day 4 of i miss my car: on a kayak with jazz

How wonderful to be at one of my favorite venues again.

I do so love the Lucas Theatre.

Surprisingly, a volunteer I knew was there!

When I asked Cindy Goldberg if they were allowing us to volunteer again, she told me she "just showed up!" and they put her to work.

How very cool to know!

I was there with the J-Dawg for "Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool", the movie offering for this year's 41st Annual Savannah Jazz Festival.

The 2019 film followed the jazz trumpeter throughout his career, documenting his constant quest for change and innovation in his music.

As I told the bfe afterward, "there was no such thing as hearing his greatest hits at one of his concerts, he only played his new songs."

That was echoed by his son, Erin Davis, as well as his nephew, Vince Wilburn, Jr..

The family didn't hear his albums being played, only those by the latest musicians that Miles Davis found interesting and inspiring.

James Brown's youngest daughter happened to be in the audience and she said that wasn't the case in her family, as the 'Godfather of Soul" had his own music playing all the time!

Here's the post-movie panel: the Savannah Jazz rep on the far left; director Stanley Nelson by his side; Miles' nephew, Vince, in the middle; Miles' son, Erin; then a SCAD professor.

I appreciate that they had the lighting set for the darker-toned men this time.

Most of the questions from the audience were addressed to Vince and Erin, of course, but there was one I found interesting that was asked of the director.

A film student wanted to know how long the documentary took to make.

Stanley Nelson was honest: documentaries usually take five to ten years, sometimes more, because the writers and directors keep having to fund raise to continue.

He was able to complete the film in one year, as two parties came forward to totally back it.

Wow.

So, I checked his credentials when I got home.

Holy cow, the man is a MacArthur fellow!!!

Once upon a time, I wouldn't have know what that was, but thanks to "The Big Bang Theory", I know that "Genius Grant" carries a purse of $500,000 to the recipient.

He received that in 2002, when he was 51 years old.

Wow.

He has also premiered ten documentaries, including this one screened here tonight, at the Sundance Film Festival over the past two decades.

How about some perspective on that?

Stanley Nelson is the only director to have ever had that honor.

Wow.

What an interesting night this has been!

I had bought the tickets and the bfe bought us dinner.

We dined at Kayak Kafe on Broughton, a place new to him.

Bonus points to me for recommending it!

I had the Vegan Tater Tots Nachos, which were quite good!

I forget what he had, but he included tater tots as a side.

(smile!)

day 3 of i miss my car: italy, india, and hawaii

Barbara texted last evening.

She was wanting to see a movie and thought I might be restless.

She already knew my car was in the shop.

I had texted her all about it earlier yesterday when I let her know I would not be able to make our planned movie outing on Sunday (today) for the new Agatha Christie movie.

So she knew she would have to come from southside to midtown to fetch me, go back to southside to the AMC cinema, then take me home to midtown before returning southside to her part of town...

but she made the invitation anyway.

"Would I like to go see "Jawan" - and Shah Rukh Khan - again?"

Of course I would!

I had just started "Ghostbusters" - the REAL one, from forty years ago - on Peacock, but it was an easy choice to put that on hold.

And off we went to India again with our favorite Bollywood man!

We even danced "with" him to three of the numbers: 1) Azad - 30yo prison warden - with the female prisoners; 2) Azad with Narmada, the police negotiator and his fiancee; and 3) the big finale, with Azad and 58yo Vikram and the whole cast!

I even danced a bit for the number between the 28yo Vikram and his wife, Aishwarya.

Such a nice trip to India!

Jai Hind!

(smile!)

Today, she was here by 2 PM for our virtual trip to Italy.

Specifically, we traveled to Venice, a town I've only 'visited' via the The Venetian.

That was from the 2010 trip to Las Vegas, for the part of the week when my BFF Sam had come out to share time after Paul and Cathy returned home.

She and I rode in a gondola as the gondolier sang to us, under the perfect (painted) sky above and the past the colorful (painted) landscape -molto bello!

Today, however, mi amiga and I only got to watch a gondola on the silver screen.

That was fine, though!

The screen was the Big-D one, so it was much larger than life!

(smile!)

