dancing me out of the month!

I'm absolutely serious!

My first niece and her girls joined me this morning for an oldie from 1980, "The Land Before Time", at NCG Summer Camp.

She wasn't even born then!

I'm glad she insisted on us seeing this together, as I never had before.

Anyway, there I was dancing to the end credits with Chloe, as we do.

Then Miyah came up and wanted to dance with me! 

Surprised and delighted, I took her hands and we waltzed, with me twirling her every so often as Chloe danced circles around us!

I noticed the littlest girl kept glancing at her mom, so that should have clued me in: it was a set-up!

Nice to have these photos as souvenirs!

Afterward, we headed to my neighborhood, as the two girls wanted to play in the park.

I had thought we might wander over to my house, so they could run in the new spiral and the diagonal, but, nope!

With a heat index of +10, it felt like the air was over 100 F, so they were done in less than twenty minutes.

What to do then?

Well, as they were hungry, we went somewhere cool where they make pizza just the way I like it: Cici's!

The two little blondes stayed right there at the table with us, too, instead of racing off to the game room... and they ate, too!

What a nice change of pace!

I do look forward to our family holiday together next month!

3's, 3's, and more 3's

"What's that title all about, g'friend?"

My odometer! Just look at it! When I returned from the Purple Planet to my driveway, it had that special gift for me!

"If you say so."

Look, the mileage reads: 2 3 5 3 8 3. 

"Okay, I see that. I just don't grasp the significance you're putting on that. It isn't as if it's a straight or some important marker, like 235,000."

It's just fun with a sequence of numbers! There's 23, followed by 53, with 83 ending the series. And each two-digit value is composed by adding 30 to obtain the next value. That's a pretty fun trick!

"Sure, okay, if that's all it takes to float your boat..."

... yeah, yeah, yeah. That's essentially what Paul said. I told him it tickled me because I am easily entertained... and he agreed that I must be.

"Hey, that's funny! And is that the Paul of Paul & Cathy in Cali?"

The very same! Cathy was out painting pottery with her/their nieces, an activity he had chosen to avoid. So, home alone with her folks in Redwood City, he decided to phone a friend! Nice of him to tag up! I've been sending him ESP for at least two weeks.

"Oh, I know you have. What did he say about that?"

Shoot, you know I knew better than to mention my telepath abilities to him! That really would have made him chuckle at me.

"Yes, it would have! So, y'all have a nice hour chat?"

Heck no. We talked for almost two hours!!! About his job, about various plays (Prisontown and Empanada Loca, in particular), about various movies (like the one with surfing penguins and chickens), about family (his and mine, including the S&K Friday Fiestas, like the one last night), about house repairs (his and his mom's chimneys), and all else. It really was quite a nice catch-up, with both of us nearly exhausting our phone batteries!

"Very good! I'm so glad y'all were able to do that today!"

Me, too! Weekends are usually so busy, that it was actually nice to not have each day planned out in advance. Nice break for my budget, too. Okay, let me find something on TV until Hyacinth and Richard Bucket come on! After all, that's part of my Saturday groove!

from high noon onward!

Yep, pardner, high noon, that's what I said and that's what I meant!

When else would I have gone to see this here movie for the first time?

That's right, I started this new A*List dance card of mine with Kevin Costner's western, "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1".

Partly I went so I'd get them extra bonus points added onto my account at AMC.

Oh, yeah, those come in right handy!

But, mostly, I saw the movie so I could see him again.

Especially after hearing him talk last weekend on "CBS Sunday Morning" about this story that he's wanted to tell for three decades, I just had to see for myself what he went and spent $38 million of his own money to make.

Let me tell you what, he must have called up everybody he ever made a movie with and asked them to be part of this one.

And, bless Pete, they came!

Will Patton, my man Michael Rooker, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jeff Fahey were the ones I recognized right off the bat.

And you know, I had been concerned about that three-hour movie length, but I needn't have been - the time just flew by!

Yeah, I'll want to see it again 'fore the next one comes in August.

Afterward, I stopped in at that southside Publix.

They have my favorite hotdogs on sale as one of those buy-one, get-one deals, and I'm gonna stock up!

Given that they haven't had those Ballpark Turkey Franks for several months, and they're now $6.05 for a package of 8, I'm making sure I have some in the freezer.

I even bought buns and sauerkraut!

Sounds like a mighty good lunch for tomorrow, don't it?

I can hardly wait... my lips are smacking already!

As for tonight, I had these two crunchy tacos.

Just ground beef, just like we Smith kids used to have when we were growing up.

'Course, we didn't have that special cheese on those, we just had shredded Cheddar.

Jalapenos of Sandfly is real Mexican, so I get the right cheese on top.

Plus, I got to see my brothers at that S&K Friday Fiesta, and it's good to see family while they're still able to talk back atcha!

