of gender pronouns and 3-point throws

At the American Legion meeting of the Two Firsts Post tonight, I had not one, but two opportunities to shine light.

My Uncle Jimmy always did say I was a beacon.

(smile!)

The first illumination came during the pre-meeting dinner.

I was sitting at the table, as were James (the one who was in Panama during Noriega's time) and Ben (new to me).

(They are both from 500, the first Black Post in Savannah.

I, and the others there, are from 36, the first Post in Savannah.

Hence, as we have combined forces, we've incorporated our positions in the new name.)

Anyway, there we were eating Firehouse subs, keeping company.

Then, James mentions that he'd received an email from someone they both knew and that she had signed her name, then added "she/her/hers".

He was trying to puzzle out why she would have done such a thing when he knew her.

So, I enlightened him about modern gender terminology.

I told him the woman is trying to be clear with others about her gender identity by use of those pronouns; namely, she identifies as a female, just as I do.

James would identify as "he/him/his", as would Ben.

However, there are some I know who use the pronouns "they/them/their" and others who identify as a mixture, like "they/him/his".

I emphasized that the pronouns do not necessarily reflect the sexual orientation of the person, just their gender identity.

After all, a straight man and a gay man might use the same pronouns, as might a straight woman and a lesbian.

About that time, I noticed the room had become very quiet... so I stepped away and got another 4" hunk of sub, allowing the topic to change.

I didn't think anyone would be up for a discussion of the rainbow and my interpretation of its colors and their relation to sexual orientation.

(smile!)

At some point after that, Doug was reading the names and some biographical information about several members who have died.

One of those was Don Fallin, the kindly old gent who'd sat in the first row at last month's meeting and related that he had been an electronics technician, as I had.

Twixt then and now he had died, just short of his 90th birthday, but just a week after the death of Patrick, his 17-year-old grandson, named after a son gone too soon.

I shone my beacon and let all know that the grandson had battled cancer for the last three years of his life.

I didn't mention the impact that might have had on the grandfather; these men would already know about grief and its effect.

I also didn't mention that the teen had been an avid "War Thunder" gamer and his friends had put together quite a nice homage to him.

Most of the rest of the meeting was about the continuing progress toward the transformation of this building into an NCO club, as well as a reception hall for "Hail & Farewell" parties.

As it's located right outside one of Hunter AAF's gates, that will be a booming business!

That's a ways off, though, still very much in the dream stage, but is slowly heading for real.

James has already had the contractor create two large pocket doors between our meeting space and the huge room beyond.

Next will be the removal of a wall extension in that room, then work on getting those nasty acoustical tiles in the ceiling and even nastier carpet and vinyl on the floors.

Maybe we'll have it open in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas parties!

Fingers crossed!

(smile!)

 

I had to hustle out of there after the meeting: I had an AARP MFG at 8!

I made it in time for the opening credits, too.

Good thing they're always a little late.

(smile!)

Titled "The Legend Of The 81-Point Game", the documentary was all about Kobe Bryant and the basketball played on January 6, 2006, by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Montreal Raptors.

Say what?

I do basketball, too?

Well, my first love is baseball, but, as I've tried to tell people, I'll watch any sport in person!!!

Just not a fan of doing so on TV, unless it's ice skating.

(smile!)

Mostly, though, I was there because of the one Kobe in my life: Zach's son.

As I shared with the others, I was "Watching with my 12-yo [great] nephew named after Kobe!" 

As far as I know, it was true that Zach and his boy were watching this from their home.

I had alerted Zach to the special screening online just so Kobe could see, in this legendary game, this famous person who shared his name.

A woman named Joyce read my post and wrote some encouraging words: "All Right Young Kobe - Do You All The Way!"

How very kind of her!

(smile!)

And what kind words there had been from his teammates and his opponents and even from the Raptors' coach!

Twenty-seven three-point shots Bryant made that night, even though 3-pointers weren't really his thing.

That is what a team player does: what's best for all.

missing my beautiful laundrette

I find myself still going to where Wash Plus once was, more for sentimental reasons than anything else.

Not that it was ever as posh as the one in the 1985 film, "My Beautiful Laundrette", where the owner was inspired to dance with his mistress as the machines awaited their first loads of clothes.

HBO offered me free access to that movie just two weeks ago.

It truly was as memorable then as it had been the first time I saw it, when it was new.

(smile!)

Not so the coin-operated laundry in Sandfly.

I was discussing that with the old man who was also there, washing his clothes, missing Nami and the haven she had made.

