warm bodies and the dragon

He had prefaced our meeting today by saying he had found my "favorite zombie movie" in a batch he'd bought and would be bringing it for me.
"Warm Bodies!?!", I had shouted!
Which other zombie movie could it have been but that one?
I had seen it three times when it came out in 2013.
That, I do believe, was the first movie I had viewed multiple times in a cinema since Michael Keaton's "Batman" was released. I had seen it once a week for the first four weeks, then backed down to ever other week for viewings.
Seriously.
I don't know that I'll be paying good money to see tonight's film that many times. Not that "Birth of The Dragon" wasn't good, mind you. It was excellent and had such beautiful choreography that they seemed to be dancing when they were fighting.
That reminded me of Ang Lee's influence on today's film makers.
No, tonight was about spending time with my dear 'nephew', Kevin.
As I told him, I had been hoping we would be able to view this movie together. I knew that he would appreciate seeing a 24-year-old Bruce Lee finding his mojo, learning what his personal style was.
He truly was the only person I know who would have appreciated this movie the way I did...
if not more so.
He especially enjoyed that it was in Mandarin Chinese, a language he taught himself.
(smile)
Timing... coincidence...
i thank You, God.

guardians day of marvel week

It started last Friday:
Marvel Week at Cinemark!
Sadly, the cinema in Bluffton
was not included
in the special screenings.
What's a girl to do?
Seriously!
Especially when Marvel Week
had set aside its final day
to honor that ragtag
bunch of space heroes
that I so adore:
the Guardians of the Galaxy!
The closest cinema for the films
was Cinemark Tinseltown & XD,
down in Jacksonville

There, the two movies chronicling
the exploits of the team
would be shown back to back,
in the proper sequence, too.
"Guardians of the Galaxy"
would be screened at 1 PM,
in all of its 122 minutes -
ah! Supercool!
At 4 PM, the 136-minute-long
"Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2"
would grace the silver screen -
ah! Even more cool!
I really wanted to be there -
oh, boy, did I! -
but how to work the logistics?
Clearly, a road trip
was warranted - but a trip down
and back the same day?
Well, a girl's gotta do
what a girl's gotta do
for her men...

And so I shall!
And it's going to be a pre-Labor Day, fun-packed, trip, I tell you!
Starting with Wednesday night, it is, and going all day on Thursday!
The lab for my Armstrong class is about graphing - mercifully short!
I'll already be that far southside, so that will shorten my driving time - hallelujah!
Dave & Buster's is only ten minutes from the cinema. Plus, as I'm going down on Guardians Day Eve, I can enjoy Half-Price Wednesday games! Such a nice bonus! Maybe they'll even have Agnes' goat unicorn!
(smile!)
The CHOICE hotel I found is just about twenty minutes from the games - sweet! Better yet, I had points on the books, so my night there is totally gratis, as is my breakfast there!
(smile!)
After breakfast on Guardians Day, I can spend a little more time driving race cars and killing zombies before my first movie begins. What a nice way to start the special day!
And when those two fine movies are done, I can head back towards Savannah...
but I'll stop over in north Jacksonville first.
You see, the Regal Cinemas has another bonus promotion, this time for Lionsgate films. The first film of the foursome, "The Hitman's Bodyguard", won't be shown at my Regal... but it will be at the one north of JAX.
Sure, I saw it last week with the bfe, but I could totally see it again! Hearing Samuel L. Jackson belting out the blues - about highways, no less! - and having such a blast doing so... yeah, I look forward to having a free download of that one in the near future!
i thank You, God, for this magical opportunity!

And you know what else I just may do?
Book another room for that night.
Then, when I drive home on Friday, I can visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center before this summer ends.
Of course, that will be after I see my galaxy guardians at the Georgia Welcome Center again.
Yeah... I just may do that!
Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?

midtown hoedown!

Food and a dance party?!
Count me in!
I wasn't sure about the music to be played, but, hey,
I used to be able to square dance and
to go a few rounds with cotton-eyed Joe!
(smile)
I had even made sure I didn't get overbooked on this night.
After all, I had known that karaoke Mike was going to be there,
along with Kathy and Preston as a buffer,
so I was looking forward to getting to know him a bit better, ya know?
(smile)

He and I were out on the floor for a few line dances -
though you know how off-step I get with those!
Then it was time to chow down!
He made sure we had some time together,
clearing a place for me to dine, too,
then we talked about family and life and travel -
all very nice!
Then he was off to home, having an early job,
and I was off to the dance floor again.

