avenue Q at henry and waters

If I had been as early as I was last week, I might have missed my pew mates. 

See the thin woman in the blue dress, standing there in the middle?

She's Ellen and to her right is Amanda Kulkowski.

If not for Amanda saying my name, I might have passed right by, given my inability to spot people in a crowd.

But she did!

So I'm right there, beside Amanda, with my long hair loose and down for the cooler weather.

Directly behind me is Ryan McCurdy.

He, like Amanda, greeted with with a big hug -

how wonderful to be there with them this morning!

Why were we standing?

We were singing "happy birthday", facing the on-stage camera, to a house-bound old lady.

We could just as easily have been standing to belt out "Amazing Grace", though!

Did I say "belt it out"?

That means it was to the tune of "The House Of The Rising Sun"!!!

I do so love that version!

In fact, I love it so much that after the service, I fixed myself a snack at Holliday Hall and headed out to Greenwich, where I sang the first and last stanzas for Mama, Frank, George, and Miss Zaida.

That was great fun!

I was delighted to see that the big trees had weathered Hurricane Helene well.

I made a little stack of branches that were down.

Plus, I gathered up the bouquets and loose flowers that had been blown around.

Glad I keep large take-out bags in my car for when I have trash detail there.

 

Oh, I have just rambled on and not said a word about the GOB service, haven't I?

Well, the stage was populated with puppets this time!!!

"Avenue Q" was the featured choice, and we even had Ken Roberson - the choreographer of the 2003 musical - in the audience with us!!!

One of the songs, "There's A Fine, Fine Line", was sung by Alex Swanger as she operated the puppet, Kate.

Such a fun tune about breakups... but with a bit of a snarky side.

I admit, I wasn't very familiar with this musical, as I haven't seen it again since it was performed at Club One back in August of 2012.

I hadn't written much about it on fb, and I wrote nothing about it in my blog.

I feel sure it was because of the snark, and the mean tone underlying the words of nearly every song.

That's just isn't my thing, n'est-ce pas?

But it was good to see the puppets and be reminded of Angela Beasley.

butterflies, tacos, and a flashback

I took out some trash and recycling and caught movement out of the corner of my eye!

The butterflies and moths were supping on lantana nectar!

My bushes aren't nearly as lush as they have been in the past, but plenty of  insects thought they were still lovely!

My heart was filled with gratitude to be able to provide this oasis to the wandering travelers!

Soon enough, it was time to go see family at Jalapenos of Sandfly!

The Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta had arrived, and all the usual suspects were there!

I ordered three crunchy beef tacos again, and I'm glad I did.

Not for my, but for brother Tony!

He was glad to have one, with its flashback to dinners of our youth!

But be not confused - that's not the flashback referred to in the post title.

I'm getting to that, truly I am.

After dinner, I'd taken my busy, vibrant woman self over to Jenkins Hall on Armstrong, looking forward to a night of free improv with "The Last laugh".

Sadly, that must have been cancelled.

So I bopped over to AMC with my A*List in hand, hoping to get lucky.

Fortunately, the new movie, "Saturday Night", was in previews - 

right place, right time!

That movie was absolutely perfect for me tonight!

I was only 15 years old on October 11, 1973, when the show first aired.

What a flashback to that very night, tonight, exactly 51 years later.

Right place, right time, for a movie I'd not been that excited about... and that just may net me a trip to New York City!

The movie, almost a documentary, absolutely nailed the frenetic pacing of everyone involved behind the scenes of any show - whether a musical, a play, or a TV broadcast - in the last hour or so before the show goes live.

The casting director is to be commended, too, for perfectly assigning roles to actors that captured the look, sound, and mannerisms of the actual people in that first episode of the "Saturday Night" show.

How wonderful to see again faces long gone: Gilda Radnor, John Belushi, George Carlin, Jim Henson, Andy Kaufman, Michael O'Donoghue, and Billy Preston.

Bravo!

I was in search of laughs... and this movie certainly delivered!

Maybe I'll even give the television show, "SNL", another shot tomorrow night.

I've been out of the habit of watching it for years.

(smile!)

rockwell reception!

I know, that sounds like a party for the Flintstones!

Didn't Fred's boss have that surname?

Hahahaha!

Wrong Rockwell!

This little gathering was at the Jepson.

It seems like forever since I was at one of these!

