blessed to be a veteran

Happy Veterans Day to former sailor me...
and all those other military veterans, too!
My day began with brunch at Chili's, dining on
free Margarita Grilled Chicken,
with free iced tea, too, courtesy of Kevin -
yes, my Tuesdays-with-Kevin Kevin!
He had reminded me Saturday night of the deal at Chili's, then agreed to meet me there on Sunday.
What an extra-special November 11th!

That evening found me again with a free meal,
this time Fiesta Lime Chicken at Applebee's in Pooler.
Was I dining alone?
Nope, not hardly!
Barbara and Carolyn were with me!
We'd been to the Royal for the "Thugs of Hindostan",
a super-fine, spectacular, swashbuckling film!
(Aamir Khan, you are on our radar, man!)

On Monday, the 12th, I dined at Red Lobster
for a post-laundry slunch.
This free Lobster and Langostino Pizza -
sans cheese, of course - was fabulous!!!
I most definitely will return for that again!
(The Tuna Poke was very good, too, even though it
was not part of their Veterans Day promotion.)
Part of the pizza went home with me and became
my breakfast this morning - woohoo!

After a meeting of the Coastal Empire ACS
concerning the SERMACS in Savannah next year,
I popped on over to Golden Corral to join the
throngs of past and present military -
even though it was raining!
I sat with three young men stationed at Hunter,
talkin' 'bout movies and more while I filled up
on lots and lots of free vegetables!
Oh, yes, that's what I'd been missing!

And what do I have here?
Well, as I'd said, Red Lobster not only fed me
while I was there, but I had leftovers.
Lobster and Langostino Pizza for breakfast,
this time with shredded cheddar
to make it mo' better!
(smile)

Lunch was courtesy of Chicken Salad Chicks.
I had found they would allow me to carry out the
free Chicken Salad Special and beverage -
that was a special perk, for sure!
So, before the laundry yesterday, I'd gone to fetch this
lovely Lauryn's Lemon Basil and grape salad,
iced tea on the side.
All I added was butter lettuce and appetite!
(smile)

My many thanks for the restaurants in town for the many blessings!
Speaking of blessings, I'm off to the Lucas anon!
Tonight, I usher for a living legend: Kris Kristofferson!!!
He's a contemporary of both Elvis and my Dad and I am soooo excited!!!
Thanks, Carolyn, for putting me on the roster for this show!
i thank You, God!