It was right good to chat with those two Kameron fellas, too, and all the regulars.

They had a little to say about the Presidential debate last night, but I didn't watch that stuff.

Nope.

I knew I'd hear all about it from this bunch, as well as everyone and their pet dog on fb.

That's why I'm leaving the TV off for a while.

That AARP MFG has a movie coming on - "Miss Sharon Jones!" - that looks like it might be purty entertaining for a Friday night.

They're calling it a musical, but I'm sure that it'll be more like a documentary with a bit of concert footage of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

You know, they were here a while back for the Savannah Music Festival, but I was always off volunteering somewhere else.

Oops!

Gotta go now, y'all, it's about to start.

what i want versus what i need

Choices.

That's what today was all about.

Choices about doing what I wanted to do as opposed to doing what I needed to do.

Choices about being where I wanted to be or being where I needed to be.

Choices.

 

What I really wanted to do tonight was go to the Lucas Theatre with mi amiga to see one of my favorite movies up on the silver screen in my favorite venue.

Yes, that's John Travolta and Uma Thurman.

The Lucas is having a Soundtrack of Summer movie series and "Pulp Fiction" was this week's jewel.

I had looked forward to seeing it again for at least a month!

Last week, Barbara had pushed for me to go with her, as she has not seen it in a cinema.

However, there was a hiccup.

The Post 36 meeting had been rescheduled to the 27th so the kitchen remodeler could meet with us at Two Firsts Club.

The American Legion meeting is always on the third Thursday of the month, with rare exceptions.

This was one of those occasions.

Now, what to do?

I knew that for Post 36 to make any decisions, we must have a quorum, so I needed to be present.

As a newly-elected officer, I had a responsibility to the others to be there.

And so I was.

I'm glad I chose where I needed to be over where I wanted to be.

That's not to say I don't enjoy these meetings...

I most certainly do.

I enjoy sharing dinner with them and hearing talk about what is going on at other American Legion posts and in the other groups they are in.

I also enjoy the rituals of the meetings, with us singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and saying "The Pledge of Allegiance" and our prayer for those still listed as MIA and POW.

But tonight, knowing I had another option that I would have liked to attend, I somehow had more appreciation for where I was.

Doug, he's the one behind that gorgeous bar, declared us all "inaugural members of the Two Firsts Club", which was pretty cool!

That means Jay, Joe, Doug, me, Michael T, Bob, Billy and Roy are special.

(smile!)

And just where are the kitchen specialists?

Well, they had a change in schedule, so they met with Doug last night.

Really.

That's okay, he came with questions from them, then asked us if we had suggestions.

I did: get a list of the kitchen equipment in James Putney's storage - all from his sister's now-defunct restaurant - so the specialists would know what we already have.

Oh, yes, very nice, Doug even wrote that down!

Good.

I was meant to be here.

Right place, right time.

And had I mentioned Hiccup?

(smile!)

There he is, on the left, looking over the new and improved version of Berk.

No, not the buildings... the pet dragons!

I'm so glad to have seen "How To Train Your Dragon" one more time!

Georgia Power had the electricity off when I woke up, so I took myself to the NCG SCFF and had popcorn for breakfast.

Now, that was definitely something I wanted to do!

Then I went to the Purple Planet and also consigned some items to Home Again before bouncing off to the AMC Fan Event of "A Quiet Place: Day One".

Wanted to, wanted to, and wanted to: check, check, check!

Now, I'm going to do something else I want to do: watch "Surf's Up".

That's the film listed for Tybee's SOSAFF and I can't recall ever seeing it.

It came out in 2007, when I wasn't watching so many animated flicks.

This one has a 17-year-old surfing penguin named Cody from Shiverpool, Antarctica.

Seriously!

And I get to see it for just one dollar, thanks to a reward from Comcast, instead of having to pay a sawbuck down at the Tybee Post Theatre.

Hey, hey, hey!

Later, dudes and dudettes!

(smile!)

and they're b-a-a-a-ck...

Remember that the Georgia Power tree trimmers had been told to skip my house?

 

"Of course I do, it was just a few days ago." 

I contacted the folks in charge yesterday after breakfast, just sending a query through the email along with a couple of pictures. Then I put the topic aside, not expecting anything for a couple of weeks, or so I thought.

"You already heard from them today?"

No, dearie... I heard from them yesterday!!! Not by email, either, but with a real, live, human knocking at my door! They had sent Chris Meza, the supervisor of the work crew, to talk with me in person!!!

"Holy cow, that was quick!!!"

Hold on, then, because it moved right along from there. Within an hour of his visit, someone was at my front door again. This time, it was the crew foreman, Juan, to let me know my house was now on his list, but they wouldn't be able to get to it right then. I assured him that whenever it was on their schedule would be just fine.

