taking advantage of an extra day

Chilly and rainy it is, but that meant I had no excuse for procrastination.

If I was going to be housebound on this 29th of February, I may as well make it memorable.

 

All of that stress-inducing rancor from the house insurance folks came to a standstill.

I'd tried three times to speak to someone at Navy Federal Credit Union about the situation and was cut off twice.

Fine.

Joy Polite of Allstate had found me a house insurance policy through the Georgia Underwriters Association, so I made a command decision and signed off on it.

That meant I had to immediately pay the first quarter cost, so I charged it...

on my Navy Federal Credit Union credit card.

That was my way of giving them proof that I was seriously working on getting coverage on the house.

Oh, and by the way... it's raining and my roof is fine...

and this thorn in my side since October has been removed, hopefully for good.

 

What next to clear from my slate?

Yet another insurance thing, this time for the car.

GEICO had sent me a letter that my "good driving" discount was due to expire.

Damn, it'd been three years already?

Apparently so.

Fortunately, the IMPROV driving course was again an option on the list of driving schools.

The course seems to have more chapters this time, but that's okay.

It still has sweet Denise as its heart, Professor Gray Matter as the voice of science, and suave Jeff with the perfect hair - believe me, there's an inside joke there between me and the ex - to lead us through the information.

I've already gone through five chapters in about two hours, and I've done so with a smile on my face.

 

That's why I went ahead and filed my federal and state taxes today.

I had already started on them earlier in the week and logged all the data in.

All that awaited was me double-checking that all was correct...

or maybe that was triple-checking all those numbers.

Today, I logged in for one last look-see and pulled the trigger on it.

Both shot out of the website toward their destinations, free of charge to me.

Now to await their acceptance... and the refund which will provide my financial cushion, for payment of property taxes and house insurance and little extra expenses.

One praise-worthy note: that cushion will be a little more plush this time.

That's because I attended an AARP webinar in 2023 about keeping my Social Security benefits from being part of what gets taxed by the feds.

No, that's a real thing.

To quote the AARP site, "The Social Security Administration estimates that about 56 percent of Social Security recipients owe income taxes on their benefits."

I've been part of that 56% ever since I started receiving Social Security benefits in 2020.

You would expect Social Security benefits to not get hit with Federal income tax, but they do, iff your other income is above a certain amount.

After the webinar, I had immediately changed the income I get from my teachers' retirement fund to a lower value to make sure I'd be below that $25,000 threshold... 

and I was this year!

So, not one red cent of my Social Security income was charged Federal income tax!

I'll be getting back nearly all the money withheld from my TIAA withdrawals.

That's a nice change of pace.

 

Now, it's time for a treat from AARP, in the form of one of their Movies For Grownups.

God knows I certainly have been doing grownup tasks all day.

As my work is done, I'm going to let Amy Adams entertain me in "Leap Year", which will abound with Irish brogues and lovely greenscapes of Ireland.

Later, y'all.

TWO... BITS!!!

That's what a United States quarter represents.

Two bits.

You know the old routine, don't you?

"Shave

and a 

haircut -

two

bits!!!"

I don't even have to close my eyes to see Roger Rabbit doing that particular piece of comedy.

It's usually accompanied by door knocking to the beat of the bit of prose.

Funny stuff!

But you might well ask: Two bits of what?

Well, hold on to your hat because you're not going to believe this!

I had thought "two bits" was an English term, being that they were the country that -mostly- colonized the US.

See that word I stuck in there?

-mostly-

Other countries were here earlier, remember.

Other countries like, for instance, Spain.

There was a huge Spanish empire long before the British made one of their own.

That Spanish empire was rich with silver, minted in coins called reals.

No, not "reels"; give it a hit of Latin to make "ray OWLS".

Maybe you know them better as "pieces of eight".

You know how they came to have that moniker?

Most things didn't cost an entire real, so the coin would be cut to release the amount needed for whatever good or service was being bought.

Typically, things cost one-eighth of the coin, and that came to be called "one bit".

One-fourth of the real would thus be equal to two of the "one bit" portions.

One-fourth...

a quarter...

two bits...

and all learned while reading Smithsonian magazine in the sunroom.

That sounds like a good start to this leap day.

better now, with change of scenery

I've been intermittently in tears several times today.

It all started this morning, when I had popped onto fb to check in on folks.

That's when I saw the message between Sue in Canada and her daughter.

I saved the meme and brought it here, to my blog...

and started transcribing it, as I do, from the meme to words on a page...

and then found myself crying.

DAMN.

 

Time to get out of the house, I thought, to try to get things under control.

Off to the Purple Planet I went.

The young woman there even gave me a card for my heart-shaped keyring so I don't have to check in with my phone number anymore.

That was nice!

My session on the treadmill went well, so off I went to the next errand.

 

That was at the post office, to pick up a letter I had to sign for.

I'd arranged this pickup on Sunday.

I need not have bothered.

The letter was not there and the two clerks spent twenty minutes trying to find it.

