Hallelujah!!!

Then I spoke up: "Contact Billy and Joe and have them meet Doug at the bank, too, to they can take care of the security system and the entertainment."

Not, "see when Doug can meet with Billy" and "see when Doug can meet with Joe", as we've had far too much of that dillydallying.

Just have the ones in need of money meet the money man when he was already going to be at the bank.

And so that's what Michael T did, sending texts out right then to both Billy and Joe to let them know what was going on.

I do hope they all got together there.

Forward is the direction we need this business to go.

One good happenstance did come from our being there so long tonight.

Kay's son had a baseball game in the area and, when she rode by and saw our cars, she came in to talk.

She's looking at the name "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" for the canteen and we all thought that would be grand!

She said they'll have a contract at the next meeting for us to go over.

That would be grand, too.

There's supposed to be an American Legion District Meeting here on May 2nd, and it's a big shindig.

The Women's Auxiliary of Post 500 met tonight, too, in their space, and they'll be selling lunches for that event.

However, we need to make sure there of plenty of chairs and tables to accommodate about 110 people... and we don't yet have those.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, April 29th.

Let's hope some kinks have been ironed out by then.

assorted sneakers in row of dryers

"What's that, dearie?"

That's part of what it sounded like. I had an MRI of my brain this afternoon, over at the Savannah VA Center. Part of the testing reminded me of the banging noise that sneakers make. Only thing is, the sound was much, much, much louder. I'm glad they gave me ear plugs, as I don't think I could have stood the din!

"Sneakers in a dryer... that's an interesting correlation."

I actually have Michael Kavanaugh to thank for that. He posted the above cartoon on fb and I happened to spot it. WASH 'n' DRY 'n' MRI, it says, in a laundromat with a twist!

"Oh, my. That's a pretty narrow channel for your body!"

Yes, it was. I was scrunched down onto this gurney, arms tight against my side and partly on my chest and abdomen, shoulders jabbed against these plastic knobs that held my head in place, and a sheet draped over my body to keep it all in place. They had what seemed like a catcher's mask over my face. Then they gave me a 'panic ball' to hold, telling me to keep my eyes closed and try not to breathe deeply during the the twenty-minute procedure. That was absolutely the longest twenty minutes of my life. The noisiest, too.

"A 'panic ball'! So you could have stopped the test at any time?"

Sure. However, I stayed the course. I've been waiting for almost two years for this MRI. Remember when I started having ophthalmogic migraines, back in 2019?  They began without any pain or headache, just psychedelic sunshower auras radiating out from my central vision, making it impossible to truly see anything and causing vertigo. The trip to the ER at Memorial Hospital involved a CT scan of my head, as well as other tests to rule out stroke or heart issues. The upshot was I needed to see an ophthalmologist. Ah, but first I must go to Charleston so the veteran hospital could rule for themselves what I needed. (It would be another few years before I would learn that the VA MISSION Act of 2018 gave me the right to have refused that and to insist on local community care instead.) 

"Does this story ever get to a current point?"

Well, last year, my ophthalmologist at the Savannah VA Center, Dr. Urban, asked if I was still having those ophthalmogic migraines or any blurriness in my vision. I told him I was! Very little of the sunshower stuff, but sudden blurriness for no reason several times a year. He said that originated from within my brain, not from my eyes, and he called them acephalgic migraines. He recommended that I see a neurologist and get an MRI. I passed that along to my PCP, Susan Barker, and she concurred. Finally, last December, I got that neurology appointment, with Dr. Diaz at the Savannah VA Center. He agreed that an MRI was warranted and today that came to pass. What an ordeal this has been!

"I'm glad you stayed with the process. You know how it works in the medical field, when you have to see a specialist. It just takes time, lots of time. So, when do you get to discuss the results with Dr. Diaz?"

That will be on May 5th. Becky and Maureen, the technicians, told me the results would be posted within 48 hours, so I may look at them before I see him. Right now, I just want to take a quiet break. As well as the din from the tumbling sneakers, there were periodic bursts that can only be likened to the shrill tornado alert drills that we get every month. Only these were very much louder, too. So loud!

"Fortunately, that's all done now. Just take a little down time and mellow out. Don't forget you have an American Legion meeting tonight, though. That's at 5:30 for the Two First Posts."

