MOVIE

As you may know, Ben Affleck chose our little mainland city as setting for scenes in his new movie based on the novel Live by Night by Dennis Lehane.

The whole county's been agog.

This is an old town. Most of the businesses have moved out to newer shopping centers and outer areas, leaving the core to fall into vacancy and disrepair. To their credit, some farsighted mayors and other people have been sprucing it up. If their efforts continue, they should succeed because the area has a lot to offer, including beautiful Victorian homes and nineteenth century buildings.

But the book's setting is Boston during the twenties. We scratched our heads? We're to stand in for Boston? Does Boston have palm trees? Will we have to disguise them as sugar maples?

Our fears were ungrounded. The movie people want us to look like Ybor City, Florida, where part of the story takes place.

Ybor City? Home of cigars and a blend of Latin cultures?  Okay, even if our area was the southernmost outpost for Anglo-Saxon settlement before the Revolution, we'll take our moment of fame however we can get it. Lucky we have lots of empty buildings and space for the filmmakers to work their magic. And a lot of actors who can impersonate Cubans. Just remember when you go to the theater that we're really not Ybor City. We aren't even in Florida!

 Now, some pix of the sets being built to turn us into...wherever.

This is the area of downtown they're working with. The road is blocked off and you can see a few of the old buildings they're putting new fronts on. Yes! They're actually making them look good!

This was once the old Bluebird Cafe.

The beige building is being worked on, getting ready for make-believe shutters and sign.

And this is an entirely new structure. The lot was empty, the business torn down years ago. So they're putting up the kind of building they want. Or at least the semblance of one.

I hope this set-building/touching-up helps people remember what downtown used to be like. If the movie stirs up interest in restoration, it will be well worth the trouble of rerouted traffic and noisy construction!

Hollywood, welcome to Brunswick!

COMMERCIAL

I realized I'd better get this in before the deal goes off so...

My Kindle ebook, The Warwicks of Slumber Mountain, is on special for 99 cents through October eleventh. It's a romance, kind of a gothic, with magic realism and fantasy elements.

Amazon Buy Link:

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FIRST FRIDAY

Each month, the Downtown Development Authority has an event on the first Friday of each month to encourage people to come to the older section of town. Shops stay open late. Some offer refreshments or other entertainment to people wandering by. Musicians play, restaurants offer samples, and there are crafts or other things for kids.

On last night's First Friday, people were encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes. We were there early and left as the crowds began to gather, but there were still things to see.

The kiddy corner held the play castles. We watched them being blown up.

And here is a cute little ladybug with her mom, ready to start having fun.

This exotic beauty handed out samples of fireball shots (some kind of liquor with coffee) outside The Southern Table and Bar. The woman on the right had just drunk one. The one on the left was about to take one. I haven't tried this restaurant but it's on my to-do list!

Here are people wandering on the sidewalk by one of the squares. The table on the left, if I remember correctly, was giving out literature on a no-kill animal shelter.

Across the street, at another square beside the restaurant Tipsy McSway's, a band played jazz.

This is the front part of that square. I didn't realize it at the time, but the bending woman on the right, was trying to get a response from a man who'd been listening to the music. Evidently, she had noticed him having problems.

.

The response was quick, within a few minutes. Here you can see the yellow emergency vehicle over the bushes.

I don't know the outcome but I hope it was good. Other than that, we enjoyed the outing!

EYES

We drove two hours to get to my eye doctor last week. Scarring on my cornea is making my vision worse so I'm getting special contact lenses in hopes of avoiding a cornea transplant.

I'd been for a preliminary fitting about a month ago; seems these lenses have to be fitted to the eyeball before they add the prescription. The first technician tried to insert them a few times with no success. So she called in a second technician who after a few tries got one in. The doctor came in, looked at it, said I needed another size. So again, I got poked in the eye a few times before both lenses were in and approved. After that, I had to wait while the lenses were sent off to get the prescription added.

