2/28/2021

 

Update 2/28/2021

I got my second COVID shot on Tuesday. It was even easier than the first time. I didn’t have to wait at all until the 15 minute lull at the end to make sure I didn’t have a reaction. This time, it was in my right arm. Since I sleep on om left side, it wasn’t as sore the following day. Now, I’m protected, but I still need to wear a mask to protect others.

I finally did something I’d been promising myself that I would do for a long time. I joined Ancestry.com, but only with a trial membership. I wanted to see if I could find out anything about My Soldiers, John Chapman and Dessie Roberts. Those are the two graves at BC that I’ve occasionally been decorating with seasonal flowers from The Dollar Store. All the information that I have is on the headstones - names, date of death, and military service info. I didn’t even have birth years. I wasn’t able to find out much. I did find that they were both born before the turn of the 2oth century, and that they both served in WWI. I could find nothing about family – no marriages, children, siblings or parents. I found that Dessie had lived on 41^st Street in Savannah (where I rented a room when I first moved to Savannah in 2009) and worked for the City on the 1930 census. John lived for 15 years at the VA hospital in Augusta and died there from TB. Why he would be buried at BC, but not in the veterans’ plot is another question. I may have a chance to look a little further this week, but I am rather at a roadblock.

On Thursday, after meeting with my friends in Green Square for a nice outdoor visit, I wandered over to Forsyth Park. There was a beautiful magnolia tree that was in full bloom. Azaleas are not out yet, but it’s early.

Driving back to my apartment that afternoon, I couldn’t get down Benton Blvd because the road was blocked off. There must have been 25 emergency vehicles there: police from Savannah, Chatham County, Pooler, Port Wentworth, Effingham County, and Georgia State police. I was sure there would be something on the news about that because the law enforcement presence was HUGE. Nope. Not a word. Not that day nor the day after. This is within a mile of my home! I emailed to two of the local news stations here, and also the Chatham County Police, requesting information. I told them I was not being nosy – I wanted to know if I was SAFE. Silence. (I found out later that there had been a car chase that ended there, and because it’s at an intersections where several cities and counties merge, agencies from all the separate groups responded. I found this out private responses to a FB article I posted. I never did hear from officials). I believe this is how conspiracy theories take hold. I request information that I have a right to know, but get no response. That leads me to fantasize about what is going on. Education and Information is key, and that’s not what is happening.

On Saturday, I had been invited to MP to meet outside with a few of my former neighbors. The weather was delightful, and we all brought a snack and something to drink. I had not been back to MP since I moved, and it was not something I ever really hoped to do again. But it was fine.

On Sunday, I went to BC for a remembrance gathering for Lyn Hadwin. Mr Hadwin was a fellow member of the Board, a mentor to me and others, a wonderful person, and a good friend. He died last month. Because of the pandemic and the way it has changed how we can gather to mourn at Funeral Home settings, the Board put this together to honor him. It was very nice. They set up tables in the cemetery near the parking area along the river and catered a picnic for us all to come together and remember his kindness and goodness. He will be missed by many for a long time.