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. 

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!)

rainy day catchup on a*list

See what I mean, jelly bean?

It's definitely been a rainy morning, with a cold front pushing the temps about ten degrees cooler than they've been.

No movies for me today means my AMC a*list capped out with just two.

Those were the double header of new ones seen on Tuesday.

"Hoppers" combined Frankenstein and environmental issues, featuring a university professor who could transfer people's minds into robotic animals.

Now, add in a college girl who's very attached to an endangered pond destined for demolition by a freeway project.

Combine thoroughly with the girl making off with her brain inside the robotic beaver as she attempts to save the pond beloved by her and her grandma.

Pretty good, but it's a message not aimed at me.

Like I told Carolyn, I've been in that choir for decades!

I do want my great-nieces and great-nephews to see it, though.

I had followed that on Tina Tuesday with "I Can Only Imagine 2", which has debuted almost exactly 8 years after the first one.

However, this is set more like 20 years after our first encounter with MercyMe.

This time, like that time, the focus is on a father-son relationship, though it's between the singer and his teen son, rather than the singer and his dad.

I really liked the dynamics here, as well as the 'life on tour' setting.

 

The week before, I managed to see what has been my usual trio.

"Undercard" was a sports movie, featuring 62-year-old Wanda Sykes in her first serious role as 'Cheryl "No Mercy" Stewart', a once-famous boxer now working as a trainer and hoping one of her students will be the next champ.

Honestly, that's the movie in a nutshell.

Fame had led her into drugs and alcohol abuse, as well as the loss of her son to his grandmother's care.

Boxing isn't one of the sports I tend to watch, but the movie was good.

That had been early last Wednesday, before yet another meeting of Two First Posts Of Georgia.

The next day, I did indeed see a double header, but one of those shown above is not correct.

I did buy the ticket for "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die", as I wanted to see it again... but something was amiss with the audio in that screening room.

That was fine, as "The Bride!" started at the same time, so I took a chance on that one.

What an amazingly good choice that was!!!

Set in 1936 Chicago, we find 'Frank' with a bad case of the blues.

After decades of watching 'Ronnie Reed' musicals - movies which don't actually exist, but that I'd watch gladly!!! - he has become only too aware of how lonesome he is and how much he wants someone to love.

He's in Chicago to talk a mad scientist into fashioning him a 'Bride', and a recently deceased entertainer suits the bill just right!

So, science fiction, mingled with dance musicals, and the draw of rom-com and intrigue of murder mysteries... if that wasn't meant for me, what is?

I'm so excited about seeing it again!

What else was there?

Oh, yes, "Psycho Killer", billed as a horror that featured Malcolm McDowell, star of , "A Clockwork Orange", one of the best horror-scifi movies ever (and one that I've seen multiple times since 1981).

Ahem, back to the movie at hand, shall we?

I'd rather not, as it missed out on being great.

First, the man of my interest had a bit part as a satanic cult leader who also had hedonistic sex parties at his house.

Second, not once did it use the song by The Talking Heads, which, given the cult leader's bent, could have been a nice inside joke for music fans.

Oh, well. 

Not that those were the only movies I saw, nor that AMC was the only venue visited.

So, here's how that all played out.

On Friday, 27 February, I attended my second movie ever at Smart Senior, a group run by Memorial Hospital.

Elizabeth, the manager at the 65th street center, has bags of popcorn and drinks for those who sign up for the near-weekly movies.

The cost for using the facility and attending events there?

That's just $20 per year - wow!

That day, I watched "Tower Heist", from 2011, an ensemble film with Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Michael Pena, and Matthew Broderick as hotel workers out to win back their pensions from the evil Alan Alda. 

All in attendance laughed and had fun at that one!
(On the first Friday, I'd seen "Loving", based on the true story of an interracial couple in 1958 in Virginia, banished from their home because their marriage was illegal there.
We all watched it, hoping for the best as their case went to trial in 1967, but there was no laughter from us folks who had lived that history.) 

Back to last week's movies: I had two on Tina Tuesday at NCG!
This was from the one I'd been most excited to see: "E.P.i.C." (the abbreviated title for "Elvis Presley in Concert"), which I had thought would be footage from his residency in Las Vegas.

Nope, that's not what Baz Luhrmann delivered.

