visiting family on a Sunday afternoon

When I started my journey home after a long weekend of lazy days and luxurious nights, I had not intended to make any detours. After all, I had been gone since Friday morning, when I left for a chili cook-off on Jekyll Island. I had a late start, so I missed the charity event, but they sold out, so that was all to the good.

I wandered over to McCormick's Grill, beside the golf course, still in the mood for chili and hoping to find some. And I did, a thick chili with beans and hunks of lean burger - yum! I also had their Cuban-style sandwich, featuring shredded barbequed pork instead of sliced pork loin. Very good, and the barbeque sauce in the pork added a nice ZING!
Excellent! Even better, the stop had allowed me to fulfill my New Year's Resolution for January. Bravo!
The day was still sunny, but had definitely chilled down. I decided to wander over to the beach and see if I might be fortunate enough to find any of the glass floats hidden along the shore. No, not that afternoon, and the cold, steady breeze encouraged me to move along, move along. So, I did, leaving Jekyll and heading south.
I stopped at Dave & Buster's, to pass a little time and grab a little dinner. I also wanted to drive fast cars and kill zombies! Oh, yeah! The young man behind the bar suggested the Buffalo Bar Chiks, so that is what I had for dinner. Good recommendation! Spicy, with some crunch, but still moist. Okay, I'm fueled up!
And farther south I headed, past Saint Augustine, heading for the beaches I love and the roads I know.
The next morning, I brunched at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, another restaurant I'd never been to before. Mighty tasty eggs with sundied tomatoes and spinach and baby portobello mushrooms!! They called it the Spinach and Baby Bella Scramble. So very good, and the coffee was tasty, too. (I had a picture of it, but I guess it wandered off somewhere.)
Then it was time for another fun time on my mini-vacation: to bop over to one of my favorite little art house places, Cinematique! They were screening two films I had not yet seen back home. The first one I viewed, "Searching for Sugar Man", was a documentary about an American musician who was a legend in South Africa, but completely unknown in the States. Thought to be dead, the film chronicled the efforts of two of his fans to track down the truth about his death... and their elation at finding him alive and well and still living in Detroit. Amazing film! It even made me cry a little: how wonderful to find such a humble man!

A tour of the chocolate factory was next, a sweet way to pass the ninety minutes between films. Oh, yes, all puns intended! They still use the original red and white scale for measuring the ingredients. Incredible! We all had samples after the tour and I even bought a few treats to share with folks back home, including a s'more for my first niece and some yummy dark chocolate for me. Those two old ladies from Michigan really have good recipes!
Then back to Cinematique for the second feature. That film concerned Danish royalty and was titled "A Royal Affair". Entertaining, historical, and fabulous costumes! Not my usual cup of tea, but I still very much enjoyed it.
But now what to do? It was a bit late to head back to the 'Vannah, but I didn't want to start the morning quite this far south. But wait! I recalled a Hampton's which was practically across the street from the Dave & Buster's. Perfect! I would get there before ten, lasso up some more Buffalo Chiks for dinner, and have plenty to entertain myself for a few hours. Yeehaw!
I mean, sah-weet!
And that's just what I did, treating myself to a draft Guinness while I was at it. After all, I was on foot, and the bedroom for the night was just ten minutes' walk, so I could afford a beer or two. I only had the one, but it was a large one, and quite delicious with the spicy Chiks!
After a most restful sleep and good breakfast, I was off again, to have a leisurely cruise back home. I had even thought I might slow it down and take the beach highway once I crossed over into Georgia, but I missed the exi. No worries, no worries at all, more than one exit for that route.
And the next thing you know, I'm heading for Waycross. The conversation went something like this.
"Oops! That was the exit I meant to take."
"Oh, well, it's a beautiful blue sky day, perfect for a drive out of town. jekyll Island will be coming up soon."
"You know, that same exit will take you toward Waycross. It's been a couple of years since you made it over to the cemetery and today is such a lovely day for that."
"You're right, it has been a long time. I can take some new pictures for the family after I've cleaned things up a bit."
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!"
And so, when the exit arrived, I veered to the left, instead of the right, and headed toward south central Georgia. And wow, that area near the highway had grown greatly since my last pass through! There was even a Family Dollar store and it was even already open! Hey, I bet they would have flowers to beautify those family plots, you know? I mean, no sense arriving empty-handed, right?
So, I circled back and went in to the Family Dollar and found some quite pretty bunches of flowers. Nice!
They were even on sale, wonder of wonders. Very nice!

So, with six bouquets in hand, five for them and one for me, I set off for the final resting grounds for my Grandmama, my Grandpa, my Great-Grandma, my Uncle Jimmy, and my Aunt Pearl. I know Mama was quite pleased that I was tending to her family's graves, leaving signs that the folks there might be gone, but were certainly not forgotten.
Never forgotten.
And I took many pictures, shared on facebook with scattered family, with some who didn't even get to know some of these relatives in person.
But they knew some. And they knew the names.
That's important.

yupsy daisy

Morning has broken...

Umm huh. Where's the coffee?

Right here. You know what today is?

The last day of June, I think.

That's right, as per the calendar. But it's also a five year mark for me. This was the day my youngest brother was arrested. Tomorrow will mark five years since i found out he had been arrested and what he was accused of doing. It wasn't until later, at his arraignment, that i found out exactly how it went down, thanks to Grandpa filling in the details. Having been associated with the newspaper in south Georgia for so long, he felt it his duty to give me the inside scoop on news-worthy events. Whether i wanted such details or not.

I thought he had died in 1982...

He did. That's a different story, part of my conversations with ghosts. Back to this one.

(Takes a sip of coffee, still trying to wake up.)

As i was saying, tomorrow marks five years since i found out my brother had been arrested. It was a Sunday and the church i attended was having its Big Coffee Hour. In other words, we were all gathered in the social hall, helping ourselves to the fine foods we had all brought to share. So, there i was, happy as a lark, chatting to all around me in line, putting tastiness on my plate. La diddy dah! Across the buffet table, filling her plate, was the woman who wore hats, a woman i had spoken with several times, including at the women's group for the church. She lived across the street from the family my brother's girlfriend worked for, so we both had her in common.
So there we are in line, across from each other.
And apropos of nothing, she says "You know that girl Ann?"
"Yes, i do."
"She's dead."
"She's dead?" I had stopped in my tracks, no longer seeing the food before me.
"Uh huh. Her boyfriend killed her."
Incredulous, i responded "Her boyfriend killed her?"
"Uh huh." Standing still. Watching me, looking in my eyes.
"Her boyfriend is my brother!" Shocked, choked voice uttered the words.
"Uh huh. He killed her."
"Oh, no!"

Oh, no.

I ran from the room to the church office and called my first brother, in a panic. "Have you heard anything from our youngest brother?"
"Why?"
"I just found out his girlfriend is dead! I'm here at church and i was told he had killed her!"
"That may be true. He called me yesterday to say he had been arrested, but I was out and it went to the voice mail."
"Oh my God! Oh, no! I thought they had broken up! She had told me she had stopped seeing him."
"Well, they must have gotten back together, because she had moved in with him."
"Oh my God!"
Shock, shock, shock.

What did you do?

I left the church and drove down to the house, to see if any of this might possibly be real.
And it was.
Yellow crime tape all around the front yard, the back yard, the house.
And i had to stop the car until the sobs allowed me to breathe again.
And it didn't matter whether it had been an accident or not.
Ann was dead.
Five years ago tomorrow.
Which will even be a Sunday, again.
And i will visit my youngest brother, in his new abode, which he will have for the next four to eight years.