Got it. I hope that will be the last one!

today, i went to a muse-ical in rincon!

And guess what?

Orpheus was there, singing "Time In A Bottle"!!!

He dedicated it to the long-gone Eurydice. 

That guy has gotten around, hasn't he?

First he was in the play last week, and now he's in Rincon at the Hive Repertory Theater's event!

Not that he was the focus of this jukebox musical.

Not hardly.

In "The Olympians", the spotlight is on the three goddesses having a grudge match about who was best.

To settle it, they each choose a human to set on a quest, with the winning goddess being the one whose choice reaches Mount Olympus first.

Here's warrior Zoey, to whom Artemis sings "You Make My Dreams" come true!

Wooo hooo, woohoo!

Aphrodite found Lexi as her champion!

The girl was singing about the "goddess on the mountain top... had what no one else had!"

Hey, "Venus" is just another name for the love goddess!

As for Athena, a goatherd named Sofia was the one she beseeched to "Breakaway" from her grandma and go on a quest to find the lost girdle of Hippolyta.

And what looks odd here?

Sofia is reading from a script!

Get this: she was tagged just two hours before the play to be on stage for someone who was sick - what a valiant trouper!

Aphrodite was another trouper, stepping in only a week ago for someone who had to leave - amazing!!!

So, here we are: three goddesses, three humans, with each expected to run their own quest.

Instead, the trio of girls mystify the goddesses by working together!

Here they are on the streets of Athens, trying to stay ahead of the police.

Why are they being chased?

Lone females aren't allowed to wander about!

That's what the gate guards told them and those mustache-wearing guys are serious!

Back and forth across the stage ran the guard!

"One Way Or Another", they sang, "we're gonna find ya, we're gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha!"

Fortunately for our plucky trio of humans...

and Lexi's younger brother, Zander...

the guards never even come close to getting them.

Whew!

Next stop: the Oracle, to receive clues to the girdle's location.

They didn't realize that the three goddesses hit that location first, to give the Oracle (actually the Narrator in disguise!) the scroll.

The goddesses lingered too long and had to pose as statues - lol!

But Zoey, Lexi, and Sofia finally arrive at the right place, receive their marching orders, and set off on their quest!

They're barely on it when Artemis' twin brother, Apollo, throws a monkey wrench into the mix, having all but Zoey "Walking On Sunshine" as a shortcut, kinda sorta.

End of Act One!

I sure did enjoy this very much!!!

Plus, the crew at HiveRepTh did me a solid, granting me a seat that was front and center of the stage - y'all know what I like!!!

Oh, and there was even a joke from Orpheus!

Zander picked up the other instrument, calling it a lyre.

Orpheus corrected him, saying "No, my lyre was stolen by luters [looters]... and they didn't even know how to play it!"

Hahahahaha!!!!

Yes, this was well worth the ride to Rincon and the $20 ticket!!!

today, i went to the library and a concert!

"That makes you a busy, vibrant woman again! Good for you!"

Almost. (smile!) Those two adventures had me crossing from midtown to southside to lower midtown before coming back home. Not that I'm done this weekend. I have a musical out in Rincon tomorrow! None of these places today had a spot for me to use my handicapped parking permit, so I got a little walking in, too.

"Good for you again, I say! Any amount of walking is what you need to get those leg muscles built back up. Anyway, what was up at Southwest Chatham Library on a Saturday afternoon?"

A documentary and discussion. Remember that banned books talk earlier this year? The movie I saw today, "The Librarians", was also shown around that time, but I missed it. I'm glad to have finally caught it! Apparently, the post-pandemic paranoia started a big push against books having topics of homosexuality, race, and discrimination. The ban even applied to books written by LGBTQ, black, or brown authors, and started in Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and Louisiana. I'm glad they had New Jersey in the mix, so it didn't look like a Southern thing!

"I wonder why they chose today?"

I have to believe it's because Right To Read Day is coming up on Monday. That isn't a national holiday, but something Danielle told me about on fb. It's being promoted by the American Library Association, in honor of their 150th anniversary. 

"Okay, that makes sense."