202000

Instead of pennies from heaven to reassure me of right place, right time, I'm receiving cool odometer readings of late.
For example, when las tres amigas de mi arrived for the "Thugs Of Hindostan" film in Pooler, the odometer in my car read 201958! Nice combination that included my birth year! I took that as a very good sign... and it was! The Indian film turned out to be a boisterous bit of Bollywood, filled with swashbuckling bandits and swishing swords and such a plethora of deceit from a guy named Firangi! Surely that was a pun on the name of the mercenary shysters of "Star Trek"? If not, it should have been!
Some of the other odometer readings have perhaps not been so remarkable, but just very timely in their delivery. For instance, I had 208170 on September 27 when I arrived home from seeing "The Diary of Anne Frank"... and I still had 208170 on September 28th when I left home to meet Emily and Boone at the Flying Fish Grill. They were on a rare trip to town to clean out Bev's house for the market and I just happened to be home on a Friday night, after being home all day. Amazing couple of circumstances, right?
Then there was 198600 on August 15, between running errands (WW meeting, trip to the bank, filling the gas tank) and having fun (PFS' birthday movie featuring Robert Culp [the hilarious "Hitler's Gold" from 1975], followed by Betty Bombers with Jim, Will, Carolyn, Axelle, and Jordan). Maybe that reading was to confirm I'd gotten my 'work' done so it was okay to go 'play'!
Then there was 197197 on another Wednesday, June 6. Again, I'd taken care of 'work' (actually speaking with Aaron Cramer about my Utility Patent application, then to WW) before 'play' (birthday lunch from Jason's Deli, then a hilarious Joseph Cotten romp from PFS ["Latitude Zero", a 1960's farce with elements of Captain Nemo, flying monkeys of Oz, and Cesar Romero reprising his Batman's Joker). Most excellent!
201060 greeted me when I was home from "First Man" and Carey Hilliard's with Carolyn on October 13. That means it was still there when I set off to my first God On Broadway show-sermon the next morning. So glad I was there for "My Fair Lady" - and yes, I mean both Carolyn and all of that familiar music of my youth!
There followed several days of memorable mileage!
October 16 saw me home with 201080 after my 'Tina Tuesday' - the second one that month - with Kevin. We'd dined at Jason's Deli again (a choice he'd called 'brilliant' on October 2!) and watched "Venom", with Stan Lee as "Dapper Dogwalker" - LOL! The mileage remained when I drove off to WW the next day, with my first loss on the scale in a while. (smile)
By the end of October 17, the odometer was set at 201102 a palindrome reading! That was upon my return home from "The Day The Fish Came Out", a 1967 PFS nuclear-bombs-on-the-loose flick that combined those fun 1960's beach-blanket comedies with science-fiction and nearly-nekkid men in most of it. Gotta love those Greeks!
Gotta love that first niece of mine, too! On October 18, she contacted me about lunch plans... and off we went to Carey Hilliard's... in her vehicle! We ended up spending five hours together - what a blessing! After buying some blue suede-ish tennis shoes at Sears, I was still with her when she picked up her daughter. Boy, did we confuse the little girl when Christina took me to my house and I got out. Miyah stopped what she was doing to look at me incredulously, as if to say "Where do you think you are going?" (On the other times I've been present when she was picked up from daycare, we have then gone on to Hinesville for me to spend the night with them.) What a hoot!
So, my mileage was still 201102 when I buzzed off to meet the physicist for dinner and a movie! We found out the hard way that his card had been burgled, so The Noodle Bowl and "Bad Times At The El Royale" were both on me this time. But I did get a treat - Elvis Post-Its that he'd seen on an Atlanta trip! That made my night! Plus his lovely company, of course... and a odometer bonus of 201112 in my driveway again!
So, now I'm up to Friday, October 19. The 201112 led to an auspicious outing to the former Bamboo Gardens to meet the local chemistry nerds, as I've already detailed.
October 22 saw me on another 'work' then 'play' cycle, much like my laundry. Hahahaha hahaha! I'd gone to wash clothes at Nami's, fortuitously as it turned out. She was going to be closed the rest of the week! She had house repairs to do and her sister Juni was in town to help. Good thing I could post that on the fb page for Wash Plus! Right place, right time! My odometer confirmed that with its 201222, which was the start point for the trip to Pooler with Barbara and Carolyn! Dinner at Jalapenos, movie at the Royal! Not quite Bollywood, but "Badhaai Ho" was delightful tale of a middle-aged couple with nearly grown children suddenly being pregnant again - we all laughed and laughed!
201360 popped up four days later, after a trip to the grocery store. I'd even had time to put them away when Mister Willie called me for his 80th birthday! We had talked about the World Series and he'd expressed his hopes that the Dodgers would win the third game, to be played that evening. Lo and behold, they did exactly that... and I saw them do it!
I also realized that day that I may have helped Thomas and Danielle build their relationship. How so? Well, she mentioned on fb that October 26 marked nine years together for them. That means they had their first date after the spring and summer of 2009, when Thomas and I had been corresponding via our blogs. I had been posting about touch and snakes in my head and real irony and then, amazingly, first kisses. Those were some intimate topics I discussed in those posts, allowing him access to my thoughts... to a woman's thoughts. I'm sure that helped demystify the feminine sex for his self-proclaimed nerdy self.
(smile)
Then SamJ died, followed a week later by my Daddy.
Thomas didn't appear again in my comments section until I took up the gauntlet of the Kiwi writers in May 2009. We had a steady 'conversation' after that, about characters, about how those characters behave, with steady encouragement throughout the writing process to the end and beyond, out of the dark net and into the bright world of social media.
He basically stopped blogging by the fourth year after he started dating Danielle. He started up a new blog, to change direction, but that had its last entry in October of 2013. Between his love life (and their marriage!), his job, and his Odd Lot work, plus his active voice on fb, the man has a very full plate these past nine years. I'm truly delighted for them both!
Oh... I have digressed mightily, haven't I?
(smile)
Okay, back to odometer speak, in particular to 202000.
Today, I had seen last week that the Coastal Empire section of ACS was to have a meeting tonight. I had not responded, as I knew I was going to be eating out... and so I did. Then I had decided to go after all, to discuss SERMACS 2019 and what our group was planning. As I parked, I saw the mileage - right place, right time! Marvelous!
I ended up talking to Brandon amd Ryan about the diversity groups and how I thought they needed to be more inclusive... and they agreed! Ryan had attended many of the same talks I had, so he had seen firsthand the redundancy of the message and the lack of diversity in those audiences. Hooray!
I've sent Lea an email about the high school section and given her a contact, too.
(smile)
Now, off I go to Golden Corral, in the rain, to join some veterans at Golden Corral!
i thank You, God, for these 'pennies' from heaven.

