Today the strategy of spending the afternoon lounging poolside soaking up the sun changed to spending a very rainy afternoon at the Savannah College of Art and Design's Morris Hall for Fashion Marketing and Management with my niece Kat.
If the truth be told, for a creative person, this was a far better option. After all, it isn't every day I get to be surrounded by so much art and so many examples of students who are this passionate about their studies and leaving their mark on the world. If ever there was a place to be creatively inspired, it is here. So I took out my laptop and started this blog while she completed her homework.
When I arrived on Tuesday we went to my favorite pizza place, Vinnie Van Go Go. About half-way through our meal this artsy looking young man slid up on the bar stool next to me. I happened to notice he was only drinking water and wondered whether he was going to order something to eat. Eventually a single slice of cheese pizza arrived.
My sister and nieces and I had made the mistake of ordering a large pizza, which at Vinnie's amounts to approximately 36 inches in diameter. As you can imagine, we had some left over.
Normally, I don't flirt with strangers, especially when I could be their mother. But I have a weakness for starving artists and the flirting was actually more like mothering since what came out of my mouth was something like "Honey, you look hungry. Would you like some more pizza? We've got more than we can eat."
Maybe it's the student advisor in me that makes me now feel responsible for the care and feeding of anyone who appears to be in need of a hot meal and an equally hot shower.
Of course, not everyone is as receptive to my well meaning intentions as my new friend and blues singer Echo was. Some people actively avoid me after I offer them a piece of advice or pizza. But generally I've found it's worth the effort to engage others and show an interest in their lives. At the very least, you'll walk away with a great story.
And this is another reason I recommend traveling with a full alphabet plan. You just never know who or what is going to show up to alter the plans you made in the safety of your own home.
More than most activities, traveling requires a conscious awareness of the present moment. Otherwise, you can end up on a plane to Richmond. (I'll let Bob explain that one.)
From the moment I step foot inside the airport until I arrive safely back home, there is at least one item that has shifted during flight and several items to keep track of like room keys, electronic devices, or boarding passes that really have no default hiding place.
This means I must pay extra attention to actions that are usually mindless. Keeping my wits and my poncho about me is the difference between immediate room key reconnaissance and getting soaked in the rain.
With that in mind, tonight my sister and have I decided to stay in and order room service at the hotel. The original plan was to catch the ferry over to the restaurants on River Street and grab some gumbo. Instead we're watching Forrest Gump and trying to guess where exactly it was filmed so we might reenact certain scenes in the morning.
Of course, if the rain continues, we'll be back to climbing stairs to the 11th floor as we resorted to tonight instead of walking around Forsyth Park, as is our daily ritual.
Are you starting to see how Plans L, M, N, O, P have been working for me? The difference between an adventure and a disaster lies in how I rearrange the letters. And my attitude. :)
Here's to your Easter adventures!
I wonder what plan letter your new found friend had reached that fated him to cross your alphabet stream.
ReplyDeleteOnce and again, just every once in a while I cut the alphabet short on purpose. Maybe I just use vowels. Because I want to find out what happens if there is no more plan just for the rush of it! Sometimes it's a great way to find out about yourself...and sometimes you wind up in Richmond.