first live musical for the 4 little blondes!

First, my many thanks to the Hive Repertory Theatre, in Rincon, for this golden opportunity.

Everyone knows how much I love musicals, and to have this chance to share that love with my four little blonde great-nieces was absolutely magical for me!

Here's what they did that made it possible for all of us to go: they gave a free hour-long preview of the Tony-nominated show, "The Wind In The Willows"!!!

The musical is based on the book published in 1908 by an English banker, Kenneth Grahame.

He was 49 years old and he chose to retire after the publication of "The Wind In The Willows".

That book was comprised of stories he told his son.

Isn't that a nice touch?

I have to wonder if he and his boy spent afternoons walking in the woods together, discovering there all that nature had to offer.

Then, the Fox and River Rat and Mole and Otter living in that area just naturally became characters that the child could envision, right?

And the Toad, that silly speed-happy chap who loved motor cars, would serve as the cautionary tale of the consequences of bad decisions.

Perfect for middle-school aged tweens!

I'll go again for the entire musical in two weeks.

I'll hope for company when I see it then, but I'll certainly understand if that's not to be.

Single parents have to watch their money, and the $45 cost for a family of 3 can find other uses.

My many thanks to Michael and Christina for making sure they reserved their free seats for this performance when I sent them the link!

My many thanks to them, too, for making the trip from Hinesville - southeast of Savannah - to Rincon, northeast of this seaport.

I'm glad their mom, my outlaw Melinda, set up a cookout for Michael's birthday at her place in Guyton, while they were in the area.

That worked out beautifully for them... and for me!

I missed the ribs, but I benefited from the company of these six that I love!

Plus, get this: the musical was at 7 on the 7th.

Nice inside joke with the Universe!

Right place, right time, for us all.

(smile!)

beauty of a gas stove!

"Did you lose power or something?"

Nope! I toasted some marshmallows for dessert!

"Hahahaha! Now, that's funny!!! Looks more like 'burning' than toasting!"

I'm serious! You know darned well they're delicious when they've been on fire!

"Yeah, I know. That's because you're too impatient to wait for them to slowly toast."

You may be right about that. Having them the other night has really started me up about these simple sugar bombs. So good! So uncomplicated! So easy! A perfect dessert.

"Yes, dear."

They are! Low-cal, too. Which is probably needed after those Chicken Nachos.

"Oh, yeah, now you're talkin'! Was that at the S&K Family Fiesta?"

You know it! Shredded chicken, tortilla chips, and cheesy sauce - delicious! If not for everyone there, I'd have licked the platter clean!

"Hahahaha! Yeah, I know. Good for you to eat around others so you remember some manners every once in a while."

Very funny. Speaking of, I may have caused some paradigm shift there tonight.

"Oh? Do tell."

Well, I had Mary's attention and I asked why we sit as we do there, with all the women on one side of the table and all the men on the other. Laura piped up and said that's the way it's been as long as she's been there and she had wondered why, too. Mary told us that there was no real reason for it, it just kinda sorta happened, with her and Smitty taking opposite sides after they got there and everyone else sitting accordingly.

"Mary actually said 'kinda sorta' and all that?"

No, I was paraphrasing.

"Okay, just askin', 'cause it sounded like you, not her..."

... Mind if I finish my story? "Thank you, thank you so very much," as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson would say.

"You're still watching "The Closer" on Peacock? I would have thought you'd finished off that series by now, as long as you've been watching it."

I don't binge watch. That just might overload my senses. I just watched s6e8, "War Zone", this afternoon, about three soldiers home on leave get killed when one is mistaken for his twin, gang hoodlum, brother. A few days ago, I watched a really funny one, s6e4, "Layover", in which Lieutenants Lou Provenza and Andy Flynn try to score with two flight attendants. Mind, they are the two oldest guys on the squad, but they fancy themselves still the studs they once were. Very funny! I just may watch it again sometime!

"Yes, dear. Now, what were you saying about dinner conversation tonight?"

About what? Oh, yes, the division of the sexes at Jalapenos of Sandfly. Yes. Well, it ended up with Mary announcing to the table that we would be switching it up next week. Yes, she did! And then she reminded everyone before we left that we'd be changing the sitting order next Friday - for real!!! I didn't think to mention that would be Friday the 13th. That's okay, as I'm sure that will come up.

"I'll be interested in hearing how that works out. I know several there are trying to match make with you and Mark, as y'all are similar ages and single."

