1) Tea is the dominant caffeine at Jane’s house, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t coffee for me after all. And my God, it would raise the dead!
2) My Scorpio horoscope read: “Today the stars advise you to get back into the swing of things, Scorpio. You will forget your past frame of mind and be able to prepare for a new adventure. Your vitality will be as strong as it has ever been. You will probably meet someone who has a beneficial influence in the days to come.” [emphasis mine] “Vitality” became a byword of the day, Jane continuing to tempt me back to Atlanta at some date in the near future.
2a) Three possible people could “someone who has a beneficial influence . . .” Who is it?
3) We promenaded at a gentle pace through Piedmont Park near Jane’s place — first encountering a tediously long line of scooters (Atlanta seems to be afflicted with scooters; I hope a course of antibiotics will take care of it), but then beautifully rolling green spaces, and then a glorious fully open magnolia blossom.
3a) This of course let me to remember the bit from Clemence Dane’s monumental novel The Flower Girls — I know, you were thinking of it, too! — when Jacy sees a woman who turns out to be his Aunt Myrtle in a vintage moviehouse holding a branch of magnolia blossoms “as upright as an acolyte’s candle.” (I had to look it up to get the quote exact; here it is.)
3b) We also encountered Muscovy ducks, which Jane was delighted I recognized. Familiar to me from childhood visits to our camp on the Toledo Bend reservoir.
4) I then transferred to my hotel for the final night of my Southern Sweep, and about 15 minutes after I got established, the final family member I had hoped to see showed up: Oldest Nephew Who Must Not Be Tagged. He sacrificed his morning to drive into the city for lunch with his Old Neglectful Guncle, and it was a real pleasure to sit in the shade by the hotel pool and have lunch at talk, mostly about his life in Georgia, plans, family, and other interests.
4a) I have remarked so many times “Children grow up but we stay the same.” Oldest Nephew still has the vocal rhythms and cadences I remember from his childhood, which provided me happy memories.
5) The algorithm brings people together, and apart. On ye Ynstygrymme a couple years ago, the algorithm suggested I follow a well-dressed Georgian academic with an interest in both suiting and horticulture. Since that time we have had many interesting discussions — which led to the pleasure of meeting Tom in person at last for cakes and coffee at Café Intermezzo (which Jane assured me was one of the best venues in Midtown). Aside from suiting, we were able to turn our attention to Oscar Wilde, summer travel past and future, pastry, gardening, books (of course), and — well, conversation is so ephemeral! Who can remember all the details?! What remains is the atmosphere of cultivation and friendship.
6) In the evening, my brain starting to wind down and wander home, I dined at the hotel bar, which managed to provide a menu both limited and pricey. Neither of those things are what I really look for in a menu. Now I love a good bacon cheeseburger, and I love thick-cut bacon. But . . . all I can say is, Etiquetteer was aghast watching me bite into a cheeseburger and having an entire strip of bacon come out because it was too thick to be chewed easily. Awkward.
7) About 9 PM, just as I was finishing dinner, Jane texted “Are you free?” Fifteen minutes later she was with me at the bar, and we continued our wonderful conversation, and expanded it even into the realm of Myra Breckinridge, and a possible Etiquetteer connection.
8) And, to quote Mae West as Leticia Van Allen “The end of another busy day!”
9) But who is the “someone who has a beneficial influence” I was to meet today? Is it Jane, who is percolating with plans for my increased engagement? My nephew, exploring his own path and an example to me of focus and discipline? Tom, with whom I expect to continue to have absorbing discussions on important topics? All three of them?