The Cafe And Its Customers

I've been working at the cafe here at the Y.M.C.A. for seven and a half months and in that time, a lot of people have come through the door looking for a good meal. Some of them are staff members, some are members, and some are residents. We also get a lot of the residents from the Y.W.C.A. up the block and the two senior housing facilities that are close by.

Sad to say, some of these people have gotten themselves banned by the cafe for various reasons. It takes a lot for Mike to make that call on someone, but once it's done, there's no going back.

I really don't want to get into that any farther. What I do want to do is talk about a few of the customers who have been memorable for good reasons.

Like the mother and daughter who wanted to get lunch but the mother wasn't sure if she her SNAP benefits had been made available. They hadn't, but her little girl had already started to drink the grape juice I had given her. She looked to be about three years old or so, and when Mike and I said she could have the juice anyway, she said "thank you" to me in such a quiet and sweet voice, I just wanted to cry.

Like the single mom who comes in at least two or three times a week. Almost always with her little girl who turned two years old last month, and sometimes also with her son, who turned ten years old last month, as well. I have never seen this person in anything but a very good mood. Her son is very polite and well behaved and as far as I can tell, is a normal, well adjusted kid.

One day, this young lady ordered a large iced coffee and then realized she had forgotten to bring her purse with her. I turned to Mike and said "I'll kick in a dollar for it if you will" and Mike agreed to do that. I brought her the coffee just as she was getting ready to leave and she was so happy. It was a reminder that sometimes, the smallest gesture of kindness can mean a lot and also, that the simplest pleasures are often also the sweetest (no pun intended).

Like the older gentleman who came in one day and said he had known about the cafe for years but never been in it before. This was on one of the days that Mike was out sick and I was filling in for him all day. This person was very quiet while I made his food for him. He, to be honest, looked like he was having a very bad day.

Which he was, as it turned out. He and I were the only two people in the front area; Lauren was in the back room doing dishes. After a few minutes of racking my brain to remember where I knew this person from, it came to me.

He was a neighbor of my late Aunt Mary, and still lives in the same apartment he did all those years ago before she passed away. As he ate his food, I asked him if there was anything else I could get for him. He said that there wasn't but thanked me for asking. We wound up having a very pleasant and interesting conversation. He now comes in almost every day, and some days, twice, for breakfast and lunch. He's very considerate, in that if I'm really busy, he'll not disturb me unless he has to. But if I can spare even just a minute or two to talk to him, he really appreciates it.

So, those are a few of the people I've dealt with in the time I've been working at the cafe.

Wishing you a safe and pleasant Thanksgiving, dear reader.

Also, rest in peace, Roy Clark. Singer, songwriter, actor and all around good guy.

I'm Back

As of today, I plan on resuming regular posting. I've not posted much of anything in a long time for several reasons. I've been busy with work. I've been doing a lot of reading. But I'm back, really.

Where to begin? If you don't care for politically related posts, this might be where you want to stop reading. Because so much is going on I simply can't remain silent any longer. We have a President who is becoming a dictator. The sheer amount of nonsense coming out of the White House is almost impossible to fully keep track of.

The Press Secretary has pretty much gotten away with releasing a doctored video to justify the taking away of a journalist's press credentials. The President, among other things, believes he can revoke the 14th Amendment to the Constitution with an executive order. He's also tried to interfere in elections and counting of votes. He once again has shared his crazy beliefs about voter fraud.

In other words, we're seeing things that are so far beyond normal, it's terrifying. We're seeing things that no presidential administration has ever dared attempt, much less believe it can get away with doing.

And don't even get me started on the most recent mass shootings.

Wow, this was not a fun post, was it? I do have two more much enjoyable posts currently in draft status and will be posting those in the next two or three days.

Until then, farewell.

P.S. Rest in peace, Stan Lee. You will be missed.

The Wait Is Almost Over

I can hardly believe I've gone so long with no new posts. I feel bad about it and will resume regular posting very soon.

