MLKjr and the bfe at tybee!

Though I must admit I don't have a photo to mark that.

In fact, the only photos I took at Tybee Post Theatre were of the couple - Sharon and Craig Butts - chosen to host a Q&A session after the movie.

The reason the physicist came was his curiosity about the HBO documentary.

That was part of the reason I was there to see the 2018 "King In The Wilderness".

The other reason I was attracted to the event was its price: free!!!

The film was very well done, incorporating lots of footage from the years it covered, which were 1965 to 1968, when he was killed in Memphis.

There was also some good commentary and memories from folks who knew Martin Luther King, Jr., during that period of his life, though there was some intimation that he foresaw his death.

I was touched most by his 39th birthday at home, surrounded by his family and friends, pledging to them that he would make time with them a priority upon his return from Tennessee.

How blessed they were to have that happy memory of him as their last one.

So, what of the questions asked and answered?

That was a bit of a mess.

Sharon teaches sophomore English at Richmond Hill High School and she wrote questions designed to start a conversation, not to evoke definitive life answers.

The folks there today really had a time trying to stay on topic without white guilt creeping in.

But the movie?

Excellent.

Afterward, the bfe wanted to fried catfish.

Off we went to Papa's for that dish!

Unfortunately, it closed early... so we went to Carey The H on Skidaway Road instead!

It was on the way to my house, so that made it perfect for us.

That's his iced tea just past my crispy french fries in the above photo.

My Brunswick Stew is almost all gone, too!

That's because we were both so hungry that I almost forgot to take a snapshot.

He had stepped out to the loo, so he wasn't there for a photo op.

(smile!)

So good to have seen him again so soon!

We're planning on another dinner-and-documentary evening at month's end.

Sweet!

vampires and the physicist!

A movie and slunch with the physicist was had today!

Quite a treat to have his company again so soon!

We last met up just two weeks ago, and that was a movie and luncheon, too.

This time, the film was one that was on his wish list: "Nosferatu", the new version, with Willem Dafoe and Nicholas Hoult.

It wasn't anything I might have seen on my own, but it was quite well played and was very true to the feel and story of the 1922 vampire classic.

He very much liked it, which was good, since the last one he chose was so poorly done.

As we were watching the credits, he asked me who the guy was who played 'Thomas Hutton".

"That was Nicholas Hoult," I said.

Nope, that name rang no bells.

So I rattled off a list of movies: my absolute favorite of his, "Warm Bodies"; the fun live action fable of "Jack the Giant Killer" in 2013; him as one of my favorite authors of my youth in "Tolkien"; him as a balls to the wall War Boy for "Mad Max Thunder Road"; with my other Nicolas in "Renfield", ripping off a bad guy's arms to beat him with them.

Nope, none of those rang a bell for the J-Dawg.

So he looked him up, using his communication device, and realized how he knew Hoult's face: it was from "The Great", a TV series on Hulu.

This more serious role gave him a real appreciation for Hoult - good!

After, he wanted french fries and I had a gift card from Tony and Laura to Texas Roadhouse, so there we went!

And guess what?

We both ordered fish and chips!

Well, kinda sorta.

(smile!)

He had fried catfish and steak fries; I had grilled salmon with baked sweet potato.

Like I said, fish and chips!

Maybe that can be our little inside joke.

(smile!)

As we have done so many times, we sat and talked about a myriad of things for about two hours, with Maya checking on us every so often to see if we needed anything.

Nope, we were just fine!

Throughout our bread course, our salads, and our dinners, we talked and talked.

I have enjoyed that with him for so many years!

Looking forward to more of that next year!

(smile!)

sharing Christmas with the physicist!

That very nearly rhymes, doesn't it?

"Sure, if you're playing fast and loose with the rhyming rules. Just like me claiming that what I wrote just now was a rhyme."

Oh, I get it! "Loose" and "rules" - you just have to slur over that hard "L" in the second word, like ignoring the "T" in "physicist". Still, I guess it couldn't really be called a poem quite yet. A few more lines would definitely be needed to have poetry.