"A Haunting In Venice" had been marketed as if it were a horror movie.

Nope!

Another case of a preview maker not having a clue... 

which is especially funny as this was a murder mystery film!

Yes, pun intended!

(smile!)

Very nice movie, though I would have liked to have seen more of the town.

Good to have two spaces filled on my A*List dance card!

And good to treat mi amiga to dinner afterward!

I had promised a meal at Jason's Deli, knowing she likes their food.

She'd actually looked up the menu online, selecting the Hawaiian Salmon Bowl.

It looked pretty yummy on the poster, so I ordered that, too!

Off to the 50th state we sailed, as the sun lowered and the rain stopped.

Very nice, all the way around!

 

And now, I am home again.

Comcast has granted me a third $1 WMN Reward, surprisingly, so I've chosen another 1980's-era Michael Keaton movie from my past: "Night Shift".

It has "The Fonz" in it, too, as well as the "Cheers" waitress "Diane".

The title song, from Quarterflash, is playing on the mental jukebox already!

Nice!

(smile!)

i miss my car

Not that she's gone for good, thank God.

 

I had a premonition that something bad was going to happen that night.

It was as I drove west on Liberty, heading for the Savannah Repertory Theatre.

The time was not even 8 PM and dark night had already fallen.

In addition, steady rain was coming down.

I was having difficulty seeing the road through all that, with headlights distracting me.

That's when the thought came.

"I shouldn't be out here in all this. If not for the fact that I already spent $35 and bought the ticket to this play, I would have stayed home."

And why had I bought a ticket online?

Because I know the venue is small.

Even with this performance being on a Thursday night, of the show's second week, I was concerned that it might sell out.

So, there I was, driving in the dark and in the rain.

 

I made it there without mishap.

I even made it into the show and to a seat, as a technical issue had delayed the start.

How very fortunate for me!

I even had what turned out to be an excellent seat.

Everything went very well there, and the show was superb.

It wasn't until after I left that the feeling of dread returned.

Still, the rain was just a steady sprinkle, I should be okay to drive.

I was, too, until a behemoth started crawling up my tailpipe as I drove down Price Street.

Of course the Dodge truck driver had their high beams on, too, lighting up the inside of my car and making it that much more difficult to see the street.

I had thought to continue up Price to Anderson, but, with the jerk so close behind, and not wanting them tailing me all that way, I turned left onto Liberty -

BAMMM!!!

The 5-inch high curbing around that median blew out the front tire!!!

Damn.

I didn't know at the time, but the bottom of my radiator was damaged, too, as well as the front struts, the front tie rod ends, and the condenser for the air conditioner.

Here's what I did know: sitting in a dark area of Liberty Street was not helpful.

I continued driving, limping toward the bright lights of the 3G gas station that I knew would be populated, where I could call for a tow and be safe.

And my dear car got me there.

 

Not only that, but when she needed to be moved for easier access to attach the hooks to pull her onto the tow truck, she acquiesced gracefully.

By that time, it was after 11:30 PM.

I had arrived and called AAA at 10:01 PM, talking to them for almost 8 minutes.

I explained what had happened and told them exactly where I was.

I was told I was the second in queue and they would have a tow truck to me.

At 10:28 PM, I called AAA again.

I was told the tow truck was finishing up a job and should be to me in 16 minutes.

At 11:06 PM, I called AAA again.

The gas station was now closed, but the two bright street lights were still on.

I had been approached by three homeless men by that time.

AAA told me that the night had been busy and it would be at least midnight before the tow truck would be to me.

For real?

So, I played the age card, that I was 65 and had already waited an hour on a rainy night.

I played the health card, that I have atrial fibrillation and cannot be stressed like this with endless waiting and no time of relief in sight.

And I played the race card, too.

You better believe I did.

I told AAA that I was white, in a black side of town, and that the gas station owner had already locked up the store and turned off the pumps and I was alone.

ALONE.

That conversation lasted twelve minutes, all recorded on their end for posterity.

 

I was on the phone with my sis-in-law Laura, having woken her up, when the call came.

It was 11:25 PM and James, the driver for Lowery Towing, was getting off I-16 and headed for me, saying her would be there in about fifteen minutes.