Kevin, The Short Order Cook - Let's Talk About This.

I'd like to talk about my job in this post. I put in several extra hours at work when I filled in for Mike for 1/2 a day yesterday and for Lauren all day today. I worked hard but efficiently. I honestly think Mike's still a little bit thrown off by the way I do things, because his style and my style are very different.

Mike, I think, sees things like doing dishes as a task to be accomplished, and nothing more. I, on the other hand, get a sense of satisfaction from completing even the smallest of tasks. Also, and I'm the first to admit this, I'm quirky. As I often phrase it, "take normal and twist it just a little".  I've spent a life time watching other people react to me in different ways. Sometimes, people just don't "get" me, and for various reasons, can't or won't make the effort to attempt doing so.

I understand that, I really do. It's a personality thing (I hesitate to use the word conflict). But four months into this job there are still times he acts as though he expects me to screw up the simplest thing. That bothers me, because I'm improving every week, bit by bit, and also because I've stepped up in a big way more than once.

Lauren's way of doing things is a bit different from mine as well, but she usually makes the effort to understand why I do things the way I do them. As far as she's concerned, it's results that count. If the food is up to her standards, and is served properly as well as on time, she won't second guess how that was accomplished (presuming standards of sanitation and safety are adhered to).

If I had to sum things up in one sentence, my next sentence would be it. Mike is a co-worker I get along with okay, but Lauren is someone I'd gladly work for, or have work for me.

Now, let me put together a list of some other things I'd like to discuss briefly.

The Bad

1. Mike often talks about fellow employees behind their backs. Honestly, when I hear what's said about some people, I really have to wonder what's being said about me when I'm not around.

2. Mike views his job as being the cook and nothing else. On days when I've worked with or filled in for Lauren, he has allowed tables to get really dirty. It's a small cafe, people. Five tables and a small lunch counter. I can normally get them cleaned and sanitized in about two to three minutes. He also gets upset when I clean them, because strictly speaking, that's not my responsibility on such days.

But, is it really that big of a deal? The thing about the food service side of things is that when you're busy, you really are. And when there's nothing to do, there really is nothing.  Today I actually laughed out loud when I was able to sneak in doing the tables while Mike went to use the men's room.

The Good

1. We got a perfect score on our annual inspection by the county Health Department. Mike and Lauren both thanked me for the hard work I did when doing extra cleaning to be ready for the inspection.

2. Most of our customers take it for granted that they're going to get a good meal at a reasonable
price. Which is fine, because that's how things usually are. But every now and then, someone will really show appreciation. If someone complements me on the food I cooked for them, or if a fellow employee thanks me for taking the time to bring their food to them, that's a nice thing.

3. Doing the food service for the day care program is a real challenge. It's one that, honestly, I wasn't sure I was up to. In the three days that I've filled in for Lauren, I'd grade myself at 80, 85, and 90 (basing that off what she does being 100). And when the little kids smile and thank me for bringing them food, it's a great feeling.

Odds And Ends, Once Again

I really don't have anything all that important to write about right now but I do have a few odds and ends I'd like to share with you. So, in no particular order of importance, here they are.

1. My air conditioner arrived last Thursday, a day earlier than expected, which was nice. For the most part I'm very pleased with it. It was difficult to set up by myself (the instructions do say it's a two person task) but after forty-five minutes, it was ready to use. It works well and is worth what I'm spending on it.

2. Monday and Tuesday of this week coming up will be a real test of my skills at work as I'm going to be filling in for Lauren. Both days the lunch menu is pretty simple, which is good. But still, it's going to be a challenge for me. I'll have anywhere from thirty to forty people depending on me for their food, and I need to get it served on time.

3. I will have three paychecks in August so that's going to be about $400 extra I can spend any way I want. This is going to be an interesting decision for me to make. Will I put that cash into my savings account? Will I invest it in my catering business? Will I buy my mother something quite expensive she wants, as a birthday present? At this time, I really don't yet know what I'm going to do.