"So, they're out there right now?!?!"

No, g'friend... they've done the job and just left!!!

"That's incredible!!!"

That's what I said! By the time the noise woke me up, they were almost done with clearing trees and brush off that popsicle fence. I threw on some clothes and went out to congratulate them on their good work! And guess what else they did for me?

 

"Took that other tree off the front of your shed?"

 

Yes! Not only that, but the brush and half-tree I left behind! I told Chris Meza yesterday that I had not planted any of those trees and they were a real nuisance. He said he'd make sure they were removed and that a spray was used to dissuade their return. And that's exactly what the crew did for me!!! I am so impressed with their work! I'll make sure I contact Georgia Power again and let them know how pleased I am. After all, the right to complain carries with it a responsibility to praise. 

"So true! Wow, I can't believe they got it all done so early!"

I'm sure they were wanting to beat the heat as much as possible. I'm sure the heat index will be at least 100 F this afternoon. That's why I'm having breakfast with my new groove, then heading off to the laundry. I'm wearing my last pair of undies that I like!

"I am sure you are. You've been talking about laundry for a week. And is that rain I see for the next few days? That wasn't in the forecast from Monday."

It most certainly was not. I guess sometimes those folks at WSAV get a few notes wrong in their weather song.

(smile!)

minty fresh teeth!

Look how nice and clean they look!

Yeah, I don't really see a difference, either.

Thanks, Grandma, for impressing upon me the need to brush my teeth every day so they will last as long as I need them.

Mama had false upper teeth, but that was from a cyst in her palate when she was a teenager.

Other than that, her teeth were in excellent condition.

Daddy's teeth, on the other hand, were an example of how important regular brushing was, as he didn't do that; thus, he had full upper and lower dentures long before he was my age.

Hey, isn't this poster so cute? 

Juan, my hygienist, had it in his office.

It reminds me of one of my favorite 'mercials, the PSA about "Do you need a license to fish?"!

It's rather funny, with lines like "Is this your idea of fishing with friends?" with a trio of bears in a river.

This poster, with the "Do you utilize your teeth daily?", is definitely in that same punny vein!

I had expected to see Linh Bahn, as she took the dental X-rays last week.

Yes, I've finally relented and gone to the dentist, thanks to UHC nagging me.

I was quite surprised to find that I had not had my teeth cleaned since 2015... wow!

And that full set of X-rays that she took last Wednesday?

That was last done in 2011.

Nice to know it's all fully covered by my Medicare plan!

Even the two small fillings that will be done in August will be "free" for me.

Very nice!

So, what's up with the weather song?

"It's.. getting... so hot, I want to take my clothes off!"

Yes, yes, it's officially summer, as that equinox has come, though certainly not with the fanfare of viewing it at Stonehenge.

Nineties, nineties, and more nineties, all week long.

Ah, well, I'll find plenty of indoor activities to stay within range of a fan.

And what's up with that photo?

Ah, a little pun from last night, when "Up" was aired on ABC! 

Such a delightful movie that always brings to mind Deborah, down in Costa Rica now, living her Vida Pura ever since she retired.

As for me, I think I'd maybe like to spend a bit of time in Berk.

Having a pet dragon, and learning how to train it, would be great fun!

I do so love that movie, which I saw this morning as part of the NCG SCFF.

I may have to cool off with it again tomorrow!

(smile!)

70 kids in one weekend!

"You must be pulling my leg. There's no way you were around that many children."

Actually, I was, and almost all at the same time. Certainly on the same day.

"Great googly moogly! You doing something at someone else's VBS?"

Nope, though there was one I ran across on fb that sounded cool. "The Great Science Lab" was the theme of that one, but I abstained. It may have been in Pooler.

"Then, how did you come to be around so many kids?"

A pure comedy of errors, really. Yesterday, I'd gone to the Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church to see the 3 PM performance of "We Are Monsters!" musical. That was being done by RHCommTh's summer camp. Only, the thing is, it wasn't. Mine was the only car there from 2:25 to 2:50 PM. Seriously. So I left.

"Wow. You drove all the way out there and no one was there?"

Yep. I had looked forward to that musical. The title intrigued me, you know?"

"Yes, I remember how moved you had been with "She Kills Monsters", so long ago. Somehow, I doubt this children's musical would have been akin to that SCAD play."

Those aren't the only monsters I like, but that's fodder for another horse.

"Hahahaha! That sounds so delightfully odd! But I catch your meaning. So, what did you do after bouncing out to Richmond Hill for naught?"

