crabs in new jersey

Here's two of them, the Spritzer boy and the damsel on vacation.

They had escaped from the hermit crab salesman.

Here they are just before that, trapped in the cage with all the other crabs the human had for sale.

But this may be my favorite scene.

They're at the club and she's lured over by his shellmate, Anemone.

Ramona (Keke Palmer) is a sea crab, in New Jersey for summer vacation with her mom and her deaf sister, Shelley. 

Armen (Michael Cera) is a 'townie', living below the boardwalk, and that barnacled shell is all he has left of his parents.

They had been swept out to sea years ago by a storm tide.

There's a bit of foreshadowing, as another such wave later hits the town, separating them from their friends.

Reunited in the cage, things look bleak until Ramona engineers their escape.

And just where did they find themselves?

In the midst of all the humans at the seaside theme park!

"Look Around", sings Ramona, time to live it up!

Spritzing helps her stay moist, but she needs to get back to the ocean.

The problem is they are a million miles in crab-lengths from the sea.

When she passes out from dehydration, it's up to Armen to get her there.

Meanwhile, the other land crabs and sea crabs have drawn a "Line In The Sand" to separate the locals from the tourists.

That was no help at all!

They didn't even help when Armen showed up dragging a lifeless Ramona, except to stop the bickering and move aside.

He managed to get her to water and saved her life.

Then what did she do?

She saved him right back!

See, the townies couldn't swim!

Really was a nice story!

I highly recommend "Under The Boardwalk"! Even though it leads off with "Welcome To New Jersey", stay with it.

Lots of laughs, and certainly a different perspective on hermit crabs.

Thanks, Comcast, for giving me this $1 Movie Night reward!

I've watched it four times during this 48-hour rental period. 

Thanks, Paramount, too, for a new offering from an animation department that I'll pay attention to in the future.  

read united, y'all

I debated whether to write this post here or over at another blog.

After all, it's about something that will benefit children of Chatham County, so that should be function of Fliss of Nerdfighters, n'est-ce pas?

Then I realized I'd been part of a similar effort before, many years ago.

The year had been 2011 and the Armstrong Alumni Association had decided to celebrate Dr. Seuss Day as part of a reading initiative at elementary schools. 

I volunteered to go with a group to East Broad Elementary, where I read "Green Eggs And Ham" to a group of second-graders.

What fun that was!

Times have changed in the decade-plus since.

Now, volunteers are required to undergo training before interacting with children, just as I'd had to to before being part of VBS.

Speaking of which, this training was held at Asbury Memorial Church, in Holliday Hall, by Cheri Deans of United Way.

The group is called Read United, and my friend from Thomasville, Sherry Giddens, is the one who has encouraged me to join in.

She has been a Reading Buddy for a while, having joined last year after hearing Helen Downing witness about her experiences with the program.

August Alderman is to be commended for getting the word out about this training session for Reading Buddy Backups.

We had at least 20 people show up!

I'm far right, sitting in front of the window closest to Ms. Virginia's painting. 

I've had a hard day managing the pain with my right leg, due to the still untreated inguinal hernia, so I'd hobbled over to the bench seat there instead of sitting on a metal chair.

August even came and sat with me for a while!

He really is a dear man.

The training carried on for about an hour, ending with a QR code so we can sign up online and get the background check started.

Yes, that's right: to work with children, a background check is required.

No worries have I!

I've even already signed up to volunteer on Read United Day!

That will be January 30th.

I sure hope it will be a warmer day like today!

Now, time for the new season of "Will Trent".

I sure hope my first niece will be watching 'with' me!

learning from a brother's perspective

That's Paul Nordquist at the podium, speaking of his older brother.

As he talked, I kept drawing parallels between his experience and that of my youngest brother.

For both, there was about a ten-year difference in age with their eldest sibling.

What that really boils down to is the eldest leaving home when the youngest was only about 8 years old.

That means the eldest missed most of the coming of age of their youngest sibling.

I had not ever considered that.

I knew that Tony had loved me, even calling me his 'Little Mama', because he had me around much more than our working Mama.

That meant that when I went into the Navy and was gone for almost 8 years, he felt a bit deserted.

When Dick Nordquist had gone off to college and England, Paul felt deserted, too.

I honestly had never considered the effect of my leaving on my brothers.

