9/30/2013

weekly update 9/30/2013

Lecture and Gallery Opening season has begun again in Savannah. I went to two lectures this week. On Tuesday evening, I went to the CHS talk on the Native Americans during the War of 1812. And on Thursday, I went to the final talk in the Gray's Reef series that has been held monthly at the Ships of the Sea museum. That one, like the others I've attended with this group, was over my head: I'm a history person, not a science guy. But it was interesting.

Wednesday, Sylvia & I went to a very small gallery at Savannah State University to see an exhibit by artists from Beaufort SC. They gathered items and created works in the Gullah Geechee tradition, and mostly concerning Doctah Buzzard, a famous hoodoo, also known as rootwork or conjure magic, practitioner who lived in Beaufort in the first part of the 20th Century. The whole exhibit was in only one room, and it took us longer to locate it on campus than it did to view the art. The installation / exhibition “examines the material culture of Hoodoo collectively with art works and authentic reproduction spiritual artifacts and objects”. 

 

a collection of items that would have been used by Dr B

some of the bottles of “rootworks” that Dr B had to assist him with his cures

 

I had said I would do a tour at the cemetery for a group of students from SC on Thursday morning, but we waited and waited and no bus showed up. In the afternoon, I got a call that we had the date wrong, and that the group would be there on Friday instead. I had to fit it in before going to DH, but it worked out better, as it rained on Thursday but the skies were clear on Friday. After I was disappointed the first time, I decided not to waste getting out so early, and I went to Verizon to buy out my contract with the jetPack. I don't use it since I’ve now have the new phone, and it's costing me a lot of money to continue the contract. It cost a lot to get out of the contract, too, but less than paying for what I don't use. Since the store is right across the street from the new Whole Foods stores that opened about a month ago, I decided I'd see if there was anything there that would be interesting. It’s ok, but I don't think it will take the place of my Publix. They have bulk food, but not on the scale that Wegmans does, and they sell chocolate croissants and gelato (sounds like I'll be there when Ishy visits again!) but the bagels were lame, so that will still mean a trip to the Southside whenever I need more bagels. The prices were high, so I'll continue to just go across the street to my Publix for whatever I need. One thing that was nice was the parking lot - right next to the handicapped slots are parking spaces for electric cars, and chargers. How cool is that?

Friday, between the morning tour at the cemetery, and the usual afternoon spent at DH, I felt as if I was doing tours all day long. To reward myself, I went to Zuni's for a take-out conquistador sandwich. If you check Trip Advisor, Zuni's is rated as one of the best places to eat in Savannah. I don't get it. It's a sandwich shop that doesn't even have a place to sit and eat unless you count the picnic tables in the parking lot next door. In a city that loaded with really fine dining establishments, why this place rates so high is a mystery to me. Yes, the sandwich (many chickens gave their lives for one sandwich and the sauce is very tasty) is good and huge. And it was a treat for me to have one.

Saturday was a day to do nothing. I watched the SEC Georgia / LSU game in the afternoon. It was exciting and the outcome was what I'd hoped for - the Dawgs won. Sunday was an exciting football day, too. No one was on the schedule for BC, and because there were no volunteers, the visitor center was to remain closed. I thought it would help out if I went over there to unlock the door and stay for a few hours, so after I dragged myself out of bed, I went there. I got there late, and then I left early. I was able to watch NFL Red Zone on the smartphone while I counted the money and did the closing chores. Then, off to Coach's. I had certainly expected a bad game, since we were playing the Ravens, but we held onto a lead into the 4th quarter. Thanks to Joe Flacco's 5 INTs, we prevailed and now have 2 wins this season. I had a nice place to watch the game, where I could also watch the Steelers get beat, the Chiefs win, the Lions roll up the score against Da Bears, and the Seahawks in in OT.

I missed three phone calls this week because the ringer volume is so low I couldn't hear it. I couldn't find the ringer settings because it's not the same as it was on the old flip phone I had. One day, as I was going out to me car, and the family upstairs was coming back from someplace, I asked the 10-year boy if he could help me. He did! He must think I'm a real idiot, but I needed someone who doesn't even know that at one time you needed to dial a telephone number on a big piece or equipment that was connected to the wall by a short cord. It's probably still easier to reach me by text messaging or email than to try to call me.