yippee-ki-bang bang bang!!!

Yeehaw!!!

What better way to end the month than a Western musical?

Especially one with lots of shoot-em-up action!!!

I won't spoil the fun by naming names, but the body count adds up, with two dead in Act 1 and another in Act 2.

Plus there are a few stray shots along the way!

 

Thankfully, there's a Columbo-style detective named 'Frank Cioffi' - performed fabulously by Carson Brown - who's on his best game during these two nights with the actors of "Robbin' Hood", a little musical with Broadway dreams.

Scored by 'Georgia' (Megan Borges) and 'Aaron' (Naomi Antoine), once-wed but no longer, the show gets panned by local critic 'Daryl Grady' (Ben Tatom) of the Boston Globe, dashing their hopes of finally making it to the bight lights of New York City.  

Did I say panned?

He hated all of it except one part: that of the lead's understudy, 'Niki' (Genevieve Perry), who he spurned when she thanked him for that favorable review.

The cop, however, really took a shine to her and they have two wonderful numbers, the real-time "Coffee Shop Nights", and the fantasy dance scene, "A Tough Act To Follow" - loved those!

Oh, I just realized I never said this musical's name!

That would be "Curtains: School Edition", a modern musical that first graced the boards of Broadway in 2007.

And guess who originated the role of the cop?

None other than David Hyde Pierce!!!

Oh, yes, that's right: the little brother of TV's 'Frasier Crane'. 

Honestly, I think Carson Brown did a superb job as the Boston cop!

Kudos to all for nailing this show in a scant two weeks of rehearsals!!!

I'll be looking forward to seeing these 9th to 12th graders in future productions at the Savannah Children's Theatre this coming season!!! 

Special kudos to Carmen Titus, Katie Grace Lanier, Reagan Barnard, Ella Nixon, and B Cela.

I know I've seen y'all before and so looking forward to more!

greek gods, mere mortals...

... the thing is this: love is love.

On this Arthouse Theater Day, I chose the one film that best encompasses that duality of both the stage and the silver screen.

I said two days ago that I'd already been three times for "the sad song, the old song, the love song" of "Hadestown: The Musical".

I also said then that I might got for a fourth viewing...

but I had not decided for sure.

I have Cinematique of Daytona Beach to thank.

The email this morning from this favorite place from my not-so-distant past reminded me of the importance of this date as Arthouse Theater Day.

 

How could I not venture into the crazy heat for such an important day?

How could I not venture off to "Hadestown" when the weather feels like I'm already there?

All week, the highs have been in the 90's, plus a double-digit heat index. 

Not ever on the cruise was it this hot and humid!

At least the storm forecast yesterday by the weather song never came.

That's made today slightly more tolerable, without the sauna effect.

In other words, it was perfect for sitting in a very cool cinema...

once more enjoying "a love song, an old song, a sad song"...

singing along, dancing in my seat, crying in all the right places.

Let me leave this post with words that are not mine.

This is what Orpheus said early on in his toast.

"Here's to the world we dream about...

and here's to the world we live in now."

Amen, and amen.

queen of hearts at TFP

Hunter Griffin is a very patient man.

He's the area sales rep for Youngco Enterprises, the company owned by Olin Young.

He was invited to be at the Two First Posts meeting tonight to discuss use of his games as fundraisers for the American Legion business.

He arrived at 6 PM with all his materials, as requested...

then was relegated to the small game room almost 90 minutes while we carried on our business meeting.

That's mostly because we had two special visitors from Post 500: their new Company Commander (Trey Singleton) and Vice CC (Emmett Prescott).

That's Trey at the end of the table, trying to stake his claim. 

They two were inducted Monday night at the special meeting of Post 500 and lost no time trying to gain a foothold in Two First Posts of Georgia.

Their bid for that stake in the LLC was unsuccessful.

I'm glad we had a good turnout for tonight's meeting.

I'd had a call earlier from Doug, during my lunch with my first niece.

I had another call a little later, from Brenda, wanting to make sure I knew Trey was stirring up trouble, wanting to make sure I would be there.

So I was, as were both of them, plus Joe Cetti, Billy Cope, John Parker, Sabrina Scale, Eric Bolden, and Eddie Patterson (albeit briefly).

Kat was also there, mostly to talk about the grease trap inspection (earlier today), the 8 cubic yards dumpster cost ($328/month), pest control cost ($150/month for 5509 and 5511), and the need for the DRAM rider on both the WTF liability as well as the TFP liability.

