Hurricane Florence

I"m very happy and relieved to say that Florence was a week-long, nerve-wracking, non-event! It tore me away from MSNBC and diverted my attention to the Weather Channel, a sad commentary on my life!! Early on it looked like we would be okay and I was relieved to feel that I could stay put. I didn't want to have to sedate Rosie for hours in the car, nor did I want to put Mama Mia through it again. She is just to frail. Then, there was a model that showed it hitting NC and skimming down the coast, at which point I made a reservation in Valdosta, GA. By this time, all of the outside furniture was inside. Water, ice, and food had been stored, but now I packed to leave. The next morning, the situation looked much better, so I cancelled reservations.  I then just waited and watched. It was comforting that most of my neighbors and Bluffton friends were staying, so if I needed help there would be people to ask. As we waited, we had three gorgeous mornings - cooler, breezy and low humidity. Yesterday was 95 degrees again, so the storm didn't take the heat with it. We are all longing for a hint of fall in the air.

Once Florence hit NC, it slowed down and lingered forever. I can't imagine recovering for that much water short of tearing everything down and starting from scratch. Mix in with that all of the dead chickens, hogs and released coal ash, and heat - it will be a toxic situation for a long time. Since being here (1997), until a few years ago I had evacuated only once, years ago. Now it seems we have several serious situations per year. I hope to never go through what the folks in NC are dealing with now.

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Chris's husband, Larry. Things were pretty much at a standstill over Labor Day as doctors were not available. Chris came down from Charleston and David and I took her out to dinner. She went back up and stayed overnight on Monday, knowing that Tuesday would be a full day with doctors, tests, etc. They have tests they do to determine how much ability he might recover and he failed them all. At that point, the feeding tube and meds were stopped, except morphine to keep him comfortable. He died within hours. Friends were just stunned, and felt helpless, with the severity and speed with which it all happened. On Thursday, once Chris was back in town, I had her and friends over for an impromptu dinner. If nothing else, we (her friends) felt like we could show our support. Both the dining room and kitchen tables were used, but we all wound up sitting around the dining room table, toasting Larry and sharing our favorite recollections. It was a nice moment. It also warmed my heart that Chris asked for the photos (in my last post) of Larry that I'd taken at our last Drinking Liberally meeting. I don't often do that but we had such a good group, it was comfortable enough to dine outside, and we had lots of new people.  I'm just so glad I took them!  DL will certainly miss Larry as he was always so animated in his discussion and always solicited a laugh. No doubt we will have a toast to him at our next meeting.

There isn't a lot else to report, except most of us are trying to reschedule everything that was postponed last week. I was to have my windows washed and that is scheduled for tomorrow. Most of my friends and I are highly involved with Getting Out The Vote (GOTV) between now and November election....and responding to the onslaught of Trumpisms that happen on a daily basis. I do the newsletter for Liberal Ladies, am on the GOTV committee of Indivisible, and act as a substitute host for Drinking Liberally when needed. Just this morning, I've taken on another mission. I was called by the rabbi of Congregation Beth Yom and asked if I would serve on the Steering Committee of Lowcountry Coalition against Hate. The initial meeting took place several weeks ago and I hadn't heard much since then; so, needless to say, this was a surprise. We had a nice, long conversation....and he was very flattering, though he really didn't have to be. I feel this may be "over my head" but I do see the need. They also hope to make this a lasting voice in the community, not just about the Holocaust denier running for mayor. Anyway, tomorrow I am going to the first meeting before committing to anything. We'll see how it goes.

I continue to look forward to Ann's visit and being distracted from my usual, mundane existence. it will be fun to get out and about, beyond my usual haunts.

Since I am without anything to dress up this post, I'll leave you with an angelic photo of Rosie and her new, soft toy from our friend Camile.

Happy Labor Day 2018

It's hard to believe that September and Labor Day are here. Though I'm ready to feel a little fall in the air, we are still in the low 90s. The mornings are getting a bit nicer, so we feel that relieve is near. The summer has flown by at record speed. 

With September here, we are two months away from mid-term elections. Things are beginning to rev up and I'm pretty much committed to doing whatever I can to help between now and then. It will be a big push and I hope we will win enough for everyone (me included) to relax a bit...and to slow down much of what is happening in our government. The last two years have been totally bazaar, unbelievable and frightening.

Our local Democratic Headquarters has opened after having great difficulty getting anyone to rent a space to them!! And for the first time since I've been here, we have a democrat nominee for all open positions except two! So, we have a lot to work for. The one thing I'm doing new is joining a group to canvas communities. I hate making phone calls, as most of you know, so I thought I'd try canvassing, which should be interesting and test my metal! We'll see how it goes. The trump baby in the photos was given to me by David, a Drinking Liberally buddy. He has a funky little Mini and asked if we could use my car to pick up a sheet of glass he had ordered. It was no problem at all as everything was close by, and he had some play time with Rosie beforehand!! A couple of days later he called and asked if he could stop by on his way to work. As a thank you, he brought me the cute trump baby balloon and an RBG pin!! So, I mustered the courage to have the balloon inflated in the floral department of Publix. I was hoping I could pay there and make a rapid escape, but I had to go through the check-out counter!!  Three of the cashiers got a real kick out of it, much to my surprise. I then took it to the Friday social at Democratic Headquarters and left it with them. Share the fun!