When I came back to Savannah, I got gas and stopped in at Aldi's for a pee break and cereal, then, I decided to go to Savannah Children's Theatre for their late matinee of "The Rainbow Fish Musical". How very fortunate for me that it was at 5 PM! Otherwise, I would have had to choose between the two musicals there this weekend, and that would have been a sad, sad situation. See, I had already decided that I would forego one of their shows for the RH one, knowing I could catch the fish on Sunday. You catch that pun?

"Yes, dear, tiny though it was. I thought of throwing it back..."

... Ha Ha Ha. As I was saying, I'd arrived at the SavChTh to find the lobby absolutely full of kids and parents and who knows who all! That's because the 3 PM of the other musical had just let out. Whew! I thought they were all there for the 5 PM show!

"So, that's how you came to be around seventy kids at one time?"

Not quite. "The Rainbow Fish Musical" only had thirty kids in it. I have no idea how many kids were in the lobby yesterday, but I know the other play had forty kids in it. So, including their siblings and friends, as well as the siblings and friends of the cast for the fish musical, there were probably at least a hundred kids in the building on Saturday afternoon!

"Wow. I bet you hadn't even brought a mask with you."

You're right, I had not. I had one in the car! Yeah, not that it helped. But that's okay, no one was coughing, so I felt safe. The Black Box was the set used for the little kids' musical, and I sat in the back, in an open space. What a fun play that was, too! As well as the titular character, there were four tiny lobsters, a huge octopus with five people operating the arms, a clownfish, a guppy, a sardine, a pufferfish, a herring, other fish species, and a barnacle - he was cute and only spoke gibberish!

"That sounds adorable!"

And I haven't even mentioned the starfish yet! Adesewa Abisogun was absolutely fabulous as the pun-loving creature who was famous for giving the "most amazingly disappointing hugs" even though she had five arms!!!

"Hahahaha! Do you remember any of the puns?"

Just this one: "I dolphinitly didn't do it on porpoise!" Isn't that fun??? There was one before it about something being "a fluke", which was also a dolphin's tail, but I don't recall how it went. And there was a really cute song that played during the intermission! Someone was singing about all taking a shower and then we hear: "Wait a minute! We're fish! We don't take showers!" - LOL! Then it launched into the refrain about "let's go swimming". Very cute!

"Well that sounds like it was lots of fun yesterday!"

It truly was, and "Matilda, The Musical Jr." was fun today, but this time with middle school kids. That means it had a a different set of jokes, some of which were a little harsh.

"Oh, really? Like what?"

Take this running gag: Matilda's father kept admonishing her for being a problematic boy, and she would correct him every time with "I'm a girl." Matilda, by the way, was played by Tenley Wright, who had been the middle-sized Alice in the play a couple of weeks ago. She was absolutely perfect in this role! And get this: I think she recognized me!!!

"No doubt. You had your usual front row seat, n'est-ce pas?"

I did today, but not two weeks ago. I was running late then and had to sit several rows back.

"Then I say good for her! She spotted someone who was really engaged and made sure to put some of her focus in your direction! You know how helpful it is to have someone like that in the audience. Your teaching days aren't that far back."

For sure. You know, May marked the 6th anniversary of my retirement.

"I know! I am so happy the pandemic is over and you have so much theatre going on!"

Me, too! Hallelujah!!!

from frederic chopin to mac davis, and more!

As advertised, Linda Combs' Revue was "A Little Bit of Classical, A Little Bit of Country"!

Of course, we at Asbury Memorial Church had known all month about this fundraiser for an elevator!

The reminder last week at the musical - with the guest singers from New York City! - was good to put it top of mind for my friends, though they had other irons in their fires.

That's okay, I made sure I paid my $15 for a ticket!

As it turned out, I was meant to be there.

Yep, right place, right time!

 

Mama would have loved the first half of the concert.

Frederic Chopin's "Nocturne, Opus 9 #1" led it off, with excellent piano work by Warren Heilman.

Though the comedic sketch, "Schroeder's/Sonatas #8", with "Lucy" pestering the boy pianist with talk of love and such, was definitely my cup of tea!

Lauren Page changed things up by performing the only dance number, bringing to life Nigel Hess' sad song of "A Broken Heart", appropriately wearing red.

Surprisingly, there was even a tune from John Denver, "Perhaps Love", sung as a duet.

All in all, an excellent way to start the program!

Too bad Pat Prokop wasn't able to emcee.

The retired meteorologist was home in bed, under the weather... hahaha!

Nice little joke from the last-minute stand-in!

(smile!)

The second half reminded me of "Hee Haw" and would have been Daddy's favorite, for sure!

Music by Randy Owens ("Mountain Music"), Willie Nelson ("Crazy", the song Patsy Cline made famous), Jimmy Webb ("Wichita Lineman", known as Glen Campbell sang it) - all songs I'd heard growing up.

My absolute favorite?