How very nice to have Billy and Cheri there, too,
cutting the rug in their western wear!
Quite a few folks were dressed for the occasion,
with boots and fringe and cowboy hats,
but just as many were clad in regular garb
and summer sandals, as I was.
And the music?
Well, let me just say this:
"Play that funky music, white boy!"
(smile)

summer of ice cream! oh joy!

Here I am, earlier tonight, munching on a waffle cone filled with ice cream.
That should be a fairly common sight in the summertime, n'est-ce pas?
Au contraire pour moi, mon ami!
I have not enjoyed that luxury for nine years.
NINE YEARS.
You see, it was the summer of my 50th birthday when I was diagnosed with lactose-intolerance.
That was 2008.

Sure, I tried some of the lactose-free alternatives out there.
Most only offered 'vanilla', if they had a lactose-free variety at all.
There were some frozen treats made from coconut milk - quite rich, though.
Sure, I had the option of buying lactaid to allow me to eat the dairy-rich variety...
but why would I eat something that I had to take a pill to enjoy it?
I decided to just give up the treat after several years of searching.

But something changed this year.
I found myself dreaming of having ice cream again.
Not just any ice cream, either.
I wanted to be able to walk up to a counter and order it, in a cone.
Ah, such dreams...
they drove me nearly crazy with longing.

That changed on June 28th.
It was a Wednesday at Grayson Stadium and I was there with the bfe.
We had both expected a double-header, per usual, but the Bananas only played one game.
Due to the rain-outs we'd had, the double-headers scheduled for all Wednesdays had been split into separate games on different days. Then, as they had been scheduled as games for a double-header, each game was only allowed to run for seven innings.
We were out of there and had Willie at home before nine PM.
Then, after a shopping trip for milk... we were home with Ben & Jerry's ice cream!
But wait, it gets better...
it was their non-dairy Chunkey Monkey!!!
Almost heaven, I do declare!

A few weeks later, in late July, Publix had the Ben & Jerry's ice cream on sale, buy one, get one free... and that deal included the many non-dairy flavors, too!
I bought six of them!
Yes, there are only five in the photo... one had already been consumed by the time I felt inspired and took this shot.
(smile)

Since then, I've had ice cream at home, but not out and about.
That changed during my recent trip to Florida, at the beginning of this month.
After a magical day at the Kennedy Space Center, I was ending with a movie at the local Regal. I needed to see "The Dark Tower" to complete my Sony movie foursome. That would entitle me to free downloads of all four films when they came out on video. Here was the trick though: two of the four would not be shown in Savannah. Two were, so they were done; the third I had seen during my early July trip to Florida. I had already found that the last movie I needed would be shown here in Kissimmee.
So, that was how I was ending that Thursday evening.
And what did I find?
Well, in addition to finding a penny - right place, right time! - the cinema was right there beside a Ben & Jerry's store.
Such a coincidence could not be ignored!
And guess what?
They had two non-dairy flavors on the menu.
I had the Caramel Almond Brittle, in the chocolate-dipped waffle cone, and was able to leisurely enjoy it before my movie.
Ah, what a treat!

Since then, I have found the local Ben & Jerry's store also has the non-dairy flavors!
That was just over a week ago. I had been ushering at the Lucas for two events on the same day and wanted a quick meal between them.
Lo and behold! There was a Ben & Jerry's store just two blocks down!
They had two flavors, the Caramel Almond Brittle and the PB & Cookies - mighty fine!
I've had both, of course.
In waffle cones.
Such a lovely summer this has been!

i thank You, God!

love and the solar eclipse

from my littlest brother, yesterday, 4:42 PM :

Hi Tina,
I am pretty excited about the solar eclipse tomorrow. Where I work there's a lot of welding done. So, as a result, there's some replacement glass squares for welding helmets available. I already put one aside on Friday for me to use.
As for these other guys their ability to watch it will probably be very limited. i would imagine that close to all of them will be indoors. But it's for sure that the prison has definitely opened up way more now than at any time since the 2012 lock down. So maybe they will have a chance to watch!
That's it for now. love ya lots, God bless

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Dear Tony,
Hope your eyes are okay!
I watched the solar eclipse at the cemetery - wide open skies, no street lights!

I could tell that Mama and Frank were right there with me! After all was done at 4 PM, I was taking a few photos and what did I see?
A message from Mama!

God is so wonderful!
I've attached that photo for you. (Shown above.)
The skies were clouded over for much of the eclipse and we even had some light rain, but at least I was able to see some of it!

