Diary For Monday, 6/18/2018: Acme Is In Vogue.
I don't remember how or when Mary Ann's disdain for the Acme Oyster House began, but all the aspects of it were in place as we left for an early lunch yesterday. MA said she wanted a full dozen of the char-broiled variety. These came out on the distinctly large side, which is a plus to me. MA doesn't really like oysters, especially not the really big ones. What she likes is the mixture of butter, garlic and Parmesan cheese that make the dish so appealing. I get all but the small oysters (those are MA's favorites, to make sure that the pressure remains on the oyster shuckers and keep the value aspect right. In other words, it's a little ridiculous.
What with all those big oysters headed my way, I almost left out an entree. But then the flavor of red beans and hot sausage was too appealing to ignore. It's been a long time since I've had a plate of beans at the Acme. They're still as good as I recall. Especially that patty-style hot sausage, which I believe comes from Patton's.
The conversation was not so much about the lunch, but the end of the dog Susie, who passed away this morning and will be buried in her decades-old habitat at the Cool Water Ranch this afternoon. This has affected us so deeply that everybody at the ranch is having a hard time breathing. Our across-the-street neighbor has a good-size tractor that made it easy to dig a hole for Susie, who was not what you'd call a miniature pup. We got the job done just as the rain started falling.
Memories of Susie are not all golden. She caused her share of trouble over the decades. I'm sure, however, that those thoughts will soon fade. The Miracle Dog fought off cancer for almost twenty years.
After lunch, Mary Ann drove to Meridian, Mississippi to get a look at the art project our daughter Mary Leigh has executed in the past few months. It's almost finished, and ML is about ready to move on. I am left behind, as usual. I'll see the project in a week or two.
But, as complicated as this day already has been, a further difficulty emerged. All of the telephones except at the Cool Water Ranch have shut down. The only one still working is the gizmo that lets me host my radio show from home. Everything else is non-functional: the desk phone (which just had a full day of repairs from the phone company), and my smart phone (it will not exit from airplane mode). I couldn't get any service from anything.
Then a miracle happened. After the radio show ended I drove to the AT&T store, where a beautiful young lady told me to show her the problem. Immediately, everything that had not functioned at all started working. MA called me and the phone rang. I called someone else and the airplane mode shut down. What in the world was this about?
Also going on: Mary Ann and our travel agent Debbie Himbirt have hatched a possible cruise around Ireland, Scotland, and England, ending in Paris. It's a twelve-day cruise aboard Princess, the favorite line of the Marys. They've about talked me into it. Everything the Marys do seems to succeed miraculously, even on a stressful day like this one has been.
Aside from all that, this cruise will be my first ever to Ireland, something clearly missing in my travels. The Marys have been to the UK and Ireland twice each, so I have my own guide. Debbie's phone for getting info about this Eat Club cruise is 504-456-0846.
Written by Tom Fitzmorris June 19, 2018 16:36 in