Instead, the director had pieced together previously unseen footage from two movies from the 1970's ("Elvis: That's The Way It Is" and "Elvis On Tour") and sandwiched those between overdubs from his own movie, "Elvis", from 2022.

I enjoyed the concert bits, but certainly not enough to ever sit through this new amalgam again.

Before it, and right after my appointment with Dr. Whipple, I went to "How To Make A Killing", a nice murder spree flick with Glen Powell.

Surprisingly, he keeps his clothes on in this one!

LOL!

I had hoped Carolyn would join me for those two, but she was ill.

That's why I had dinner solo from Zaxby's, caught between the movies.

I really like their Zensations chicken salad!

Yes, it did come with an eggroll, but I'd already eaten it, as well as part of the salad, before I thought to take the picture.

I did so to send to my stepmom, Bonnie, in memory of all the times she and I would meet at that Zaxby's in Bluffton.

I really do want to go see her this summer...

it's been too long!

Maybe there will even be a good sports movie or nature documentary for us to see... that would make it just like old times for us!

fb flashback: 24 November 2011

Let me set the stage.

It's been two years since Daddy died, and this was my second year of going to my paternal cousin's home for Thanksgiving.

Amazingly, I'd managed to talk my middle brother into going with me.

Amazing!

We even made it a two-fer, visiting our maternal cousin while there.

What a trip that had been!

So, here's the slide show!

We began our visits in North Augusta, SC.

Here's Ronnie with our cousin, Sharon, younger daughter of Mama's brother, our Uncle Jimmy, and his first wife, Aunt Janet.

Ronnie had pose time with Susan, too, Sharon's not-yet-official wife.

They've been together since college, more than twenty years earlier.

Sharon's brother, Ricky, will be coming over later, as well as Ashley, daughter of her sister, Valerie.

Meanwhile, it was time to head south to Augusta, GA.

Our paternal cousin, Bev, was awaiting us and she'd made sure to have plenty of my favorite food: the cranberry-sauced oranges!

Math joke: I ate some pie! 

Another joke: the time of this post!

Here's Bev's mom, our Daddy's one-and-only sister, Aunt Barbara and her third husband, John.

Bev's dad was Aunt Barbara's first husband, Bill.

And just why was Aunt Barbara standing?

All that talk of pie had whetted Ronnie's appetite for some dessert!

Would he prefer pecan or pumpkin?

"Both, please!," was his reply.

Everyone got a kick out of that and followed his lead!

After, we all hung out and chatted.

Ronnie even let Lucas test drive his hat!

Lucas is the son of Tyson, son of Bev and Allen, and his wife, Jenny.

Bev and Allen's younger daughter, Terri, was there with her husband, Mike.

Bev and Allen's other two children, Robbie and Leeman were absent that day; she had to work and he lives (still) in Korea.

Our other two paternal cousins, Bonnie Clark and Becky Ferguson, were missing, too.

The first lived in Hawaii and the other resides (still) in Texas.

What a marvelous time we had with them!

I'm so grateful he chose to go with me that day.

i thank You, God. 

lonely pants, brothers, and improv!

"Lonely pants? That sounds like a personal problem, dearie!"

Hahahaha! Actually, that children's story popped into my head while I was watching "Predator: Badlands". Like, repeatedly!!! You know the one I'm talking about? It's a Dr. Seuss tale. The phrase "poor lonely pants with nobody inside them" is repeated several times. I felt like it was an inside joke just for me! Anyway, in the movie there's this Synth - an Android - named Thia whose top half has been severed from her bottom half. The first part of the movie, she has teamed up with Dek the Yautja, presumably to help him in his quest to find and kill a Kalisk creature. Really, though, she needs him to help her get back to her lower half so she can be made whole. Hilarity ensues when her pants-clad half goes about literally kicking ass on their enemies!!! I kept busting out laughing!!!

"Oh, my. I sure hope you didn't disturb fans of that franchise. I'm sure they were all taking it very seriously."

Nope, they found that part, and others, quite humorous, too! Like me, they had gone into it expecting a standard scifi monster flick. Instead, it was more like a foreign-language film with bits of android humor, a la "Passengers", and a dollop of humor. Very nice!!! I'll be seeing that with my A*List again!

"Good for you to start off with a winner! Then it was time for dinner?"

