HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND OTHER STUFF

Happy Tuesday Speakies:

I happy to report the weather here in Central Florida has taken a turn to fall. The temps and humidity are down and the highs are in the 80’s feels good; now if we could only get rid of this allergy crap. They call this the dry season because the rain showers are far and few between don’t get me wrong it rains but not as much as the summer months. So there is your weather report for today.

I have to say a special “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” to one of the 3 Stooges MR. LARRY FINE. I still love watching the Stooges my favorites are still the original Stooges: Moe, Larry and Curley. When Roe sees me watching them on the tube and laughing, she says “what is so funny about them?” I simply answer its just slapstick comedy at its finest. I find women don’t seem to enjoy the Stooge humor, I guess it is a guy thing. Curley was my favorite and I still get a chuckle when I see him in that one about the Egyptian mummy King Rootin Tootin Hootin. I hope you guys are up there and throwing pies in everyone’s faces. Enjoy the day Larry and thanks for the many laughs you brought to everyone.

On yesterday’s blog I wrote about crumb cake, much to my surprise a friend and co-worker of mine John brought me in a piece of his wife’s homemade crumb cake. It was out of this world, light, just the right amount of sweet and all around good. Eva also makes the best homemade apple pie Roe and I ever tasted. I’m bribing John for a pie in the near future. Thanks again for the treat for breakfast this morning.

Last night Roe and I were watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Channel. When you want a little snack in the evening and don’t know what your want, on comes a show that’s making our mouths water with pizza, burgers, lobster and everything you don’t have in your house at the time. It’s a crime but a great show.

Signing off for now Speakies, have a great day and if anything pops down here I’ll return with the news.

IF IT'S MONDAY IT MUST BE CRUMB CAKE

Good Day Speakies:

Good, bad who cares Monday is here again, another five days of work unless you are on vacation or retired. Well the Eagles played up to their potential yesterday with a loss to Donovan and the Skins. The baseball playoffs are set and I’ll be rooting for those Phils. I hope you all had a nice weekend and did some fun stuff.

This morning while having my coffee, I had one of those Drakes crumb cakes, those 2 little cakes that come in a pack. I had a taste for crumb cakes so I purchased a box. As I was eating them, a flash from the past hit me, Paramount Bakery on Beatty St. in Trenton. My grandmother use to send me there Saturday mornings for fresh rye bread and crumb cake. Now they had crumb cake, it was light and airy loaded with crumbs and the taste was out of this world. One piece of that cake was the size of a large slice of Sicilian pizza. You guys from Jersey know what I mean. There’s another favorite of mine I could go for now a slice of Nino’s Sicilian Pizza. We use to get ours from Nino’s on Chambers Street. The place was a converted metal diner they also had great cheese steaks and fries. There are a few things I most about the old home town and Jersey one is the food and the other is heading down to the shore and strolling the boardwalk and finally going fluke fishing.

Well Guys and Dolls have a great day, enjoy and be careful.

STAND UP POLAKS AND BE PROUD

Happy Friday Speakies:

Our favorite work day is here and the weekend is just clock ticks away. Lots of football and baseball on the tube this weekend. The Boids will be facing those Washington Redskins with Donovan McNabb as the QB. It should be a very good game to watch. GO EAGLES. Down here the Florida Gators are facing Alabama and every Gator fan has been yapping their mouths and screaming victory on Saturday.

October is here with us now and this month we celebrate a very special occasion dear to my heart. It’s POLISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH.
Let’s remember fellow Polak’s Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Kazimierz Pulaski who led the way to victory in the Revolutionary War and helped form this great nation of ours. We introduced kielbasa and sauerkraut, bigos, pierogi and golabki to this peasant nation. If it weren’t for Polkas and Beer there really would not be great party times happening anywhere. So I say to all my Polak Brothers and Sisters “STAND UP AND BE PROUD TO BE POLISH.” STOLAT TO ALL. Glad you didn’t stop me I was on a roll. So get out this month and try some Polish traditional dishes and enjoy this celebration with the rest of us Polaks.