I was using my pinhole viewer made from a cereal box - pretty cool! I was also seeing the image reflected on my car - VERY cool!

I even ate my lunch out there during the solar eclipse - leftover pan-grilled mahi in ginger sauce, quite yummy! And I wore the "galaxy" tennis shoes that Morgan painted so long ago! I changed into them after class at Savannah Tech. I thought those shoes were more appropriate than my sandals!

It's been a long day, so I'm going to try for an early night.
Tomorrow, I want to go give blood. I try to go every three or four months and I know it's been that long. The last time I gave was two weeks before my birthday, on May 17. Definitely time to go to the Red Cross!
with much love,
Tina

pumped up tuna and mahi

I did it again tonight.

"You talkin' to me?"

Well, you are the only one here right now.

"Fine, fine, settle down. What did you do again?"

I found myself attracted to a man and I made sure he was introduced to other women, just as I did years ago with the physicist. You know, to give him every opportunity to find someone other than me.

"Don't tell me, let me guess. You're mooning over the retired Marine who substitute teaches and sings karaoke... omG, you are, aren't you?"

Hold up there! I think "mooning over" is too strong a phrase. After all, I haven't written any poetry or raps about him and our singing session last week...

"Dearest F-grrl, you hardly even talked that evening. I mean, sure, he knows the Hodges and he has gone to Asbury with them a few times and you know about that. And you know he sang the Nat King Cole song with his wife and they were married twenty years before she died of cancer. And you know he recently broke up with someone and he doesn't drink alcohol. What else?"

Well, I know he's also been to Okinawa and Panama, just like me.

"Lord help us. That's all pretty weak and you know it."

You're right, you're bloody well right, as Supertramp would say. I acknowledge that, I do. But listen to this. The 'Born in the 50's and 60's' meetup to share Asian Cuisine with a Twist was at Tangerine Fusion. As I walk up, Karen says to me, "Mike's been asking about you and wondering where you were!" Then he came up and gave me a hug and asked if I had been at church and what a powerful message it was about forgiveness...

"I see. So you are thinking that he's been thinking about you for the past week..."

Well, you can see how I would, right? There were eight of us already there, waiting for the restaurant to open, and they are all aware that he had been waiting for me. Then, he had greeted me so warmly...

"Okay, I get it. I know how starved you are for male attention. Too bad David Burroughs was spoken for - "

Yes, it really is. He and I had so much fun together, once upon a time.
Sigh.
He already had too many women in his life, though.
I was not interested in bring part of a harem, not for him nor for anyone else.

"Okay, okay, you seem to have wandered off on a tangent, dear. Maybe back on topic? What else happened this evening with the singing man?"

Well, we had a pretty large group, thirteen women and him. We went in still talking to each other, but I sat at the opposite end of the table from him. When he sat, he'd left a seat beside him empty... but I didn't take it.
Roberta came late and she ended up taking that last seat, by the wall.

Then Jana and Robin came even later and we had to get another little table added on.
Going from wall to aisle, that's Gwen, Jackie, Stania, Lisa, Kathy, me, and Robin.

I don't know why, but the other side of the table didn't get one of those long shots.
If it had, the order would be Roberta, Mike, Karen, Marsha, Mary, Sue, and Jana.
By the way, htat last name is pronounced as if the 'J' was a 'Y'.

I had Tuna Tatake there. I brought home most of my pan-seared Mahi with Ginger Sauce. I think it will make a fine lunch tomorrow during the Solar Eclipse!
Oh, and I almost forgot: Today was Lisa's birthday! The restaurant brought her a lovely slice of cheesecake and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Very nice!

"Yes, dear, that was very nice, very nice. But what about you and the lone man?"

Yes. Me and the one fellow there in this group of fourteen.
Well, here's how that all went down.
After the almost two-hour dining experience, we all headed back out to the parking lot. As we're saying our farewells, he makes sure to get a hug from me, then he heads off while I'm still talking with Jackie. As I'm heading for my car, I notice that he is in the white truck parked near mine.
And he was waving me over.
"I made something for you", he says.
And he pops the disc into his player... and it's "Pumped Up Kicks".
That was one of the songs the KJ sang. I had told Mike the origin of the song and how its perky beat was nearly impossible to not dance to, so long as you ignored the meaning of the words. And I had sung along, of course, rocking out to it.
That had apparently made an impression on him.
Now, he was rocking out to the beat and singing along...
in a truck that had his phone number emblazoned on its side...
as well as the motto and website for his business.
Of course I made a note of it: ucallwillhaul.weebly.com - of course I noted it.
I think he wanted me to... right?
But I did so on without making an obvious move to do so.
Lord knows I don't want the man to think I'm a stalker or something.