Haha, you're a poet and I bet you know it! (smile!) Yes, it was time to eat, so down Montgomery Cross Road I went! I was a little late for the S&K Friday Fiesta, but it was at Jalapenos of Sandfly, so they made room for me. Of course! And Robin was there, too! I'm glad she has started hanging out with all of them. See, I've known of Robin since she was 15 and dating Ronnie, but Laura is her step-sister and Mary was her roommate and the three of them lived in the same apartment complex for a while until Mary met Smitty and Robin met Harry. They all know the Kameron brothers and Betsy from growing up in our neighborhood. What I mean is, they all have a bond that goes back for decades. That's very good. We even talked about the difficulty in finding friends as you get older, as everyone you meet already has a full life. That's why I keep trying to push Tony into the men's groups at his church. I'm glad Smitty has this group of guys he golfs with every Sunday. That's all important. And now that Harry has died, Robin needs more of a social outlet. I'm glad she has this bunch to be with on Fridays. Heck, I'm glad I have this bunch to be with!!!

"Heard! With Christa and Barbara gone, the bfe locked in the throes of long-distance love, and Carolyn living out of town with her cousin, your circle has taken a big hit the last two years. I'm so glad you have Sandy's crew welcoming you into their ranks. Hopefully Yvonne will soon be done with Helping her daughter with Todd's house, so y'all can get back to being lunch ladies. You should see about lunching with the two Sherrys, build up those budding friendships. Remember, it takes 200 hours to make a good friendship blossom, or so says the AARP site."

You're absolutely right. I'm truly blessed to have the friendship I do with Dawn, though she is still a working girl. Did I tell you that I'm going to be taking care of her dog, Stella, this weekend? Well, I am!!! I'm so thrilled that she asked me to do that! And she'll pay me what Tony and Laura do, too. That will be nice.

"That's wonderful news! Stella is such a sweetie!"

Yes, she is! Dog time for me!

"What about improv? You mentioned improv in the post title..."

So I did!!! That's because I had "Last Laugh Improv" at Armstrong tonight, at Jenkins Hall. I could have gone last night, but I'm glad I chose this evening. What a rowdy bunch was in the audience!!! Very big audience, too, so I had to sit in the back row. I missed the first skit, as I didn't arrive until about 7:45 PM from Sandfly. The fourteen players were all part of "Freeze", with two performing until someone would tag in from the group. That went on for about ten minutes!

"Wow, that's pretty long for one skit."

Well, the story kept evolving and they wanted every player to have a chance to be part of it. I liked the next one better, though. Just five moving parts to "Party Quirks"! There's the host, Lyla, with four guests who all have something that makes them special. In this scene, Lyla is speaking with the guest who is "Buddy The Elf" while her guest Luke is taking a narcolepsy nap.Very funny bit!

"I bet Sandy would have liked that!"

I know, I wish she would have come. But Fridays she spends with her mom and stepdad. Still, I'll try to talk her into it for their spring show.

"Good, good, you need to do that. What else was good in the shown tonight?"

I really loved "Press Conference"!!! The person chosen as "it" has to use clues from the fake paparazzi in the audience to guess their own identity. So, the clues were "so pale", "always wears a jacket", plays "War Hammer", "has narcolepsy"... and she finally turned to Luke in the crowd and said, "Am I you???" Hilarious!!!

"Hahahaha! I bet they haven't done one of their own before!"

Right? I also liked "Positive Versus Negative", which was a team game, using all players.  In Round 4, shown in the photo, the leading team player on the left has to come up with the bad things about the topic, "going for a hike", while the leading team player on the right has to counter with the good things about the topic. Such a good back and forth they had! I don't think any tennis match could have been more exciting!!!

"Oh, I do like the sound of that!"

You would have liked the next game, too. It's a new game that I've never seen before. Called "Human Props", it involves three people acting out a story, while the others enact the items used in that story. This was about a construction crew, so three background players were the hard hats for each crew member. Funny! Then there were "the blueprints", "the sacks of cement", "the shovels"... it really was funny! And CJ (Chris Johnson) ended up getting buried under cement for not wearing his hard hat! LOL!

"Hahaha! Safety first, y'all! Why weren't any of them wearing goggles? Can you just imagine each member of the "construction crew" trying to keep up with one person being their hard hat and another their goggles? That would take up nine members of the troupe, just for that!"