Such classy little hors-d’œuvre we had, too!

That's butterbean hummus flatbread topped with ginger shrimp in the foreground.

The ball is mushroom risotto drizzled in butterscotch - that was definitely dessert!

Plus, there were mini-tacos of mojo pork - yum!

My thanks to the Wildflower Cafe for the catered affair... such a delicious tapas dinner!

Thanks to Vicki, too, as my dining companion there.

She volunteers at the SKIO aquarium!

(smile!)

That little feast, with me savoring at least three rounds of each nosh, served me well for the discussion ahead!

The museum has a new exhibit, "Norman Rockwell And Peers: Illustrating Childhood", with an informal Q&A between Erin at the Jepson and Judy Goffman Cutler, the woman who first drew interest to the original artwork done by illustrators of the first half of the 20th century.

Of those, Norman Rockwell is certainly the one I know best, remembering his covers on various magazines from my youth, as well as reprinted on calendars I've owned over the years.

That's Judy on the right, in pink, and she was so very informative about the history of Rockwell and other American Illustrators.

I guess so: she runs a museum in Rhode Island about what is left of their art.

Of the hundreds of magazine covers that Rockwell's art adorned, very few of his original paintings exist.

Those paintings were essentially regarded as drafts by the printing industry, and, once the image was set for the issue to be printed, there was no need to keep the painting.

Can you imagine???

However, that's the way it was.

Illustrators were not regarded as artists back then.

The only paintings that survived were ones that Rockwell, or other illustrators, kept for themselves or gave to friends.

Mind-boggling, isn't it?

I very much look forward to perusing the 20 canvases of his - as well as those of Maxfield Parrish, J.C. Leyendecker, Ethel Franklin Betts, Jessie Willcox Smith, and N.C. Wyeth - on some other occasion, but I needed to rescue my car.

See, I had parked in a space that I knew wasn't valid, but I did it anyway.

I figured that if I got a ticket, I'd let that be my "local citizen" freebie from Savannah Parking Services for the year.

But guess what?

No ticket!

i thank You, God!

(smile!)

Now, I'm going to enjoy a free musical!

Comcast has rewarded me with my monthly $1 Movie Night, which I'm spending on 2007's "Enchanted", with the fabulous singing of Amy Adams and James Marsden!

Seriously, who knew he could sing as well as play Sonic's adoptive dad?

(smile!)

milton, kirk, and leslie

The physicist and I have some of the most surreal textversations.

Case in point: the one from Sunday afternoon.

 

me: Just checking on you. How are you doing?

 

him: Hey thanks. Not too bad, I am working on a paper right now. What up with you?

 

me: Checking on Milton and Kirk and Leslie, making sure I know where they're headed.

 

[As of 11AM Monday, Hurricane Kirk was heading to Great Britain and France.]

 

[As of 11AM Monday, Hurricane Leslie was heading northwest toward the Sargasso Sea.]

 

[By 11 AM Tuesday, Hurricane Leslie was showing signs of dying right there, just as Hurricanes Lee and Margot had done last year.] 

 

[Then, at 11PM tonight, a curious thing was revealed: Hurricane Leslie had strengthened to Category 2 status and had turned toward the northeast.

That did not surprise me, as my monitoring of the NHC site foreshadowed that change.]

[Very early this morning, a low pressure system in the Atlantic - that orange X - had a 60% chance of becoming yet another tropical storm.]

 

[By 11AM this morning, Hurricane Milton, at Category 4 strength, was about to make landfall prior to charging across the width of central Florida. At that same time, the probability of that low pressure system strengthening dropped to 40%.]

 

[That probability dropped down to 10% twelve hours later as that low pressure system was caught between Hurricanes Milton and Leslie as Milton continued its charge east.]

 

[Hurricane Milton, by tonight a Category 2 after landfall, continued its speedy push toward the Atlantic coast of Florida.

I surmise that it was also pushing that former low pressure system, as well as Hurricane Leslie, across the Atlantic Ocean to send surf against west Africa.

I'll keep a close eye on both Milton and Leslie, but I feel safe in restocking the fridge.]

him: Are those the names of your brother's dogs?

me: LOL! Hurricanes. 