"It's Hard To Be Humble", written by Mac Davis and performed to great glee tonight by 'Clint Eastwood', 'John Wayne', and 'Walter Brennan'!!!

Just kidding!

That trio of imposters was Nick Deffley, Tim Steinhauser, and Steve Reed.

Great comedy bit, y'all!

Nice comedic turn for "It Was Almost Like A Song", too, as Ryan McCurdy sang it to Kate Jacobson.

(smile!)

Then, at night's end, the winners of the Silent Auction were announced... 

and I was on that list!

I'd actually bid on three items - the one in this photo, a golf sweater that featured Wile E. Coyote, and two colorful dishes (blue glass swan, copper fish mold) - just to be sociable, right?

When I checked at the intermission reception, I had lost two of the three bids.

I was sure that someone would snag this deal...

and I was right!

I was the one who got it!

For only $25, too!!!

That should come in handy for those days when it's too cold to venture off to the Purple Planet.

Wow... and I wasn't going to bid on anything!

(smile!)

poland, china, and italy!

Those were the countries I visited for food and entertainment on this week!

The Polish man who runs CinemaSavannah brought us a Polish film tonight and was quite pleased to introduce it to us.

Barbara and I went, but none of the other amigas, to see "Kobieta na dachu", which literally means "Woman On The Roof".

What a hard time that 60-year-old had, caught between a promise to her sister and a secret from her husband that had her mired in debt.

Yes, E-TANG was a good place to revive our senses after that deluge of dourness.

Even better was this: mi amiga treated me to the dinner as my birthday gift!

Plus, the restaurant treated us to little plates and bowls so we could share the Hot Sour Soup, the Garlic Cucumbers, and the Snow Pea Greens as Chinese food is meant to be eaten - and we each took home food for a later meal!

We both agreed that I really do need to thank the bfe again for introducing me to this place.

(smile!) 

Speaking of him, we met up on Monday evening!

He had returned from his ashram experience and was excited to tell me all about it.

Learning the Sanskrit alphabet!

Chanting in different languages!

Sleeping under the stars in his tent!

Such wonderful tales of his vacation!

We were Bonefish-ing, naturally, and I tried a new dish: Pineapple Shrimp on coconut rice.

Rather tasty it was, too, like having dessert with my dinner... and I do so enjoy that, when dessert first is not an option!

(smile!)

Oh, and I had a luncheon on Monday, too!

Yvonne and I went to the Olive Garden 'cause they treat us like family and it's our go-to place for gathering.

Soup and salad, both dining on Pasta Fagiole for a change!

We had a nice and leisurely - three hours!!! - meal, there inside the cool of the restaurant.

Yes, summer didn't officially get here until today, but the humidity makes those upper-80's feel more like mid-90's.

Spotty little showers just add to that water in the air!

We even had one of those earlier, but I had finished the back yard, thankfully.

Oh, and that post reminded me that I'd mentioned going to Jalapenos today.

However, Mexican wasn't on my list as all I had time for were chips and salsa, as I knew Boo was coming for me and she's always early.

Still, I did get to visit with all the usual folks at the S&K Family Fiesta, except for Becca, as she was having a birthday dinner with her mom.

I had some visit time with John and Sherry, too, as the Schomburgs had popped down from the mountains to surprise all of us!

That was quite nice!!!

And when I told John I was going to a Polish film, he reminded me that his birth parents were Polish, and he was adopted.

Major coolness!

(smile!)

Okay, time for me to settle in and settle down.

I have a busy weekend planned!

(smile!)

well, if they won't do the yard...

I've known since the first of March that Georgia Power was coming to cut trees.

Yesterday, they came, but not to my yard.

Rather, they did come into my back yard, but merely as a staging site to cut the trees in the back of the vacant house next door (west of mine) as well as those in the yard of the neighbor in the rear (northwest of mine.

When I asked the foreman, he said mine was not on their list, so they couldn't do it.

However, he agreed the trees I had were too close to the power lines, and he went ahead and contacted his supervisor.

Meanwhile, I had noticed while I was talking to him what a horror show my back yard was.

The grass, having been watered regularly by Mother Nature, had taken full advantage of the situation.

Not that I had done anything about it then.

The day was far too hot still at 88 F.

So, I went to a movie to finish off the A*List.

(smile!)

That photo was taken upon my return, when the sun was mostly off the back yard.

That grass was waving in the little breeze!

 

This photo on the left is how it looks now that it's finished today.

That yard is so large that it really does take almost two complete battery charges for the Ryobi to get it all done.

This is a different angle to show off my handiwork.

No, not of the mowed yard!

Look at the shed.

Now, compare that to the first photo.

That's right, the shed door is clear of brush!

That pile of branches came from the wild cherry and lantana that had been blocking my path to the Ryobi.