Yes, that would have been quite snafu just in moving around on the stage! At least "Slide Show" let everyone move independently. This time, Jase Gober, far left in the photo, is showing off the snaps he took at The Louvre, including one with the Mona Lisa in the center, and the thieves trying to steal her. By the end of his slide presentation, the thieves had been caught and covered in plaster, making an exhibit of statues for the museum. LOL!

"That's a good way to deter theft! Threaten to immobilize them forever! Hahaha! Was that the last skit? They didn't do their favorite?"

You mean "Sex With Me Is Like..."? Well, kinda sorta. There was a kid in the audience, so they changed it to "A Date With Me Is Like..." instead. As in "A Date With Me Is Like" the circus, or Georgia Southern, or capitalism, or a roller coaster. Still room for lots of double entendre to go around for good laughs! Very nice way to end my Friday! And almost all of these events were free, except my two crunchy beef tacos... and those were less than $7, including tip! I know how to party like a local! (smile!)

fall flowers for the barry family

 

I'd gone out to Greenwich after the musical, drawn there.

That's when I noticed the rutted dirt road that ran by the lot I always visited.

In fact, there was a "Do Not Enter" sign on it that I had ignored.

But I had persevered in my determination to reach my goal.

That's when I saw the tattered remnants of the bouquet I last placed there.

Oh, that just would not do.

 

Today, after church at Asbury Memorial, I again drove to Greenwich.

Again I ignored the sign that bade me to stay off that road.

I had three bright bouquets that needed to be placed, and place them I did.

Ordinarily, I would have given one to Mama, then given the other two to Ronnie and Jean Marie.

This time was different.

Fall was about to begin and Mama liked that season.

Fall was the lead-in to all her favorite holidays.

That's why all three bunches of autumnal orange stayed where she was.

It very much brightened up the Barry lot!

(smile!) 

happy bday63 to my middle brother

"Happy birthday to you,

happy birthday to you,

happy birthday, dear Ronnie,

happy birthday to you!"

I admit, I was a little lost when I came to sing to you.

A young man was sitting on your pier and I hadn't wanted to disturb him.

He was obviously enjoying the sunny day and the sweet breeze as he fished there.

I hope you steered a fish to his line!

Such a lovely day this has been...

I was so busy looking at the water that I almost missed the heart-shaped cloud.

By the time I snapped the photo, the heart was missing part of the right side.

Mine, too.

I miss you.

flowers for two brothers

I have two brothers with birthdays in July, though one has stopped aging.

Ronnie is forever 58 years old.

At the beginning of this year, when Asbury Memorial posted the Flower Calendar, I checked the dates to see if any might be important for me...

and there it was...

July 6th.

The exact day of Ronnie's birth.

I immediately wrote my name as the donor for that Sunday's sanctuary flowers.

The first thing I did with my tax refund check was pay that $70 fee.

By that time, I had decided that act would be a gift for Smitty, too, as his birthday would be on the 9th, the following Wednesday.

Perfect.

The wording on the program today was as I wanted it.

Reverend Billy Hester, there for his last sermon before his summer break, was the one who read those words during the 'Announcements', looking at me as he did so.

Very nice.

 

"The flowers for today's worship service are given by Faustina Smith

in memory of her brother, Ronald Allen Smith,

and in honor of her brother Harvey Goodwin Smith's birthday." 

 

Thanks, Randy, for making that happen.

 

After the sermon, we had communion, as this is the first Sunday of July.

That's me, in my purple "Cancer shirt" that I wore specifically for today.

Ronnie's name is on that ribbon, as are those of Daddy, Grandpa Lee, Great-Uncle Sam, stepbrother George, and mother-in-law Pat.  

That represents five decades of loss to lung and intestinal cancers.

 

Candace sent an email to me early this week to ask what was to become of the flowers after the service.

Did I want to have them?

I told her I would rather they be part of the Flower Ministry and given to people whose day needed brightening.

Here are some of them, waiting to be delivered to folks recovering from surgery or illness, to folks going through loss adjustment after the death of a loved one, or people with special birthdays.

I am so grateful to be part of that blessing to others.

i thank You, God.

pun day is the best day!

I think 

I figured out 

why our generation is  

common sense smart.

We had Lawn Darts

and Clacker Balls

to take out the stupid ones.

 

Thanks, my childhood friend, Faye Hill Kameron!

 

 

When you live alone you can't blame anyone else for hiding your things.

