Anne Smith :: Blog for December 2011

December.22.2011

Hi Everybody! Greetings from Florida! I'm sneaking in a December blog, just under the wire….

Marc and I left on Dec 1st from New York, with Luke in the back seat of the car, and our new GPS programmed for our final destination, a pet-friendly hotel in Virginia. The GPS, whom I immediately christened "Camilla", was great until we hit rush hour traffic in the DC area. "Recalculate!" she commanded, using her advanced programming to seek an alternate route in heavy traffic. Marc didn't want to trust Camilla, choosing to stay on I-95, the "devil that we knew". This was our first error in judgement. Never question Camilla's authority. As we sat in bumper to bumper traffic, we wished we had sought the alternate route.
Camilla shrilled: "RECALCULATE! RECALCULATE! RECALCULATE!!!"
Was it my imagination, or did she sound pissed off? We decided to get off at the next available exit and follow Camilla's advice. That was our second error, because now the route we were taking was so convoluted and involved that we were making turns down local streets in Maryland, into housing developments, down dead-end streets…we shut off the GPS for the time being as our car groped its way back to I-95S in the dark. Not bad. Only 3 hours out of the way. Just as we approached our exit for VA, we decided to give Camilla another chance. Her confident voice directed us to take the next exit, and we trustingly obliged, only to have her yell, "RECALCULATE", whereupon we were directed in a circuitous manner to I-95 North!! Opposite from where we were going. Don't think I'm losing it, but was Camilla paying us back for not trusting her in DC? Frustrated and tired, we called the hotel and spoke to the receptionist, giving her our location and asking her to direct us to the hotel. She assured us that we were "a few minutes away". "And", I asked her, "which direction should we be taking from I-95 North?" Now, I swear on my life, this was her answer: "You have to come towards me". Good Lord. Even Luke had to put his head in his paws. But the good news is, we made it. Without Camilla's advice.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, except for the second night, in Savannah, where we had our first culture shock. We asked the receptionist at the hotel to recommend a nice place nearby to eat. She quickly replied,
"Foe-shows" (that's what our ears heard. My mind translated it to "Faux Shows") Hmmmm. Interesting. Maybe it would be, like a Broadway kind of place, with Bernadette Peters and Nathan Lane impersonators as wait staff? As we drove out of the parking lot scanning the restaurants I thought, maybe it's like a Chinese kind of place, "FooShau"?
"I don't see it", I said to Marc. Just then we saw it. Fo'Sho'. Bernadette and Nathan most likely would never be caught dead in such a place, but we had a great pizza, beer, and one bad glass of "cabernet" that tasted like cough medicine. Many hours later, I sat up in bed and with sudden insight, yelled, "Fo'Sho' means "for sure" down here! That's how they say it in The South!" Now we know.

Slowly we are acclimating to The Sunshine State. And getting used to driving places instead of taking a cab or train, or walking down the block. You have to plan your trips, because traffic can be brutal. But when the sky is blue and the sun is shining and the clouds are so amazing and diverse, it takes the edge off. Camilla seems to like it-she's never steered us wrong down here so far. There is a lake in the back yard that is home to three pairs of graceful swans and quite a number of ducks. They swim over to us and we can feed them over the fence. One night, under a full moon, the white swans were drifting alone together on the water and it really did look like a corny Hallmark card! But really beautiful, you know? Luke, ever the New York City dog, seems to think they are no more than just swimming pigeons and leaves them alone. I'm getting used to the sound of the wind in the palm trees. It's really different that any other kind of wind-in-the-trees sound. It's very whispery and crackly. I am missing my family and the Christmas holiday I shared with them for so many years. This year, I won't be singing with my dad in church, as was our tradition. I will be able to spend more time with GIRL A, a mere 3 hours away, and that will be fantastic. We will be working on seminars for her excellent series, "Help for the Healers". Marc's wonderful mom Carol, and her family are close by. The house we are renting is spacious and perfect for family and guests…and believe me, they WILL come! I look forward to that. The year will go fast! I am meeting some club owners and jazz columnists next week to start networking and looking for a little gig or two. I'm told there are many opportunities in Ft. Lauderdale, 20 minutes away.

So- I'm wishing all of you a safe, blessed & peaceful holiday season, and an upcoming New Year that is full of promise, good health and prosperity. FO'SHO'!! Please watch my website for news regarding CD-Baby and other updates!

Until Next Time xoxoAnnie