love with a trio of men each having a turn

"G'friend, this is not that kind of blog! You gotta take that nonsense elsewhere!"

I do believe you've tossed your mind into the gutter, my dearie. I'll wait here whilst you fetch it.

"You're the one that threw that title up there. I'd say you intended folks to think along the lines of group sexual escapades."

You'll kindly notice that the word "sex" does not appear in that title. You, my dearie, are the one who read that connotation into that descriptive, yet innocent, title. "Taking turns" has naught to do with any bodies or naughty bits. You should certainly know that Hallmark doesn't get explicit like that.

"Hallmark??? What are you talking about now?"

I'm referring to the trio of movies I've just finished watching, courtesy of Peacock providing a collection of Hallmark films for this Valentines weekend. I think of it as The Groomsmen Film Festival. Pretty sweet stuff, eh? RAWR!!!

"Okay, you're definitely slinging out some sexual innuendo there! But that is a rather nifty looking box of treats you have there."

Right? The stories all involve these three men who have been besties since they were boys at summer camp. Each movie centers on the love story of one of the three, with that special man shown front and center in each film's graphic. So, "First Look" centers on Pete, "Second Chances" focuses on Danny, and "Last Dance" has Jackson in the middle. Each film also begins the love story portion at the big wedding of Danny's sister, Hannah, where the three friends are all serving as the groom's attendants.

"Oh, I see. The stories are happening in the same timeline, but for the sake of some clarity, each gets their own movie to explore that love story."

You got it! Plus, you need to add in a little geography to spice things up. The first love story involves Bulgaria, the second one travels to Greece, and the third is in Italy. Yet another reason for me to have so enjoyed this trio!

"Yes, that does make it especially charming!"

With Pete, he's a medical doctor, and he meets Chelsea at Hannah's wedding. She's a former college roommate of Hannah, but she's a medical doctor, too, and they hit it off, with her spending the rest of her time in the States with Pete. Then she must return to the clinic she and her family run in Bulgaria. That means a long-distance love affair for this budding romance, and those are hard enough on established loves.

"But they persevere and love wins out, right?"

Well, that's all I'm saying for now. Let's start with Danny's love story, shall we? He's gay, and at his sister's wedding he realizes that the man he loves is his manager and longtime friend, Zach. The problem is his timing, as Zach has just accepted a marriage proposal from his lawyer boyfriend. Things get more complicated when Zach wants to plan the wedding in Greece, at a place he'd traveled to with Danny years ago. Then, Danny gets asked to help with the wedding, as the lawyer is too busy with cases to do so. Can you see where this tale is going to end up?

"So Danny gets Zach after all? That's wonderful! And how interesting that Hallmark has a gay love story in this mix!"

Well, the movies were all made in 2024, so they are modern romances. Plus, Danny is a baseball player and big jock, so no transvestite stuff to muddle things up. Just a good, clean, love story, even though both parties are men. I very much liked it.

"And what about that third man, the good-looking one with the beard?"

Yes, I knew you would like him, too! He's actually a divorced dad, with an ex who's in the military and with whom he shares custody of their daughter. That's until the military moves the ex to Italy and the now-teen daughter wants to go there, too. Then comes a time when the ex has an away-assignment, so Jackson goes to be with the daughter.

"Ooohhh, let me guess! He meets an Italian lass and falls in love!"

Close. He has a meet-cute when he nearly runs over and Italian woman who just happens to run the coffee shop near the daughter's school. Oh, and the Italian woman also just happens to be the landlord for the house rented by his ex. Once he finds out all that, he tries very hard to make sure he doesn't fall in love, so he can flee back to the States when the ex returns. Ah, but the universe doesn't work that way, now does it?

"Hahahaha! Nope, it does not. What a lovely, diverse, trio of tales, in a lovely, diverse, trio of locales, with a lovely, diverse, trio of fellows. Most definitely fodder for sweet dreams."

Most def. (smile!)

pink snow? my very favorite!!!

"Did you say snow??? Oh, goodness, I do hope you haven't had snow again?"

Heck to the no! I'm talking pink snow, like pinkety pink PINK!!! Not that boring white stuff that freezes.

"But snow doesn't come in pink, dear."

