Last weekend I went down to Greenville SC for their annual Mensa gathering. TYG, who would usually drive, stayed behind because after Plushie’s last injury she can’t bear the thought of him getting hurt when he’s with a dog-sitter who might not take care of him as well as we do (I miss traveling with her but I can’t say she doesn’t have a point). As she has no faith in my driving she convinced me to fly rather than drive the four hours. Much as I hate spending the money to fly, the trip down went smoothly, though I wound up traveling in the dark before dawn.
The trip back left me stuck for four or five hours in the Greensville-Spartansburg Airport as we waited for the plane. And waited. And waited. Below is the gate just minutes before one of the supposed boarding times.
That the plane wasn’t anywhere near the gate was a clear sign we’d been denied, yet again. And the airport has a piss-poor selection of places to eat and no Starbucks — not that I drink coffee but at least they have decent tea. This place? The best I could find was Constant Comment.
Instead of getting at 3:30-4 in the afternoon and unwinding I got in 10:30. I spent a lot of Monday catching up on odds and ends and getting unwound which cost me most of the day. That threw off the rest of the week.
I did get the rewrite on the first chapter of Let No Man Put Asunder finished and started Ch.2. I did a lot of work for The Local Reporter — more time than I wanted to spend, due to feeling so off. But I did get in a story on new development and got an interview for my story for next week.
The rest of time I spent primarily on research reading. It was the right move, but disappointing. And next week I’m taking Monday off for my birthday so I lose another day.
Oh well. I intend to have a fun birthday, then apply myself with vigor. We’ll see how it goes. More photos from Mensa will go up soon.
I thought I’d wrap up with this 2019 photo of Wisp, when she was still an outside cat.
#SFWApro.
I think this would have been 1966 or 1967. That’s my sister Tracy, my brother Craig and then me, left to right. Here’s the sequel —
It took a lot of posing and double-checking before Craig was satisfied with the second one, but it paid off.
Con-Tinual posted a couple of panels to YouTube with me in them, one on 
And that’s about it. Hopefully nothing will derail me from work next week.
Like a lot of theater groups, they’re having a struggle at times to keep going but they are still going. Makes me glad. I spent a lot of my life there and it’s still very much a part of me.
Then, a couple of hours later, I saw the water.
It was colder than expected so I didn’t spend as much time in the early morning outside as I usually do. But I did get this cool shot.
I took a walk down to the Books a Million (about three miles) and along the way saw a sign store with this lovely wall.
Thursday, Cindy and I hit the beach and looked at the waves. A lot more pigeons out than usual.
Saturday I went home. And Durham is home now, fond though my memories of Ft. Walton Beach are. But I look forward to visiting again in 2024.
I love this backpack. It’s got more cubic space than much more expensive offerings. I had toiletries, clothes, a couple of books, my tea mug and I came back with extra books and two pounds of apples.
I’ll post more photos from the trip soon.
The mirror closet door often swung so that I’d see it when I came in, creating a weird optical illusion.
There were pirates, of course—
And more pirates.
And general silliness.
Traffic was miserable both ways and we kept wondering why one law firm had a half-dozen billboards, one after the other, in just a few miles. But there’s always the Gaffney peach.
Best birthday I’ve had in a while.
I spent last weekend at ConGregate, a Winston-Salem con, and had a great time. I was on eight or nine panels, chatted with a lot of NC writers I know and discovered an excellent coffee/tea shop across the street (really good loose leaf tea). The hotel restaurant was reasonably priced. I also picked up some good used books at a sale table (two Philip K. Dick, one Andre Norton) though that kept me from buying anything new from my friends.
Needless to say, I was a total wreck Tuesday, unfit for work; besides sleeping I think I might have done some blogging, but not much else. We tried making an appointment for Trixie but had to settle for Wednesday. Tuesday night passed without problems and I slept like a log. So soundly I woke up late which left me off-balance the rest of the day. I know it’s a weakness but I really need a couple of hours before the dogs join me downstairs if I’m to get my head in the game.
It’s a fun show (review in the next couple of weeks).
I feel justified.
During the trip I got to spend time with Tracy, our mutual best friend Cindy and her sister Deborah, and meet their dog, Raven Marie. Raven was initially suspicious about a stranger in the house, but she soon warmed up. She showed this by licking me at every opportunity.
It’s pretty on the waterfront.
Mostly, anyway.
I also took some photos of things like this, because I do that.
#SFWApro.
And at 5pm, Superheroes as Vigilantes. Needless to say, the two comics/superhero related ones are going to be fun.
