banana sunday with fiReWOrKs!

This was definitely
the final home game
for the Savannah Bananas.
All of the host families
were graciously thanked
for providing a home for
our boys of summer
while they were playing -
and dancing - for us.

Then we had the
Father and Sun (daughter)
playing catch
for the last time
at Grayson Stadium.
You know I enjoyed that!

Soon enough it was time
for the singing of
"The Star-Spangled Banner",
followed by
those two little words
that mean so much:
"Play ball!"

Before you knew it,
the bases were
filled with Bananas!
Up to bat came
another boy of summer.
What did the Grizzlies do?
They walked him...

... and walked in
our first run
of the night!
Thanks, guys!
We appreciate that!

Then an error,
less than
sixty seconds later,
allowed our man on third
to rocket on home!
Vroom, vroom!

Once more, thanks to walks
and a pitcher who kept
hitting our guys, the bases
were filled with Bananas!
Terrence Pinkston,
a two-weeks-old center fielder,
steps up
into the batter box.

Boom goes the dynamite,
as my friend Sam Johnson
would have said!
His mighty swat brought in
not one, not two,
but all three
Bananas on bags!
Wow!

Two minutes later,
# 11 crossed home plate -
that would be Pinkston,
driven in by yet
another teammate.
Bah bahbahbah bahbahbah -
GO BANANAS!!!
(Thanks, Pep Band!)

Why so much attention
to this barely yellow Banana?
Well, that fellow
sitting beside Willie
is Daddy Pinkston,
down from Maryland
to watch his son play ball.
Mama Pinkston was there, too!

Here, Mister Willie is from
moments earlier, in his seat.
What is he doing?
Chortling over the Grizzlies' new uniform!
He says they look like "cocktail waitresses" -
I maintain that the snazzy style
makes them resemble western gunslingers.
That's when he had us switch seats.
(smile)

Here's Darius Johnson,
the dancing first-base coach,
leading the guys for
Michael Jackson's
"Thriller" - wow!
"Cause this is thriller -

- CLAP! -
"thriller night,
and no one's going to save you
from the beast
about to strike"

"You know it's thriller" -
CLAP! -
"thriller night"

"you're fighting for your life
inside a killer,
thriller tonight."

Bump bahbump
bump bump,
bump bahbump
bump bump,
Bah bump bump
bump
bump bump!
(smile)

Just after ten PM,
the Grizzlies,
no matter their new duds,
knew the beast in
the Bananas had done them in.
Woohoo!
What a nice win for the
26th sold-out home crowd!

Rosalind, seen here
squatting down by
Willie's side,
had already convinced him
to move into the
season-ticket holder seats.
Those are prime spots for
watching the fiReWOrKs!

What's that you say?
Etch-a-sketch fiReWOrKs
two nights in a row?
You betcha!
These were the ones that
were rained out on July 3rd.
What a lovely season closer!
i thank You, God!

bananas with saturday fiReWOrKs

After driving 326 miles today,
I was ready to settle into
a nice...
cool...
Savannah Bananas game!
Split was in total agreement!

Mister Willie totally agreed, too!
Actually, I think he was thrilled
that I had safely returned
from my final Florida vacation
of the summer.
Me, too!

And get this...
I was there early enough
to watch them
chalking the lines!
That's the first time
for that this season,
I do believe!

Here's a new tradition
that I don't recall
mentioning, either.
Behold, the Banana Baby!
All hail!
This time, the child was
only 8 weeks old.

What do we have here?
Surely you recognize the Bananas Pep Band!
Pep Band?
There is no Pep Band in baseball!
Tom Hanks would assure you
that we in Savannah have the only one,
making us unique, like the dear Tigger.
(smile)

Even the sky this evening
was smiling down on us!
See that lovely mustachioed
face up there?
It was H U G E!!!
I do so enjoy knowing
that the universe
is laughing along
with us!

Then again, maybe it was laughing at us!
See that man on second base?
Well, he should have been
Logan Mattix, our centerfielder.
But, no.
Logan got thrown out of the game
when he mouthed off at the umpire.

Utah Jones took his place.
Not a bad trade, really, as he can hit homers, too.
Plus, as you can see,
it was too lovely a night
to let anything mar the game.
Play on!

Willie's only quarrel with the Bananas -
or the Florence RedWolves -
or any baseball team, really -
is the lack of strategy.
"Why won't they bunt the ball?
That would move the man into
scoring position."

And so the boys of summer tried.
First, our guys gave it a go.
Then the visitors tried their hand.
Clearly, neither team had players
well-enough versed in the technique
to use it to an advantage.

The game stalled in the sixth inning.
Both teams had scored two runs and
no more were forthcoming...
at least, not until the
bottom of the tenth.

