two teens for sbhf35 and sjcaf

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I can certainly understand that.

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

as if they had any choice in that.

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

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

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

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

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

 

For children Anne and Emmett certainly were.

Even the two who played them were teens.

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

Why Otto Frank and Mamie Till?

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

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

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

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

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

donor lesbian spider

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

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

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

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

"That sounds pretty hilarious."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

someone's mother, granting me music

It was Aaron Levy's mother, bequeathing this gift to the city of Savannah, for all.

Time had come for the Jack and Miriam Levy Memorial Concert, a free annual music event at the JEA, with the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra and three singers from the Savannah Voice Festival, with a wide variety of favorites to brighten spirits.

Hallelujah!

I'd spread the word to mi amigas, but Barbara was the only one who came.

Still, there were plenty of folks I knew there!

From my years as a Lucas volunteer, there were Jeff and Linda, as well as Maxine and Don "Trouble" Patterson - hooray!

From my years as a Savannah Music Festival volunteer came Alan and Leslie - hooray!

From my years at Asbury Memorial Church were Kathy and Preston Hodges - hooray!

From my attendance at this year's SJCAF was Katie Griffin - hooray!

And from years at MENSA dinners and parties was Flo - hooray!

Best of all, Barbara knew the last two, so she got to catch up with them during the dessert intermission, and after the show.

My favorites from the show?

Liz Lang, fresh from New York, doing "Don't Rain On My Parade" - quite upbeat!

Jessica Fishenfeld's "Blackbird", a tune from The Beatles that always soothes me!

Maria Zouves and Clay Johnson's duet of "Sunrise, Sunset", with that extra touch from two people who are parents - nice!

And, perhaps best of all, an Earth, Wind & Fire tune, "Got To Get You Into My Life" that I knew by heart... but had never thought of as a religious hymn...

hmmm...

I may have to suggest that to the folks at my church.

I may even volunteer to perform it.

(smile!)

Now, I'm going to dig into this farmer's dinner.

I've been looking forward to this ever since I ate the first slice of apple strudel at the reception.

Why was it so very tasty?

It was still warm!!!

When I had reached to take it from the tray, I'd been so surprised that I'd turned to Barbara and immediately let her know it was fresh from an oven...

then I grabbed a cookie from each of the trays of different styles.

The strudel was so good I got a second slice, and gobbled it down, confectioner's sugar and all.

The cookies went into my bag as we returned to the show.

Then afterward, the dessert table was still laden!

"Take what you want," we were told, so I'd grabbed two slice of strudel to go, this time without the white dusting of sugar.

Good!

 

Once I got home, I started working on tree trimming in the back yard.

Two hours later, I'd gotten much of the debris hauled to the front yard, for stacking at the curb before the truck comes for it on Wednesday.

What this photo shows is what I'd gathered after the first hour of toil.

Fortunately, the shade was on the yard while I was doing all the cutting and sawing.

Unfortunately, the sun was all over the front yard while I was hauling it to the front.

What a sweaty mess I am!

I look forward to a shower soon, but first...

the two slices of strudel with crispy pastry...

and hunks of cheddar cheese to set off the apples...

and some ice water to wash it all down.

Hallelujah!

ratatouille with a side of robbie robertson

Today was the final day of the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival.

I began my day with a trip to the JEA, then followed up with another this evening.

The "Food For Thought" at noon30 featured the vegetable dish I've only heard about in the little animated movie with the mouse-chef.

Yet, their new chef had it on the menu... so I put some of my entertainment dollars into an advance reservation.

Wow... such vibrant colors!

That's one pretty plate of food, I must say, with the spring green snap peas and the corn yellow polenta, and that lovely hunk of tomato-topped entree!

And just what was in that ratatouille?

Super thinly sliced squash and zucchini and carrot and eggplant, layered into a beautiful pile of alternating colors - 

truly quite delectable for the eye and for the palate!

In fact, I eschewed dessert for a second helping of this vegetarian feast and was quite stuffed when the speaker came on.