DAMN.

 

I'd planned to go to Chili's for lunch, but now it was too late for that menu.

DAMN.

 

Maybe go elsewhere, like Jalapenos?

No, I plan to be there on Friday...

so, I went home instead.

DAMN.

 

Where I found myself collapsing in tears again.

Again!

DAMN.

What the fresh Hell is wrong with me???

 

Too much stress about the roof and the house insurance, still.

DAMN.

 

Too much stress from NFCU's new online banking format which has led to my having overdrafts for two months in a row.

DAMN.

 

Too much stress from NFCU's new online banking format which has led to me double-paying two different bills this month.

DAMN.

 

Too much stress from the redneck with the lawn service who has called the city about my front yard because my weeds are green and I won't use his business.

DAMN.

 

Too much stress over money due to overpayment of those two bills this month.

DAMN.

 

DAMN.

DAMN.

DAMN.

 

At least the high temperature today was 80.

That was very nice.

i thank You, God.

 

Because the weather was so nice, I made po' girl ceviche for dinner.

That was very nice.

i thank You, God.

 

As there was nothing of interest on TV tonight, I decided to take care of a needed task: the online defensive driving course offered by IMPROV: Traffic School With A Smile, so my car insurance would not soar in April.

That was very nice.

i thank You, God.

 

Now, after completing the first three courses, the smile has reached my eyes again.

i thank You, God.

Je souhaite...

Stressed: *calls Mama*

Annoyed: *calls Mama*

Has a problem: *calls Mama*

Happy:  *calls Mama*

Found out good news:  *calls Mama*

Any slight inconvenience: *calls Mama*

Was told a new joke: *calls Mama*

Just checking in:  *calls Mama*

Needs help with a decision: *calls Mama*

Heard a favorite song: *calls Mama*

Made a new recipe: *calls Mama*

Watched a favorite movie: *calls Mama*

Wants to hear her voice: *calls Mama*

(Sigh)

Impossible things, still, always. 

Loss adjustment is a process, not an end.

two teens for sbhf35 and sjcaf

I do get tired of being in the choir at some of these events, but it's nice that I was not alone.

Kaye was with me during the performance, and we joined Barbara for the question session.

I also saw Penny and Lonnie and Cindy, fellow volunteer ushers from my days at the Lucas and Trustees Theatres.

Even so, it had been a difficult play to witness on its premier in Savannah.

"Anne & Emmett" was centered on two youths in a place called Memory, which they could only inhabit when someone remembered them.

That was the first truly sad part of the play by Janet Langhart Cohen.

She had been a teenaged girl herself when the concept had first come to her, having been studying about Anne Frank's life when she heard about Emmett Till.

I can certainly understand that.

Perspective makes a difference, and she was right place, right time for the stories of the 16-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy, teenagers like herself, who died simply for being born the way they were...

as if they had any choice in that.

That truly is the evil root of prejudice and of hate crimes: people being bullied and persecuted and tortured and killed, for something they could not change.

We cannot change our skin color, we cannot change our cultural identity, we cannot change our gender identity, we cannot change the family we were born into.

I don't understand why some people choose hate on such a basis.

"Different" doesn't mean "bad" and certainly does not mean "must be destroyed."

Honestly, how could anyone justify what was done to those children?

 

For children Anne and Emmett certainly were.

Even the two who played them were teens.

There were three adults: one for her father, one for his mother, and one to represent the haters.

Why Otto Frank and Mamie Till?

Because they made sure that others knew what had happened to their children, in hopes of making sure others' children would not die.

And now, here we are in the 21st century, several generations later, and the message still needs to be preached, here in the United States, over in Europe, all around the world: stop killing people on the basis of things they cannot change.

I do hope the four other scheduled performances will be as well attended as the one here at the JEA.

Thanks, Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival for bringing this play during the Savannah Black Heritage Festival, for the stories of these two children, with the painting in the backdrop of her chestnut tree conjoined with his.

Yes, it was a hard message, but it was well told.

donor lesbian spider

"That's a really wackadoodle title you got going there, g'friend." 

Well, it was either that or something lame about a trio with female leads.

"Oh, I already surmised as much. You've finished your AMC A*List, then?"

I have! And get this: it's only Tuesday! But at least I had company for this Tina Tuesday. I ran into Carolyn yesterday at "Drive-Away Dolls", which turned out to be kinda sorta like "Thelma & Louise", if it had been about two lesbians. Which the "Dolls" movie was. Like, really, truly, about girl on girl and girl on dildo. And get this: there was a bit of truth to it! There really had been a hippie-dippie chick in the 1970's who made plaster casts of her lovers' penises. Now, some gangsters want the collection because one of the meaty cocks is that of a would-be senator who had no idea his freewheelin' past would come to bite him on his butt.

"That sounds pretty hilarious."

