Happiness in beautiful Savannah, Georgia
I just got back from a very warm but invigorating and visually stunning morning walk. Today I trekked a few blocks over to Jones Street, one of the most beautiful residential avenues in Historic District Savannah.
I decided to look for GREEN on Jones, and boy did I find it! Here’s a (rather large) sampling of what I saw.
Go Green.
(Oh, and here’s an old post featuring Jones Street at Christmas.)
Saturday morning I stumbled out of bed (you would think someone my age could deal with morning a bit better) and walked a few blocks to Savannah’s Forsyth Park to get some fresh vegetables. (It’s spring, so I’m on my Annual Quest to get in Stellar Shape for the maybe two times I go to Tybee Island and the beach during the summer. I haven’t seen abs in forty years, but I’m such an optimist I AM NOT GIVING UP. Do you hear me?! I intend to be on the cover of Men’s Fitness one day.)
The Forsyth Farmers’ Market is the coolest gathering of local vendors offering fresh–often organic–fruits and vegetables, along with coffees, breads, honey, jams, juices, pasta, fish, beef, poultry, herbs, flowers, etc. I LOVE their statement of purpose: “The mission of the Forsyth Farmers’ Market is to promote understanding and participation in a local food system that supports sustainable production and increases access to local products.”
Coolest dog at the market:
Coolest shoes at the market:
What joyful shopping!
Yesterday morning, on a brief walk near my home in Historic District Savannah, I found myself looking down. Here’s a sampling of what I saw.
“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”
— Henry David Thoreau
Anyone who has been to Savannah on or around March 17 knows that Saint Patrick’s Day is a pretty …
… in this city! From the Greening of the Fountain and Tara Feis onward, Savannah embraces its Irishness, shamrocks growing and showing up everywhere, an already diverse and fesitval-driven city photosynthetically converting excited energy into green Gaelic joy. And since 2013 St. Paddy Day was Sunday, Savannah opted to hold its primary celebration on Saturday with the parade (the nation’s second largest), River Street revelry and other merrymaking events.
Since Yours Truly lives DIRECTLY on the parade route along Abercorn Street, and since some green Irish blood flows through my veins (Saye =”one who lives by the sea”), I decided to host a little parade-viewing party.
Party Prep Notes: For some reason I will never fully grasp, I decided to make Cabbage and Ham in the Crock Pot (or as I call it, Beverly Hillbilly-ishly, “the Slow-Cooking Pot”).
Now cabbage sounds fine, and even a bit Irish, until you understand that my place is a little under 800 square feet, positioned at the front of a beautiful old building completed in the 1800’s. Well, the slow-cooking cabbage produced a Rather Strong Aroma (try not to imagine it), first in my apartment, then wafting across the hall to my next door neighbor and fellow party hostess Audrey’s place, then throughout the entire old building, and probably up and down the parade route and on to the South Carolina border across the river. People were so nice and pretended that the smell made the party more “Irish authentic.” But a bunch of folks had drinks in their hands, so I’m not at all certain their sensory perception was on target. AND I noticed they would get a bowlful of steaming, fragrant cabbage and then quickly run out the door to see the next band or float they “had been waiting on.”
Here’s me helping to set up the area for guests to sit and watch the parade outside my building (my windows have the St. Patty tacky shamrock cutouts and green garlands).
Before the parade started, I made a quick tour of the squares close to me. A few sights:
I met some cool green-clad new friends:
And then quickly back to my place where the crowd had grown during my foray.
I found this pretty lady pirouetting in front of my apt, so of course I had to get my pic with her:
Here’s across-the-hall stylish neighbor Audrey:
And here’s party guest/good buddy Ellie and her brother encouraging the crowd:
I wish I was brave enough to dance in the street!
Hip green-haired son/father duo Ethan and Kevin:
And Kevin with very significant other Olivia:
Former Everyday Creative Writing Student Jaymes stopped by for a while. (He knows what’s rocking in Savannah.)
Buddies Rich and Edward (who brought party-hit basil lemonade):
Cool St. Patty Baby:
Made great new friends with some folks visiting from Maryland and staying in the vacation rentals in my building (so of course they were party guests too)–Kathy and Karen with their husbands. And don’t they look SO Saint Patricky?
Preparing to kiss the parade marching men:
(Public Service Announcement: I think I will rent out my place next year for St. Paddy Day. Is $2000 for the holiday too much? I plan to include a HUGE bowl of frozen-but-on-the-table-in-a-jiffy Authentic Irish Cabbage and Ham.)
New kayaking friend Tom with Edward, Rich and me:
Church buddy Diane with Rich, Edward, Robert, Jaymes and me:
Good friend Zach and brother Josh marching in the parade (marching, that is, before I ran out into the street and made them stop). Their Irish family has been in the parade for something like 1000 years.
What a wonderfully fun Savannah Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration!
But sitting here after the parade, I started to worry: “What if my Crock Pot Cabbage Smell keeps those hundreds of thousands of visitors from coming back to Savannah next year? Can they trace it all back to me?”