Now, time for chips and salsa with brothers!

yes, there is a possum in the middle

"It must be invisible, 'cause I sure don't see it."

Try closing one eye and holding your mouth just right...

"Yeah, that's not gonna work. That A*List only shows two movies. Moreover, the open space is at the end, not in the middle."

That's because the middle movie was a freebie and didn't count as a dance.

"Whatever. I see a movie from Sunday and a movie from today."

Correct! The middle movie was seen on Wednesday.

"There is no middle movie, as that is not a trio."

Listen, let me tell you what happened, okay? The first movie was a Fan Event for "Inside Out 2", with those who came getting to see it in 3-D and receiving a packaged pin. Don't ask what the pin looks like, as I have not opened the packet. I'll be giving that to Leila, though I hope to get a second one for Alyssa. I'd hoped one of mi amigas would join me, but, no.

"That actually sounds like it was fun! I noticed the poster for it was different."

I really did enjoy it, as did the middle schoolers who were there.

"So, what was the so-called 'middle' movie? The one playing possum?"

You're gonna get a kick out of this. It was called "Sound Of Hope: The Story Of Possum Trot". I kid you not.

"Seriously? What kind of nature movie was that?"

No, it wasn't about real possums, dear. It was about this tiny town in Texas that was called Possum Trot. The story involved this small church which had 22 families that adopted 77 'difficult to place' children. In the foster world, that means there were siblings that needed to be kept together, or the children were older than what folks generally wanted to take.

"Oh, like the three that your friend out in San Diego took on..."

... and the two that Christina has.

"Yes, I can see that happening. So, how was it?"

Well, there were a lot of folks who took advantage of that Angel-sponsored free screening. Barbara came to it with me. We were both a bit surprised that the movie glossed over the time involved with the adoption process, as well as the numerous house visits. But it was realistic about the animosity that arose from some of the kids when the foster kids were moved in. It was also realistic about having these strangers suddenly living in one's home, with the responsibility for their shelter and food and clothing suddenly falling on the budget of that household. Many of those families took in three or more foster children. The movie did a good job of relaying that strain to the screen.

"And that was free???"

Yes, indeed. Much like Ryan's musical had been, its performance was funded by an individual who felt strongly about getting the word out. For this film, it's a group called Angel Studios that hosted the screening.

"I see. I know you have bought tickets for quite a few of their films."

I have. I like 'good news' stories, and their movies have hope.

"Okay, I'll buy the premise that you had a 'middle' movie."

Thanks, that's mighty neighborly of you! (smile!)

"Yes, dear. Now, how was that last movie, the one with Tom Hardy?"

Let me tell you, "The Bikeriders" was fabulous! And, no, it's not just because of all the hot men dressed in leather jackets and riding motorcycles, though that certainly didn't hurt. I hadn't realized it was based on a real group, The Vandals of Chicago, that was started by a truck-driving man lonesome for male company. See, he had a wife and two daughters, so he was fairly outnumbered at home, and since he was on the road all the time, that gave him no way to make friends. Inspired by "The Wild One", a Marlon Brando movie that was old enough to make it onto TV, he started the motorcycle club. How about that? The movie covered the years from 1965 to 1973 and had a documentary feel to it. I very much liked it!

"Very cool! You recognize any others in it?"

Well, Jodie Comer - from "Free Guy" was quite excellent as a good girl who falls for one of the guys. Austin Butler - who played "Elvis" - was excellent as the brooding 'Benny' who'd caught her eye. Tom Hardy was the ringleader, 'Johnny', with Michael Shannon as one of his steady guys, 'Zipco'. But the one that really grabbed my attention was the interviewer who was capturing the story of The Vandals. That was Mike Faist, proving once again that he can be a chameleon and turn in multi-faceted performances in any role. Wow!

"He's the guy who was in "Challengers", wasn't he?"

Yes, and he played 'Riff' in "West Side Story", too! So very talented!!! And, guess what?

"Whatcha got?"

He was adopted. How about that as a coincidence for this A*List?

"Oogway had it right. There are no accidents."

For sure!

release... the balls!!!

As I told Christina, this has become my favorite new show!!!

I tend to like game shows anyway, but this one is super fun!

Here's the premise of "The Quiz With Balls": two families of five compete against each other in guessing correct answers to a question.

Sounds like "Family Feud" so far, right?

Only, they aren't guessing the answers from scratch.

No, no, no.

There are six proposed 'answers' and the five family members stand atop the five choices they deem to be correct.

Then, Jay Pharaoh commands, "Release the balls!" and six HUGE yellow balls come rolling down the  slides toward the contestants... and, if they have chosen poorly, that one gets bumped by the ball into the pool below!!!

Hahahaha!

Here's an example, with the balls already in motion down the slope.

The question was: "Which of these are actual TLC song titles?"