Doug confirmed that he has filled out the 14-page application to have the DRAM rider added to the Hartford policy for TFP, as well as having spoken to the insurance rep about getting that done.

Kat reminded all that rider is needed as one of the stipulations for TFP's liquor license request to be on the City Council's docket for August 27th.

Billy spoke of the outstanding bill he has for reimbursement from TFP for the TV cart, wire, and other supplies used for setting up the internet and TVs.

Billy also talked about the 3-year contract cost for two phones to be installed by RING Central at TFP, one for scheduling events there and the other for WTF; his contact is Paul Lambert at Celestial Business Solutions.

Billy said he has two more security cameras to install (at grease trap area and in the bar at WTF), with all billing for RING monitoring and security camera footage stored in the 'cloud' to be set up with TFP.

Doug said all paperwork is to be submitted to Brenda to go into Two First Posts for official purposes, including an inventory of all materials and equipment currently at the 5509 and 5511 Montgomery Street addresses.

Brenda stated that facility use contracts must be filled out for any groups wanting space in 5511 for meetings or events.

Brenda reminded all that military and veteran groups will pay $250/quarter to regularly meet once monthly at TFP.

Brenda said that schedule will be posted on a TV facing outside so all will know who is to be in 5511 at any given time.

John told us that several groups - Catholic War Veterans, the Marine Corp League, the Navy League - have already signed their quarterly contracts and paid.

Kat reminded us that TFP is to bill WTF for their portions of utility bills, rent, and other items as agreed in their lease.

Eric requested that a 10-day notice be required for scheduling of an event, to allow time for him to get the space ready; all agreed.

Get the gist?

We wanted all parties present to realize that the Two First Posts building had bills and obligations, and was not by any means debt-free, still having a sizable mortgage as well as utility bills.

That emphasis was not lost on our two visitors from Post 500.

Trey requested that he receive a key to the Post 500 office, as well as a key to the exterior door of 5511; John agreed that he should have such.

What that means is another locking door will need to be erected between 5509 and 5511, as no one but the tenants of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot need access to 5509.

Sounds like yet another change order for Justin and Wells Construction.

Trey also wanted to discuss having a veteran organization paint a mural on the building's wall, though it was not clear to me if he meant the exterior wall or an interior wall of 5511.

In either case, the matter was tabled until next Wednesday's meeting.

The visitors left and we adjourned to the game room, to the oh-so-patient gaming rep who had been waiting.

Did I say gaming?

I did, as in not lottery.

Queen of Hearts consists of a board with pull tabs, with money-winning 'cards' beneath several of the tabs, and a cost to TFP of $110 per board. Players purchase raffle tickets (a roll of those costs $6) for the opportunity to pull a tab, with the raffle drawings occurring at some set frequency. The game continues until the Queen of Hearts is revealed.

Two First Posts is responsible for paying for all wins, but TFP keeps all proceeds from selling the raffle tickets, in hopes of raising money.

My only problem is that it's all cash, so security will be needed, as well as someone to deposit said funds into the TFP bank account.

The other game that was discussed was bingo, though that has a larger initial outlay of funds and would require hosting a game night that did not interfere with already scheduled meetings or events at 5511.

I think I will suggest either Queen of Hearts or Bingo be a once-monthly event, preferably during the week.

My question would be: will TFP need to pay the $250 security/cleanup fee?

Good question!

meals and more with my girls!!!

Monday, it was time for Music Bingo again!

This was the first time any of us had been since the debacle a month ago.

"Us" would be me, Sandy, Marcia, and Elissa.

Hey, we've been busy, vibrant, women, a'ight, with family from out of town, cruises, and what-not going on!

I remembered to bring my free appetizer reward that I won about six weeks ago, too.

Fortunately, Midtown Sports Grill has changed their menu yet again.

Potato Skins is a new entry, loaded with bacon and cheddar, and that made for a mighty fine "welcome back" dinner with my friends!

And just look at that first bingo game of the evening!!!

That "Dance Party Mix" yielded me the first "Bingo!" of the bar!

Russ was even surprised that I'd won without using the 'Free Space' - I'd managed to do it with five actual songs that had been played, straight down the "I" column!!!

Andrew, the new bartender, was glad to bring me a free lemonade as my "free drink" reward for the game!

How wonderful to have shared that those three hours with friends!

(smile!)

Then, today, my first niece came to share a favorite movie with me!

This was the last week of the NCG Summer Camp Film Festival and they've been screening "The Wild Robot" since Sunday.

We love that movie about parenting and kindness!!!