It was!!! She and I laughed and laughed during the movie! Then we laughed and laughed afterward, too! That's because we knew our other two amigas, Barbara and Sandy, were seeing the later screening of "Drive-Away Dolls" and the thought of their reactions drove our hilarity! They were expecting a regular Coen brothers flick... but, this only had one brother involved, and had more in common with a 1970's drive-in raunchy movie than anything else the Coens ever did. Yeah, they're not gonna get the movie they're expecting!

"Wow. Yeah that doesn't sound like their cup of tea, for sure. And so Carolyn watched "Madame Webb" with you today, after your lunch date with Josie?"

Carolyn did! Amazingly, she had not yet. That's the type of movie she usually sees with the barefoot hobo. I guess he's boycotting Dakota Johnson as the lead, like other comic fans are. It really wasn't that bad, but it did need someone else in the lead. She's such a one-note actress... and this wasn't the role for a pouting sex kitten with hair that never faltered.

"Ouch. I guess it won't be in the cinema much longer, then?"

No, this was its last week. I had expected "Ordinary Angels" to only have one week, but it will be carried over to next week. That's good! It's about organ donation and Hilary Swank is incredibly good as an alcoholic trying to save herself by helping to save the life of a little girl in need of a liver. Like the other "true story" I saw yesterday, this was based on actual events in Kentucky in 1994.

"You're still an organ donor, aren't you?"

I am, and have been from the time I got my first drivers license. I'm hoping that may of my organs - liver, pancreas, lungs, skin, eyes - will still be viable, even though I have Atrial fibrillation. I'm not sure how that works, as I'm on Eliquis. Still, I can donate my body to research, like Auntie Arlene did. Anyway, I have to go! There's a new play as part of the SJCAF and it's starting in an hour.

"Okay, I'll let you go! Bye!"

not the luncheon expected...

Josie had told me in January that she had an eye appointment coming up.

That meant lunch here in Savannah on February 27th!

So, I made a note and let Elvis tend to it.

Now, here it is, the an-ti-ci-pated day (inside joke for Rocky Horror fans!).

Only, the thing is, it wasn't just me and her.

She's been working on a book about her adventure in Ghana as a teen.

Now, she's met with the possible publisher of her tome... and I was there, too.

Leigh Rich treated us both to our luncheon at Coffee Deli - that's my Curry Chicken Salad, sans dressing - while she and Josie got to know each other.

I spoke to her briefly about my children's book, "Got Pumpkin?", telling her I'd used Snapfish to publish the copies given to my great-nieces and great-nephews, and she seemed to be interested in pursuing that... but this meeting was for Josie.

Well, for Josie and the publisher.

Hopefully, another luncheon is forthcoming for we two Jenkins Warriors.

Now, I have a movie with mi amiga, Carolyn, that I'm late for...

more bfe at sjcaf this week!

I was so glad to see him, too!

The earlier event ran quite long, so he had to meet me at the JEA after his Buddhist sit-in was done.

Good to see the J-Dawg's smiling face after such a serious lecture by Brendan Murphy...

but more on that later.

First, happy stuff!

Like this fun documentary - "The Catskills" - about the Jewish summer resorts up in the mountains.

At one point, there were over 500 of them in the Borscht Belt, there in the southeastern part of New York.

That would be the state, not the city.

(smile!)

Its heyday was in the 1940's and 1950's, hence the reason for the physicist's interest, as he watched old TV shows from that time.

Speaking of him, he told me that Buddhists are now taking over those old resorts.

They're nice and isolated, so they're a good place for meditation outings.

I could see that being a thing!

He and I had a nice discussion during our dinner 

at Bonefish Grill.

He even reminded me of our visit in the parking lot

during the pandemic - very sweet!

Anyway, he's apparently on a fish kick, and I always 

enjoy seafood, so it was purr-fect.

(smile!)

I shared with him this delightful short I'd seen!

No, I didn't show him the actual video, right?

My phone doesn't do those kinds of tricks.

(smile!)

But I did describe in glowing detail "Zoe's Dumpling Crisis"!

I'd stumbled upon it by accident and found a youTube channel that features a new short film every month!

Yes, train has jumped the track, hasn't it?

(smile!) 

Where was I... oh, yes... Zoe and her battling babcias.

See, Zoe is a student at an international school and was tasked with bringing a dish from "her family's home country" to share with the class.

But therein lay the dilemma.

One parent was from Turkey; the other, from Russia.

So, which type of food should she make for school?

And of course both babcias wanted to help...

with the Turkish grandma insisting that Zoe take Manti...

and the Russian grandma determined she take Pelmeni...

whatever would the girl do?

I'll tell you what she did!

When the babcias weren't looking, she mixed together the container of Manti with the container of Pelmena and threw on little American flags for color!

The babcias didn't know until Zoe's Asian-Australian friend came by to pick her up and opened the container to see inside.

"Oh, you made dimsum!", he said!

Hahahaha!

Such a delightful ending!

Apparently, every country has their version of a dumpling...

just like so many have their version of a mint-infused cocktail...

meaning we have more things in common than we give credit.

(smile!)

He had a fun topic for  me, too!