"For sure. So, I take it that Tina Tuesday was spent with J-Dawg?"

Yes, it was, g'friend! What an unusual time it was, too. Can you believe that I convinced him to go to an animated film? Truth to tell, he probably wouldn't have agreed if the characters spoke.

I'm sure I wouldn't have asked him to go, either, had that been the case. But Carolyn had steered me to "Flow", and I did the same to him once I saw it was carried over for a second week at NCG.

"That's the foreign film about the cat and the tsunami, right? That did look quite interesting!"

He and I agreed and, as it was cheap movie day, we went to the noon30 screening. I was surprised that about fifteen people joined us for it!

"Very nice! That bodes well for such an artsy film. And was it good?"

It was delightful! I may have startled folks there with my laughing, but the kitteh did such patently kittenish things that I just couldn't help it!

"Oh, my! Did he laugh, too?"

Really, that isn't the sort of thing he would ever do. If we were at each other's house and watching it, he might have joined me a couple of times. But in a room of strangers? Not likely. Still, he didn't get up and move away from me, so that was good. (smile!) 

"That's not his way. He's quite supportive of you."

Yes, he is, isn't he? That makes him my bfe, as he's a keeper. (smile!) And, as I'd paid for the movie, he treated us to our luncheon at Jason's Deli! They were having a "2 for $20" special as part of their '12 Days of Deli-cious' promotion. We both ordered monster baked potatoes and the two drinks, then sat there talking and eating for the next two hours! It was great!!! I'm considering that a Christmas luncheon, for sure, especially with the movie. (smile!)

"That's what I'd do! Long afternoons with him are super rare!"

They're practically nonexistent, but winter break is here now. I'm hoping we'll be getting together next week for "Nosferatu", as he's already told me he wants to see it.

"That starts Christmas Day, doesn't it? That might make for a nice afternoon, perhaps with a meal somewhere afterward. Chinese at eTang would be great!"

Yeah, we'll see about that. Today was just so wonderful!

"What's up with the three photos? That's like something you'd get out of photo booth at the fair or a theme park."

Exactly!!! (smile!)

even tinier than expected

"What's that, dearie?"

His new kitteh. He's named her Emily.

"Oh, my, yes, she's quite tiny. About two months old?"

He says she's five months old. He also seems to think she's as big as Chloe was.

"His old lady cat that died a few years ago? She was pretty large!"

That's what I told him. Still, he has it in his head that Emily is that size.

"Doesn't he have paintings of his other cats? He could compare this new one to those."

Actually, part of his housekeeping changes with the divorce was throwing out all of that. I don't really understand why. Perhaps he and The 'Cole spent time together during those painting sessions, with him doing that while she did something else, but both in the same space. Like I said, I don't know why, but I do understand the need for a dramatic change when a relationship ends.

"Yes, but you didn't throw out anything you had created as an artist. You painted every room in the house with bright colors!"

Not quite true. The pantry has yet to be painted. (smile!) Plus, I wouldn't call the colors "bright", just definitely not in the realm of "eggshell white" that they were. "Warm", that's what they are.

"Yes, dearie. So, back to this evening. How did that go?"

He'd cooked dinner, something called "General Tso's Tofu", and it was okay. We'd talked a bit before he served it up, then we watched "Wicked Little Letters" while we ate.

"Oh, that's the Olivia Colman movie he'd wanted to see!"

That's right. And get this: he'd saved it to watch with me.

"How very nice! Knowing he could have watched it any time, how truly wonderful that he'd waited to see it with you. He's a good friend."

Yes, he is. I was quite touched that he'd held back on seeing it.

"So, y'all have future plans? I hope?"

Not anything set in ink, but school is almost out and he wants us to do dinner and a movie at his Osprey Cove nest in the next two weeks. I suggested I bring a pizza. Maybe I'll pick up one of those Margherita pizzas I so like at Publix and bring that! We could even cook it there and chat while it was getting done. Oh, I do like that idea!

something different at the cinema!