happy new year for the third time!

The third time is the charm, yah nahin hai?
Yeah, that's a bit of Hindi that means the same as n'est-ce pas, jsyk.
(smile)
Here's something that made an impression on me: Hinduism, like Judaism, is not simply a religion, like Christianity is. Hinduism, like Judaism, describes a religious culture with unique rituals and its own language.

Diwali is one of those rituals. More commonly called "The Festival of Lights", it is a celebration of the spiritual triumph of light over darkness, of good over evil and of knowledge over ignorance. Sounds tailor-made for me, especially as my life-changing religious epiphany was in 1977, thanks to "Star Wars". If ever there was a single film that embodied those concepts of good versus evil, that is certainly the one!
(smile)
The five-day autumnal celebration of Diwali is linked to moon phases and begins on a new moon. This time around, the New Year's Eve fell on November 7. That's when everyone wished each other "naya saal mubaarak ho", with the first day of V.S. 2075 falling on the first day of the eighth month (Kartik), on the first day going toward the light of the full moon (Sud 1).

That was all new to me, until today.
That's when I attended part of the children's day activities at BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir.
"Mandir" is akin to "church" and the importance of "puja" ("prayer") was one of the lessons that children - including me, a child of the universe - were taught.
After the lesson, the children were released to play games, games which reinforced the important themes for life.
"Patience" involved carrying a lemon on a spoon while navigating a maze which had high (no string above) and low (string block that required limbo). How's that for a life analogy?
(smile)
"Focus" was demonstrated using ring toss, while "courage" came with playing Jenga.

I easily spent an hour watching the children at the games, with most likely unaware that they were gaining valuable knowledge through the fun activities.
Semantics definitely matters.
Calling something a "game" prepares the participant for a very different experience than calling that same thing a "lesson".
(Yes, the teacher in me is still alive and well!)
As I prepared to leave, I was presented with two gifts.
The first was an inspirational calendar, to guide me during my Sādhanā ("journey") in this new year.
The second was Prasādam, sanctified sweets in a lovely box.
Those I will share with Barbara and Carolyn when they arrive.
We're all venturing to the Royal for "Thugs of Hindostan", one of the new Bollywood action-adventure movies brought to town specifically to add to the festivities for Diwali.
i thank You, God!

happy 5th birthday, javaflix!

