Wonderful Show

Wonderful show. We will long remember last night's show at the Kravis Center with Tommy Tune and the Manhattan Rythum Kings. Regrettably the house was less than half sold but everyone there seemed to enjoy it.

Alan Collins' Hike

It was a very cool and beautiful morning when Alan Collins led a hike today in Frenchman's Forest.

Strolling the Avenue

Here is our group of fifteen strolling Worth Avenue tonight.
From the left they are Tom, Sharon, Jeff, Sarah, Gail, Marty, Jarod, Jim, Lori, & Gail.
Kneeling are Liz, Bob, Serena, Jane, & Caroline.

Goodwill to All

To my loving and patient wife, of 24 years, Jane, my loving sister, Louane, and brothers, Harold and departed Norman and their spouses, to my loving departed parents from whom I withheld my affection and presented such a challenge, and to all my cousins, nephews & nieces from whom I've distanced myself, and all of my 59 neglected Facebook friends, to all my former colleagues at NCR & IATSE & Kravis, and all my classmates and teachers, to Republicans and Democrats, Israelis & Palestinians, to Christians & Muslims, Hatfields and McCoys, to all scorned and mal treated atheists, and all those incarcerated innocents, and to all those I've mistreated (you know who you are), I wish for you peace, goodwill and a better break from me.

Christmas Breakfast

Jane and I were delighted to be included by Robert and Phoebe Dowdy in their Christmas morning breakfast for eleven. It was not only delicious and abundant but festive and classy.
Meeting their friends and neighbors was fun.

Nobody's got no class!!!

We volunteered last night at the Kravis for Chicago the Musical. It was a most enjoyable production very much like those we've seen before -- a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery with that Bob Fosse magic. Probably the holiday-week timing took a toll on attendance but it seemed to be well received. Class

Sherlock Holmes

At Movico tonight we attended a pre-release screening of Sherlock Holmes. It has the look of a blockbuster and I'm sure it will receive plenty of positive reviews. This is an action movie unlike the classic mysteries of Arthur Conan Doyle. I will remember this movie and recommend it for the grand sets and striking visuals. I didn't like much else. It was too loud, too violent, and too confusing a story. I never was able to follow the plot. The acting was mediocre but if you liked the action of the Indiana Jones' flicks, you would probably enjoy this. Here's what others are saying.

Great Day for a Chilly Walk

This morning's chilly City Walk was braved by nine hardy regulars. We missed many others and they missed a good time as we walked the downtown of West Palm Beach.

Last night was our Dining Out group's annual holiday party -- a pot-luck again this time.
It was at our Whitehall club house and was attended by nineteen people.

Two Movies

Last night we attended a pre-release screening of the new Clint Eastwood film, Invictus. It is sure to be a multiple-category award nominee. I highly recommend it for everyone. Rather than describe it, here are some comments of others.
We also saw Precious. Because of the hard-edged depiction of such a heavy subject, it isn't for everyone but this film will also surely be in contention for awards, especially best actress. I've never seen better acting than the performance of Precious' mother. I'm recommending it with caution.

Tonight Billie and Jerry hosted Frugal Dining Out at Bellante's Pizza. Then we all went over to Freda's & Murray's to visit. We had a very nice time.

Watch Out, Itzhak Perlman.

We were thrilled by the extraordinarily talented violinist, Michael Province, tonight at the Kravis. He plays with a sensitivity and maturity far beyond his fourteen years. He's a comer. Watch for him to be among the top stars. Youtube
Last night we went to the Maltz Jupiter Theatre to see a screening of Alfred Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps." There was an interesting discussion before the film and question & answer session after.

Michael Province

Saturday

We had a good aerobic walk this morning with Paul Cummings' group at John Prince Park.
We dined again (second time this week) at Park Ave, BBQ Grill -- this time with Billie and Jerry Henin.
After dinner we went to a concert of a brass ensemble and a percussion ensemble at Palm Beach Atlantic University School of Music.
Jane and I both liked it a lot.

Palm Beach Photographic Centre

Tonight we enjoyed the opening of the exhibit of Ann Curry's photographs, Empathy, at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre.
Tuesday we worked the Palm Beach Pops' concert of the music of Johnny Mercer and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Wednesday we attended the Palm Beach Opera's Opera In One Hour featuring Amahl and the Night Visitors and Hansel and Gretel.
Thursday we enjoyed a Historical Society lecture by Elliot Kleinberg.
Also Thursday Jane went with her friend Phoebe to the Four Arts to see Vic Damone. The fourth picture below was taken by Phoebe.

Picture storage

Thanksgiving Gathering

We feel really lucky to be included in the Thanksgiving gathering of this family of Cousin Sandra and Pete Holmes. We missed getting in the picture Pete took after we left.