Want to know how much?

She stayed awake through the entire movie!!!

That's saying a lot, as she has sleep apnea and tends to take a nap if she sits in one place too long.

That wasn't the case two weeks ago when she joined me for "Sing", but that was okay... it let me munch some of her popcorn!

That time, she was early and bought our tickets and kids' packs; this time, she was running on her standard time, so I bought the tickets and snacks.

(smile!)

After, we popped over to the Chick-Fil-A on Victory for our luncheon.

So glad the lunch crowd had mostly passed by then!

She grabbed the last table and we had a leisurely two hours together...

just us, no children, no boyfriend...

letting us truly talk about issues with that latter item.

Here's hoping for the best resolution for that problem.

Oh, plus a really bright spot!

We had been talking about friends from the past and she mentioned one of her middle-school buddies and spoke of them spending nights together.

"So, you're friends still, on fb?"

No, they weren't... but she quickly found her on that social media... and they are now reunited again!

Maybe I should do a few searches of lost friends, too.

(smile!)

thrice to hades... and i don't mean the summer heat

I speak of the romantic Greek tragedy, the musical I so loved last year when the good folks at Savannah Children's Theatre brought it for me, courtesy of the JEA providing a space after the debacle of the snow-laden roof trashing their previous location.

This time, it was courtesy of my A*List and AMC 11, bringing it to me at no extra charge, to welcome me home again from vacation.

Hallelujah!!!

This performance was recorded last year at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End theater district.

Amazingly, its five leads are the ones who originated the roles back in 2019 when the play first opened on Broadway!!!

"Hadestown" was nominated for 14 awards that year and won the Tony in eight of those fields - wow! 

'Hermes', the conductor of the train and the man in the spiffy gray suit at the bottom of the photo, was performed by Andre De Shields, now 80 years old.

He won the Tony for Best Performance By An Actor In A Featured Role In A Musical in 2019. 

The god to his left, 'Hades', was performed by Patrick Page, who was also nominated for that category, but lost out to his stage-mate. 

What an amazing low bass voice he has... especially considering that he's now 64 years old, the age my brother Ronnie would be.

The woman across from him in the photo, in the green dress, is Amber Gray, reprising her Tony-nominated role as 'Persephone' in this production at the Lyric.

(My guess is she's in her mid-to-late 40's, though her bio doesn't say.)

The couple at the top of the poster are 'Orpheus' and 'Eurydice', of course, the other love story in this epic musical.

They're played by Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada, respectively, who are now 43 years old and 30 years old, respectively.

Although they didn't get nominated for any Tonys back in 2019, they are just perfect as the lovers who miss out on their happy ending.

I have cried every time I've seen "Hadestown: The Musical" this week.

 

That's really saying something about its impact, right?

I've seen it three times so far, and cried at the ending each time.

Actually, I've cried three times during the musical, with all three near the end.

The first time is when 'Orpheus' reminds 'Hades' and 'Persephone' of how their love story had begun and lets them know they are still very much in love.

The second time I cry is when 'Orpheus' returns topside but 'Eurydice' is not yet there, so he turns around to look for her...

and there she is...

but she is banished back to Hell because he doubted and turned.

Just heartbreaking!

The third time is at the very end, when 'Persephone' is making a toast to all the 'flowers that bloom in snow'...

and I even raised my cup tonight and drank.

Will I see it again on Thursday?

Tomorrow, my first niece will be here during the early afternoon, then I have a Two First Posts meeting that evening.

Thursday, at 4 PM, will be the last screening.

Maybe I can be there.

I'm so glad to have had this treat in town for my return from vacation.

i thank You, God. 

christmas fun for my return from the cruise!

No less than four of the programs I watch all had Christmas themes!

The ones on PBS, the ones on AntennaTV, it just seemed they'd had a meeting and decided that was needed to welcome me home!

 

"My Life Is Murder", the one with Lucy Lawless as a police consultant in Australia, was the first I watched.

That episode was "Silent Lights" and concerned a death around Christmas time, with a man falling off his roof.

The neighbors insisted it was an accident, but his wife insisted that one of them had killed him somehow.

Get this: it was the 25th episode of the show!

Sounds like Christmas to me (even though it originally aired Oct. 2, 2022)!

Next up was "News Radio" with an episode from Season 2 that originally aired Dec. 19, 1995.

Clearly, "Xmas Story", meant for a US audience, aired at the right time for that annual festival of lights!

Everyone gets ball caps from the billionaire boss, causing quite a stir.