And see that guy on the far right?

He went into the pool!

His answer was all wet... nice joke!

Here's another example from tonight.

The category had been "food and drink" and the question was "Which of these are actual wines?"

The balls are almost to the end of their travel in this shot, and it's the gal who is second from the left who gets dunked!

Hahahaha!

The goal is to have family members left by the tenth round to compete for the $100,000 prize.

Yes, this is a lot of fun!

two full minutes of screen time!!!

 

 

It's even better than I thought!

When I viewed the game video again, I discovered that our little quintet did even better than I'd thought with getting famous.

How so?

Well, we inadvertently photobombed Jesse Cole when he was giving kudos to the second Savannah team, the Party Animals, who had their last night of a home stand with us watching from the cheap seats.

The Savannah Party Animals were created in 2020 as opponents for the Savannah Bananas for the newly-created BananaBall games.

Even though the first BananaBall games were played in 2019, it wasn't until the BananaBall World Tours began that the need for another team who knew the rules became vital.

Enter the Party Animals - which, as happenstance goes, was one of the five possible names for the collegiate level team which was started in 2016.

There are now two other Savannah teams that play BananaBall, one of which - the Visitors - played in this home stand against the guys in pink and black.

The other team is called the Firefighters, but I don't know much about them.

Both of these new teams formed last year, to allow more games of BananaBall to be played in more venues for more fans, with sold-out crowds being the norm.

Wow, right?

Anyway, as I was saying, our front-row aluminum bleacher seats set us up in exactly the right spot to not only watch as Jesse got pranked by two of the Party Animals, but for at least one of our five to be in every frame from 1:39:00 to 1:41:00 of the video.

Never have I ever had that happen before, not even when sitting with Mister Willie!

Wait, yes I did, but that was for my birthday in 2019... what a blast that was!!!

Still, that was not with Christina Ann and her girls.

That's what made this so very special!

And they were in the game video at multiple times, too!!!

 

The first was at 1:04:00, when our section was background for the hair-whipping contest.

The next was at 1:13:50 for six full seconds of our section on screen.

 

For the sing-along with "Hey, Baby" at 1:15:48, there we were!

Me, my first niece, and her friend, standing tall and singing along!

Nice, right?

Our first big bout of screen time came during the Bananas Foster promo, with us serving as unintentional background for the spokeswoman from 1:18:55 to 1:19:15, then again from 1:19:33 to 1:19:50 - wow!

That was a whopping 37 seconds!

 

Plus, later on, when Pink's "Raise Your Glass" was played - it's apparently the theme song for the Party Animals - Christina and Kayleigh were both not only onscreen, but seemingly highlighted for the five-second segment from 2:02:02 to 2:02:07 - woohoo!

My party of five is even in the highlight reel after the game.

Wow...

what a grand time we had!

Thanks, Party Animals, for documenting that for us!!!

Right place, right time!

(smile!)

10,330 people have seen me on youtube!!!

Not just me, either, but also my first niece, her younger daughter, and her friend!!!

 

"Say what? How did that happen?"

 

We're in the video of the Savannah Party Animals game!!! I had thought it would have been on @TheSavannahBananas, but it wasn't. Turns out the other Banana Ball-playing team for this town has their own youTube channel, too! It's @thepartyanimals.bananaball, for future reference to myself and everyone else.

"Good for you for searching them out!"

Thanks! I watched the video for over an hour this morning and could not believe how many times we showed up in it. And that was all before the 5th inning! But the segment when they were talking about Bananas Foster is when we showed up repeatedly. Repeatedly!!!

"Wow, those front row seats in the bleachers really worked out for y'all!"

Yes, they did!

i thank You, God!

busy with 2 little blondes at the ballpark!

Here we are, wonder of wonders, having literally walked right into five open seats!

Even more incredible was this: they were on the very front row!!!

My gratitude to the angels for these, as it was well past 5:30 by the time we walked in!

My first niece snapped this one of me, Chloe, Miyah, and her, with the sun heading back behind the bleachers.

She'd brought along her friend Kayleigh.

That girl was definitely there for fun!

When Steve, the bartender for the Savannah Party Animals, came by to offer shots, she was the first in the section to open wide!!!

One of the gals in the next row followed suit, and I'd bet Steve ended up with an empty bottle by the time he got to the beer loft area.

Just what was in that bottle is anyone's guess, but the song clip told me this: tequila!

If not for A-fib, my mouth would be open, too!

Yes, that was definitely one of the perks of those front row seats we had!

The game was only 13 minutes in the tequila man came up to Kayleigh.

Not three minutes later, a series of Party Animals came past us, with treats in their hands.

Not for us grown-ups, but for the kids!

Specifically, the guys were in search of Cupcake Girls, and our two little blondes won out!!!