I doubt 18-year-old Dick had considered that, either.

The realization almost had me in tears.

I was at the Celebration of Life for Richard Nordquist, dead at 75 years old.

Thank God for facebook, or I doubt I would have known.

I had friended him on that social site in mid-fall, just a few months ago.

I won't say that I knew him well, but he'd made quite an impression on me in 1995, when I pioneered distance learning for the chemistry department.

I talked about that experience with Paul before I left.

When I was teaching that CHE201 class simultaneously at Armstrong and the campus in Brunswick, I'd asked Dick if there was a way to record the lecture for students that missed it or wanted to review it.

"You bring the VHS tape and we can insert it into the feed," he'd told me.

For a literature and language professor, he was amazingly techno savvy.

I'd brought a tape with me to each two-hour lecture, then arranged for students to borrow the tapes from the school library.

I should have those lectures around the house somewhere, both the VHS form as well as on DVD, transferred by Jennifer Incorvaia around 2012.

I'm so glad that John Kraft had posted the invite for this gathering. 

 I had only friended John a couple of weeks ago.

John is the one who posted about this gathering at the Armstrong Ballroom, inviting all who knew Dick to convene for the afternoon.

I had the chance to speak with John before it all began.

Incredibly, he is still at the university, still planning to stay on for another few years, there in the psychology department.

I also had the chance to speak with my calculus professor!

Yes, Michael Findeis is still intact and still has his sense of humor!

That's him in the teal-colored shirt.

Glaucoma may have slowed him down a little, but he's still going.

Good for him!

Lea and Cliff Padgett were there, too, and I talked with them briefly.

I'll have to see what their link was to the Literature professor.

Then there's Leigh Rich.

She and I recognized each other right away, though we didn't recall what connection we might have shared.

I took our tenuous link as a reason to sit with her during the Celebration, as I dined on lasagna, salad, chicken with peppers, crusty Italian bread, and a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

We listened to the many tales of Dick from those who knew him -

his wad of keys to everything on campus... 

his shoebox-sized cell phone that he proudly toted around...

his love of the students and of those who served them...

his abhorrence of having to come in on Fridays, his one day off during semesters, for silly meetings and such...

his love of all language, including curse words...

his helpful nature and love of personal learning, as evidenced by his home library of hundreds of books.

That's when I recalled how I knew Leigh: she's the publisher who helped Josie with her book about her time in Ghana.

I made sure Leigh knew that Josie will be at the Book Fair this year.

Then I came home, to let my tears flow.

I wish I could have told Dick how much I appreciated his help back in 1995.

At least I passed that message to his brother.

more movement for two first posts, slowly

Nothing like the holidays to slow things down.

Hopefully, action will occur next week on items that need done.

 

Attendance was pretty good, with two people there that had not been.

Those were Byron Stevens and Dan Cook.

Doug Anderson was there with his dog, Sam.

Savanna Newcome was accompanied by her little girl.

The others present were Joe Cetti, John Parker, Eddie Patterson, Brenda Pough, Sabrina Scales, and myself.

I made sure to thank Sabrina in person for her decorating skills that made the USO Christmas event a success.

Nice that the space still smelled of fresh pine trees! 

Then Brenda led off with an agenda set from the last two meetings.

 

Joe Cetti is still in process of attaining a 40-foot trailer to hold the items from our storage container, as well as extra chairs and tables for events.

Because of the holidays, no one has called him back.

Savanna brought up that the fee for the storage container is now 3 months past due, as she has been waiting for us to decide where to move all the contents.

Joe will definitely move on that this week.

Good!

 

John Parker has still not heard back from Pat Harris of the neighborhood association regarding her concerns with the the Two Firsts Club being a bar.

Two members had comments about her being a gadfly to the City Council.

I spoke up and reassured all that she is trying to make sure the area will not be overrun by drunk and noisy young men coming from here.

I also emphasized that we cannot tell her and the City Council that we're opening a restaurant that has a bar, if what we really open is a bar with a few food items. 

Two First Posts has a church leasing space in this same building, so we cannot have just a bar, as it would be too close to the church, violating rules about proximity to liquor establishments.

John Parker said he will find out when the neighborhood association next meets so he can attend that meeting and speak with them of our plans.

Good!

 

After a good bit of rambling again about whether to lease the kitchen to a caterer or handle ourselves, two items are to be acted upon.