4. I got my hair cut  on Tuesday of this week at the barber shop I've written about here before. As always, it was a very pleasant experience and really did once again feel like going back in time a good thirty to forty years. And, as always, the hair cut was a great one and reasonably priced, coming to $9 with the tip.

5. I usually don't buy things for the kitchen that look to be of questionable value. But last week I took a chance on something and it turned out to be a good buy. It's a pasta cooker and steamer you use in the microwave. Its name is "Pasta N More" (poor grammar, I know), and is endorsed by this guy you might have seen on television who calls himself Chef Tony. I've used it to cook macaroni that came out perfectly. I've also used it to steam hot dogs, which also came out just right. Fifteen seconds or so also steams the buns very nicely. It's well worth the $18.98 I paid for it at Wal-Mart.

It also comes with a very nice recipe booklet, and most of the recipes actually look very good. I'll let you know how they come out as I start to make some of them.

My Air Conditioner Should Arrive Soon

Summer is definitely here, folks. Over the weekend just ended, local temperatures in the Binghamton area got as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When I passed a bank on Saturday afternoon at about 4:30, its sign read ninety-six. I was on a B.C. Transit bus, coming home from a supermarket that I normally walk to and back from. But on Saturday, I gladly paid the fare to ride the bus both ways.

I also ate at Subway while I was out. As I've mentioned here before, I do not handle extreme heat very well. Today, for instance, I got a little bit ill from the heat here in my room at the Y.M.C.A., so I went down to the air conditioned lounge for awhile. As I've mentioned here before, there have been times I've actually had to go to an emergency room to be treated for heat exhaustion. I do not want to have that happen again.

Spending a little time in the lounge is a nice short term solution but it's not like I can hang out there all day, or sleep there overnight. Here on the fourth floor, the temperature in these rooms can be as much as ten to fifteen degrees higher than what it is outside. My two rotary fans help some, but when it's that hot, the only real solution is air conditioning.

So, earlier tonight, I bought a portable air conditioning unit from QVC, and I paid extra for express shipping. The unit will arrive on Friday. Between sales tax and shipping, the total cost came to $402, which when spread out over six months is very affordable for me these days.

And you know, it's for something I really do need. I have to be comfortable and rested when I wake up each morning if I'm going to be able to do a good job at work.

As always, dear reader, wishing you the best.

I Just Want To Cry

I've not written anything for a few weeks now because I've been dealing with some personal issues, and also because I'm so very worried for the future of America. The things going on in my personal life are ones I'll get a handle on, sooner or later. But the things happening in this country?

God only knows when we'll somehow find a way out of the mess we're in  Do I really need to list all the things that are wrong? Because part of me wants to, right here and now. If you pay any attention at all to current events and to politics, you must have at least some idea of what's going on. 

Let me just say that as far as I'm concerned, we're living in a fascist country right now. If you don't agree with that statement, so be it.

And now Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the Supreme Court, which gives Donald Trump a second justice to nominate. If Roe V. Wade is really hanging on by the thinnest of threads, which I believe it is, the next new justice could well be the one to finish it once and for all. I said right here on this blog that electing Trump would result in everything we've long considered as being normal being up for grabs again. And I've been proven right on that, I think.

I'm sad, and scared, and worried. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see the 2020 presidential election called off altogether. To see Donald Trump embrace his desired role as our dictator for life. Nor, sadly, would I be surprised at all to have Trump declare martial law in an attempt to control dissent.

Again, if you disagree with me, so be it. I'm just calling things as I see them, which if you read this blog on a regular basis, shouldn't come as any surprise.

I wish I had something fun to write about, or something uplifting, or hopeful. Right now, I just don't.

It's Been Thirteen Years?

