1001

"You speaking in binary now?"

Not hardly. Can you imagine how utterly boring that would be? An alphabet of two numbers? There would have to be a lot of body english going on to hold any interest.

"Well, just what is up with that number?"

It's the number of miles I've driven since exactly two months ago. The odometer reads 231231 now, making a difference of 1,001 in the mileage.

"You're kidding! You haven't been anywhere, so how could that be?"

Beg pardon? I've been to Hinesville twice, once for a trip to the zoo and then for Chloe's bday5. I've driven out to Tybee Beach three times, for a one-man play, to seek some solace with the sunset, and to do a victory dance with fellow Native Americans. I've also taken a trip to the edge of Skidaway Island to its aquarium. I even drove to the Royal of Pooler for some Bollywood at one point! Oh, yes, and the three rambles out to Georgetown for Dawn's battery check, her building of treats, and the actual party.

"Wow. That's a bit more than I'd thought you'd done."

Well, there are several trips downtown, too, but I didn't list all those. Nor did I speak yet of all the miles journeying to the southside to watch movies. That's a fifteen-mile round trip each and every time. That's why I try to watch double headers, or at least plan to fill up the gas tank or shop at Aldi's or that Publix while I'm out there.

"Yeah, I hear ya. That's been a bummer. At least the Truman Parkway helps make the drive more enjoyable, skipping all those traffic lights."

Nope. I know that's the myth, but the math doesn't bear it out. I've counted the lights and I hit the same number - the same exact number! - whether I stay on the roads or use the parkway to travel to various sites on the south. Truly. The parkway is a faster way to go, but I still have to run the gauntlet of the same number of traffic lights.

"That's amazing."

Isn't it, though? The myths we tell ourselves are just that: myths. Now, if you'll pardon me, I'm going to watch "The Mask" again. I've used my $1 Weekend Movie Night reward from Comcast to see that Jim Carrey treat. This time, I found it hilarious that Cameron Diaz is playing a talented jazz songbird! Remember how bad her singing voice really is? Because that was her singing in "My Best Friend's Wedding". What a great sport she was about it! I just may watch that one afterward... yep, I just might!

two free musicals and (a nearly) free concert!

Remember David Poole, the director and ringleader at Collective Face Theatre Ensemble?

Well, when the pandemic rendered that troupe null and void, he was hired as theatre director at Savannah Arts Academy - yes, the very place where three of my nieces (Christina, Emily, and Hope) went to high school years ago.

Now, he's taking this bunch of young thespians to a competition!!!

To give them practice, he's holding three free performances at the Kennedy Building on the Savannah State University campus - the old stomping grounds of CFTE.

Small world!

I found out on fb and let mi amigas know, but they couldn't go on a Thursday, choosing Friday night instead.

No worries, I went on Thursday and had a front row seat to a play straight out of the medieval ages, complete with "traveling players"!

"The Love Of Three Oranges" was billed as "An Italian Comic Fairy Tale", and was written in the 17th century. (We have Giambattista Basile to thank for collecting such tales, and his sisters for printing them in a book.)

Such fun this was, and all done in only 45 minutes!

That's the stipulation of the contest: completion, including set-up and take-down, in that time.

That means the story moved right along, full of humor and deception and love and even a giant ogre!

What's up with the umbrella?

Well, it was a rainy night, so Dan Vaden Chevrolet gave each and everyone of us that free memento!!!

Kudos to the kids... and break legs, y'all!!!

(smile!)

 

So, wondering why I couldn't go on Friday with my friends for the play?

I already had my concert ticket!!!

I'd had it for several weeks, and AMC wasn't doing refunds or exchanges.

That's okay, I really like the 33-year-old artist and her music videos... 

and I like her even more now!

So many costume changes, she could give Reba McEntire a run for best Entertainer!

So many instruments she played, including an painted upright piano, acoustic and electric guitars, and a classical piano draped with Spanish moss and lichens and such!

