Of This and That

Goodwill – My husband’s had an interesting career at Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania. When he started there seven years ago he was a teacher of deaf adults, helping them acquire basic educational skills in pursuit of gainful employment. After the Commonwealth cut the funds for the educational program Bill took a position of employment specialist, actively working with Pittsburgh companies and deaf adults to find good job opportunities. Although the vast majority of his deaf clients have other physical and/or mental health issues, sometimes the only disability is the inability to hear, or in a couple of cases, neither to hear nor see.

One of his most successful placements was for a deaf and blind man in his fifties from England; the man’s wife was deaf also but they had a hearing son. Bill was able to find him a job in a machine factory assembling anti-static components that fit inside engines. Charles became the machinists’ union’s first deaf/blind member in the Pittsburgh area.

Part of Bill’s job is to work with the deaf clients at their new jobs until he’s helped them and their managers establish come type of communication process. Most of time he also learns their jobs in order to teach them how to do it. He’s been a dishwasher in a corporate cafeteria, a grocery stock clerk quite a few times, a janitor in the county courthouse, a busboy at a mall food court, a food preparer at the local community coller, a waiter at one casino and a cleaner at another, a data entry clerk at several corporations downtown and a truck driver! It will be interesting to see what his resume will look like when he starts to look for employment in Jacksonville.

Weather – Today is a beautiful fall day in Pittsburgh and there are quite a few boats out on the river. For whatever reason, no one seems to be in a hurry and are placidly cruising by. The dragon boats were out practicing this morning and a kayaker just paddled by. But it’s been a rather wet summer and I never use to think much about the inconvenience of rain until most mornings when I trudge to my car through a shower. Integral garages are on my list of things I miss! We’ve also been watching the Jacksonville weather and it seems to not get the wind and rain of the hurricanes very often. I hope that when we begin our two-day drive south at the end of October we won’t run into bad weather; Bill will be towing a small U-Haul behind his Focus.

Wine – I’ve never been a fan of hard liquor or beer, but I do appreciate a good wine. Until we started boating six years ago, though, I drank maybe one glass a week. For some reason, though it’s said that boating and drinking don’t mix…they really do! At least when we’re sitting out on the dock enjoying a nice evening. Bill made a very nice wooden wine rack that sits neatly under the entertainment center in the salon, and it holds five bottles. Currently it holds several from a local winery called Winfield Winery, not too far from Concordia Lutheran Ministries, where Bill is on the board of directors. I think it’s time for a glass!

On Feet and Grace

You see a lot of feet during the summer time. Very few are model-quality flawless and most reflect either a tortured life of being stuffed into shoes that are not “foot-shaped” or of exposure to hot sand, hard pavement and everything inbetween.

Recently I was accosted in the dairy aisle of our local grocery store by a man who admired my toenail polish. First we did the cart dance, trying to maneuver past each other and then he said: That’s a beautiful color on your toes. What is it? Me: (Duh.) Red. Him: Oh, no, I think it has some orange in it. Me: (Let me outta here!) Um, no, just red.

I thought that was the last of it but as I was unloading my bagged groceries he came by with his cartful and paused: Have you ever considered wearing a toe ring? Me: (This guy really has a foot fetish.) Um, no. Him: Well, you should. You have beautiful feet. In fact, you’re a very beautiful woman. Me: (Oh, puh-leeze.) Um, thank you. Have a nice day.

As you can see, my feet are rather average, nothing to write about (except that I am!), however that whole exchange started me thinking about feet. Body massages are nice, but give me a foot massage any day! There’s just something about having my feet pummeled, rubbed and yes, tickled, that feels oh so good.

[Short digression: Head massages come in a close second. Last week I impulsively splurged on a good haircut and color at a local Philip Pelusi salon – a shout out to Galena at the Waterworks salon – and when the color was rinsed, the stylist gave me a wonderful head massage. I hoped it would never end!]

Back to feet…Bill and I have been trying to walk more this summer and when we do, I make sure to wear my orthotics (shoe inserts that even up my hips). But having worn sandals most of the summer (i.e., no orthotics), a recent walk was extremely painful as the pressure points on my feet had changed because my hips were out of alignment. Now a new pair of shoes is cruelly and painfully pinching at my toes; I actually padded barefoot around the office one afternoon!