First, Eddie Patterson will speak with Post 135 to better understand how they handle the division of works with Betty Bombers.

Second, Savanna suggested we hire a general manager to handle all of that so we don't have to, using perhaps 'Indeed' or some other source.

Sabrina will use the qualities outlined at earlier meeting and post the job request this week.

Good!

 

The business license is still needed before Two First Posts can obtain a liquor license.

I reminded all of the punch list that Larry had given out two weeks ago.

One of the items on that list had been making peace with the neighborhood group.

We now have the Certificate of Occupancy, so that's good.

The hours of operation need to be determined and those of us at the last meeting had already set those.

For a partial week running Thursday through Sunday, the hours would be 11 AM to 2 AM, mindful that Thursday and Sunday would not need to be as late.

General agreement was attained and Brenda made the note to pass the information along to Larry for the license.

Good!

 

That raised the point of Two First Posts needing a cash basis for the salary of whoever will be selected for the general manager.

Private events, such as oyster roasts, steak nights, Super Bowl party, and such will certainly help with fundraising.

Sabrina brought up the 500 Club that Post 500 has used in the past, wherein all who donate at least $500 dollars will have their name on a plaque.

Sabrina and Brenda will compose a letter to send to all members of American Legion Posts 36 and 500 to generate funds.

Good!

 

One thing to note for the future: training will need to be done.

All bar staff will have to undergo "Safe Serve" training, which has classes beginning next week.

All bar staff as well as anyone handling money will need training on the TOAST operating system, bearing in mind that TOAST will only hold one training session.

I brought up that several of us should undergo that training so we can train the bar staff or others.

Ideally, we hire people already well-versed in that technology.

Good.

Now, my Old Timers burger has arrived and I'm starving.

I can't hardly believe I'm eating a burger!!!

But that's what I want after this afternoon of mental gymnastics.

Thanks, Chili's, for doing the cooking for me... 

and thanks, Chase, for the gift card!

loss adjustment with mother goose

"Seriously? How could Mother Goose help?"

When I looked down at my feet this morning, one of those nursery rhymes sprang into my mind, justthatfast! It goes like this:

Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my son John,

Went to bed with his stockings on;

One shoe off, and one shoe on,

Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my son John.

  

"Okay. But what I'm seeing is your feet with one sock on, one sock off."

That's correct. I'm trying a new thing and it seems to be working. See, I've been having a problem on cold nights. My right foot can find the warm place under the covers, but not my left on, leading to me waking up with a freezing foot. That's really uncomfortable, especially as you know how much I detest being cold.

"Honey, everyone knows your distaste for cold weather."

Well, on New Year's Eve, I put a sock on my left foot. And guess what? I slept through the night! No waking up with a freezing foot! Then I did it again last night and had the same result. Hooray!

"Nice experiment. But why not wear socks on both feet?"

The inguinal hernia makes it nigh impossible to put a sock on my right foot. That leg simply will not bend to allow me to do anything with my right foot. If not for my Skechers and slippers being slip-on, I wouldn't be able to wear shoes. So, this "one sock on" is my loss adjustment for that lack of flexibility.

"What about when you go out on colder days? What do you do then?"

Well, mostly I stay in when it's cold. You know that. 

"And why would your bed have such a small warm spot? Isn't your heated mattress pad a double?"

It is, but it's also at least 16 years old. I do launder it every year before putting it away, and I've noticed a bit of wear and tear. I should get a new one... but I hate shopping.

"Yes, I know that, too. Now would be the time, when stores are trying to decrease inventory. Just saying."

Well, how about this for a compromise? I'll investigate online, see what the prices are and local availability. No promise that I'll buy one, but I will at least look. 

"Yes, please do. No need for you to suffer through cold nights."

Yes, ma'am.

first friday fiesta of 2026!

I've received some excellent advice the last few days about how to live.

The above is from Amy in Michigan.

To fit me, it needs a few exclamation points! 

"Be too much! Be extra! Live large! Smile big! Laugh hard! Celebrate your damn self! Open your heart! Express your emotions! Giggle! Dance! Breathe deep and love your damn life! You only get one."

Much better!

Then here's the one from Sherry of Thomasville, Georgia.

It's actually a quote from Neil Gaiman, but it needs some exclamation points, too. 

