oy vey, chirstmas magic!

What a brutally cold day, but I was out in it anyway!
I signed up about two months ago for the inaugural
"Oy Vey 5K" at the JEA -
I just love the way that rolls off the tongue! -
and I wasn't about to let the weather interfere.
Barbara had planned to come along...
but the cold temps scared her off.
Not so for a lot of other folks, even people with
kids, either running along or pushed in strollers.

The thing about this race that had compelled me
to enter - besides its name - was the start time.
The mid-afternoon hour of 3 PM was fine with me -
no ridiculous early morning shenanigans!
I liked that it was in a midtown location, too,
as that meant no parking fees.
(smile)
See the flag up by the arch?
That's because we first had the national anthem!

How very nice and quite different!
My thanks to Stefanie and her mom, Virginia,
for keeping pace with me as I walked - that helped move me along at about 22 minutes per mile.
Nope, not a speed record, but I'll take it!
Afterward, we all celebrated the final day of Hanukkah with food and festivities for the kids.
I had the company of Carol and Fred of Oregon, talking of Florida space travels and Winter the dolphin and turtles at Jekyll and yoga at the Catty Shack.
That last one came from them - I haven't done that yet. Nor will I be able to this time around, as I have other plans. But I'll be sure to let the physicist know about it!
After I left there, I swung by the church, to see if I could catch the last bit of the Christmas Party. Wonder of wonders, I hadn't missed it at all! It had not even started yet!

I put my jacket on a chair at the long middle table,
then went to check out the tree and sat down near
it on the stage.
Pete, from the choir, sat on the stage beside me
and next thing I knew we were talking about genetics and Sicily and port towns - nice!
He invited me to join the choir, too, since I know all of the songs in the GOB shows -
he'd seen me in the front row, singing along!

When I returned to my chair, I was surrounded by family - not mine, but Kay Defley's!
I found out that Ruthie's husband and Barbara Beam were siblings - how 'bout that?
Then four men from 13th Colony sang for their suppers and we all clapped!
By the way, "Winter Wonderland" has a prelude -
I didn't know that.
But I knew "My Wild Irish Rose" by heart and sang along.

Then it was time for party food, with four hams and lots of holiday favorites for all!
Afterward, we were treated to a magic show!
That's 'Ordinary' Gary up there, holding a not-quite-right American flag obtained when he'd combined three solid-color kerchiefs in a cloth bag. Very funny!
And see the guy in the cowboy hat, on the left?
His name is Lenox and he approached me three times!

The first time was when I was talking to Pete.
Lenox sat near me on stage, but said naught.
Then, when I went for some fruitcake cookies,
he came in and told me he liked my hair.
(smile)
I was so flustered that I replied, "Thanks!
I've been growing it for years!"
Believe it or not, he still talked to me a third time, having quite a conversation and exchanging names, along with his buddy Daniel.
Maybe there's something there...
what do you think, Miss Virginia?
(smile)