Heidi and Jennifer and a couple of other Asbury folks were there, too. Nice! We all stayed for the discussion afterward between Lola Dewitt - the Executive Director of Live Oak Public Library in this area - as well as Nate Coulter, the Executive Director of Central Arkansas Library System. He had a very amusing anecdote for us!

"Oh, do tell!"

One of the patrons came in and checked out 53 - yes, fifty-three!!! - children's books, leaving a note in the book return that she would not be returning them as they dealt with banned topics. Coulter was notified and suspended her library card. A few days later, the woman was back to pick up two James Patterson books she'd wanted, only to find out she could not because her account was suspended! When she spoke with Coulter, she claimed that she had taken the children's books as an act of civil disobedience. He informed her that as long as she kept the children's books, her account would be suspended, as the library had the right to protect its assets. The woman thought for a moment, then agreed to return the books she'd taken! Guess she really wanted those Patterson books!

"Hahahaha! More likely that she was fine with being 'disobedient' as long as it didn't negatively impact what she wanted. Good for Coulter for standing up to her bully tactics!"

Amen to that! I drove from there to the First Presbyterian Church, over on Washington Avenue. I missed most of the introduction about the fundraising group, but not any of the music. See, this concert was part of their 'Music With A Mission" series, with proceeds to benefit Hope Arbor. There were Asburians there, too! Tom Lewis was present with Karen Townsend, as well as her parents, Mickey and Bob. I ran into them after the concert, as I was looking to see if anyone left their program behind. They had run out when I arrived late. Luckily, Tom found one for me!

"Most excellent! I'm glad Tom is getting out and about. What a year he had, losing his partner, his brother, and then his father, all within months of each other. I'm glad you'll be seeing him next weekend for the Asbury Theatre group outing."

Yes, I'm looking forward to that! I'm glad I found out about this concert! Kathy Mayin told me about it and I had expected to see her here. Titled "Center Stage: A Night Of Broadway featuring Savannah Voices", it was almost two hours of songs!!! My favorite of the eighteen performed was a huge surprise, which made it even more special. Suade Anderson and Tegan Miller sang "Suddenly Seymour"!!! I felt like it must have been just for me!!! I even gave them a standing ovation after they finished!!!

"G'friend, you are just too much sometimes!!! LOL!"

Hey, we both know I adore that song, and have for years. I'll even sing the duet all by myself if I can't find someone who knows it!

"Yes, I well recall you startling the folks at Post 36 one karaoke night. They never knew what to expect from you."

Songs I want to hear, that's what! These were songs I wanted to hear, too. Songs like "Some Enchanted Evening", "I Could Have Danced All Night", "Man Of La Mancha", "You'll Never Walk Alone", and "Moon River". That last one wasn't even on the program! The director, Danny Cohen - that's him on the far left on stage - just threw it on there so we'd have a little Johnny Mercer. Very nice!

"How very appropriate, too, as Savannah was Mercer's home. Are those the other singers from this concert?"

Indeed they are! From the left, that's Danny Cohen, Suade Anderson, Rebecca Flaherty, Tegan Miller, and Jillian Durant. All so very talented! I have to wonder if any of them are part of the Savannah VOICE program. There were two songs - "Lily's Eyes" and "Sing For Your Supper" - that I've only ever heard from them. Nice to have heard them again!

"I'm so glad you had such a nice day and evening! Hope you have fun at the play in Rincon tomorrow, too!"

Thanks, I'm sure I will. Now, time to catch up with the Buckets! Lol!

today, i made the friday fiesta!

I celebrated by ordering the Shrimp Ceviche!

Yes, a celebration was most def in order.

I'd missed the ones on April 3rd and 10th, though Tony and Laura had brought home chips and salsa for me after that first one.

Such a good brother!

I was determined to see both of my brothers this time, and so I did, getting hugs in Jalapenos when I entered and hugs outside when we were all leaving!

Hugs from my family and friends are as much a part of this time together as is the shared meal itself!

I know Robin has found that to be true, too, after the death of her husband, Harry.

I do wonder sometimes if I started that hugging part of the ritual or if it was already in place before I started coming out to Jalapenos?

I'm just thankful for all that touch!

We were all giving hugs to Claudia tonight, too.

Our favorite waitress for these S&K Friday Fiestas is off to her family's home in Mexico for a month and won't be at Jalapenos next week.