He was there in right at ten.

i thank You, God.

 

By midnight, we were at Firestone on Skidaway.

And that is where my car has been ever since.

Friday, the shop manager called, listing all that a quick perusal had shown him.

Was I sure I didn't want to have a body shop take care of the work?

I was sure.

Did I realize it was going to be expensive?

I did, and I expected it would be over $1ooo.

Did I realize the front rim had been damaged by driving on the blown tire.

Yes, I knew that, but it's what had to be done. Now, I wanted my car to be repaired.

Okay, since that's what I wanted, he'd get back in touch when all the damage was tallied.

So he did, just a few minutes ago.

I told him to disregard the A/C compressor, as the air conditioning had been kaput for years.

Even so, the total came to about $3300.

I told him to do the work.

It was still far less expensive than buying a new car.

He knew exactly what I meant.

He drives a classic Camaro and loves his car, too.

He told me he could maybe have the work all done by Tuesday, maybe Wednesday.

I told him to just put the due date as Thursday.

That way, if it's done earlier, that will "just be gravy."

He appreciated my patience and sense of humor.

Meanwhile...

I miss my car.

two hurricanes, two days later

When I last reported on hurricane Lee, it was still moseying along northward at only 7 mph.

 

48 hours later, it has picked up speed.

 

Now zooming along with the North Atlantic Current, it's literally racing at 20 mph!

 

And what about its maximum sustained winds?

 

They're down from 105 mph to 80 mph and are well away from any landfall.

 

How about Margot?

 

That one was never as strong as Lee to begin with, and wandering into the Sargasso Sea didn't help its situation.

 

Literally, Margot is spinning in circles, losing both rate of travel (7 mph to 5 mph) as well as wind power (85 mph to 65 mph) along the way.

Here's hoping the doldrums catch any other hurricanes heading east.

trapped in the briar patch

So, Lee wandered into the Sargasso Sea and has spent quite some time trying to get untangled from all that seagrass in those doldrums.

At last it has managed to slog through, at the speed of 7 to 8 mph, but at the cost of its high-powered mega-hurricane winds.

Now, it's destined to hit land as a storm, provided the westbound currents don't take it far, far away to cool, deep water. 

Speaking of that westward direction, there's another tumultuous wind machine from Africa's coast.

Margot had seemed to be following in Lee's flow, but was a bit more northward.

That proved fortunate for us, but not so for this next hurricane in the line-up.

It wandered straight into the heart of the Sargasso Sea... and is spinning to its death, like a child's toy trying to turn in shag carpet.

Here's hoping the others in that necklace will follow suit.

adding a bit more brightness

I can't really say that the dust in the curtains was making the rooms dimmer, but it certainly was contributing to the mustiness factor.

 

I can't really say that washing curtains was on my list of things to do today, either.

 

However, after a delightful luncheon with Dawn at our usual haunt, I was reminded that today is Wednesday... and that meant discounted washer prices at SUDS.

 

Fine.

 

It was certainly long past time to wash curtains.

 

I had been late with getting to the winter bedding - that was only done last month.

 

I can't recall just when I last washed the curtains in the living room, dining room, and 'dance' room. 

At least the winter stuff gets done every year.

 

I even washed the curtains in my bedroom earlier this year, when I noticed dust on them.

 

But those in the other rooms?

 

I know they didn't get washed last year, as that was when I was first diagnosed with A-fib and was getting used to it.

 

I know they didn't get washed the year before that, either.

 

I usually wash them in the late spring, when the cleaning frenzy is upon me, but I abstained for whatever reason.

 

Had I perhaps washed them that first year of the pandemic?

 

I doubted that.

 

I was doing all sorts of yard work, outside stuff, just me around.

 

Laundry would require me to be indoors, around strangers who might be sick.

So, that meant 2019 would have been the last time that all those curtains had been cleaned, if I had done so.

No wonder the curtains were looking a bit tired and dingy!

They're certainly much brighter now!

I had been concerned that they might fall apart in the wash, but there are no holes at all!

How very reassuring - I had not waited too long!

 

Now, I have a documentary about José Moreno Hernández, born the same year as my brother Ronnie.