To complicate matters, 'Bill' is having a rough time with the lobby Santa, who keeps threatening to kill him.

Yes, hilarity ensued from the misunderstandings!

Then in the line-up was "Just Shoot Me!", this time from Season 6, and was the last episode before their Christmas break.

Airing Dec. 13, 2001, "Christmas? Christmas!" is one I actually watched twice!

That's because it had real-life Ray Liotta as himself, the 47-year-old movie-star cousin of the nerdy mailroom clerk (who is the actor who plays the geologist in "TBBT", Brian Posehn, whose last name on this show was 'Liotta').

Already I liked it!

Then Ray turned out to be a Christmas fanatic, with lots of traditions to share with 'Maya' as he whisks her into a holiday romance - most excellent!

Of course I watched it twice!!!

The last of the quartet came from "Midsomer Murders" (which, in the USA, always runs as pairs of 45-minute episodes to solve the case). 

Aired January 4, 2004, in merry old England, as a post-holiday treat I'm sure, "Bad Tidings" starts off with a college secretary getting killed, then a retired doctor.

What secrets had they been hiding all those decades?

Very much a good who-done-it to stir up the gray matter!

My thanks to the Universe for those...

I have really enjoyed them! 

Now, off I go to Music Bingo!!! 

home from Paradise

I was up in plenty of time to watch as the Paradise sailed back into port early this morning.

I met the sight with a tinge of sadness, as it meant the end of our cruise vacation.

I was glad I'd had the foresight to have breakfast waiting for me on the night table.

The paper towels had wicked away a lot of the oil from the cheese, making it just right for my start of day meal.

Usually, I would have had it chilled, but there wasn't enough room in the tiny fridge.

However, the water was cold! 

I was out of my room by 0745.

The schedule for the day called for us to wait in the Euphoria until our floor was called to disbark.

Instead, Christina called me about 8:20 AM.

They were already in line on Deck 5!

I was to join them there as they waited for Terry to give the girls one last hug.

Miyah even had a gift bag for her Auntie Terry!

And my first niece and I were again hair twins, sporting single braids down the back and swooped to the side this time. 

I'm so glad her ESP with me works!

So there we were, waiting, and suddenly Terry was there, surrounded by Miyah and Chloe!

Terry even had a gift for them: two free future cruises with Margaritaville At Sea!

She'll be on the ship until sometime in October and really hopes they will soon be back.

Wasn't that so sweet of her?

Then we had our papers checked, collected our luggage, and were off the ship.

Vacation was officially over. 

The trip back to Hinesville took almost nine hours.

That was about 2 1/2 hours longer than the drive down had been.

Part of the delay were the frequent bathroom stops, as the medication Christina is on for the weight-loss drug was cramping her style.

Part of the delay were the frequent stops for drinks, as the van was having the same loss of air conditioning as it had on the way to Palm Beach.

We took an hour-long stop for lunch at a very nice Dairy Queen, letting us all stretch out a bit and get rehydrated.

As I told Christina, I haven't been to DQ since her dad died.

That was four years ago.

My best memory is watching the Super Bowl with him.

Anthony took over the driving after that, so we stopped once and by that time I was about dehydrated in the heat of the van.

I drank one bottle at once, then half the other bottle before we left.

Between that stop in Woodbine and their turn-off to Hinesville, the rain began.

Hallelujah!

It was still raining, but lightly, when we pulled up to her house.

I helped take things into the house, then went back into the rain to move my suitcase and butterfly tote into my car.

Thanks, Michael, for the unicorn rubber duck!

So glad to be home, with my own bed tonight!

Paradise: day 4

"Whatcha got there?"

 

It's an origami parrot, and I made it!!! My first niece had joined me briefly at breakfast, as the rest of her group were still asleep. It was after 10 AM! I was dining with a Jamaican couple. Then she came up and they talked about being parents and teaching and her being a Pisces. Their teen daughter joined us, too. Then Christina left to wake the family, and I went down to the Euphoria to watch more of the Jimmy Buffett concert.

 

"Well, it looks like you had 'Arts & Crafts' today."

 

I did!!! Jason had already started showing some others how to make the folds. He backed up to show me and the others had a chance to repeat. I was the first to get the knack for the little legs!

 

"Joe Guy would have been pleased as punch with you!"

 

I know, right? I even showed the others how to hold the parrot so he looked like he was perched on your finger.

 

"And just where are y'all?"

