Stateside Memo
05 September 2017
Hello there... Rodger French here.
Since A.J. and I are nearly finished with home leave, I thought an
update might be in order. Cue the highlight reel.
Making Plans - Attended a
four-day retirement seminar at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, VA.
Lots of useful information, although I still have yet to hear a satisfactory
explanation of Medicare Part B.
Cinema Review 1 - Went with R &
D to see “Wonder Woman” and enjoyed it very much. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine are
talented and impossibly attractive, and the story/script/direction were more
than acceptable for a summer action movie.
Vaudeville Rules - Spent five days
in Asheville, NC at ROOTS Week, mostly working on Vaudeville presentations,
both academic and performance. Got to pull together a band, which is my
absolute favorite thing to do. We rehearsed our asses off, helped organize an
epic Vaudeville show, and exited covered in glory.
Moving Day - I once owned a
one-room schoolhouse not far from Hot Springs, NC (at the original site of
Allanstand, actually), but recently sold it to a dear friend who lives in the
area. She very graciously let me keep some things there, so I rented a U-Haul
and packed up a bunch of stuff that we subsequently stashed in a storage unit
in Fairhope, AL. Had a good run at the schoolhouse and am relieved it’s in good
hands.
(It’s a long, yet boring story, but when all our baggage catches up
with us in the spring of 2020, the subsequent yard sale will be off the hook.)
The ATL - Parked the U-Haul
in Candler Park for a couple of days while we checked in with friends and took
care of bidness. Our thoughtful hosts C & D threw a lovely party for us,
and it was a treat to hang with a few of our old chums.
And, yes… the traffic in Atlanta is even more heinous than I
remember or you can imagine.
Home to LA - That would be
Lower Alabama. And, if anyone asks, Fairhope in the summer can be just as
wretched as Yangon. Luckily, our house, which is paid for and awaiting
pre-retirement improvements, is cool and comfortable. In addition to the usual
running about trying to get our affairs in order before moving to Italy, we’ve
been doing some quality visiting/dining with A.J.’s family.
Cinema Review 2 - “Dunkirk.” Good
movie, although insanely overhyped. And, in my opinion, composer Hans Zimmer’s
scores have lately become relentless, ponderous, and intrusive. And actively
annoying. And fucking loud. That’s a directorial prerogative, of course, and it
doesn’t matter so much in the case of a bad film, say, the recent Batman v
Superman disaster. But “Dunkirk” deserved better.
Orlando - Took advantage of
a few days with no appointments, cashed in some SkyMiles, and scooted via
airborne cattle car over to Orlando, where I spent some quality time with LaBanana
and her familia. Even got to sit in on a couple of gigs with Big Tiki and the
Mai-Tais, an up and coming ukulele band. Really.
I also caught up with my dear cousin and his wife, who have settled
not far from Ocala and have been dealing with a multitude of health issues for
quite awhile. They are really nice people and it was very emotional seeing then
again. I hope they finally catch a break and get to enjoy their retirement once
more.
Another Literary
Milestone
- The fourth in this correspondent’s series of postings from exotic locales is now
available at a ridiculously reasonable price:
I’m sure you will recall that there are three previous volumes:
Collect the set. And coming soon: “Reflections From Rome.” Where we’ll arrive just in time for “water
outages.” Merda.
Finally, as always, thanks and all best wishes to family and friends
who generously accommodated us, making our final home leave a great success. We
are deeply grateful and love you madly.
Fino all'Italia. Onward.
Rodger
Rodger
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