 

Thanks, Dawn's friend, Lisa Triplett Brown! 

 

Why didn't you look for me? 

Don't you carrot all?

 

Oh, I knew you'd turnip sooner or later.

 

Thanks, Ronnie's friend, Donna Faye Johnson!

No matter how big and bad you are,

when a two year old

hands you a toy phone,

you answer it.

 

Thanks, longtime church friend, Ray Ellis!

A priest, a reverend, and a rabbit walk into a clinic to donate blood.

 

The rabbit turns to the nurse and says, "I think I'm a Type-O."

 

Thanks, my new church friend, Sherry Giddens!

Stupid Microwave.

I pressed 

"Pizza" 

and it still came out a potato.

 

Thanks, longtime high school friend, Jo Coleman-Williams!

The man who invented the Ferris Wheel never met the man who invented the merry-go-round.

They traveled in different circles.

 

Thanks, my Armstrong college friend, Eric Mitchell!

Do you ever sing in the car? 

 

Yes, but only when I'm going in reverse.

 

Why's that?

 

Because I'm a backup singer.

 

Thanks, my Navy friend, Bob Bueling!

 

dragon of juneteenth

"Wait, let me guess! Okay, today is June 19th, so I take it that you're marking that date in US history from exactly 160 years ago. So far, so good?"

Most exactly!

"Alrighty then! And that other part of the title refers to the movie you saw today with Michael and the twins!"

Oh, so close, but nope! Yes, I was supposed to see "How To Train Your Dragon" in Big-D with them today, courtesy of the two free reward tickets from Comcast. Alas, that didn't happen. Sure, it still showed up on my A*List that I went to that dance, but I missed it. AMC even gave me Bonus Reward points for those tickets from the Fandango site.

"Well, that's a good thing, but I'm confused. Why didn't you go to the movie with them?"

My little Saturn wouldn't start. Not even a click when I turned the key. Not even a click when Kevin Sullivan - my neighbor - attached his jump box. Not even a click when I popped the clutch to start it while rolling down the driveway to the street. Nothing.

"Oh, honey, I am so sorry to hear that."

Yeah, me, too. I did have a nice chat with that young man from Minnesota who drove the tow truck. No charge to me, as AllState covered the fee from Field Maintenance Company. I had my girl towed to Firestone of Skidaway, of course. They weren't able to do the repair, but Patricia didn't charge me and Aaron disconnected the wires to the running lights. It wasn't that those lights were the culprit for draining the battery. Nope. The problem is with the multi-function switch. I've been referred to the electrical folks at Dixie Motors and The Car Doctor for the actual repair, if and when the part can actually be located. They told me, though, that it isn't just older cars that have parts that are hard to find these days.

"You didn't notice any problems with the car before this morning?"

Well, last night, when I returned from dinner, I couldn't get the headlights to turn off. You're gonna laugh about this. I had taken the key out of the ignition before I noticed that there was still light in front of the car. I even waited a moment to see if they would turn off! Hahaha! But they didn't. Even with the light switch off and the key out of the car. So I put the key back in and cranked the car... no problem. I turned on the lights and then turned them off with the switch, then turned off the car and removed the key. That seemed to have worked, so I just passed it off as 'one of those weird things'. You know? Intermittent problems were always the worst to solve when I was a CTM in the Navy. The guy at Firestone, though, assured me that this is not intermittent. It's here to stay and the multifunction switch needs to be replaced.

"I see. But let me get this right. You weren't charged anything today? Not for the tow or the hour-long diagnostic and labor at the car place?"

That's correct. Christina suggested it might have been because I recently had new tires put on her car. I really don't know.

"Oh, you've talked to her? Like, heard her voice?"

Yes, I called her to see how things were going between her and Michael. She told me on Monday that he was mad at her, but she didn't know why. Apparently, they worked things out - she was at his house this afternoon, making dinner together!

"That's wonderful! She had been so worried about him. He had texted her to say for her to 'leave him alone, no more dinners at his place, she had lied to him and he had almost gone to jail about it'."

Yes, very odd, and apparently all over now. In fact, she knew he and the girls were to see the dragon movie with me and he'd even invited her to come along! I do wish she had sent me a text that all was well with them. Oh, well, it is what it is.