 

The ship is docked at Freeport, Bahamas. I thought it was funny that the sand mounds looked like the snow-capped mountains in Marcia's pics of Alaska! That's where she was last week. 

 

"Ummm... is that a duck??"

 

It is! A Lady Liberty rubber duck! That's the first duck I've found on Paradise, and I only have the one Jesus. The girls have gotten quite a collection of ducks!

 

"Hahaha! I see that the room steward made you a duck, too!"

 

Mohamed said he was inspired by the ducks I had on my little nightstand. Isn't that sweet of him? I refer to this as "having my ducks in a row". Nice to have another inside joke!

 

"Yes, dear."

 

The tiny duck is one Chloe gave me, and the one wearing shades belongs to Anthony. Chloe had been playing with it nonstop at dinner last night, so I put it in my pocket. I gave it back to him tonight, and gave her the Jesus she found on the ship. It has a red sash.

 

Christina's quartet missed the origami session, as they were at breakfast. But when they all joined me for the onslaught of trivia games at the Euphoria Lounge, her hair was different! It was loose earlier, at coffee with me. Mine had been different, too, in just the one braid on top of my head. Now, with no coordination at all, we both had twin braids, down low!!! That's how Mama wore her hair, too, when I was growing up! 

 

"That's very cool! Y'all's telepathing link is still working! Hooray!"

 

Right? I had changed my hair when I put the green parrot in my cabin.

 

"I wondered when you got the pigtails. Now, talk to me about the trivia."

 

There were only the three, but they were right in a row! First was "Landmark Landshark Trivia" with Jason hosting. I got 15 out of 20; Christina had 17. Mohammed hosted the next two games. "Slogan Trivia" went pretty far back for some of it's 'mercial jingles, but I still managed to score 15 out of 21. I'll take that, gladly! She did better again, of course. The last game was "Guess The Young Celebrity Trivia", and I absolutely sucked at that! I think I had 5 correct out of 14. Yikes! She did better than me again, but neither of us won any of those. That's okay, we still had fun!

 

"And what did Miyah and Chloe do during that time?"

 

A woman with a bag of little ducks gave the bag to the girls, as well as the children in the family from Nicaragua, and asked that they hide them for her. The kids were only too glad to do so!!! LOL!!! That's how I got that teensy blue one.

  

"Great googly moogly! LOL!!!"

 

After all that, we bounced back to Deck 10 for lunch. I went to Frank & Lola's Pizzeria and had an entire Paradise Pepperoni pizza!!! So delicious!!! She got Cheeseburgers for her and the girls... and none of them liked them. They weren't "like Mom's" - hahahaha! Nothing wrong with the chocolate ice cream, though, and they each ate every bit of that! Then they went down to 4024 to change into swimsuits. I headed up to Deck 11, to the License To Chill pool, and snagged a table for us, then relaxed and grooved to the music of DJ Decibels as the "Sail Away Party" began. Ah!!!

 

There was just one snag... I never saw them come up.

Maybe I was too busy singing along with the music, or watching the tugboat that escorted out of the harbor...

or maybe it was because they exited the elevator on the other side of the ship than they usually did.

I waited for them for almost an hour, then I went back inside.

Emmanuel was strumming his guitar again in Euphoria, so I hung out there with him.

I knew they would eventually show up for dinner.

When the Philippine guitarist saw me, he played "Pretty Woman", again - nice of him to do that!

I sang along, of course!

And, sure enough, I caught my girl and her peeps when they showed up for Fins Dining!

However, it was already 7 PM and there was a dinner rush.

We were given a pager and then waited at least 30 minutes for a table. 

Then the maitre d' took us the long way around in the vast dining hall, with Christina speeding along pushing Anthony in the wheelchair as he was too slow with his hands on the wheels.

I could not keep up...

and the sun was setting...

and I didn't want to miss this final sunset on Paradise.

So I left.

I took the elevator to Deck 11, then walked past the pool to the open metal staircase that led to the 12th floor, with nothing but open, darkening, sky above me.

That's where I remained for the next thirty minutes, enjoying the music and the soft sea breeze and that lone star (upper left corner) as the sun kissed the world good night on its rouged cheek.

Yes, others were out there, too, but they were staying in the moment, as was I.

Bliss...

even though it meant I missed dinner.

Renewed in spirit, I knew it was time to head for the Stars On The Water Theatre to snag a table!

Mohammed, the emcee, had said to hit him up for a seat, so I did, getting a fourth row table in the reserved section.

Then Auntie Terry saw me and moved me up to the front row, right where we all sat that first night!

