Friday Night Special

Posted on June 14, 2011 by larry


Chris and Jay enjoyed their visit to the point that they spent and extra half day with us. By the time they left, Jay had become an expert on the Segway and Chris was treated to an afternoon tour of as much of the Amish countryside as we could. I’m adding a bit of Jay’s slideshow at the bottom of the post as he’s getting a handle on his new Canon 60D. Friday was back to work. Porkmeister Mike is the mainstay for the Friday night special but I had to fill in for him during his visit to the South Carolina low country. Now it was my turn to come up with a menu for the week’s end special. I chose Ziti marinara with sweet sausage and shredded parmesian cheese accompanied with slices of French bread. It proved to be a bigger hit that I expected. Eighteen pounds of Ziti along with several gallons of my homemade sauce went over the counter from 4 to 8 pm. The compliments I received were well worth the effort. Coupled with the special was training for the newbies, Ken and Gloria. This was the final installment of training I had to provide for the chef from the West. Ken and his wife have come here from Arizona for the summer. They’ll add additional help in the cafe and allow Mike and myself to have a little more time off. I’m not the most patient of teachers. My pedagogical skills have waned long ago since my days of a teacher. I expect others to pick things up as quickly as I had. Not always the case, but Ken was a trooper nonetheless. Hopefully, some of the hints I have offered will pay off and when I follow his shift he’ll leave the kitchen well prepared and well stocked for me. Saturday proved to be our busiest day yet this month. Robin and I worked this alone and that seems to work best for us. I’d rather be busy as hell but have my mind in ‘the zone’ and not have to be concerned about training anyone else. At days end we showered, packed a few bags and headed for southern Jersey. Xavier–grandson, heir apparent, consumer of my thoughts–will be getting baptized on Sunday and he is possessing my thought process. And I love it.

 

 

Categories: Full Time RVing, Fun Things To Do, People | 2 Comments

Friends From Home

Posted on June 9, 2011 by larry

Jay and Chris, our dearest friends, made the trek across Pennsylvania yesterday to pay us a visit. No matter the miles between us, the bond grows increasingly strong. We met them at the turnpike exit to help with directions to the campground but stopped and lunched at the Park Place Diner. Upon our arrival we toured Lake In Wood with Robin and Chris riding the golf cart while I introduced Jay to the thrills of the Segway. Leary at first, he mastered the gyroscopes and fifteen minutes later looked as if he was a master at this. They enjoyed the beauty of the park, were mesmerized by the cleanliness and abundance of flowers, but the coup de grace was the Gnome Cafe, namesake of our humble place of summer employment. The remainder of the afternoon was spent catching up on news, friends, and personal gossip. Jay did manage to sneak in a short nap. I think that Segway must have tinkered with his nerve a bit. By the time a few bottles of wine had been consumed, and the lawn chairs had been molded to our backsides we realized it was almost 8 and once again we were famished. We frequented once again our favorite haunt, Kyma Restaurant, in Denver. I have never tasted better crabcakes in all my travels and the place keeps beckoning me back over and over. It proved to the delight of both our guests. We all had ringside seats around the fire pit until the girls found some reality show they wanted to view. Jay and I soon followed as no see ums found our sockless ankles and proved a bit much for us.

 

Categories: Full Time RVing, People, Restaurants, RV | 1 Comment

Sadness is the Soul Recognizing Change

Posted on June 7, 2011 by larry

“Perhaps we would bear our sadness with greater trust than we have in our joys. For they are the moments when something new has entered us, something unknown; our feelings grow mute in shy embarrassment, everything in us withdraws, a silence arises, and the new experience, which no one knows, stands in the midst of it all and says nothing. ”
When I am hurt-and that is often-I now try to see it as something other than pain. When I am lost-and that is often-I remember to take a deep breath and look around to see the new place I am in. I have always been okay with being vulnerable to the attacks of the world. However, as I grow older, I am getting weary. I have the urge to protect myself and not feel sadness with as much frequency as I have recklessly done in my youth. This would be a mistake. Sadness has been misunderstood. Sadness is the soul recognizing change.

It has been a fortnight at least since my last post. I had mentally withdrawn into myself. I thought that this blog was also a useless bit of personal diary. And then came the calls, the emails, and a barrage of facebook notes asking if I’ve been anywhere from ill to dead. These inquiries have allowed me to realize how many of you read and that my posts need not stop, despite where I think my head may be. Thank you all for awakening my soul.

Categories: Full Time RVing, Health, Rants | 7 Comments