THE DAY HAS COME; THE PACZKI ARE HERE

Good Morning Speakies:

Well Monday is here again, grab your coffee, give that last yawn and start your day off with a little enthusiasm if you can. Hope you all had a great weekend. NOW TO MAKE THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: TODAY IS “PACZKI DAY.”

Paczki are a traditional Polish pastry or to me similar to a cream filled or jelly donut. By the way when I was real little I called them “Punchski.” The Polish pronunciation could also be “Paczek.” A paczki is a deep fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere. They are made from rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar and milk. They can be filled with cream, various jellies, fruit fillings, even glazed or as my grandmother did just covered in powder sugar. They were light and airy and I would attack them as soon as they cooled a little. They were great for breakfast or a snack with coffee or milk. I really do miss granny’s cooking and baking. Most of her recipes went with her to heaven so she must be cooking up a storm there. In the US cities that have large Polish communities like Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo and Cleveland “Paczki Day”, is celebrated on the day before Ash Wednesday, some cities even hold parades. I can see it now just like Mardi Gras paczki being tossed off of floats into the crowds who are screaming for more. I can just see the cream, jelly and fruit filling all over the faces of the adoring fans of paczki. I’m proud to be Polish and write about the things I remember growing up, the food, the traditions and the love of my family. So if you are Polish or not go out and find a paczki and treat yourself to something really tasty.

Here’s something that starts to frost me and say “What’s the matter with people these days.” I read a news article about some guy in San Francisco that wants to ban circumcisions on baby boys. First banning French Fries in Frisco and now circumcisions aren’t there more important things in this world and life to be concerned about. This is going to bring on a JoeyZ tirade on the issues we should face instead of the ones some village idiots come up with. BEWARE GUYS AND DOLLS, GET’S MY GANDER IS RETURNING SOON. Have a great day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF

MY POST TODAY IS DEDICATED TO MY SON JEFF. FIRST OF ALL HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF AND I WISH YOU MANY MORE TO COME. I STILL REMEMBER 30 YEARS AGO THE NIGHT YOU WERE BORN AND HOW CUTE YOU WERE AND HOW PROUD I FELT AS A DAD.

I REMEMBER THE YEARS GONE BY; THE HAPPY DAYS, THE THINGS I DIDN’T DO THAT I STILL FEEL SORRY FOR TODAY AND THE TIMES WE SHARED FISHING, PLAYING CATCH AND A LOT OF OTHER FUN STUFF. NOW THAT YOU ARE A DAD AND I HAVE TO SAY YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB AND I’M SO PROUD OF YOU AND I KNOW MOM AND SAM ARE TOO. NEVER STOP DOING THINGS WITH THE KIDS AND BEING THERE FOR THEM.

I LOVE YOU JEFF AND I WISH YOU A GREAT DAY, ENJOY YOUR DAY WITH MOM, SAM AND THE KIDS AND I WILL SEE YOU LATER. STOLAT.

IT'S COMING MONDAY

BE PREPARED FOR PACZKI.

MORE AND MORE PLATES AND I DON'T MEAN CHINA

Top of the Morning to you Guys and Dolls:

Thursday is upon us and we all know what tomorrow brings that great day of work FRIDAY. I was checking something out yesterday driving home all the different specialty license plates they have in Florida. I wear glasses but could not even make out the writing on the plate on the car in front of me it looked like a modern art painting with words and numbers. I did a little research last night and checked out the number of different plates Florida has, there must be an excess of 75 specialty plates you can order. I thought it would be fun to list those available and then add some JoeyZ would like to see made available to the residents of the Sunshine State. Here are some current winners:

PROTECT FLORIDA WHALES

SAVE WILD FLORIDA – WHO THE ANIMALS, THE ENVIRONMENT OR THE CRAZIES THAT LIVE HERE

TREES ARE COOL – I LIKE TREES, THEY ARE OUR FRIENDS

IN GOD WE TRUST – THAT ONE SHOULD STAY ON MONEY ONLY

NASCAR – THAT’S FOR THE CRAZIES THAT HAVE LICENSES IN THIS STATE

SUPPORT HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR ALL – WE HAVE ENOUGH FORECLOSURES HERE WHY NOT

SHARE THE ROAD – THAT’S A GOOD ONE FOR SOME OF THOSE IDIOT DRIVERS

VISIT OUR LIGHTS – WHERE ARE THEY; WHAT ARE THEY

SUPPORT SOCCER – THAT’S A BIG SPORT DOWN HERE AS BIG AS LACROSS

THERE ARE ALSO PLATES FOR EVERY PRO SPORTS TEAM IN THE STATE AND EVERY UNIVERSITY AS WELL. NOW LET ME GIVE YOU MY REQUESTS FOR NEW PLATES THAT MUST BE MADE.