Yes, it's a Monday and I'm at the cinema.

 

That's not so unusual these days, except... 

I'm there for an evening movie!

 

AMC has a "Screen Unseen" here, in the 'Vannah!!! 

The only hints are these two: it's rated "R" and the runtime is 2 hours and 30 minutes.

I was there a little early, so I treated myself to wondering if Red One and Krampus were brothers for other mothers or from other fathers.

 

I'll have to see "Red One" again and search for clues!

 

Meanwhile, the horror previews have run me out of the screening room, toward protection!

 

Who better than my co-star, Chris Evans, to ward off those horrid sounds?

 

I wonder if he even remembers me from that "Pain Hustlers" shoot on Ogeechee Road?

 

I'll always recall that conversation I had with his hair stylist on that set!

Then, Carolyn arrived and we went to the mystery movie screening room.

 

Would it be an Indian movie???

 

Nope.

 

It was "Gladiator II", which I had already planned to see Thursday.

 

The movie was good, but not what we had hoped would be shown.

When I returned home, my car had a treat for me: a special odometer reading of 237723!

 

That was three pairs, but only two counted for poker, giving me two pair, 7 high.

 

Then the bfe texted, with a photo of his new kitteh!

She's such a tiny tortoise-shell beast, and a cutie...

but she's no Contessa with her peach blur of beauty.

 

I look forward to meeting her and finding out who she is.

(smile!)

blasting through the airwaves, it's...

"Hey there! My number has changed!"

"How have you been?"

You may have the wrong number.

"Oh no I do not because this is the new number of..."

 "Jeff Secrest!!!!!!!"

 "Do you remember Jeff Secrest from such adventures as.. let's go to Jacksonville but to to geez I can't remember that town in Georgia that starts with M that Smitty's kid lives in..."

"Or eating pizza while watching a doc on beats..."

"Look at my cat!"

Hey, kid!

"Hey there! How you doing?"

Where you been?

"I thought I would check up on you!"

"I went on sesshin for a week, had the flu for a week (yuck), worked on the compressive program report for a week or so."

"What's been up with you?"

 

She is so tiny! And gorgeous! I am doing well! Had cardiac ablation on the 7th, now not on sotalol any more. Yeah!

 

"What!??!!! Is that another heart surgery?"

 

Yes, but now on one less drug.

 

"Holy moly! How are you doing? That sounds serious..."

 

Still have post-anesthesia brain, makes me a little slow.

 

"I have another friend that is loopy for like a week after surgery... you said this was on the 7th?"

 

Had atrial flutter, heart rate was steady 107. Way too high. So doc put me in hospital.

 

"How quickly were they able to cut on you after being admitted?"

Best part was they let me wear the socks I brought. :-)

"Geeq Louise... how long was that after your surgery? How long were you in the hospital? Which one were you in if you don't mind me asking?"

"Are those compression socks?"

And I have these cool souvenir buttons! Doc looked at my a little funny when I asked for them. LOL!

Just fuzzy warm socks with tread on the bottom.

"Ahhh good comfort socks!"

"You are home now?"

Oh, yeah.

"Ahhh sweet! Are you able to move around or it is too soon after surgery?"

Was at St. Jo for surgery on 7th, kept overnight, out and home by noon the next day.

Back to my usual 'busy, vibrant woman' self!

Couldn't drive until the 11th, been out and about ever since.

Went to Tybee Post Theater this afternoon to see "Ragtime", for instance.  :-)

Just a little slower mentally. Been getting better daily. Blood pressure and heart rate are great.

When did you get a new phone number??

"I got the new sim Chip over a month ago but I did not have the install until Friday."

Change. Yes, I'm aware of a need for change after divorce.

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!)

flashback: 14 september 2014

Once upon a time... 

 

This tale is from a decade ago, but it began a few years earlier.

That was 2011, after my stepdad died and I inherited a share of what was left of Mama's estate, eleven years after her death.

