happy 250th birthday, U.S.A.!!!

"So, g'friend, what did you do to celebrate this mega-milestone marker in your country's history?"

Honestly, I don't understand what the big fuss is all about. It's like throwing a huge party for a child's 100th-day of life, like they do in Japan. That baby has so much farther to go! A feast at that point just seems so overblown!

"What?! You're kidding, right? You, the girl who loves pomp and circumstance, are pooh-poohing the use of traditions to celebrate anniversaries of birth?"

I'm just rattling my sabre a bit. England has been a country since the 10th century, so that makes them more than 1100 years old. France has been a country for about that long, too. Spain is a bit younger than them by about 500 years, but that's still more than twice the age of the United States of America.

"But there are countries that are younger, too. Take Mexico, for instance. It declared its independence from Spain in 1821 and had its first constitution in 1824. That means that two years ago was its 200th birthday, but I don't recall hearing anything about a big celebration for that."

I don't know why we would have. Our news reports local first, then state, then national. World events don't get much coverage unless they directly affect the USA.

"Sad, but true. Hence our need to get news from the BBC. They had fairly even reporting about our 250th birthday and the wedding of Taylor Swift to Travis Kelce."

That's what I mean. To an old country like England, those two celebrations would have an equivalent weight. I'm not saying that this 4th of July isn't a bit more special than usual, I'm just asking for it to be kept in perspective. Every 4th of July is special.

"Yes, dear. So, how did you celebrate this day?"

I sent messages for a "Happy 4th of July" to those dear to me during the morning, answering as they replied. One of my favorites came from Doug Andrews, the Commander of Post 36 of the American Legion. He wrote: "My heart is swelled with pride for what OUR country has done for itself, by itself, while also lifting up the rest OF the world, who couldn't have done it without us. All done by the sacrifice of many great American military Patriots, 'who loved their country more than Self'. Happy Fourth of July to you, being one of America's most devoted patriots."

"Wow. What a beautiful sentiment there!"

Right? I just may keep that message for a long time. I held it in my heart as I enjoyed much of the "Disney Celebrates 250th Anniversary of the USA" on ABC. Later, I watched interspersed that with NBC's "Great American Block Party", but focused in on CBS's "Macy's 4th of July Countdown". That was mostly because it had the fewest 'mercials.

"Hahahaha! I'm sure! And what fabulous shots you have there!"

Thanks. This, to me, was what it was all about: people with genuine love for our country watching the fireworks over head while they stood and waved the flag. Seeing all of that really made me feel proud to be an American, and proud to be a veteran. I've got that 27-minute, continual, fireworks display recorded, and I plan to watch it again in the morning. Some of the song choices were questionable, but that's okay; you can't please everyone. Most were excellent, including starting off with "The Star Spangled Banner" and ending with "Stars And Stripes Forever". Most excellent.

the best is yet to come

When I checked my 'Memories' on fb, it told me I had none for December 31 over the 18 years that I've been on that social media.

My friend for longer than that, Lynita Spivey, does this thing called "predictive text", where she starts a sentence and we finish it up.

She posted "We've just received word that..."

I completed it as "... resolutions are not being accepted for 2026."

She really liked it!

I'm serious about that, though.

As I told the party-goers on Sunday, and my stepmom Bonnie today, when asked if I was making any resolutions, my reply was "absolutely not!".

Instead, I'm focusing on the positive, which is my modus operandi anyway.

So, will there be a change?

Not if that's how I naturally roll... right?

Speaking of the positive, I let AARP buy me dinner tonight.

They done good, too!

I had four 5-buck gift cards 'bought' with my AARP points over this past year and tonight i cashed them in at Carrabbas!

My choice: Shrimp Positano, one of my favorites, with lots of garlic and with fond memories of time in that seaside town in 2012 - oh, yeah!

Totally divine!

Now I have dragon breath, but that's just fine.

This New Year's Eve is being spent at home, watching favorite movies!

I started with "Christmas With The Kranks", with Tim Allen in another delightful holiday movie.

Then I segued into "My Best Friend's Wedding".

Odd choice, I know, but I have to thank Ivan Shreve for talking about that movie and Julia Roberts on fb.

I do love all the songs in it, and the bad karaoke is just fabulous!!!