 

"A Million Miles Away", hosted on AARP as an MFG selection, is about his quest to be an astronaut, which he eventually did after his twelfth application to the NASA space program.

 

That should be very inspirational and interesting, just before the National Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off.

 

Later!

many thanks, natalie kurtkaya of the va

Remember the issue I had with Sotalol at the start of this year? 

The problem had been the milk sugar used as filler, like that's a viable use of lactose with medications for those having heart problems.

Well, when the VA sent my last refill of Sotalol, it was the lactose-containing variety.

I contacted the VA pharmacy.

 

 - - -

9 August 2023

1158
"The new prescription of Sotalol which I received is a different color and consistency than that I had previously. I know from prior experience, when I was receiving this Rx from the Publix Pharmacy, that this new form of Sotalol has lactose as the filler.
I am lactose intolerant.
That means that I will have to take Lactaid, or some other compound with the lactase enzyme, in order to take the recommended dosage of Sotalol. Moreover, I would need to take the Lactaid twice daily to counter any ill effects of the lactose filler in the medicine which I take for atrial fibrillation.
I hereby request Sotalol from a different supplier, such as APOTEX, which does not use lactose as the filler.
Thank you,
Faustina Smith" 

 - - -

Within just a few hours, I had a response, with the conversation going back and forth.

 - - - 

9 August 2023

1544
"Ms. Smith,
Have you tried taking the sotolol with the lactose filler without taking any Lactase? Generally the amount of lactose used as a tablet filler is so small that it does not cause any symptoms or reactions in people that are lactose intolerant. If it causes any GI upset you should take Lactase with it. Do NOT stop the sotolol! Let me know how it goes without the Lactase.
Regards,
Natalie Kurtkaya, PharmD, BCACP"
 - - -
10 August 2023

0047
"Will do.
My cardiologist has me on a half-dosage right now, so I have not had an issue yet.
However, when I had this Rx before with this lactose filler and was on the cold-weather dosage of 80 mg twice daily, I was definitely having problems with diarrhea and abdominal bloating. That's what led me to research the med and that's when I found that TEVA USA - the supplier - uses lactose as the filler. APOTEX, the supplier I had at first, did not use the lactose as a filler."
 - - -
10 August 2023

1050      
"Ms. Smith,
Please continue to take the prescribed dose of the sotalol. If you need to take Lactaid with it please do so. If you need more Lactaid let me know and I can send you some. I will reach out to our purchasing department and see if we can get a lactose free form of sotalol. We are often restricted on which brands of medications we can purchase based on contracts between the VA and drug manufacturers, so I can't promise we can get a lactose free form. I expect it to take some time to determine whether we can get a lactose free form of sotalol so please continue to take the ones you have (with Lactaid if needed).
Regards,
Natalie Kurtkaya, PharmD, BCACP"
 - - -
10 August 2023

1355
"Will do.
Thank you."
 - - -
11 August 2023

1129
"Ms. Smith,
The purchasing team has identified the reason the sotalol brand was changed. Unfortunately the Apotex brand is unavailable from the manufacturer. I'm not sure if this is temporary or if the Apotex has permanently discontinued making sotalol. The mail order pharmacy has switched to a new brand of sotalol that contains lactose. We are going to change your sotalol prescription so that is not filled at the mail order pharmacy but instead filled at the Charleston VA hospital pharmacy (your refills will still be mailed to you, just from a different pharmacy). The purchasing team is going to work to source a lactose free form of sotalol for the Charleston VA hospital pharmacy on an ongoing basis. If a lactose free form of sotalol is available (may be Apotex or a different brand), we will fill your prescription with it. However, if a lactose free form of sotalol is not available, we will fill your prescription with whatever brand we can get. Please continue to take your sotalol as prescribed. If you experience any GI upset, please take the Lactaid with each dose of sotalol. If taking the sotalol becomes problematic, please speak with your cardiologist about other medication options.
Regards,
Natalie Kurtkaya, PharmD, BCACP" 

 - - -

I didn't really expect anything to come of the matter, but at least I had spoken up and spoken out about the matter.

Time marched on, as it does, with me going through the latest batch of Sotalol.