Hopefully, all the broken washers and dryers will soon be repaired... and I'll keep returning until it closes.

one puffling at a time

Every once in a while, when I'm enjoying my new groove in the sunroom, a story in the Smithsonian magazine almost brings me to tears, just through the turn of phrase employed by the author.

This was one of those mornings.

In a sly pun from the universe, the article about birds was written by Katz.

(smile!)

Here's the closing paragraph.

"Perhaps a few years from now, one of these returning birds will be the puffling I saw last fall, tossed into the air by a young girl in a bright orange jacket, her arms held aloft as she watched it fly off over the ocean, full of wonder and hope as she saved one small part of the world."

So said Cheryl Katz in "Make Way For Pufflings", about baby puffins and the Icelandic people who have made it their mission, for more than a century, to help them.

Reading those words, I was struck at once with the thought of one of my favorite tales of animal rescue: the person throwing stranded starfish back into the ocean, one by one.

I wonder if she is familiar with that tale of perspective.

 

That started me to thinking about birds, which brought to mind one of the photographs taken by the retired Brit in Virginia.

He is an avid birder - with a surname of Peacock, he rather has to be, right? - and has captured some amazing shots of birds in motion!

However, the photo I'm speaking of was of a perched feathered creature.

Here's Andrew's caption.

 

"Belted kingfisher eyeing a snake.
This was the first snake that we have seen this year (Jan 28th)"

I was dazzled not by the bird, but the framing of the photo as a whole.

So, I had to comment, didn't I?

And that began a bit of conversation on fb.

(smile!)

 

me:
Is this a reflection in water???

him:
No

me:
That log going across the middle has such symmetry from end to end that
it looks like the upper part is being reflected.
Nice!

him:
I see what you mean now.
Yes, the upper log is being reflected.

me:
That's a superb photo, probably serendipitously so.
Andrew, you didn't purposely try for a half-real, half-reflection, shot, right?
You were just going for the bird?

him:
Yes, the bird was the prime target.
I will have to go back to the original shot and see if I can re-interpret it in light of your comment.

Perspective.

I wonder if he has returned to the locale of the kingfisher?

Has he tried to recreate that glorious photograph, sans bird and reptile?

And what about entering the shot in a photo contest, perhaps for a magazine story?

I'll have to maybe pester him a bit about that!

(smile!)

and the best supporting award goes to...

... (bet you'll never guess)

... ('cause you're thinking about films or television shows)

... (and not considering sports)

... (even though wrestling has long been considered staged work)

... (even though you have to have heard me talk about staging in baseball)

... (so get ready to add another sport to the mix)

... Kadarius Toney!!!

Yeah, I know the quarterback got the MVP award, but without golden gloves to catch those passes, and fleet feet to have the man in position under that hurled object, the score would have been zippity-doo-dah.

 

So, why this particular wide receiver and not another?

He made two utterly amazing plays for that KC Crew.

It's the fourth quarter and the other team has finessed the lead by making two low-scoring, but well-played, field goals.

Now, a touchdown was needed to bring the team out of the 6-point hole it'd fallen into.

And whaddaya know?

Nobody was watching that right-hand part of the line!

He was able to just skip right across and score!

Then, moments later, he has control of the ball again.

Down the field Toney runs, ball clutched tight!

Ten yards, twenty yards...

thirty, forty, fifty...

sixty-five yards he ran, never getting touched!

That beautifully set up the next player.

The other team expected a run down the middle -

but they ignored the open left-hand corner,

allowing Skyy Moore, another wide receiver,

to literally stroll across for his touchdown.

Wow.

I'd like to say that ended the game, but it did not.

The other team made up the eight-point deficit with a touchdown and a conversion (running the ball instead of kicking over the field goal) to tie up the score.

Wow.

And the clock kept ticking...

with the ball under control of the KC team...

as folks wondered:

will there be an overtime needed to break the tie???

Nope.

That's when I realized that football has a resemblance to chess, just like baseball does.

It's all a matter of perspective and something one of the announcers said gave me that connection to other sports that utilize strategy.

Each team can be thought of as an improv troupe, with the coach serving as director.

Based on the lines/plays that have been performed, the coach tries to direct the next course of action, cuing the players to speak/move in a way to drive the story forward.

With chess, to slow down a game, smaller pieces are taken and different spaces become the travel routes toward the king.

With baseball, to slow down a game, players take walks or pitchers get changed.