Yes, it has. Thirteen years have passed since the day my wife died. In that time, I've been through a lot. Most of it was good, while some of it was almost unbearable. I've hit rock bottom a few times, either emotionally, financially, or physically. I'm grateful that I never had all three of those things go bad all at the same time.

I've lived in places I loved like San Francisco and Myrtle Beach and I've lived in places I would only go to again for vacation, like New York and Las Vegas. I've had nice apartments, and I've had ones that were in really bad condition. I've had ones that had more available space than I could use, and I've been crammed into spaces as small as seven feet by nine feet.

I've made and lost friends. I've fallen in love only to have those relationships end. I went back to college and got a second degree. And now, of course, I'm working, and am self sufficient for the first time in thirteen years. That's something I feel very good about.

My weight has dropped from 300 pounds to 175, and believe me, that was not easy to accomplish.

Sometimes, people ask me how I've managed to survive, indeed, not just survive, but become a much better person with much better circumstances. Well, let me tell you, it's not easy. For me, at least, the most important thing I did was to get rid of every single thing that wasn't essential. To, as I often phrase it, "start with the basics and add things in, one at a time, slowly and carefully".

The things I've done weren't easy. If they were, a lot more people would be doing them. I can honestly say that I wouldn't change anything I've done, or been through.

And in the end, isn't that the best thing a person can say about his or her life?

Adventures In Record Collecting

Hello, again. I've been busy the last couple of weeks but tonight I have spare time and something I really want to write about.

Over the last year or so, I've put together a small but nice collection of vinyl records. All of them have been purchased from various sellers on Discogs. Almost all of the transactions have gone very smoothly. Most of the sellers I've dealt with have created invoices quickly, shipped items promptly once paid for, and have graded the records pretty accurately.

A lot of 45 R.P.M. singles can be had for less than what you'd spend on a cup of coffee. Last week I bought twelve singles from one seller, each of them for $1.50 apiece. Shipping was another $5, which is quite reasonable.

Of course, when you buy something sight unseen, you are taking a chance on it. One seller sent me the stereo mix of an album, when I bought the mono version. The shipping label had all of the information printed on it. So, someone somewhere made a conscious decision to just send me whatever they had laying around. I sent a very politely worded message informing the seller of this mistake.

His response was anything but polite. He stated that it was my fault for not reading the listing correctly and when I sent him a screen capture of the listing, that just made him even less pleasant to deal with. I offered to pay for the shipping cost to return the album but he said he didn't want to waste any more of his time. I won't ever buy from him again, that's for sure. He also said he'd refund the purchase price (but not the shipping fee), which he never did.

The really cool thing is that for a great many recordings, the mono mix is a dedicated mix, and is the version that was initially released so many years ago. Most of those mixes sound better than the stereo mix, which was quite often something done with less effort put into it.  Also, there are a lot of promotional mixes and edits that were released only to radio stations, for air play. I've got a lot of those and they just sound so good. I have the radio only promo mix of "What'd I Say" that has never been released anywhere else. Was it expensive?

Yes, it was. But it's worth what I paid for it, to me, at least. As is the dedicated mono version of "Riders On The Storm" which had a very limited release as a Record Store Day exclusive in 2011.

It's the most expensive single in my collection at this time. It was listed as being in mint condition and that grading was accurate. I cleaned it very carefully and played it one time, to make a clean needle drop of it. The dynamics on the recording are just amazing.

In closing, I'd say that overall, about 90% of what I've bought has been worth the money I spent on it. I can live with that.

As always, dear reader, I wish you well.

It's Been Almost One Month Since My Last Post

I've been very busy, and haven't had time to post anything here. Also, I was off line for awhile because my modem stopped working and had to be repaired. I've been good, for the most part. Work has been good, though challenging at times.

The two weeks I worked with Lauren on the other side, learning as much as I could about food service for the day care program, went well. This young lady is very good at what she does, turning out restaurant quality food under less than ideal working conditions. Depending on what the meal is (breakfast, lunch or snack), there are either four or five rooms that get served. I've had the chance to taste almost everything Lauren cooks and every single thing has been delicious.

