August 24, 2013 Cocktail after thoughts

Went to a dinner the other night that paired  hand crafted cocktails with the five course meal.
Both cocktails and food were great but it got me remembering about cocktails.
Growing up it seemed like prominent  cocktails were either a Tom Collins or a Highball.  I remember when ever my parents were expecting guests we would go to the beverage store and get Tom Collins mix and soda water. In college years there was either  the ubiquitous rum and coke or Seven and Seven.  The army years were filled with Jack Daniels and Ginger ale. There was brief episode with Harvey Wallbangers but that did not end well.  Then there was the Campari and soda phase, in homage to my Italian roots since it was an acquired taste not shared by many.  Most recently ( years ago actually) I found the classic Manhattan which has become my staple as long as there are three cherries to give honor to the Most Holy Trinity.

August 21, 2013 brotherly memories

Today is my brother Tom's 60th Birthday.  I actually remember when he was brought home from the hospital.  I was 5 years old and remember my Mom placing him on the kitchen table.  The table  was red formica topped  with a chrome border.   Tom is a self made man whom i admire for his integrity.
He is generous with his time, his talent and his treasures.

August 18, 2013 "Community Theater"

Last night Paula and I went to a community production of Euripides  "The Trojan Woman".  Community theater has been part of my past.  The last production I was involved with was "The Rimers of Eldrich".  The first was "Plaza Suite".  In between I had parts in "The Odd Couple", "Brighton Beach Memoirs", "The Diary of Ann Frank",  and "Our Town".  The parts I have wanted but never had the opportunity were "Marty" and "The Fiddler on the Roof".  Funny thing about my  career in theater is that I aways enjoyed the  rehearsal more than the production.

August 15, 2013 Back to School

This week it is back to school down here.  We did not return to school until after Labor Day in my day. However, this period of time  coincides with preschool preparation.  That preparation involved an annual trip to Delancey Street.  Delancy Street in the Bowery was called then Jew town, of course that would be politically incorrect now days.  That part of  the city was the center of  "wholesale" garment stores.  Our reason for going each year was to buy new underwear, socks and towels for the upcoming  school year. The trip also involved a stop at  Katz's Deli.  Katz's was a renowned  Kosher deli where the pastrami sandwiches were 8 inches high  The bustle of the sandwich makers was raucous, loud but there efficiency was incredible.  What i remember  most dearly about Katz's was the opportunity to reach down into the brine of the pickle barrels.  Yes reach down with our hands, which today is "unhygienic" but the flavor of the pickle was incredible. Cream soda and/or celery soda accompanied the meal..
So after  lunch and garment buying we would cross the Williamsburgh bridge back into Brooklyn making our way to Pitkin Ave where new shows were bought to add to the  new school year outfitting.

July 29- August 11, 2013 Flying Memories

Have been involved with Latin studies ergo, no blogging these past two weeks.  But after sleeping until 1300 today, I am back online.  I flew to Charlottes to save 7 hours of driving. However, with the state of American air travel these days I did not save time.  Got to the  charlotte airport at 2 PM for security reasons.  The 5 PM flight was delayed till 630 PM b ut didn't take  off until 815.  Which got me into Atlanta with an hour to spare to  meet my 845 flight  to Huntsville which had been delayed until 1010 PM. Finally arrived in HSV at 10 PM central time which  was 11 PM EST, which meant that I was in transit for 9 hours to fly two legs that should have totaled 1 hour 10 minutes.

All this leads to remember some early flying experience.  The first time I ever set foot on an airplane was on a 6th grade trip to LaGuardia Airport. We were given a tour of the airport, taken up to the  traffic control tower and allowed to  board a DC 6 that taxied around the airport with engines  roaring and propellers spinning.  The next time i was airborne was when  my Civil Air Patrol Drill team won a statewide competition that gave us the opportunity to float through the air on the Goodyear Blimp.Of course that was soon followed by a rather long flight via "Flying Tiger Airline" that transported  me and a few others  to Ton son Hout Air[port in Viet Nam. There there were numerous flights on Huey Medivac missions.