8/31/2014

weekly update 8/31/2014

Audrey finally got a trim. I've had to battle with her to open my blinds when I want some sun in my living room (and then again to close them up when I want to keep the hot sunshine out). I should lose weight that easily!

before

after

Monday was a bad day for me and my “things”. First, my phone died. Of course, this angers me no end. They make you sign up for a 2-year contract and then sell you a phone that only lasts for 1 year. Is that right? But, I settled down, went to the Verizon Store that's only about 6 mile from my condo and the customer service rep popped the battery out, and put it back in. Problem fixed. And I didn't lose all my data, which I had dreaded trying to replace. (If I don't know enough to just pop the battery out, what are the chances I can backup to the “cloud” - what is that, anyway?) Then, as I was deposing of yet another gargantuan bug carcass that seem to be everywhere in the condo this time of year, the hand vac died. Cool. Like I was going to pick this 40-pound six-legged thing off my carpet with my hands! Well, I was just about to go to the Walmart to buy another, when I looked at the vacuum. I thought I could see where I could take it apart a little and perhaps clean it up. And it worked! So now I'm back in business, without a trip to the Walmart. So, all the belly-up devises I was so upset about were little to really get in a lather about.

I went to a lecture at the Jepson Center on Thursday evening about the “weeping time”. This is the story of the largest slave auction in U S history, and it happened here in Savannah on March 2 and 3, 1859. It was interesting, and there was another program scheduled for Friday evening. I hadn't intended to go, but a couple of friends who were at the lecture told me they were going to attend, so after DH on Friday, I gathered up my courage and ventured out to find a school on the west side that I'd never heard of and didn't know how to get to. Brock Elementary School is at the site of the race track where the slaves were kept before they auctioned off, and the auction site was not far away. As a group, we walked the path that the slaves must have taken when being led from the where they were kept to the place where they would be sold. It rained for 3 straight days at that time, and that's where the term “weeping time” comes from. There was also an acting troupe that gave a short presentation of the auction. It was really quite moving. 

 

DH was very strange on Friday. I had expected that there would be a lot of tourists since it was the beginning of a long holiday week-end, but I was wrong. There was no one there at 1 pm, when I should have led my first tour. However, there were 3 new docents who were there to shadow an “experienced” guide (me), so I took them on a tour. I imparted to them the wisdom of my almost 5 years of giving weekly tours.

Saturday night I had been invited to watch the start of the UGA season with Sylvia and Charles at their home. I only stayed for the first half, but that was the better part of the game. The second half was pretty boring, and the Dawgs ran away with the game, and Clemson pretty much collapsed. If only the Bills would run the ball like that, but I don't think that's gonna happen.

Sunday found me at BC early, as it was my time not only to open the Center, but also to stay and answer questions. It was a lot busier than DH was on Friday. After I left there, I went to the Oatland Wildlife Center, which was celebrating it's 40th Anniversary. They had a some special events planned - a scavenger hunt, posted signs around the trails about historic events at the Center, and CAKE - so I wanted to go. It was really hot, and not very pleasant hiking around. Watching all the animals lazily sleeping in the sun, however, gave me a great idea and I went back to the condo and took a nap.