Once I was back on the cafe side, it took me a few days to get back into my routine. Mike and I make a good team. He handles most of the cooking, which is fine, because he's been doing it for forty years. I take the orders, cash people out, keep the tables clean, sweep the floor, and handle a few other things along the way as well. Mike does let me handle a few things in food prep. I've made cocktail sauce (for which Mike let me use my recipe and liked it enough to have me use it again). I've made honey mustard sauce people liked, and Thousand Island dressing that came out well. My spicy tartar sauce comes out well, also.

Friday was challenging because Mike had to fly out of state for a family emergency. I got the call that I needed to open and I was on my feet for almost eight and a half hours. I was under strict orders to keep the grill turned off. So, a lot of people were upset because that meant no eggs for breakfast, nor home fries. No burgers for lunch, either. One regular customer was so rude as to curse at me. Another decided to leave without paying and when I went after him, got on his bicycle and rode away.

If Mike's not back by Monday, I'll have to put in the full day again. I'm not 100% comfortable with the idea of that, but I'll show up on time and do my best, just as I did on Friday.

Lauren always helps me out whenever she can and I help her as well, when I can. Some times she gets really behind on dishes, so I hustle to get them caught up while she's on her lunch break. Or if someone orders a milk shake, she'll do make it for us and I'll take over what she's working on for a few minutes if she needs me to do that.

Six weeks in, I really have no complaints about the job. Plus, we got a perfect score on our inspection by the Health Department. I know that some of the really hard work I did cleaning things contributed to that and I feel good about it.

Wishing you well, dear reader.

Kevin, The Short Order Cook

Today I finished my second week at the Y.M.C.A. cafe. So far, so good. My immediate supervisor is a good person, very easy to work with. Today when we got really busy for about forty-five minutes, we got all the orders out fairly quickly, because we made a good team. All the orders were done right, which isn't the easiest thing to get done. Our customers tend to be residents of the building, or people who work out here, or people whose children are in the day care program. We get a lot of parents who want a quick meal after dropping their kids off for the day.

Most of what's on the menu is your standard diner type fare, but Mike does a nice job of creating some fun specials. Today we did taco sauce cheese fries and people really liked them. I've had customers complement me on some of what I've made including cocktail sauce, Thousand Island dressing and honey mustard. I made a spicy tartar sauce to order today for one customer and he raved about it, and he also gave me a nice tip.

I've done well enough that the next two weeks, I'm going to be cross-trained on doing the meals for the kids in day care. Lauren turns out some really good food that's healthful for the little ones, so I'm excited to see how she does what she does.

The pay is decent, as I've said before, and I'm learning a lot.

As always, dear reader, I wish you well.

Spring Break 1997

Picture it, if you can. March 31st, 1997, heavy snowfall coming down in the early morning hours.

I woke up early that morning because that semester in college, I had an 8 a.m. class three times a week. Though there were no classes that week, I thought it'd be a good idea to not make any changes in my sleep patterns.

I was, to put it mildly, a wreck right then. The toll of working part time and being in college full time was really hurting me. Also, I had really been raked over the coals, as the saying goes, at a staff meeting a few days earlier. I asked for the week off the next day and the director of our agency was able to let me have it.

I was standing in the bathroom shaving when it hit me that what I really needed was to just get away from it all. This was around 6:30 or so in the morning. I finished shaving, then showered and put on clean clothes. I quickly packed a bag and then called the Greyhound station to check departure times for various cities. The agent I spoke to really listened to what I was saying about just wanting to go, and to go now. He suggested something Greyhound had at the time that was called the "Ameripass", which was a seven day pass good for travel on any Greyhound route anywhere in the country.

I went out into the dining room and told my Aunt Jane (I was renting her spare bedroom at the time) what I had in mind. She offered to take care of my cat while I was gone. I gave her $20 for cat food, litter and whatever else might be needed, and $20 more as a small token of gratitude.