Once upon a time, I made it to most of the films screened by JavaFlix Savannah.
Of late, the votes tended to elect commercially-released movies that I'd already seen.
This year, I saw "The Florida Project" in March, an Oscar-nominated film with Willem Dafoe. (Yes, I've been hooked on him ever since "To Live And Die In LA" - especially the money-making scene.) JavaFlix had a wonderful discussion afterward!
Several months then passed before I attended another film with this group. Sure, I had that last semester at Armstrong, then trips to the Kennedy Space Center. Plus, The Savannah Bananas came to town and I went to see Elvis in Las Vegas.
In other words, I was busy enough to not be enticed.
Finally, in August, they had a film I'd never seen! "Ali's Wedding" was a Muslim romantic comedy set in Australia - that was definitely different! The title character has been promised to wed another, but he wants to be with the girl he loves. What a quandary! To complicate matters, he's an IK - the Muslim equivalent of a preacher's kid - so the family is taking all of this quite seriously.
Such a lively discussion had followed!
September had "American Animals", a film that never came to any cinemas here. I had voted to bring it, so I made sure to be there. Glad I was! This tale of four guys looking to score some valuable books - yes, I said 'books', early ones by James Audobon - from the local library. Of course, things didn't go as planned with their heist, primarily because these guys truly weren't that smart.
Still, a good movie that led to a good discussion about crime and consequences.
October should have been the 5th birthday of JavaFlix, but life intruded and the screening had to be postponed until the following month.
That meant the November offering was "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot", a documentary starring Joaquin Phoenix and Jonah Hill. The film concentrated on the alcohol recovery program for paralyzed cartoonist John Callahan, portrayed by Phoenix, with Hill as his mentor in the Alcoholics Anonymous group.
What a fabulous movie, with character acting that deserves Oscar notice!
Kudos to Sam, the new ringleader of this group!
Patrick, the founder, has wed his lady love and they are down in Jacksonville.
Since Sam has taken charge, she has retooled the voting process for the movies to be shown. She has made sure that the five films proffered for us to vote on are not movies that have been shown at the local cinemas. Hallelujah! Every once in a while, a commercial film finds its way onto the ballot, but not often.
I do hope the Meetup group will continue, but it may not. So many people have 'joined' the group on the website that the fees have greatly increased for the leader. In addition, the church that allows the group to screen films in its community hall are requiring the group to have liability insurance. Consequently, we are now required to pay a modest fee of five dollars for each screening we attend. Considering that the group rarely has more than fifteen people (of the thousand-plus members on the meetup website), I see more and more of the financial burden falling on the shoulders of this young woman who is trying to keep JavaFlix alive.
We'll see what the future holds...
however, the immediate future for mi and mis tres amigas holds a late viewing of "The Grinch", a hiphop retooling of the Dr. Seuss classic.
Gotta go!

death on 2 legs - or is it 4?

"Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To...)" immediately came to mind after the play tonight.
(I guess I'm in a Queen frame of mind these days, and likely will be for a while.)
Although the song was penned by Freddie Mercury in response to the betrayal by their former manager, it could easily refer to the betrayal of a father by two of his three daughters.
Actually, it could also be applied toward the betrayal of the third, and favorite, daughter by that same father.
Or might not the betrayal of Edgar by his bastard brother, Edmund, be the object of the song?
I say heartily that all of these cases apply!
Lord knows there's plenty of blood-guilt to go around in "King Lear"!
Savannah Shakes has set this Shakespeare tragedy in the USA, during the turmoil of the Y2K scare, when it was feared that computers around the world would crash, prompting many people to seek shelter in churches for their souls.
In other words, those were dark times and people were fearful of God's wrath.
William Shakespeare had also taken liberties with the 8th century BC tale, making the king an elderly man seeking to engender deep love by his daughters so they would tend to him in his dotage.
Of course, "free money" doesn't necessarily endear the giver to the receivers.
I'm sure that's why the tale was fashioned by the bard into a deep tragedy with nearly everyone dying at the end, rather than the all-is-well ending for the Celtic king and his beloved daughter, Cordelia.
My thanks to Savannah Shakes for a fine tale of woe, enacted with a focus on words which still ring out forcefully and fresh.
My advice is to heed this warning from the past...
perhaps especially in this current time, when a blond man resides in the White House.
Hearken unto these lyrics, brave souls...
and take strength from this bold music which refuses to buckle to adversity without a fight.

tcb and shakespeare, too

Yesterday was a rich, full day!
My first niece and I had lunch at Larry's, a first for her!
Not her first time there, as she had been at least once before to have breakfast with Mama...
so that's been at least 18 years ago... wow.
Christina is sporting her new purple glasses and her new hairdo - featuring her natural hair color.
Doesn't she look wonderful?
Why, yes, yes she does!
(smile)
Our visit was rather short this time - only two hours.
(smile)
She had to get back to Hinesville and I had errands to run, too.
Off to the post office to make a deposit of the 'gator cards to the Beaufort boys!
(For some reason, the 2nd and 3rd were returned to me. Odd!)
Off to the bank to make a long-needed deposit!
(Since I have generously granted myself a 'loan' for property taxes.)