It certainly made this seem like a party!

And The Universe made sure I knew that was exactly what I was meant to watch, too.

Both movies had M. Emmet Walsh, in his 60's, in them.

Right place, right time!

Now, I'm going to watch one more movie: "The Sandlot".

That gives me a trio with family, romance, and baseball.

What more could I want on this festive night? 

It also has some really great fireworks displays, to go along with all the fireworks that have been going off here since o'dark-thirty. 

As for that cute little baby penguin, I've sent it off to family and friends, with its cheery message that the "Best is yet to come"!

We all need hope as we start a new calendar year!

Keep the faith, y'all!

(smile!)

bacon park fireworks party!!!

 

Live music!!!

I never did catch their names, but these two guys kept up a constant stream of tunes for three hours!

Sometimes one of them sang, sometimes the other, but those guitars were in action all the time!

I even got up and danced some!!!

Game tournament!!!

There were four pairs of corn hole boards set up for the tournament, which required an entry fee.

There were also three pairs of corn hole boards in the field beside the giant bounce-house slide!

None of us did any of that.

My youngest brother and his bride of absolutely 7 years were enjoying their spiked drinks, knowing they had me as their designated driver.

Hey, I was happy to be invited to this shindig!

That meant grilled burgers at their house before we came out -

very tasty! 

Peyton went over to the playground and hung out with her summer friend, Claire, that she met at the pool.

Nice that another 11-year-old was there!

In fact, there were lots of kids of lots of ages!

This was a real family event!

I even ran into one of my outlaw Melinda's youngest sister!

Rather, Robin saw me when I walked up to the singing duo!

She and I talked for a while, and she came over to greet Tony and meet Laura -

very nice!!! 

Turned out she and Dino were sitting just fifteen feet from us!

We were all awaiting the sky show, 

watching for the blue sky above 

to darken enough for stars to shine,

waiting as we ate boiled peanuts

and drank iced Fresca.

Oh, wait, that last part was just me.

(smile!)

Then, just before 9 PM, the show started!!!

We were set up to the side of a huge tree and the fireworks seemed to be shooting out of every branch, all the way up, bursting towards us!!!

It was as if we were in warp drive and flying through the Milky Way Galaxy at maximum velocity!!!

Wow!!!

I decided to venture across the field,

going over by the slide on the playground,

wanting to see the flashing lights above me...

success!!!

This was closer than I've ever been to the fireworks!!!

Not even at the Savannah Sand Gnat games or the Savannah Bananas games had I ever seen anything that compared to this!!!

I was close enough to see the four men working steadily behind the barricades to keep the show going!

When I turned to try to see my brother and his family, I saw only darkness until a bursting blast above brought this view of others, like me, in awe of the brilliant lights and sounds!

Such a magnificent celebration of the independence of the USA from England's rule!!!

No kings for us ever again!!!

We chose government 

by the people,

for the people,

of the people!!!

Hallelujah!!!

How blessed we are to have been born in this country where we have such freedoms and so many choices!!!

I am still so excited from this show tonight!!!

Thanks, Tony and Laura!!!

communication breakdown, it's always the same

Hey, that looks like the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Charleston!

Yep, that's what it is alright.

Okay... is this an odd salute to veterans this Independance Day?

Not really. I'm just commemorating my unexpected trip there today. What a way to celebrate being a veteran! Just because my neighbors called the city on me instead of talking to me about my back yard.

I don't understand...

Well, I admit that I had let the back yard go for a while.
Quite a while.
Meaning I had only cut the grass back there twice this year.
Also, I had never cut back the wild lantana smothering the back fence, so the dead limbs now jutted in all directions.
But, in my defense, I was keeping the front yard quite lovely!
Also, I had wild irises staggering all over the back and really liked their purple blooms! So, when I had cut the yard, I had left islands of purple all over the place.
But the dandelions were making a stand and trying to take over.
Still, all someone would have had to do was ask and I would have taken care of it.
But no one did.

That's what you mean with that Led Zeppelin reference?