All this to explain why I’m falling short of the servant request to “take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.”¹ No speed, no beauty here! I am thankful that I have two functioning feet when so many of our U.S. troops have returned home without one or both, when so many people in Third World countries have lost their feet to parasites or land mines, when those whose jobs require them to be on their feet for long hours can barely walk at the end of their shift.

Jesus showed us how to serve each other and how to lead with humbleness when he washed the feet of his disciples. Peter – always Peter! – protested when it was his turn (Lord, are you going to wash my feet?) but soon asked to be cleansed all over. Jesus’ example and words tell us to do as He has done for us and in doing so receive the blessing of pure grace.²

¹ From an 1874 hymn, “Take My Life and Let It Be”, written by Frances Havergal.

² John 13:1-17

Rainy (Labor) Day Musings

I’ve been taking a lot of nature photos lately. Mostly sunrises and sunsets and storms. I wonder what it is that draws the soul to water, wind and sky? Following are three sunrises, three sunsets and three storms taken throughout the course of the summer. Sometimes it's just being in the right place at the right time for one lucky shot; sometimes it's taking shot after shot after shot!

When Bill and I told friends and family over 30 years ago that we were moving to Pittsburgh (from St. Louis) we heard a lot of negative comments. Pittsburgh still had its smoky, smoggy reputation from the first half of the century but it was totally unjustified. When we moved here in late 1981 there were no steel mills operating within the city limits and many of the mills were being torn down for shopping malls and amusement complexes. In fact, during the 1980s Pittsburgh went through its Second Renaissance and even now is in what many are saying is its Third Renaissance. Look how the North Shore has changed in just the past decade: new stadiums for the Steelers and the Pirates; new headquarters for Del Monte Foods and Alcoa; and the park at the Point is undergoing a major renovation!

Pittsburgh has been named Most Livable City in the U.S. several times. Its housing values remained fairly steady and reasonable and unemployment is a few percentage points lower than the national average. Pittsburgh was successful in transforming itself from a manufacturing-based city to one of technology, health care and education services. I did just hear on Good Morning, America that Pittsburgh is the third worst city when it comes to fashion, but really, who cares? The majority of its residents have jobs and affordable housing!

So now that we’re moving south we hear concerns about heat, humidity and hurricanes. All valid, but I guess it’s what you get used to. There really isn’t a spot in the country where you don’t encounter some type of weather or weather-related problem. From earthquakes, tornados and floods in the Midwest, hurricanes in the South, blizzards in both the Northeast and the Midwest, constant rain in the upper Northwest, to drought and fires in the West and Southwest…where but in the Garden of Eden would you not encounter nature’s reminders that we are not the masters of the universe?

“He [God]draws up the drops of water,
   which distill as rain to the streams;
the clouds pour down their moisture
   and abundant showers fall on mankind.
Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,
   how he thunders from his pavilion?
See how he scatters his lightning about him,
   bathing the depths of the sea.
This is the way he governs the nations
   and provides food in abundance.
He fills his hands with lightning
   and commands it to strike its mark.
His thunder announces the coming storm;
   even the cattle make known its approach."

Of Spiders and New Friends

Most cooler mornings as I walk from Pure Grace down the dock to my Jeep I gather a cobweb or two from here and there. Not intentionally, but they are strung like silly string from one light stanchion across the dock to another. The webs coat my arms and legs, and yes, even my face, like a fine veil. Thankfully, I haven't yet found the webs' owners clinging to my clothes after I've made it through the gauntlet.

Last weekend was the annual Marina Day celebration at Fox Chapel Yacht Club. Although the weatherman was predicting a major storm right about the time the buffet line was to open, the threat held off until early the next morning. So it turned out to be a fine, fun day with a lot of activities, a treasure hunt for the children, a climbing wall, a Chinese auction to benefit the Humane Society, who turned out with two pit bull puppies, a kitten, a rabbit and a beagle-Sharpei mix (it was much prettier than it sounds), and all the beer one could drink (not for me, thanks!). I did consider adopting the beagle mix but Bill would've had a heart attack.

There was an unofficial competition of sorts on Marina Day. In fact, just about every weekend you'll see Bill and our neighbor Dave washing their boats, so most of the other boaters on the dock are very glad we're down the line at the end of the fresh water supply, thereby not causing a reduction in their water pressure!