That's right, this $7 lunch included a talk, this time by Zelly Refson about the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover

I had not planned to stay, but I'm glad I did.

I'd never heard of Shavuot, the Feast Of Weeks, meant to mark the seven-week transition of the Jews from being bound by slavery in Egypt and being bound by the laws of the Torah.

She concentrated on the difference between two Hebrew words for freedom, one of which - חוּפשָׁה, pronounced similar to hauf SHAH - means the same thing as "vacation", of all things, and refers to a lack of being bound to duties to others.

The other word for freedom - חֵרוּת, pronounced hay ROOT - refers to a freedom of self to be true to one's innate character.

Very interesting.

(smile!)

 

After that, I bid adieu to my tablemates: Steve (who had spent time on a submarine) and Linda (who gave me an anglicized spelling of "cha-root" for that freedom of self); Joanna (who said she loved my name) and Bob (who is new to statins and diabetes and mourning the loss of his favorite foods); and Harvey (who was first at the table while I was enjoying the art). 

Speaking of that, this piece especially spoke to me, due to its multimedia construction (tactile bits of jewelry on the ladies!).

I thought they were playing Scrabble, but that was not it at all.

I wonder what the game was?

I'll have to remember to ask about that the next time I attend one of these luncheons, if the piece is still displayed.

Meanwhile, I had bills to pay and files to declutter and bag after bag of recycling materials to be taken out to the bin!

I'm glad that will be picked up on Tuesday!

By the time I'd finished all of that, it was time for a quick bite and a return to the JEA.

I had hoped Barbara and Sandy might join me for this final film of the festival, but their plans had gone sideways today and they could not.

No worries!

It isn't like I don't have some familiarity with these "regulars" by this point in the month!

So, popcorn and water in hand, I sat in the front row.

I knew this documentary, "The Jews And The Blues", would be one that I would enjoy, for the sake of the music especially.

And I did!

Drew Stone, the director, reminded me a lot of Henry Rollins - especially when he turned loose singing with a Israeli metal punk band - so that was a plus.

Plus he spoke with a lot of different musicians over there, and had a travelogue portion about his time in Jerusalem, so the different points of view were well done.

Still, he didn't have quite enough blues music for me, aficionado that I am.

So, before I wrote this, I pulled out my Robbie Robertson CD - his first solo one, from 1987 - and listened to the entire album.

I mean every song, all the way through, singing along through my tears on "Broken Arrow", singing along in my raspiest voice for "Sweet Fire Of Love", singing along on a mellow vibe for "Somewhere Down The Crazy River", preaching with him on "Testify" - wow!

What a rush!

I'm so glad that movie brought this particular album to mind tonight.

I think I'll have to keep it out for a while...

(smile!)

dancing with richard dreyfuss

I'm so glad that Sandy let me know about the free movies on SHOtime.

This morning, I chose a movie I didn't know about, one from 2018 with the quirky actor I've had a crush on ever since "The Goodbye Girl".

Sure, I know he was in "American Graffiti" four years earlier...

but I was just 15 then and that movie didn't really mean anything to me then.

Timing, folks, it's all about timing, isn't it?

(smile)

Likewise, "Astronaut" might not have meant as much to me five years ago.

Here, Richard Dreyfuss portrayed an 85-year-old retired civil engineer, widowed, and newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

That certainly got my attention.

There was no mention of what medication he was on, but I know he had dizzy spells.

That led to his daughter bringing him to live with her, her husband, and son, and their putting the his old house up for sale.

Serious loss adjustment for him... but he still had his telescope to watch the heavens.

His grandson liked to do that with him.

His grandson knew he'd always wanted to be part of the NASA space program, but had never had the opportunity...

and now there was a lottery to be the lone civilian on a commercial trip to space.

Well, life intruded, as it does, and Grandpa ended up in a nursing home.

His late-night hours had been determined to be too much disruption for the son-in-law.

So, Grandpa had loss adjustment again - and fought back by entering the flight lottery.