Yep. Definite communication breakdown.
A week ago Wednesday, I came home from "The Croods" to a yellow notice on my door. "Please cut back yard", it read, threatening me with time in jail and a thousand-dollar fine if I did not do so by July 1st.
I had just cut the back yard - most of it - on Monday, getting it done before the rain. I had rushed through my mowing of the front yard, then continued in the back until the battery was out of juice.
So, how could I have received this notice when the work was mostly done?
I immediately called the number on the notice to complain.
The inspector came out within minutes and we walked through the back yard. She pointed out the shrubbery on the side fence and back fence.
"Those are my butterfly bushes", I told her.
Well, apparently, they are not allowed to touch the fences. Nor are they allowed to be higher than the fences.

Seriously?

You bet. Also, if they poke through the fence to your neighbor's side, you are supposed to pull them back through to your side.
And cut them.

Again... seriously???

Yes, indeed.
She told me the city had received a couple of complaints via their 311 link, but this was the first time they had been out to my house. One of the complaints had mentioned a fear of snakes; that is the one which spurred the visit.
"Snakes?" I said. "If there is any problem with snakes, it's from the house next door. They have a pool and snakes love pools. My cousin in Tallahassee has a pool and has a terrible time keeping snakes out of her yard."
The city inspector looked right at me and said, "They have a pool next door?"
"Yes, ma'am. They've had it the whole time I've lived here and I've lived here since Thanksgiving of 2001."
Scribble, scribble, went her pen.
[side note: Ever since then, my neighbors with the pool have not been in it. I have to wonder if they weren't supposed to have it. They are the only folks in this subdivision who have a pool. Up until a week ago, they were in it daily, usually with company. They didn't have their usual 4th of July pool party, either.)

So, what did you do?

Well, she gave me until July 8th to remedy the situation.
On Tuesday, I cleared out the brush along the side fences and finished cutting the back yard. Part of the vegetation along one side were thorny vines, stretching up into the oak tree. Also, the ubiquitous blackberry brambles were there as well as briars.
I came away fairly scratched, but okay.
I hauled it all up front, took photos to serve as proof that I was making headway, and resolved to continue in a few days.
Well, once the city trash service had picked it up on Wednesday, I felt compelled to put some more out there.
So, yesterday, I moved my efforts to the back fence.
Yikes.
Between the efforts of the briars, brambles, and splintery dead lantana limbs, my legs, arms, and hands were pretty scratched up. To complicate matters, I also had a blister on my thumb from using a hand saw on some of the thicker growth.

Why didn't you wear gloves? And long pants?

Because it's too hot for all that and I do not have an air-conditioned house to escape into. Yes, I know I should have, but I did not.
We all make mistakes.
For sure.
Anywho, I jumped inside, got showered, and headed for the Gnats' game. Fireworks, you know?
And I get there and all seems to be okay. But then I started noticing the back of my right leg, just above my ankle, kept feeling wet.

It was bleeding???

No, no, no, not bloody... just... wet.
I would wipe it off, and it would be wet again. Within moments. With a clear, maybe slightly sticky, odorless fluid.
I went to the bathroom to clean it up and see what was going on. Yep, there it goes, two beads of moisture seeping to the surface of a long, horizontal scratch. Continuously.
I brought a handful of paper towels back to my seat and kept wiping my leg throughout the game.
Fireworks tonight!
Also, my first niece was coming with her foster son to watch fiReWOrKs with me. I was NOT leaving the game early!

Headstrong, headstrong!

Yeah, yeah.
(smile)
As soon as I got home, I tried some isopropyl alcohol on the scratch.
No effect.
Hydrogen peroxide was applied next.
No effect.
Pressure? What about some oldfashioned direct pressure?
No effect.
Nothing staunched the flow.
I tried some waterproof bandages to keep the fluid at bay.
The bandages got waterlogged and slid off.
Finally, I used a pantiliner, taped in place.
That did the trick!

Oh, good! So, it finally stopped?

Nope. When I was awakened near noon by a phone call, I found the wound was still seeping clear fluid.
Still.
Now I was beginning to worry. So I called the VA After Hours Medical Hotline.
Bonnie, a nurse in Dayton, Ohio, answered.
After she heard my story, she told me I needed to have it looked at. Especially as it was approaching 24 hours since the onset of the seepage.
Drats.
The Service Clinic here was closed for the holiday, as well as the weekend.
Wait until it opened on Monday? What if the wound dripped all that time? What if I became dehydrated from it?
Drats.
Bonnie told me I needed to go to the VA Hospital. Because it was not blood oozing out of my body, she could not refer me to the Emergency Room of one of the local civilian hospitals.
Drats.