So many albums she pulled the music from, beginning with Fearless, morphing right into Evermore, getting sassy and loud for Red, dialing it back for Folklore, then jamming for her birth year 1989, before diving (literally) into the depths of Midnights... wow!

I spent the entire time - almost three hours - dancing in my seat!

Sure, there were a lot of songs I didn't know, but there were others, such as "Love Story", that I've sung multiple times for karaoke nights.

There were even a couple I knew from "Sing 2"!!!

And there were several that I love from their music videos, which she was mindful of, being sure to have that same flavor for the costumes of her and her dancers.

Honestly, I just may have to see this again!

I could even count it as an A*List, as it will only cost me three bucks, thanks to all the Bonus money I have built up.

Yes, I just may do that!

Technically, AMC isn't allowing A*List to be used for "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour"... but that didn't stop me from seeing it this time, and won't stop me should I go again! 

(smile!)

As for tonight, my entertainment was again free all the way, as it had been on Thursday.

AARP Theatre showed a football musical... seriously, it was all about that sport, and even had the actors in those uniforms and playing ball on set!

This reminded me a lot of "Lombardi", done a few years ago by SavRepTh, but that had been strictly a play.

"Something In The Game" was a musical - a musical about football!!!

This time, the coach was Knute Rockne and the team was Notre Dame's Fighting Irish...

but the story was as much about George Gipp as about Rockne.

Everyone has heard the line at some point: "Win one for The Gipper!"

Well, George is the one they're talking about, an All-American star that essentially drank himself to death at 25 years old, even though the actual cause was pneumonia.

Rather sad, for all involved, but especially for the coach, who saw in that player the son he had wanted, as well as the faults he himself once had.

What an incredibly well-told and well-acted story - bravo to all!

What a nice way to end my trio of free cultural events!

I wonder what I'll find for next week?

(smile!)

aquarium and oysters and bday9

It's National Marine Science Day!!!

I've been talking about this day, and the events out at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography for a few weeks now.

I even made flyers and mailed them out two weeks ago, to make sure my nieces and nephews would know of this free, family, funfest!

Michael and his girls, Alyssa and Leila, were the only ones that showed up.

Good for them!

He had even texted me early in the morning about directions, so I knew they would be there.

That compelled me to get their birthday gifts - yes, multiple! - in the car with me.

I didn't get them the same things, but similar items, and I let them choose.

And, guess what?

They ended up getting the exact gifts I would have selected for them!

What a grand coincidence!

Right time, right place for all of us!

(smile!)

First, though, we had some exploring to do upon their arrival!

Meanwhile, I had about 90 minutes of solo time for my own adventures.

I was onsite just after noon, making sure to get some of the limited tickets for the behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium. 

Yes, the 2 PM tour would be perfect for the four of us!

Then I took in some of the exhibits on the grounds before heading over to the dock.

There, two young men talked to me about the importance of recycling, starting with marine debris in general and then plastics in particular.

I let them talk, pretending to not already be part of the choir on the topic.

When they were done, I spoke up about being a teen in the mid-1970's, when recycling was a new idea in this country and now it was a part of life!

Sure, it's taken almost three generations, but we're making progress! 

They smiled, as they've heard similar words from their grandparents, I'm sure.

(smile!)

After that, I headed over to the UGA Shellfish Research Lab to check out that exhibit.

That blue barrel in the top left corner?

That has seedling oysters, little dots of stuff that looked more like grit than an animal.

The guy even let folks touch some of it!

To the left of the bag of shells - an item used to help build new oyster reefs - was a guy talking about the many uses of oyster shells.

They even offered oyster shells as souvenirs!

And, back in that top left corner but offscreen was a table that talked of oyster biology, complete with diagrams and containers and color charts.

All in all, a very informative discourse!

I'm just glad I didn't have to taste any.

(smile!)

Time for a break on a bench near the aquarium!

Not much later, I got up to wander back out to the parking lot - and there they were!!!