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness! I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful! And don't forget to make some art, or write, draw, build, sing, or live only as you can! And I hope in the next year, you surprise yourself!"

Yes, that sounds more like it's meant for me!

 

Plus, I'm all in favor of living according to this advice from my first niece.

"Today I learned about a term called a 'glimmer', which is the opposite of a trigger. Glimmers are those moments in your day that make you feel joy, happiness, peace, or gratitude. Once you train your brain to be on the lookout for glimmers, these tiny moments will appear more and more."

As I told her, "They're like glitter - small and easy to overlook unless your light makes them sparkle!"

So, keep that "little light of mine" shining for others to see!

That's why I made sure to be at Jalapenos of Pooler this evening.

The inguinal hernia was being bearable, so off to see my brothers I went!

 

Ah, the joke was on me: Tony wasn't there!

Both of the Kameron brothers were in place. 

Smitty was in his spot, too, but Robin was in Tony's usual seat.

Sweet, that allowed me and her to actually have a conversation this time around!

I also got to have conversations with Laura and Mary - excellent!

So what did we converse about?

The vegetables that Robin was growing, the recovery of Laura's broken vertebra, and Mary's feeding of squirrels, among other things.

Oh, and how we started out our New Year! 

I also talked of movies and plays and meals with friends, as I'm always trying to encourage them to come along.

I'll have to invite them over some time to see my blessings walls.

This one was filled twice with events from 2025!!!

Some were free, some had a fee.

Some were parties, some were concerts.

Some were musicals, some were plays... 

all were fun and brightened my world!

Blessings, blessings, blessings, just like these Smith & Kameron Friday Fiestas are for me!

i thank You, God!

first day of 2026!

What kind of weather song does WSAV have?

Sunshiny start, with near-normal temperatures for this area!

Couldn't ask for a nicer start of the year!

I celebrated with Gouda and the bread from yesterday's Carrabbas feast!

 

Then it was time to kick it, Elvis style, and take care of business in the kitchen.

Not washing dishes... getting my cabinets outfitted with a spiffy new Elvis collection, ready to make sure I stayed on track!

Believe me, I have appointments with others already to post onto them!

Busy, vibrant, woman!

The first of those is the 3 PM "Anticipation Ceremony & Bowl Burning" over at Asbury Memorial.

This will be the 16th time for me, but at least the letter is already written.

That's right.

The yellow SASE I'm using will have the exact same letter I wrote in anticipation of this year, as I didn't accomplish a single thing I'd written back then.

As I told Cheri Hester, I didn't even recall writing any of those goals!

She thought that was funny!

So, since I wouldn't need two hours there, that gave me some much-needed time here at home.

Dawn gave me a new calendar, one I really like, with much larger spaces for each day.

More room for birthdays and anniversaries!

FB may remind me of birthdays, but it doesn't yet have the ability for the other.

Now, I just need to remember to look at the calendar on a regular basis!

While I was doing all these other things, I was also cooking my mustard greens for my New Year's Day dinner.

Didn't they turn out beautifully?

The hoppin' John used Rotel diced tomatoes, NSA, and the brown rice is a better fiber choice.

Those set off the contents of the cornbread from Food Lion, which was sweet enough to call dessert!

It all went quite well with "The Age Of Adaline", which I regard as a New Year's Day scifi romance.

This time, I found myself bawling at the end and missing Mama something fierce.

Once I was under control of tears, I drove over to Asbury to give my letter to Cheri.

I didn't stay long, though.

Greenwich Cemetery closes its gate at 5 PM, which means I had about 5 minutes to spend with Mama.

That was all I needed.

Two others drove in as I was leaving.

I guess they needed a touch and go, too.

After that, I had time to stop by home and pick up a gift card for supper with Carolyn.

We were to meet for a 6-ish PM movie at AMC, and I was going to surprise her with the meal.

And lookee there!

I had four 4's in the mileage on the odometer! 

Right place, right time!

Or not, as she never did show.

I'd waited an hour before calling to check on her arrival time.

Oops - she thought we were getting together tomorrow.

 

Back home I went, with visions of Positano leftovers in my head! 

Peacock had a delightful Pakistani movie, "Polite Society" from 2023, which had a girl who wanted to be a stunt woman.

Very nice!!! 

Right place, right time, after all!