Tag: blogging

Shazam, Shazam

One would think that a movie titled Shazam would make a certain impression upon one’s mind, and if one had paid money to see that movie, the impression would be even deeper.

I knew I’d seen it. It was a fun little movie, but wasn’t something I’d pay money to see again. Studly Doright, though, insisted that he had not seen it, even though I was fairly certain that I hadn’t seen it alone, and kept conjuring up memories from the movie to convince him.

He was adamant, though, and eager to watch Shazam while it was still in the theatre, so being the acquiescent wife I am (stop laughing!), I tagged along with Studly to a 7:15 p.m. showing.

We watched some great trailers for upcoming films. The newest installment in the Men in Black franchise looks good, and there’s one film I have to see when it’s released in August. Titled Blinded by the Light, it tells the story of a young Pakistani man whose life is transformed when a friend introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen.

After all the pre-movie material played, we were admonished once again to turn off our cellphones and to refrain from talking. The movie opened with a pre-teen boy riding in the back seat of a car while toying with a Magic 8 Ball. Within five seconds, Studly whispered to me, “Oh, I’ve seen this!”

I just nodded, patted him on the arm, and said, “shhhh!”

Peace, people.

Finnegan Gets Around

Sitting outside on this beautiful May morning in Tallahassee, Florida, as I waited for my scheduled appointment with my esthetician, I realized I was at a table reserved for patrons of a local pub.

The pub, Finnegan’s Wake, won’t open for a few hours yet, so no one seemed to mind my presence. If they were serving, I’d order a Guinness and be certain to take a nap during my upcoming facial.

I’ve never been inside this bar, but it looks pleasant enough. As I sat here with my phone I wondered if Finnegan’s Wake might be a common name for such an establishment in the United States. Thanks to google, I now have a fairly good idea. While I didn’t get a chart showing the number of bars named after the James Joyce novel, I did get a good many search results:

There’s one in Springfield, Missouri

Another in Pickerington, Ohio, tucked between a Drug Mart and a pizzeria.

The one on the Upper East of NYC didn’t offer a photo of the establishment, but it earned 4 stars and is affordable.

Philly had one, but it closed.

Here’s one in Winston Salem, NC:

Rockville, MD

And many, many more.

I’ve never read Joyce’s book, but if it inspired so many drinking establishments it must be worth exploring. Right?

peace, people!

Natural Florida on a Wednesday Morning

Yesterday morning I was feeling a little low. Studly Doright had been out of town for a couple of days, and I was lonely. The news, both national and local, was depressing as hell. The book I was reading couldn’t keep my attention, even though it’s an excellent bit of almost poetic mystery. My first inclination was to go back to bed, pull the covers over my head and cry.

But some little niggling thought wormed its way into my head. “Girl, get outside,” it said, so I washed my face, pulled on my favorite jean capris and a comfy old t-shirt, and drove straight to Wakulla Springs State Park.

As soon as I arrived I purchased a ticket for the boat ride, but had about 45 minutes to wander around before time to board.

Below is the diving platform into one of the springs that gives the state park its name.

Above and below are photos of the outside and inside of the lodge. I visited with a young couple who were staying at the lodge and they said the rooms are lovely. Maybe some day Studly and I can spend a night out there.

Doesn’t it appear that the butterfly is hovering above the walkway outside the lodge?

About 15 minutes before the boat was scheduled to leave I hurried back to the dock and was first in line, a decision that paid off as I noted a school bus disgorging teenagers out on a day trip while I waited patiently to board.

I believe the vegetation pictured (above) beneath the water’s surface is eelgrass.

My early bird status in the boarding queue paid off, and I found myself in the front row with a couple of families and a smattering of young couples in the seats beside and immediately behind me. The teenagers and their chaperones were herded to the aft section of the boat. Yay! Although, I have to say they were extremely well behaved and seemed to enjoy the experience as much as I did.

The trip was immediately rewarding as we literally passed directly over this manatee mom and her calf after leaving the dock.

You’ll think I’m silly, but I got a bit teary eyed.

Can you spot the alligator nestled in his hiding spot? He was the first of several we saw that morning.

Above, framed by the boat’s scaffolding, is one of my favorite birds, the anhinga. Anhingas swim quite well, but they have to spread their wings to dry them upon leaving the water; otherwise, they’d be unable to fly. When anhingas swim only their heads and slender necks appear above water, giving them the appearance of snakes and earning them the nickname, snakebird.

This guy, above, was one of the larger gators we encountered.

Below, are just a couple of photos that made me happy. Our boat captain turned off the motor and let us experience the beauty around us in silence. It was like being in a true church.

Now, this guy below was one of the highlights of the tour.

Prior to us seeing him, a couple of small male alligators came shooting out of a grassy area to our port side. Our captain told us it was mating season, and the males were likely establishing territory. Then the guy above came swimming directly towards our boat, hissing as if to scare us away, before he claimed the spot the other two males had just vacated. If I’d been a better photographer I’d have captured the whole thing, but I was too busy watching with my mouth wide open as nature’s drama played out in front of me. It was incredible.