I caught the local bus to my bank, took out $500, and used $300 of that to get travelers' checks. It was a short walk from there to the bus station. I was on the bus to New York at noon, because the agent suggested it as the best place from which to get to anywhere else.

While on that bus, I remembered that my co-worker and friend Patty had suggested Myrtle Beach as a possible destination for spring break. I decided to give that a try.

By the time we reached the city, I had about five hours or so to kill before catching the bus to Myrtle Beach. I spent that time walking around Manhattan, having dinner, and buying a few things in a Woolworth store (the last time I ever set foot in one, as it turned out).

The weather was getting really bad by this time, and the Greyhound driver we had from New York to Baltimore handled it really well. I ate again, while at the Baltimore station (the second one, which was newer and is on the edge of town). I slept well most of the rest of the way.

I woke up when the driver announced that we were ahead of schedule, and could stop to eat if we wanted to. A show of hands decided the matter; we stopped to eat.

I do not recommend traveling without having any idea where you're going to stay, but that was the first time I did it, though not the last. Fortunately, I found a small but clean room with an ocean view for a reasonable rate.

What did I do the four days I was there?

I relaxed. I ate at a restaurant Patty had recommended. I sat on the beach and waded out into the warm water of the Atlantic Ocean. I listened to my mix tapes. I listened to local radio stations. I played miniature golf. And, I spent the last three nights with people I met.

What happened was, I was at a club named "Mother Fletchers". This was Tuesday night. I was dancing with the girl who had won the wet t-shirt contest and things were going great, until her boyfriend walked in.

I thanked her for a good time, and sat down alone near the back. About half an hour later, I was drinking white wine when I got the feeling I was being watched. Which turned out to be the case, but in a good way. This kid tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I went to Broome Community College.

I do, I replied. He then introduced himself and said to several other people "See? I told you I've seen him on campus". He then introduced me to everyone else and we hung out the rest of that night until closing time, and the two nights after that as well.

I really hit it off with one of them, a girl named Tracy. So much so that the first day back on campus the next week, she spotted me and came over to talk to me. She invited me to her birthday party that night. I accepted, and though I had no time to get a gift, I did get her a card.  It didn't take long for us to figure out we wanted to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

She cried a lot the night we broke up, and to be honest, so did I. She cried even more the next night, which was when we all had one last huge party to mark the end of the semester. She came very close to getting back together with me but her best friend talked her out of it. After that, over the summer, we were still friends, but never spent time alone. And in the fall, she transferred to a school in another state. I never saw her again.

Twenty-one years have passed since I got on that bus for Myrtle Beach, a town I liked so much I later spent a whole winter there (December 2009 to March 2010).

As always, I thank you for taking the time to read this.

I Got The Job!

Yesterday at 10:08 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, I accepted a job offer from the Y.M.C.A. cafe. It's  part time, 20 hours a week to start. The pay is competitive with what similar positions offer. I have a very good feeling about this. The cafe serves good food at reasonable prices, and to get to work is just a short walk of three or four minutes.

I'm excited about this. I finally have a chance to show what I can do, and to learn more. Once I have enough experience under my belt, I'll be allowed to run the cafe by myself at times. That will  tell me, one way or the other, if I have what it takes to open a small restaurant of my own at some time in the future.

I'm so glad I never gave up on things.

Things I Want To Say

First things first, okay? I haven't posted here in quite some time, because I've been dealing with some things in real life. So, I'm sorry, but there's not much I could have done about the lack of posts.

I've been good, for the most part, but just had such a problem dealing with winter weather. I'm just not able to handle the cold, the wind, the ice, the snow and various combinations thereof the way I used to be able to. There were far too many days I went nowhere, or just one block up the street to the convenience store and one block back. Being the person that I am, I did go out a few times when doing so wasn't exactly the safest thing to do.