This is Southern 'snow', created after a hard rain comes and shakes loose the older petals from my overladen Japanese magnolia tree. Isn't it still just so very gorgeous?

"That it is. I do believe that tulip tree becomes more beautiful each year."

I agree.

"So, we have had some rain?"

We have, all weekend, but the temperatures have held in the 60's, so that's been fine. I've tried to take advantage of the warmth while it lasts. The lows will be back in the 30's come tomorrow morning and will repeat that nonsense all week.

"Good for you for getting in some fun activities during the daylight hours!"

That's right. Making honey while the sun shines... or something like that! I do believe that Paddington would have understood what I meant. Winnie the Pooh would have, too.

"Oh, you went to see 'Paddington In Peru' today? How was it?"

Utterly delightful, with a neat little sidebar during the credits with Hugh Grant! Seems his parole is coming up and he's casting bears for his production of the fairy tale with Goldilocks, with him in that role, of course. Hahahaha!

But let me tell you about the folks I met after the movie. I'd sat down the row from a family of five - father, mother, three kids. I laughed and enjoyed myself during the movie, and was surprised and pleased when the two younger kids got up and danced by the screen when the credits started rolling. I'd thought that was my thing with the little blondes, right? 

Anyway, the father comes over to me and tells me he was glad to see that I'd come to watch the movie on my own, i.e., sans children. I replied that I loved these movies, and kid movies in general. I also remarked on my dancing with my great-nieces during credits, as they came from Hinesville or Rincon, and it let them get some energy out before their drive back home. He said he and his family lived in Savannah, but the kids still liked to get out some energy after sitting so long. 

Then, I thought he was leaving, but he came back and asked me if I still babysat, as they thought I would be a good one. I let him know that I didn't do that sort of thing anymore, but I appreciated the compliment!

Wasn't that incredible?!

 

"Wow. That's unbelievable!"

 

I know, right? They seemed like nice folks, but I don't think I'm interested in sitting with other people's kids. I really don't have that kind of experience, or energy, to do such. But it sure was good of them to ask!

 

"That it was. And that looks like you've been to Texas Roadhouse again!"

 

I have! I do believe that I've become addicted to their Tater Skins! I had a side House Salad, just to make sure I had some greenery with my slunch, but it was that pizza-esque dish that called me there. Doesn't it look like strips of bacon on cheesy hash browns???

 

"It absolutely does! I'm glad you can have it for breakfast the next day or so. That will be a definite treat on cold mornings." 

You said it! Now, I have some Hallmark movies to watch this evening, so... later!

not a murdering marquis, but an earl

It was a rainy day in February at the Savannah Cultural Arts Center, but it may as well have been a July evening at Muse Arts Warehouse more than a decade ago. 

Instead of the SoucyMan as the star slaying all, it was Justin Kent as multiple characters who all got slain.

That's him, in the middle, clad in short pants and stockings.

To his left, holding the bobby's hand, is the man who did most of the slaying in this very modern musical set at the turn of the 20th century.

That murdering man is 'Monty Navarro' (played with great relish by Jordan Jones), the man who would be the 9th Earl of Highhurst.... except for those eight relatives in his way.

Did I mention that they were distant relatives that he had never known as family?

Well, they were, so that made the slaying a bit more impersonal.

(smile!)

Oh, yes, and they were all D'Ysquits who had disowned his mother because she wed someone who was disliked and not of the right class for that snooty clan.

That meant goodbye, Earl, and all the rest of them, too.

(smile!)

The first dispatched was the doddering Reverend, who lost footing on the belfry...

even though Monty was right there and could have helped him.

Having got his feet wet, Monty found himself up for the task, with Lord Junior making it that much easier by being a total putz toward him.

Too bad Lord Junior didn't notice that he was skating on thin ice - hahahaha!!!

Henry practically killed himself, what with his having bees... right?

Quite right!

Then there was the question of Lady Hyacinth.

Monty tried sending her off to do good in war-torn countries or cannibal-infested islands, but all it really took was her falling off a gangplank at home and drowning in all that dress.

Four down, four to go to his goal!

There followed the Major dumbbell...

Salome with the prop gun and a live round...

and the dear Lord Senior dying by a heart attack from natural causes.

That was the only one Monty would have had a problem killing, as the Lord Senior had been so very kind to him, even hiring him at the castle.

