not a tiara, but still a crown!

First, assemble several different types
of silk foliage.
Be sure not to use fresh flora, so the
result will last for many years.
Next, gather ye rosebuds, as well as
a variety of other silken flowers.
Be sure plenty of color and texture
abound options!
(smile)

Then gather together the creative fair maidens -
and knights, if any desire to assist -
around a worktable, with plenty of room
for creativity to take hold.
I am seated at the top right position,
wearing Mother Pat's red summer dress
from her winters on Kauai, the Garden Island.
How very appropriate for this day!
(smile)

Finally, show off your flower crown,
ready to wear for the next Earth Day
or any other occasion desired!
(smile)
Thanks, Megan Soucy, for providing your
photo studio for this craft day!
Thanks, Kristian Reinhold, for guiding
our hands and providing the abundance
of supplies for only $25!
Thanks, JinHi, Ashlee, and Andrea, for
joining me for this day of fun and laughter!
Thank you, God, for guiding me to this day
of creativity with other women -
what a fabulous birthday60 event!
(smile)

wonder woman and nematodes

It all started with this photograph from last month.
I was at the Super Summer Shindig fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House and I sent this, along with the one of me with the clown, to Jeff the Ex.
After all, I knew he would know this character had meaning for me and that place had meaning for him.
We had shared a few words and then signed off.
Two nights later, he sent me a photo of him with a Wonder Woman!
As I recall, he was at a beer festival or something, there in Rome.
I mentioned that he looked like he'd lost some weight. He replied that it must have been a flare-up of the pancreatitis he'd had two weeks earlier. (Yikes! That, and precancerous intestinal polyps, have been going for four years now.)
Naturally, our talk turned to him having a better diet. Just simple changes, nothing extreme: more fish and chicken, less sausage and beef.
He told me he had some tuna he should probably eat, as it had been in the freezer for at least six months.
I told him that it would probably taste okay, but the texture would be off.
Then, of course, I gave him a science lesson.
"I think the extended frozen state is to blame. Water takes up more space than ice, even when that water is in muscle. That's why I think cryogenics is not workable. The human body is made up of more than 70% water, with much of it within and around cells in all organs, blood vessels, and brain. That water expansion during the freezing process would burst many, if not all, of those cells. Consequently, the person would be dead, not just frozen."
Pretty cool, and gruesome, right?
Best of all, I hadn't even known I'd thought about the topic.
Not the first time I've done that!

I gave no more thought to the topic until this morning.
Over coffee, I was reading the "News of the Weird" and came upon this story.
"Russian scientists have revived two ancient, frozen roundworms, or nematodes, from samples collected in the Siberian permafrost, The Siberian Times reported on July 26. [Same date as our conversation above!] The worms, were found in cores taken from 30 meters and 3.5 meters deep, are believed to be female and 41,700 and 32,000 years old, respectively. After collecting the samples, scientists slowly thawed out the worms, which eventually started eating and moving. Scientists from the Institute of Physico-Chemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science in Moscow believe the nematodes have some adaptive mechanisms that may be of scientific importance."

Another article revealed that the nematodes were found after "more than 300 samples of frozen soil of different ages and locations throughout the Arctic" were thawed. The worms were found in two of those 300 samples.
Therefore, it's fair to say the scientists had no idea that the samples had any animal life forms when they harvested them. Nor did they have any idea the samples contained any animal life forms "until they had slowly thawed the samples". How they found the worms in the samples is not given.
The worms were placed into Petri dishes with a nutrient medium "for several weeks". That's when they were noticed to be moving.

Apparently, though, that as not quite correct. In the original scientific article, small samples of the frozen soil were placed in the Petri dishes, in a nutirent-rich medium, then monitored over several weeks for roundworm activity.
Two different species were found: Panagrolaimus aff. detritophagus (Rhabditida) and Plectus aff. parvus (Plectida). Bear in mind that both of these species are tiny, on the order of 0.4 to 0.7 millimeters in length. That equates to 0.04 to 0.07 centimeters - or, for those here in the USA, about 1/64th of an inch.
These tiny, near-microscopic bacteria-eaters basically consist of a digestive tube, with a mouth on one end and an anus on the other. That's fairly simple, compared to higher orders of fauna... like us. I would expect their water content to be quite low.

So, based on the reported data and my own research online, I hold with my argument: cryogenics is not viable for animals with high water content.
We'll have to see if science can disprove that hypothesis.
(smile)

waiting for new Bananas in May

Why would I have to wait until spring for this fruit?
Well, baseball in Savannah is well and truly done for 2018.