Time arrived to order a refill of that medication, as well as a few others.

The package arrived yesterday while I was at NCG with Barbara for a Tina Tuesday movie, this time being "Bottoms", a fun flick about high school lesbians who start a fight club at their school in order to get close to some cheerleaders.

Very funny!

And, it's another one produced by Elizabeth Banks!

That's right - the emcee for "Press Your Luck"!

(smile!)

Anyway... as I said, the package had been left on my porch.

I didn't bother to open it last night, I just took it into the kitchen.

Today, when I did open it up, there were my three prescriptions I'd ordered.

That was good.

Then, as I was putting them away, I noticed the Sotalol looked different.

The pills were WHITE, not that odd bluish color.

Could it be that they were the lactose-free type???

They were!

They were!!

I was elated!!!

Not only because this batch wouldn't give me GI distress, but mostly because the person I had contacted at the VA had actually LISTENED to this GI!

Wow.

So, I sent another message to the very helpful pharmacist.

 

 - - -

"13 September 2023

1115
Dear Natalie Kurtkaya,
My refill of Sotalol arrived yesterday and I was THRILLED to find it was the lactose-free formulation.
THANK YOU for making that happen.
I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you listened to my concerns and then resolved the issue.
THANK YOU!
Faustina Smith" 

 - - -

Again I say, thank you Natalie Kurtkaya.

Your help is most appreciated.

rewarded for ... being me!

That's right: my health plan gave me ten bucks just for doing what I normally do.

That's a new reward from United Healthcare that just began.

What was that start date?

Sunday.

And what did I have to do to earn it?

They gave me five options for this "connect with others" benefit.

 

1) Catch up with a friend or loved one.

I called my nephew Michael and sang "Happy Birthday", then we talked for almost thirty minutes.

 

2) Join a group class or activity.

- Nothing like that was going on that day.

3) Attend a community event.

I went to church to celebrate the start of our new year, enjoying hotdogs, ice cream, and chatting with several people there.

 

4) Bring a healthy dish to a get together.

- Nothing like that was going on that day.

 

5) Choose a social activity that interests you.

I went to The Wyld restaurant with meetup group 'Savannah Locals' and chatted with the five women there for almost two hours.

 

To get the reward, which was added to my UHC UCard, all I had to check off was one of the five options - and I had three!!!

Here's the real surprise: I thought the reward opportunities had begun on Monday, not Sunday, so I had logged in just to make sure of the rules.

How wonderful to find I had, by serendipity, completed the challenge on Sunday!!!

So, I claimed my reward, and part of it went to buy a quartet of new toothbrushes.

You see, as part of UCard Member Week, I also got a 20% discount at Walgreens for just showing my UCard.

That isn't a store I normally shop, but I will now.

They have taken the time to put "OTC Approved" labels on those products that money on the UCard can be used to buy.

Very nice!

I have been quite pleased with my choice of Medicare plan.

Back in April, after losing my mind over making this decision, postponing it until 'tomorrow', I finally set aside several days to thoroughly research my options.

I narrowed it down to three contenders.

 

Then I took a break for a day or so, to let my brain mull over the pros and cons.

There didn't seem to be much difference between the Medicare Advantage plans offered by Humana, United Healthcare, and Clover.

All three were geared toward veterans who have prescriptions through the VA, so no Part D was needed.

 - Okay, that was me.

All three included vision, hearing, and dental perks.

 - I still get my vision handled by the VA, but the dental was a good option.

All three had nearly identical out of pocket maximums, office visit copays, and that stuff.

 - Again, for anything high dollar, I would fall back on the VA, so I wasn't going to lose sleep over whether a specialist visit fee was $30 or $40.

 

In the end, I chose the United Healthcare Patriot plan.

The overwhelming reason behind my opting for them over the others?

Here it is: for every Community Care claim that I had, United Healthcare was the group that handled and paid the claim.

It hadn't mattered if it was for the breast cancer scare or the atrial fibrillation hospital claim, the company that took care of the bills was UHC, and they did so in a timely manner and didn't let the billers try to get away with sending the claim through multiple times.

I never had to make a phone call about any of that.

Trust me, that's a blessing.

