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bigmacbear) wrote2021-11-13 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2021-11-13 11:59 pm
Augusta, day 3 of 4
SATURDAY
I got up for the day about 7:45 and we went downstairs for breakfast just after nine. At breakfast Gary introduced me to his aunt Jessie (uncle Reggie's widow) and we chatted with Damon, Charlene, and John. From there we shopped for flowers to give Lillie for her birthday. We didn't see anything we liked at Kroger floral department (although the "Soul Sister" mums were amusing), so we drove the short distance to Ladybug Flowers in Martinez (here pronounced with the accent on the last syllable unlike the surname). They had just gotten a shipment of lilies which hadn't quite opened yet, and they had an assortment of roses, so the lady whipped up a cute arrangement while we waited. We returned to the hotel room and cranked up the AC so the flowers would keep, then relaxed for a while and made plans to visit the Laurel and Hardy museum in Harlem, which we hadn't gotten to do on a previous trip.
Out front, a row of motorcycles was parked. We were greeted at the door by a cute cubby dude with a trim beard. We explored the exhibit space (in the back of an old movie theater) and saw the bikers doing the same, most of them in full leathers. Gary observed they were from South Carolina. After a while I needed to sit, so I caught a few minutes of the Laurel and Hardy short "Our Wife" playing in the screening room up front. We stopped by to use the bathroom (as the bikers prepared to leave) and returned to the screening room for the tail end of a documentary and another short, "Men O' War". We purchased postcards and T-shirts from the cub at the front desk and left to get some pictures outside.
The water tower with the portrait of Oliver Hardy was a few short blocks away so we walked in that direction; after we'd taken pictures, I noticed we had passed a little pizzeria (which, as we later learned, was also a taqueria) called Monte Olivos, so we ducked in for lunch. We had meatball subs, Gary's with fries and mine with pasta salad with a nice red-wine vinaigrette dressing. After lunch we stopped to take pictures of the exterior of the theater/ museum and returned to the car.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped by Kroger again for a birthday balloon, pens, and stamps for the postcards. When we arrived back in the room I wrote out the postcards, one for our own use as a souvenir and one to wish Colleen a happy birthday later this week. Then we changed into our party T-shirts, kicked back for a few minutes while my phone charged, and left for the party.
What transpired over the next hour and a half is best characterized, much like a Laurel and Hardy film, as "another fine mess." First, I nearly ran over a concrete island and spilled the water from the flowers all over the back seat. Next, we arrived at the venue early to help out, only to find the party was being professionally arranged and was to be formal (the T-shirts were intended to be worn last night). I was quietly fuming, but realized the most important thing was getting there safely and looking back there's nothing to do but laugh. Gary directed me to the nearest Kohl's store for dress shirts, dressy casual slacks, and ties. We returned to the hotel to change into our new outfits, and I desperately needed a shower as well.
We finally made it to the party about 6:30, having missed much of the ceremony but just in time for dinner, which was a buffet similar to last night's. I had fresh fruit, green beans, mashed potatoes, baked chicken, salmon, mac & cheese, and a dinner roll. This time the serving was left to the professionals. We sat at the table with Charlene and the sisters, and Larry and his wife. As folks finished eating, a video presentation was projected on a screen by the DJ booth. It started with the "I Have a Dream" speech and other historical material, then segued into pictures of Lillie as a child, as mother of Kawand, with Darnell (Gary got choked up a little during that part), and in various celebrations over the years. It concluded with video from Mike (complete with a Rogers TV name super and Parliament Hill in back) and Gary (complete with spin whistle and rattle). Then we started singing Happy Birthday the traditional way, interrupted by the DJ spinning Stevie Wonder's rendition. Following that, Lillie cut the cake and posed for pictures, and Gary was finally able to present her with the flowers and balloon we bought. Then the dance began in earnest and, while the previous events of the evening were not forgotten, they certainly faded to irrelevance. We had a nice mini-Soul Train going in front of the head table and later an even bigger one formed in the main aisle.
The party wound down around ten, an hour earlier than planned (although they did say that would be last call for alcohol). Oddly, two sheriff's deputies took turns all evening sitting by the bar and watching. We stayed and watched the crew take down much of the decorations, until we were assured there was transportation back to the hotel both for Lillie and all the birthday presents. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the outdoor mailbox at the main post office in Martinez to mail our postcards. I had to use the bathroom urgently once we got to the room. When I was done, Gary went to test his blood sugar, and then we returned to the lobby to hang out. John, Sharon, and a few of the sisters were there, along with a young lady I didn't recognize. Lillie had gone upstairs to change clothes. The lady sitting next to Gary asked for the bag of sea salt potato chips on the table between the young lady and me, and she said "oh, that's that white people salt" which struck me as funny because I was totally not expecting it. Damon came down as well, wearing a T-shirt reading "I like to think I'm aging like a fine cigar". We sat, chatted, and listened to music until about 12:30, then said our farewells.