SAVE THE FIRE ANT

DON’T RUN OVER THE ARMADILLOS

REDNECKS ARE HUMAN TOO

SAVE THE SAND CRANES FROM CARELESS DRIVERS

SUPPORT EDUCATION WE NEED HELP HERE

PROTECT THE GECKO

WE NEED A GOOD TOMATO PIE

There is a few to get started now if they only made the prisoners make them we could keep those guys and dolls busy longer and not let them out. Have a great day Speakies.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE MARINES AND POLAKS TODAY

Happy Hump Day Once Again Speakies:

Well the work week is half over and the sun is shining bright in Central Florida with temps to reach the 80’s today with a nice breeze, my kind of day. I would like to wish all my Guys and Dolls who are celebrating a birthday or an anniversary to have a wonderful day, and enjoy it with the ones you love. I found a few birthdays today to poke some fun at so let’s see who we have:

Lady Digby – haven’t got a clue who she is and really don’t care.

Peter Fonda – that Easy Rider guy.

Lord Ezra – probably Lady Digby’s husband.

Fred Biletnikoff – wide receiver from the Oakland Raiders. This one is for you Mack (Mack’s favorite team is the Raiders.)

Naruhito – crown prince of Japan, fuki yaki saki want some seafood.

Stuff That Happened Today:

1836 – The Alamo is besieged by Santa Anna. The boys hold out for days before falling to a better fate.

1846 – Polish revolutionaries march on Krakow, but are knocked down. The Polaks gave it a gallant try.

1945 – US Marines raise flag on Iwo Jima, famous photo taken on second flag raising.

1960 – Demolition begins on Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field. Them Bums should have never left Brooklyn.

I talk about things that piss me off and I have to let you know about the most recent. For weeks now as I leave work I take a nice new road light traffic, two lanes with bike lanes on the right. Each day there are about 10 to 15 cyclists with their pretty little shorts, bike rider shirts and those alien looking helmets. Instead of using the bike lane they ride in the slow lane three deep. I wish I had one of those boxing gloves on a loaded spring like they had in the old Our Gang films. I would mount about three on my passenger side and blast them as I ride by. Oh well enough for today, have a great Hump Day and be careful out there.

PANCHO SAYS READ AND DRINK

Happy Tuesday Guys and Dolls:

Hope you all had an enjoyable evening filled with relaxation after that Monday work day we love so much. Roe and I had an enjoyable Saturday evening dinner with our neighbors at a very nice Italian restaurant called Pazza Luna. The veal parm was excellent that made the dinner and the company made the evening complete. The weather looks good for the coming week so if you are planning a visit Mother Nature plans to be kind to you tourists.

This week is “READ ME WEEK.” Pick up that book you always wanted to start reading and dive right in. AHEM, AHEM remember I wrote a book and all the details are listed on my home page. I think you would enjoy it.

Today is also “MARGARITA DAY” that concoction that was blended in Old Mexico anywhere from the 1930’s to the 1950’s as various stories claim. The actual truth is that it was blended by a distant relative of mine Jose Z working in a small bar in San Lupe, Mexico. Now the margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila mixed with triple sec and either lime or lemon juice and served with salt on the rim of the glass. You can have your margarita frozen, shaken not stirred served straight up or on the rocks. I only had a couple of margarita but they are good at a Mexican restaurant or on a cruise. If you are visiting Central Florida there is a nice Mexican restaurant called Cantina Laredo and I believe there are several across the US. Some of the young ladies I work with told me that on Thursday nights they have a nice help yourself buffet, all the margaritas, Mexican beers and wines you can drink for $20 per person and they call it Ladies Night Out. Sounds like a good deal so if you’re here visiting and enjoy Mexican cuisine give it a try. I’m still searching for that Tomato Pie which I now believe will be Roe’s homemade pie but our quest will still go forward on the roadways of Florida.

Spring Break will be coming soon and the area will be filled with tourists young and old and a few village idiots thrown in the pot to make life interesting once again. You will have to drive like you are in the Daytona 500 watching every move the outsiders make around you plus the local yokels who are always here like perennial flies in the ointment. Enough heard from me today, have a great day and evening and I will see you soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM

MAKING A QUICK SECOND STOP HERE TODAY TO WISH MY COUSIN TOM AND MY OLD BEATTY STREET BUDDY "A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY WITH MANY MORE TO COME. STOLAT TOM."