Definitely drats.

Most def. So, I packed a bag - just in case! - and let folks know where I was going and off I went.
I arrived there in about 2 1/2 hours, spent roughly an hour there, then returned home.
I've been here almost an hour.
Sure, I saw a few fiReWOrKs today, from a distance, as I drove along the interstate on my way into town.
But, mostly, this veteran spent her day on the hot roads between Savannah and Charleston.
All because her neighbors couldn't be bothered with direct communication with her about her back yard.

Maybe that's why the angel peeked in on me yesterday at the game...
and sent my first niece to keep me company...
to reassure me that I was loved.
(smile!)

here's lookin' at you, kid

So, there I was the the ballpark, watching the Gnats play their final game of this home stand, along with 4013 other fans.
Yeah, you heard correctly.
The game was SOLD OUT.
No surprise there. In addition to it being Drunk Night, this was the final home game of the 4th of July weekend, so there would be fiReWOrKs. That means lots of families with kids, in addition to the usual crowd of cheap beer drinkers.
No, Mister Willie was not in attendance. He had ceiling work being done and didn't want to leave Sweetheart alone with that mess. Laurie and Lynn were up in Pennsylvania, so Gnate would have to sing "Sweet Caroline" without their foam-finger dancing. But Bruce, the Riverdog fan, was there. Jack was, too, in the company of his sweetie, Joyce Ann. So I had plenty of folk there that I knew.
Plus, my first niece and her foster son joined me just in time for the last inning and the fiReWOrKs!
So, as I said, there I was enjoying the game. And the incredible crowd.
And, suddenly, I saw that even in the sky above, there was at least one other watching the game with me.
I don't recognize the face, do you?
I'm thinking the face was that of a being from another world.
Then again, I saw "Earth To Echo" yesterday and that made quite an impression on me. I was actually at the cinema for another movie, but that one had unexpectedly left early, so the attendant switched me up for this one.
Good call.
Yes, it did make me cry. Movies that highlight the importance of friendship, like in "Monsters, Inc.", always make me cry.
Remember, friends are the family you choose.
It's good when the circles overlap and you have family members who are also friends.
Maybe that was the message tonight.

fiReWOrKs!!!

What is Memorial Day weekend without baseball and fireworks, right?
Well, certainly the latter is on most folks' minds.
Certainly is on my mind!
After all, my birthday falls right around Memorial Day, so I'm accustomed to giant light displays to help celebrate my special day!
Baseball is always a nice touch, too, these days, watching my boys of summer take the field and steal bases and make double plays and swat balls over the fence... oh, my!
Sometimes, it's almost like they're dancing out there!!!

So, here I was in Daytona Beach to celebrate my birthday.
And here it was my very first full day here.
Early in the afternoon, I had seen a fabulous film about an older woman - like me - making a recovery from grief and finding delight after her best friend's death. Brighter days ahead!
Then, I had found some gorgeous pink floral leather sandals - La Plume Jen Rosa, made in Italy!!! - at a cute boutique near Cinematique and bought them on sale because they were the floor model. Woohoo!! I also purchased this dressy pair of black and purple Zendals - like my "party in my pants" panties, no one will see the purple unless I show it to them. Ooh la la!!!
Later that evening, I returned for the Florida premiere of "Tanzania: A Journey Within", a film about a young woman's travels with her best friend. The director, Sylvia Caminer, was there for a post-film question and answer session with the sold-out audience. HIV-status and deaths from AIDS were a big topic, as well as malaria, the lack of clean water, and general squalor. I am so glad I was there for this event!
Then, as I came out into the warm summer evening, with the cool breeze teasing me toward the garden across the street, I noticed something across the waterway.

Jackie Robinson Ballpark was lit up!!!
The Daytona Cubs must be in town!!!
Like my Sand Gnats, they are also a Single A team, starting young men out for the Chicago Cubs.
Like my Sand Gnats, they were also the 2013 Champions for their league.
What a bonus! I had not checked their schedule prior to the trip, so how wonderful to see that they had games on this weekend! Woohoo - a double header tomorrow!!!
But do they have Saturday fireworks, like my Sand Gnats?