Big hugs for me, first from Alyssa, then from Leila!

Hugs from Michael, too!

Most excellent!

Then we headed to the exhibits.

We were right in time for the trivia contests over at the table that had all the dolphin teeth and sperm whale tooth and all the information on right whales.

That's a 20-foot balloon version of an actual juvenile right whale, named Smoke, that Leila (taking her 15 minutes in Dad's jacket) and Alyssa are beside.

Long story short: neither girl wanted to bring a coat, but wanted one when they felt the chill breeze.

Hence, they had to share their dad's jacket.

(smile!)

By the time they'd looked at the terrapins and checked out other critters on nearby tables, it was time to go stand at the aquarium's side door.

Tour time!!!

Note: Alyssa now has the jacket and Leila does not.

Yes, time passages!

I had thought it might be a guided event, but we were allowed to explore the various holding tanks on our own, with staff present to answer questions.

Very cool!

So we saw sea turtles that were healing, spadefish and puffers waiting clearance to join others in the aquarium, other fish of various sizes, and so many hermit crabs!

The girls both liked those, as they had some as pets, once upon a time.

Then our fifteen minutes were up and we were out!

That meant it was Leila's turn with the jacket, too.

But she didn't need it.

The day had warmed to the low 70's and the sun had broken through the clouds.

We had a nosh from the food trucks, enjoying time under a blue sky, then I led them over to the research exhibit.

That hand belongs to the marine scientist at that first table and her unique tattoo shows the purple tones and cat's-paw clusters bred into the shells of these oysters.

That's to make them stand out at restaurants, and insure folks know the shellfish were bred locally.

Isn't that so cool!?!

I'm not an oyster eater, but I can appreciate that.

And the erlenmayer flasks have the two kinds of algae that these little oysters eat.

The girls really liked that whole area, and the free pencils and stickers, too!

Their favorite part, though - besides spending time with their G'Aunt Tina (smile!) was the aquarium.

So many different talks with so many different fish!

And, look, there were turtles and stingrays, too!

Then, over there was a tank with just seahorses and pipe fish and hermit crabs!

But, best of all else, was the touch tank!

I do believe they could have spent all the time right there had we allowed it.

Picking up and looking at all the hermit crabs...

holding the horseshoe crab, with its legs in the air...

touching the conchs and other sea creatures...

yes, they could have done that for hours!

The jewelry that looked like plankton?

Nope, that held no allure.

Touch, that's what they wanted!

Yes, they are definitely kin to me!

So, we were there until closing time.

They almost had to run us off, as the girls wanted to hang out looking at the terrapins - there were 9 of them - in the pools by the entrance.

Once in the parking area, we stopped by my car to celebrate birthdays.

To decide who would choose first, the girls had to guess how many fingers I had behind my back.

Alyssa won that, then she had a decision: unicorns or monsters?

Unicorn, for sure, just as i suspected!

Each pumpkin painting kit would do two pumpkins, so they could share with each other or with friends!

Then Leila got to choose: dogs or cats?

Dogs for her, as I knew she preferred!

Each set of magnetic bookmarks contained eight fanciful animals to brighten the pages of their books or someone else's!

Plus, I made sure they had cute gift bags for all these goodies.

Smiles and hugs told me I did it right!

I'm so glad we had this time just to ourselves!

I do love having the group celebrations, but...

I love this quality time, too.

i thank You, God.

(smile!)

the librarian and her boy go to the museum!

Kristin's back in The 'Vannah... and this time she brought her son!

Landon's the same age as my twin great-nieces, and since they had so enjoyed the new Children's Art Museum, I invited these two from Indiana to be my guests at the Jepson.

Good call!

He maybe didn't like the exhibits where he had to read and couldn't touch, but he had a grand time with the CAM!

For two hours he played and had a good time, giving me and her time to chat about movies and TV shows and concerts and how many TV series Tony Shalhoub has been in.

 

That was very nice!
But by this point in their travels, two hours was about all Kristin could take without caffeine.