And that bladder infection that sent me to ExperCare after my PCP blew it off?

My part of that almost $600 bill was just $40, thanks to UHC.

Yeah, that's a blessing.

i thank You, God.

shah rukh khan, let me rock you, let me rock you, shah rukh khan

Shah Rukh

 

 

Shah Rukh

 

 

Shah Rukh

 

 

Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan, let me rock you
Let me rock you, Shah Rukh Khan
Let me rock you,

that's all I wanna do

Shah Rukh Khan, let me rock you
Let me rock you, Shah Rukh Khan
Let me rock you, 

'cause I feel for you
 

Shah Rukh Khan, 

want to tell you what I wanna do
Do you feel for me the way I feel for you?
Shah Rukh Khan, 

let me tell you what I wanna do
I wanna love you, 

wanna hug you, 

wanna squeeze you, too
 

Let me take you in my arms Shah Rukh
Let me fill you with my charms,
'Cause you know that I'm the one 

that will keep you warm, Shah Rukh

I'll make it more than just a physical dream
I wanna rock you, Shah Rukh baby
'Cause you make me wanna scream
Let me rock you, rock you

Baby, baby, when I look at you
I get a warm feeling inside
There's something 'bout the things you do
That keeps me satisfied

I wouldn't lie to you, baby
It's mainly a physical thing
This feeling that I got for you, baby
Makes me wanna sing
 

I feel for you
I think I love you
I feel for you
I think I love you
 

Many thanks to Prince for penning those words and giving me the inspiration for my re-write.

For those unfamiliar with "I Feel For You", take a listen to what he originally wrote.

I didn't even have to alter the meter at all!

(smile!)

 

And just who is it that has my motor revved on the red line?

The Bollywood star I've been enamored of for almost two decades: Shah Rukh Khan!

These five photos are him as different characters in a single movie.

For real!

The first is definitely my favorite, though it comes in the last half of the movie.

He's a 30-year-old social justice vigilante, Azad, trying to right the wrongs of a greedy government and using his father's name to do so.

I absolutely ADORE that "Phantom Of The Opera" mask!!!

It positively makes me want to swoon!!!

(smile!)

The next one, though, is the one that really cranks up the speed!

That's actually near the end of the movie, a shot of the 58-year-old father, Vikram, reading a "Naughty Boy" magazine before the final Bollywood number.

FYI, 58 is the actor's age, so... RAWR!!!

(smile!)

The next two are with Azad in disguise, first as a homeless old man at the train depot, then as the bald hijacker of that train.

Oh, the wink he gave before shuffling onto the train!

Oh, how amazing it was that I even found him sexy as a bald man!

(smile!)

Then there's that last photo, of a 28-year-old Vikram dancing with his wife, who was Azad's mother, before his life was wrecked by an arms dealer, Kalee.

Such a nice mustache!

Such great dance moves in that third Bollywood dance number!

(smile!)

That's right, there were FOUR dance numbers, if you don't include the one where Azad's mom was pregnant with him in the prison.

I tend to include that as a fifth one, even though there were no men present.

Barbara and I got up and danced with SRK for that last one during the credits.

Such fabulous fun!

And the Indian couple in there with us was amazed that we had both seen the action-packed movie more than once!!!

What amazed me was 1) that AMC had it, and 2) it was A*List eligible.

So I actually had a dance movie twice on my dance card!!!

Honestly, "Jawan" would have taken all three slots had I not already promised Jackie two weeks ago that I would see "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3" with the Boomers.

Not that the 'trip to Greece' wasn't fun - 'cause it certainly was - and Nia Vardalos did us a great service with her recap of the previous two films before the start - and the cinematography was just gorgeous - but -

of course there's a "but" - 

it did not have that Bollywood zing to it and was lacking in SRK spice.

What can I say?

(smile!)

Barbara had been with me for both of my A*List movies the previous week - "Elemental" and then a first viewing of "Jawan" - and we had both been enthralled with the movie about the soldier who loses his memory and doesn't even know he has a son, and the son who thought his father had died before he was born.

Wow.

I hope it will be staying another week so I can watch it at least once more!

So many sweet dreams from the many faces of Shah Rukh Khan!

(smile!)