We also were privy to hearing a bull alligator’s mating call. That was quite an impressive sound. I tried my best to capture it in a video, but it didn’t come across well. The ride was a bit anticlimactic after our gator standoff, but everyone was buzzing about what we’d witnessed.

I left the park feeling so much better than I had earlier in the day. My spirits were refreshed, and world events didn’t seem quite as dark and scary as they had just a couple of hours earlier. Plus, Studly would be home soon, and I couldn’t wait to tell him about my morning.

Peace, people!

Snapshots #233 and #234

I live less than an hour from one of the most beautiful state parks in the country. Today I decided it had been far too long since my last visit, so I remedied that problem with a trip to Wakulla Springs State Park.

No trip to the springs is complete without a boat ride through the park, and while I’ve had some great experiences in the past, today’s visit surely topped them all. Just to start the trip I took these two photos of a mama manatee and her calf.

That’s mom in picture one. I’ll call her”Madonna of the Springs,” and the one with baby, I’ve dubbed “Blissful Innocence.”

I missed the chance to snap a shot as they went beneath our boat directly in front of my first row seat. My goal was to capture them both in the same shot, but that wasn’t to be. But that’s ok. Not many things make me as happy as manatees do.

The remainder of my photos from the trip need to be edited a bit before I share. If I don’t take a nap I might do that editing this afternoon. Most of the bets are on the nap.

Peace, people.

Small Town Notoriety

Most of my life has been spent living in communities with populations of 19,000 or fewer. While there are downsides to the small town lifestyle, there are also some perks, including occasionally finding oneself in the local newspaper.

Yesterday, I shared a photo of my sister-in-law, Angie, and me from a recent edition of the Hereford Brand. That’s me clutching the bottle of wine at a Derby Day Gala held at the Senior Center in Hereford, Texas. I pity the fool who might’ve attempted to wrest that Cabernet Sauvignon from my eager hands.

This picture made me think of clippings I’ve saved from other newspapers over the years. Don’t ask me why I’ve saved them. Maybe I’m a narcissist or perhaps I just need confirmation that I’ve managed to accomplish a few things over the course of my 62 years.

I’m missing a few articles from my storied past, and I won’t bore you with the details of the ones above. I’m particularly proud, though, of the Bravo! headline and photo from the Bismarck Tribune, even though the photographer shot from below us, and I seem to have more than the one requisite chin in the picture. Plus, my permed 80’s style hair took up most of the frame, and we were four years into the 90’s.

I imagine the next time I’m featured in any publication it’ll be in the obituaries section. I hope they’ll use the photo of me hanging onto that bottle of wine.

Peace, people

Famous

Guess who made the front page of the Hereford Brand newspaper? Me, that’s who! I landed in that position of honor for my participation in the Derby Day Gala at the Hereford Senior Center on May 4. There were several other folks who made the front page, as well, but obviously I’m the only one you need to concern yourself with.

Need help identifying me?

There I am, clutching a bottle of wine as if my life depended on it, and seated next to my charming and hilarious sister-in-law, Angie. Her bejeweled majorette’s hat was the bomb, and might’ve won the “Best Hat” competition had she and I not been the contest’s judges, rendering us ineligible. Darn the bad luck.

Peace, people!

An Oblique Reference

I’ve been having some digestive issues, and my left side was in pain, so when the physician’s assistant at my gastroenterologist’s office squeezed my side and mumbled something that sounded like, “That’s just because you’re obese,” I was rendered speechless. You see, I’m not skinny, but neither am I fat.

Several rejoinders came to mind:

“You’re no prize yourself, lard ass!”

“Pot, meet kettle.”

“Well f_ _ _ you, too!”

Fortunately, in the nick of time, it occurred to me that what he’d actually said was something along the lines of, “Those are just your obliques.”

I’ll ask at my follow up visit, just to make sure, and in the meantime I’ll work on my witty comebacks and maybe on my muscle tone.

Peace, people!

In the Middle of the Night

A couple of nights ago I was awakened by the sound of feet running down the hall and into our bathroom. I sat up, noted that Studly wasn’t in bed, and called his name. There was no answer.

I got out of bed and hurried into the bathroom worried that Studly, who’d been under the weather, had gotten sick. The bathroom, though, was empty. Hmmm. I checked the den and there he was, snoring away from the comfort of his recliner.

Returning to bed, I surmised that the cats had enjoyed one of their tumbling runs through the house, even though the sound of running feet had seemed much louder than two middling sized cats could’ve generated. Again I dozed off into dreamland.

Sometime before dawn, I was startled awake again by the same sound of running feet. This time I noted that one cat, Scout, was sleeping peacefully beside me and that her “sibling,” Patches, was firmly ensconced in her favorite chair. Studly, was still in his recliner snoring like a freight train. Obviously I had experienced an auditory dream. It was unnerving.

Have any of you experienced such a phenomenon? Often I hear music in my dreams that lingers over into my waking life, but the sound of running feet was a first. I don’t want to hear that ever again.

Instead, I’ll listen to Billy Joel.

https://youtu.be/yb9rvpTDIsg

Peace, people!