I got up for the day about 7:45 and we went downstairs for breakfast just after nine. At breakfast Gary introduced me to his aunt Jessie (uncle Reggie's widow) and we chatted with Damon, Charlene, and John. From there we shopped for flowers to give Lillie for her birthday. We didn't see anything we liked at Kroger floral department (although the "Soul Sister" mums were amusing), so we drove the short distance to Ladybug Flowers in Martinez (here pronounced with the accent on the last syllable unlike the surname). They had just gotten a shipment of lilies which hadn't quite opened yet, and they had an assortment of roses, so the lady whipped up a cute arrangement while we waited. We returned to the hotel room and cranked up the AC so the flowers would keep, then relaxed for a while and made plans to visit the Laurel and Hardy museum in Harlem, which we hadn't gotten to do on a previous trip.
Out front, a row of motorcycles was parked. We were greeted at the door by a cute cubby dude with a trim beard. We explored the exhibit space (in the back of an old movie theater) and saw the bikers doing the same, most of them in full leathers. Gary observed they were from South Carolina. After a while I needed to sit, so I caught a few minutes of the Laurel and Hardy short "Our Wife" playing in the screening room up front. We stopped by to use the bathroom (as the bikers prepared to leave) and returned to the screening room for the tail end of a documentary and another short, "Men O' War". We purchased postcards and T-shirts from the cub at the front desk and left to get some pictures outside.
The water tower with the portrait of Oliver Hardy was a few short blocks away so we walked in that direction; after we'd taken pictures, I noticed we had passed a little pizzeria (which, as we later learned, was also a taqueria) called Monte Olivos, so we ducked in for lunch. We had meatball subs, Gary's with fries and mine with pasta salad with a nice red-wine vinaigrette dressing. After lunch we stopped to take pictures of the exterior of the theater/ museum and returned to the car.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped by Kroger again for a birthday balloon, pens, and stamps for the postcards. When we arrived back in the room I wrote out the postcards, one for our own use as a souvenir and one to wish Colleen a happy birthday later this week. Then we changed into our party T-shirts, kicked back for a few minutes while my phone charged, and left for the party.
What transpired over the next hour and a half is best characterized, much like a Laurel and Hardy film, as "another fine mess." First, I nearly ran over a concrete island and spilled the water from the flowers all over the back seat. Next, we arrived at the venue early to help out, only to find the party was being professionally arranged and was to be formal (the T-shirts were intended to be worn last night). I was quietly fuming, but realized the most important thing was getting there safely and looking back there's nothing to do but laugh. Gary directed me to the nearest Kohl's store for dress shirts, dressy casual slacks, and ties. We returned to the hotel to change into our new outfits, and I desperately needed a shower as well.
We finally made it to the party about 6:30, having missed much of the ceremony but just in time for dinner, which was a buffet similar to last night's. I had fresh fruit, green beans, mashed potatoes, baked chicken, salmon, mac & cheese, and a dinner roll. This time the serving was left to the professionals. We sat at the table with Charlene and the sisters, and Larry and his wife. As folks finished eating, a video presentation was projected on a screen by the DJ booth. It started with the "I Have a Dream" speech and other historical material, then segued into pictures of Lillie as a child, as mother of Kawand, with Darnell (Gary got choked up a little during that part), and in various celebrations over the years. It concluded with video from Mike (complete with a Rogers TV name super and Parliament Hill in back) and Gary (complete with spin whistle and rattle). Then we started singing Happy Birthday the traditional way, interrupted by the DJ spinning Stevie Wonder's rendition. Following that, Lillie cut the cake and posed for pictures, and Gary was finally able to present her with the flowers and balloon we bought. Then the dance began in earnest and, while the previous events of the evening were not forgotten, they certainly faded to irrelevance. We had a nice mini-Soul Train going in front of the head table and later an even bigger one formed in the main aisle.
The party wound down around ten, an hour earlier than planned (although they did say that would be last call for alcohol). Oddly, two sheriff's deputies took turns all evening sitting by the bar and watching. We stayed and watched the crew take down much of the decorations, until we were assured there was transportation back to the hotel both for Lillie and all the birthday presents. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the outdoor mailbox at the main post office in Martinez to mail our postcards. I had to use the bathroom urgently once we got to the room. When I was done, Gary went to test his blood sugar, and then we returned to the lobby to hang out. John, Sharon, and a few of the sisters were there, along with a young lady I didn't recognize. Lillie had gone upstairs to change clothes. The lady sitting next to Gary asked for the bag of sea salt potato chips on the table between the young lady and me, and she said "oh, that's that white people salt" which struck me as funny because I was totally not expecting it. Damon came down as well, wearing a T-shirt reading "I like to think I'm aging like a fine cigar". We sat, chatted, and listened to music until about 12:30, then said our farewells.