 

him: Oh those are storms. I literally just read an email from university communication saying they were keeping an eye on Milton.

him: The only Milton I can really think of was the writer.

me: This Milton is down in the gulf. The other two are out in the Atlantic. Kirk is sending surf to England (which I know Robb Worthington is going to love).

him: That's happened before. I think that was how the Spanish armada was destroyed... may be if I recall correctly.

 

I think he is correct on that.

That's the point in our conversation when we both decided a movie break would be good.

I've already hit on that earlier today.

(smile!)

2 hours, 18 minutes

"What's up with that funky title?"

That's the thing that all my A*List movies had in common. Each member of this week's trio had that same running time.

"That seems rather odd. No, wait a minute! Two of those movies were the same!"

That's correct! I watched "Joker: Folie a Deux" twice. I very nearly watched it two days in a row, back to back, but I took a day off to watch "Joker", as I haven't seen it since it came out in 2019. That's five years ago between that first one with Joaquin Phoenix and this second one. So, I'm glad I did took the time to watch it again! Comcast gave it to me as a reward this week, so I took that coincidence as a sign for me to do a bit of research. 

"Sounds like an interesting venture..."

Yes, it was. I had forgotten about this line 'Arthur Fleck' wrote in his journal. "The worst part about having a mental illness is... people expect you to behave as if you DON'T." That's the key to both of the movies. Well, that and the falsehood his mom told him so he wouldn't kill himself when he was younger.

"Yeah, that thing about 'he was born to bring people joy and make them laugh', is that what you mean?"

Absolutely. That's why he got a job as a clown. That's why he made up bad jokes and wrote them in his journal. That's why he wanted to be a stand-up comedian. He had been told for as long as he could remember that his special purpose was to make folks laugh. He just misunderstood. The people were laughing at him, as a person, not at his jokes or antics.

"Oh, that's so horrible and so sad!"

Right? And there was a series of unfortunate events that led him to prison. First, Arthur was getting beat up by young bullies for doing his clown job. Second, Gotham was having a war of the classes, with Tom Wayne - you know, the future Batman's mega-rich father - leading the struggle of the wealthy against the working class. Third, one of Arthur's fellow clowns gave him a gun for protection, even though they both knew their boss didn't allow weapons. So, the stage was set.

"Indeed. He was already taking 7 different medications, but those weren't helping. Than the social program that supplied him with a therapist was discontinued, so he didn't have that outlet anymore. Then he got fired for using the gun as a prop in his comic routine. Yes, life was not working in his favor."

Correct. So, when he was riding the subway home, he witnessed those three well-dressed young men bullying and harassing the young woman. His manic laughter after the woman left brought him to their attention, which led to them beating him up. Plus, they stole part of his costume. Arthur brought out the gun to even the odds... and lost control after pulling the trigger the first time. Perhaps it was shock that kept him shooting at them, shock that drove him to chase down the one that was getting away.

"Yes, that happens with people who are unfamiliar with guns. That's the danger."

Enter the media, reporting on the incident. Tom Wayne made out the three bullies as fine, upstanding, members of society with prestigious college degrees. The news revolved around "a clown" seen fleeing the scene. And, justthatfast, others embraced the clown makeup as a symbol of revolt, much as rebels had gladly donned Guy Fawkes masks. It didn't matter that the three bullies had been killed for being bullies, not because they were well to do. The misunderstanding was now etched into the mindset by the media.

"That's true. But Arthur Fleck believed that the crowds of people donning clown makeup or masks were in support of him for standing up to the bullies. He took that as a sign of him finally being accepted - no, lauded - by others. That gave him the confidence to try out his stand-up comic routine... and that brought him to the attention of a TV snark host, Murray. Then, watching Murray's TV show one night with his mom, Arthur was first thrilled to see that host running footage of him at the club, but them Arthur was appalled to realize the host was making fun of his act. 

"Yikes! That's right. That host was someone his mom adored. What a cringe moment for poor Arthur to have the man making him out to be a fool!"

Indeed. Then, Murray invited Arthur to come onto his TV show. And Arthur did, making sure to rehearse his entrance and rehearse what he was going to say. Had he planned to kill Murray, or did that just happen? Well, here's my take on that: you don't bring along a loaded gun if you're not planning to use it. It's just that simple. Perhaps Arthur didn't know it still had bullets, perhaps he did. In any case, he brought it with him, even practicing how he would pull it out.

"Very true. Then, he put on the clown makeup, too."

