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!

porch party at the library!

"What?! You can't be all loud like that at the library!!"

Yes, I can! This is National Library Card Month and the local libraries have embraced the idea of getting folks down there by letting them get down! Last week, the music was jazz from the Equinox Orchestra at the Bull Street Library. I thought about going, but just didn't want the downtown parking hassle, so I made other plans. Today, with the band called Groove Eclectic, I knew I'd be dancing, dancing, dancing!!! And I was, too!!!

"Hey, that looks like a yard, not a porch. Where were you?"

That's the large, grassy expanse between the Southwest Chatham Library and the Savannah VA Center. That's were the four-piece band set up, with lots of folks all around with their picnic blankets and camp chairs. It was great! People of all ages were there!!! Some others were dancing, but they were mostly old-er, like me. You know, beyond caring what others might think. (smile!)

"What did you say that band was called? They look like Nickel Bag of Funk!"

That's because they are!!! They use different names depending on how many of the band members are doing the gig. You know, like The Sapphire Bullets Of Pure Love do, depending on whether the brass section is present or not. Not that it matters, as the singer still does the same songs! This prevening, they started off with "Lovely Day" on this blue-sky day beneath the leaping greenly spirits of trees... yes, e.e. cummings would have been elated! That song started my toes tapping and I kept right on dancing through "I Want It That Way" and "Every Little Step"... whew! Then I sat the next one out, but ended up dancing in my seat for "Moves Like Jagger" - I love that song!

"Very nice mix of tunes they have in their repertoire!"

You better believe it! I went over to the library stand and picked up some book marks and pins and stickers for my greats, but then I had to get back to dancing. They were doing a song that I knew was a Lizzo tune: "About Damn Time". I just saw her with Kelly Clarkson in "Songs & Stories" and she's quite a sassy lass! I like her! So did the old-er woman I was dancing near! As long as I was dancing, she did, too!!! Very nice!

"How do you know she was only dancing when you did?"

Well, when I went and sat out a couple of songs, she did, too. Then, when I returned to dancing to the Lizzo song, she got up and danced, too! She stayed up with me, too, while her friend sat and listened to the music. We all clapped together for the gospel tune - "I Came To Clap" - then she and I started dancing again for the funky "This Is How We Do It"! After that came Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" - very nice! I reminded the woman that he would have been 67 years old this year, just like me. She was surprised to think of him as that age!

"Sure. He's been gone 16 years, just like Sam Johnson and Daddy. Frozen at that last age. Michael Jackson was almost 51 when he died."

Yeah, I know. Back to the tunes! They finished up with one for one of their fans: "Killing Me Softly With His Song". Really well done! By that time, the sun was definitely on its way to sunset. Those days of light until 9 PM are two months gone! 

"Yeah, I've noticed the shortening of the days."

Me, too. The band had been talking about dinner and I was all prepared for that! I brought the Panera gift card that Penny gave me and stopped in there. Moments later, I was on the way home with the Italian Summer Salad, a bag of chips, and an ice-cold bottle of water. That last was opened before I even left the restaurant! All that dancing worked up a thirst!!!

"Hahahaha! I'm sure it did! I'm so glad you had a good time tonight! You need to go out dancing more often!"

I do, I definitely do! That's why I get up and dance to some of the tunes during Music Bingo on Mondays. This week, Elissa even danced a little, too! (smile!)