The Savannah Bananas lost tonight's Playoff game, not even making a single run.
I do hate it when I'm right... but I forecast this loss two days ago.
No, I had not said they would be scoreless - just that the game would be a "true championship bid", not the easy romp they had, and have been having, in most of their Southern CPL Division games this season.

The Highpoint-Thomasville Hi-Toms, who were clearly there to play baseball, must have wondered at first if they had stumbled upon a carnival there at Grayson Stadium.
However, they soon realized they were at both.
They repeatedly ventured in front of their dugout to take in "the show", laughing at the antics of contestants and ballplayers alike, even whipping out phones to record the zaniness... and the response in the stands.


That bothered me.
I don't consider myself to be part of "the show" - but was I? Was Willie?
To an outside observer, clearly we were.
I understand now why Lauri and Lynn felt embarrassed by the sideline games and opted out of being season members.

But the Hi-Toms' reactions to us didn't sway me tonight from my enjoyment of the game!
Tonight's "The Star-Spangled Banner" was performed a la Jimi Hendrix, as he played it almost fifty years ago - very stirring!
Hard to believe he'd have been 76 years old this year... but we never think of him as old and gray.
In actuality, Jimi was born just four years after Mister Willie.

Speaking of baseball's biggest fan in Savannah, here he is!
(No, the person, not the Big Ass fans - nice joke, though!)
He's having a chuckle with his favorite young woman, Kayla Jones, the one who makes sure his chili dogs are fresh and hot and his Coca-Cola is nice and cold!
Mister Willie has invited her to come see him at church... maybe she will.
I hope so - I know he'd love to speak to her again!

In the meanwhile, he and I will await more baseball to come, though perhaps not as good a baseball game as this one has been.
True, the Hi-Toms emerged victorious, with three runs, but it was a good game, well-played by both teams.
I'll be watching to see how the 'visitors' do in their Championship games over the next few days.
Hopefully, Savannah's team next year will be in that position, just as they were in 2016.
(smile)

Farewell, my 2018 boys of summer! I have so enjoyed watching you play!
How did I know it was baseball and not a carnival?
Mister Willie Smith was right by my side.
(smile)
i thank You, God.

banana-covered bacon sundae!

So, sorry to disappoint, but I'm not talkin' 'bout a recipe, so search on!
That title is just me being punny!
(smile)
The Savannah Bananas had yet another rare Sunday game, but not part of the season.
No, this was a Playoff against Macon Bacon, our closest contender in the CPL South.
I'd like to say it was a good game, a tight game, a close battle...
but it most certainly was not.
Still, it was quite entertaining and quite a wonder for us fans at Grayson.
How so?
Almost everyone on the Bananas' team scored at least one run.
No, seriously.
Almost everyone on the Bananas' team scored at least one run.
Only one player - Hunter Wilson - did not.
But don't cry for him, Argentina.
The man had three RBIs!
Only one player - Justin Dirden - surpassed him by having 4 RBIs.
(smile)
I know... that sounds like a lot of runs for the home team, doesn't it?
And it was.
Let's roll the tape, shall we?

Here we are in the first inning.
The first batter, Cole Parks, can be seen safe
at home plate, thanks to Cade Marlowe's RBI.
Run one for the Bananas!

Three minutes later, Justin Dirden had his first RBI
as Clay Dungan scored!
(That would be Clay's first run of the night.)

No action for the Bananas in the second inning,
but the third proved more fruitful.
(See that little joke I slid in there?)
Hunter Wilson's first RBI brought Clay home once more,
for the Bananas' third run.
(Nice little 1, 2, 3 for the stats!)

Barely one minute later, the fourth run was scored
for the fans at Grayson Stadium!
Bill LeRoy's only RBI gained Jake Sullivan safe
passage home - nice!

The fourth inning added exactly that many runs
to the Bananas' score!
Here's the first of those four runs, made by
Connor Basler.
That was Cade Marlowe's second RBI, too.

Then it was Cade's turn to come on home
for run 6!
Good work on that second RBI, Justin!

Now watch closely...
Hunter Wilson had just singled to second base,
allowing Jake Sullivan to come in again,
this time for run 7...

followed closely by Justin Dirden scoring run 8!!!
That's 2 RBIs for Hunter that inning!
Woohoo!

Hold everything!
Did you see that???
The catcher for the Bacon made an error and vastly
overthrew to first, trying to catch Connor off base.
Garret Delano stole third and scored run 9!
But wait... there's more!

While the above was happening,
Connor Basler stole second...
and the third base coach waved him on in to home...
slide, slide, full-body slide!!!
Whew, safe for run 10!!!
What a crazy seventh inning that was!

Even so, the eighth inning was even wilder.
Clay came in for his third run of the night...
and right n his heels was...