Off to the university to make a deposit there, too!
The alumni association was sponsoring a "canned food drive for hungry students" to restock the Captain's Cupboard.
I had several cans of food, but also the box of muffin mix and the bag of black-eyed peas.
The young woman there asked to take my photo for the fb page - superb! Glad to do so!
That let me show off some SERMACS swag - my Bumble-adorned t-shirt - for full exposure!
(My thanks to Oakwood Chemical for the awesome shirt!)
I was graced with a goodie bag, too, and it contained one of my favorite things... drumroll, please!
Post-its! Woohoo! No more use of paper scraps to keep my schedule of events in order on my kitchen cabinets!
(The goodie bag also had the GaSoU football schedule and a fan to keep cool.)
Thanks, y'all!
Next was a trip out to Wynnsong - oops, AMC Classic Cinema 11 - to see the 4 PM screening of "Bohemian Rhapsody" again, this time for the BIG D experience.
Yes, I had popcorn and soda, too.
But my bill was not seventeen bucks... it was zero!
Thanks to the A*List for the free movie, and to my AMC rewards for the free snacks!
And guess who was also there?
Barbara!
Her Thursday afternoon had opened up so she, like me, wanted one more extra-big-screen viewing of this concert film.
What a nice treat!

Afterward, we talked for a bit, then we were both off to other engagements.
I had a ticket for some Shakespeare in my hot pocket!
The Armstrong Masquers had their opening show of "Twelfth Night" there in Jenkins Hall and I had made sure to get a free 'faculty' ticket while I could...
and I was sitting in my seat, too!
Wondering why I saw this play so soon after the version by Savannah Shakes?
Well, kindly recall that I attended their performance twice...
I do so enjoy this tale of mistaken identities and love triangles and pure tomfoolery!
Laughter is such good medicine, guaranteed to make a day brighter!
(smile)

And guess what?
The play was done in plenty of time for me to go to the market for groceries!
Eggs, cheese, shredded carrots, and lovely, lean, delicious turkey pepperoni!
That meant I could have pepperoni omelet pizza for breakfast -
and so I did!
I created the dish about a month ago and have absolutely delighted in eating it.
Seriously, it's all I can do to not have it every morning -
just as I would once upon a time do with traditional pizza.
Variety, though, is the spice of life... so I do try to limit this recipe to every other day.
(smile)
Now, do I go to wash clothes or wait until Monday?
I believe that shall wait!
A matinee of "The Grinch" promises to be enchanting, as well as free, courtesy of A*List.
Then I'll have Thai dinner at The King & I with Kevin and Cedric before traipsing off with them to Savannah Shakes' "King Lear", set in the Y2K era...
such a fabulous Friday after my top-notch Thursday!
(smile!)
i thank You, God!

i want to ride my bicycle

I was 20 years old when "Bicycle Race" was released in 1978.
Written by Freddie Mercury, its exuberant tone and sense of freedom spoke to me.
After all, I was an avid bike rider myself and knew the thrill of riding with my hair blowing behind me - oh, yes!
Freddie was not quite 32 when he wrote it earlier that year.
Now, having seen "Bohemian Rhapsody" twice now, I have to wonder if the lyrics might have a message about other types of freedom for him and for Queen.

The freedom to use his voice to its full range, not that typical for rock or pop genres.
Because of his additional teeth, Freddie's four-octave-ish vocal ability allowed him to easily slide to whatever note was needed at any given time.

The freedom to incorporate different musical stylings into the songs.
The band refused to do songs in the same style from one album to another. That made their music difficult to categorize as rock or pop or disco.
They also refused to just write ballads or songs in a particular format.