No extra charge to gaze up at Tevin the steel pan man and that scrim of parrots!

Just before the 9:30 PM show time, Christina and her merry band joined me, just in time for the "tourists" checking out the "fishing shack". 

LOL!!!

A fish go snagged and flew up past them, making us all laugh out loud!

What a fun way to start off "Caribbean Heat"!!! 

More music, more acobatics, more twirling on the Luna!

With all the music being played on stage, some of my favorite Bob Marley tunes got mixed in there, too.

I managed to catch the scrim for "Three Little Birds" before they flew off!!!

"Singing, don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing is gonna be all right, yes, don't worry, about a thing..."

I just love that song!!! 

Then the show was over... but not the fun!

 

Mohammed was there on camera duty, taking photos of folks with the cast after the last twirls had been done and the last notes were played.

Such patience he had!

He had to traipse over to the right to get the person's phone, go and get in the middle to live up the shot, then given them their phone back...

over and over and over!

Miyah and Chloe were the first to get their photos taken, then they went over to Auntie Terry and burst into tears while hugging her...

oh, poor dears!!!

She even had tears in her eyes!

But that wasn't the last time we saw her... oh, no!

Even though it was already after 10:30 PM, we headed over to the Euphoria.

 

That's because Cruise Director Terry was the emcee for the game show, "Lip Sync Or Swim" and we had been invited to come!

Christina even managed to grab us some chairs, as the former occupants were up there trying to win free margaritas... or a free cruise!

The game ended in a tie, with both men winning cruises - wow!

Then the girls went up to dance with Terry, and get one more hug, before going back to the cabin to pack and sleep.

Me?

I found out the pizza joint on Deck 10 was still open, so there I went!

It was too late to eat it tonight, but the two slices of Paradise Pepperoni would be perfect for a quiet breakfast tomorrow.

And when I returned to 4089, I still had time to pack my suitcase and sit it outside the door for pickup.

i thank you, God!

Paradise: day 3

I like to think of this as the day I found Jesus.

Like, literally.

The ship docked in Nassau, Bahamas, and I felt the need to at least walk on the pier, maybe even go into town.

Ah, but the sun was so very hot at 10 AM...

still, I made it to the entrance to the city...

then remembered I had no photo ID with me.

Nope, that wouldn't do!

So, back I walked to the Paradise, maybe a little slower, and that pace allowed me to spot the image atop one of the yellow concrete posts on the sidewalk.

What is the message inscribed on that pink sash he wears?

"I AM WITH YOU"

Admittedly, I have not felt alone on this vacation though I travel solo.

Mama's presence has been with me from the start, partly due to the luggage I bought in 2001 with some of her insurance money.

Mostly, though, it's because she always travels in my heart, so there's that.

I know she would have enjoyed this cruise with my first niece and her little girls!

And just where were they on this port day?

They took one of the day trips to go swimming with pigs.

I'm absolutely serious!

I knew the deadline to be back on board was 3:30 PM, so I started hanging out at their door (4024, Deck 4 Fwd) around 3 PM.

Finally, I heard her voice rising from Deck 3 Fwd and went down the hall... and there they were, at last.

The time was 3:41 PM.

It was his fault, though, that they were late, as he broke his dad's walker.

He said he was going backward in it and hit a rough place and bent the wheel.

That'll make the trip easier on him, as the ship is letting him borrow a wheelchair.

I'm glad I decided to forego that side trip!

I'm just as glad to have been viewing Nassau from the windows in Euphoria.

All of those colorful buildings remind me of River Street, as well as Nice, France, which I'd visited in 2002 on that Mediterranean cruise.

Did I say what I did while they were gone?

I hung out in the Euphoria Lounge, up on Deck 8 mid, sipping on a free Frozen Lemonade while I watched Jimmy Buffett sing in a long-ago concert in Memphis!

I was there for Arts & Crafts with Melinda and Kaylee, but that didn't happen, so we chatted instead.

Then I popped up to the Mexican Cutie Cantina for lunch, then back down to Euphoria for "Guess The Flag" Trivia, a la Sheldon's "Fun With Flags".

Guess I should have paid more attention!

After that, I'd stood watch on Dec 4 Fwd until I was assured that Christina had safely returned, then I'd bounced back to Euphoria for "90's TV" Trivia with Mohammed.

I managed to get 15 out of 20 on that!

My score was only 5 of 14 on the flags.

Pete the Parrot came strolling by for a meet and greet, but the family was still getting clean from their swim at a beach with pigs.