Another fine holiday we celebrate is “FARM ANIMAL DAY.” Let’s remember all those chickens, ducks, hogs, cows, sheep and pigs that keep farms going. God Bless all them little critters.

I will bid farewell Speakies, enjoy the weekend, have a great time and be careful out there.

SEPTEMBER SLIPS AWAY TODAY

Happy Last Day of September Speakies:

Remember yesterday when I posted on a rainy day I could go for Chicken Soup or Chili, Roe made Chicken Soup and than read my post. She called me laughing and said we have ESP. Let me tell you the soup was great, thanks Honey for making it. Well the rain never came it skirted Florida and headed out east, I think maybe the Florida Keys and South Florida did get some rain. The temperatures will be going down to the 80’s this afternoon as a cold front will make its arrival. So there you have it the soup and weather for today.

Well the dentist visit this morning wasn’t too bad and the big open mouth did not get too tired. No cavities to report and the good news see you in six months the words I like to hear.

I watched the second part of Ken Burns “The Tenth Inning” last night and was a little disappointed. Most of the second part was devoted to the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankee playoffs and their rivalry. The second hour was devoted to Barry Bonds and the rest of the drug taking, big paid ball players and what they did to the game. I would have rather seen more nostalgic information about the game; however don’t get me wrong it was a good documentary but not as great as his first program called “When It Was a Game.”

In this morning’s paper Roe spotted a flyer for a new Italian restaurant here in Central Florida, we may have to give it a try however I saw no pizza advertised in this flyer and remember we are still searching for that tomato pie down here. Speaking of food I had a very nice lunch yesterday with some of my co-workers celebrating a special someone’s birthday. We had a lot of laughs, good appetizers but I have to say I had the same sandwich as I did the first time I visited this place, this time it wasn’t as good. The company and laughs made up for that.

I’d like to wish Happy Birthday and Anniversary wishes to all my Speakies celebrating theirs today. Have a great day and evening Guys and Dolls. See you later if anything should pop up here or in the morning. Remember tomorrow is Friday that work day we love.

BASEBALL, RAIN AND CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

Happy Wednesday Speakies:

I guess all you NY Yankee fans are happy today, they made it into the playoffs. I think it’s going to be a rough road to win the pennant this year a lot of good teams seem to be making the initial round. I watched that special on PBS last night about baseball very good, part two is on tonight. In one segment they showed this little boy in the Dominican Republic playing baseball with a piece of wood with a carved out handle as a bat. Those kids play every day in hopes of getting into the professional level even if it is the minor leagues. Roe and I visited the Dominican Republic on a cruise and one could see baseball fields everywhere and tons of kids playing baseball. I guess desperation to make a better life is a fire that burns within each of those kids.

Tons of rain yesterday in Florida with more on the way today. Tropical Depression 16 right now is 110 miles south of Marathon Key and moving north. Some areas along the eastern coast received as much as 7 inches of rain yesterday, flooding is possible today. That’s the latest on Florida weather. So to the tourists visiting the Sunshine State you are going to get wet till Friday.

My son told me of another Philadelphia Cheese Steak and Hoagie joint in Orlando called Briantos, going to have to give it a try and file my full report in the near future. They are listed on the web so check them out if you are planning to visit the Orlando area.

With this rainy weather I could go for two meals I love, Chicken Soup and Chili. Roe makes a great chicken soup and surprises me with the type of noodles she puts in, I never know what they will be but the flavor and taste is a true chicken delight. I call her chili “The Man’s Chili” she makes it with potatoes and various other ingredients turning the chili into a spicy dish.

I’m going out to lunch today to celebrate a co-worker’s birthday and I have to think of what I want to eat, so have a great day Speakies and be careful out there.