"And now what? What is your intention with this new information from his truck?"

Well, I'll give it a day or so, then look it up.
Then I'll send him an email.
That's much less confrontational than a phone call.
If he responds... well, we will see.
If not, then no harm, no foul, as they say at Savannah Tech.

"Tread lightly, dear. You know how fractured your heart has become. I know you try to hold folks at a distance to protect yourself..."

You're right again. You know, this October would have been my silver wedding anniversary.
I know I'll never have one of those!
And you know what?
I'm okay with that.
But I sure would like to think I won't be waking up alone and going to bed alone for much longer.
Speaking of the latter, I better wind on down.
Tomorrow is the first day at 'Tech, as well as the 97% Total Solar Eclipse, so it promises to be quite busy.
G'night to you!

"Sweet dreams, dear."
(smile)

solar eclipse advice to Dood

Dear Tony,

I had forgotten that you had said you would be allowed to have a cell phone!
That will be wonderful!

Are you excited about the eclipse tomorrow?
Please be careful and DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN, not even when the moon is blocking it.
You know, I did that for the partial solar eclipse we had here in Savannah on May 9, 1967. I was not yet 9 years old and I had been using the pinhole viewer and looking at the image on the paper. Then I looked up - just for a peek - and ended up with two blind spots in my right eye.
Seriously.... please be careful and tell everyone else to be careful, too.
I imagine y'all will not pinhole viewers, but you can "make" one using just your hands.
Spread open your fingers on each hand, then lay one hand on top of the other, so you have triangular spaces for light to pass through.
Stand with your back to the sun - very important! Hold up your overlapped hands (or hold to the side) so the sun's light falls onto a surface.
The lighter the color of the surface, the clearer the image will be. Maybe you can have a while sheet of paper on the wall in front of you or on the ground.
ONLY LOOK AT THE PROJECTED IMAGE.
You will be able to watch as the sun's image gets covered by the moon during the whole process.
It will probably take about 45 minutes from the beginning of the moon's passing in front of it until the last part of the moon has passed away from the sun.
I believe the maximum darkness will be around 2:45 PM on Monday.
I'm sure you'll be able to tell when it's dark. :-)
Be sure to look for stars when the sky darkens.
Chances are that you'll have a better view of those than I will.
Hope you enjoy it!

with much love,
Tina

football? at Armstrong???

Why were all these folks sitting on bleachers?
Was a baseball game getting ready to begin?
After all, we were on the Armstrong campus -
and we were on one of the baseball fields -
but that sport was not in play.
It was for football scrimmage that we gathered!
That's me with the fuchsia hat!
Remember that trip when I wore it?

All those fine young men, out there in the heat, just for us!
Practicing their running, practicing their passing, practicing their catching!
It's been quite a while since I had the chance to see a scrimmage -
not since my days at Florida State University, watching the Seminoles.
That would include watching 'neon' Deion Sanders, too, live and in person. He was the big player when I was there in 1987 and 1988. Going to the games with my AXE brothers, cheering for the 'Noles - such fun!

This time was certainly not the 'Noles - wrong colors!
No, folks, these are the Eagles, as the sign says.
As the Armstrong campus of Georgia Southern University, our new colors will be theirs: blue and white.
I think this will be the first time since middle school
that one of my colors has not been in the red spectrum!
Time for a change!

Here's another change, too: no more Pirates.
Hello, big and beautiful Eagles!
They even have a real live Eagle mascot -
and they have a costumed Eagle mascot, too, of course.
(smile)
Here I am again, waiting to get close to Freedom -
isn't he totally gorgeous?!
What a grand evening this has been!

bww with the bfe!