That's when Garrett Nelson
drove in Bryce Fischer!
And the Bananas won!
Tony and Willie were both quite pleased!
The Bananas also moved up
in the Playoff rankings,
from 4th to 3rd place.

Two more wins and we'll have baseball on Tuesday as we begin the Playoffs right here at home, right here at Grayson Stadium.
Hooray!
That calls for a celebration!
Fortunately, we had fireworks ready to blast off!
I see the moon and the moon sees me and we both see fiReWOrKs!!!

i thank You, God!

meeting astronauts is fun!

This is Sam Durrance.
I met him on Thursday,
just two days ago,
at the Astronaut Theater
at Kennedy Space Center.

The very next day,
I was right back there!
That's when I met Norm Thagard.
How very exciting
to have met two astronauts!

Today I met even more space explorers: the Guardians of the Galaxy!!!
I even sat between my two dream men, Yondu Udonta to the right,
Peter Quill, the Star Lord, to my left...
oh, yes!
Dreams come true!
I do hope the Georgia Welcome Center will let them come live with me!
Anybody know who I would call about that?
Seriously...

question of the day!

If I have a Cuban sandwich on a hot summer day in the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center, is that a Cuban missile crisis?

Such is the question I posted to facebook.
I had just made this photo my page background.
I sure will be curious what answers I'll receive!
Please be sure to notice the special time I have given for this blog post...
it'll be our inside joke!

Meanwhile, the folks at the Rocket Garden Cafe had rewarded me with a chocolate chocolate-chip muffin and a 24-oz bottle of water for my patience. (I think they may have temporarily lost my order.)
A woman with three little girls sat at a nearby table with their ice cream and 16-oz bottle of water to share.
I passed that extra bottle I'd received to them.
(But not the muffin, as I'd already begun eating it. After all, I like to have my dessert with my meal. Life is short, ya know!)
My reward for paying it forward?
Four lovely smiles!
i thank You, God!

Now, stay tuned for the responses gleaned from fb...

how to spend a rainy day with chocolate and magic

I'm ba-a-a-ack!
Didja miss me?
(smile)

As I had mentioned earlier,
my umbrella and I
spent some time
on this first day
roaming around Fun Spot
and Old Town.
Then I had a chili dog
so I could eat some sweets!

These sweets were royalty
in the world of candies!
I'm talking about the
Chocolate Kingdom, y'all!
Billed as a
"factory adventure tour",
it certainly lived up
to that description!

First, we were treated to
chocolate trivia to test our knowledge.
Tasty!
Then Prince George the Good -
or Good-Looking as he claimed -
had the help of his dragon pal,
Meechu, as he sought the hand
of the Princess of the
Chocolate Kingdom.

Fortunately, we had Alan
as our trusty guide
as we learned all about
the history of chocolate
and the technique of
making fine candy.
After all, we were helping
the Prince in his quest!

Of course, we had taste tests
along our journey!
Had to check the quality
of the goods, ya know.
(smile)
Powder-dusted nibs above,
stirred chocolate liqueur
on a stick here,

sweet, enchanting slippers
of white chocolate,
milk chocolate,
and my favorite -
dark chocolate...
I swear it tasted that much better
for knowing all of the effort
that went into its creation!

We even played a fun game
of shooting marshmallows
into Meechu's maw!
Dragons can work up quite an appetite walking
all over that kingdom, you know.
No sense in him going hungry...
and we ate marshmallows, too,
double-coated with dark chocolate!

But they had saved
the best for last!
At tour's end, we each had
the option of buying...
a candy block made
to our specifications!
Only six bucks, too,
so I went for it,
selecting dark chocolate for the base,

then three more ingredients
to be swirled in:
toffee (the special of the day),
mini pretzels,
and, of course, caramel.
Then I waited for it
to be created
and delivered...
what a unique sweet treat!

Back to the condo I walked, to put it safely away from the heat...
and me, too!
The day had become a sauna outside, so I watched "Good Will Hunting" as I awaited the night's cooling breeze.
Then back to Old Town, to wander and look at the shops... and to dance!

Will Yancy - The Showman - was crooning "Send Me The Pillow You Dream On" - an oldie but goodie! The Entertainment Stage had a lovely area of street cleared off for dancing... so you know I did!
And I kept right on dancing, too.
"Third Rate Romance" -
"Be My Baby Tonight" -
"Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind" -
very nice selection of those and more, mixing up the tempos and the eras.
Some other folks even joined me on the dance floor!
I would have stayed even longer, except... magic was in the air!