They'd had lunch with Amanda, then walked down Broughton to get ice cream before wending their way to the museum.

She was much more lively after a hit of iced coffee!

As for Landon, he'd been preoccupied with three quarters he'd found out on the street.

While checking out the museum store, he was absolutely ecstatic - like, seriously! - when he found this leather money bank shaped like a cat.

Seriously!

He really likes cats, but cannot have one due to his mom's allergies.

That means he is very fond of all things "cat".

LOL!

Perhaps I should have let him know that I'm a "cat"...

well, according to a fb meme going around.

Hahaha haha!

(smile!)

Now, they're back to Barbara's for dinner with her.

They'll be driving back to Indiana on Saturday, so I'm glad we had this time together.

Sure, I saw more of her in January, but she had no car, so I played cabbie.

I'm glad I was able to see the boy again!

The last time I did, he was just a baby.

This trip was to show him where he lived back then, to introduce him to Savannah.

Very nice!

Now, I have a musical to go to and must be leaving!

She and the boy, plus Barbara, will be going to it tomorrow, as I made sure they knew about this rare free offering.

Je souhaite that we could all go together, but I could not rearrange my Friday plans.

So glad to have shared this afternoon with them!

(smile!)

poetry in motion!

When I returned home from WNS and got settled, there wasn't much on TV.

I'd caught the last few moments of "The Big Bang Theory" and checked to see if any of my favorites in "The X-Files" were up to bat tonight.

Nope.

I saw that "Jeopardy" had something going on at 8 PM, so I popped it on... and stayed!

That's because one of the categories was "Baseball Haiku".

Say what?!

That sounded delightful!!!

And it was, too!

So, a quick refresher for folks: haiku is a Japanese poem consisting of 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, then 5 syllables again in the third line.

Okay!

I missed one of the squares, but I caught part of the next.

 

"Annie's got problems

Nuke is enamored

Crash something I missed" 

[Notice that I maintained the correct number of syllables in the last line!]

 

The correct answer for the described movie was "Bull Durham".

How cool is that?!

I made sure to have my camera ready for the next time a contestant chose that category.

 

"Lupus and Tanner

Skilled not inside the diamond

Buttermaker drinks"

 

Oh, ding, ding, ding!

I know this one!

I watched "The Bad News Bears" fairly recently!

How nice to be reminded of Walter Matthau again!

 

Next puzzle, please!

 

"Ease his pain, it said

A voice that whispered through corn

Doc Graham got to play"

 

Oh, my, oh, my!

That very first line was all it took this time.

Who is not familiar with that quote?

Yes, take me out to "The Field Of Dreams" again!

Let me hear the rustle and smell the corn in the summer air!

 

"Jimmy once a pro

Alas, war calls men away

Nine gals beats no gals"

 

Sweet!

This one was given to me as a Comcast reward!

I may not have watched "A League Of Their Own" nearly

as many times as I've watched "The Sandlot",

but I do treasure it!

 

Now, time to do something else!

Later!

farewell and hail at wns

I no sooner got in line at WNS than I hear an enthusiastic shout of "Tina!"

When I turned around, arms wrapped me in a hug!!!

It was Susan Daggett.

Goodness, I have not seen her or heard of her in over a year!

She told me where she was sitting and I headed over there with the beef stroganoff, baby carrots, and a dessert plate of blackberry cobbler, then went for salad.

That's when I saw the reason I had come tonight.

 

So, first things first: catching up with Danny Beam.

That meant handing off items I no longer wanted.

Finally!

I had been cleaning out closets - after all, October is one of the months for this loss adjustment in my life - and had come upon the two t-shirts.

I also had a sticker for Bi-Polar Bears in the car.

I have not heard word one from the running bear since he contacted me about tentative election results and I yelled at him about it.

No need for me to hold onto these fundraiser items -

but what to do with them?

Take them to Goodwill?

Throw them into the trash?

