Who remembers those words? I do. There was a time, believe it or not, when a well-dressed attendant would meet you at the gas pumps. “Fill ‘er up?” he’d ask. “No, let’s see how much I’ve got.” Two one-dollar bills and 2 quarters. “Let’ me have two dollars and fifty cents worth,” I’d answer. That much wouldn’t take you far these days, but in 1962 gasoline sold for around 31 cents a … [Read more...]
Ultimate Comfort Food: Hamburger Steaks
Nothing says comfort food like hamburger steaks, especially with an onion gravy. After 3 or 4 straight meals of chicken, a juicy burger patty tastes mighty good. I made a batch last night and it passed the “Nancy test” with flying colors. She took the leftovers with her to work the next day. There are a million ways to make hamburger steaks, but here’s my method. First, I went with a lean … [Read more...]
Same Old, Same Old (Birds)
If variety is the spice of life, there’s not a lot of spice in my yard, at least bird-wise. Every year, the same birds occupy my yard. I always have a family of chickadees, nuthatches, song sparrows, finches, house sparrows, cardinals, bluebirds, titmice, Carolina wrens, bluejays, and mockingbirds. Then, we have periodic visits from robins, snowbirds, hummingbirds, catbirds, cowbirds, doves, … [Read more...]
Vocelli’s Pizza
Halloween night. Pizza, right?We made a call to our favorite pizzeria, Vocelli’s, and had two delicious pies on the table some 20 minutes later. I don’t think I’ve ever had a really bad pizza before, with the exception of a frozen pie I once gambled on at Kroger’s. Most pizza parlors deliver the goods, but Vocelli’s is exceptional. I remember having to order extra cheese as a topping from … [Read more...]
Where’s Frosty?
Not Frosty the Snowman, Frosty that coats the pumpkins. He’s been missing in action. Here it is, the first week in November and, though there has been a little early morning frost on the car windshields, the heavy frosts are nowhere to be found. I picked a few peppers from the last plants in our garden yesterday and they were perfect. A heavy frost would have ruined them. And my lettuce … [Read more...]
In Praise of Suspenders
Recently, I have been buying pants with expandable waistlines. That’s because my pants are never sure which waistline is which. Is it the waistline right under the armpits – where Grandpa Brewer wore his trousers? Or is it the waistline right above the butt crack. Like my plumber. If it’s the one in the middle, then my pants never stay there. As soon as I bend, squat or stretch, the pants head … [Read more...]
(I’m Not) Hearing Crickets
Usually when I mow the grass for the last few times in the fall, I see lots of crickets scattering ahead of the mower, trying to dodge the blades. But not this year. On my last two cuttings, I saw only three or four and this has me a bit concerned. Crickets are rich in nutrients and help birds go into the winter with extra energy. In many societies, people eat crickets (and grasshoppers) as … [Read more...]
Speckled Trout Action Improving
Cold water last winter killed many speckled trout, but populations are on the rebound and the bite has picked up. Some nice fish are now active whereas smaller trout were providing most of the action in October. The rivers, especially the Elizabeth has been giving up lots of keepers. Swim baits, jerk baits and Mirro-Lures have been productive. Spot are still biting in the deeper holes. … [Read more...]
Bedtime for Brookies
The mountain trout streams are in decent shape but avoid the native brook trout streams. The beautiful brookies are on the beds now and how successful they are will show up in three years when the colorful trout reach 8-inches. Instead, fish the stocked trout streams such as the Jackson, Bullpasture and Tye rivers. Bass fishermen are having the best luck on the tidal rivers where there is still … [Read more...]
The Old Army/Navy Stores
When we were in Lexington, NC last week, I saw an Army/Navy store on Main Steet. It had a child’s shirt in the window. This wasn’t an Army/Navy Store like I remembered. As a boy growing up in Beckley, WV, one of my favorite places to visit when we went downtown was the Army/Navy store. In the 1950s, Army/Navy surplus stores experienced a massive boom following World War II and during … [Read more...]
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