"Yes, it is. Naught for you to do 'bout that. She has a lot of people to try to placate - him, Kaleigh, Heather, Chelsea, her mom, you, and now Anthony, too - and she's doing the best she can. So, let it go. Why don't you tell me about your trio of dances this week?"

It's not a trio, but a quartet now for my AMC A*List, remember? AMC can't seem to keep them in the proper order, though, so I must be twirling from one genre to another too quickly for them! First was "The Materialists", which looked like a romcom in the previews, but certainly was not. Pedro Pascal was just so misused in that "business of love" piece. Next was the one on Monday with Christina. 

"So, a drama, then a horror flick. Gotcha."

On Tuesday, after mowing part of the front yard, bagging the cuttings this time instead of leaving them for mulch, I needed to cool off, so to the cinema I went. 

"You must have your time line confused. You went to the theater in the morning."

Nope. That wasn't to the AMC, but to the NCG. I wasn't able to mow until the day had cooled down, so I had to wait until almost 8 PM to break out the Ryobi. That meant going to the 9:30 PM screening of "Karate Kid: Legends". Very nice movie it was! I always like Jackie Chan, but I always think he looks more than 4 years older than me. I guess 71 would look older on anyone who's been as rode hard as he's been! Ralph Macchio is looking older, too, which is to be expected. He's right between Smitty and Ronnie in age.

"Everyone gets older, that's what they do. Get older or die, those are the options. But, yeah, I know the mental images are forever one age."

Right, until you see them again in the present. That's life!

"So it is! So, for your quartet, you had drama, horror, sports theme, and fantasy scifi. Did I get that line-up straight?"

Yes, you did, and you three in a little pun, too! Thanks for that!

"Any time, dearie! I know how much you love those!" 

mother's day25, sans Mama

After checking the weather report, I decided to partake of the free tour hosted by the Bonaventure Historical Society.

The rains weren't due until about 3:30 to 4 pm and the 90-minute tour was to begin at 2 pm.

I parked up front, not realizing there would be parking further into the cemetery.

That's okay, I needed a nice brisk walk... and I had one, too, from the welcome center to the middle of the shaded area.

 

When I arrived, Bonaventure Don was giving the folks gathered there a condensed history of Savannah, starting with James Oglethorpe and his group of debtors that he'd brought to start a settlement.

Debtors? Not criminals?

These were actually skilled tradesmen who'd ended up in debtors prison because they had come upon hard times and not been able to pay their creditors.

Oglethorpe bought their freedom by paying their debts, making them obligated to sail away to the new world with him.

Smart move.

That talk went for about 15 minutes, then we moved on to the family tomb in which Mary Telfair's body is encased.

Don had quite a lot to say about that feisty woman, too, and the research library, women's hospital, and museum that she set up when she got the family wealth.

Of course, that meant her four brothers pre-deceased her and that the last of them had awarded that fortune to her rather than to someone else.

Our tour guide also talked about the history of Bonaventure Cemetery, once a well-known final resting place for the wealthy after Bonaventure Plantation was bought and turned into Evergreen Cemetery.

The site held that name until the City of Savannah bought it in 1907, changing the name to its present title and opening it to all.

I even saw the American Legion Field there, right across from the grave of Noble Jones, one of Savannah's forefathers whose body was moved from Wormsloe to one other cemetery before finally coming to rest here in the late 1800's.

The American Legion Field (lower center arrow) is where I would like to have a marker, as a member of Post 36; I need to check into that paperwork.

Hard rain cut the tour off at 3:15 and we all hustled off.

Heidi Hoffman of Asbury recognized me earlier, which was very nice!

I shared my umbrella with her and her little dog, Whiskey, when the rain first started.

Then, when the tour was called short, she gave me a lift back to my car.

Right time, right place for me!

She even wished me a good visit with Mama in Greenwich.

(smile!)

I had a good visit, too, as the hard rain abated and eventually stopped.

I usually don't go there on high-traffic days like today, but the meme posted by Sherry Giddens a few days ago prompted my trip.

"God spoke today in flowers, and I, who was waiting on words, almost missed the conversation." 

I brought flowers with me, a spray with white petals on five arms, one each for Mama, Jean Marie, and Ronnie, wishing each a 'happy Mother's Day'.

I made sure to enjoy the scenery at each site, too.

Very nice, very reassuring.

Right place, right time.