That's when I contacted Danny on fb last week.

Was he still in touch with Kevin?

If so, would he mind getting these to him?

He gladly agreed, so then it was a matter of getting them to him.

Putting them in my car assured they would be handy when I was at Asbury.

And so, tonight, after several hugs and kind words, Danny took them off my hands.

i thank You, God.

Salad in hand, I returned to the table with Susan and met two friends.

Candace sat with us, too, so that was nice!

And, I've promised Susan to come and visit in two weeks.

Maybe we'll play one of the card games she and Ron used to have for the MENSA games nights at their house?

We'll see!

laughing and crying and munching out!

She started it, too! (smile!) 

"She", of course, is that first niece of mine!

I just had to grin when that photo popped up on the phone.

"My, what big teeth you have!", I texted back at her!

She responded with, "The better to chew with."

Good, we were on the same page of "Little Red Riding Hood"!

Then this next photo came.

I laughed out loud at that one!

"My, what big ears you have!" I told her.

"The better to hear with."

"We are playing with potato heads," she confirmed, knowing I would have guessed.

"I always enjoyed that toy. So many choices!"

Then I added, "I'm watching "50 First Dates". Such a great movie!"

"Love that movie. He puts in So much effort."

"Right?!"

"I want someone to put in that kind of effort."

"Me, too, dear. Me, too."

"Note: extra glitter!"

"Sprinkle that confetti, girl!"

Just for you, my Christina Ann, just like that inside joke.

That was all during breakfast and my second watching of this Drew Barrymore-Adam Sandler romance, which is the theme of this month's 1-dollar Weekend Movie Film Festival.

Last weekend featured "The Wedding Singer", from 1998, as the first in this planned trio.

I think I have probably seen that one every other year, if not more often, as I so love it!

I even had the VHS movie, but no more, thanks to Comcast Reward.

I never owned "50 First Dates", but it was on the list of movies I wanted.

That scene of her and him in her artist loft, with all those paintings "Forgetful Lucy" did of the egg-shaped head of "Henry", always makes me cry, and so it did this morning.

Then I went to Texas Roadhouse to fetch the Family Chicken Dinner, for just $29.99, and am eating half of the "house salad for 4", along with a chicken breast-dinner roll sandwich, as my slunch with another viewing of that marine science film set in Hawaii.

So very many reasons to love it, right?

But first, before the mailman comes, I have a favor for my friend, Sherry.

She's in Oklahoma tending to her father's affairs and needed a test piece of postage.

"If you get this, it means the address still works!

If not, well... I guess this butterfly will wing on back to me!"

I do hope she receives it and it brightens her day.

I'm sure it'll make her smile.

We all need more of that in our lives, don't we?

Thanks, my dear niece, for making me smile today!

tomochichi was creek, too

"That fellow who was helpful to James Oglethorpe when he came to Savannah?"

 

Yes, that "fellow", as you put it. Tomochichi was a highly revered Indian around here.

 

"Hold up, you can't used that term. It's "Native American", remember?"

 

Well, you know, that's what I thought, too. But I went to an event at the Tybee Post Theater tonight for Indigenous Peoples' Day and learned differently. 

"Do tell."

Okay, don't mind if I do! It was called "The Origin of Pow Wow" and was hosted by Laura Moonwoman. See where I'm going with this? She had the Southern Fire Drum group up here from Tallahassee. I went because my genealogy studies have proved that Grandpa was right and we do have Creek blood in our veins. Though, truth to tell, I think he may have said we had Cherokee ancestors.

"Well, that's pretty cool! I wonder why that didn't show up in your DNA results?"

My Heritage has changed those, by the way, and I've got more of a mix than originally determined. I don't know if that's because of the results of Michael's DNA test in conjunction with mine, or if their diagnostics have improved...

"Off track and headed for the woods, dear. Back to the event tonight, please."