What a spectacular day I have had!
After my lunch with Dawn, I hung out southside.
I even finished the last revisions for the patent application by 5 PM... it's now on its way to the US Trade & Patent Office!
Hallelujah!!!
That definitely called for a little celebration and who better for that than the physicist?
Did we go for sushi? How about Mexican?
No way, man!
He had never been to Buffalo Wild Wings and so of course we went there!
Such a nice time dining with him! So very nice of him to pick up the tab, too!
(smile)
Then we were off to the movie - and it wasn't even a Tuesday!
(smile)
He wanted to see the new Daniel Craig movie and I wanted the new Channing Tatum flick...
fortunately, "Logan Lucky" satisfied both requirements.
Hahaha haha!
I very much enjoyed it, with its similarities to "Sneakers" and its demand of your attention to fill in the holes to follow the tale of thieves and racetracks and crazy love.
Oh, and its John Denver soundtrack, too. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" was fabulous as the talent song in the beauty contest!
Sweet dreams for both of us!

dawn lunch

Such a nice lunch I had at the Galley - and it was free, too!
Dawn's company was part of a foodie event there, so I had gone to see her.
Like I said, we've been playing phone tag for months to have lunch together!

Lemony hummus and crispy pita chips!
Pasta with two different sauces to choose... or both!
All kinds of other goodies, including oat-laden meal bars!
(Hey, she gave me an entire box of those!
To paraphrase Scarlett, "I'll never go hungry between classes again!")

You know what else Dawn has done for me?
She's already sent me an invite to her annual Bring Your Own Pumpkin party... in October.
(smile)
i thank You, God, that she and I had this time together today!
Hopefully, we'll have a leisurely meal together in the near future.

good news from north Georgia!

from my youngest brother, August 16, 4:22 PM:

HI Tina, guess what?
I went to see Mr. Gourguss(?) the counselor today. He told me that my request to transfer to a T.C. was looked at and approved(hallelujah) on the 9th. Now that's truly a reason to smile:-) Finally.
It's been over 100 days that I've been eligible. I knew it was going to happen that I would go to a T.C. prior to being paroled. But I was really holding my breath in wonder/fear that the request may not be approved until a later date.
I walked out of his office and let out a little shout. A real weight has been lifted from me today. Praise God!
Hope all is well with you, perhaps I'll be seeing you very soon.
I'll be needing a phone number to call when I get to where ever I'm going
Wow, I can hardly believe this is really almost over. I love you Tina.
God bless you, His peace be with you
bye for now

***** ----- ***** ----- ***** ----- ***** ----- ***** -----

I didn't find the notification that he had sent me a message until just a few minutes ago.
Yes, there is still a lag in our communications, but not as much as through the postal system, which was upwards of two weeks between his asking me a question and his receiving my response.
Speaking of responses, here's mine, sent at 11:25 this morning:

WOW!!!!

Tony, that is such wonderful news!!!!
WOW!!!
I do hope you will be transferred quickly, now that you have been approved.
Will you take your J-Tablet with you so you can continue to receive these messages?
As for phone numbers:
mine is 912-
Smitty's is 912-

I'll make sure I answer any phone calls from numbers I don't know. Smitty already does that for his cell phone (the number I gave you), but not for his home phone. Just in case you need that, too, it's 912-.

Okay, I must fly now, as I have a full day ahead... but I'm so glad I checked here first!
with much love!

***** ----- ***** ----- ***** ----- ***** ----- ***** -----

Now, if you'll pardon me, I truly do need to fly!
I'm meeting Dawn for lunch at the foodie event on Armstrong's campus - she and I have been playing lunch-tag for months!
Then, I'll be going to the event concerning the upcoming solar eclipse this afternoon! The library system is trying to educate folks so no one ends up with a blind spot - like I have in my right eye from the partial solar eclipse I witnessed on May 9th of 1967. How do I know it was that one and not the total solar eclipse in 1970?

I remember it vividly (no pun intended). The eclipse was on a blue-sky Tuesday morning, but I was at home, so the schools must have been closed that day. I was standing in the playground area of Lamara Apartments with my pinhole viewer I had made in school. The street lights came on and my dog, Bobo, laid down to go to sleep. I looked up, to peek at the eclipse when it was at maximum - and received the blind spot, so I would remember the event forever.
The whole thing lasted about forty-five minutes. I don't know if my Heinz-57 dog got much of a nap, but maybe he did. I was not quite nine years old and don't recall that detail.
(smile)
The total solar eclipse on March 9, 1970, was obscured from view here in Savannah by cloud cover. I don't recall having that Monday
This year, we're all hoping for blue skies, as it will be partial here in Savannah. I need to make sure I have eclipse glasses this time! Yes, even though I won't be driving to Charleston to see the total eclipse of the sun.
Then, later this evening, there's so much to choose from - it's crazy this time of year! So many cultural events, only one me!
Later!

lucky Sunday the 13th!