A few reflections on the weekend BEFORE St. Patrick’s Day weekend here in Savannah.
THE GREENING ****
One of Savannah’s coolest St. Patrick’s Day traditions has to be the greening of the fountains. In a week, we will welcome the city’s most popular holiday. And at noon Friday the beautiful fountain in Forsyth Park, surrounded by several hundred people, morphed into a bright green explosion of water color. Soon thereafter the other fountains in Savannah followed suit.
Tangent Ahead: Okay, I know this is a Happiness Blog and all, but let me vent a second, okay? Please? But first, a little background: While I taught up the road at Georgia Southern, I heard this refrain from time to time: “GSU? Oh, what a party school!” That got on my last nerve. My very last. (Similar to the Kardashians’ dilemma over what to do after “reality” TV.) Why did the comment irk me? Simple. GSU (or UGA or Emory or Harvard) is a party school if students choose to party there. But GSU (etc.) is a great place to get a wonderful education for those students who choose to do so (which, by the way, are the vast majority).
In a similar vein, what do many people associate with our city’s incredibly popular March holiday? Drinking on River Street, of course. But that aspect of the St. Patrick’s Day celebration is only one part of the wonderful holiday, albeit a decidedly profitable one, and the one that often gets the most press. However, so much more, SO MUCH MORE captures the attention and interest of most Savannahians. Which brings me back to the greening of the fountains. End of Tangent.
Thinking I would just mosey up to the fountain and watch somebody toss in a bit of green dye, I was shocked at the size of the gathering and the palpable excitement of the event.
Before the greening:
After the greening:
Here’s James A. Ray, the Grand Marshal of the 2013 St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
And here’s his sister, Nancy Ray Johnson, who is the second female in Savannah St. Patrick’s Day history to be the Aid to the Grand Marshal.
TARA FEIS ****
And then on Saturday at Emmet Park near the river, Tara Feis (feis= festival, pronounced “fesh”) burst on the holiday scene with Irish music, dancers, food and fun. This annual celebration of Erin Go Bragh–Ireland the Beautiful is completely family friendly and alcohol-free.
Here’s a bit of the Glor Na Daire Irish dance school performance:
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And perennially popular local singer/songwriter Harry O’Donoghue‘s closing song, “All the Best”:
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Saints & Shamrocks ****
After enjoying the festival for a couple of hours, I went in search of the official St. Patrick’s Day Parade Magazine, and finally found it at the beautifully delightful Saints & Shamrocks boutique …
… specializing in religious gifts, Irish imports and fair trade gifts. There I met the welcoming, helpful owner and new friend Hope (I love that name) Ebberwein …
… who gave me a copy of the magazine.
[Should I dye my facial hair green for the parade viewing? Now be honest. (Some of you weren’t when I asked if I was too old to wear skinny jeans. See item#4 in the skinny jeans hyperlink.)]
Bach Music Marathon ****
Still not finished with the day, I walked into the Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church on Calhoun Square, where organist Christopher Jacobson from South Carolina sat at the incredible pipe organ performing a two-day marathon of the COMPLETE organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach (257 individual pieces!).
Beautiful.
I get tired just trying to hum through Abba’s three most popular #1 hits.
What a tremendously festive weekend! A greening. A feis. A new friend. And a concert. I wonder what the actual Saint Patrick’s Day Twenty-Thirteen will hold. I’ll let you know. I’m hosting a little parade viewing party, since my place lies directly on the parade route.
Several years ago, after my underground (!) gym (really, it was underneath Broughton Street) closed in the historic district of Savannah where I live, I joined the nearby Habersham YMCA. I had never belonged to a YMCA before–but I had danced to the song.
From the very first day I have been SO impressed with the folks who work at the Habersham Y. They are without exception welcoming, encouraging and fun to see each time I waddle in.
ALWAYS smiling, the MOST encouraging, MOST positive, FRIENDLIEST Habersham employee has to be RICHARD JOHNSON.
I’ve never seen Richard without a smile on his face and a cheerful word to share. He most definitely meets the criteria of a Balcony Person (Balcony Post Link One, Link Two). Balcony people are those folks you come in contact with who encourage you, bless you, inspire you, give of themselves in some way. They climb the steps up into your balcony, so to speak, lean over the railing and yell, “You’re doing fine! Keep going! You look great! You’re almost there!”
So it is with Richard. As he wheels through the busy gym, his voice can be heard above the whir of elliptical machines and the clang of free weights, greeting every person he sees: “Hey, Neal” “How you doing, Carl?” “Come on now, Janice, you can do more than that!” “Alright now!” Richard is the very definition of a Balcony Person. He infuses the Habersham YMCA with encouragement and joy.
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I asked Richard a few questions about himself and his views about happiness.
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Thanks to Richard and folks like him who help make ho-hum days into Occasions of Happiness.
Jones Street, in Historic District Savannah, exudes grace, grandeur and the beauty of yesteryear at any season–but especially so at Christmas time. Last night I took a holiday stroll down her brick and cobblestone sidewalks.
