11/15/2015

Weekly Update 11/15/2015

To start, I want to express my sorrow and anger at the events in Paris. I won't rant on and on, but I feel this deeply.

I began the week by going to the movies. It was a real spur-of-the-moment decision, but because it was rainy and cold again on Monday, and because I knew I was going to have a busy week ahead of me, I thought I would like to treat myself to the Peanuts Movie. It was a nice little story, and would have made a wonderful tv special, but for a movie, it was pretty bad, and I regretted spending money to see it. The movie cineplex was halfway to the lecture I was to attend late that afternoon, so I continued on after seeing the film to a church on Skidaway Island where the lecture, which was about the sinking of the Lusitania, was to take place. It was very interesting to me since I'd just finished reading Dead Wake by Erik Larson. The author will be at the Book Fest, so I wanted to read at least one of his books. I liked this one so much, I will probably read another before the festival comes in February. 

 

Jan Waggoner and her friend (who is now my friend as well), Gerry Beader, drove over to Savannah from Gulf Shores AL to spend a few days with me here. Since it's a 9 hour drive, I had most of the day to prepare - clean, laundry, shop. I also had a chance to meet the Lunch Bunch at the Wright Square Cafe. I had the soup of the day which was mushroom, brie & Madeira. Wonderful! Jan and Gerry arrived just after 7 pm, and we spent the evening talking and deciding what to do for the next few days. 

the lunch bunch at the Wright Square Cafe

We began Wednesday, which was Veteran's Day, at Old Fort Jackson. I had been led to believe that there were going to be talks and demonstrations because it was the holiday, but when we got there, no one was giving a talk, and there were only two other tourists! We watched the video, walked around the fort for a while, and then they were ready to tell a little about the fort and the role the fort has played in history. They also taught a little about swashbuckling, which would have been a means of combat during the War of 1812. There were no children on the tour, so when the speaker asked for volunteers to learn sword play, Jan and I raised our hands. After that, we went into the city and took the hop on hop off trolley for an overview. We hopped off at the Pirate House where we enjoyed the lunch buffet. But that was pretty much it, and for the most part, stayed on and listened to the history and stories that the drivers told as a way for tourists to get a quick lesson in some of the things that are in this city. We then drove out to Tybee Beach so Gerry could dip her toes in the Atlantic Ocean. It was getting late, and the lighthouse had closed (and none of us are able to climb to the top anyway), but we did drive around the lighthouse and Fort Screven. There was a majestic flag flying on the Tybee Lighthouse for the holiday. Impressive. We ended the day playing Rummikub with June and Jimmy. That's how I usually spend a part of my Wednesday evenings, so Jan and Gerry got a inkling of what my life is like. It was fun. 

learning to fight

Gerry and Jan at the Pirates' House

the Tybee Lighthouse with a large flag

Thursday, we decided to attend the St John's Church holiday bazaar. Because the Green-Meldrim House is the church hall as well as a historic house in Savannah - Sherman was housed there in December 1864 when he was in Savannah. It was a good chance to see the hall and the church building; they are both often closed. They also were serving lunch, as this is their big fund raiser for the year. I've been before and remembered that they serve wonderful chili, so that I got that. I suggested that they might like to take the free water taxi across the Savannah River, because it's one of my favorite things to do, and you can get some wonderful views of River Street from the other side. And then the obligatory visit to Leopold’s Ice Cream that I force every visitor to do. Since the Bills were playing the Thursday night game, and since it was an important game against a division rival, we stopped at Publix for a few things to munch on, and went back to my condo to talk until kick off. I know I bored them as we sat in front of the tv watching sports, but I NEEDED to do that. And I was glad that the Bills won!

enjoying lunch inside the Green-Meldrim House

the lovely St John's Episcopal Church

I did not give up my Friday DH duties; I felt it might be a good opportunity for Jan and Gerry to do something on their own without me hovering. Because they were interested in the Monet exhibit at the Jepson, I dropped them there before I went to park at DH. They toured that, then ate at Goose Feathers, which Jan remembered as a good place because she ate lunch with me there when she visited for the book fest a few years ago. They wandered back and met me at DH for my last tour at 4 pm, which was actually quite crowded. Following that, I forced them to go to The 90 with me because that's what I do. Many good friends of mine stopped in for a drink too, so everyone could at least say hi to Jan and Jerry.

They were up early on Saturday morning to get on the road to be able to drive as much as possible before it got dark. I decided to go to the Telfair Art Fest that was in Telfair Square. I was a little disappointed. There's not much that Rochester does better than Savannah, but the Park Avenue and the Corn Hill Arts Festivals are both bigger and better than this one. I didn't spend a lot of time at this festival.

the Telfair Art Fest

I also wanted to be downtown for guided tour that I had learned about at DH. The Coastal Museum Association has periodic learning experiences for area museums curators, directors and me (huh? how did I get in this group?) This is the first one I've done, and it was an archeological walking tour of the historic district. It began at the visitor center, and while I was waiting, it was announced that there would be a tour of the Battlefield there with Revolutionary War actors. Cool. And guess what? the leader was the same docent that had taught Jan and me to swordplay at OFJ on Wednesday. I showed him my moves, to let him know I had paid attention, and surprisingly, he remembered me. For the CMA tour, I didn't realize how much walking there would be! and it took almost two hours. I was exhausted, but it was interesting. The sites the guide took us to were all excavated in the last 25 years, with the exception of Battlefield Park, which was longer ago than that. I didn't realize that so much digging was done in Savannah in recent time. I learned a few things that I didn't know, and I learned that some of the things I do think I know have no archeological basis (there is no evidence of Union soldiers camping in Colonial Park Cemetery, and no artifacts to support that newly arrived slaves would have been kept in the storage caverns along River Street). If only I wasn't so old, and could navigate long walks better, it would have been wonderful. 

the redoubt (dirt fortification for temporary protection during a siege) at Battlefield Park

our little walking tour in Madison Square, where more evidence of the Revolutionary War battle was found

  

In the evening, the WorkArtWork exhibit opened in a downtown gallery. Jeff Work is Suzy Hokanson's, my neighbor, brother. He was an artist who died in Germany two years ago. Suzy brought many of his canvasses, sketches, and photos back to Savannah and developed this show of his works. There was a reception and a talk in which Anne Bessac, another friend who lives at MP, talked about the importance of some of the works as well as the influences and parallels to other artists' works. Suzy talked about her brother and the trials and tribulations of getting these wonderful works from Europe to Savannah. It was fascinating, even for a person such as myself who has no eye for paintings. I really enjoyed it. And I'll have other opportunities to see the exhibit again. 

the poster of the WorkArtWork exhibit

Suzy & Anne

 

Sunday, all I had to do was open BC. They had new carpeting installed just yesterday, so when I opened on Sunday, some things were missing - a lamp, our donation kiosk, the phone. But it was nothing that couldn't be worked around, so I left it all in the capable hands of the morning volunteers and went home. I settled in to watch football. I didn't go to Coach's since the Bills had already played – and won. The Jags game, which I always get to watch on tv as that's my “home team”, had the strangest ending. The Patriots game was disappointing because the Giants were leading until the last seconds of the game, but the Pats won and are still undefeated. Crap! But the Lions won. I never expected them to be able to beat the Pack, and they tried their darnest to lose. But, just like I said Thursday: it was ugly but a win is a win.