Each of the 11 docks is responsible for contributing three things to make Marina Day successful: a dessert (cupcakes, cookies or brownies -- H Dock was assigned brownies this year); a basket for the Chinese auction (ours was a tribute to Jimmy Buffet, complete with lots of booze), and a "dock drink". Visitors to each dock are given a small glass (or two) of the drink and encourage to mingle with other boaters. I guess if you managed to drink your way from A Dock all the way down to K Dock without falling into the river that would be a good thing. Our dock drink was called Sweet Breeze but don't ask me how many liquors it contained; the only thing I contributed was the measuring cup to mix it up! My favorite dock drink came from I Dock; they cored large strawberries, filled them with Bailey's Irish Cream and topped them with whipped cream. Yum!

The Esprit de Mer is a newcomer to our dock this year; in fact we have six new boats and that means more new friends! Pittsburgh being the small town that it is, I've found some connections to mutual friends and acquaintances. While we were chatting with this crowd, I managed to focus my eyes at the right time to see a spider shoot a strand from one person across another and latch onto a third person, who thought the spider had dropped out of nowhere. Perhaps it was my morning companion!

The Little Engine That Could

The guests at my niece Kelly Avicola’s baby shower were asked to bring a book for her baby boy – a favorite book from childhood or one that had special meaning. My favorite was A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, and Barnes & Noble actually had a copy of it, but I thought it was a bit heavy for a baby. Another childhood favorite was The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper (a pseudonym for Arnold Munk, a Chicago publisher), so that’s the one I chose for Baby Boy Avicola.

The Little Engine That Could was originally penned in 1906, making it more than a century old but still enthralling children, teaching them the value of optimism (I think I can, I think I can) and hard work (life can be an uphill battle at times).

You probably know where I’m going with this. The Bible is filled with Scripture about hope and hard work. Depending on the version you’re reading, there are nearly 200 verses that include the word hope. Two of my favorite are Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” and I Peter 3:15 “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

For verses on hard work, there’s nothing like the book of Proverbs! From reference to the industrious ant who gathers food in the summer to store for the winter, to admonitions about lazy hands and sluggishness, to the rewards of the work of one’s hands, there is no lack of encouragement to strive like the Little Engine.

If you’ve read my profile, you also know that my guiding verse is one that gives God the glory for anything I am able to accomplish – including writing my blogs! Philippians 4:13 is a verse of both hope and hard work. I get my optimism and place my hope in the One who gives me the strength (physically, mentally, spiritually) to do all the things that He has planned for me. Jesus did the hard work. I believe it. I trust it.

I don’t “think I can” – I know He did!

Food Diary

Dining is half the fun of traveling, at least for me. I do enjoy learning about the history of the place, but to get a real sense of the “local color” as my father used to say, there’s nothing like rubbing elbows with the natives or, if you choose a tourist hot spot, getting to know the wait staff.

On our recent trip south, our first dinner was on Jacksonville Beach at Joe’s Crab Shack. Yeah, I know it’s a chain, it’s a tourist focus, but we had avoided the one here in Pittsburgh (where’s the sand?) and thought it was time to see what it was all about. Plus it was right on the beach. We chose to sit outside, although at first it was rather windy it did calm down. The place was packed on a Wednesday evening but our drinks came fast and the waitress took our order promptly. And then we waited. And waited. Anne, our waiter, was nearly in tears as she apologized for the lost order; it was over an hour before we got our food. Jeremy, the manager, was good enough to take half off the food bill and give us free dessert. I chose Key Lime pie, because I really like the tartness and it was a favorite of my father’s.

Before we met our realtor on Thursday morning we had breakfast at The Fox Restaurant in Avondale, a kitschy diner that has a huge local fan club. I’m told that some mornings the line is out the door but we were lucky that morning. The staff was all heavily tattooed, including the waitresses, and everyone was very friendly. The realtor’s office was down the street one block so when we came back early afternoon she treated us to lunch at The Brick, across the street from The Fox. That was a nice, trendy, empty restaurant, with some interesting paintings on the walls. For dinner that evening, we walked across the Main Street Bridge (a blue bridge built in 1941 and quite the sight at night) to Jacksonville Landing and ate at The American Café. There was a concert in the square by a local band that had a following of motorcyclists … yes, it was loud.

Friday morning before we headed to Savannah, we walked back across the blue bridge and had breakfast at the Landing again, at The Village Bread Company, then perused a small artists’ market set up right outside but found nothing I couldn’t live without. We left Jacksonville well after noon and headed north on I-95, stopping in Brunswick, GA at an interesting combination of a ‘50s style Denny’s with a bowling alley and video arcade. It wasn’t the cleanest restaurant I’ve eaten at, and that seems to be true of Denny’s in most places. I’d stop eating there but they have the best breakfasts, especially the cheesy scrambled eggs, of any place I’ve been.

