A Very Happy Anniversary

Thirteen years ago today, we'd just finished attending a rugby tournament in Manchester, UK. Our plan was to board a train and head to Edinburgh to extend the trip into a longer vacation.

We had reserved seats on the train. When we got to our seats, there was a guy sitting there who the conductor had to shoo out of the seats, since he didn't have a ticket to be there. But then we sat down, and two other guys sat across from us (it was a 2 & 2 setup).

The other two guys were dressed like rugby players, so we quickly struck up a conversation and determined that yes, they had just come from the same tournament we'd been at. Their names were Tom and Andrew. This was Andrew on the train...

We spent the trip chatting with both of them and had a wonderful time.

When we got to Edinburgh, we said our goodbyes, planning to email each other when we got home so we could stay in touch. We then headed to our respective hotels and checked in. After that, Marc and I did what we often do in a new city, heading out to get on a hop on-hop off tour bus to orient ourselves to the new city. It was a double-decker bus, and we always prefer the top level. So up we went! And as I got to the top, what was the first thing I saw?

From that point on, we decided we were meant to hang out together. After the bus, we went out to dinner, walked around the city, visited some sights, including Edinburgh Castle. The four of us were there for the daily ceremonial firing of the cannon...

And our new friend Andrew let his personality shine through...

Eventually, the Edinburgh visit came to an end, but we really had started a friendship by then. Andrew was from Toronto, but we said we'd keep in touch. We already adored him, so that certainly was our plan!

Happily, it all worked out very well. Over the past 13 years, Dru has become one of our best friends. We see him as often as we can, and we're in touch constantly, even if it's just a daily flow of memes and silly posts going back and forth.

Happy Anniversary to Dru and us! I can't imagine a sweeter, better friend!

A great book: In Memoriam by Alice Winn

In Memoriam by Alice Winn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great piece of literature. I wish I could go beyond 5 stars, because it deserves as much praise as I can heap upon it. Alice Winn has written a compelling novel of love in a time of the worst of humanity's brutality. Can young love endure through a time of mustard gas and machine gunning, through seeing friends cut down in their prime, through horrible injury to the few survivors?

Alice Winn brings top notch character development, and that makes such a difference, as you find yourself truly caring about these people. Also, she doesn't sugar coat what happens. This isn't a rom-com. This is romance in a time of unspeakable brutality, and the story is completely believable, even if that makes for some very sad (to say the least) aspects of the story.

Pick up In Memoriam, and you won't want to put it down until you've read every page. A great novel, and this is an author to watch! Bravo!

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A few photos from the yard

 It was a beautiful day today. As Marc worked in the yard, I felt the urge to go take a few photos out there. The dogs went with me, to act as models, of course! Here are a few shots:

Romance is fun

Among the friends we've made through rugby is a young man named Connor. A couple of weeks ago, Connor reached out to say he planned to propose to his boyfriend. He wanted to know if Marc and I could take pictures when he proposed. Of course, we loved the idea. So around midday today, we met them in Central Park. Connor's boyfriend, Kevin, thought this was just a meeting so we could take some photos of them.

So we started with that...

Then Connor started talking about how wonderful Kevin was, how much he loved him, and how much he loved life with him. Kevin clearly was confused, wondering why Connor was going on like this. But then...

So wonderful! We were honored to be a part of this special day, and we both wish them many happy, healthy years together!

Go ahead and use the money how you want. It's yours now.

I try to be generous. That extends to strangers, when I think I can help out. When I worked in Manhattan, I bought lots of lunches for guys on the street. How can you go wrong feeding someone? 

Well, we're in Savannah, and we recently went shopping at Publix. It was late for food shopping--about 8pm--and the turn lane into the Publix wasn't well lit. But as we approached, I thought I saw someone. Sure enough, as we got close, I saw that it was a man with a little sign, asking for money.

I had a couple of dollar bills in my pocket. I rolled down the window and gave them to him. With that, he thanked me and apparently was done with his work for the evening. He immediately headed across the road. In that dim light, I was worried he'd get hit by a car. There was one coming, but luckily they saw him.

The man was heading into the same parking lot we were. At first, it looked like he was heading for Publix, too, and I said to Marc, if he goes in there, I want to tell him we'll buy him anything he wants. Marc agreed. Really, whatever he could get and bring home wasn't going to bankrupt us and would brighten his life at least for a bit.

So as we were parking we watched him head towards the Publix entrance. And then right past it, to the corner of the shopping center and the liquor store.

Oh well, if that's what he needed, so be it. More importantly, I suppose it got him out of traffic, so he'd live to see another day. It's his life, not mine, and the that little bit of money was his by then anyhow. But I really did love the idea of helping send him home with lots of fresh food. I hope he gets to a better place where that's his priority.

The troubling transformation of an historic city

We've been part-time residents of beautiful Savannah for almost 9 years. We were fortunate to find a house that was a great fit for us. A big place, built when Thomas Jefferson was President, it’s in a great downtown location. Like many old houses here, its appearance won’t change because of its historic status.  Those same types of restrictions protect the overall look of the historic district, and that’s great.

What’s particularly interesting, though, is how much of the unprotected parts of the city—or areas whose zoning was changed with the right big-money political influence—are seeing major building projects that could be anywhere. They don’t have the Savannah look and feel.

A few decades ago, a house was built near here that was specifically made to look like ours. The very deliberate intent was to maintain the same character. A lot of this new stuff, however, has very little in common with the existing structures of this city.

In our years here, Savannah has grown and changed quite a bit, but these latest developments are another level. We have visited many places over the years where we have heard about the character of those places changing slowly, so no one really grasped how much was being lost. In this case, I think anyone could see it. A lot of things are changing here, and I don’t know that they are changing for the better. A lot of people are going to make a lot of money, and that, of course, is what is driving all of this. But I don’t know if that is the best thing for Savannah. Sure, growth and economic prosperity are good things, but I feel like the pace here is going to get away from people. One day, they will look back and wonder how they lost what used to be.

Book Review: "Resurrection Walk" by Michael Connelly

Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My only problem with Michael Connelly's novels is that they're over so fast. I don't think I'm a particularly fast reader, but I wait a while for his next novel with great anticipation. Then I get my hands on a copy, and I'm done in a couple of days.

Resurrection Walk brings together Mickey Haller ("the Lincoln Lawyer") and Connelly's great homicide detective Harry Bosch. I won't get into the details of the story, other than to say they're looking to help people wrongfully convicted who want to clear their names. This is a powerhouse team, and, with the aid of a couple of other key players, they bring a fight for justice that most needing criminal defense only can dream of. This is a fast, well-written story, and I highly recommend it!

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