He's going to a lecture by a Nobel Laureate on "background photons"...

which are also known as Cosmic Microwave Background...

which are remnants of the real Big Bang that formed the universe.

Pretty cool, right?

But here's the coolest part of all: remember the static that would appear on the old cathode-ray tube television screens when the TV station would sign off transmitting for the day?

That static was from the background photons all around us.

Hey, ask your grandma, she'll tell you about it, okay?

it was pretty cool science stuff...

(smile!)

Alex, what are a baby, a button, and a tween princess?

"Oooohhh! Are we talking of movies or plays?"

 

One musical and two plays, actually.

 

"Very nice!!! Okay! So, the category is perhaps things that are missing?"

 

No, the category... what the hey... how did you know that???

 

"Hahaha! G'friend, you have to try harder to fool me with stuff like this. Remember, I was right there with you."

 

So were my amigas. Well, for the first one. That was on Friday night. I was the one who let Sandy and Barbara and Kaye know about this musical written by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. Let me tell you, those teens at Savannah Country Day did an amazing job!!!

"They most certainly did! I know they are all the "Bright Star" in their families!"

For sure! Especially the five seniors - Madison DeLoach (as the smart teen who had a baby out of wedlock in the 1920's), Silas Johnson (the young man who fathered the baby, and whose father took the baby off "for adoption"), Liv Posey (the mother of the smart teen, as well as the dance coach of the show), Ben Templeton (the young writer who shows up in the 1940's), and Aidan Dunne (the stage manager for this musical with its cast of twenty). Kudos to the new director, James Venhaus, too!

"Don't forget: it's based on a true story! Shall we do the big reveal about the baby???"

No, we shall not. Some of these kind folks might actually see it sometime and we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise concerning that missing baby. It truly is a wonderful tale!

 

"Okay, okay, I won't spill the beans. So, let's talk about that bear! Did any of your amigas join you for that one?"

 

You know darn well they did not. Honestly, I didn't even ask them. I knew that "Corduroy" was aimed at small children and that demographic isn't quite their cup of tea. Remember the No Kidding! meetup? I liked the play, though! So did the little kids that were there! They even got to come on the stage and interact with the clowns during the intermission!

"Clowns??? I though it was about a toy bear in overalls..."

It was! And, much like Ralph's hobo garments, his was missing a button. So, he wandered all over the department store looking for it, much to the chagrin of the beleaguered night watchman, who kept putting the bear back in the toy department! Very funny!!"

"You skipped right over the clowns..."

They were the prop people for this black box performance at the Savannah Children's Theatre! Very entertaining for the little ones, and for us big kids, too!

 

"Got ya. Good idea, that was, especially with all the scene changes."

 

Yep! The way the Hive Repertory Theatre handled their many set changes would have allowed the tykes to lose their concentration.

 

"Wow! You finally went out to Rincon for one of their plays?!?"

 

I did, and for a night play at that. I have SJCAF events all day tomorrow, so I didn't have the option of the Sunday matinee. What a busy weekend this is!!!

 

"You must have really wanted to see this production, to have gone at night."

 

Hey, "Tooth & Tail" promised me pirates, a dragon, and a princess, all in the same story. You know I couldn't resist a set up like that!

 

"I hear ya loud and clear. So, how was it?"

 

It was a lot of fun! This was a fairly minimalist production, just as the other two were this weekend. The Hive used a couple of different painted curtains to change scenes, which they did frequently throughout both acts. The primaries consisted of a talking female fox; her best friend who takes on life as a pirate; a witch that speaks only in rhyme; a knight who becomes a dragon through a curse; a princess who is 12 and 11/12 years old; and the princess' attendant and guard, Molly. There were about 5 or 6 other characters to round out the cast.

"12 and 11/12 years old - that's funny! So, she gets kidnapped at some point?"

She does! And it's almost akin to "The Ransom Of Red Chief", as she never, ever, shuts up. Mostly she is asking questions and trying to figure things out, but she just cannot take a hint when someone tries to get a moment of peace.

 

"Hahaha! And did the play have anything to do with the video game of the same name?"

 

Well, not quite the same name; the video title spells out "And" rather than use an ampersand. And, no, other than the talking fox as the sole anthropomorphic animal, the two have naught in common. Fine by me!

"Very good! I'm glad that live theatre has ramped back up to its pre-pandemic level."

Up to it, and beyond! There may be fewer troupes, but they're doing more shows. I say a big old "Hallelujah!!!" to that! And I'll have one more play on Tuesday night. February has been a very busy month...

i thank You, God, that the weather has allowed me to partake of so much culture!

men on my roof?

Surprise!

After weeks of no word from Luxe Builders (who did my roof as Armor Exteriors), suddenly a van pulled  to my yard.

Apparently they had a job in this area today, and, when the crew finished in early afternoon, they were sent to my house.

Hallelujah!!!

Right place, right time.

Perhaps it wasn't just sheer luck that I was home.

I'd almost gone to a movie, but none of the times were quite right.