Of course, his name was one of the dozen chosen!

After announcing the names on the radio, the deejay played a really cool song and everyone started dancing, including me.

I even reversed three times so I could dance with Dreyfuss more than once!!!

And after the movie, I watched the credits for the song title.

"Got To Have It", from 2014, performed by jacksoul.

It was the only song listed.

Seriously.

The above song link is for the tune in its entirety, just as it was in the movie.

Seriously.

The entire song had been played, not just part of it.

Once I knew that, I kept rewinding to play and dance along with them!

When I looked for the song on youTube, the first link I found was this one.

A behind the scenes look at the song?

Sounded like my kind of thing!

That's when I found out the man who wrote it, Haydain Neale, died at 39, from complications after his bicycle was hit by a car.

The song had never been put on an album, so his bandmates had put together a finished song using the recorded bits they had of him singing, then the song had become very popular up there in Canada, where the group is based... and where this movie was filmed.

Very nice.

That led me to revisit the movie from Saturday at the JEA.

This year's SJCAF has had more than the usual share of hard movies, and "America" was yet another of that ilk.

Eli, son of an Israeli policeman who lavished physical abuse upon his son and his wife, had fled to the United States as soon as he had the money to do so.

His best friend, Yotam, was still in Israel when Eli came back to settle his father's estate.

Eli wanted to visit the isolated waterfall they'd gone to as kids, so Yotam went, too, but ending up falling and in a coma for more than a year.

Yotam's fiancee, Iris, had just met Eli and now, two days later, the man she was to wed was in a vegetative state and their future was on hold... so, she had disliked him.

Eventually, Iris and Eli had a working friendship, then more than that... and that's about the time that Yotam came out of his coma and started physical therapy for his atrophied muscles, requiring help from her and his parents.

Eli went back to the States, to get out of their way.

More time passes.

Then, one night, as the couple are listening to the TV, a story catches them: Eli has died, rescuing a child that fell into a river.

The next day, Yotam makes a pilgrimage to the waterfall... and that's when I started crying.

All I could think of was Christa and the corn maze she and I went to last fall.

I don't think I could go there again.

I gave Barbara and Sandy hugs in parting, then made it to my car before sobbing.

Perhaps the loss of the squirrel mistress was fresher for me because I'd received last week and unexpected, and very nice, 'thank you' note from her parents for the Arbor Foundation tree I had planted in Christa's memory.

Perhaps the loss of this friend was recently sharpened because I'd stumbled upon this book she made for me back in 2013.

She and I and Lauri were having a conversation about punctuation marks and dingbats and which ones were to be more highly regarded.

You know, one of those late-evening rambling chats promoted by a glass of wine or a margarita.

I had spoken at length of my love of ampersands: not just the look of them, but the writing of them, with their curves and flourishes!

She than surprised me with the book containing 19 photos of the symbol throughout her travels in Savannah, annotated and with a bibliography, too.

I'm fairly certain she gave it to me for Christmas that year, before she headed off to New York to be with family.

(smile)

I'm glad to know the fellows in jacksoul have that song out in the world, in memory of their friend.

I'm glad mi amigas were there at the movie last night.

I'm glad Sandy let me know about the free movies on demand.

Timing.

i thank You, God.

poland, italy, poland

Those countries that provided the cinematic backdrops for the last three films I've born witness to over at the JEA.

Barbara joined me for two of them, and Sandy came for the one on Saturday.

I'm fairly sure that's because that one had a dessert reception.

(smile!)

It also happened to be the most cheerful of the three.

Titled "Where Life Begins", it featured a citron farm in southern Italy, with much of the film in French, and had a quote from a book by Albert Camus that resonated with me perhaps as much as it had with the farmer.

But first, what made this citron farm so central to the movie?

It kept a patch of citron trees specifically for its Jewish customers, trees that had not been grafted onto other trunks for better yield and health, trees whose Kosher fruit was necessary for the 7-day celebration of Sukkot, all in accordance with the father's custom.