I became Fliss of Kickstarter, helping dreams come true!

One of those I helped was a musician, David Lareau.

His dream was to get his CD, "Hugs From Distant Neighbors", produced, and that became reality in 2012.

As he was a Tallahassee native, I had a dream of my own: to go hear him and his band, The Copperpots, play.

 

The stars aligned in 2014!

 

The 319 Wine & Cheese Shoppe was hosting him for their Friday 'happy hour', so south I went!

I even had company for the drive: Jeff Secrest came along to meet my cousin and hear some music!

 

Here's the caption on fb for this photo: "Just David, no Copperpots this time - very nice acoustic set and then he came over and had a beer and talked with us for a while. Woohoo!!!"

I even had him sign the CD.

(smile!)

We spent the night with my blue-sky Penny and her hubby, Steve, there in Tall'ee.

The next day, we ate cold-cut sandwiches and had lemon cake for dessert.

We visited with Aunt Linda, too, who came over to coach Jacob and Alex in math.

Then, at some point, we returned to Savannah.

Those are all the details I have from that fb post.

Glad I took photos!

(smile!)

let there be.... sushi!!!

Hallelujah!

That itch has been thoroughly scratched!

When the physicist arrived for our luncheon and asked if I had a hankering for anything in particular, sushi immediately leapt to mind!

That meant I had to tell him about seeing the documentary about the octogenarian again, the one we'd seen together so long ago.

Yes, he remembered that one!

And when he asked where to dine, I said "the place on Montgomery Cross Road", and he'd said, "oh, that's a good place, but I never remember which way its name goes."

That's when the correct order, and the name, popped up for me: Sushi Time Towa.

Yes!!! I love that place, though I haven't been in years!

They even had a luncheon special that looked very good to me...

ah, too bad it's only or Monday through Thursday.

That's when the J-Dawg said, "What day do you think today is?" 

Pause... wasn't it Sunday?

No, yesterday was Sunday, right, since I watched Billy's sermon "live" on youTube...

so, today must be Monday???

But it was Labor Day... which is always on a Monday!!!

Hooray!!!

So we both dined for $18.95 on the sumptuous feast provided by one weekday special!

Salad with ginger dressing, a beautifully-plated California roll, two pieces of tempura shrimp, two pieces of tempura vegetables, a generous helping of teriyaki chicken with vegetables, and a pillowy mound of white rice - and the waiter even brought us an extra plate to split it!

Wow!

Plus, we had lots of talking, too!

He's working on contacting his subconscious mind and I told him about my blog chats with myself and how helpful that is for working through issues.

I also told him that there's a T. S. Eliot line that helps trigger talks with my inner mind.

"Terrence this is stupid stuff, you eat your victuals fast enough."

[Though, just now, when I looked it up, I discovered I've credited the wrong poet.

I should have said A. E. Housman instead.]

"In fact," I told him, "I need to contact my subconscious about this loss adjustment problem I am having that has my sleep schedule screwed up."

So, we talked about Barbara and Kal, about that case still rocking on because the phones are locked, about my apparent need to have some resolution, about me waking up at least six times last night, about me being up until 2:30 AM or later and that causing me to wake up later than I like.

At least "Toon In With Me" had a theme of movie genres this morning, so I got see chuckle at Daffy Duck as a detective in a 1952 film noir spoof called "The Super Snooper".

(smile!)

That alone should have clued me in that it was a weekday, right?

That show isn't on Saturday or Sunday.

And, yet... it took the bfe's asking me "What day do you think today is?"

LOL!

What a fine way to spend a couple of hours today: in his company!

(smile!)

I'd already started out with a fine breakfast, using a chunk of leftover cheeseburger with lettuce and kosher dill pickle slices.

Thank you, Tony and Laura, for that party yesterday!

(smile!)

Then, for dinner tonight, I polished off the half-rack of ribs my other brother had brought with him to the Friday Fiesta at Jalapenos.

Smitty had texted first to confirm that I would be there.