I'd almost treated myself to slunch at Chili's, but I was waiting to avoid the lunch rush.

Both were coincidences that led to me being home at 2 PM when the crew came by.

Raul - the one in the light shirt - was the foreman and he talked to me some as he took photos and examined the work of the crew from almost four years ago.

I'll be looking forward to his report.

Maybe I'll be able to get the house insurance again.

That would be a great stress reliever for me.

Now, I think I'll partake of the antics of a little bear... yes, most definitely!

bfe at sjcaf, but not sbhf35

"omG, g'friend! What's up with all the acronyms?"

The J-Dawg was with me tonight for the second event at the JEA for this year's Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival! That's because they screened "Remembering Gene Wilder", a brand-new documentary. I do believe that is his favorite genre of movie!

"Documentaries are all they are showing this year, right?"

That's correct! I loved that this one had narration from Gene Wilder throughout much of it, as well as input from his friend Mel Blanc and from Richard Pryor's daughter. As well as discussing his movies and marriages, the film included his art and his books. Yes, that would be plural "books", though I had only ever read the one found in the bookmine during the pandemic. That had truly been a grand coincidence, a moment of right place, right time.

"Yes, I remember "What's Love Got To Do With It?" as one you savored during several mornings in the groove in the sunroom."

Most def! And here's how I knew I was in the right place, right time, on this chilly Thursday: the book was featured prominently on screen TWICE during the film. TWICE!!! As if I might have missed it the first time! (smile!)

"Sweet! And didn't you give that book to the physicist? Has he enjoyed it?"

Sadly, he has not had a chance to indulge. I get that. He's still working full-time, with lots of his would-be free time spent on the road twixt here and Statesboro. Plus, he and the 'Cole have a life, too. I know he'll bet a round tuit when he can.

"Hahahaha! I saw that pun you slipped in there!"

Thought that'd give you a giggle!

"It did! Now, what about the SBHF35? Did you go to one of those events today, too?"

Nope! I partook of that film festival from my abode! I meant to go to the "Shadows Of Immortality" talk by the grandson of Henrietta Lacks, but I was busy with little blondes that day. So, today, I pulled up "The Way Of All Flesh: Immortal HeLa Cells", an excellent 1977 documentary on youTube, of all places. That talked of the search for a cell line to use for research, with her cancerous uterine cells proving to be the first to not only live outside the body, but to thrive. In fact, those cells were so successful at survival that they were found to have contaminated all other cell lines that had been established twenty years later, all over the world. How was that scientific gaff discovered? Apparently, those cells from that black woman manufacture a protein that is -only- found in people of African descent. The other cell lines which had been founded, even those in Russia, were from Caucasians.

"Oh, my. That truly was a major mistake."

Indeed. To me, it was terrifying to think of how prolific those cancerous cells have been at persisting. Their prevalence all over the world made me wonder about their presence everywhere now. Have they contributed to the predominance of cancer as a cause of death? Can any cancerous tissue now be found to still make that protein that HeLa cells create?

"That is a disturbing thought. I do hope someone, somewhere, is studying that. They probably would not want to splash it about in the news, though. That could cause a panic."

Yes, I agree.

"So, you're calling that one youTube film a festival? Is that right?"

Actually, I'm just saying it's part of the SBHF35, which is a festival. But, now that you mention it, I have seen a film festival that ties in with that, too! All the films were from 2015 and all were part of the free streaming services Comcast had for this week. The Africa Channel gave me "Before The Border", a pretty good film about a college student recreating Harriet Tubman's journey to Canada, to win a bet, and some school funds, from a rich kid; that pitted black against black.

"That sounds like it was pretty good."

It was! Then I watched two courtesy of Brown Sugar, a streaming service from Bounce. "Lucky Number" was a lot of fun! A guy loses his job, his girlfriend, and his home due to bad choices. His mom makes him get a new phone, as his was held together by duct tape! But he ends up with the 'old' phone number of his favorite basketball star when he gets the new phone, and that leads to lots of swag for him and his two buddies - lol! Then things turn sour again when the basketball star finds out the guy has been taking advantage of his name. Really was very funny, and well made!

"Very cool! And the other film from Brown Sugar?"

That was "People Places Things" and was also very funny and well made! It featured an Australian comic as a 40-year-old, recently divorced, professor and father of twin girls, with his adventures in dating. The funniest part was when he took the girls camping!

"Hahaha! What a silly sap!"

Yeah, he was, but it all felt quite real and natural. I very much liked it.

"And those were all released in 2015?"

I know, right? What a coincidence! Right time, right place! Speaking of, it's time for me to turn the mattress pad on so I'll have a toasty bed. Bye, chica!"

"Sweet dreams!"

too young, i was, for an abzug

 

I was just starting middle school - that would be 7th grade - when 50-year-old Bella Abzug was elected as a New York Representative to the US Congress in 1970.

I was far too young to care about politics, much less those in a northeastern state. 

However, I'm sure Mama was paying attention to the changes in the air.