So, the fall season had come and the French sect had traveled to harvest by hand the fruit they would use in their religious ceremony.

The farmer, who had taken over the business after his dad died, allowed the group to stay on his land.

He struck up a friendship with the 26-year-old, unmarried daughter of the group's religious leader, a young woman under pressure to wed a young man in the group and follow in the ways of their culture... but she did not want that life, nor did she want to distress her folks.

She had found an anonymous online forum to vent her frustrations, and the farmer had noticed after she had borrowed use of his computer.

He knew about that rock and hard place, himself; his wife and children had remained in Rome when he took over the farm, in abeyance to his father's wishes.

Life was difficult, but he found solace at a secluded spot in the citron orchard, at a high point overlooking the Mediterranean sea, a spot his dad had called the Garden of Eden.

Very nice inside joke from the writer, non è questo?

And just what was the quote from the philosopher?

"Sometimes different is simply having the courage to be yourself."

Of course that would speak to my heart!

It spoke to hers, too... and eventually to his, as the film's end found him again in the little garden clearing overlooking the sea.

(smile!)

So, that was Saturday.

Thursday held a matinee screening of "The Barn", a film from 2017.

So, here's the history of how that film came to be.

As a 14-year-old, Rachel Kastner's class had gone to Poland, as part of their studies of the Holocaust... and she met Paulina, the woman who had helped hide Rachel's grandfather from the Nazis when he was just a young boy.

Captivated by the encounter, Rachel had returned home, determined to bring her Grandpa, Karl Shapiro, back to the area with her, to meet the very old Paulina.

Her grandfather finally relented and joined her when he saw that she was determined to go, either with or without him.

The film is a documentary of their travels, with Rachel insistent on finding the barn under which the Jewish families had been hidden until freed when the Russians took over.

I very much liked Shapiro.

He knew that his granddaughter thought he needed closure, so he had gone with her, knowing full well it was she who needed to put his past to rest.

I look forward to seeing it when it's screened again, next month, to coincide with her visit to the JEA... and her luncheon with President Biden later that week!

Pretty exciting!

(smile!)

Then, tonight, was a piece of history that no one in the audience seemed to have known: a student rebellion in Poland, over a censored play, that led to the eviction of all the Jews in that country.

And just how far back in time was that?

Back in the 1930's or 1940's?

Nope. 

It was early March of 1968, hence the movie's title: "March '68".

Yes, 1968.

The film is full of American music from that time, something that really surprised me - songs such as "Route 66".

No one seemed to have an answer as to why that was in the soundtrack.

Perhaps that was to reflect the unrest in Europe through the lens of that in the USA?

Perhaps.

I can only say that I, as well as everyone else there, had come for the love story between a Protestant boy and a half-Jewish girl, as promised in the film synopsis.

Sure, we did get that... but it was wrapped inside a story of generational bias and government shenanigans on behalf of ethnically biased leaders.

Definitely not what Barbara or I had expected.

All in all, this trio has been rather sobering and a bit sad.

Here's hoping the final two films of the SJCAF will put a happy cap on the festival.

 

As for me, I get that right now, thanks to Comet TV and the Universe.

One of my absolute favorite episodes of "The X-Files" has just started.

Yes, that would be "The Unnatural", granting me baseball and humor!

i thank You, God.

And here's something I had not realized before: David Duchovny wrote and directed it - how cool is that?

It makes me wonder... does that animatronic coin bank, with the baseball player who tips his hat as he takes in the deposited dime, belong to the actor/writer/director?

My money (all puns intended) says it does.

Now, back to the story of the alien who just wanted to be a man...

stormtroopers and high fashion!

I know, I know... but, trust me, the two went together tonight!

First, though, we dined!

The JEA feted us with chicken pesto pasta - yeah, trying saying that three times very fast! - and, as seems to be the case, we wore mismatched clothes.

That's to say that I was dressed nicely and he wore a T-shirt.

