8/6/2017

Weekly Update 8/6/2017

The Georgia Historical Society hosted a book signing by Vince Dooley this week. Vince Doley was the head football coach for UGA from 1964 thru 1988. But the book was not about football, but history. The Legion's Fighting Bulldog tells of the story of a young man on the cusp of a promising law career in the 1850s who comes to the conclusion that his way of life, and that of his neighbors is about to change forever. His letters, interwoven with those of his wife, Rosa, provide insights into what soldiers thought and felt, and of what their families went through, both on the battlefield and at home. I'll read it some night when I'm having trouble getting to sleep. I was thrilled, however, to meet a Dawg legend.

the lecture was at GHS headquarters in Hodgson Hall

  

This week, Jane and I met twice. One day we went to Laurel Grove Cemetery. Since there's no tours or info, we were on our own. I know a little about it, but not much. We were able to find the Gordon family play where Juliet Gordon Low is buried, and some other important historical figures from Savannah. I wish she could have had a better guide, as there's much to learn there – I just haven't learned it. Saturday night, Jane had two tickets to the Savannah Theater, and asked if I'd like to go. It was Rock and Roll Revue with music from the 50s – what's not to like? We both know all the songs, and most of the words. It was a lot of fun.

lots of stones were left at JGL's grave from the recent troops that were in Savannah for the Quest

The Bonaventure Historical Society features a “volunteer profile” in each issue of it's newsletter. Guess who was written about this time? This is the only time in my life when I can think of myself as Miss August.

Another very interesting lecture I went to this week was about the raising of the CSS Georgia. The Georgia was an ironclad that was built in 1862 using funds collected by the Ladies Gunboat Society in Savannah. At the time of construction, it was 1 of 5 ironclad vessels and considered to be “cutting edge”. The unique vessel design (and also flaws that made maneuvering difficult) made the CSS Georgia a floating battery that defended Savannah rather than an offensive weapon for the South. As Confederate troops fled in advance of General Sherman in December 1864, they scuttled the Georgia, and she has been at the bottom of the Savannah River near Old Fort Jackson for 150 years. It had become an impediment to the huge cargo ships that currently use the Port of Savannah for world wide commerce, so the Army Corps of Engineers has been working to recover as much of the wreckage as possible in the past 4 years. The project is now complete,and an informational session was held to present a slide show and question-and-answer seminar for interested people (that's me!)

what teh CSS Georgia looked like, from a slide (color is bad)

Restaurant Week was this past week in Savannah. I try not to miss it, but I was only able to get out one time. Kay and I met at The 90 on Friday, as usual, but stayed and had dinner. During restaurant week, fine dining places in the city offer 3-course meals for a fixed price. I had the salad, and Kay had the shrimp and grits cake for an appetizer (I think hers won for best in that category). For the entree, Kay choose the eggplant parm and I had the lobster pasta, but we shared. I could have given all of it away except the pasta- I don't know what was in there but it was incredibly tasty! Dessert was bread pudding and key lime pie. That was a toss up. I didn't get any pictures as I was too busy digging into Jim's grand creations.

Remember last spring, when I thought I would try to install sun-blocking curtains in all my windows to see if it would help with my astronomical summer energy bills? Well, how's this – last July I paid $217 and this year it was $73; last august I paid $193 and this year it's $71! Those Walmart curtains have paid for themselves many times over!