3/18/2018

Weekly Update 3/18/2018

Because it was St Patrick’s Day Week in Savannah, I avoided downtown whenever I could. I did have to venture there a couple of times – for DH on Friday, and two lectures. I was busy almost all day at BC on Saturday, but would not have gone downtown anyway. I avoid it on March 17 if I can. But I did eat a corned beef sandwich and have a Guinness for supper.

On Wednesday, I attended a lecture at City Hall about Savannah soldiers in WWI. A child who couldn’t have been more than 12 years old, had done extensive research on men who served in the Great War. There is a memorial in Daffin Park to the ones who died, and many of those perished when the Otranto, a British liner carrying almost 700 doughboys, mostly from Fort Screven on Tybee Island, went down in a storm in the Irish Sea on September 25, 1918. Half of the soldiers, who were being transported to the front, died when the ship went down.

On Thursday, I went to the Jepson for a panel discussion about slavery interpretation and how it is changing in museums. The panel included DH director Jamie Credle, and other museum and tour staff in Savannah. It was very interesting to see how this is changing in the 21^st century. All I knew about slavery was what I’d learned from Gone With The Wind, but that’s not nearly the story of what it was like in antebellum times, particularly in urban area.

On Wednesday, to show my support to the school walk out protests, I went across the street to stand with the students as they observed 17 minutes of silence. I was very pleased to find that Hannah had joined her classmates and walked out of her school, too. My sincere hope is that these young adults will be able to force the older people who make the decisions into action. As with everything, the answers are not simple, but clearly, when kids are afraid to be in school, something is very wrong.

Friday, because it was the evening before St Pat’s Day, and there were few places to park downtown, I suggested that Kay and I meet someplace other than The 90. I drove out to a wonderful Indian restaurant near her home in Pooler. Easy for you to say – what should have been a 35 minute drive took me more than an hour because, naturally I got lost. But we finally met up and had a tasty meal.

Sunday, I walked in Daffin Park. I didn’t walk much this week, and felt I needed to try to get back into it. I was surprised when the Budweiser Clydesdales were still in their tents at the park. They march in the parade each year, and are so-o-o big! I was able to see a couple of them close up, but not being an animal person, I didn't get THAT close.