Well, he did that because Murray had referred to him as "a joker" when Murray was maligning Arthur's stand-up act. Arthur had believed his 'fans' would enjoy seeing him in that makeup on the TV show, so he'd carefully put it on before his entrance. He had artfully crafted that character specifically for Murray's show. I think Arthur was a little disappointed when he had to remind the snarky host of the origin of that 'joker' character.

"You know, that reminds me of that 'mercial where the woman's antidepressant meds aren't working, so she uses a hand sign with a fake smiling face to mask her sadness."

Exactly. Arthur was a clown because he could literally "put on a happy face" with that greasepaint, even though he was always quite unhappy. Being "a joker" was his bid for acceptance by others and his bid for fame on TV.

"Mental illness is certainly a tough topic."

That it is, and it's dealt with throughout "Joker: Folie a Deux", both his and that of others. For instance, Harley is portrayed as a celebrity groupie who sees the fame surrounding Arthur Fleck as her means to also get into the limelight. Her lack of self-esteem is reflected in the lyrics she sings. "If My Friends Could See Me Now" is her tune as she enters the courtroom where all know she is Arthur's love.  "There's a light, a certain kind of light, that never shone on me", she sings, as part of a duet of "To Love Somebody" on the "Harley & Joker" fantasy show. Then she says "I've Got The World On A String" as she becomes the media darling after convincing Arthur to fire his lawyer and defend himself.

"So this really is a musical?"

Yes, a musical about mental illness. Sometimes it's obvious that the song and dance routines are simply in the mind of the singer, but sometimes it's left for us to decide. For instance, are Harley's songs for real, or do they exist only in Arthur's mind? I know I speak often of my mental jukebox, but I don't mount a dance when a song gets cued up. For Arthur, the fantasy is everything. Everything. he doesn't even get that Harley's a celebrity groupie when she insists on putting the "joker" character makeup on him before they have sex in his cell. He goes along with her fantasy, not realizing she is part of the problem. She thinks "The Joker" is who he really is, not just something he created. In fact, his lawyer didn't get that, either. Her entire defense rested on "The Joker" being a split from his personality, a manifestation of his mental illness. He went along with that since the lawyer was convinced it would get his case a judgement of "not guilty by mental defect". That would mean he and Harley would be able to be together again.

"Wow. So, this was more akin to the darkness in Sweeney Todd than to The Joker as played by Jack Nicholson, right?"

Yeah, you could say that. I know I've very much enjoyed using my AMC A*List to see this musical twice. Who knows? I may see it again next week.

"What about the Coppola film?"

Film my ass. What "Megalopolis" clearly showed is that Francis Ford Coppola, at 95 years old, has lost his touch. There was a good science fiction story buried deep within all that hot mess - like, way down deep - but you had to wade through schlock to put it together. Here's how I knew it was no good: the physicist didn't want to discuss it afterward. He was the one who had been so hot to see it! 

"Yikes. That's pretty brutal if the bfe didn't want to talk about it after making such a fuss for weeks about seeing it."

Yes. Such a waste of a talented cast. Perhaps he should take a lesson from the 66-year-old Viggo Mortensen. His Western, "The Dead Don't Hurt", was incredible... and he even wrote the score and starred in it, not just wrote, directed, and produced as Coppola did. Maybe I can find that movie on Peacock to watch sometime... but, now, I'm going to enjoy the look and sound of "Warm Bodies"! That's still my favorite zombie movie. (smile!)

snap to my rescue!!!

I've been thinking about applying for nutrition aid for a couple of years, but didn't.

Was I embarrassed about needing to do so?

No, that wasn't the issue.

Was I concerned about looking for a financial hand from the government?

Nope, that wasn't on my mind, either.

Was I possible thinking they might deny me the benefit?

Ding, ding, ding!

Yes, honestly, that was what I didn't want: to be told "No".

However, after spending time in Kissimmee with my first niece and seeing first-hand the many financial benefits of her having SNAP, I finally took the leap...

and they caught me with open arms!

Mine is called Senior SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for those who are 60 years of age or older.

Not only was I approved, but the card has already arrived!

It even has funds already on it, ready to use!

I applied online in mid-September, and the approval is dated from that first application date, so the funds cover part of last month, plus this month in full.

i thank You, God!

 

I had just bought groceries before Hurricane Helene took out the power.

