2. The Atlanta Braves winning the National League East … again.
3. Lunch with youngest granddaughter Isabelle for Pre-K lunch (at 10:45 a.m.!).
Isabelle hugging Nana and holding a tiny piece of broccoli.
4. Colorful Fall
Corner of our dining table
5. The simple joy of being alive.
Side note: The dead-looking, brownish clumps you see to the right and underneath the brilliant green …
They are not dead at all. They are Resurrection Ferns. And as soon as the next rain comes, they will burst into more obvious life and challenge the green vine’s brilliance.
May we all burst into More Obvious Life this weekend!
1. Having lunch with our grandtwins at their new school for this year.
Ex-wife Donna, Madison, Me, Matthew and HRAnd the twins’ mom Emily (a May Howard teacher) standing.Matthew’s lunch: pizza, strawberry milk and a bowl of corn. Madison had cleaning duty today.
2. Slightly cooler mornings and evenings here in Savannah (in the 70’s), making our walks much more doable.
3. An alternative definition of “Pro-Life.”
On the bulletin board at our local health food store.
4. Reverent Dusk.
The spires of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist near us on our evening walk last night.
5. Having Tybee Island (Savannah’s beach) just down the road from us.
1. Robert’s beyond delicious Cast Iron Pizza with Fennel and Sausage …
2. Coming across one of my very favorite plants on the planet, a member of the elephant ear family. We found them creekside on a day trip over to nearby Bluffton, South Carolina. When I find them, I always have to touch them. I believe there is a magical and healthy joy there.
3. Waking up each morning to another day of discovery.
4. Brand new grand baby Novah Ti’amo.
5. Being okay with the realization that I have so much time on my hands I can ARRANGE breakfast fruit.
A blog post from back in 2014. Please excuse the grainy photos.
Every First Tuesday Savannah’s City Hall opens its doors for free tours. I know, I know, touring City Hall doesn’t sound like the most exciting entertainment venue around. But hold on just a second. After a hefty helping of Gabriella’s Zesty Chicken (on mashed potatoes) at Zunzi’s, I wobbled down Bull Street, remembering just in time to look up before I reached the river, and saw this …
… Savannah’s incredibly beautiful City Hall.
Completed in 1905 …
… City Hall features two figures who adorn the front, just below the clock and gold dome. And those two pretty ladies represent Commerce and Art. If you know anything about Savannah, you will find those figures so, so timely. Because what was true in 1905 is certainly true today: Savannah is both a big business city (Savannah Port and Gulfstream, for example) as well as a cultured, artistic town (SCAD, Savannah Music Festival, festivals galore).
Come along.
The original clockwork is now in the lobby:
Looking up to the interior stained glass dome:
Here I am with the really interesting tour guide (and SCAD grad), Luciana Spracher. She knew her stuff!
Did you know Savannah has a flag?
View from a back window of city hall:
I pretended to know the mayor. But you can only stand in front of her office for so long before people start to wonder what you’re doing.
TANGENT: A couple of months ago, I attended an event at the Savannah Civic Center with our mayor, Edna Jackson.
Okay, okay, maybe I wasn’t exactly with the mayor, but you can’t tell that from the above photo with her and Savannah State’s President, Dr. Cheryl Davenport Dozier.
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Luciana led us into the Savannah City Council chambers. For some reason I just got so excited.
Here I am sitting at the mayor’s desk. (Does she know people do this?)
What a fun (and educational) tour! Thanks, Luciana.
(Or is the plural of “Happy” spelled “Happies”? The jury seems to be out on that question.)
This blog category is the journaling and journey-ing of my quest to say (with cautious sincerity) “Hello, Anxiety” and to take a look at the condition from my “me-andering” views.
I LOVE yellow. It’s such a standout HAPPY color.
Bouquet in the lobby of Resorts World Catskills back in JulyField near the hotelAtlanta Botanical Garden
I also love Happy. Happiness. Happier.
I even have a Happy Cup! Don’t you?
I like him because he’s always happy. No matter which way you turn or spin him. No matter what you put in him. Even hot coffee! Even with his fine line wrinkles (look at pic closely).
The cute little jokester!
A contributing factor to my ongoing issue/challenge/frustration with anxiety is that I aspire to be that Happy Cup. After all, I write a blog named “NealEnJoy”! So when Unhappy (i.e., breathing difficulty, fear of nausea, etc.) comes a knockin, my first response is often to ignore it (as if) and with gritted teeth BE HAPPY. Or more honestly put, pretend to be happy.
This opposites-competing cognitive dissonance is not fun or … happy. Try though I do to keep happiness wound up.
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Here’s my Happy Holder. What, you don’t have one?
He doesn’t turn around or spin in quite the same way as my Happy Cup.
And he irritatingly tells me that my blog should more truthfully be named “NealDoesn’tALWAYSEnJoy.” Because Neal (or anyone else) doesn’t always.
“Backside” thinks he’s so smart he even quotes Jung.
A DIFFICULT BUT TRUTHFUL LESSON.
But I have to confess that I still prefer Holder’s “front” side …
1. Realizing that some broken things CAN be fixed.
My special wooden “N” (for Neal) that I somehow dropped and splintered.
But now it’s back on the top of my Desires Board, next to Mr. Happy and down just a bit from my Yes Stick. (Okay, I can see your furrowed brow. During the pandemic, HR and I traveled to a bunch of Georgia State parks, where we went on many a hike. I would often see a Y-shaped stick or tree branch on the trail and tell Robert it was a Yes Stick, to pause and think of something to say “Yes!” to. On one marvel-ous hike at Tugaloo State Park, HR saw this Y Stick, brought it home and shellacked it for us. Yes! TMI?)
2. The incredible ability to walk (which I usually just take for granted). To be able to put one foot in front of the other … and go forward! Try it!
3. Finally finishing with Robert this week the eye-, mind- and heart-opening A New Origin Story: The 1619 Project.
A difficult but so important read about the role that slavery and racism played in our nation’s founding—and continues to play in the U.S. today.
I wish its meticulously documented truths could be taught in every high school.
NealEnJoy 