In tonight's game, the strategy was to deliberately throw incomplete passes or to deliberately have the quarterback kneel or to deliberately have a caught ball be taken out of bounds instead of across the goal line.

Seriously, I watched as the player put his foot ON TOP OF THE GOAL LINE, but not beyond it, just before he stepped off to the side, making it an incomplete pass.

The coach was deliberately running out the clock so the other team would not have time to get the ball and score.

But how to break the tie?

With a field goal after the third down, leaving just 8 seconds on the clock.

Well played, well played!

Thanks for showing me the smarter side of this sport.

7 to 7 at 7

Like I told my first niece, it must have been my blonde roots that got the time wrong.

Or did they???

I tuned in just in time to watch the Kansas City Chiefs score their first touchdown!

Woohoo!!!

That tied up the score against the Philadelphia Eagles...

and must have been a doubly proud moment for the Kelce family!

They have a son on each team in Super Bowl LVII, so it's win-win for them!

They'll have boasting rights no matter which team wins.

What a sweet position to be in!

As for me, I'm rooting for the KC crew!

(Hey, that's an inside joke for those familiar with my online bingo games!)

This is their third Super Bowl in four years!!!

So far, they've won over a bunch of gold miners (San Francisco 49ers)...

then lost one to a patch of pirates (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)...

before taking a year away from this particular Bowl...

and now they're up against a flock of birds (Philadelphia Eagles).

Go Chiefs!!!

Woohoo!!!

gratitude to the new regime of SMF

See this email from the Savannah Music Festival?

"9 February 2023               8:04 PM
 

Hello Mighty Volunteers!
Here we go! So happy to announce that the volunteer shifts for SMF 2023 are open as of 6 A.M. Friday Feb. 10th!
Sign in, sign up, and we'll see each other soon.

As a reminder:
2023 Volunteer Orientation is Monday, Feb. 27th, at the Trustees Theater.
Two orientation sessions: 10 AM and 6 PM. You are only required to attend one.

If you need a Volunteer shirt, please fill out this form. Shirts will be distributed at Volunteer Orientation.
If you have friends who want to volunteer, please send them to the SMF website to sign up. The more the merrier!
 

Thank you so much for your time and dedication to making the Savannah Music Festival the best it can be.
You make all the difference!

Best,
Therra

Volunteer Coordinator 2023
S A V A N N A H   M U S I C   F E S T I V A L
200 East St. Julian Street, Suite 601, Savannah, Georgia 31401
office (912) 234-3378"

 

-*-*-

Yeah, well, I didn't.

The last time I was a volunteer usher for anything at the SMF was in 2019.
All the in-person shows were cancelled in 2020, and when the 2021 version was announced, the Savannah Music Festival had been split into two smaller groups of concerts, one in late spring and the other in early fall, with the volunteer positions evaporating as soon as the website opened.
Things were back to normal with SMF last year, but not with my health, and I even had to cancel the few events I'd signed up for.
That was a hard thing for me to accept: not being able to serve as a volunteer.

So, this year, I was looking forward to making a sincere effort at reclaiming that bit of joy.

Once I saw that email, something in me faltered, but I still went to the volunteer website.
Wonder of wonders!!!

There were shifts available all over the event calendar!!!

So I made sure to let Therra know her changes were appreciated!

 

_*_*_

 

"10 feb
6:16 PM

 First, a big THANKS!!!
I had not had a chance to read the email about shifts being open for selection by volunteers until just an hour ago.
The first thing I thought was: Drats, There'll be nothing left.
That's how it's been in the past.
Everything would have been snapped up within just a couple of hours.
But, I logged in to check anyway... and was pleasantly surprised!
THANK YOU for this policy of only allowing volunteers to make one selection per day!
That's a much fairer way to allow distribution of the popular shows, as well as granting hope to those who log in late, as I did.
Such a great idea!

Faustina Smith"

 

_*_*_

 

Yesterday, I signed up for the Christian Sands concert, hoping for acrobats, though I am a bit concerned about the "Metal Building at Trustees Garden", as that's new to me.

Today, I volunteered for the matinee performance of Kenny Barron and Dave Holland, as that is at the Charles Morris Center, one of my favorites.

My plan is to log in every day for the next few, selecting one concert each time, until I reach five.

I know from experience that I can always sign up for others along the way.

But, I don't want to sign up and then end up having to cancel.

Sure, I have to watch the weather...

and I'm not going to go for night shows...

but I'm feeling very positive about this.

(smile!)

i have nephews that live there

Well, I do.

I have two nephews that currently reside in Cullman, Alabama, and that's where he's from.