By the end of "CBS Sunday Morning", I knew this was going to be a very good day -
and it certainly has been!
How did I know?
This coincidence!
Their "moment of zen" was filmed at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge -
you know, the land by the Kennedy Space Center!
I would not have even known of that refuge had I not spent two days at KSC.
What a lovely way to remind me of that final summer vacation joy!

Next, I worked on the revisions for my patent application. That project is moving along nicely! The provisional patent application will hopefully be filed by the end of this coming week. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted!

After that, I bopped over to the Lucas to usher for "Toy Story"! You may recall that kid flick is one of the favorites of Leonard of "TBBT". In fact, it's so high on his list that Penny used its theme song lyrics as her vows to him for their wedding. Very nice!
This weekend, I've been blessed three times to usher there! The first time was yesterday afternoon, for the matinee of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". That evening, after an ice cream cone (!) from the Ben & Jerry's on Broughton, I had "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". Woohoo!
I had the good fortune to work with Han for each of those. Nice young man! Good to have Grey as the house manager, too, and to see Don there today.
And guess who came to each of those movies? Carolyn did! So did Hai! And so did Ken! I had the good fortune to sit with him for two out of three films. That ain't bad, as Meat Loaf would say.
(smile)

You know, I didn't sing any of his songs tonight... will do next time!
The "Born in the 50's and 60's" group had a near-spontaneous karaoke event tonight - amazingly! Mike M and I were the only two there, but we had a blast! There were only three other singers there - Sharon of "Bridge Over Troubled Water", Jacob with "Sold: The Grundy County Auction Incident", and Michael of "Drift Away" - which allowed us to sing about every thirty minutes. Woohoo!
Where was this meetup? At Blowin' Smoke, of all places!
Mike sang "Creep", "Unforgettable", and two songs I didn't know. Coolness!
What did I sing?
Well, you know I sang Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star", right? I led off with that and then it was "Brand New Key" for me - much fun! Two of my favorites, and everyone there seemed to like them, too.
(smile)
Then, for the first time ever, I sang the Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" song... maybe that is not quite my key. :-) "Don't Stop" went over quite well; "Across The Universe", not so well, but my voice had slipped by this time.
Stacy is the one who alerted us to this Sunday karaoke, but she didn't show. I guess she knows the KJ, Michael Hale. He ran a good event! He even sang a few songs, like "Ice Ice Baby" - hahaha haha!
I sure did have a wonderful time, singing and even dancing!

Oh, one more thing!
The bfe was off with his girlie for her birthday all weekend and was already a-bed when I returned home last night.
But he woke up and stayed to chat!
I told him about "Cavender Is Coming", the 1962 Twilight Zone episode with Carol Burnett that was on late on Thursday night. I had very nearly woken him up for it!
She was in a role similar to Jimmy Stewart's in "It's A Wonderful Life", with Jesse White as her bumbling guardian angel, Harmon Cavender. Excellent show - and nice to talk to the J-Dawg about it.
We two have a history with Carol Burnett, ya know.
(smile)
i thank You, God!

not with a bang, not with a banana

I'm not sure why Damon Knight's classic science-fiction story came to mind at the end of the game, but it did.
The Petitt Cup Championship won last year by the Savannah Bananas will be passed on to another team in the Coastal Plains League.
The boys of this seaport are out of the competition.
Still and all, they certainly had a banner second year!
I'll allow this fan's positive spin to recap the season.

Marty Jones (on facebook):
Disappointed with the final score but not our Team!!!!
They started 3-9 and made it to the Playoffs!!!
They had the Best home record in the League!!!
They Broke the attendance record that they set last year!!!!
They Rallied from a 3-2 game against the Hi-Toms in a Elimination to stay alive in the playoffs!!!
This team gave the city something to be proud of - thank you, I can't wait for next season ##Go Bananas!!!!!!!

So, what did we have on this final Friday of baseball?
Incredible weather, for starters!
After hard rains for the past two days and cloudy skies this morning, we had nothing but blue with wisps of white for game time.
i thank You, God!

We had the newlywed game of
Glove At First Sight!
After a dizzy bat spin,
the husband and wife try to capture Drew
as he tries to evade them.

We also had the thrill of
Bagpipes over Bananas!
Trust me, the sold-out crowd
certainly was entertained
by the man in the kilt -
I sure was!
I was praying for a breeze, too!
(wink wink, nudge nudge!)

We had our little Bat Boy,
retrieving the wood
from the field.
We had three umpires out there,
rather than the usual two,
triple-checking the calls
for foul balls and
close plays at the bases
and even for a balk tonight.