Cade Marlowe for his second run home...
all thanks to the single by Justin Dirden
as he gained another 2 RBIs...
and the Bananas' score rose to 12 runs!

And the inning rocked on, with Justin advancing and
Bill LeRoy successfully landing on first.
Then Garret Delano approached the plate...
and knocked one out of the park!!!
Justin was in for lucky run 13!

Bill was in for fabulous 14!
Both men then stood at the plate, waiting,
while the team headed out of the dugout to
join them there...

as Garret made his way around the bases in
his victory trot!
Amazing!!!
I'm so glad he had runners for this home run!

Then the game was over, well and truly.
Macon knew when they came up to bat for the
ninth inning that it was simply a formality.
They had 4 runs to the 15 scored by the Bananas.
Still, they were gentlemen and good sports,
congratulating the home team on their win.
Wonderful!

Looking for more photos?
(smile)
Well, here I am with Bill LeRoy.
This was before the game.

Here's Willie with Berry Aldridge.
This was prior to the game time, too.
(smile!)

And here I am - at last! - with the team's mascot, the King of Potassium!
I get to call him by his nickname, though.
(smile)
See you on Tuesday, Split, for the Playoff against the Hi-Toms!
Now, that promises to be a true championship bid!

sweet end for season three

What a season-ending game
this last one has been!
Not only for the home team,
but also for the visitors.
For the Florence RedWolves,
it must have seemed like something from a dream.
Over and over and over, the bases were full of 'Wolves...
but they just couldn't get a man home after that first inning.
The one run - thanks to a wildly outside pitch - was the end of
their summer of baseball.

Not so for the Savannah Bananas!
Everyone already knew they would go on to play another day, as they won the first half of the season on a rare Sunday game, guaranteeing them a berth at the playoffs.
The home team will host at least the one playoff round tomorrow, again on a rare Sunday of play.
Tonight's win, though, is thanks to Garret Delano.
He single-handedly won the game by getting the only other run by either team after the second inning.

Sing along with - I know you know the lyrics of this one!
"A-roundin' third, and headed for home, it's a brown-eyed handsome man..." - oh, yeah!
How appropriate, since he truly does have brown eyes!
As I told Willie's wife, Gloria, when
I recapped the game for her, Garret is the cutest one, with long, curly dark hair down to his shoulders...
she appreciated that, totally!
(smile!)

Now, I don't mean to imply that the other fellows in yellow are not P.Y.T.s, because they certainly are.
Truly, how many young athletes are not, n'est-ce pas?
I caught Clay Dungan as he was getting a pre-game soda and he graciously posed with me.
He has been featured in my previous baseball musings, of course.
(smile)
(I had thought he was winning an award tonight, but it went to pitcher Elliot Forde instead.)

Mister Willie graciously posed with me, too.
This time, he didn't even ask why I was taking so many photos!
(smile)
He's a blue-eyed handsome man, but his pro-ball son has brown eyes.
(smile)
I have to wonder if the son is a superfan, like his dad... maybe I'll have to ask about that!
What a blessing to share summer Savannah baseball with this man!
i thank You, God.

Until tomorrow, sports fans, when the Bananas battle Bacon...
sounds like something Elvis would approve of, especially with some peanut butter!
(smile)

not my Elvis, not an ETA

All "The King" had to offer me were some insights into the life of Elvis Aaron Presley.
At one point, the camera came to rest on the tiny house in Tupelo where he lived as a child.
The neighborhood is quite rundown now and may have been then, sixty years ago.
For whatever misguided reason, the director had brief talks with the current residents in the film.
I have to agree with Richard Brody's review on that point: the director had a political axe to grind and Elvis' name was the attention-grabber he used.

And how did the director manage to work Elvis into the story line of this political diatribe?
He bought one of Elvis' cars to use as a hook: a silvery blue Rolls Royce, from 1963.
But he didn't realize that the car would be more than that for some of the musicians and celebrities and youth allowed to ride in it.
John Hiatt (now 66) teared up while holding his guitar and looking at the world through the right-side window,

as Elvis once did.
Chuck D (now 58) admitted his mistaken youthful assessment of Elvis and his song choices.
Mike Myers (now 55) had deep insights on the deleterious effect of celebrity on personal life, as did Ashton Kutcher (now 40), who has been famous for half his life - much like Elvis was.
Being in the public eye allows no privacy.
The media constantly has microphones and cameras trained to gather information... to feed the public's manufactured appetite and the media coffers.
As Owen Glieberman wrote, " “The King” captures how Elvis, while he was blazing new trails as an entertainer, was being eaten alive by forces that were actually a rising series of postwar American addictions."
Addiction to consumerism, addiction to advertising, addiction to the world of "never enough" - addictions which are reflected to this day in the American economy.