Oatmeal in the Rain

On this rainy morning we had the idea to put our little breakfast table out on the catwalk. To my knowledge, it's never been done before.
Does anyone out there watch Cash Cab on the Discovery channel? Do you find it addictive as we do? Jane and I send Happy Thanksgiving greetings to you all.

Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor was at the Kravis last night with his 90-minute one-man show that began and ended with him singing. We both enjoyed the show a lot.

We had some good macaroni and cheese for lunch today at Nick & Johnnie's Patio Bar and Grill on Royal Poinciana Way.

Palm Beach Gardens Fiftieth Anniversary

The City of Palm Beach Gardens celebrated their fiftieth anniversary today with a big party. I was surprised at how big and enjoyable it was. We arrived at 4:00 o'clock and left at 7:30. The dancers pictured are Coquettes & Company. We had a good time until we started home and our serpentine belt came off. We made it home without being stranded but the damage to our car is still to be determined.

Movie Comment

Last night at Muvico we viewed a pre-release screening of the film The Blind Side staring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, and Quinton Aaron depicting the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless black boy taken in by a well-to-do white family. I'm not sure why but I couldn't identify with the characters or the settings. I found a few minor faults in the directing. It was mildly entertaining and probably will be regarded highly by many. I wouldn't call it a must-see but it's definitely not bad.

City Walk

It was a beautiful day for the thirteen walkers this morning.

Dining Out

Louise hosted Dining Out tonight at Thai - Sakura in Palm Beach Gardens. Sixteen attended.

Two Movies - Pirate Radio & This Is It

Last night at Muvico we attended a prescreening of Pirate Radio, a period comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960's. I've seen worse but usually only by accident. I expected something more of a documentary nature including more of the political history. I was put off by the crude language and too-frequent sexual situations. The unsophisticated feeble comedy was a turn-off too. For some, the redeeming quality will be the rock and roll music. No doubt, some would rate it highly. I found it only mildly entertaining.

Following Pirate Radio, we saw about the last half of This Is It. I was never a fan of Michael Jackson nor did I have anything but minimal interest in his career. But I must say I was favorably impressed by what I saw of this movie and would like to see it all.

Veterans Day

Today we went to a most enjoyable concert by a navy band in Palm Beach Gardens. The band was good and the delightfully varied program suited us just fine. Last night we did our weekly ushering at the Kravis Center for the musical, "Grease". It was sold out and people seemed to enjoy it. It was a good production but not a show I cared for. Sunday we went downtown West Palm Beach for the veterans parade. It was longer than I expected but a pretty bad parade. Saturday we took my sister and Sidney to the county historical museum and they bought our lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Last Thursday we joined our frugal dining out group at One Thai in Palm Beach Gardens.

Louane and Sidney's Visit

This week my sister, Louane, and her husband, Sidney, have been visiting here from Red Lodge, Montana. We've been seeing the sights, most of which are new from when they lived here fifty years ago. Yesterday we went to The Wakodahatchee Wetlands. Here are two pictures: (The Great Blue Heron is Jane's photo.)

Halloween

Last night there were more people on Clematis Street than I've ever seen there. It was a wild time. Here below is just a small sample of what we saw.

Saturday

We walked on the Lake Trail this morning and I took this picture of our little town from across the lake,

Clematis by Fright

We went down to Clematis Street last night to see some of the horseing around.

Fall's Arrival

The long-overdue end to the oppressive summer miseries has finally come and we all welcome that. We've pretty well recovered from our summer adventures. Now we need to get some things accomplished. (We say that but we seem to always put fun ahead of accomplishment.) Getting caught up on medical matters takes more time every year. Tomorrow's colonoscopy (speaking of fun) is an event to put behind me.
Jane's Ladies Tea was yesterday hosted by Kathy Dull. See Album.

Saturday Evening

Helen Coffey hosted dining out at Tiki Hut in Riviera Beach last evening. There were nine of us.
Following dinner, Jane and I hosted the game party pictured below.

Two Good Movies

Last night at Muvico we viewed "The Informant" starring Matt Damon. It is the story about a whistle-blowing executive in ADM and its price-fixing. The reviews are mixed but I recommend it based on the casting and direction. It was nearly flawless.

Also last night we saw Michael Moore's new movie, "Capitalism: A Love Story."
I strongly recommend it. It contained a lot of both vintage and recent video. I always enjoy that. It was long but I stayed fully engaged and emotionally involved. I was surprised at how current it was -- just like the news of the day. Micheal Moore can really get across his message -- celebrating democracy and bemoaning the control by moneyed interests.

Monday night we attended an excellent lecture by Deborah Pollack, author of Laura Woodward: The Artist Behind the Innovator Who Developed Palm Beach. It was the first in this season's Historical Society of Palm Beach lecture series.

Back Home Again

We arrived home Saturday night. On the return we tented out in New Jersey, Delaware, and South Carolina and stayed with Evergreeners, Bob & Annajean Chapman in Mills River, NC. We had to stay in a motel in Orangeburg, SC for an auto repair.