That meant the killing of the 8th Earl was all that stood between him and the title.

No problem!

The 8th Earl was a total ass and the task would be easy on Monty's conscience!

The only worry was how to slip him the poison in his pocket...

only someone else beat him to it!

Almost all of that took place in the very first act of "A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder", with only the death of the 8th Earl not yet executed.

Very nice pacing!!!

Now, if only my $40 had included a printed program for my blessings walls, that would have been just swell... but it did not.

This was my first event at the First Annual Savannah Performing Arts Festival, from Savannah Performance Alliance, so I cannot say whether any of the other events last week had printed programs or not.

I suspect they did not.

The use of QR codes for website programs seems to be a growing trend that, for me, detracts from the entire cultural enrichment experience.

I can understand the Hive Repertory Theatre not printing a program for last weekend, but at least they offered a fancy ticket as a souvenir.

Here's hoping SPA will offer better for this week's events.

valentines a-plenty!

See this Valentine's Day card?

Miyah gave that to me yesterday afternoon!

"Stay true to your heart", it says!

And she pulled it out randomly!

Right place, right time!

Tonight, the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta 

went on as usual - 

meaning the three couples 

didn't forsake us three singles!

 

At the far end is Becca,

then there's Betsy,

with Mary next

and Laura right by me.

 

In other words -

the usual configuration!!!

 

Across the table, 

on the guys' side, 

there was the usual configuration, too.

 

That meant youngest brother Tony near me,

with our brother Smitty in the green shirt,

then the older Kameron brother, Mark,

and his younger brother, Jimmy.

 

Much more variation in color

with their apparel!

 

Plus, we had special guests!

 

At a nearby table sat our stepsister, Susan, with her grandkids, Grayson and Brooklyn.

 

What an unexpected treat!

 

I sat with them and visited, and they stayed right there until my dinner arrived.

 

So good to see them off of fb!

 

The enchiladas verdes was superb, too.

 

Then, as we were all getting 

extra good hugs before dispersing 

into the chilly night air, 

Betsy came forth with treats: 

boxes of chocolates for everyone!

 

How very sweet of her!

(Pun intended!!!)

Plus, there were even flowers!  

Truth to tell, these were intended 

for family members at Greenwich,

but I never quite made it there today.

 

That shall be done tomorrow,

or Sunday at the latest.

 

For now, I've had dinner, so that means:

time for a movie!

 

Thanks, Comcast, for the reward of a new movie to own!

 

Of the three proffered, I chose "Grease", the only musical of the trio.

 

Sing it, Olivia and John!!!

rapunzel had a cat?

That's what I learned at the Big Red Fish Park today.

Remember I spoke of walking toward a park yesterday and realizing it was too far?

Well, I had promised Christina's girls that I would take there in my car.

By the way, they are absolutely thrilled to ride in my 2001 Saturn!

And just why is that?

The manually-operated, roll-down windows, that's why.

They are just fascinated with the idea of turning that crank and rolling down the glass!

Nice that they are so easily entertained... like me.

(smile!) 

Where was I?

Oh, yes, talking about an imaginary kitteh that a fairytale princess had.

Two guesses on who was the princess.

(smile!)

That would be the littlest girl, now not so little.

Miyah - I mean, Rapunzel - is seen here climbing the stairs up to her castle.

All the while that she is doing so, I hear meowing.

Steady, unceasing, meowing, accompanied by some pawing on the bars of the 'cage' at the top of those stairs.

That caterwauling is coming from Chloe, who seems to never miss an opportunity to get down on all fours to play a pet of some kind.

Anyway, it seems the cat had gone up the staircase and, like cats tend to do, forgotten how to get down.

So, up Rapunzel had gone to rescue her!

She did so by example, first going down the slide herself, then coaxing the cat to follow her lead.

Eventually the little cat did, while Rapunzel waited at the bottom to make sure she didn't fall off.

What lovely imaginations!!!

By the time we returned home, Christina, ever the mom for all of us, had made Chinese food for dinner.

Yes, she did!

It was delicious, too!

Again, I have to say how proud of her I am.

Not once has she complained of pain and she isn't even taking the strong pain meds the doctor sent home with her.

Wow.