BASEBALL TONIGHT ON PBS

Hello Speakies:

Just wanted to remind those baseball fans who read my blog that "The Tenth Inning" a two-part documentary film by Ken Burns premieres on PBS September 28 & 29 at 8 p.m. ET. Hey Fans that's tonight. Ken Burns has made some great documentary films which included When It Was A Game and The Civil War. So if you are a fan of baseball I think the series will be a good one.

ELMO, ELMO HE'S OUR MAN

Hello Guys and Dolls:

JoeyZ here with a news story that will make you chuckle, it did me. On Saturday a local music store had a man dressed as Elmo for promotional purposes. Another man entered the store and thought Elmo was a threat and a struggle ensued. The assailant suffered broken fingers as a result of fighting with the Red Man and was arrested, police stated he probably was suffering from emotional distress. I can agree with that, who wants to be known for getting their ass kicked by ELMO.

Only in the Sunshine State, the crazies are back.

CONGRATS AND OUTER SPACE THINGS

Good Morning Speakies:

First of all a big “CONGRATS TO THOSE PHILLIES” winning their fourth consecutive National League East Pennant. I bet Harry Kalas up there in heaven was calling the game with Richie Ashburn to all those departed Phillies fans. I can just hear Harry say, “Halladay delivers, Strike 3, He struck him out, Phillies are National League East Champions Whitey.” They were a great baseball play by play team. I wish the Phils the best of luck in the playoffs and I hope they bring another World Series Pennant to Philly.

Living in Florida you get to see some neat things, like from our back yard we can see the Space Shuttle lift-off from Cape Canaveral. Last night on the local news they said you can observe the Space Station at 6:45 a.m. heading in a Northeast direction. As I was getting ready for work I remembered so I ventured outside about 6:45 on the dot and low and behold I spotted the old station zipping along. It looked like a bright white star heading northeast. I wanted to play that oldie record “Telstar” by the Tornados to the whole neighborhood and wake their butts up. Pretty neat I said to myself makes up for all those times they said to watch for the various meteor showers and when I went outside, the night sky was so cloudy you could not even see the moon.

Sorry had to break from my thoughts; I just received a call from my dentist’s office reminding me of my cleaning appointment on Thursday. I like the feel of clean white teeth, but man I can’t keep my mouth open wide that long. I know I have a big mouth but Lord have mercy on my jaw.

A few Happy Birthdays go out today to:

Arnold Stang that Top Cat Guy.
Ed Sullivan – We have a Really Big Show Tonight.
Al Capp – That Li’l Abner Cartoon Guy.

And if it’s your Birthday today have a great one from JoeyZ. To the rest of my Speakies have a great day and be careful out there. I leave you with that song "Telstar" for your listening pleasure a true oldie but goodie.

HAPPY MONDAY

Good Morning Speakies:

Monday is upon us again, but I hope you all had a nice weekend. Phillies had one good game and the Boids did a fine job on Sunday here in Jacksonville, FL beating up those Jags. I’m not a big fan of any Florida teams Pro or College; I guess it’s because of my loyalty to those Philadelphia teams. You grew up watching them, losing and winning with them. You booed them and loved them at the same time and never turned your back on them throughout the years. So much for the Knute Rockne comments.

We celebrate a very unusual holiday today, “CRUSH A CAN DAY.” I’m wondering if it’s in honor of John Belushi from the film Animal House when he crushes beer cans on his head trying to make Kent Dorfman happy. This holiday really has to do about recycling, so if you practice the art today is a day for you. Me, I’ll go with John Belushi.

I’ve got a busy day going here so I’ll bid you all goodbye for now. Enjoy the day and evening.

THANKS MACK AND NOEL

Hi Guys and Dolls:

I wanted to make a special post of “THANK YOU” to my Blog Buddy Mack of Mack’s Truck of Wisdom for his post about my book and a very nice testimonial from Noel who read the book, truly enjoyed it and suggested a follow-up. I appreciate the post and the comments guys, thanks again. And by the way if you are from the Trenton, NJ area, read Mack’s Blog the link is located on my blog site. Great stories and pictures of a great neighborhood in Trenton that will live in our hearts forever.