Sunday in Hartford, Connecticut

Tonight we're visiting my friend, Caroline White in Hartford, Connecticut. We had a really good time on our cruise. The weather could have been better for our visits to Boston and Saint John but everything else was great. We've had a good cruise so far. The nightly stage shows were fabulous.

Tuesday - Saint John, New Brunswick

We're in the public library in Saint John, New Brunswick this morning because it is rainy. We've had a good cruise so far. Last night's show was fabulous -- one of the best I've seen. Previously we had a day in both Boston & Portland, ME.

Thursday in Connecticut

We stayed in Brookfield, CT last night with our friends, Jerry and Margot Cirigliano. We had a very good drive up. The two night stopover in and Rockville, MD allowed a day and a half in Washington, DC. to see what Jane wanted at the Smithsonian -- Julia's kitchen and what I wanted -- The Air & Space Museum at Dulles airport. It was terrific. One could easily spend two days there. Saturday we'll take the train into NYC to board our Carnival cruise.

Tuesday in Rockville, Maryland

Tonight we're in Rockville, Maryland staying for two nights with Evergreener, Leva Lessure.
Our Evergreen hosts last night in Raleigh, North Carolina were Bill & Mary Nennstiel, pictured below. We stayed in Savannah Sunday night with Evergreeners, Jeff and Ann Klein, pictured below.

Leaving Tomorrow

Jane and I are getting ready to leave tomorrow morning, September 20. We'll be driving to New York to begin our seven-night Carnival cruise with six friends to New England and Canada. We're planning to visit in Washington for a day on the drive up and do camping out on the return if it isn't too cold. We should be home before the middle of October.

Love Happens

Last night we went to a prescreening of the movie, Love Happens, staring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart. The love story, improbable and unrealistic, was only mildly entertaining and easily forgettable. A chance meeting, leading to ups and downs, hopes and disappointments, concluded happily. As we were walking out, Jane said, "I'm glad I didn't pay for it." I felt it wasn't worth the drive out to Regal in Royal Palm Beach.

This afternoon we lunched with Al Barash in The Leopard Room of The Chesterfield Hotel.

Beyond Balderdash

We played Beyond Balderdash tonight.

President Obama's Speech

Did you listen last night to President Obama's speech to the congress? We thought it was wonderful. It's hard to imagine it being any better. I think most of the resistance to health-care reform is coming from insurance interests fearing reduced profit and from partisan political interests who wish for failure of the presidential initiatives whatever they are.

Labor Day

Last night we were delighted to be among the nine guests invited to a cookout at Stephanie's house. We all had a real good time.

Saturday

We went to the aerobic walk this morning at John Prince Park then to breakfast at TooJays. At noon, Jane went to the "Ladies Tea" at the Norton Museum of Art. (picture below)

This evening we joined the others in our cruise group for a dinner hosted by Serena Rinker. We had a good time and talked about our cruise upcoming later this month. (second picture below)

Failure and Success

Eleven of us attended dining out yesterday at Max and Irma's in Royal Palm Beach. I've been feeling a little depressed since Friday when Jane failed the eye test for renewal of her driver license but today when she took the test again, she passed. That was a big relief.

Hot, Hot, and Hotter

Many know our AC was out for our return drive. The first days were pleasantly cool but after Tennessee it started getting bad and especially on that final day from Warner Robins the heat was miserable. We arrived home Wednesday evening about 9:30, thankful to have driven all those miles without any mishaps. We're still busy getting settled in. It was a most delightful vacation filled with good memories of places and friends, both new and old.

Warner Robins, Georgia

Our friends, Ann and Dan, in Warner Robins, Georgia are probably one of Evergreen's busiest hosts not only because of their location on the eastern flyway favored by the Florida snowbirds but also for their legendary hospitality. This was our fourth stay with them and they remain among our favorites. We dined together at Mellow Mushroom. Please note the dates of this and other postings are slightly off due to time constraints and infrequent Internet access.

Tennessee

Monday, on our way to Tennessee we had a lengthy stop in Columbus, Indiana where we had a guided tour of the splendid architecture treasures for which the town is famous. Columbus, Indiana is ranked 6th in the nation for architectural innovation and design by the American Institute of Architects on a list that includes the much larger cities of Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
Our visit Monday evening in Hendersonville with our hosts Ginny and Elroy Gauerke was another "homecoming." We had met them the summer before where we were delighted to find this liberal and progressive thinking couple in such a conservative region. Please note the dates of this and other postings are slightly off due to time constraints and infrequent Internet access.

Indianapolis

We were hosted Sunday evening by Don and Ruth Ann MacPherson and dined with them at Panera Bread. They are delightful hosts for whom we had fondest memories. Having stayed them a few years earlier, it was an easy and friendly "homecoming" for us.