Hooray for ribs for Labor Day!

Thank you, brother mine!

(smile!)

Now, I'm off to meet Carolyn at the cinema.

We're going to different movies, but it's still a chance to see each other.

I'm seeing "The Crow" again, she's seeing "Deadpool & Wolverine" once more.

What a full holiday weekend it's been!

(smile!)

dessert 1st, please

I finished mowing the front yard and helped myself to a lime OutShine popsicle.

That's my usual treat for that chore.

The time was 24 minutes 'til 8 PM.

So, that meant I was also essentially having my dessert before my dinner.

The Peace Guy would be so pleased that I am continuing our little inside joke.

(smile!)

Honestly, every time I eat dessert before my meal, I think of him, up there in Atlanta.

I really should give my Rogue a call and see about making a visit up there to him and Princeton.

I wonder what flights are costing these days?

Not this weekend, though.

Tony and Laura are having a big Margaritaville party again this year and I've been invited!

Hence, the need to get out my Ryobi these last few days to tame the yards.

When I say 'tame', that's exactly what I mean, too.

I am so tired of mowing all that grass!

As I told the physicist in our textversation, this task is cutting into my social life.

That's because I can't go out to mow until the shade covers the yard and the weather has cooled to something bearable.

That means no earlier than 7 PM, +/- a half hour.

Well, guess what?

That's when most social events get started!

What's a girl to do???

I'll tell you what I've done.

I have cut that grass to within an inch of its life, in both the front and back yards.

Seriously.

With any luck, the dry spell we're having for the next seven days will curtail new growth.

I'm planning to not drag out the Ryobi again until at least the 9th of September!

Hooray!

Two weeks vacation from grass maintenance!

 

I had intended to have the final mowing yesterday, but then it rained.

So, to perk myself up, I stopped in at Jason's Deli for a treat: dinner for a few days.

I bought a Salad Bar and a Kid's Chicken Penne Alfredo... then I packed out treats from the salad bar while they prepared the pasta.

The Broccoli Salad, with the pasta, was slunch when I got home.

The Red Pepper Hummus, with four pieces of garlic Toast and three mini-cornbread muffins, served me well as dinner last night.

Two of the boiled eggs went into a tortilla, with Mrs. Dash's Lemon Pepper and a packet of Mayo, for an Instant Egg Salad sandwich for breakfast today.

I plan to do the same tomorrow with the other two boiled eggs.

 

For dinner tonight, I cut up the red onion rings, the red pepper slices, and the zucchini strips and sauteed them with some of the Spicy Giardinera.

That all got mixed together with a can of tuna and some jasmine rice, and I have enough for a repeat tomorrow.

Plus, I still have cauliflower florets topped with Corn and Black Bean Salad for Wednesday!

Four dinners, two breakfasts, and a slunch: all for less than $17.

Thanks, Jason's Deli!

All I added was the tuna (85 cents), two tortillas (50 cent each), and the rice packet (1.29).

The mayo was free.

(smile!)

Can I stretch a budget or what?

And it's so nice to have things already mixed and ready to go.

I'll have to do this again when I'm tired of cooking.

Now, time for a little mindless TV - "Name That Tune" - and a little mindful TV - "The 1% Club" - with both on the one channel.

I'll only need the remote for the political 'mercials.

Speaking of that subject, Reverend Billy actually preached about the Blond Man on Sunday.

He sure did!

His very first sermon back from his summer off in New York City with his first grandchild, and it's a humdinger.

Wow.

Oops, time to go!

n-o-what?

There were three homophones that popped up while I was going ape with the bfe.

The first was N-o-a-h, as in my step-nephew.

His name came up while we were at Jason's Deli for our luncheon.

I had mentioned that I will be Dane-sitting this week while Tony and Laura are in Missouri for Noah's high school graduation.

Noah will remain there rather than come here for the summer... he has a girlfriend now.

LOL! Poor Laura was so hoping he'd come for one last time!

(smile!)