I mean, when it's four degrees out with a wind chill of minus-eight, that's dangerous. But that night, I just didn't care. I had to get out and do something, anything, to take my mind off things. So I caught the #57 bus to Vestal and got some groceries at Wal-Mart. I had it timed what should have been just right in terms of waiting for the bus back, but the bus was behind schedule. It was starting to snow heavily, which is why the bus was running late. Still, it felt good to just get out of the building I live in.

I've done more of the work needed to get my catering business up and running. I still have to attend the food safety training the local health department requires, which is free and takes just one day. I also need to deal with a few other requirements, such as getting a waiver for worker's compensation insurance, because at first, at least, I'll have no employees.

I had two job interviews that went very well, but didn't get the job from either of them. Still, it was good to be in the running, at least, as it were. I am currently in the running for a volunteer position that could possibly lead to a paying job. I've done that twice before in my life and had it work out well both times. So, fingers crossed and all that.

Things in my building are good, overall, but we have several new residents who are making for a real problem in the kitchen. Unwashed dishes, dirty counter tops and such are bad enough, but there have been several incidents of the smoke detector being set off. If the kitchen winds up being closed for an extended period of time (which has happened before) or even worse, closed permanently, I'll have to move. Neither my budget or dietary restrictions can handle any extended period of canned and frozen foods.  Plus, I've been turning out some first rate food lately. Baked macaroni and cheese, pizza, pasta sauce and tuna casserole are some of the things I've made from scratch and been very pleased with. I have a recipe for brownies I want to try, as well.

As regards current events and politics, I'm both worried, and optimistic. Worried, because hard liners like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo are downright dangerous when given positions of power and both men are on the rise once again. Optimistic, because there is hope for the mid-term elections. But the people who run the Democratic Party, my party, need to embrace the core values the Party once stood for.

So, that nicely sums up what's been going on. I do intend to resume regular posting soon, but as always, I won't make any promises.

Also, as always, I thank you for taking the time to read this, and I wish you the very best.

Saturdays, Now And Then

It's Saturday night and here I am at home, doing pretty much nothing. I did go out for about forty-five minutes this afternoon. That was to have dinner at the Salvation Army and to get a few things from the convenience store up the street. They sell what was my dad's favorite pizza and whenever I can, I pick up a slice or two. It's not the best pizza I've ever had, it's not even the best in this area. But it's what we ate when I was growing up so it's nice to still be able to get it now and then.

Weekends have meant different things to me at different times in my life, as you might expect. As a child, Saturday was the one night I was allowed to stay up late and I appreciate that, all these years later. As a teenager, some weekends I made good money by babysitting. Or I might sit in on a game of poker with my brother and his friends. We never played for money, just for fun. Or I might find something good to watch on television and if lucky, have something to snack on while doing so.

When my wife was alive, we often went out on Saturday nights, usually to see a movie. My brother did a nice thing by letting us use his car, as he could get a ride to work and back with someone else.

When Michelle's health really started to worsen, that ended for the most part. But we'd still watch a movie, just at home instead of in a theater. We had a forty inch flat screen television paired up with a really good and quite expensive sound system designed for watching films. That thing was a real pain to set up but once I found the sweet spot for its settings, it was well worth the expense and the effort.

When I lived in San Francisco, I never had very much money to spend after paying the bills but I was able to afford a Netflix subscription so again, Saturday was movie night. And now that I'm in Binghamton once again, I've gotten back to that. I do have the money to go out but most of what there is to do downtown revolves around nightclubs and bars, and I was never much into that to begin with and certainly am not now.

This was nice, to just reflect a little on the past.

Again, as always, I thank you for reading what I've written, and I wish you the best.

I'm Still Here

I regret that I haven't posted anything new in so long but January wasn't a good month for me. Too much bad weather, too many things to deal with, too much...of pretty much everything.

And the last few days I've been dealing with a sinus infection, which is never fun.