High Five to Pete from me!

We all met up again for Fins Dining - we had to, a'ight? - though their appetites were a bit off from a day in the sun.

I started with Caribbean Cauliflower Soup, which was more like potato soup.

The Santa Cruz Fish, however, was fabulous, fresh, and fancy!!!

Want to guess what I ate for dessert?

Of course I had the Key Lime Sponge Cake - it's delish!!!

Christina had the Margarita Bars, but they were too sweet on their own.

So we took it with us to the High Tides Market up on Deck 10, after dropping off Miyah and Chloe at the Parakeet Club on Deck 8.

(Yes, there's a lot of bouncing up and down on elevators! Now, imagine it with a man in a wheelchair and that just adds to the fun! LOL!)

Christina had the Fins Dining dessert with a glass of milk and that made it perfect enough that she had a bit of salad and pasta, too.

That was good, as she'd eaten hardly any dinner and none of them had lunch while they were on the island.

We played some kind of Rummy game with cards until time for my first niece to go fetch her girls.

Then they all had chocolate ice cream and I had Margherita Pizza - ah, yes!

We'd missed the 'clean' show by the comedian at 7:30 because we had been late going to Fins for dinner...

and the girls couldn't go to his 'dirty' later show...

but they were all tired from their day ashore with the broken walker.

 

Time to head back to our rooms and call it a night...

especially as it was already after 11 PM.

And what had my room steward, Mohamed, left there?

An elephant in my room!!!

Hahahaha!

Paradise: day 2

What's better than a day at sea for a veteran sailor?

A day of pomp and circumstance, of course!

But first, breakfast with my peeps at the High Tide Market after a few minutes enjoying this view in my cabin!

Today I dined on Belgian waffles with orange marmalade, as well as pancakes with sliced ham - just what I needed to get some energy!

I was the first one up and I managed to snag a table for 6 for our party of 5 - perfect!

My next stop was the Euphoria (Deck 8-mid) for a game of "Name That Tune" with Cruise Director Terry Ann Barrett!

The first thing she did was ask me where her "friend Chloe was, and her sister, Miyah" - how about that!

They made quite an impression when they hugged her last night after the variety show!

Part of that was their closeness in age to her daughter, who is 8, and is living at home in Jamaica while her mom works on the Paradise for 3 months.

I had to tell her they were still at breakfast, but they joined us before the game was done, so that was good!

As for the photo, the folks as dancing to "Cotton Eyed Joe" while the contestant who guessed the song is singing it for an extra point.

Very much a lot of fun to watch!!!

Christina and family went down after that to change into swimwear.

 

Not me!

The "Salute To The Heroes" was coming up in the Euphoria, again with Terry.

Recognize that setup, with that little table and empty chair?

That's familiar to everyone in the American Legion, regardless of which branch of the service, as the spot for the MIA service member.

I'm going to have to share that with Post 36 and Post 500 at home!

 

Then came the big part of the celebration: the parade of the flags that represent each branch, as well as a brief narrative of their mission.

They even included the Coast Guard, the Emergency Responders, and, as I recall, the National Park Rangers.

That was very nice!

Plus, I was given a free Margarita to commemorate my service!

I turned down the first one, saying that I couldn't drink...

but when they came around again, I accepted that $15 gift.

As my first alcoholic drink since I was diagnosed with A-fib, I can state this for certain: either that was a strong drink, or I'm a lightweight now!

I suspect a bit of both was true.

 

After just a couple of sips, I decided that food was needed to offset that dose of tequila, so up to Deck 10-mid I went.

I headed straight for Mexican Cutie Cantina, as it's Taco Tuesday! 

Yes, that was a very good way to get back to me again!

My next plate was from the High Tide Market, fetching some Jamaican fish, Pollo adobo, and pork loin with lemon.

I sat with a trio from Panama, of all places, and we talked - kinda sorta - about life there in Colon and Panama City.

See, only Isabel spoke any English, and that was sparse.

Glad I had a chance to pull out my high school Spanish from Mrs. Gary!

Then I bopped back down to the Euphoria for "Charades With The Fins Up Crew" and found Christina and Anthony there!

She'd dropped off the girls at the Parakeet Club, so it was just us adults.

She and I each took a turn trying to get the other to guess -

me trying to be "Minions", her contorting as an "Elf", with no help from Anthony either as a guesser or a charade artist -

and didn't win a free margarita at this game, but still had fun.

 

Then she had to collect the girls and I went off to the "Love & Marriage" Game Show at the Stars On The Water Theatre (Deck 8 Fwd).