I didn't have to wait long to find out. The game was just ending and the announcer got the crowd to chant with him. I chimed in, too. "Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one!!!"
Lights out! But look up in the sky!!!

What an incredible first day...
... and first night! ...
for my birthday holiday weekend!
Thank you, Daytona! Thank you, Universe!!
i thank You, God!

celebrate, with fireworks

Make a wish!
Galaxies colliding!
UFO!
So many wonderful fireworks patterns!

The university was celebrating its alumni past, present, and future, this past weekend and culminated the event with the first-ever, on-campus, fireworks display extraordinaire.
Nice!

I had finally decided that I would, after all, throw myself out of the house, and southward, on that chilly Saturday night.

So, in typical short-notice style, I had invited my first niece and her current kids to join me there for the event. After all, we all enjoy fireworks!

Amazingly, she and the two boys were able to meet me there.
Yeah!

And such a fabulous show it was!
I think it may have lasted twenty minutes - maybe more!






Afterward, we stopped for some FRESH! HOT!
You know what I mean!
But in between the fireworks and the doughnuts, we met the firefighters who were there to chase stray embers.
The younger boy really enjoys meeting firemen and police officers.
They all shook his hand and he was able to climb up into the cab of the fire engine and pose for pictures of him "driving".

We must have visited with them for almost thirty minutes.
Thanks, Bobby, for your cheerful patience!
And for the toot of the siren as y'all left campus - you made a 7-year-old so very happy!

baby, you can sleep while I drive

Okay, so I fudged the time of the posting of this entry.
We actually pulled into my first niece's driveway about thirty minutes later as we returned from a full afternoon and evening at Jekyll Island. The children, exhausted from a day in the sun and surf, were sleeping soundly in the back seat as soon as we hit the highway. Even my niece, riding shotgun, was sleeping.
It was really nice.
We had all ventured down for the release of the loggerhead, Hugue, a newly rehabilitated patient of the turtle hospital at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. After more than two years of care, she was finally seaworthy again. Yeah!
And what better time for her release than the date which coincides with our celebration of our nation's freedom? Indeed!
And how better to celebrate than with fireworks several hours later, as the night sky darkened and the stars twinkled? Fireworks over our beach, with the fireworks of Brunswick and Saint Simon's Island visible behind and to the side of our own! Fireworks for more than twenty minutes in three directions!
Yes, it has been a magical time I have spent with this family for the last two evenings, complete with fireworks on each night! Such a lovely end to my 55 days of birthday!

folly beach

Friday night, fireworks lit up the sky over Folly Beach. An almost full moon traced a path across the waves as the Big Dipper stretched across the star-strewn dark velvet. And I enjoyed it all in the presence of my singing bird, snug in each other's arms, sharing the impromptu juxtaposition of man-made and celestial points of light.

The timing couldn't have been better. In fact, the timing was ... incredible. If this were to have occurred in a movie, you would have thought it such a contrived bit of romantic wishful thinking. But 'twasn't in a movie. The event was real, the setting was real, I was there and so was he. Perhaps it was simply a dream. But I was fully awake and so was he. Maybe it was a drunken hallucination... but no alcohol was involved, not a single drop.

Coincidence? Simply "a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance"? A phenomenon which appears to, and is constructed by, the mind? Hmmm... You certainly must be actively looking for correlations between events to say "Aha! A coincidence!", but that is common for an analytical mind. We all seek guidance outside ourselves, we all want to believe that we are on the right path, that our decisions are sound. So, I can look at the above event in scientific terms: we were both there by decisions made in the past, deliberate decisions which made both of us who we are now, conscious decisions which led us both toward that moment in time. Perhaps they were not always perceived to be the right decisions at the time, but neither of us would be who we are today if we had made different choices. I prefer to refer to the wise (and even somewhat wise-aleck!) words of one of my favorite authors, Douglas Adams. "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." Even Dr. Seuss would have agreed with that description, especially when used in accordance with the phenomenon of coincidence.

We have no friends in common, no coworkers to have introduced us, no soirees where we might have even accidentally seen each other. And yet... there we were, on the same beach, under the same moon, thrilled by the same fireworks... in each other's arms. Incredible.