9/13/2015

Weekly Update 9/13/2015 

 

More tennis this week. While most of the matches early in the week were not that exciting, the Serena / Venus match had to be watched! It was hard to believe that Serena was denied her Grand Slam. Once she was past Venus, there was no one who should have been able to stop her (actually, Venus wasn't much of a threat, either). So imagine how stunned I was when she lost in the semis on Friday. As luck would have it, Friday is my afternoon to give tours at DH. There were no visitors for the first two tours, so I didn't have anything to do until half the afternoon was gone. I “watched” the match on my phone, and couldn't believe the outcome. Luckily, I have given about 7 million tours, and can pretty much give them in my sleep, because my mind just wasn't on it as I tried to tell the tourists about the Davenports. Probably not one of my best tours. The mens' semifinals were boring, and both the finals were anti-climatic. What am I going to do all this week, now that the tennis over? I may have to pick up a book again. 

 

This was the week of the returning wanderers. I went to both Donna's and Suzy's condos to vacuum up the dead bugs (surprisingly few) and make sure everything looked ok. In both places, I was going to turn on fans to get some cooler air circulating, but it's not been as hot for a few days, so I didn't need to do that. Now we're just waiting for Lisa and Dave to get back next month, and we'll all be complete! Donna arrived on Wednesday; Suzy and Doc came back on Thursday. Donna and I met Connie for lunch on Thursday, to get a chance for them to see each other, and for me to listen to Connie's stories about her Viking River Cruise. It sounded great. Thursday evening, a few of us from the condo met at the clubhouse (we would have been by the pool, but there was a storm - again!) to tell stories of what everyone had been doing all summer. That was nice. 

 

Since this was Donna's first Friday back in town, I went to The 90. Kay joined us for a drink, so they had to listen to me go on and on about the tennis. I'm not that fascinating to listen to in the best of circumstances, but I can be even more boring than normal when no one wants to hear what I’m talking about. I got Martha (the bartender, and now my friend) to change the tv channel to the tennis, but the Djokovic match was so boring, even I couldn't watch. There was a couple there that had been on one of my tours in the afternoon. That's always fun. Sometimes, if I see someone at BC that I'd also seen at DH, I tell them that I'm the mayor of Savannah, but they know that's not true. 

 

Last Week when I played Rummikub with June and Jimmy, I took my iPad to show them some of the games I play. June was interested, so on Friday, she went to Verizon bought one for herself. She called to see if I could help her set up the wifi connection in her condo, so she could have it connected to load some apps. I didn't think I could do that, but I told her I'd try. After about an hour, and phone calls to have passwords and user names reset, we did it! I think she's going to like it. 

 

Saturday, I got out all the Buffalo Bills stuff and redecorated the condo. It looks as if a real fan lives here! I've got the license plate back on the car, the front door mat placed outside and the welcoming pineapple is sporting the Bills cap. I hung the shower curtain on the window in the blue bedroom, and made my t-shirts into pillows for the bed there. All of the stuffed buffaloes are on display in the living room. I hoped I hadn't jinxed the team. And I guess I didn't! They had a wonderful win over the Colts. Now every team in the AFC East is tied in first place with all records being 1-0. I had for give my Second Sunday tour at BC, but I was dressed in my Bills shirt, and glanced at the scores on the phone every chance I got. I joked to my friends in the BHS that if they think I'm bad watching sports while giving a tour here, they would should have seen me Friday at DH!

Also on Saturday evening, I attended the opening concert of the Savannah Philharmonic. One thing about the concerts here is that they often give a pre-concert talk, and tell about the music that will be preformed - a little background of the composers, and what the music is meant to to make the audience feel. I find these talks invaluable. Although I had the background for the first piece, I still didn't get it. It was composed specifically for nationally renowned double bass player who was born and raised in Savannah, and it was only written within the last ten years. Joseph Conyers, for whom this was written, performed the music for the first time in Savannah this evening. But, try as I might, I could not hear rain or wind, all I heard was deep notes. After the intermission, a symphony by Johannes Brahms was performed, and I enjoyed this much more. As the music played, I could almost see the sunrise over the Alps. It was wonderful. Both performances were grand, really, but I guess I'm too old to appreciate the newer music. 

 

At BC, I was more interested in the Bills game than in giving a tour, but since they took an early lead, and never lost it, I didn't need to watch too closely. One thing about BC that has been on facebook and in the news here, is about a fox that lives in the cemetery. This fox has become quite tame, and there have been lots of pictures of it in the media. I don't like it. Of course, I don't like dogs and cats, so a fox is really something I wouldn't think is “cute” or “darling”. I told my tour that if we did see the fox, they would be on their own, because I would be getting back to lock myself in me car as fast as I could. But we never saw it. (I didn't take this photo - it was on fb)

 As I was driving to the Lucas Theater in downtown Savannah on Saturday, and again on Sunday as I went to the cemetery, I knew something wasn't right with the car. I'm having trouble shifting, and, although I can drive the car, I know it's not right. So I stopped at the Goodyear Service Center as I was returning Sunday from BC, and left my little car there with long explanations about why I think she needs some care. They will check her out early tomorrow morning, and I fear I will need a new transmission. This car is getting to be expensive!