3/26/2017

Weekly Update 3/26/2017

After a wonderful 10 days, Dave and Lisa left on Monday morning. I miss them terribly but was able to get my mind occupied by doing stunning amounts of laundry and eating, and watching all the episodes of Jeopardy that I had recorded.

more attempts at selfies

back in Porthcrawl, Wales, they sent me this picture

Since I had promised them both that I would seriously make plans to visit them in the UK later this year, I started to investigate. I emailed to Ishy, and she is interested in going with Allen and me in September. And she took it from there. I originally had hoped to take a Queen Mary II transatlantic cruise, but for many reasons, that just didn't work out. Ishy got on line and found flights from JFK to London for $500, and booked them. She and Allen were all set. I had trouble finding the same flights that evening, but the next day, I made m own reservations, and I'll be flying with them (I was even able to reserve a seat next to them), but I'll be returning a few days later than they will, so I still have to figure out how to get from Savannah to JFK and back. That is a task for another day. Dave will be looking into some things that he thinks we all might like to do while in UK, and will prepare to be our guide. This is a long ways off, but exciting.

Because I had taken a class at TLC about architects in Savannah in the 19^th Century, one of the speakers arranged for a tour of The Cotton Exchange for the group. I had never been in that imposing building on Bay Street, overlooking the river, although I had walked past it and seen it hundreds of times. I didn't even know it was open to the public! So I jumped at the chance to visit. Originally built in 1872, when export revenue from cotton was $40 million and Georgia was the leading cotton producer in the country, and Savannah was one of the major cotton seaports on the Atlantic, the building became obsolete when the boll weevil destroyed the cotton industry. It is now owned by the Masons and is the site of the Lodge meetings.

the Cotton Exchange on Bay St

a stained glass window (not Tiffany) with the word COTTON in the design

a memeber of the Masonic Lodge was our guide

DH was very busy on Friday, probably because there are a lot of people in town for the Tour of Homes. After that, I met Kay at The 90. And then I went to a benefit for Brandon Kaufman at the SCT. He is the music director who was in a very serious automobile accident last fall. His arm was severely injured, and at first it wasn't known if he would be able to have use of it again – something that a piano accompanist really needs. But for the last song, he played for the singer! Is was great. I was pleased to see him doing so well, and look forward to the time when he can fully get back to his duties at the SCT. 

the first time Brandon Kufman has played the piano in Public since his accident

I feel as if I spent the entire weekend at BC. Saturday was the annual Tour of Homes in Savannah. People come from everywhere for this tour! BC hosts a tour which includes a trolley ride to the cemetery, a walking tour, and a few actors tell stories of some of the “residents”. I had to be downtown at 9 am to board a trolley, and talk about some background information as we drove to the cemetery. Then, I gave my usual Second Sunday tour for a group of about 25 visitors. Then I rode back on the trolley to get my car. I really like to do this, but I really wanna be Little Gracie. No matter how many time they tell me there's no way I could fool people into believing I was a 6-year-old, I still want to try it. Maybe next year. I was back at BC on Sunday to open and close. The weather is finally getting better, and there were a lot of people visiting the historic cemetery, and lots of money to count. 

George Baldwin at the Baldwin plot

Marie Louise Scudder Myrick at the Myrick mausoleum 

Saturday afternoon, after I napped for a while since I'd had to be up so early, I went to the Bull Street library to see a documentary about Flannery O'Connor. She is a very famous writer who was born in Savannah (but not buried in BC). I have read some of her stories, and tried valiantly to read others, but I can't find the meaning. Perhaps I'm not smart enough, or perhaps I'm too trusting and take everything written at the face value: if someone tells graphically me about a murder, I see blood and chaos, I don't see a hidden struggle between good and evil. But, it was interesting to see the film, and there were many people there who knew her, which added to the story.  

Flannery O'Connor