 

"That's where who is from?"

 

Channing Tatum. 

He was born there. 

His family moved when he was six, but that little town is where he started out.

 

"And just what brought him to mind?"

 

My first niece and I went to his new movie this morning!

 

"You mean early afternoon, right?"

 

Nope! 

"Magic Mike's Last Dance" started at 11 AM at the NCG and we were right there!

I got so hot watching it that I had to take off my top!

 

"You're kidding, right?"

 

Oh, I assure you I am telling the absolute truth!

Good thing I had my pink camisole under that favorite blue sweater.

It looks lightweight, but it traps heat well.

Christina never even wore her wrap, so clearly the 42-year-old former stripper still works well for us.

(smile!)

"Yeah, I see those big grins!

I take it that this was snapped after the movie?"

 

For sure!

I even danced during the credits, with neither of us making a move to leave until the lights came up.

Yeah, that Magic Mike still has the touch...

even from beyond the silver screen!

I do hope AMC brings this one soon so I can see it several times with my A*List!

I paid for this one, for both of us, but I'm pretty spoiled 

by having a weekly dance card.

(smile!)

 

"That sounds like it's an inside joke."

 

Well, it certainly could be... hahahaha! Hahaha!

 

"Did y'all jet off to The Garden of Olive afterward?"

 

No, she didn't have time for that.

She had to be back by 3 PM to pick up her girls.

That's why we went to this movie instead of "Titanic", which is one of her favorites.

It didn't have a start time that worked for her time boundary.

 

"So, where did you dine?"

 

At a place I've been meaning to check out, but hadn't.

I've been to the Od Crab House in Hinesville with her, but we have several in town and one in this Victory shopping center.

So, we walked there from the cinema and had a fairly quick lunch!

I had grilled shrimp and she had the kids' order of fried shrimp.

Very tasty!

 

"And she was able to get done in time for her drive back?

Well, it was cutting it pretty close, but we left at 2 PM.

"Very close!

Still, I'm glad y'all were able to have lunch and a movie!"

 

Me, too!

I guess it hasn't been so very long since we were together, but missing out on our Friday last month seems to have made it seem longer.

I'm glad we were at this particular cinema, too.

I went straight to Victory Planet after and got in my 30 minutes on the treadmill!

This is the first time I actually saw a bunch of people using them, but no one seems to do that for more than about ten or fifteen minutes.

I feel like I get a good cardio workout from it, as my heart rate goes up to 100 for much of it.

 

"That doesn't seem that high...

but your usual is still in the 40's right?"

 

Yes, it is. 

Roughly doubling that resting heart rate seems like good enough right now.

My nutritionist, Elizabeth Carley, was very pleased that I had joined the Purple Planet on my own, with no goosing from her.

I met with her yesterday, and will see her again in April.

As for the workout routine, I'll ask Dr. Cobb next month when I see him.

"That sounds like a good plan.

Hey, looks like your Japanese magnolia has progressed right along, too!"

 

Yes, it has, with fresh green leaves almost all over!

And there she is, in the rain again.

(smile!)

 

"With a sign from the Tybee talk about the Okefenokee?"

 

You bet!

They gave me that sign for free, so I had to put it out there!

 

"And let me guess: more love is going into the mail?"

 

But of course!

I even got home from my workout in time to see the mailman, but he was already past my house.

I just waited for him to come back on the other side of his route.

I had twelve envelopes with Valentines going out!!!

Two were in each one, with seven of them having three!

That's because the red joke cards are from 2021.

So the older kids - Leila, Alyssa, C J, Caitlyn, Kobe, Merritt, Conner, and Aubree - got those again.

The younger kids - Miyah, Chloe, Sebi, and Bert - only got two cards in their envelopes, but they're new and even have a 3-D character.

One that's marine life, one that's food.

(smile!)

 

"What about the two living just down the street with Grandpa Tony?" 

Hey, I didn't forget about Carissa and Dylan!

I'll bounce down there on Monday and hand-deliver their cards.

That'll be a surprise for them!

(smile!)

"Very good!"

catching up with carley and cacao

Remember when I was talkin' 'bout the lead and cadmium in dark chocolate?

 

"Sure, sure. You thought maybe the Promises had been broken."

 

Hey, that's a good pun! And, yeah, that's correct.

I had hoped the webinar today with Consumer Reports might shed more light there.

Nope.

Dr. James Rogers, the researcher, was inundated with questions that he'd already answered in the report at the end of last year.