Having to throw out all that new food was so very hard on me.

I even used two bags of ice to try to save some of it, but to no avail.

Plus, all the other stuff in the fridge - sauces, dressings, minced garlic and herbs - all that extra stuff needed in bits and pieces for making a meal - all that had to be trashed, too.

Then there were the bags of frozen vegetables and the pork loin in the freezer... 

as well as two pork chops from the Texas Roadhouse Family Meal deal in early September... 

and an entire box of Outshine popsicles that had not even yet been opened.

I found out on October 1st that I was approved.

I fully expected that the hurricane would have delayed the processing of the EBT card, but maybe it didn't, as the card was waiting for me after my luncheon with Yvonne and her new neighbor, Toni.

Yvonne has been taking her around to local places, as Toni is from Long Beach, CA.

They've already done Kayak Kafe and Spanky's, but my fellow Armstrong Pirate didn't know about soul food at Geneva's!

This was my first time to the new location, off Skidaway instead of Victory, so I didn't know that water wasn't free.

But I knew to recommend the fried chicken and the cornbread to the newcomers!

Geneva's cornbread has been legendary for decades!

And, after our leisurely luncheon, I walked them around the building to enjoy the murals.

Very nice, aren't they?

Now, I'm going to make a list for the grocery story.

It'll be good to take advantage of soup sales with this cooler weather.

Then, I'm going to check on Hurricane Milton, in the Gulf.

No need to restock perishables if the electricity might go out, right?

But what a relief to know I have the funds from SNAP to do so,

when the time is right.

i thank You, God.

oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day!

All he was missing from the first time was that blue gingham shirt he'd worn!

He had the cowboy hat and the jeans and the leather vest still, but not that shirt.

That's okay...

the last time he'd entered singing that song was October 2, 2005.

It's quite likely that shirt doesn't even exist anymore!

"Oklahoma!" had been the very first God On Broadway (GOB) production here at Asbury Memorial, and Jeff and I were still newcomers at the church.

This musical had convinced me that this was the right place for me!

I remembered watching the movie version of the play with Mama several times over the years, with us singing along with the songs.

How wonderful to have heard those songs again in 2005, then again today!

Here, I was the only one turned around in my seat, awaiting his entrance, at 11:15.

Everyone else soon caught on, but I was the first!

"Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin' " as Rev. Billy "Curly" Hester entered...

"The Farmer And The Cowman Should Be Friends", with the choir members up on the stage all in costume and dancing...

"I Cain't Say No" from Cheri "Annie" Hester, with hair in two ponytails...

and, of course, the title song, "Oklahoma!", as a rousing finale by all!

Nice to hear "The Surrey With The Fringe On Top" and "People Will Say We're In Love", even without the words!

Yes, I just may have to watch the video of today's GOB service again!

What a blessing to have that option!

(smile!)

Oh, one more thing: a photo of me from the Sing & Swing!

I can't say which song I was doing at the time, but how cool that someone took a picture of me doing karaoke!

I found that little surprise in this month's church newsletter.

Hope we'll have another of those events sometime soon!

(smile!)

she was just 12 when this movie debuted

My first niece told me this 1995 movie was one of her favorites.

That had been a surprise to me!

When she'd seen that "Casper" was part of the NCG Family Fun Film Fest, she told me that we'd definitely have to see that one!

Apparently, the guy who played the friendly ghost was someone who was popular in some show she watched in the early 1990's.

I'm sure it helped that she was the same age as the girl played by Christina Ricci... who, come to think of it, also has her name.

(smile!)

When time came for the movie to be shown on the silver screen in Savannah, she was wrapped up in soccer and school and children's commitments and we were going to miss the experience of watching it together...

until I found out Peacock had it!

So, today at 11 AM, we did see the movie with each other...

just at separate houses, me here in town, her down in Hinesville...

texting back and forth occasionally with our communicators!

(smile!)

And guess what?

I really enjoyed the movie!

All those cameos from famous folks made it that much more fun...

and, in my eyes, really gave it some staying power.

Sure, the story was good and the acting was as well, but having some stars shine in it certainly attracted more attention and raised the ante.

I especially laughed at the antics used to rid the house of ghosts!

First, Father Guido Sarducci (of 1970's SNL fame) was called in for an exorcism.

Hahahaha!