It hasn't all been politics, though. I was invited to the 12th birthday party for Reyna's daughter, Valerie. It was lots of fun, complete with a huge pinata, and I met some very nice people who made me feel welcome. The smallest daughter, Michelle, was the one who whacked open the pinata and everyone scrambled for candy. I hate that the photos are blurred, but at least you get a feel for the afternoon.

This is Reyna in my kitchen showing me how to make Gallo Pinto, a delicious rice and black bean dish. Next time I will make it and see how close I can come to her version, which was very tasty. This is a perfect dish for a vegetarian. Just add a hearty salad and you have lunch. The second photo was a visit when she fell asleep on the sofa under Rosie's protective eye!

As if there isn't enough going on, I was contacted by the President of Congregation Beth Yam to ask if I would ask our local Indivisible group to join a newly formed Lowcountry Coalition Against Hate! Believe it or not, in our sleepy, little hamlet we have a Holocaust denier running for mayor!!  So, I emailed members of the Board whom I know and passed on the information. I then volunteered to attend the meeting as a representatives of Liberal Ladies of the Lowcountry. It was a pretty diverse group and a cross section of our community. By the end of it, the consensus was that the LCAH would stand against hate in any form (against people of color, LGBTQ community, documented  workers, etc) and that it would extend beyond this one issue. There were lots of ideas as to how to deal with this issue and it will be interesting to see how things develop - as well as how some groups handle the rabbi's interpretation that we would defend LGBTQ, undocumented workers, etc. Not sure the republican lady (from Mormon church) who sat by me will be on board with that!!

This is a photo I shared of Facebook after our last Drinking Liberal gathering. The guy in the green shirt, Mark McGinnis, (with Tippy and my neighbor Lynn) is running for County Council and stopped by DL for a chat. We had 15 people RSVP and then 26 showed up, with lots of them being new to the group. Lots of people are feeling the need to be with others of their own persuasion. Liberal Ladies has also shown a surge in membership (449), so Democrats are here. We just have to get them motivated.

On Thursday I received some sad news from my dear friend Chris, whom many of you have met.  On Monday Larry, her husband (in beige shirt at left), had a massive stroke. It was a real jolt. He was airlifted to University Hospital in Charleston, which is the major stroke center in the state. Thus far they have not been able to dissolve the clot, and he suffers paralysis on the left side. Another major issue is that he is unable to swallow. David, who had a severe stroke on his 60th birthday, and I had dinner with Chris last night, and she is hoping to get more definitive information on Tuesday. It is doubtful that he will  be able to walk again, and even sitting up is difficult. So, they have dealt with a lot this week. This is one of those situations that makes one feel totally helpless and reminds us how little control we have over the really important things in life. Please keep them in your thoughts and send comforting vibes their way.

To add to the sadness of the week were the funerals of Aretha Franklin, a real celebration of life and talent, and John McCain, a patriotic call to country and decency. Through the week I was only able to see bits and pieces of the events, but on Saturday I made a point of seeing McCain's whole service, which was very impressive. It was truly patriotic, making a plea to save our government from trump. His name was not mentioned once, but he was indicted repeatedly. It was wonderful to hear President Obama again, and George Bush even made sense! It was also interesting to get a more complete picture of the man in various aspects of his life......but then everyone seems to see the good once you're dead; and, if your foil is trump, it doesn't take a lot to look good. Between the music and eulogies, it was emotional. I was in tears with Meghan's eulogy and the last straw was Danny Boy!! Ugly cry in full display. Melodee and I messaged throughout the service, which added to the experience - sharing it with someone while remaining in the comfort of your home!

Thankfully, there is some happy news. At the end of this month, Ann is coming for a visit and I'm really looking forward to it. We had been talking about this for a while, but then when I heard their first grand-baby (Katie and Adrian) would be arriving in December, I really pushed for her to visit before that time. Once grand-babies start arriving I knew she would be much too busy and visiting me would move way down on the list!  I'm hoping that our weather will be a little cooler by that time so we can enjoy some beach time or whatever else we decide to do. It will just be good to catch up.

And finally, when Eileen was here we had an impromptu tour of Graves' House in downtown Bluffton - just as it was finished and before the pastor moved in. Shortly thereafter a local magazine ran a nice article on it, which you can see HERE on page 138. It really was beautifully done, in an understated kind of way. Seeing it was a real treat.