Bingo!

​Bingo!!

As in.. we hit the jackpot!!

And I’m not talking Church Lady Bingo, like the dull game  we played yesterday afternoon. 

I’m talking..peeps!!

 We finally met our peeps!!

So instead of just complaining about how wonderful the staff is and the food is and the entertainment is and the excursions are, but it’s meaningless when you feel isolated or like fish out of water..we met …our peeps!

The people who joined our dinner table were not them, but at least their conversation went beyond talking about the food and the temperature of the food. 

Her name was Clementine and I kid you not, she is from ORANGE county. 

He is  retired from law enforcement and his name is Sean Patrick Michael Liam Seamus Flannery O’Connor Murphy. 

Clementine has a sixty three year old daughter and I’m not rude enough to ask her age or if she knew my great grandmother when she lived in North Dakota, which I don’t think my GG ever did, ( live there, come to think of it,) but do the math anyway.

 He was very engaging and animated and enigmatic, saying he likes the Moody Blues and …John Fetterman???

Jim had forbidden me to talk politics this week, but I couldn’t let Sean Patrick Michael Liam Seamus Flannery O’Connor Murphy trash Gavin Newsom just because gas in California is over eight dollars a gallon. 

He was respectful though, and explained the need for our Boys in Blue to always be protected, which I totally agree with! 

But I still think he’s supporting the wrong guy.

As conversation flowed, I wound up telling Clementine and Sean Patrick Michael Liam Seamus Flannery O’Connor Murphy about my adventures thus far trying to be a contestant on WOF, and Sean( oh.. I’m not risking carpal tunnel just for a laugh!) SEAN said, in a way a platonic male friend explains why the guy you hooked up with isn’t returning your calls, (“ he’s just not that into you!”) 

“You’re not getting on the show. You’re not crazy enough “

Oh YEAH, Sean Patrick Michael Liam Seamus Flannery O’Connor Murphy?? 

Do you read my blog???

What do I have to do to prove to you how crazy I am??    

How dare he!!

I’m wasting a lot of time talking about the runner ups when you’re waiting for a description of the winning  peeps. 

We’re currently docked in the lovely Savannah, ( hello, Woodloch friends!) and are waiting for our excursions to begin.. a civil war walking tour and a speakeasy. 

We were thoroughly enjoying last night’s repeat entertainer, Lucas, with his sounds of Simon and Garfunkel and James Taylor and Carole King and Jackson Browne with vocals, sax, guitar, and piano.

I told Jim that if he’d split the complimentary Neapolitan ice cream parfait( welcome back, appetite!) I’d dance with him.

We both noticed the tall, striking blonde who’d been taking over the dance floor for the three nights we’ve been here  with a group of lookalikes we rightly assumed were her siblings, and Jim rightly guessed they were our ages or younger.

PEEPS!!

I’m dancing clumsily when Anne, ( that’s her name, Anne from Denver) approached me to compliment my lip synching and I praised her right back about her energetic dancing.

This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 

( until tomorrow or the next day when I decide I hate her.. just kidding!!)

Anne “Dale Carnegie’d” (making friends and influencing people) by asking ME questions instead of talking about herself, as she was curious about all the lyrics I was apparently familiar with. 

I told  her about our love for music from the seventies and eighties and my interest in writing parodies of popular songs and BINGO!

My card was complete!

Jim wanted to watch the NCAA finals ( his alma mater wound up winning!) but knew making friends was more important than a game, so we asked Anne and her husband,Jason, to join us for a camaraderie building word game. 

We’re hoping to recruit her siblings ( from Alaska, California, and Arizona) later on in the week, but from the time they sat down and Jason peeled an orange,  while Jim half heartedly explained the rules of “Slingz”, we knew these bright, witty, progressive, hilarious, younger folks were going to make great playmates in the remaining days we’re here. 

You know me when it comes to competitive boxed games. 

They are the opposite of dull small talkers, as we bared our souls politically and dropped an f- bomb five minutes into the first conversation.

They’re both Ivy Leaguers( Yale and Brown ) and she works at the university of Colorado, while he runs a progressive nonprofit news site in Denver. 

The game was fun, the conversation was stimulating, and the laughs were genuine. 

I’ve been blogging daily about the many highlights of the trip so far.. but making a people connection is one of the best.

Bingo!!

Now let me slather on some sunscreen and get ready for the exciting day.