Ah, but not just any old T-shirt!

This was the one that started him on his path of attaining clothing that made folks take notice.

Purchased prior to seeing "Evil Dead: The Musical" and sitting in the splash zone, he proudly showed off the stain near the bottom.

(smile!) 

He went to that with his sister, in Ohio, while he was on sabbatical; I had seen the show in Las Vegas with a groupon, back in 2013.

We always talk about that un-shared memory when that musical comes up!

(smile!)

This "Starry Night Stormtrooper", as I have dubbed it, combines two of his loves: art and science fiction.

Most of the others are purely physics, a third love.

All, except for the the one with Oskar and Klaus, have a dark background.

Nice, n'est-ce pas?

(smile!)

So, why the switch to French?

Le film de ce soir se déroulait à Paris.

Remember when the physicist and I went to see "Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris"?

Well, I had made sure he knew about this SJCAF offering.

After all, "Haute Couture" makes a nice counterpoint, looking at things from the perspective of the women sewing, rather than those buying.

The head seamstress is about to age out of her job at the French fashion house.

She had followed in her mother's footsteps, choosing to pursue a career path identical to that which had stolen her mom's attention when she was a child.

Her daughter was not interested in doing the same.

However, the nimble-fingered pickpocket who stole her person showed promise... if she could only convince the girl to learn the craft of working with fine materials.

Very interesting movie!

What truly captured my attention to the details in that salon of seamstresses was a piece of fabric being handled and smoothed prior to the art of "measuring twice, cutting once."

As I whispered to the bfe, "I used that for my wedding dress."

I had recognized the peau de soie instantly, seeming to feel it under my fingers as I watched.

As I told him and Barbara (she had joined us for the movie), that material has the weight of brocade, but the sheen of satin, making it perfect for the skirt of my wedding dress.

Perfect.

When my bfe took me home, he walked me up to the porch...

usually he gets out for a parting hug and watches to make sure I get in safely...

so I asked if he'd like to see the dress I made.

Oh, most definitely!

So I brought it out of the closet, letting him first get a feel for the skirt's weight, pointing out the lining, too, as well as the high-low design of the hemline.

Then I emphasized the four different types of lace trim used, with none of it having roses.

There was the swirled pattern for the bodice overlay and sleeves -

then the fine strip with little pearls at the tips of the sleeves -

plus a bouncy flounce with Romanesque fountains above the skirt -

and a heavy, ornate piece to accentuate the bosom area.

The princess seaming, lined with seed pearls, was outlined for him, too, with me explaining why I had chosen to make this dress more than thirty years ago.

You see, when I married the first time, I was 19 years old, in a rush, and just bought a spring-time dress off the prom rack at the store.

For this second marriage, 14 years later, I wanted a real wedding gown.

I was still in grad school, so my budget for such was quite limited.

All the gowns that appealed to me were going to cost thousands of dollars...

but, thanks to Mama, I knew very well how to sew and had made my own clothes for years.

So I then turned my attention to patterns, searching out high fashion designs.

Then, having found the one to use as my basis, I set about getting the fabrics and trim.

Aunt Linda allowed me to use the sewing machine at her house, so that was good.

I spent at least a month putting the dress together, after shopping for twice that long.

Peach satin for the bodice, peau de soie for the skirt, all those different laces...

worth every minute of time spent.

All in all, the dress cost me about $300, a fraction of what a bridal shop would have charged.

I had meant to change it up after the wedding, transform it into a fancy evening gown...

but I hadn't the heart to deconstruct it.

It was such a labor of love for me.

After the physicist left, I wondered...

would it still fit, 55 more pounds and 30 years later?

To my amazement and delight, it did!

Well... mostly.

I didn't bother with the zipper in the back, just the hook and eye at the neckline.

(smile!)

signalling for help from one of the richest guys ever

Jason had posted about the SavRepTh play a few days ago.

 

me:  

Hope I get a chance to see it. I'm already so busy this weekend...
hell, this entire month!
It's like everybody is trying to show us what they got!