As I told her, I'm so glad I was there tonight!

I would have been so sad to have missed her.

I know we'll all be taking a break from Sandfly next week.

We'll either be at Tubby's or at Spanky's, but not here.

It'll be good to have a change of pace!

(smile!)

Now, I'm going to settle in to watch "The Accountant", my Diamond Reward from Comcast this week.

My guess is the title was chosen as an inside joke!

After all, Wednesday was the last day to file income taxes! 

Hopefully they know he's really a hit man!

Hahahaha!

today, i wore an easter bonnet!

"Put on your Easter bonnet

with all the frills upon it

and we will have 

a very merry

Easter Parade!"

That Irving Berlin song from 1933 has been on my mind ever since the theme of this Sisters In Faith luncheon was announced last month.

Such a catchy little number!

I fashioned my head-topper by wrapping the Periodic Table scarf around the bright pink bowl of the hat that always brings happy thoughts of Mama.

Thanks, Cathy of El Cerrito, for that gift!

It went so well with my Spring-time dress!

That's what Linda Combs and Michelle Meece told me, so I know it to be true!

Here they are, with our gracious event planner wearing one of the cutest hats there!

Just look at those bunny ears!!!

Linda, I just know Bugs Bunny would be thrilled, too!!!

Those were more bunny ears, too.

That's Sherry Giddens, at the end of my table, sporting huge ears atop her bonnet!

Judy Wilburn's summer hat boasted flowers against its straw!

And there were three ladies at the table beside us who all wore flower-bedecked bonnets! 

That's Kathy Hodges, in the pink dress, in the middle, between the lady in the orange hat and the one in the green.

My table had a mother and daughter wearing bonnets!

The daughter, Jenni, had her 61st birthday yesterday.

Her mom, Linda, tried to scoot out of the photo, but I caught her!

To me, they were the belles of this ball at Holliday Hall - they brought three boxes of Chick-Fil-A nuggets!!!

I signed up to bring finger sandwiches, substituting two trays of sushi.

(That's them between the chips and tower of cucumber sandwiches.)

Cheri Hester brought sushi, too, as did one other - so much for me bringing something different!

That just meant I had sushi to take home for dinner tonight.

(smile!)

Here's the array of Easter bonnets that came today, arranged in competition on the stage here at Asbury Memorial's social hall.

I bet there were at least fifteen!!!

That's Linda and Michelle, making sure each entry has been assigned a number for the voting process.

 

The winner was worn by Cece Colman!

That's her, on the left, with the Mexican sombrero-style hat with all the fringe and little Easter bunnies.

I bet that laden bonnet weighed at least ten pounds!

That's means I wouldn't have been able to pick it up, per post-surgery orders, for at least another three weeks.

That's pretty impressive, as was the hat with the twinkle lights!

Here's a funny story!

Right after I snapped that photo, the two women realized their hats had gotten snagged.

Oh, no!

But I have plenty of practice with branches in my long hair, so set to work untangling Cece's fringe from Mary's foliage.

I just let my fingers feel their way, loosening the two from each other, just as I've done in my yard on many occasions.

Hooray!

And who was our guest speaker today?

Kim Polote, someone I'd rescued from a clothing emergency years ago!

It was while I was a volunteer usher at the Lucas Theatre.

She was to perform in a Christmas show, but the gown she was in didn't quite fit at the top of the bodice.

I happened to be in the bathroom when she was in distress about her dress...

and I happened to have several safety pins with me...

so, calamity avoided and distress dispersed!

Right place, right time!

Of course, that's been at least fifteen years ago.

Today, she was there to share songs with us at this happy luncheon!

"Wind Beneath My Wings" was merged seamlessly into "Over The Rainbow" before she said her first words to us.

Later, led us all in singing "This Little Light Of Mine", clapping joyously!

Then she gave us "Change Is Gonna Come" and one her own songs, "Everything Must Change".

In between all that music, she told her life stories and encouraged us to "find the message in the mess" life sometimes hands us.

Absolutely lovely!

She also talked of celebrating the joy wherever we find it, even in a movie, such as "Me, You & Tuscany"...

and I spoke up that I'd just seen it yesterday!!!

That made her smile and got everyone's attention. 

Right place, right time!