11/14/2021

 

Weekly Update 11/14/2021

This week started slowly, but I was quite busy by the end of the week.

I was able to read a lot of my library book on the first several days. It was The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, who also wrote A Gentleman in Moscow, which I read a while ago and also enjoyed. This newest book by the author was a very good read. It was beautifully written, and (although I miss quotation marks when people are speaking) a joy to read. I cared very much about each of the characters. It was almost a series of related short stories as well as a long novel. I would recommend this book.

I met Denise for lunch at the St John’s Holiday Bazaar at the Green-Meldrim House on Thursday. Because the Veteran's Day parade was at the same time as the bazaar, Jane and Helen opted not to join us and avoided the crowded downtown area. This is one of my favorite holiday events, and I wanted to go. I didn’t think there was going to be a “white elephant” sale, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was reinstated. I bought a cute Easter bunny (and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet!) and Denise found a small china tray that would be perfect in her home. In addition, there was a silent auction that was interesting to look at, but I didn’t bid on anything. We sat outside on the porch of the historic home, with a white linen table cloth and fresh flowers on the table, and enjoyed a lovely luncheon.

The Pioneers of Preservation, a group of museums including DH, Ships of the Seas, and Andrew Low, held their Fall Lecture series for three evenings. On Thursday, in the outdoor area of Ships of the Seas, Queen Quet delivered a thought-provoking, entertaining Gullah / Geechee histor-musical. In the darkened garden area, she sang in the Gullah language about the trans-Atlantic voyage of the ancestors of many African Americans. I didn’t understand a thing she said.

On Friday night, I went to the historic Second African Baptist Church for a lecture by Dr. Sownadèn Mustakeem, author of Slavery at Sea: Terror, Sex, and Sickness in the Middle Passage. Not a very uplifting story, to be sure, but one that has been nearly forgotten and needs to be told. My objection is, however, that the old white people in the audience are probably not the ones who have forgotten, nor are they the ones who need to be told about this chapter of American history. The people who do need to hear it have neither the time nor the resources to attend lectures.

On Saturday I found myself in the garden at the Andrew Low house for a talk about African food in antebellum America, and also a very nice sampling of the food. Presenting the talks were Vaughnette Goode-Walker and Sallie Ann Robinson. Ms. Goode-Walker told about Mosianna Milledge, a free person of color and cook for the Low family. Ms Robinson grew up on Daufuskie Island and was raised with the African American cooking tradition. We were all treated to molasses cornbread, chicken, collard greens and peach cobbler.

Before I joined the lecture on Saturday, I first went to the Tanger Outlets to see a car show. There were a lot of cars, but they were not all antiques, or even old. There were many Mustangs, for example, but none of the 1965s or 1966s of my youth. It was still great to wander among the cars, some which brought back memories, and other that I had only seen in pictures or at other car shows, and were older than I am.

And then I had only a few minutes to listen to the Philharmonic in Chippewa Square before walking to the Andrew Low. I wish I could have listened longer. It was the brass quintet, and what I was able to listen to, I enjoyed very much.

Sunday, BHS was short of tour guides and asked if I could fill in. I was torn – the Bills last week was such a disappointment, I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch another loss to a horrible team. And I was pretty sure they would be able to defeat the Jets. So I drove all the way across town to the cemetery. Then, there were not a lot of people who were willing to wander around the cemetery, so only one guide was needed. I left and went to Coach’s Corner. I had not been there since before the pandemic began. And I was glad to be back. It was not as crowded as I remember it to be, and I had a table all to myself where I could see the games I wanted to watch. The wings were the best! World of Beers wings are horrible, and I will never have those again. It may be worth the drive back to the east side just for the wings.

Adrian is beyond wonderful. He seems to be a happy baby and most of the pictures I see show him smiling. He has also just begun to have solid food. There were some cute videos of him trying cereal for the first time, and also carrots. He didn’t seem very interested, and Sarah wrote that he prefers milk to the new foods he’s being given. Wait til he tastes chocolate!