The second was N-O-A-A, as in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That came up during the luncheon, too, as the Northern Lights is a hot topic now.

Him being a physicist, he knew about NOAA.

I showed him the photo taken by - the ex? Amy? a friend in Michigan? - and we both laughed about the giant smiley face!

When I told him that the light phenomenon was supposed to be more visible earlier in the night, like an hour after sunset, he'd nodded.

"It's because of the angle between the Earth and the sun," he'd said.

Good to know - I'll pass the word along!

(smile!)

The third was N-o-a, though we didn't know the spelling until the credits rolled by.

He requested that our movie be "Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes" - which truly was a surprise to me! - and we saw it in Big D, naturally.

(We were running a little late, as we didn't get our tickets for the 1:00 PM show until 1:22 PM, but we still had two previews to watch before the movie began.)

So, we're watching the ape flick, having flashbacks to the reboot movies, as well as the five in the original franchise, and trying to figure out where this one is in the saga's timeline.

The central character, a chimpanzee of the Eagle Clan, is named Noa.

He thought the name would be with an "h", I hoped it would be without.

I was right!!!

Thus, this post was created.

Ta dah!!!

Got to have a little magic!!!

(smile!)

it only takes a taste...

That song from "Waitress: The Musical" always brings to mind something Frank Sinatra once said, according to a book the bfe bought during my Midwest-Canada Adventure.

Here's the new obstetrician, recently moved to this small town, following his wife as she completes her internship at the local hospital.

There's the best pie maker in town, creating desserts as well as savory concoctions with unusual pairings of ingredients and quite fanciful names.

The Mermaid Marshmallow was the one she brought in to the OB-GYN office when she found herself unexpectedly knocked-up.

That pie had been a favorite of her previous doctor, the one she expected to see.

That one, the one she'd had since she was born forty years earlier, had retired.

So she found herself in the care of this young, odd, man who had not eaten pie for years.

She left it with him anyway... and it worked its magic on him, loosening him up to accept this new life he had in this new town.

The next time they meet is at the bus stop, him because his car had died, her because she had no car and always took the bus.

And as they talk, a spark flies between them.

"It only takes a taste, when you know it's good..."

That scene, and that song, are not the only reasons I love this movie.

The three waitresses - creative "Jenna", ditzy "Dawn", brash "Betty" - remind me of three others - "Alice", "Vera", "Flo" - in a TV show I like.

This movie even has a cranky cook - "Cal" - that mirrors the TV's "Mel".

However, no one makes pies on "Alice", and even if they did, they wouldn't call them stuff like "Betrayed By My Eggs" or "Pursuit Of Happiness".

I do like that spark of imagination!

Thanks, Comcast, for gifting me this $1 Movie Night reward.

So very good to see it again, even on my Element instead of a silver screen!

I'm going to enjoy it multiple times until Sunday night!

may day, the e-tang way

"What's an e-tang, chica?"

 

Actually, that's E-TANG, all caps, my dearie, and it's an Asian restaurant that the J-Dawg selected for our overdue dinner.

"Looks very nice! Why that one and not one of y'all's regular haunts?"

'Cause both of us were in need of something a little different. I'd made a mental list of places for him - Betty Bomber's, Your Pie in Sandfly, Chili's, Sisters of New South - and he met me with a list, too, of places he "never gets to go". I heard 'Chinese' and that's all it took! None of my peeps ever want luncheon at those.

"That place looks pretty ritzy..."

Well, although it looks pricey, it really was pretty moderate. Most of the dishes were about $20, which seems to be the mid-scale range these days, ever since the minimum wage was raised. The portion sizes were plentiful; both of us ended up with leftovers. Then again, that could be because we had an appetizer. Cucumbers and garlic!!! Pretty damned scrumptious!

"Very good! And how was he doing tonight?"

Delightful!!! In fact, he was sashaying up my sidewalk as I was leaving home, all smiles and light! Turns out today was his last day with this class he got stuck with and that he's been hating. I was so glad he was feeling so much better than two weeks ago!