That was only for 18+, so they went off to the "Family Parrot Quest" with Pete The Parrot over at Keys On The Water Lounge, at the opposite end of the ship (Deck 9 Aft). 

Cruise Director Terry hosted the game show, eventually getting four couples on stage with varying amounts of time together: 51 years, 34 years, 28 years, and 3 days.

Such newlyweds they were!

His answers tended to be the raciest, so it was good the children weren't there and were off chasing parrots!

At game's end, they were all announced to be winners and each won a free future cruise with Margaritaville At Sea - woohoo!!!

 

I managed to beat feet back over to the Euphoria Lounge just in time for the 5:30 PM "Captain's Margarita Toast"!

All of the ship's officers were introduced and lined up in formation behind Captain Dimitrios Papatsatsis...

and all of the spectators of age were given -

that's right! -

a free margarita to drink with him!

Again, I took a couple of dainty sips, then put it down.

 

Christina, her girls, and her boyfriend were there, too for the occasion!

Then she and Miyah and Chloe headed over to "Strike A Pose" for the free photo shoot, that had no strings attached.

Just look at them vogueing it up there! 

 

Then we all headed over to Fins Dining  - not to be confused as the 'Fine Dining', lol! - for some elegant fare! 

The good news was it was right beside Euphoria Lounge, so no need for elevators or traipsing off to another end of the ship!

I started off my four-course dinner with the Trinidadian Vegetable Curry, which followed the bread lead-off.

Then, for my entree, I chose the Antigua Shrimp - ah, fond memories of a much earlier cruise in the Caribbean that visited that lovely isle!

(I think that was in 2006? Or was it 2004?) 

I finished up tonight as I had last night with the Key Lime Sponge Cake.

Jimmy Buffett is right - sponge cake is quite delicious! 

Then it was time to work off that meal and take a hike.

I'm not kidding!

We went from Deck 8 mid, to Deck 9 Aft, to the Keys On The Water Lounge, where they had been for the Parrot search.

That meant going through the casino, which is huge!

At least we had a sunset waiting for us at the Lounge.

 

Then it was time for "Lip Service Family Karaoke"!!!

First up for our group were Chloe and Miyah.

It was originally going to just be Chloe singing "Party In The USA", with Miyah as her back-up dancer.

However, the emcee encouraged Miyah to take the microphone...

and off they went, singing and dancing and never once looking at the screen for the words of the song!

Hahahaha!

Christina and Anthony went next, and guess what she chose?

"Barbie Girl" - hahahaha!!!

Honestly, every time I see anyone do that song, my mind flashes back to Sam Johnson singing it at his birthday fundraiser! 

Good times, good times, so long ago.

More good times were to be had tonight, though!

 

No time for me to sing a song as we needed to go back through the casino, catch an elevator to Deck 8, then bop over to Stars On The Water Theatre (Deck 8 Fwd) for the entertainment!

"Showtime Radio Margaritaville Live At Sea" was set to begin at 9:30 PM.

This time we had second row seats, in the reserved section, courtesy of Cruise Director "Auntie" Terry, who was serving as the D J tonight.

All music was provided by the Fusion Groove Band for all the song and dance routines up there on the stage.

My favorite was the skit for "A Pirate Looks At Forty", one of my favorite Buffett tunes, especially as I've gotten older.

 

All too soon - at least for me! - the 45-minute show was over!

We hung around for the girls to greet Terry when she came out of the D J Booth and guess what? 

As well as hugs, she had gift bags for them!!!

Then she and the girls had a photo session in the D J Booth and even invited Christina up there for the fun!

How very nice for sweet dreams!

Christina and family headed back to 4024 (Deck 4 Fwd), but I said I was going to change into my Spring Dress and go dance!

The "White Hot Neon Nights" shindig had started at 10:30 PM at Keys On The Water Lounge and I was excited when I'd heard about it on fb before the trip.

However, now that it was 'go' time...

and knowing how far off that lounge was...

and my right leg letting me know it was too tired for shenanigans...

I opted to give it due consideration before I set off.

 

Then I opened my cabin door and saw this towel critter waiting!

What a sweet and funny crab!!!

The schedule of events for tomorrow was waiting with it, tempting me to sit a minute and glance at my options for Wednesday.

After all, I'd have the day to myself, as they were going onshore to swim with pigs at some beach.

Seriously.

So, I sat... and before I knew it, I was asleep!

Sweet dreams of pirates and key lime sponge cake!