We had Nunez' little brother
showing that he could, indeed,
Dance Better Than A Banana.
That may not have been fair,
though, as the kid might have
had too much practice
showing up his big brother.
(smile)

We had the Dancing Bananas
performing "Thriller" again!
That was a sweet treat!
Then we had more kids, regaling
us for the 7th inning stretch.
Maybe I need to teach them
my moves for that song!
(smile!)

We had folks continually
checking on Mister Willie.
"Can I get you anything?"
That surprised the new folk
that I'd had to chase
out of his seat
before the game.
I told them he was special!

I had two of my favorite men sitting with me for the entire game -
how blessed am I!
i thank You, God!
I had somehow bought an extra ticket to the game...
so I invited Bill, naturally!
That gave me one more opportunity to get lots of petting with Tucker,
one more chance to share laughs with this sweet man,
and the time to remind him he is beloved by me and many others.
His house closes next month, but I may have convinced him to stay through October -
after all, California won't have the "God on Broadway" sermons!
(smile!)

Farewell, my boys of summer!
Thank you for so many good times
shared with the bfe,
shared with Willie and Rosalind,
shared with Bill and Tucker,
shared with my student, Brooke,
shared with Julie the artist,
shared with the Peace guy and Bill,
shared with Willie, from beginning
to this very last game of 2017.
I have been truly blessed.

free lunches and two gunslingers

What a week it has been!
No, school hasn't begun just yet.
That will begin at Armstrong on Monday, at SavTech on the following Monday.
However, this week Armstrong held its Fall Convocation and CST greeted our return with its Fall Meet & Greet.
At both events, change was in the air, lending it a sharp tang like freshly burnt gunpowder.
Well, that's what you would expect when in the presence of seasoned gunslingers, isn't it?
Nice of them to give us free lunch on both occasions, to allow folks an opportunity to discuss the changes to come on this campus.
Of course, the Chemistry & Physics Department is in high denial, but that's to be expected. They are all so accustomed to the department head getting his way in all things Armstrong... I'm not sure they can see anyone else's vision.
Well, they need to remove their blinders and look toward the future.
As both gunslingers from the Board of Regents have attested, this consolidation is to place the emphasis squarely on fulfilling the needs of the communities in Savannah and Statesboro. Southeast Georgia needs a more educated workforce. Period. The emphasis at both Georgia Southern and Armstrong State will be on teaching, not on research. Both universities have been guilty of using undergraduate students as lab workhorses and that is coming to a screeching halt. The only students who benefit from that practice are those few who opt to go to graduate school.
That's quite a small number of students.
The majority of the students, upon graduation, accept jobs locally, enhancing the economic impact of their education on the surrounding area.
I say: bravo for change!
Bravo, especially for change accompanied by free lunch!
Of course, I jest. You are already well aware of how open I am to change. "Stagnation" and "status quo" and "superior" are not words or phrases which belong in a description of an institution of higher education... but they have been stamped all over my department for better than a decade.

Who are the gunslingers tasked with bringing order to this consolidation of the two universities?
The blonde woman (despised by Dept of C&P for the change she represents) is Armstrong's interim President, Jennifer Frum.
The tall man beside her, a former Marine accustomed to herding contrary cats, is our new Provost, Chris Curtis.
I wish them success on the hard road ahead.
The students deserve better, especially
those students in the health professions.
They are the bread and butter of Armstrong and have been for decades.

Those two lunches on Wednesday and Friday, respectively, were not the only free ones I had this week. Nope! I've had free lunches EVERY WEEKDAY of this second week of August.
Monday and Thursday, the Savannah Bananas treated me to free Kickin' Chicken Sandwich Meals at Zaxby's. Yeehaw! Quite tasty!

On Tuesday, the Armstrong Foundation hosted a free pasta luncheon for those of us alumni who work her on campus. How very nice of them! Of course, that was to lure us here for a photo shoot... but that was fine with me! I had a leisurely conversation with Phyllis Panhorst as we dined before the photo. Then, after we returned for seconds of the repast, i had a lovely talk with Cheryl Ciucevich. Both of them are staff professionals here at Armstrong - how refreshing to hear their side of this new merger!
Nice to see Yvonne (center, left photo) amd Hai (red shirt, right photo), too!
You know, Yvonne and I graduated in the same class at Armstrong State College, back in December of 1987.
Change: it's part of life!

banana special on a tuesday

Just in case you missed the news, the Savannah Bananas advanced to the Playoffs for the second year in a row!
Not only that, but we were the #2 Seed, so the Playoff was held right here!