The freedom to use everyday items - such as bicycle bells - as musical instruments.
Queen excelled at seamlessly incorporating oddities into their musical arsenal, such as metal pails on microphones and marbles on drum heads.

The freedom to write about anything and everything that struck their fancy.
This particular tune was inspired by the Tour de France, an actual bicycle race that was held - fortunately - close by to their recording studio for their seventh album, "Jazz".
Brian May was likewise inspired to pen "Fat-Bottomed Girls" as a companion piece. Both songs became singles on the same 45.

The freedom to be comfortable with their sexuality.
Freddie Mercury was the only one who was bisexual, but they all referred to each other as 'queens', the slang term for gay males.
Given their long hair, they no doubt had heard the term applied toward them a time or two and had chosen to not get ruffled by it, but to embrace it.

Good for them!
They knew who they were and didn't allow the critics to tell them otherwise.
Their fans knew who they were, too, and embraced this quartet of misfits...
as did I...
a young Southern woman off in the US Navy...
doing a traditionally male job as an electronics maintenance technician...
exploring the cultures of worlds new to me.
Queen generously provided a soundtrack for my life, full of the rich diversity of the four men composing this wealth of songs in a myriad of styles that challenged my body to dance and my voice to sing along.
i thank you all...

mercury

Do I speak of the element?
After all, I did just recently return from the chemistry nerds conference, so quicksilver might well be on my mind.
The element is unique in that it is the only metal which is liquid at room temperature.
But that isn't the mercury on my mind.

Do I speak of the pigeon used to relay secret messages?
That bird was quite impressive as well as unique, famously making a 480-mile trip during World War II.
But that isn't the right one, either.

Do I speak of NASA's early manned space missions?
Well, it is true that I have been on a space kick during this 60th year for both myself and that exploration organization.
This project was unique to the USA in its efforts to keep up with the cosmonauts.
But, no, not the topic of the day.

Do I speak of the first planet from Sol?
After all, the Solar System has been on my mind, too, but that attention has been focused on Mars and this blue-green orb.
That little planet does have a unique rotation pattern, rotating only one "day" for every two of its "years" of orbit.
Noteworthy, but not the one I'm noting.

Do I speak of the automobile maker of the family car I grew up with?
Here's a funny thing: that vehicle happened to be a Comet, unique for having a V6 rather than the Ford standard.
(smile)
Not the image I'm after, but it certainly speaks to my mental state today.

Do I speak of the god of commerce in Roman mythology?
Once upon a time I would have spoken at length about that fleet-footed messenger, unique in his ability to bridge the gulf between the upper and lower worlds.
However, he isn't the man I've mourned since last night.

