4/25/2021

 

Weekly Update 4/25/2021

I made an appointment for Monday to meet with a librarian at the main library on Bull Street. She was going to help me find more info about John and Dessie. I wasn’t really hopeful, because neither of my soldiers died in Savannah, so I doubted that they would have obits in the local paper. But find them she did! I didn’t get a lot more about them, but I did discover that Dessie’s mother and step father were also buried at Bonaventure, and I found their headstones on another visit. And she was able to find the name of Dessie’s wife and son (Allen, how’s that for a coincidence? And in Hudson NY no less!), but no other information about either of them. It was a successful venture, but again, I now have more questions than answers.

I got back to City Hall on Tuesday. I haven’t been there in more than a year, so some things have changed. It’s harder to get in the building, although it never was easy, as all public buildings have limited access because of the current fears, both of terrorism and infection. But I finally was able to get back into the archives. I was sorting old written records of property assessment by ward. It required me to be on my feet the whole time, but I was ok. I hope to do this on a weekly basis.

The library book club zoom meeting was scheduled for that afternoon. Because I’d been out and about, I didn’t have time to get back to my apartment before the meeting began. I went to BC (where I got the photos of Dessie’s mom and stepfather tombstones) and sat in the parking lot to zoom on my phone. The librarian thought I was driving because she could see I was in my car, but I assured her that I was sitting in a parking lot. To zoom for an hour uses a lot of cellular data, so I’ll have to be careful for the rest of the cycle.

On Thursday, one of my errands took me to the car wash. I was happily listening to tunes as my car was propelled though the tunnel. All of sudden, I was not moving, and the attendant (probably 12 years old) was at my window, telling me to turn my steering wheel. That didn’t work, and eventually everyone in the line behind me had to back up so I could back out of the tunnel. Because my window was down as I was trying to hear what the kid was instructing me to do, I got a wave of sudsy water sprayed on me and the interior of the car as I was reversing! I finally was able to get the wash completed, but had to make my next stop at the Dollar Store with my clothes all wet.

Connie Deja, who moved away from Savannah to North Carolina just about a year ago, was back in town to visit this weekend. It was great to see her. I met her at The 90 on Friday (just like the old days), and then Suzy and Bob had a small get together at their home on Sunday evening. I saw many people that I haven’t seen in over a year at one gathering or the other. It was wonderful. But the best was to see Connie again. I miss her, and her friendly smile and her warm hugs.

Before I went to MP to join friends there at Suzy’s, I stopped at the Tiny Homes Project in Savannah. It is a community of about 48 (only about 30 have been completed) that are available to veterans at a very low rent. I have been intrigued when I’ve driven by, but was never able to tour the community. They were holding an open house this weekend, so I wanted to go. I was given a tour, and was impressed by what I saw and what I was told. Low cost housing is needed everywhere, and I’m especially pleased to see something being done for those who need a warm, dry, safe place to live. The homes are very, very small, but it gives veterans a feeling of independence and value. Some even have small gardens near their homes. There is also a common house where there are laundry and meeting facilities, and a small donation of used books to share. It all seems like a good project to help with an overwhelming problem.