final chapter

getting tedious?
the noise was nothing i could see, and scout is not with diana but is passed out on the porch.

cookie and steve took me to see their granddaughter, kalea rose wilson, on my way home. what a doll baby! i sang "little lovies like you you you" to her and she gnawed my necklace. she was not enthusiastic when cookie and i arrived, but when steve worked his magic her personality changed right away with her energy level.

on my way through the low country i picked up shrimp and crab and flounder outside of walterboro and listened to my iPod.

first memorable experience was ob la di. i saw why david is bro.

next song was levon. i've know the words for over 30 years. but i didn't really listen to them until today. i've listened over and over. and diana's listened twice. and jesus, he wants to go to venus, leaving levon far behind.

levon, who spent his days counting, in a garage by the motorway. who said over and over of the son he called jesus, and he shall be levon, and he shall be a good man, and he shall be levon, in tradition with the family plan.

i knew that story.
at least that's the story i heard.

the amazing iPod was scrambling all the songs it held, and guess what came on crossing the savannah river on the way home? yep. James Brown.

i did have a nice weekend.

jesus, he wants to go to venus

and more abt the wilson houseboat weekend. the sunset was breathtaking as steve navigated the boat to the city marina around docked boats, most of which seemed to be sailboats.
angie and bruce seemed very happy together, angie happier than i have ever seen her. many old memories were discussed, especially on saturday night after dinner. but i digress (unbelievably).

we stayed up friday night till after 1 am. angie and bruce were in the extra bedroom, and cookie made the galley table into a bed for me.

i slept little, till after 4 am, but it didn't hinder me on saturday. by nine everybody was sipping coffee and nibbling muffins on the driving deck over the "champagne deck." Still in the harbor, we planned our day. i expressed a desire to see the battery, which was around the corner from where we were. it was duly lovely, and i was called from the galley where i was prepping food for dinner, since i'd asked for that aspect of the cruise. our next stop was to anchor right off an uninhabited beach, and take the dinghy ashore. we walked the island, and after a while the men and women separated into two or three different groups.

cookie, angie, and cindy (she and brad by this time had joined our party, with brad's boat towed behind alongside of our dinghy) and i waded into the water, when a large animal's head slowly emerged from the water behind cookie and then submerged again. cindy and i saw it and i advised cookie to start toward the shore, which she did without argument. angie and i saw it reemerge and we tried to identify the creature. we eventually decided it was a manatee. there aren't many in the area, but it was possible. more likely than the loch charleston monster.
when we found the guys again, we discovered they'd seen it too.

angie had to leave early sunday morning for an obligation on sunday afternoon in atlanta, so we headed back to the dock, where steve cranked up the grill and we cooked skewered marinated shrimp. we had so much that we never even got around to the orange honey mustard salmon. early to bed, early to rise - for ang and bruce anyway. cookie and i lounged a few hours later while steve made brunch with the salmon.

i hear a noise outside, by the kitchen door. sounds like scout but diana's gone with him to see jamie....

i'll post this and check on the noise, then come back and explain this title and the last blog title.

life goes on, bro, lala howthelifegoeson

what a wonderful weekend in charleston harbor and johns island, ending with a baby kiss.

i'm a little perplexed, at first, when i drive up to the house, happy that is wasn't yet 3:30 pm and the afternoon stretched before me, because no scout on the porch. hmm. probably no ford focus. no, and no diana. why on earth would this seem unusual? after a brief check of my senses, i see where i went awry. the surprise was in response to the impression i had that diana's call to me in charleston a couple of hours ago "whatchudoin?" meant that she actually wanted to spend some time with me. goob! surely this was a clear case of a better offer. no harm.

so now i can tell about my trip while it's newly past.

i crossed the savannah river at 2:15 pm and rolled into the maybank highway food lion before five in search of pomegranate juice, only to emerge fifteen minutes later with a six pack of peroni and a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay, some salt and pepper organic potato chips, a lemon and some limes. what an easy drive. i'm there before angie and bruce, and cookie sees me heading down the main ramp of the marina. they've changed the marina location since last june, sadly the last time i've been there. a european developer has purchased their marina, preparing to built dockomeniums to sell. those living there who chose to stay were relocated. soon after i arrived, brad quietly said, "hi, sandy." cookie and steve always have friends on the dock; brad stayed, too.