 

Jason Arons:

Faustina Smith right? I need to get my ticket for Once and just found out the
Scad musical is Pippin!!!
 

me:

Shiite. The Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival is going on through the 

rest of the month, too.
Just a surfeit of culture out there!
You watch, in May there won't be much of anything.

 

I went ahead and "stole" the Bat Signal from his page.

If anyone could aid me financially, it's Bruce Wayne, right?

(smile!)

 

Just a few moments ago, I struck up a chat with JinHi about the situation.

 

me:

Hope I get a chance to go [to the SavRepTh play]. 

SOOOOO much going on this month!
Budget can't handle all of it...
 

JinHi Soucy Rand:

Faustina Smith, oh, I know!
Especially this weekend, but I hope you can make it!
 

me:

All month long. 

Savannah Children's Theatre, Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival, Cinema Savannah, school theatre, SCAD Theatre.

There were two plays last weekend that I totally missed b/c I didn't find out in time to plan for them and already had other events going on.

 

Honestly, I think I am one of the few that tries to support a wide range of troupes.

As for the SJCAF, I don't think folks even had that as a radar blip.

There's supposed to be a fb page that keeps track of all theatre being performed in town, but they leave out far more than they include.

I guess I'll just catch what I can...

and pay the piper later.

Hooray for plastic!

(smile!)

coming in like a lion - RAWRRR!!!

No, I'm not referring to the weather!

It's been positively balmy and so pleasantly warm that I might think I was in Panama again.

The weather has been utterly delightful.

The cultural schedule, on the other hand, has gone stark raving mad!

Yesterday, I found out that the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival has started - as of February 25th, in fact - and spent some time trying to figure out how to fit its ten remaining movies and four days of film shorts into my life.

You see, I already have a full weekend, with Cinema Savannah on Friday, a play at SavChTh with mi amigas and dinner after, and a rare Bollywood at the Trustees on Sunday.

Also this month I'll have my first live Banana Ball with Scott by my side...

and three medical appointments...

and at least two events to usher at the Savannah Music Festival...

and Savannah Repertory Theatre's first play of the year...

and Christina's bday40...

and who knows what I'm overlooking right now...

for real!

Busy, vibrant, woman... I guess I better shift into high gear!

I'm just a bit out of practice, right?

Between three years of pandemic and the A-fib last year?

Mentally, physically, I'm just out of practice with juggling so much stuff in person.

Hey, one breath at a time, one day at a time, one event at a time...

I got this.

Starting with a table full of New Yorkers and a plate full of falafel at noon30 today.

And just where was I?

At the Savannah JEA, starting with the "Food For Thought" luncheon -

it remains the best meal in town for only $7.

Four balls of falafel, two pitas, plenty of tzatziki sauce and "Israeli salad" -

think pico de gallo with no heat -

and lots of conversation about Brooklyn and the Bronx and Broadway!

Very nice!

Then came the movie, "Israel Swings For The Gold"... and it was all baseball, baby!!!

What a grand opener for my SJCAF!!!

Compiled from the handheld video cameras the ballplayers were given upon arrival at their quarters at the 2020/2021 Olympic Summer Games, it was a lot of boys being boys... and I do love that silly stuff!

They were new to the world of the Olympics...

they were new to the game of baseball...

and many were even new to being Israeli citizens.

So, add it all up and there's a bunch of missteps along the way, but also a lot of heart.

I guess I missed the fact that they were novices when I heard Israel was one of the six countries that would play baseball on that world stage.

Honestly, I couldn't say I would have seen their games on US television, except for their second game, when they played against this country and lost badly.

But I would have missed their first game, versus South Korea.

That's when their starting pitcher blew out his arm in the first inning.

Not good, especially as they didn't have another starter.

Still, they gave it a good try, actually making it past the first elimination round.

What a good movie!

(smile!)

Now, I hear the back yard calling for its turn beneath the Ryobi...

here I come, weeds!

(smile!)