Then, Ghostbuster Ray Stantz had a turn at the four ghosts - nope!

"Call someone else", he told them as he ran back down the steps!

Hahahaha!

Next, a construction crew was called in to demolish the house.

Not gonna happen!

Hahahaha!

As a last-ditch effort, the woman who inherited the mansion called in a ghost therapist who was seen in a TV "news" item.

Enter Christina Ricci as the tween daughter of said shrink, Dr. James Harvey, played delightfully by Bill Pullman!

Kudos to Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie for giving him a run for his money... and a fabulous "sword fight" done with the doc wielding a plunger against the trio's umbrellas!

Hahahaha!

I'm so glad to have "seen" this with my first niece!

I just may watch it again sometime soon!

(smile!)

now, and later

When I saw how the photo turned out, all I could think about was the candy.

 

Hahahaha!

 

I didn't even order a dessert this time!

 

Sure, I had the crunchy beef taco (as I call them), but rather than my usual order of one or two, I went ahead and got a trio.

 

I knew one would be going home with me... and they must have guessed that, too.

 

Why else would the folks at Jalapenos of Sandfly group them that way?

 

(smile!) 

It was so good to be there this week!

 

Helene had messed up our S&K Friday Fiesta time and we had all missed sharing this meal time.

 

I was just a little late, as I wanted to finish up the front yard.

 

I knew rain was coming, and it held off until I got the Ryobi back into the shed.

 

Even with the blade nearly on the highest setting, I'd barely been able to finish the other half yesterday.

 

I'm glad I was out there then.

 

I'd been out of sorts because my electricity was out until Monday.

 

Sonny Maness was driving by and stopped to chat, letting me know he still didn't have power.

 

He lives in my neighborhood, too.

 

And last night, while catching up on fb, I found out my cousin Lynn Lee, down in Waycross, still doesn't have power and is looking at next week before she will.

 

Nothing like a little perspective to make a person feel blessed.

 

Now, I think I'll watch a movie on Peacock - "The Grand Budapest Hotel" - and enjoy the fact that I have that option.

 

i thank You, God.

happy trio on my dance card

"Well, that's a nice change!" 

For sure, and one much needed after Hurricane Helene hustled through here, laying waste to trees and leaving folks powerless. 

Power crews from all over the southeast - and, rumor has it, from as far away as Canada - have been working from sunrise to sunset, nonstop. 

Folks didn't have an evacuation order this time, as Helene was supposedly to be running along the Georgia-Alabama border, only no one had cleared that with her.

That means that after all the hullabaloo was over in the wee small hours of Friday morning, Savannah and Chatham County were full of residents still.

No traffic lights, no electricity, and the only stores open were Home Depot and Lowe's.

Yikes.

That's what I found when I had ventured out Friday, hoping NCG Cinema was open.

Nope, it was not, so no "Megamind" for me.

Back home I went, and back home I stayed. 

The next day, about mid-afternoon, I went for a drive to charge my phone, but the charger died and went to hell.

I found myself all alone in the AMC parking lot, all its lights gone dark.

Although the traffic lights were out, KFC and Chick-Fil-A had been open for business.

So was Olive Garden!

So, there I stayed for a leisurely meal, with leftover Chicken Margherita for Sunday's breakfast, if I was lucky (and I was!).

Christina's Aunt Brenda was there, too, so I spoke with her a bit.

 

Then, on the way home, I drove past Tony and Laura's and pulled up in their driveway.

They had cooked ribs and were about to go to my house and give me some!

Instead, I came by later and watched the Georgia Bulldogs get trounced by the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Ouch.

Still, I know my brother enjoyed having me there to talk sports with him.

I enjoyed being there, too, with him and her.

And just how was it that we could do that?

They had a generator, and the media outlets were up and running, too.

 

Sunday, I went to Memorial Stadium, to fetch home two bags of free ice.

Laura had told me about it, so I had hopes of saving some of the perishables.

Nope, everything in the freezer was melting and had to be tossed.

I still had hope for the cheese, yogurt, and some other things in the fridge, so I worked on all of that, as well as cleaning all of surfaces, for about three hours.

Disheartened by having to throw away five bags of food, I went for a drive.

Hallelujah!!! The AMC was open!!!

John even plugged in my phone and let it charge for a while.

I stayed and watched "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" for the third time and had my spirits lifted.