 

On my way home, I took the long way around, choosing to drive past my youngest brother's house to see if his kids might be there.

Lo and behold, Hope's car was in the driveway!

So I parked and found all - Tony and Laura, Damon and his daughter Carissa, Hope and her sons Sebi and Bert - had just sat down for a late Sunday dinner.

 

Tony invited me to stay so I did, dining on baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, Brussels sprouts, Caesar salad, and even tiramisu for dessert.

And we all talked and shared news of our days and it was wonderful!

I even had big hugs from all, especially Hope and Damon, and that was very good, as it had been Christmas when I last saw this niece and nephew.

Right place, right time.

i thank You, God.

in honor of our last maternal aunt

Here I am, with my two brothers, there in Tallahassee together - wow!

Mama would have loved that.

What am I saying?

I could feel her presence right there with us!

In fact, I am certain that Ronnie was in our midst, too.

Here are Tony and Laura with Aunt Linda.

They had a tour of her suite shortly after they arrived.

The person there in the hall with them is Aaron, Bobby's son.

Aunt Linda gets around amazingly quickly for her age!

She lives up to that last name: Walker!

(Just a little irresistible pun, y'all!)

Smitty got to spend some time with Aunt Linda, too.

He was talking with Bobby when Aunt Linda came in, so the three of them are here in this shot.

Aaron and his wife Emily, plus Tiana, are right behind all of them.

Then there's this photo that Penny took!

I can't recall what the conversation was, but I can hardly believe the look of surprise on my face!

Smitty has a humorous grin, so maybe someone told a joke?

I really cannot say.

I'm just thrilled that we were all together, celebrating a life while it was still being lived.

i thank You, God.

prelude to bday42 for the first niece!

"You got plans tonight?" is how it all started.

I replied, "Just the usual Jalapenos with brothers and others."

Next thing I knew, she was coming to join us!!!

First, though, she had to meet her mom at 95 and 204, to drop off her daughters.

One of their cousins (Gabby) was having a birthday13 party and they were invited!

Hooray!

Plus, that meant Christina would wake up on her own time for her birthday.

Hooray!

 

So, first I went to Jalapenos of Sandfly for the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta!

That was my first time there in three weeks - que bueno to see everyone!

Well, all except Becca, who was off with other plans.

There's Smitty, Mark, Brian Schomburg - who just stopped by, knowing we'd be there - and Tony and Jimmy at the table's end.

Tony actually got to sit beside his wife tonight, due to the empty seat on the other side of the high top.

That meant an empty seat between me and Smitty - absolutely perfect!!!

 

By the time the food arrived, so had Christina -

absolutely perfect!

She told me she wanted the "chicken with mushrooms and onions and cheese" and Claudia knew exactly what they called it: "Cream Of Mushroom Chicken".

Hooray!

Then a curious thing happened: Betsy and Jimmy both started telling tales of her Papa as the hero who had saved them from big trouble.

Betsy spoke of a time at the pool, when a guy jumped off the diving board and was drowning; as the lifeguard, she went in after him, but he was so panicked he was drowning her, too; then Ronnie jumped in, pulling the guy off her and getting him safely out of the pool.

Wow.

I'd never heard any of the stories they told.

Those were from their teen years, and I had been away in the Navy, for boot camp, for training, and in Panama.

I hadn't realized that Christina would know the Kamerons, but she told me Betsy and Jimmy used to play cards frequently with her mom and Ronnie.  

I was away at grad school for most of that time.

 

So, as the storytelling came to a close, someone alerted the Jalapenos of Christina's birthday, and here they came, with the sombrero, with singing, and with tequila!

Hooray!

She took a moment to make a wish, shot glass in hand and eyes closed, then... 

uno, dos, tres!

Back that drink went in one smooth take!

Hooray!

Hugs of farewell all around!

Then she and I went to a movie, courtesy of an AMC special pass.

She opted for "Opus", the new psychodrama with John Malkovich as the religious leader of The Levelers.

I had been curious about it, but it turned out to be quite creepy, along the same lines of "Blink Twice" (but without all the sex).

Amazingly, she hadn't even heard of that Channing Tatum creeper, so now she has that to look forward to!

Oh, my, is it nearing midnight?

Time to wrap this up...

I'm calling to make sure she got home okay...

and to sing "Happy Birthday" to her!!!

What a lovely night this has been!!