So this last visit was to make sure they fit, that the prescription worked, and that I could learn how to insert them myself. Ha ha! When it takes a couple of trained technicians to get them in, I'm just not sure I'll ever learn. Especially since I've never worn contacts.

But the technicians finally got the new lenses put in.

The good news is that I read the eye chart like Superman! I was so excited.

The bad news is that the lenses do not fit correctly. They were touching the cornea in a few spots which is a no-no.

The lenses are going back to the place where they're made--handmade, I might mention. And a new pair will be sent later and I'll go through this again.

So I won't be able to see well for another two to four weeks.

Bummer.

Thank goodness for my Kindle and its big fonts!

LOCAL CRIMES

Our local newspaper's crime column appears occasionally, sharing items from different police reports. The latest one features the usual: an arrest for an outstanding warrant, a robbery, a K9 unit sniffing out a suspect, etc.

As sometimes happens, there were a couple of interesting ones. An SUV hit a utility pole, and its driver got out and ran off. Strangely, he came back later. And got cited for breaking several laws. Bet he wouldn't have come back if he'd known the cops were still around!

Then a man used a BB gun to take another man's iPhone 4S. He tossed the gun as he got away. A BB gun? A 4S iPhone? Surely he could have waited for a later model to come along!

Then police responded to a call from a store about a man trying to fight another customer. The aggravator ignored attempts to calm him down. So police used a stun gun on him. That'll teach him not to lose his temper!

And we had a person performing a lewd act while watching a sporting event at a park. Several people saw him so he was arrested. Wonder what he was...No. No, I don't even want to imagine!

Love our local newspaper! It's fascinating to see what people get up to!

HUMMINGBIRDS

Hummingbirds are dainty little creatures, but I haven't had much luck with them. I set out a feeder last year and again this spring. A month or so ago, one finally showed up. He's not very friendly though, coming out only when he thinks we're gone.

But we just came back from a trip where we visited some relatives near Atlanta, where both houses had out feeders for the cute little critters. In fact, one house had two. Evidently, they get refilled every other day and I could see why. The hummingbirds were flying around, chasing each other off, drinking, and sometimes just sitting on the little perch. There must have been a dozen of them.

The other house had only one feeder, but it too was a busy place. Six or seven little birds seemed mostly set on rushing at each other and scaring other birds away, though occasionally they would land and drink.

"I think they like the nectar best when it ferments a little," the homeowner said. "I noticed a wasp drinking the other day. He lapped and lapped and lapped and when he finally flew away, he was weaving."

Drunk wasps! What next?

She also offered a photo of a pregnant hummingbird taken a few weeks ago. "You can see the egg bulge in her fat little stomach."

And you can!

Love these sweet birds!

NEWS AROUND THE COUNTY

Although we haven't had any interesting crimes lately, we do have other news. Like...

Jekyll Island is getting an ice skating rink!!!

"What?" you ask. "How can this be? Not only does it not snow on Jekyll, it seldom gets below freezing.

Synthetic ice is the answer. Evidently, they're setting up an artificial ice rink with a view of the ocean for tourists' -- and locals! -- enjoyment. We won't have to deal with the cold! We are so excited!

And today there was this headline:

Russian Spy Ship off GA Coast

"Really?" you say. "Are they looking for peaches or did they get lost?"

No, evidently they're spying on our submarine base where our latest, super duper submarines are housed. Maybe they have super duper spy equipment that will let them look through the walls and figure out blueprints or whatever. I have faith in our military, however. I'm sure we have any x-ray vision cameras blocked.

And finally this:

Film Crew Sets Up Shop Downtown

Yes! Confirmation of the rumors! Ben Affleck has indeed picked us for some of the scenes in the movie he's filming. This is more exciting than an ice skating rink and a Russian spy sub!

Evidently the film will be based on a Dennis Lehane novel set in Boston in the 1920s.

We do have some old buildings downtown that might work for a seedy Boston. Of course, I have no idea how the palm trees can be explained. Maybe they can crop them out.

Hey, that skating rink may come in handy!

Oh, and I bet that sub was lurking around hoping for a glimpse of a movie star!