(Hey, there's a pun in that line.. found it?)

Monday, I took myself to "The Wild Robot" again, with Sandy coming along.

This time, we watched in the Big-D, and I cried in the same places as I had before.

She very much liked it, too, and we met with Carolyn coming in as we were leaving.

And why was she there?

Partly because I'd let her know the cinema was open, but also to see that movie!

(She told me after that she very much liked it, too!)

 

Sandy and I tried to dine at Jason's Deli, but my order was so bad I returned it.

Dark was coming on fast, so she went home and I drove to Cici's.

Pizza, air conditioning, and "Nightmare Before Christmas" on the TV - perfect.

I sat right there and watched as the goblins tried "Making Christmas"...

and Sally tried to dissuade Jack from his plan...

and Santa was left with Oogie Boogie by Lock, Shock, and Barrel...

until Sally tried to rescue him, while Jack was being shot down as a fake Santa Claus.

Yes, I do so love that movie, and could hear the songs even with the sound off.

(smile!)

Then Laura texted: their power was on!

Dood even drove down to my house: my power was on, too!

And so it was.

Isn't that little yellow light the most beautiful thing in the world?

Yes, yes it is.

i thank You, God, and I thank Georgia Power, too.

Four days was too long for me this time, eight years after Hurricane Matthew.

That was different, though, as I was prepared for it.

I'll make damned sure to be better set should any other hurricanes come to visit.

Speaking of visit, I was expecting dinner and the new Coppola movie with the physicist.

That was to have been on Tina Tuesday.

However, J-Dawg has been having a rough go of it with his divorce.

We ended up sitting on the front porch steps for two hours instead.

Wednesday, we were to give it another go, as lunch and a movie, but that fell through on his end and I went ahead with my evening plans.

 

That left today to get in my third dance on this A*List, so I chose "Scarygirl" as my partner.

Good choice to go with the Australian flick from 2023!

I made sure to talk it up to Tom and Breeanna and they plan to see it now.

Like the other two movies on this A*List, the movie has a very good story, has excellent characters, and features voices that are not often heard.

"Scarygirl" also talks about being a 12-year-old foster kid, having physical differences from others, and the need to work together to solve problems.

Good messages in this post-hurricane, pre-election, state of Georgia.

mexican, murder, m&ms

Having missed out on my usual Friday fare due to Hurricane Helene, I remedied that.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't have wanted to be this close to the bar, but no objection tonight.

From this vantage point at the Jalapenos of Wilmington Island, I had a near-perfect view.

View of what, you may ask?

One of those big TVs that bars keep on sports channels.

Before I left home, I'd started watching the Detroit Tigers in their bid for a Wild Card for the American League in the MLB playoffs.

The afternoon game had not been going well, but it was on so I watched, hoping.

Top of the 8th, the Houston Astros are in the lead, 2-1.

Detroit scored four runs that inning, with three coming in from a double by 31-year-old Andy Ibáñez, after the Astros' pitcher helped by loading up the bases for him.

Wow.

How I would have loved to see that baseball game in person!

It's been a while since I've been in the stands to witness a game's outcome changing due to a change in pitcher.

Very nice for the Tigers!

The game was over about the same time that my Mexi-Chicken Bowl was all gone.

Off to the Tybee Post Theater!

I'd planned to buy popcorn and drink there, but I'd paid three of my dollar bills to Juan.

Why did I do that?

He'd given me a discount on my dinner, essentially making it free for me.

Well, actually, that would have been courtesy of Betsy Kameron.

She gave me a Jalapenos gift card for Christmas and I still had $12.00 on it.

Dinner tonight came to $12.83, so my plan was to use the gift card, then pay the balance with a credit card, so I could leave a tip.

When Juan saw the gift card balance, he lowered my tab, so the card covered it.

How very kind of him!

So I was kind right back.

(smile!)

The peanut M&Ms became my dessert... and, yes, they went on the credit card.

I still spent only what I'd planned to, and that was good!

 

Oh, did I mention that my entertainment was free?

It most certainly was.

When I'd seen the event listed, I'd reserved four seats, but I ended up the only one, as none of my friends, including the physicist, could make it.

A free premiere of GPB's new show, "The Marlow Murder Club", from PBS Masterpiece, and they didn't want to go.

I'm so glad I was there!