After dinner, I helped the girls take their showers and get all cleaned up from their playtime at the park.

Then, we did something I loved: we drew!

They were right at my feet as I sat on the couch, each with huge sheets of paper and lots of markers and crayons to let the imagination run free.

It was wonderful, truly!

All four of us were right there together, sharing thoughts, sharing love...

Wow.

Yes, that was worth getting up at 6 AM today.

Now, tomorrow is coming.

Christina and I will watch a few more episodes of "Will Trent", then go to bed.

I do believe her fascination with the show mirrors mine: here's a man with dyslexia, who was raised in a series of foster homes, with a brilliant mind that catches details to solve crimes.

I'm glad she likes it, too.

I still wish I would have been able to answer the casting company's call to have my little car in the show, but it simply wasn't possible.

At least my car's twin was in "Monk".

(smile!)

Good night, y'all.

so impressed with my first niece's recovery!

I don't know that I can call her a wienie anymore.

See her in that photo?

That's about three hours after surgery on her right knee, the one injured by a student the week after school started in the fall of last year.

It's taken this long for the school's Workers Compensation program to figure out that physical therapy alone is not going to put her knee back in place.

The surgery today was to have begun at 11:15 AM, but was delayed by an earlier patient and didn't actually start until about 2:30 PM.

I left Savannah about noon, wanting to make sure I arrived at her house shortly after 1 PM, to make double sure I'd be there when the girls arrived home from school on the bus.

Michael joined me there and together we let the dogs out and waited - waited for word from Chelsea about the surgery status, waited for the four little once-blonde girls to get there, waited.

When the girls came home, all were allowed to have a snack, then it was homework time for Miyah and Chloe.

That coincided with word from Chelsea that the surgery had gone well, with the doctor having success in getting the meniscus back in place, mending the tear in it, and removing all the torn cartilage in the patella.

Within another hour, they were on the way back to Hinesville from Jesup.

Michael went back to his house with Leila and Alyssa, to make dinner for all of us: spaghetti with meat sauce, as well as garlic toast, all arranged by Christina this morning.

I stayed with Christina's girls.

We went for a walk, as the girls told me the park was within range.

No, not quite, but we did have a nice jaunt, being mindful of the traffic as we neared each intersection along the way.

Dinner was set for 6 PM, so we headed over and the girls played with the feral cats.

To my great surprise, Chelsea and Christina showed up there!

Christina even managed to get up his front porch steps!!!

The reason she's lying on the couch is that she's still loopy from the anesthesia, as well as a preemptive dose of pain meds administered post-surgery.

Poor Chloe is a little concerned about her Mama, but I think she and Miyah both were very relieved that Christina would be home when we returned.

So she was, too, having again climbed up steps by herself, and was set up on the recliner, with icy air bathing her swaddled knee.

The girls were very helpful with their evening routine, too, doing what they were supposed to do, with no lollygagging and no picking on each other.

I had asked Christina to write up a schedule for me, and she did, so the girls and I - and the two dogs - know exactly what is required of us.

I'm glad dinner at Michael's had been set up so I didn't have to worry about what to cook.

That was really nice of her to even plan for us.

I guess I forget sometimes that she's a grown woman, now in her fourth decade, and has been taking care of others for most of her life.

Now, it's my turn to help take care of her.

I went out a few minutes ago and bought ice for her knee-cooling machine, with plenty to get us through tomorrow morning, too.

Speaking of which, that challenge for me gets started at 6 AM.

Time for me to get to bed.

Not that I won't return to sleep after the girls board the bus in the morning, but, still, I need to be awake to make sure they get up, get their meds, get dressed, get lunches.

Meanwhile, I'm very proud of Christina for doing so well so far.

Very proud of her.

luncheon with science nerds and a*list

"You mean 'with chem nerds', right? You said 'science' in the title."

'Science' is what I meant! There was a physicist in our midst! Donna Mullenax was actually in town and able to make our little soiree at Troy Mediterranean.

"How very nice! We haven't seen her since the retirement party for Yvonne and Cathy Mac, over at B&D Burgers. How is she doing?"

She's looking at retiring in another few years. Suzy Carpenter was there today, too, briefly, but left shortly after I arrived. That's my bad, though. I wrote the time down as '11:30', but it was supposed to be '11:00'. Drats!