COURTESY ALONG WITH THE KING'S ENGLISH

Good Monday Morning Gang:

How about that a new little change in my greeting to you all. I hope everyone had a great weekend filled with lots of fun and adventure. I would like to post my thanks to my good neighbor George for helping me pressure wash our house on Saturday. The weather here has been very nice, sunny and highs near 80 degrees. Now I’m ready to start my first post of the week “The English Language, Courtesy and How We Abuse It and Can Improve It.” Don’t get excited I’m not going to preach about punctuation or diagraming sentences. I’m talking about the way we answer back when we are confronted with a question or a request from others; here are some examples on how to improve our responses:

Rosemary will call out to me from the other room JOE! My response is usually WHATTTTTT! This response does not sit well with her. My correct answer should be “YES DEAR, HOW MAY I ASSIST YOU.” Now are you getting my point? Let’s try some more and if we pass this vital information to our younger generation we may see a great improvement in courtesy and use of the English language to all.

Johnny will you please go to the store and get me some milk? The typical response would be “Why do I have to go?” Joey Z’s suggests “Mother, must I go shopping to the peasant market again?”

Bobby please take the dog out to do his duty. Typically “Why do I have to do it all the time?” Try this “Why Mother I would be glad to take Rover out for a bowel movement that would make his day more comfortable.”

An example at work, “I need these figures checked right now.” Your snappy response, “You’re kidding me right! Try “Allow me 1 hour to complete my present task, and I will be more than happy to spend the rest of the morning calculating those figures.”

Avoid a road rage situation when you are cut off by not replying, “YOU %&*%$#@## ASS.” correctly say, “Madam or Sir are you not aware the rules regarding the right of way?” “I would suggest you proceed to the nearest Motor Vehicle Office and secure a driver’s handbook. Depending how crazed the other person looks after such a response you may want get out of Dodge faster than a bat out of hell.

The pizza delivery man brings you the incorrect order, “I didn’t order garlic and anchovies, I wanted pepperoni!” Try a nice reply such as, “I never experienced the taste of that combination I may like the taste, don’t worry about the mix-up.”

Weldon have you finished that science report due tomorrow? “I’ll get started after I’m finished watching Sponge Bob.” One’s face turns red; blood boils and out comes, “Kid I’ll Sponge Bob your butt if you don’t get started NOW.” “Son I’ll be glad to tape the ending of the show, so you can finish the report and get a good night’s sleep with peace of mind."

So there you go Speakies a little language and courtesy training from Joey Z. Have a great and a wonderful evening.

TGIF

HAPPY FRIDAY GUYS AND DOLLS:

A QUICK STOP TO SAY:

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY TO READ MY POSTS EACH DAY

SEE YOU ALL NEXT WEEK

MOMMY WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE A

Good Morning Guys and Dolls:

Thursday is upon us again and as always I wish you all a pleasant good day. Today is “WHAT SHOULD I BE DAY.” To me it sounds like what would you like to be little guy or doll when you grow up? Hell I wanted to be everything and I’m sure most of you did too. Remember I was a wee lad in the 50’s and I’m going to list what I dreamt of being. Kids then wanted to be what they saw on TV, in comics and in their imagination so here is a list of Joey Z’s fantasy occupations:

Davy Crockett – until I saw how the movie ended and wanted to live longer than Davy did.

A Safari Hunter – that “Ramar of the Jungle Show” made me want to dream of this future position in the wild.

Pro Football Player – I loved playing football in the dirt and mud and putting on my helmet.

Pro Baseball Player – what boy never dreamed of this? I wanted to be a pitcher that could really smack the ball or the greatest second baseman ever; for some boys their wishes came true, mine flopped at the local dirt mound.

An Army Soldier – got enough of that stuff in the 60’s, I chose wisely and picked the Air Force longer life span in those days.

A Detective – I watched too many Dragnet shows with Joe Friday and 77 Sunset Strip.

A Captain of a Sailing Ship – got that idea after watching “I Sailed to Tahiti with an All-Girl Crew” a movie starring Gardner McKay.

And now for my true professional dream job as I got older are you ready? NO IT’S NOT A DOCTOR, LAWYER, INDIAN CHIEF OR A FIRE CHIEF BUT A “DENTIST”, YES A DENTIST. I was fascinated with all those tools and the job they do restoring teeth. As you can see there is no “DR. JOEY Z” posted in big letters on my blog. I can’t complain about the work I did in my life I enjoyed it all and I hope all you Speakies do too. So if your little ones come to you and say “Mommy, Daddy I want to be a circus clown or a ballerina” let them dream just encourage them to choose the right road in life to travel down and that’s being good. See you all soon.