Sure thing! So, I was speaking with her beforehand about the term "Native Americans" and she said that she, as well as others she knows, actually prefer the term "Indians". How about that? It's like the whole thing with the terms "African American" and "Black" - it's a matter of personal preference. So, I find it best to just ask what group name someone chooses.

"That makes sense. Sam Johnson was the one who cleared the air on that."

Yes, he was. Anyway, as I said, I was talking to Laura beforehand and mentioned I have Creek blood on my mother's father's side. That's when she reminded me that Tomochichi was of Creek blood, too. We might be related somewhere back in time! However, my search didn't even reveal the names of the parents of Nancy, the Creek woman who wed one of Grandpa's ancestors, way back when.

"Hmm. So you were there tonight because of your heritage?"

Yeah, pretty much, but also because the event was free. That's a real draw for me lately. I was also curious about Pow Wows, as I hadn't realized those were ongoing. Not only do they still exist, but there's one going on somewhere in the States almost every week. One of the good things about tonight's talk was finding out the rules involved. You see, everyone of every ilk is welcome at a Pow Wow, but there are certain behaviors to follow. Take picture-taking, for instance. You are to ask permission, not just take someone's photo. However, for the dances, you can take photos of groups of people, but not just one person. That's why I made sure these photos have more than one person on the stage.

"Very nice to know! And just what is going on in these photos?"

Well, like I said earlier, the group performing was called the Southern Fire Drum and consists of Marcellus Ford and his family. Marcellus is the man in the foreground in the second photo, and he served as emcee as well as performer. He did the Prairie Chicken dance, strutting and preening and making the bells on his shoes jingle jangle more than usual. Very cool! He's also playing the drum in the third photo while his wife performs the Shawl Dance. I very much enjoyed that one! And after the talk was done, I was able to hold part of her shawl and it was quite heavy! She has it beaded on both sides, top and bottom, so her arms get quite a workout when she's twirling it around!

"How good of her to let you touch her regalia. I wonder how long it took to make it?"

Oh, good question! I didn't think of that one. She also did the Traditional Women's Dance earlier in the show. And that other fellow on the stage in the second pic did the Lame Man Dance, which was rather humorous. It was about a drunk who thought he was a real ladies' man and ended up crippled from his pride. Oh, and guess what?

"What?"

I got to dance with them!!! They highly revere American military and veterans and we were told that when an invitation was offered to those folks, the only polite thing was to get up and join them. So, when Marcellus said they were going into the Victory Dance and invited any active duty or veterans to come on stage, I was right behind Laura Moonwoman! She was a Marine Corp veteran. All told there were five of us veterans up there. Everyone in the Southern Fire Drum group shook our hands, then we all danced, then they shook our hands and thanked us again. Even the two little children did! It was truly quite an honor.

"Well, that sounds like a marvelous experience! And to think that it was all free!"

I thank fb for letting me know about it.

i thank You, God, for the dancing!

boo! there's a troll in that painting!

Watching Bob Ross on a weekday morn is not something I do as a groove thing.

Generally, I like to watch him or Steven Raichlen late at night, when I've had a busy day and am trying to wind down so I can sleep.

Their voices, and speech patterns, are quite calming, and will do the trick when nothing else seems to be working.

But today I found the TV to still be on when his show began at noon, so I watched.

I'm so glad I did!

He painted a troll into his landscape... and I'm not sure he saw it at first.

Just a little later, I think he realized what he'd done, but kept it to himself.

I guess that makes it an inside joke for me and him!

Right place, right time!

See that waterfall, with all the froth cascading down...

falling toward the black rocks jutting up from the pool...

those rocks making two eyes and a partially open mouth under a long mustache?

Looks just like those fluffy-haired trolls that were all the rage when I was a teen!!!

In this photo, it even seems to be following his finger as he points toward the little tree he just made!

Truly is hilarious!!!

I should be sure to tell mi amiga Boo when I see her.

We're going to see "A Haunting In Venice" again...

me and Boo...

and that gives me the giggles all over again!

What a great start to this week!

(smile!)