After walking around downtown Savannah along River Street we decided to drive east to Tybee Island and find a place to eat on the beach. We happened on Marlin Monroe’s Surfside Grill, tucked behind a high-rise hotel, but it was so incredibly windy with a storm moving in that we chose to eat inside. A trio was performing, two guitarists and a singer, and our waiter was an engaging young man, who had spent the winter working on a shrimp boat.

Saturday evening, after an incredibly long day of looking at townhouses, condos and marinas, we decided to walk back down to River Street and eat at River House Seafood, in a very old building. One of the drink specialties was some type of plantation punch that had every kind of liquor you can think of plus champagne; we both passed on that! Our waiter was from East Liverpool, OH and had graduated from one of Pittsburgh’s cooking schools. She wanted to start her own catering business in Savannah and talked her mother into moving down from Ohio.

Since we were staying at a Hampton Inn in the Historic District, we had a quick, light breakfast there on Sunday. The breakfast area was a zoo as there were three large groups all eating and departing at the same time that morning: a family reunion; a church youth group returning from a mission trip, and a Girl Scout troop. I think we were lucky to get our boxes of Raisin Bran!

After a disappointing morning visiting marinas, we went back to Tybee Island for lunch at Fannie’s on the Beach, where I think I picked up the chiggers that have been feasting on my ankles and shins all week. Our final meal in Savannah, not that we had planned on it, was at an airport restaurant because our flight was delayed over two hours. I had a pretty darn good chicken quesadilla and Bill had some tasty wings.

 So we may not have found THE city yet, but we had fun visiting and sampling the cuisine!

Savannah: Moon River Land

The back story about Savannah, Georgia is the Back River, a small tributary north of the Savannah River, which in turn is north of the city. Songwriter Johnny Mercer grew up in Savannah, spending his boyhood playing around Savannah’s waters. Enamored of the Back River, or so the story goes, Mercer wrote the song Moon River in its honor, after which the Savannah Chamber of Commerce renamed the Back River in honor of the song.

I found Savannah, established in 1733, a charming small city. It’s less than 75 square miles but packs a lot of homes into the grid that’s composed of the Historical District, the Victorian District and the Thomas Ward District, before branching out into nearby islands and suburbs. Our realtor, a native Savannian, was a wealth of information and we spent part of the morning just touring the city. She is also quite a casual driver, stopping in the middle of the street to point out the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, or twice running solidly red lights while talking a mile a minute. I know Bill saw the hair rise on the back of my neck!

We toured homes as old as the 1800s (I could feel my childhood asthma coming on while standing in the middle of a gutted old building) to new resort-style patio homes. While there were two or three possibilities for land-based domiciles, the marinas were a huge disappointment. The Savannah River has no pleasure craft traffic; it’s solely used for tremendously large container ships, all of which seem to have Chinese registrations. The other rivers are brackish water and affected by the ocean tides, leaving eight to ten feet of muck on the shore during low tide. And yes, there are alligators! I saw one sunning itself on the bank of a man-made pond in one of the resort-like developments. Our realtor casually suggested running in a zig-zag as those creatures can’t exactly turn on a dime.

So, housing was a B. I give the marinas a D (most were geared toward fishing recreation and none really legally able to accommodate houseboats). Job opportunities are also a D; the four primary industries are shipping, manufacturing (the Gulfstream business jet corporation calls Savannah home), tourism and education, most of which is through SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design. Our realtor suggested that Bill look for a job teaching American Sign Language!

We did have two enjoyable dinners there. On Friday evening we drove out to Tybee Island for dinner at Marlin Monroe’s (yes, their logo is a fish in a dress) and on Saturday we ate in the Historic District at the River House Seafood Restaurant. After dinner Bill talked me into buying a cute little sundress so I surprised him by wearing it out of the store. The clerks were amused but I’m sure they’ve seen it before!

Sunday lunch found us back out at the beach on Tybee Island, where we took a nice long hot walk before heading back to the airport, only to find that our connecting flight to Charlotte was delayed by two and a half hours, putting us home well after midnight.

Oh, by the way, the Back River (aka Moon River) is not wider than a mile!