"Most excellent! A sad bfe is a sad thing indeed."

Indeed! He's also quite excited about his trip to New York. I hadn't realized that was coming up so quickly! I really had thought it was later in the month, or maybe even in June.

"Trip to New York??? Oh, is that where the ashram is? Is that the trip you mean?"

Exactly! I am so glad they granted him three weeks there!!! We talked quite a bit about that adventure he is going on! He's opted to stay in a tent, so he's had to shop for all of that sort of thing, and plan his way from the airport to the ashram, and plan what all he is taking, as he has to be able to fit it into a backpack. I'm rather excited for him!

"That's good, and it'll be good for him to have a change of venue."

Most def. He's already planning to request an extension once he gets up there, maybe even spend most of the summer there. Not really a vacation so much as a grand, meditative, mellow, adventure!

"That's wonderful! I saw that excellent recommendation you wrote for him, so I know you truly do wish him the best."

But, of course I do! He's my bfe! He truly has been so stressed out for so long. Not hat I haven't been stressed, too, with three different house insurance companies since November, plus double bouts with poison ivy. Now, I've got the stress of all the little decisions that go along with having my Living Trust redone... ack! I told him it's like I've always heard from folks who are having a house built. There are a million little decisions, like what hinges do you want on the kitchen cabinets and do you want door pulls or eased edges, and what finish do you want on any metal? What type of material should the doors on the cabinets be, and should there be panels, and if so, what design? And none of that even includes what color of paint, or stain, and what type of sheen is wanted. Ack!

"Seriously, you talked to him about your Trust???"

I did. We even kinda sorta closed the place down discussing all that. He had been shocked at the cost, but that made more sense to him once he realized what other documents are all part of a Living Trust, like the Power of Attorney, the Health Directive, the Will, the funeral arrangements, and the movement of all assets into the Trust. It really is a lot to take in.

"And just how did y'all get into that heavy topic?"

He asked what I'd been up to. So I started talking about the review online that I'd just finished of the 170 pages - yes, that's right, 170 freakin' pages - and how time-consuming that had been. Plus, that was my second review of all those pages. SmithBarid uses some program called Loom for that and it's default speed is "1.2X normal". Ack. I had been so rattled after the first time! So I took about two weeks off, then went at it again, but at "normal" speed, and that was much better for my reading of the document. I also turned off the sound, as the talking of the paralegal as she led me through it was a real distraction.

"I see. And what did he think of all that?"

I think it rattled him a bit. That's normal, though. I hadn't thought of such things until I was 50, and that's his age now. Not that I don't still get rattled about all the decisions involved with death and who will have the responsibility of dealing with what I leave behind. Neither of us have children, so there's the very real question of what to do with our stuff, especially financial stuff, and who gets it. He does have The 'Cole, and the responsibility of such things would fall onto her unless he arranges for someone else to serve as Executor. Decisions, all these decisions.

"Yikes. Damn, g'friend, I thought you were intent on him having a mellow night."

I was, and I think he still did, though he does have more food for thought now. We plan to get together one day next week, too, and maybe have lunch and a movie. That will definitely be lighter and brighter! Maybe we'll even watch something over here! Peacock has a batch of new movies, as I found out when I got home. Guess what I watched??? Never mind, I gotta say it now: "The Kentucky Fried Movie"!!!

 

"Holy shiite! That flick you saw at the drive-in in 1977???"

 

The one and the same! So much nudity!!! So much sex!!! It was in the genre "Raunchy Comedy", and I latched onto right away! And guess what else? It had Henry Gibson, as an advisor for the dead. LOL! He had three things to never do when you're dead:

1. Do not drive.

2. Do not operate heavy machinery.

3. Do not talk.

 

"Hahahaha!!! That's some good advice!!!"

Yep! Sure was an interesting cherry on top of this day! Maybe Peacock, or some other channel, will have "The Groove Tube". I think that could be pretty funny to see again! I'm sure the physicist will enjoy it, too. Let me see if I can find that...

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!)