I speak of Freddie Mercury of the legendary British band known as Queen.
As the 27th anniversary of his death nears, "Bohemian Rhapsody" opened in cinemas.
The film was named in honor of the unique song he wrote in 1975, the unique song that truly launched the musical career of him and his musical family and took the listening public by storm, the six-minute song that uniquely incorporated opera into a rock format.
The film was a work of love by those who knew the man. Brian May and Roger Taylor, guitarist and drummer, respectively, of Queen and friends of Freddie for twenty-one years, served as creative and musical consultants, keeping it authentic. In addition, Queen's long-time manager, Jim "Miami" Beach, put his money up to produce the film, again keeping it authentic.
Barbara had insisted that it be viewed on the IMAX screen at Royal Cinemas in Pooler.
Though Freddie Mercury had been a small man physically, his energy and voice had been larger than life and needed to be expressed on the largest possible screen.
Carolyn and Sandy and I agreed, all of us hungry for the concert experience.
We women were joined by Joyce (Barbara's long-time friend)
Kevin was there, too - after all, it was "Tina Tuesday".
(smile)
I knew every song, all 21 of them, and sang along, dancing in my seat as I did, feeling absolutely exhilarated by the experience!
Then, along the time that he sang "Love Of My Life" for his beloved Mary, the tempo shifted for me. That was when he confessed to her that he was bisexual and she separated from him. They remained dear friends for the rest of his life, but that trust had been broken.
I know about that heartache.
A bit later, "Under Pressure" brought David Bowie to mind... and the loss of that oh-so-talented man... and impending death of Freddie Mercury.
Then came the huge concert in 1985, the twenty minutes of fundraising exposure at Wembley Stadium for Live Aid. The music was that much more poignant for me, as Freddie had announced to his band-mates that he had AIDS, the disease that was a death sentence thirty years ago.
...And they had embraced him at the disclosure, promising to keep his news private... and they had.
He was allowed to live his life without the world looking at him as diseased.
He was allowed to live his life doing what he loved with those he loved.
He was allowed to live his life to its fullest, asking for more songs, working as often as his failing body would allow. He even worked on recording videos for the songs, with "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" as the final one he ever did, just months before his death.
The film had ended with that massive "Live Aid" concert in 1985, leaving us with the image of this charismatic entertainer giving his all to his fans, with his voice ringing out to draw them near.
And then he was gone...
and I barely managed to pull myself together after a quick hide out in the bathroom...
but I've been crying like a lost child ever since my return home last night...
and most of this entire day.
But I've realized that it isn't his death that is causing this onslaught of sobs - oh, no.
It's the love that his musical family continues to express for him.
It's the heart-broken love that still rejoices in the sight of him in videos, at the sound of him in full-throated song, at the memories of his laughter and joy.
It's the love that clings together, forgetting squabbles, accepting each other unconditionally, taking true pleasure from each other's company.



This song is from "A Day At The Races", one of my favorite albums.
"Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" seems to be an appropriate ending here.
Ah... but that was penned by Brian May.
Better to leave with a tune actually written by Freddie Mercury, then set to animation in 2011 by the fine folks at Google to honor what would have been his 65th birthday and was the 20th year since his death.

swag, chem nerd style!

Of course I had to have these pins!
Fluorine, F: Extremely reactive, interacts with most other elements.
Gold, Au: Malleable, one of the least reactive elements.
Sulfur, S: Brimstone, essential macronutrient for life.
Titanium, Ti: Catalyst, transition element with high strength.
Sodium, Na: Highly reactive alkali metal, vital for nerve impulses.
How appropriate that these chemical symbols should form my name!
(smile!)

Nothing like a bunch of quackers to liven up a place!
Those two in the middle of the flock of four are both named Doctor Redox (for reduction-oxidation reactions).
The one to the left is the new Doctor and the other is the old Doctor.
I need to share them with the bfe, in honor of our Dr. Who adventure!
The other ducks are a male post-doc and a female graduate student - complete with ponytail, like me!
(smile)

Here's all the swag, all together!
The 'Bumble T-shirt is courtesy of Oakwood Chemicals, as are the four Periodic Table magnets!
Thanks to Knewton for the cool blue Knerd T-shirt, too!
Speaking of cool blue, look at that ball in front of the new Doctor - it lights up when the ball bounces!
Plus, I have a foam Supergirl and a blue foam beaker to squeeze for hand exercises!
(smile)

And candy... oh so much candy!
This 70th SERMACS was scheduled to take advantage of the Halloween festivities and fun, that's for sure!
The vendors all enthusiastically participated, with buckets and jack-o-lanterns full of treats - and no tricks on us!
Thanks, y'all, for the many M&M candies of all types (to share with Tony), the Almond Joys (just for me!), and the myriad other sweets!
Such a plethora!
(Inside joke for my first niece!)

As for this bright yellow, pineapple-bedecked goodies -
those were from my own peeps!
Those would be nerds of the Coastal Empire ACS, by the way.
And the reason of the very popular tote bags and koozies?
It's ours next time!
Maybe I need to write a new "Nightmare before Christmas"-inspired poem!
What a wonderful idea!
I'll see what I can do about that!
(smile!)

i thank You, God, for this birthday vacation and this bounty to share!
Now, I'm off to "Nobody's Fool" and "The Sisters Brothers" on this rainy day!