"Oh, no! How did you do that??? I do hope they went ahead and ordered."

They did, so that was good. I wasn't there long before their food started coming out. I'm glad I checked out the menu online. I was able to order the tabouli appetizer and it came out so quickly that I was able to dine with them.

"That looks very good, too! It's been awhile since we had that Middle Eastern salad."

Probably a few years. I really like it, too, but not many places have it. 

"So, who all was there?"

Besides Donna and Suzy, it was the usual bunch: Yvonne, Leah, and Nicole. Suzy stayed only a little while, like I said, then Lea had to jet by noon. Donna left about noon30, leaving me and Yvonne getting to know The 'Cole better. That was actually really nice. I knew so little of her and her family, so I am quite enlightened now. Between her mom's fainting spell and all those doctor visits, then her brother's hospital stay and the care of his 4-year-old son in the middle of a messy divorce, plus her own divorce from the bfe, she had quite a stressful final six months of 2024.

"Damn. I had no idea."

Exactly. Me, neither. If Yvonne had not opened up that line of questioning, I still wouldn't have a clue to anything about that strife. I'm sure that Nicole saw that I have a new appreciation of her now as a person. See, I never really knew her when I was teaching at Armstrong, and I certainly didn't get a chance to know her while she and the physicist were dating and then getting married. It's been nice to have a reboot of that situation.

"A reboot, eh? That seems to be your favorite fix for things."

(Shrug.) Hey, I'm just doing what works, n'est-ce pas?

"Sure, sure. I was just making a comment. Next topic: movies?"

Movies! Yes! My AMC A*List is d-o-n-e! Since I have Hinesville duties tomorrow onward, I wanted to go ahead and get my trio of dances out of the way. Success! I had a double header yesterday and just barely caught the last one after our 2 1/2 hour luncheon. Whew!

"What a hodgepodge assortment!"

You're telling me! That's just the way it worked out, given the movie times available. So, I started out with "Dog Man", which I expected to be targeted at middle-school kids, and it was. Still, it had a few gorgeous surprises. Like Dog Man's favorite album being the Hank Williams' one with "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" - with him howling along after putting the needle on the warped record. I just loved that!

"Very sweet touch, that."

Right? That sweetness made it pair well with "Love Hurts", an action film that takes place around Valentine's Day.

"Oh, cool!!! Did it have the Nazareth version of that song in it?"

Sadly, it was not, which was a missed opportunity, I think. Then again, not everyone has the same mental jukebox working for them, so, there's that. I totally enjoyed the movie and found its kung fu action right in keeping with this being the Year of the Snake! I do hope I get a chance to see it again.

"Very nice! Maybe you could schedule it with that Keke Palmer flick, too."

Perhaps, if I ever get to the point where there are no more new movies to see. Maybe that will happen after this week. AMC has been trying to run the Oscar-nominated films by us. I think "I'm Still Here" is the last of those. Set in Brazil, it opens in late 1970, in Rio de Janeiro, in December. You want to know the scene I like best?

"Sure! Hit me!"

It was the family celebrating the holiday season on the beach. On the beach! Playing in the Atlantic Ocean! Playing games on the sand!

"I understand. People have some misconception that Christmas and the New Year have to be in cold weather, but that's not true at all. Not at this latitude of 32 degrees North, nor at their latitude of 22 degrees South."

That's right! The movie was about the disappearance of the husband after he was taken away for questioning by the military regime. Shortly after, his wife and one of their daughters was also taken for questioning, but later returned home. The rest of the movie followed the efforts of the wife to find out from the authorities where her husband was, as well as find out from men he worked with why the authorities would have taken him. Rather a sad film, but it certainly highlighted her strength in keeping the family together.

"I wonder if Tomasz had a chance to see it, too?"

I sure hope so. I told him which movies were playing, as I don't think he keeps on top of the local cinema listings like I do. Foreign films are certainly his faves, especially dour ones it seems, so my guess is he made a point of seeing this one.

"Very good. Now, you need to get ready for tomorrow. You need to be the greeting party when Miyah and Chloe get home from school, you know."

I do. (sung like Keegan-Michael Key, for the song "Sweet Tooth" in "Wonka")