always something to be grateful for

That's what the sign on Waters Avenue said, and, with the lovely day I've had, I'll vouchsafe that sentiment.

(smile!)

The Universe woke me up this morning just after 7 AM...

so, of course, I flipped on "Toon In With Me" and was greeted by this sight!

That's Toonie, a pizzeria owner from Chicago, and Bill, all smiling and happy.

Why wouldn't they be?

In honor of National Pizza Day, they were making their own fresh ones!!!

National Pizza Day???

Hooray!

Then, just in case I'd missed the point, I got the cartoon "For The Love Of Pizza".

It featured Woody Woodpecker, in a sketch that was a twist on Red Riding Hood.

Oh, good - I love that story!

This time around, Woody saw that the girl in red was taking pizza to her granny's house, as the old lady had a hankering for that special dish... and so did Woody!

So, he hustled over and tricked granny into going somewhere else and usurped her bed.

But his hustle didn't fool the granddaughter, no way!

Very funny bit!

Then I returned to bed and slept until my regular rising time.

My plan today was to see "Turning Red", a 2022 Pixar film only here for a few days.

"Hmm," I thought, "why not go ahead and reserve my ticket and order a pizza, too?"

 

So, that's what I did!

But here's the great part: I had $10 in reward bucks, and I knew cashing them in would net me a pizza...

and the supreme pizzas were on sale for $3 off, making them $6.99...

and I had the one on top, with the diagonal slices, waiting when I arrived.

Hooray!

However, my Lactaid was at home, so eating it would have to wait.

So, before I left, I went ahead and ordered another one, using the rest of my rewards.

So, two pizzas cost me only $4.26... what an amazing deal!!!

Going home, I stopped by the post office to finish Valentines for the four little blondes.

That put me on Waters Avenue going home... with the sign to brighten my day even more.

Maybe I'll take a photo of it on my next trip past.

(smile!)

So, I ate pizza and then went to the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta!

I was late, like almost by an hour, but all were glad to see me, and I them!

Of course the Super Bowl was the topic of conversation... this is a football crowd.

So I talked about watching the Lions come close, but not close enough.

Then I talked about the SBHF35 events going on, including the play the other night.

Plus, I made sure to tell Jimmy about the Steve Martin musical, "Bright Star", coming up at Savannah Country Day, with the music by Edie Brickell, and he was all over that.

He even remembered about "Picasso At The Lapis Agile", the Steve Martin play that had Einstein and Picasso in it, from at least a quarter century ago... and had been at it!!!

My guess is that was before he and Betsy got married.

Jimmy thinks he might be able to get tickets to "Bright Star"... that would be great!

We'll see!

And here's that play from 1996, recently done by a Brooklyn troupe... nice!!!

(smile!)

And what did I eat?

Dessert, naturally!

Sopapilla, again, and again shared with Mary and Laura and Tony.

I tried to get the others to try some, but they didn't think it'd go with their beer.

(smile!)

I just had time for my workout at Planet Fitness before "meeting" Barbara for "The Harvest: Integrating Mississippi's Schools", a documentary on AARP MFG.

Why was I interested in this?

The focus was on 1970 events, there in Leland, Mississippi, and I wanted to see if anyone of those children had gone through the same experiences I had.

Even my youngest brother knew that I had been beaten up just for being a white girl.

That was at Myers Middle School.

I and some others got caught by some older students from Savannah High School as we went from one building to another, and, as we ran to get away from them, I didn't make it inside before the door was closed.

The high school students beat me with their hands and kicked me when I was down, keeping it up until some adults chased them off.

Mama kept me out of school for a week, sending me back only after she had equipped me with Mace spray to ward off any future attackers.

That was a scary time.

Had any of those in Leland had that experience?

Nope.

For the most part, the film followed the seventy students who had started first grade that September of 1970, with most graduating in 1982.

 

In 2023, at 61 years old, these students were still friends, still people who kept in touch.

Douglas Blackmon, one of those "seeds of racial unity", was the host of the film.

The message that stayed with me was this: In those early years, they were close in school, and close at school events, but were not quite as close away from school, as their community was not as open-minded as they were.

That bias is still present today... but not for those who grew up with that open and integrated public school system.

And that's the rub: the status quo in 1970 had responded to the court-ordered mandate by opening multiple private schools, to keep white kids away from black kids, as well as black kids away from white kids.

Sad, right?

Barbara was already in college by that time, so she missed the change.

Not that she would have been affected, as she and her sister attended private school. 

My parents didn't have that option, which was good for me, allowing me familiarity at an early age with a more diverse population than she had.

Yes, the overall for me was positive... even though I did get beat up that one time, and had threats of more beatings on multiple occasions as I walked home from school.

It's good that those in Leland had a more positive experience.

It's even better that this film is viewable by all, via PBS on youTube.

Happy SBHF35 festival, y'all!