My favorite part of the film, though, is Elvis singing this song.
"Unchained Melody" was released by three different artists in 1955, when Elvis would have been 20 years old and his beloved mother was still very much alive.
I can imagine him and her singing it to each other, just as Mama and I would do for favorite songs on the radio... favorites like "My Girl", that always bring her to mind.
Elvis had never recorded "Unchained Melody" until 1977.
Then at his last television appearance, on June 21 of that year, he performed it for the first time to in public.
That would also be his final performance of that song, as he died six weeks later.
I have to believe he was singing it to his mother.
The nineteenth anniversary of her death was fast approaching and he was tired and he was ill and he was missing her still.
He died on August 16, 1977, four days after that anniversary.
I have to believe he was singing it to his mother.
That's certainly what I would have done...
and may do, as January 2, 2021 nears.

i thank You, God, for this moment of insight.
i am not alone.

bananas in mudville

Just two hours earlier, the
Gastonia Grizzlies were watching
a giant cave-man baby stomping
around atop their dugout as their
starting line-up was announced.
(No, I missed the joke.)

Just one hour after that, the men
known as the Savannah Bananas
had been transformed into boys
playing at slip-and-slide on the
tarp's water puddles.
Quite entertaining!

Entertainment is the name of the game here at Grayson Stadium these days and nights.
When the forecast called for rain -
pardon as I steal this, Robert Cray -
the tall man in the yellow top hat and tails changed the audience's gaze from the tarp being dragged over the soon-to-be-soaked field to up, up, up in the stands!

See him over to the right, yellow garb gleaming against the green backdrop of the trees?
He had the inflatable monkey in one hand and the huge banana pool float in the other!
Time for the crowd to propel the two balloons around the stadium to the other side!
Which would win the race???
The monkey did, thanks to Mister Willie's major assist to its journey!

How about having the Bananas Pep Band play a few favorites for the crowd?
Great idea - so that's what they did, playing three songs and getting folks on their feet!
That was followed by the garbage-can-nachos eating contest!
A little YMCA sing-along!
Dancing 1993's macarena (brought back to life in "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation)!

Okay, that was fun for twenty minutes... what to do next?
How about having two guys try to catch bananas in oversized - and colorful! - pants?
Sure, let's do that!
The folks always like that... but it needs to go for more than its usual 60 seconds.
How can we do that?
Just throw more bananas?

What would be the fun in that?
Everyone will know we're just artificially prolonging the game...
which they'll figure out anyway...
so we have to make it more
entertaining...
Here's what we do!
Have Jesse move all over the stadium so folks can see him in
their sections!

That's how it came to pass that Jesse Cole, the yellow-tux man, clambered all over the stadium, tossing bananas toward the two young men down in the front row.
And the audience, including yours truly and Mister Willie Smith, enjoyed the spectacle and laughed and clapped!
After all, we had all come to be entertained...
and we most certainly were.
The baseball game was rained out,
but the show went on!

family time!

How very nice to see Bonnie
yesterday!
Yep... on a Wednesday!
I don't recollect how she
managed to get the day off,
but I am so glad she did!
She even found someone to sit
with her mom on this weekday!
What a special treat for me!
And she insisted on paying
for our meal at El Cinco -
what a wonderful on-and-only
ever-lovin' stepmom!

Twelve-year-old Merritt was there, of course,
looking more and more every day like a younger
version of my Daddy.
Bonnie says my nephew has the same easy-going
nature and sweet attitude, too.
Now, if we could only wrest that phone away
from him once in a while...

... not that he's the only one with tiny screen
fever, as evidenced by his younger brother.
Conner may be ten years old, but he certainly
acts like he's more like 7 or 8.
Perhaps part of that is his size, as he's a bit
small, both in stature and build.
School is about to start up again, so I hope
that will help mature him a little more.
That would be good for Grandma Bonnie!

What else was good for her - and for me and for them - was having this breathing space together yesterday. Lunch at a favorite Mexican restaurant - que bueno! A funny movie that made us laugh out loud - "Hotel Transylvanie 3: Summer Vacation", the same one I'd seen a few days ago with Ronnie - what a howl! The hope for another rendezvoux in the next month or so - let's certainly hope so!

Speaking of my middle brother, I saw him again today!
Incredible, right?
His daughter, my first niece, had contacted me to say she needed to see him.
She'd had a scare when she saw a man by the side of the road on Monday and could not rest until she saw her dad. She talked to him to ask him to please consider sobriety, please.
Of course, he declined to do so.
She and I went ahead and treated him to lunch at Carey Hilliard's anyway.
Maybe one day he'll change his mind...
one can only hope.

i thank You, God, for the blessing of time with family.