Yes, they are. I had a chat with Laura about that after the parrot-head party. I closed by telling her that I wouldn't mind meeting him for dinner somewhere, and that satisfied her. So, I'm sure that has made the rounds now. Or, maybe not. Who knows?

"Who knows? The Shadow knows. Hahahaha! Hey, hold up! Is the stove light on? Already? I mean, it's only September, so the fuse for the attic fan should still be out. Right?"

Nope. I put it back in on Wednesday morning, just to check, and the attic fan stayed off. Hooray! Nice to have that clock again, too, so I don't have to check my phone for the time.

"The temperatures are already cool enough for that???"

Yes, believe it or not. Just look at this WSAV weather song, would ya? It's been highs in the low 80's, with no heat index, since Tuesday. Over the weekend, Savannah will have highs in the 70's and lows in the 60's. I don't know that I'm quite ready for that... but it sure is nice to be able to use the stove light again. Change, the one constant in life.

... and deep, too!

I blame Genie for bringing that joke to mind!

She posted this meme on her fb page, with the caption "Why does this tree look like it's sneaking out of the woods?".

My response had been that it was just going skinny dipping in that water.

Then Tom Lewis said, "That water looks cold", and my immediate response had been, "and deep, too!"

That had been one of my favorite jokes when I was in the Navy.

Here goes: Two guys are pissing off a bridge, and one says, "That water sure is cold!"

To which the other, not to be outdone, replied justthatfast, "And deep, too!"

Hahahaha!

Must be time to post a few jokes!

Here's one from Rhonda.

What with Dragon*Con having recently come and gone, this one's timely.

Also, the US Post Office presented a series of stamps last month to mark the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons... and I ordered two sheets of them today.

One is for me; the other is for the J-Dawg as a house-warming gift.

He's one of the few I know who still use the mail to send missives.

In the photo, the manhole cover proclaims "TELEPORT", but the caption reads, "I stood there all day. Lying bastards."

Hahahaha!!!

Danny Beam posted this one with...

is that Baby Yoda?...

singing and getting the lyrics wrong.

"Footlose, pet goose,

picked a fight with a moose,

cheese,

stiff breeze, 

look out, there are ten bees!"

Hahahaha!

I've scrambled some words up sometimes, but not that badly!

And I can always count on Hallie, 

the sis-in-law of my sis-in-law Mary, 

for a chuckle.

This one riffs on a John Lennon tune.

"Imagine there's no thunder,

it's easy if you try.

No hellish noises

coming from the sky.

Imagine all the people

not using fireworks..."

Hahahaha!

And there's the dog in the front row telling his buddy, "This song gets me every time."

Maybe he needs some of the doggy drugs that Mary gives Buddy to keep him calm during holiday nights and thunderstorms!

Got room for one more?

Sure, you do, especially since it's from a former radio jock like Jay Sinclair!

In fact, let's dedicate this to another former deejay, my ex, a devoted KISS fan!

The scene: a doctor's office.

The patient is sitting on one of those horrid metal tables when the doctor, holding a clipboard, comes in and says, "How's your energy level?"

The long-haired, bald pate, patient, dressed as a rocker from the early 80's, replies:

"I want to rock & roll on occasion, 

and party every once in a while."

Hahahaha!

Go on, click that link - ya know ya want to!

And turn it up!!!

(smile!)

a*list and carolyn

It isn't as if she and I went to every movie together -

because we didn't.

We only did that for the last one, the science-fiction themed "Slingshot" with Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne.

That could have been superb if they had stopped it 60 seconds earlier.

Other than that gaffe, it was excellent and dealt with a very real item of concern at NASA for manned voyages to Titan or Mars or anywhere else: the fragile human psyche.

That film earlier this year from AARP MFG dealt with that in depth.

Oh, speaking of that film, it's the only one of the trio which is in its correct slot on this week's dance card.

The other two are out of sequence, though I have no idea why.

"The Crow" - already spoken in detail about - belongs in the first slot, as I saw it on Monday, September 2, not on Tuesday.

I have no inkling as to how AMC scrambled that up.

"City Of Dreams", which I did see on Tuesday/yesterday, belongs in the middle.

I didn't really care for it, as I was expecting a baseball diamond, but got a soccer pitch.

Anyway, the next A*List begins on Friday, and I can hardly wait: "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" awaits me, and if I like it, I just may see it three times!