 

"Well, we already know folks don't read any more. 

They scan articles, but they don't try to interpret what information is in them."

For real. It's as if they want a sound bite, not scientific data.

It certainly was disappointing to me, and had to be a bit frustrating for him, too.

I thought immediately of that seminar at GenOne on atrial fibrillation.

That had to be frustrating with that speaker to have so many insisting on hearing about a cure, when there is none.

 

"What's that joke about people in hell wanting a water slide?"

 

Yeah, that pretty well sums it up.

On a happier note, I was back out at the Savannah VA for the second time in a week!

I always enjoy my meetings with Elizabeth Carley.

(smile!)

 

"The best nutritionist of 2022 in Savannah? Yeah, she's always such a positive person! But what's that about this being your second visit out there??"

 

I had my omicron booster last week.

Do you know I had to wait almost two months for that appointment at the VA?

I'm relieved to have it, though.

Of course, I understand that I could still contract COVID if I don't keep up my precautions.

My mask goes with me everywhere and I admit to feeling not quite dressed if I don't have one.

 

"Silly girl... but I get it. Good for you."

 

Now, I need to eat my dinner before it gets cold.

Looks yummy, doesn't it?

I diced up a Gala apple and threw in three ounces of carrot coins, let them saute a little to carmelize their sugars and soften them a bit.

Then I threw in a quarter-cup of H2O and the packet of Lime-Cilantro Rice, popped on a lid, and let it do its thing for 90 seconds.

Totally delectable!

And that was after polishing off my A*List with "Missing" once more time.

Plus I had "The Amazing Maurice" and his talented rats - very funny!

Then, there was "80 For Brady".

But all done! Time to eat!

 

"Bon appétit!"

boo! it's tina tuesday!

"Well, now, there's an expression I haven't heard in a while!"

 

I know, right?

And what a glorious Tina Tuesday it has been!

Off to Pooler it was, courtesy of mi amiga, Barbara!

And what movie was it?

Want to take a wild guess?

 

"I'm going to say... "Pathaan" at the Royal!"

 

You'll never...

oh, you peeked!

Yes, it was "Pathaan"!!!

And I know it looks like it's all action, action, action,

and it truly is slap filled with it,

but it had two Bollywood dance numbers, too!!!

 

"That's still action, action, action, ya know."

 

Yes, but that's dancing, dancing, dancing!!!

Though I must admit that those choreographed fight scenes were worthy of John Woo.

So graceful and acrobatic and fluid they were!

Wow!

 

"I'm so thrilled that you and your tres amigas were able to do that today!"

 

Main keval ek apane ek dost ke saath gaya tha. 

Haalaanki, kyonki ek aur dost, Carolyn beemaar thee, usane apana tikat mujhe daan kar diya. 

"Say what, chica?"

Solo fui con una de mi amigas.

Sin embargo, debido a que otra amiga, Carolyn, estaba enferma, me donó su boleto.

 

"Yeah, I know you think that helped to switch from Hindi to Spanish, but..."

 

This trip was just me and Boo, but my ticket was free.

(smile!)

 

"How very special for you!"

 

It was!

I felt like I was being treated to this whole excursion!

We even went to Slapfish and had a leisurely late lunch as soon as we arrived in Pooler!

I'm so glad that Barbara likes this place, too.

And I made sure to get that shrimp ceviche and those veggies that I love so!

 

"That looks like a bigger bowl than usual of ceviche."

 

You know, I thought that, too.

I think it was the presentation, though.

Having it served in a wider, flatter bowl instead of a taller, narrower one, made the difference.

Then again, there seemed to be more veggies than usual, too.

Fine by me!!!

(smile!)

 

"No doubt!

Bet you ate every bite!"

 

You know it!

Barbara ate all of her lobster rolls, too. 

She keeps trying different dishes.

I mean to, but... these two appetizers are what I always want!

Maybe if we get a Slapfish here I'll get more adventurous with the menu... maybe!

"So, who was in the movie?"

Shah Rukh Khan!!!

Oh, yeah... my, oh, my!!!

He just gets better and better with age!

And get this... Salman Khan was in it, too!!!

My, my, my... mercy me!

Those two cousins are so fabulous singly, but together???

They make me wish I was a younger woman in India!

RAWRRRRR!!!

"Calm down, tiger..."

That's Panther, if you're talking to me.

Purple Panther.

Remember?

 

"Hahahaha! Yes, I do recall that crazy conversation with a grocery clerk!"

 

Good times, good times!

(smile!)