A sampling of the visual feast I enjoyed:
It’s amazing what beauty you see when you look for it.
Okay, I know it’s Saturday. but yesterday was an uberbusy day. And isn’t today gorgeous? It’s cool. It’s Fall. And it’s time to acknowledge some Happy Bringers.
1. Enjoying the Savannah Film Festival this week (hosted by SCAD).
2. Making little Halloween goody bags for my international students, most of whom had never “done” Halloween before. Then discussing the Day of the Dead (which some of them celebrate) and being grateful for all our relatives and friends who have passed on.
3. A great-smelling rose.
4. Attending and enjoying the Taste of the World food festival at SCAD yesterday. Here’s a little bit about the event from the ISSO (International Student Services Office) newsletter: “Dine thali style and sample more than 80 international dishes. Visit the mixed grill area specializing in tandoori chicken, Thai chicken satay on skewers and Persian beef kebabs. Enjoy live performances inspired by international cultures and Savannah’s own Latin and Merengue sensation, Son del Coqui.”
I ran into some of my colleagues from SCAD’s Language Studio. Here’s Coordinator of Language Studio/ESL Ana Turner (right after leading a traditional dance).
And here’s the Director of Language Studio/ESL Christina Cavage.
New full-time prof Curt Klinghoffer. (I wish my last name cool like Curt’s. I mean, Saye? Really?)
Officemate Emily Gung.
Oldtimer–I mean “experienced”–ESL prof (and my mentor) Todd Nemanic.
I appreciate the appropriateness and truthfulness of this affirmation:
And I loved seeing some of my students at the festival. Here’s Sonali.
And Juliana.
Andrea (with a friend).
Raquel and Juli.
And some other people I met. Juwan, for example–I took his picture because of that cool blue hair. I’m thinking about green for mine. Yes?
And Devyn wins my prize for hippest necklace and pants.
I really had a ball there. So much fun.
Now let’s play a game. It’s called Oh Saye, Can You See?
I ran into my buddy Mangue Banzima with his gorgeous daughter.
Mangue writes/photographs a beautiful blog about fashion in Savannah, Qui Style in Savannah. Check it out sometime. Okay, check it out RIGHT NOW because I’m in it for the second time! Keep scolling down, past all the really cool and hip-looking people, until you get to the Taste of the World pictures–then, again, scroll past those young, stylish folks till you find … me! [First post from a while back about fashion: I’m a Famous Fashion Model]
What a fun couple of hours in the fall beauty of Savannah.
5. Seeing smiles as the most significant means of communication between people.
Joyful, Smiling Weekend!
My new adjunct professorship at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in Language Studio/ESL comes with some very cool perks. One is enjoying the beauty and history of SCAD’s many restored and repurposed buildings scattered across the Historic District of Savannah. (Most of SCAD’s buildings are not new–more often than not, they were derelict or ready to be torn down before SCAD came to the rescue.) My office, for example, is in Habersham Hall, part of the old Savannah jail. (No more comments about finally being where I belong, please.)
Another perk is being exposed to so many unique cultural opportunities (for example, the Savannah Film Festival started this weekend). On Friday night, I ventured over to the Habersham courtyard to celebrate Diwali, or the Indian “Festival of Lights.” Diwali, or Deepavali, is a major Hindu festival that celebrates the triumph and victory of good over evil, specifically when the Hindu God Rama defeated the demon Ravana. Celebrations incorporate the lighting of lamps and fireworks to symbolize hope, restoration and joy. That’s right up my blog’s alley!
Turning the corner at the end of that mysteriously dark walk, I was amazed to see what looked like an Indian street festival in full swing. Just look!
A large group of folks, many in traditional Indian garb, hovered around the food area. And for good reason–the aromas were enticing. The music was body-swaying. Of course, I wanted to make a bee line directly to the grub, but I saw two of my students from ENGL 193 (Composition for International Students) and felt I had to pretend to be mature and say hello. Here’s Kathrine and Stefanie:
But oh gosh, the food! I can’t remember any of the specific names, except for naan (the bread), but here’s my plate:
After stuffing myself to an embarrassing degree, I finally came back to my other nongastronomic senses and saw on the other side of the courtyard in the stage area another of my students, Aakash Mani (aka Cash Money! Really!). I made my way toward him, stopping to say hi to some of these folks along the way:
I finally made it to Aakash …
… and discovered that he was one of the stars of the entertainment part of the evening! Here he is dancing up a storm!
After the performance, I asked Aakash what made him happy about Diwali and the festival. He explained that the festival itself, because of its recognition of the triumph of good, is reason to celebrate, that it’s all about happiness, and that the very smile on his face (which is almost ALWAYS present) is there because of the joy of life. He also said that dance shows happiness. (That sounds like an A+ answer to me.)
Other entertainers:
(Should I take up belly dancing?)
I was amazed at the beautiful orchestration of the evening. So much fun!
I didn’t want to leave.
I love this place!
NealEnJoy 