After watching the documentary, I very much wished I could discuss it with her.

So many changes while I was in high school, thanks to Abzug.

Equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender, was one of those changes.

Equal rights for all, regardless of race, was another.

Equal rights for all, regardless of sexual identity, was yet another.

Bella Abzug was fighting for all of it, and doing so loudly...

and doing so while wearing feminine hats, to accentuate that she was a woman.

 

The woman hosting this first event, from a group called Hadassah, also wore a hat.

Hers was a striking red one, very nice, and she made sure to greet everyone there.

Everyone.

That was a lot of people.

Apparently, many were interested in this inaugural film, "Bella! This Woman's Place Is In The House", of the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival.

I was familiar with the followup slogan Bella Abzug used when she ran for a different seat: "This woman's place is in the House... and in the Senate!"

I was just graduated from high school, in 1976, and had many debates with my Grandpa about women's rights and LGBT rights and civil rights.

Sadly, that campaign didn't pan out for her and led to a hiatus from politics for a while, as she had to relinquish being in the House of Representatives to run for the other position.

 

Many attendees were also interested in the special guest tonight.

The blonde on the right is Jill E. Steinberg, recently of the US Department of Justice.

She is now the US Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

What I most enjoyed was her explanation of the duties she has, with her emphasizing that her position is not tied to any political party, but to the federal government.

I also loved that she kept her discussion free of complicated jargon.

Very nice, very straighforward, just as I was with my students.

 

I was fortunate to be able to have a meal here this evening.

I knew there would be a reception for opening night of the SJCAF, and I planned to have dinner after all was done.

No need for that!

The tables were loaded down with trays of vegetables...

with bowls of tomato-studded tabouli...

with bowls of parsley-decked hummus...

and plates of toasted pita triangles to scoop it up!

I had two heaping helpings and was generous with praise!

But was that all?

I heard several people complain of the lack of sweets usually at these free receptions.

No need for alarm!

The apple strudel and biscotti, as well as coffee and tea, were in the auditorium, awaiting our pleasure!

And we were free to eat it in there, too!

Yes, I said "free" yet again, to emphasize that all the events at this year's SJCAF are free - what a blessing!

i thank You, God!

scientist ducks and moonlight park!

You know what the best part was of the President's Day vacation?

Not just the part about my first niece bookending her four-day holiday from school and weekday responsibilities here in Savannah with me...

though that was most excellent!!!

Not just getting to spend some time with my now-official great-nieces...

though that was most excellent, too!!!

And not just having visitors at my house...

though that was definitely sweet!!!

 

However, the best part, I do believe, was the game Chloe made up.

Seriously!

I didn't suggest it, nor did Christina or Miyah.

Chloe made it up with her 5-year-old mind.

And it was fun, too!

Can you tell what she's holding?

In her right hand is the mermaid duck from the family outing for the movie and pizza last year.

Her left hand holds one of the scientist ducks from the 2018 chemistry nerds convention in Augusta.

You remember that we all love the ducks, right?

Even my Beaufort boys love them!!!

Miss Chloe was fascinated with my collection, of course, especially as I have some very different ducks, in a range of sizes.

We had been half watching "Curious George", then we tuned in "Pinkalicious" and TV time seemed to be requiring the girls to stay too still.

Next thing I know, Chloe is in front of me with her hands behind her back.

"Which hand has a duck?", she began....

and the game was on!

"Which duck do I have?" became the next phase, with Miyah taking a turn at having me guess while Chloe reloaded.

Then it really got complicated.

"How many ducks am I holding?"

Really???

It had been hard enough to make good guesses at which ducks, but I'd somehow been able to distinguish the scientist ducks from each other and from the Elvis duck and the vampire duck, from the mermaid duck and the tiny blue duck, from the strawberry duck and the confetti duck and the baseball duck...

seriously!

Maybe the girls and I have a telepathy thing going, right?

But by the time it progressed to me having to guess how many ducks...

well, I was glad when their mom helped me out!

Shhh, don't tell the girls!

(smile!)

By the time "Donkey Hodie" came on - trust me, it's a pun, you have to say it out loud, so thanks to my first niece for cluing me in - the girls were restless.

Time to bounce elsewhere in town for some running around!

Say what?

How about the park outside my front door, you say?

Hey, it was much too cold for that.

Like, at least 15 degrees colder than late morning on Friday had been.

Especially since Sunday had been too cold for church, today had not yet improved.

So, where to go?

Moonlight Park, of course!

We weren't the only ones who thought of the playland at Oglethorpe Mall, either.

I really had to be quick with the camera to get this shot with just Miyah and Chloe, and both in that lovely sliver of moon!

Chloe had already ducked down to go on the slide, on the left, but Miyah was standing tall -

I very much like this photo!

(smile!)

They got to play and Christina and I got to talk, as well as pop into River Street Sweets for rock candy (her) and into Bath & Body Works for free lotion and discounted hand soaps (for me, thanks to the bfe's coupons).

