11/22/2020

 

Occasional Update 11/22/2020

happy thanksgiving to all!

I zoomed a few interesting lectures and talks this week. Beginning last Saturday, I joined the Friends of Mt Hope Cemetery for a talk on headstone icons and their meanings. One image that I thought was particularly interesting was the headstone of George B Grover. The image of the cannon, and the death date of 1863, clearly indicates that he died in battle during the Civil War. But what I liked is that one wheel of the caisson is broken while the other is whole. A completed circle indicates eternity - a circle unbroken, while the part of the wheel that is missing would mean the opposite – a separation between this life and the next. I had never seen both symbols on one headstone, and if the leader had not pointed it out, I would have missed it. Just when I think I know everything, I find that I don’t.

Monday, DH held it’s harvest lecture series talk via a zoom conference. The subject was slave badges. It was well researched and very informative. Interestingly, there are no examples of slave badges from Savannah, but there is documentation in city code books that they were necessary. One explanation is that perhaps in Savannah, the documentation was not so much a metal badge that needed to be worn but papers that needed to be carried and produced when challenged.  

Tuesday was the Pooler Page Turners virtual book club meeting. This month, we were to read a book that has a connection to England and America, and also to an event that happened in November. I chose Bill Bryson’s book, Shakespeare. When looking for events, I found that the Tempest was first performed in public on Nov 1, 1611. And, Bill Bryson is an American who now lives in UK. I enjoy his writing, and thought this would be a good book to share. I don’t know if I enticed any other readers to look into books by Bryson, but I liked my choice.

The Telfair promoted it’s latest art exhibit with a pre-opening talk. It was a presentation by noted photographer Frank Stewart, who is perhaps best known for his five decades photographing jazz musicians from Miles Davis to Wynton Marsalis, but the talk included many random photos that Mr. Stewart has taken over the years, some in Savannah.

Sunday, I zoomed with family. It’s been a while since I’ve done that, but with the holiday coming up, I wanted to wish them a happy turkey day. My brother, Dave and my sister-in-law Kerry, their son Christopher, Ishy, and Allen all exchanged greetings and football analysis.

In addition to going to meetings in my “office”, I met friends Beth, Beverly and Jackie, whom I haven’t seen in a year, and Kay at a restaurant near the airport in Pooler. It was great to see them all after such a long time, and they came back to to visit my new home after dinner. They all pronounced the new place wonderful, and all expressed how nice it was that I can now be happy in the place I live. And, I enjoyed some of the tastiest pasta I’ve every had – I nearly licked the dish.

So, while we are all still in semi-solation, I’m not exactly hibernating!

I have been trying to get out and walk daily. I was out a few times this week. Mostly I walk around the “pond” here at AP, but that can get boring, and I’m afraid of dags – there are a lot (and BIG ones) here. But I am trying to return to some of the good habits I had before I was a prisoner at SB.

Friday, a Food Truck came to AP. I needed to have a ticket from the office to get a meal, and I assumed that was so that they could count the number of meals serviced and the vendors would know if it was worth a trip way out here to bring their truck. But, no! Imagine my surprise when I tried to pay for my meal, and was told that all I needed was the ticket, and that management would pick up the cost! I had a wonderful mac and cheese with pulled pork dinner. I hope this truck will come back!