But I'm still here, honest. I can tell you that I made some good food the last few weeks, The best was my homemade macaroni and cheese. I used just five ingredients, which were flour, cheese, salt, pepper and milk. The milk and flour I used to make a roux. Once that was done, I added the cheese, which was mild cheddar. Once that was done, I seasoned it very lightly and it came out just right.

I mean, for my tastes, it was perfectly seasoned. Also, I used very good macaroni, which is key to the whole thing, of course.

I also made some fried chicken strips, which also came out really well. Lightly battered and again, seasoned just so. I paired them with homemade stuffing and corn.

What else can I share with you?

Well, if you like soul music in all its various forms, you might want to look into a series of releases all using the title "Eccentric Soul". These are various artist compilations, most of which focus on a particular record label. These labels are mostly very obscure ones but some of the sides they cut are very good. The most recent one I purchased is sub-titled "Sitting In The Park" and was inspired by a man who had 35,000 45 R.P.M. singles in his personal collection at the time of his death in 2014.

His name was  Bob Abrahamian and from what I've read, he was fanatical (in a good way!) about preserving soul music produced in Chicago and surrounding areas. He would spin these rare records while on the air at WHPK.

Here's a link to it.  http://www.numerogroup.com/products/eccentric-soul-sitting-in-the-park

I've received no compensation whatsoever for posting the link or for recommending the release.
I just want to share the good stuff with anyone who might enjoy it. If you don't want to wait to have a disc delivered, you can do what I did and buy the whole thing as lossless FLAC files. Or, if you want them, you can also get MP3 files but there's no pricing difference so I went with the lossless files.

As always, I thank you for reading this and I wish you well.

Lunch With A Friend

I am sorry that I haven't posted recently. I've had a lot going on. Here's something I hope you'll enjoy reading.

To call someone a friend is not something to be taken lightly, I believe. I have many people I know, most of whom I regard either as acquaintances or colleagues. I don't have many friends, but honestly, that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Because anyone I do consider to be my friend has earned it. That person has been good to me and is trustworthy. That person must be a person of good character and possessing traits we consider to be good ones.

Over the past several months, I've had to take a second look at who is a friend and who isn't. People who repeatedly don't return phone calls or respond to a text, have been dropped from the list. People who do respond but can't make time for something as simple as a lunch date, are on probation. People who respond and do make time to actually spend time with me are good to go.

Yesterday, I had a very nice time catching up with my friend David. He asked if we could meet at a  restaurant that I had never heard of. It's a location in the "Core Life" chain. I always trust David when it comes to choosing a place to eat, and once again he did not fail me. After looking at their menu on their website and calling them to ask a few questions, I knew what I would order. Also, I knew how much money I'd be spending, which is always something I have to be aware of.

The food was very good, the restaurant was very clean with a nice decor, and the serving size was just right. I chose the make your own bowl option with the following for my salad:

- Romaine lettuce
- wild rice
- roasted corn
- cherry tomatoes
- cucumber
- diced celery
- raspberry vinaigrette dressing
- diced chicken
- tortilla strips

As I said. the food was very good, as was the fresh lemonade. Just as importantly, the company was very good. David and I met when we had a morning class together during what was the first semester for both of us in the Hotel and Restaurant Management Program at S.U.N.Y. - Broome. We've both had a lot of personal growth since then, but we still get along very well. Our personal backgrounds are very different, as our are ages (51, soon to be 52 for me, and mid-twenties for David).

But we respect and like each other. David is very intelligent, very honest and is one of the hardest working people I know. Both times he was part of my team in a professional kitchen, he did work that can only be called "outstanding".  The hour and a half spent together was a very pleasant hour and a half.

As always, dear reader, I wish you the best.


 

And So Begins The New Year

Well, folks, here we are. At midnight when it became 2018 in my time zone, I played "My Way" by Frank Sinatra and drank a Wild Cherry Pepsi. I hope your evening was safe and fun. Please accept my wishes for the best in this new year.