Such a lovely way to pass time in a warm space!

Then, off to Seasons of Japan for a leisurely luncheon!

What a fabulous finish to our fun together!

Thank you, dearest Christina!

(smile!)

columbo by any other name would be as fun

It isn't so much that she has a poker face...

because she really is quite expressive...

but that she can read other players' tells and know when they're bluffing.

Actually, it's more than that: she can read their eyes and voice and know if they are lying.

That's how she wins at every game, be it penny ante or high stakes.

She doesn't count cards or have a tell of her own, and she never played with the same people, so that let her slide for a long time.

That was much the same as Oscar isaac's character had done in "The Card Counter", playing smaller games, staying out of tournaments, and always on the go.

She likens her ability to that of a cancer-sniffing dog to locate malignant tumors.

 

She had forgotten that gamblers talk.

She herself had a glib tongue and gift of gab, but I'm talking about how guys talk when it's just them and no women around.

Not just about regular things, but about people they've played against, especially people they've played against and lost heavily.

Mind you, these are all high rollers, so a little trimming of their wallet just gets noticed by them, but doesn't make them vengeful.

She's careful in that regard.

But, she forgot about them talking.

That's how she got caught.

One of the men she beat ran a casino in Atlantic City and one day he spots her there.

He rounds her up and tells her she has two options: come and work at his casino as a waitress or go on as she has been, knowing he's going to spread the word about her special talents at the card table.

So, Charlie works as a waitress for a while, happy to be in one place, making friends.

Then he turns management over to his son, Junior, who makes the mistake of killing Charlie's best friend one night, and then lying about it.

Then Junior wanted Charlie to work for him to cheat a super high roller regular.

What a doofus.

He ended up taking a short step off a high balcony when it became clear his dad would be informed of his gaff.

Sadly, his security man cum hitman - played very well by Benjamin Bratt - went after her and Charlie had to go on the lam.

 

That's how the series began.

"Poker Face" lured me in with its promise of clever mystery murders and it wasn't until the third episode that I realized why I loved it so much: she was Columbo!

Not that anyone could take the place of Peter Falk as that detective, because they could not.

Nor is she trying to do so.

Natasha Lyonne is paying homage to his timeless mannerisms, his "just one more thing, sir" or that cock of his head when he's perplexed and trying to figure out why someone lied.

She does that, too... and that's what caught my attention.

She has shaggy, unkempt hair, rather than wearing a rumpled, beige overcoat.

She smokes tiparillos, instead of big cigars.

And she's very much of the common man, like he was.

That makes it easy for her to chat up anybody, which she does.

Charming!

The problem is, like with Angela Lansbury's sleuth, everywhere she goes, someone dies.

Not just dies, but gets murdered, right?

And it isn't that Charlie wants to get involved, but her conscience won't let her rest.

The person who gets killed is always someone who had treated her kindly.

Even so, she still probably would have moved along... except someone would make the mistake of telling a lie to her, usually something that anyone else would have let slide.

Not her, though.

She would be wondering why someone had lied about something stupid, when the truth would have been just as easy to say.

Yes, that would be the tripping point for the guilty party: a stupid white lie.

Even when that someone was Lil Rel Howery.

(Hey, that can be our little inside joke!)

He was the famous person in the third episode.

That's another thing I enjoy: someone I know popping in for a twirl!

The first episode had Adrian Brody as Junior, as well as Benjamin Bratt, who is a recurring character hot on Charlie's trail.

Simon Helberg - Howard the mechanical engineer on "TBBT" - is another recurring character, this time as an FBI agent, with his first appearance on the fifth episode, sharing that limelight with Judith Light and S. Epatha Merkerson.

(I've watched that one several extra times, including once with my first niece!) 

The second episode had John Ratzenburger, the mailman from "Cheers", as the last honest mechanic at a desert truck stop.

And so it goes, up to the penultimate episode of the first season, which had Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing decidedly against character.

I really loved that one and have watched it several times.

Actually, I'm starting my fourth viewing of the series on Peacock.

While the 'mercials are a drag, at least there are no lawyers or politicians or insurance sellers.

Hallelujah for small favors!

Thanks, Comcast, for free Peacock in my line-up, especially on overcast, cold days!

too cold for church today, again

This weather would be rather frustrating were it not for the WSAV weather song.

It allows me to plan ahead for my "snow days" at home.

That's why I knew on Friday that I'd be "attending" the Sunday sermon at Asbury Memorial from the comfort of home.

i thank You, God, for youTube working in my favor!

I even logged in so I could leave a message to others in the congregation, to let them know I was "there".

See my name there in the chat?

(smile!)

Reverend Billy wasn't there, though.

He was off lollygagging in New York City -

New York City!?! -

so he'd turned the reins over to his young man from over at Wesley Oak, our sister church.

And just look at that lovely waterfall behind him!

My name is woven in there with the names of others, near and far, to give us a presence in the sanctuary.

What a lovely idea for inclusion!

(smile!)

Now, time to do something else.