I'll just be sure to not say it thrice!

LOL!

Oh, and how does Carolyn figure in with the above trio?

On Monday, she was out there at the same time as I, but she went to a different movie.

On Tuesday, she again was out there and I joined her afterward for cake.

On Wednesday, we watched the movie together, then went our separate ways.

Still, we made contact each day!

(smile!)

flashback: may 3, 2012

I always tried to be at the special events on the Armstrong campus, especially those during the day.

This particular one was during the second year of my temporary full-time gig there.

It was the Friday before Cinco De Mayo, so the university had been having Hispanic Outreach activities all week.

I don't recall just why a Native American dancer was there to entertain the lunchtime crowd, nor do I recall which nationality he was.

All I can say for sure is this: he was magnificent to watch while he was dancing all over the plaza.

My feet were tapping right along during his entire dance, and he noticed he had my attention.

Looking directly at me, he asked the gathered audience if anyone would like to join him in a group dance, knowing I would be the first to volunteer... that's what he told me, too, when I spoke with him afterward.

(smile!)

 

First, he lined us up and showed us a few steps.

 

He made sure we were holding hands, too.

I felt like a Rockette!

(smile!)

 

Next, we started dancing...

 

... as he led us in a curving line all around the plaza at the student center!

 

 

Then, we gave thanks for the dance we had done together.

 

My thanks to Armstrong for a lovely break from chemistry and teaching!

 

My thanks to the dancer for seeing in me a kindred spirit!

 

My thanks for fb for this 'memory' a couple of months ago!

 

i thank You, God!

the lemon cake is much better

That's the response I'd posted to Lynita Spivey's fb query earlier.

She'd asked folks to talk her out of buying a Pepperidge Farm chocolate cake and eating the whole thing.

Then, tonight, I was with Carolyn at Carey the H on Waters and guess what they have on the menu now?

"Soft Lemon Cake"

Now, Lynita and I have an inside joke.

I shared the tale with Carolyn, so she and I now have that same joke.

Very nice.

Right place, right time.

poignant tragic romance, as i told imdb

Yes, that's right: I've cared enough to leave a review for this movie on IMDB.com.

Just which movie might that be?

"The Crow".

I thank Ernie Hudson for spurring me to do so.

I'd read his quote on 26 August while I was still trying to figure out whether I would see it.

After mulling it over for two days, I decided to see it anyway...

even though I had already completed my A*List and would have to pay for it.

 

That's how important it was to me that I see it and judge it for myself.

I'm so glad I did!

I had loved Bill Skarsgard in "Boy Kills World", and I love him as 'Eric' in this new movie.

Yes, "The Crow" is a new movie, not a remake, not at all.

There is so much confusion out there about that point.

Why?

No one thinks Aerosmith's "Crazy" is a remake of Patsy Cline's "Crazy".

Nor does anyone compare Seal's "Crazy" to Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".

I love all four of those songs and all four of the artists that sing them.

I've even done some of them in karaoke, just to hear them again.

(smile!) 

However, I do not ever remember reading any criticism of those same-named songs.

Not once.

So, if songs with vastly different lyrics are allowed to have the same title with no one even batting an eyelash, then what is the deal?

Other movies have had the same name and not been harshly devalued because of it.

Case in point: "Passengers".

During the pandemic, I wanted to watch again the 2016 movie with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, as it would be in keeping with the social isolation.

However, when I went in search of it on TV, other movies with that same name popped up, but not the one I wanted.

The one with Anne Hathaway, made in 2008, wasn't even science fiction, nor was the 2009 one set in Los Angeles.

Were any of those remakes of each other?

Nope, nor did anyone claim they had been.

Why all the venom and vitriol being hurled at "The Crow"?

Yes, it's derived from the same comic book which was published in 1989.

Yes, the two lead characters have the names 'Eric' and 'Shelly'.

Yes, the male gets killed and comes back to avenge the female's death.

Ooh, aah.

This version didn't have rape, so that was a plus to me.

It also had much more of the love story between the two leads, using about half the movie to set up that tragic, and short, romance.

I consider that a plus, too, as we had scant interface with the female lead in the older movie made three decades ago.

And the soundtrack?

Straight out of the 80's alternative playbook, though not anything anyone would have heard on the radio back then.

Oddly, only Gary Numan and The Joy Division would have been heard back then.

The other bands are all new to me, but they had that sound going for them.