cookie and steve and i hug. we have much love and history together, and it is good to be here. soon, here comes angie and bruce, bags and groceries in tow. we are aiming to get to the city marina for dinner, so once the food's put away and the beer and wine iced down, we are headed out to the harbor, skiff tied behind the houseboat.

i'm the extra, and at one point this weekend i notice the pattern is familiar and cookie agrees. by the time steve has anchored the houseboat and we've reached the marina via skiff at charleston harbor - i think this is the same place clark and martha loved last year - we are getting hungry. rather than go to the restaurant, we find a good table in the "salty mike" bar. an interesting place, with really good live music in the form of a guitar and two voices. after we ate sandwiches and crab dip, cookie played pool with bruce and steve.

around eleven, the warm feeling began to chill as the crowd thickened with alcohol and pickups. or maybe it got stifling. we skiffed back to the houseboat, and cranked up the stereo. all five of us danced to most of the rob orbison dvd that cookie pronounced "the best in the world."

i think diana is home.

more later.

gettin close to old hun'ert

i believe this is post number 95.
time for a new pastime. and close to the close of the purpose, anyhow: when elizabeth and daniel return, well.
and good.
clowssss and clozsss. sorta.
i am spent.
not completely, mind you. i have resources. but i have spent some of them with gail, and at her son's side, and awaiting attending his side in the abysmal?lame?dingy?bathroom with shreds of tp on the floor. in the hallway to the waiting room. which i have now learned has no dim switch for nighttime, and no reclining chairs for sleeping. retina burn is what gail called what it sets one up for, in the event you are on a death watch.
lordy. mercy. death watch of the reglar people. i wondered, what of MY expectations? ha. you have none.
who could have thought that Medical College of Georgia, which really has a bit of a ring of authenticity, has homeless people eating french fries of unsuspecting death watchers? and errant youths breaking into cars to reap a cell phone, a few feet from the "security window."
security. my foot.

Hammer Hand video

home

hedda needs to be home.

home is good. it smells good, and it relaxes. it resonates with family, even when no one is here.

hedda had a bad day, a scary event that turned out okay. i want her to be safe and yes, it wasn't so awful, but it was scary and invasive.

david's not here, and that's not unusual these days. he'll be home in a month, preparing for the second major surgery in seven months.

diana cruises with scout down Interstate 20, coming home.

i think i'll pour a glass and turn on jeopardy. at home.

home is love, n'est-ce pas?

usually captivated

when i'm clicking through channels, bored, and come across the following:

actor's studio

and kyra sedgwick, well, who knew all that about practically coming over on the mayflower?

i am so interested in this show that i have (going through the options) i think, always watched it when i come across it

well bro is gone now and so is diana and hedda is in africa but my lovies love me and i am happy.

sheesh

it's been practically a week since i've blogged but i believe it's all because of diana's visit. a fine reason. she's been here, probably largely due to finances. or somewhat due. partially. it helps that she seems to like me. and we've gone out to dinner most every evening so i'm broke.

watching taxi which i've never seem. the movie i think but then, it looks more recent than howevermany years ago. so whatup? i don't know.

it's been a long morning, day and evening. i can hardly count what's happened since i woke up at 4ish, no 5ish and read old wsj articles. just a couple.

things went downhill right away, with 8 am presenting the joker at the insurance-for-appliances, later the penny in the insinkerator, the long conference call with client, no cmn to count. the client with odd transactions.

all in a day. the trip home to meet the dryer fixer. the long stay. then the finish up, and the feeling i didn't spend enough time doing jackfrick.

but when i got home. exhausted and aching. ready to sit quietly. diana wants to go, she's excited to go to the golf ball driving range. only she's never been to one and i don't know where to go so we spend an hour preparing and blah but we did each hit 60 or so balls, badly and the best for me was about 100 yards, plenty of miscues.

on the way home, i caved into exhaustion after weighing the options. fresh cherry tomatoes right off the vine backyard with green beans from the same place. splitting a burger, a salad and a pitcher of bud light won.

and EUREKA it cost less than 20 with tip.