Here's the premise: a retired archaeologist, with a penchant for crossword puzzles, skinny-dipping, and words like "kerfuffle", moves to the small town of Marlow and gets involved with solving the murder of her neighbor.

I was so rapt that the ending caught me unaware and I gasped!

I've just let Jim Casey know about this new series, as I know he will enjoy it.

October 27th, that's when it'll be on TV.

I'll be sure to watch it, too.

Right place, right time.

 

Free Mexican fare with a side of baseball, free program pilot at Tybee, and a second event involving an archaeologist, too, at this venue, plus a lovely evening's drive.

The air is clear and clean, the weather song sings of fall coolness at night, and the heat index has taken a breather.

Marvelous!

scrabble in the dark

Remember the rules for hurricane play?

Okay, let us begin.

 

Friday afternoon, Game 1: 

wax - fawn - hoof - 

both - rioter - slur - 

axis - lore - spoil - 

shivs - lounge - grain - 

atria - rouge - gram - 

neater - matey - big - 

veer - depend - quo - 

punt - tack - pew - 

jaw - fancy - lend - 

doe - id - in - sez - 

lower - in - if

 

"Sez" was questionable, but all tiles were used.

That counts as a game "won" by the Right Hand and the Left Hand.

After Po' Girl Ceviche, I played again.

 

Friday evening, Game 2:

form - gram - ride - zone - haze - 

dove - coat + to - riders - jig - kept -

gifs - quid + do - ruin - knits - fawn -

baby - deny - colt - suet + tot - pacts - 

shoal -deal - trued - soon - wee - 

toy - meany - vim - rail - lava - tote - 

up - green - lie - sex - hi

Very nice, a second win!

Plus, Miyah lost a tooth.

Later that night I played again, after a 30-minute drive in the dark to charge my phone. 

 

Friday night, Game 3:

vowel - navy - bray -

beetle - forge - cider -

wooden - trainee - roomie -

waits - smoky - aloha -

idea - tile - jars -

joint - aura - faith -

squats - beet - egg -

gain - if - point - ha - do

Yikes - ten tiles left; major fail.

Saturday morning, I realized the problem may have been that Right Hand started out with "vowel" (its first word) running vertically instead of on the horizontal.

After shifting the tiles for a horizontal start, that resulted in "point" not being possible off the "i" in "gain".

Thirty minutes later I had 7 new words (exit - hand - zip - dot - up - us) on the board.

The game still was a loss, but only one tile - a "v" - was left unplaced.

That was a marked improvement.

That was also a lesson learned about the importance of placement of the initial word.

Saturday night, after watching football with Tony and Laura, I played a fresh game before bed.

Saturday, late, Game 1 of day:

clone - bearer - stub - deacon -

rail - exit - adore - mothy - owl -

voter - edit - fret - may - chain -

lows + to - mere - gap + ego + ran -

foes - gape - gaze - toga - qua -

chaining - zoo - in - square - in - 

pout - stove - jam + Maya - tibia - 

kin - led - eons - id

Such an interesting set of words!

Plus, the game was a win...

or so I thought.

Sadly, the morning light of Sunday revealed "deacon" had been misplaced on the board as "d-a-e-c-o-n".

After making the correction, several words had to be eliminated (gap-ego-ran, gape, kin, led, and id).

Drats.

 

New words were formed from the recovered tiles:

gild - keg - pal - uh - en - en

The game was still a "win", as all tiles were used.

But, just look at that ugly board!!!

So much empty space at the top left!

After cleaning the now-empty refrigerator, I went into the sunshine... and to a movie!!!

Then, as darkness fell, it was again time to play Scrabble.

Sunday night, Game 1:

bison - shad - halo - axe - need -

pipe - wine - pig - comb - tong -

crack - qui - aerie - waxed + id -  

quite - vine - ideas - ell - easy - 

taze - soft - jaunt - feint - grunt - 

dairy - rev - soy - drums - early - 

bop - tar - green - it - oaf + no

All tiles used up, too!

Very nice to go out on a win.

I had hoped that would be my last 

game in the dark, and it was, thankfully, 

as power was restored Monday just past dark o'clock.

Each game took about 60 to 75 minutes to play.

No scoring was done; that would have taken too long.

The goal was simply to use all tiles.

I'm so glad I had this game to while away the dark hours!