Very nice!

Plus, there was an opera that played well with the choreography of the last fight scenes.

That was "Robert le diable", written in 1831 by German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, in five acts, for the Paris Opera.

I'd like to see that some time, as it was the first 'grand opera' ever and had some incredible scenes in this movie.

(smile!)

What movies did make it to my AMC A*List?

"The Forge" was about refashioning the Christian church into smaller groups of 'disciples', both to promote camaraderie amongst members and to encourage the spreading of The Gospels to future church members.

I recommended that to my brothers, as it seems to be the message currently being taught at the Compassion Christian campuses.

"Blink Twice" was the third Channing Tatum film I've seen this year, with this being the only horror movie in that trio.

I had thought I might see the thought-provoking story one more time, but not after the nightmare I had the day after seeing it.

That's a shame, as it's one of the modern, slick, horror films - "Ready Or Not", "Abigail", "Bodies Bodies Bodies" - that hearken back to the crime spree of "Heathers".

(Note: that last one also starred Christian Slater, as did "Blink Twice", 26 years later.)

"Didi" came with high praise from Carolyn, but I could barely stand to sit through the coming-of-age movie even once.

Dark and dour and just nothing I wanted to be part of.

I really should have seen "The Crow" instead.

let there be.... sushi!!!

Hallelujah!

That itch has been thoroughly scratched!

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

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

Yes, he remembered that one!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pause... wasn't it Sunday?

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

so, today must be Monday???

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

Hooray!!!

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

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

Wow!

Plus, we had lots of talking, too!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(smile!)

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

That show isn't on Saturday or Sunday.

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

LOL!

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

(smile!)

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

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

(smile!)

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

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

Hooray for ribs for Labor Day!

Thank you, brother mine!

(smile!)

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

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

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

What a full holiday weekend it's been!

(smile!)

partyin' like a parrot-head!

Here are the glorious hosts of this outside party: 

my youngest brother, Dood, and his lovely wife, Laura!

 

I just love that purple Hawaiian shirt he's wearing!

 

I love that metal art on the wall, too, of sailing ships!

 

Very nice!

 

Here's my other brother, Smitty, and his lovely wife, Mary!

 

I know they were thrilled to not be in charge of a cookout!

 

This party was completely outdoors, though, so no need to have folks traipsing in and out here!

 

In fact, knowing it was to be outside, I helped.

 

See that huge blue cooler on wheels?

 

See that mesh food umbrella over the fruit tray?

 

See that Sunbasket ice bag under the fruit tray?

 

I'm so glad those items were put to good use here!

Now, back to the party guests, shall we?

These folks are the Tatums!

 

Terri and Laura have been best buds since they were 5 years old!

 

Hobie is Terri's hubby and is a really nice guy.

 

Then there's the regular Friday Fiesta folks!

 

Betsy was sporting a flowered dress for the occasion.

 

Jimmy's shirt had a print on the back, I think.

 

But it was Mark Kameron that had the party spirit, wearing his red Hawaiian shirt!

 

He and I shared a table apart from the others, just by happenstance.

 

Although it wasn't in this photo, there was a bubble machine going, and the bubbles kept following Mark wherever he moved his chair!

Hahahaha!

And where's a shot of me?

 

Right here, I am, and I'm even wearing one of the parrot-head headbands that Laura had for the party!

 

Plus, I have on my spring dress, as I did last year!

 

Trust me, Laura has a photo of me with her at that shindig.

 

They took it up a few notches this time, though.

Just look at the size of that cheeseburger!!!

 

I had been forewarned that it would be a monster...

so I brought Muenster to go on it!

 

Hahahaha!

 

Definitely a cheeseburger in paradise, with french fried potatoes, and kosher dill pickle, too!

 

Laura had a game for us to play, calling us to look around and write down all the items that are in Jimmy Buffett songs.

 

Somehow, I won first place!

 

I think it's because I added song lyrics to my sheet.

 

Smitty came in second, and Mark had third place.

 

He'd grown up with an older brother that had all those albums, so he knew a lot more of the songs than I did.

 

Nice to have these key lime cuties for dessert on this relatively cool summer evening!

Seriously, it was a nice day!

 

The party started around 3 PM, with a sweet breeze lifting the heat of the day away from their back yard.

 

Between that and the fans strewn around, and the shade of the canopies as well as the trees, it truly was a fabulous day for a cookout!

 

i thank You, God!