No one informed the weather,
so raindrops kept falling
on the field as well as
on my head.
(Love that song by BJ Thomas!)
Start time was delayed about thirty minutes.
Not bad!

What's the matter?
You've never seen
Penguins in the rain?
They're not singing,
nor are they Penguins
in the night,
exchanging glances...
they're just guiding cars
into the special lot.
(See my car on the far left?)

Okay, time to peel back the tarp.
Who better to do so than the Bananas?
(Get it? 'Peel' the tarp?)

Oh, my!
The field looks great!
No extra sand needed,
nothing like that.
Even the lines are clear!
Let's go!

First things first, folks.
First banana hurled?
Yes, by Willie's friend, Corey.
T-ball home run completed?
Yes, by 6-year-old Cody
(though it took him 3 tries).
Grim Reaper announced the visitors?
Yes, yes he did, with a grin.

Then, let's go, go, go!
Time was 7:31 when
Mark "the Shark" Ediss,
our announcer in the box,
swam to the ground and
sang the anthem.
Let's not keep the Hi-Toms
waiting for their loss!

But meanwhile, what a tense game we had.
Erin Baldwin, the Hi-Toms starter,
slammed a fast ball into the helmet
of our fourth batter, Matt Pita,
driving the helmet off and sending our man
reeling to the ground.
BAD PITCHER!
BAD PITCHER!
We had to replace Matt with
Jake Howard when play resumed.

Thanks to continued bad pitching,
the bases became
filled with Bananas...
but to no avail.
A double play
ended the 1st inning
and nullified the run.
Onward, my boys!

Second inning came with a crazy lesson for me.
That's Utah Jones on second, but here's the crazy part.
He had tried to steal the base -
and would have been out -
had not the excited Hi-Toms player blocked his path.
That was interference because that man didn't have
possession of the ball.
I had never seen that call before...
and Willie had seen it rarely.

Meanwhile, Brandon Purcell was on third and took advantage of the distraction to steal home.
Woohoo! The first run of the game was ours!
That was the only run for four innings.
What a lovely day, though!
With Darius Johnson doing his dance
and my man Christian Hollie in the game,
all was well in my world!

Then, in the fifth inning, the field came alive.
That's when pitchers begin tiring, ya know.
Our boys got some hits in the 5th,
with Brandon Purcell bringing in
Logan Mattix for our second run.
Top of the sixth is when the Hi-Toms
lit up the scoreboard with three runs
as Bryan Cruse, our starter, began to sag.

I missed the sixth inning events.
My former student, Brooke, had spotted me
and spent about twenty minutes with me!
She thanked me for being such a great teacher, giving her a solid understanding of problem analysis.
How very nice of her!
Then she made her request: that I come to the graduation in December of her and Anna.
Of course I will be there!

At the seventh inning stretch, she left -
and our bats got hot!
And why should that have happened?
The Hi-Toms changed pitchers, that's why.
That's Utah Jones crossing home plate,
thanks to the catcher's error.
(That was another rare play.)

That error had Willie
shaking his head at the antics of
"these college boys."
That sentiment was echoed by
the couple sitting beside him,
as well as the hottie in glasses
sitting right in front of them.
(Yes, I kept catching his eye all night!)

Utah's tying run was the first of
five runs scored in that inning.
Because I was distracted and
busy making passes
at the guy in glasses,
I missed Hollie crossing home and
scoring run 4,
putting us in the lead.

But I was paying attention when John Cassala
ran in for lucky run 7.
He had been stranded on base in two earlier innings,
so I was actively rooting for him.
In this inning, he had driven in
both LJ Talley and Jacob Howard.
How sweet to finish the seventh with our
first baseman on home plate!

In the eighth inning, my boys of summer scored twice more, with Hollie and Fischer besting two new pitchers.
The Hi-Toms only had their three runs from early on.
Final score: Bananas, victorious, with 9 runs!
They'll go on now to play the Grizzlies for
the West CPL championship.
That best-of-three match begins Thursday,
in Gastonia, with our boys of summer
returning here on Friday!

Sadly, Willie's dearest helper, Rosalind, will not be here for the game.
The university life is beckoning and she must go.
i thank God she has been here to share so much with us...
and with Willie.
For several games, she has driven him home, when I could not be there.
I do hope she will stay in touch with him and Gloria.