I do like these dining room chairs, but I'm only going to sit on them long enough to eat my lunch, then I'm moving out of this room!

And just what food do I have here?

Well, there's the fish from my Friday luncheon at Cracker Barrel with Christina and Miyah...

plus, there's the coleslaw from the Saturday luncheon at the Two Firsts club of the American Legion...

and wonderful memories to keep me company!

i thank You, God!

two firsts, with bbq and a bunny

Here's the barbeque featured at this luncheon, as well as a nice spinach salad, coleslaw, toasted bread, and some of the best baked beans I've ever had.

 

This is in the foyer of the Two Firsts Post on Montgomery Street.

 

The item on the wall is the Preamble of the Constitution of the American Legion, part of every meeting held there, including the one we in Post 36 held two days ago.

 

That's when I found out about this fundraising event today and was encouraged to attend.

 

Here's Bunny Ware, interviewing Post 500's commander, James Putney, for a community interest spot on the evening news on WSAV.

 

He spoke about 36 being the first American Legion Post in Savannah and 500 being the first African American Post in this seaport; hence, the club's name of Two Firsts.

 

He spoke of the club's need for flooring, ceiling tiles, and electrical work in order for it to open for use by the soldiers Hunter Army Air Base, which is without an NCO club.

He had to do it over a couple of times because of the rules imposed by the networks; namely, no direct request for funds and no thanking those who have donated.

That was all news to me.

(A little pun there!)

 

Oh, and see that wall on the left?

It wasn't there on Thursday night.

The men of Post 500 erected the temporary structure to hide the hot mess of old furniture and debris on the other side of it.

I made sure to congratulate them on such a good job!

Speaking of me, there I am!

 

Bunny (you didn't think I meant an actual rabbit, did you?) snapped it just as we were clearing the tables and wrapping things up.

 

As shown, Post 500 had a very nice turnout.

 

I'm glad I had dressed nicely and taken some time with my hair.

 

The gentleman beside me is named General and we had a nice chat, as I also did with the ladies pictured here, though I didn't catch their names.

Why were we all almost laughing?

Bunny had said for us to "look like you're having a good time" - LOL!

 

I know it looks like I was the only representative of Post 36, but Clark Nunias and Billy Cope were there early on.

 

I also met Rebecca of SA Recycling, who presented a check for $1000 at the event.

 

I'll be glad when this is finally open.

 

The bar area i going to be quite lovely when the wood here gets varnished and the floor gets painted.

 

I think we may have decided on Thursday to go for a tan color that will match the parquet wood laminate designated for the dance floor.

 

Progress, slow but steady!

beware of 6-year-olds playing checkers!

"I don't know. Checkers seems like a fairly safe game, especially against a little kid." 

You'd think so, right? But I very nearly got my butt handed to me by one today!

"Wait a minute! Is she getting coached by her mom?? We all know that first niece of yours plays for keeps, so that's why you were in trouble."

Trust me, Miyah was doing quite well on her own. There was one time early on in the game that I realized I just might lose. At checkers!!!

"Girlfriend, that would have been a shame."

Don't I know it! In my defense, it's been many years, like, maybe even decades, since I played it. Not that the time lapse really matters. I never was much good at looking more than a move or two in the future. You have to have a strategy, and that's not me.

"I know, you play a game just to play the game. Sounds like littlest girl plays to win, like her mom does."

Exactly. Christina told me that Miyah is fabulous at chess and even beat her teacher!

"She is already playing chess??? Wow. Now, that's impressive."

I think it must tap into that part of her brain that is always in motion.

"Perhaps so. How was it that y'all were together today? Was that at Cracker Barrel?"

It was! Christina was off, so we three girls had a luncheon together. Christina was telling me about her new job, and one of the perks is this: she had today and Monday off for President's Day, and she even got paid for them!

"Good for her! That's over at the Waldo school?"

No, she's at Miyah's school. The principal there had her apply and she got the same exact job she would have had at Waldo, working with Special Education, but with a truly incredible twist. Get this: no lesson plans, no reports, no paperwork. And she gets all the same paid days off as the teachers but doesn't have to be there on planning days!

"Very sweet deal!!! Wow!"

Right?!! I asked her what the downside was and she said she hasn't found one yet. 

"Wow! Good for her!!!"

Right?! Good for me, too. She bought my lunch today! Such a nice treat!

"Oh, sweet! Like a belated Valentine!"

Yes, indeedy! I ate the shrimp and all the veggies and hush puppies. I have the fish, one of the corn muffins, and a biscuit for dinner tonight. So, my first niece bought me two meals!

"Oh, yes, fish on Fridays during Lent. Such a good deal for you!"

It gets better, too. She and both girls will be back in town Monday for a doc appointment, so we've already made plans to meet for breakfast and a play date. It's early o'clock in the morning, but I'll plan ahead. 

"There ya go! What a great way to start the week!"

Thanks! And maybe we'll watch a movie here... or play at Oglethorpe Mall... fun!

(smile!)