Remember, I had a ticket in my hot pocket for the 9 PM Grand Magic Tour!
Joining me for the ride was a family quartet from upstate New York and a duo from somewhere in Texas.
All aboard!!!
Jafo - nee Jerome Fields - was our charming and - I must say! - quite talented conductor for the experience. As the man earlier had told me, Jafo had performed for Penn and Teller in Las Vegas! How very exciting!
I so enjoyed the magic he performed, too!
Red balls that multiplied and and moved around and disappeared into the depths of an invisible purse!
Giant cards that always, always, always gave him a winning hand in "Jafo cheats at cards and always wins"!
Coins that appeared from a silk scarf, that obeyed every snap of his fingers, that invisibly moved through the air and into a waiting cocktail glass in his coat pocket!
Can you tell that I had fun?
(smile)

Now, time for bed.
Tomorrow, I venture off to the "Summer of Mars" at the Kennedy Space Center.
That'll be magical, I'm sure!
Sweet dreams!

how to spend a rainy day in Kissimmee

First, wake up whenever you please. After all, it's your first day of your last summer trip, so make the most of it and enjoy every minute!

I had thought my Summer Kid Film Festival was winding down, but school hasn't started - for me - just yet. Monday, I had caught the last of my running-theme trio from ON DEMAND. That had started on Thursday, with "How To Train Your Dragon 2" - how cool to see the dragon riders of Berk again! Brought to mind a series of books about a place called Pern hat had been dear to my heart in my younger days... good memories!
Guess what? That movie had a short with it! I'm not sure of the title, but it was set prior to "HTTYD 2". The time was Snoggle Fest, but there was no joy in Berk: all of the dragons had run off, even Toothless. Oh, no! Turns out dragon eggs are explosive and the beasts hadn't wanted to set the burg on fire!

What to see next?
Well, on Friday, I stayed with the life-savers motif and viewed "Rise Of The Guardians", in which unicorns were morphed into night mares.
(Love the pun!)
That tale of Jack Frost finding his superpower
after 300 years of talking to the moon
gives me hope.

Was his superpower flying?
- No, though he could.
Was it bedecking the trees with beautiful snowflakes?
- No, though he could.
Was it putting fun into ice-cold fear?
- Exactly right!
He used humor to overcome the fear factor!
Hey... I do that, too, for my students!
I guess that makes me a Guardian, too, just like the Easter Rabbit and Sandman and St. Nick and...
"The Tooth Fairy"! Though I must say the one played by The Rock - um, I mean Dwayne Johnson - certainly was quite different. Much fun, too!
Last night, the SKFF continued with "Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit" - what a hoot! I had forgotten how much I enjoy Whoopi Goldberg - she is so very talented!
Then this morning, I caught Tim Allen in "The Shaggy Dog". I'm talking about the 2006 film, with Robert Downey, Jr., in his first role as a mad scientist. The movie was a funny shaggy dog story - no joke!
(smile)

Second, go check out the local action.
Fortunately, my quest to visit a resort that was 'new to me' had been successful! When I had arrived last night, in the rain, I had mistakenly thought I was at a renamed Orbit One. In the dark and in the rain, the entryway and its location and the look of the condos was so very similar...but it had been four years ago.
This morning, I noticed I was hearing amusement park sounds.
That was new!

And so I realized that my quest had been successful!
I had, as intended, landed upon a place I had not yet visited!
Barefoot'n Resort was located on Florida Plaza Boulevard, off US-192 and east of I-4;
its sister resort was on Entry Point Boulevard, also off US-192, but west of I-4.
Aha!

For future trips to Kissimmee, I want to try for this place again. It's right across the street, literally, from Old Town and Fun Spot America. With umbrella in hand, off I went to explore!
Guess what song greeted me as I walked toward Old Town?
Jim Croce's "Rapid Roy"!
Coincidence?
Nah, it was the Universe letting me know I was at the right place, at the right time!
(smile!)

The Great Magic Hall was right there as I entered Old Town. Of course I went in!
My visit there in 2015 led to one of my most popular posts in tripadvisor!
The man behind the counter told me the magician for tonight's "magical tour" would soon be on "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" - how very exciting!
I bought my ticket for the 9 PM show right then!

What to do with all of this
excitement building inside?
Walking it off at
Fun Spot America
sure sounded like a good idea -
so that's what I did!
Such a cool, old-fashioned place -
it reminded me of Lake Winnie.

Of course I had to send several photos
of the place to the physicist.
Given its likeness to the north Georgia
amusement park that we had visited
on our adventure in 2012,
it was only natural!
Good call!
He had fond memories, too,
of that trip early in our friendship!

I thought about buying a pass
and going on some of the rides...
as I told him I might do...
but this rollercoaster -
named for me! -
was the only ride that called to me.
I opted to enjoy the free
sights and sounds.
Very nice!

You see, one of those very sights
was a movie prop from "Road House".
Can you guess from this photo?
I speak of Bigfoot 7,
built specifically for the movie,
the beast that crushed four cars
in a scene costing half a million dollars.
Sounds like a 'Rock Star' life!
(smile)

Now, pardon me while I eat a chili dog...
that's not very conducive to typing!
I'll be back to tell you about the chocolate factory... I promise!