For being such cuties, they were each awarded a gorgeous, frosted sweet, nestled in a protective plastic shell... but not for long!

The girls gobbled them right up!

Within an hour, Miyah had obtained another treat: a yellow Banana baseball!

Chloe kept trying to get one, too, but no luck.

So when it was suggested that the big sister let the little sister help get autographs, that brought smiles to both of the girls!

This photo was about thirty minutes later.

One of the dancing Party Starters came by and, when Chloe asked her to sign the ball, the woman was delighted to do so!

Miyah kept scooting closer and closer while the woman talked and personalized her autograph for Chloe; it was quite cute to watch!

But the icing on the cake came afterward.

As the Party Animal moved on to others, the little sister sat down and handed the baseball to her bigger sister.

The item had turned from a sports memento into pure treasure, with both girls admiring it.

What an absolute treat for me!

The game ended within the next thirty minutes.

The Visitors won, but by what score I knew not.

I still don't know!

For me, it was a night at the circus, under the stars... and that was absolutely perfect!

ryan's niagara

"Hey, nice crowd there at At Asbury Memorial! What was going on?"

Ryan McCurdy's new musical, "Niagara", had its Savannah premiere tonight! Well, not all of the play, but more than half of it, with him giving us bits of narrative along the way as several of the songs were performed. See those six people up there?

"Of course I do. Who are they?"

Well, consider them as pairs interacting through a time warp as they travel to Niagara Falls, all for different reasons. On the far left are a young couple, 'David' and 'Eve', from 1959. In the middle are a father and his 9-year-old daughter, Winnie, both in 1999. Then, on the far right, in the year 2023, are a sister and brother, 'Gwynne' and 'Andrew'.

"Very cool!"

Just wait, it gets even cooler. Two of those people were in the New York premiere and came here specifically to do this for Ryan! Those are Mick Bleyer and Pearl Scarlett Gold, who are perfect as the father and daughter.

"And isn't that Cecelia Tran Arango??? I remember her from those cabaret shows at the Lucas!"

Yes, it is, and she was there to portray 'Gwynne', the sister. She's the only one I knew of the local cast. The brother, 'Andrew', was played by Topher Cronin. The young couple were Eli Talley and Emmaline Morris.

"As nice as that sounds, why wasn't it a full version of the musical?"

Well, its progress hit a wall in 2020 when Lauren Widner, Ryan's writing partner, died of COVID-19. Recently, her mom and sister have been promoting the show as a last homage to Lauren. Tonight's performance was free to attend (thanks to J. Wilson Morris), but it was meant as a fundraiser. Ryan had invited every theatre performer and musical fan that he knew, to help get the word out. He knew he could count on me!

"Oh, my goodness! Is that your play-going trio, out in force with you?"

You know it! I've been going to musicals with Sandy, Kaye, and Barbara for at least five years, though I'm sure it's longer. Kaye doesn't usually come for the CinemaSavannah outings, but Carolyn does, so we still have a quartet. That's a nice number for meals after!

"I agree. And did Carolyn not make it to this? I know she loves music events."

Yes, she does, and I had made sure she was there! I made sure all of them got their own tickets, in case there was a problem with an overflow crowd.

"I thought you said the show was free...?"

Of course it was, but they still needed to keep track of how many were coming. The sanctuary only has a limited number of seats.

"Of course, of course. Hey, isn't that Hai with her?"

It certainly was! He and I have been on much easier terms with each other ever since VBS. Our acting in the same skit seemed to have changed his attitude toward me. Even Carolyn commented on our looser behavior together tonight when I drove her home.

"Well, that's a step in the positive direction!"

Most definitely. I'll just let him lead on this new phase. (smile!)

not tv, just a dryer

I was in need of distraction.

Specifically, I needed something positive to get my mind into a brighter space.

Remember that I was talking about the upcoming game at Grayson Stadium, and how excited I was to be going with my brothers and their wives?

I'd even sent them the link for the Bananas at Fenway Park, so they could watch 'with' me and get ready for some Banana Ball.

Well, Smitty told me today that neither he nor Mary will be going to the game.

Their kids have a special Father's Day thing for them at 4 PM this Saturday.

For real???

And now Tony has called and told me they won't be going, either, as it will be too hot.

No, I'm not kidding.

So, I've let Christina know that she and her little blondes can have the tickets.

She wants me to come, too, but I don't think that is the best option.

It'll be easier to get rid of a pair of tickets rather than one solo.

I told Smitty and Tony that I was getting rid of that Bananas membership, but I guess I'll hold onto it for one more year, so I can let Michael and the twins see the team play.

What an aggravation... but, it is what it is.

At least I've finally gotten all the winter bedding washed and dried so I can put it away.

Every cloud has a silver lining.