I had just turned 10 and would spend this Christmas in our new house on Jennings Street in Beckley, WV. I had made a Little League team that year, loved my Fourth-Grade teacher and Freddie Arnold had just moved in just down the street. I now had a built-in baseball, football, and basketball buddy. Life was good. As Christmas approached, there was one thing I really wanted – an English bike. … [Read more...]
A Winter Wander-land at Boar’s Head
Each year, the Brewer’s, the Branch’s, and the Craig’s get together at Christmastime. We chose the Boar’s Head this year where we dined in the Mill Room (The NY Strip was exceptional) and then enjoyed the Winter Wander-land and all the Christmas Lights and decorations. This was my first visit to the display, and it was well worth the $20 to attend. The brightly lit holiday trail is … [Read more...]
Remembering the Old Christmas Specials
One thing I dearly miss from our Boomer years is a December full of great Christmas specials on TV. This was entertainment at its finest – top stars, top acts, great music, great comedy, and classic cartoons. In the 1950’s and 60’s, variety shows dominated the airwaves. Singers with top hits appeared regularly and comedians like Bob Newhart and Jonathan Winters left us in stitches … [Read more...]
Skillet Fried Potatoes
When I was a boy, we had either potatoes or rice with every meal. A starch was a requirement. Many times, we had Fried Potatoes and always cooked in an iron skillet Today, Nancy and I have potatoes with many meals, though sometimes we will have pasta as a starch and rice from time to time. Baked potatoes are a staple, and we fix French Fries with burgers and dogs. We have scalloped potatoes and … [Read more...]
Signs of Our Times
Bluebirds Are Shopping
Almost every morning, our resident pair of bluebirds samples a few sunflower hearts from our feeder, visits the birdbath for a drink of water and then flies to the fence to check out bird houses. We have three choices, and they visit each one. The male peeks in while the hen perches on top of the house. They began their home inspections not long after they finished nesting. It seems to be a … [Read more...]
Carver Hams for Entertaining
We were having an open house for neighbors and ham was on our menu. While shuffling through the food aisles at Sam’s Club, Nancy saw a “carver ham.†No bones, no spiral cuts, just a boneless, pre-cooked ham and it looked easy to carve. We bought it. I sliced it thinly and we stacked it on Hawaiian rolls. It was a delicious and a huge hit. I can’t remember ever buying a “carver ham†… [Read more...]
Stripers, Stripers and More Stripers
From the Potomac River to Oregon Inlet, the word on the saltwater streets is “stripersâ€. The Virginia season is winding down (ends on Dec. 31), but some big stripers from the ocean have moved within the bay. Umbrella rigs have been effective weapons. The rivers are also giving up nice fish to 10 pounds. In North Carolina, there are scads of stripers back in the sounds, mostly hanging near … [Read more...]
Hoping For a Lionel Train
The Pent-ultimate Christmas present for every Boomer boy was a Lionel train. At least it was for me. I was seven and a Lionel train was at the top of my wish list to Santa Claus. I simply had to have one, even though they were fairly pricey, and my dad earned only a modest salary as an FBI agent. By boyhood friend, Billy Richmond, got a train for Christmas the year before. Billy was a year … [Read more...]
Real Men Cooking Quiche
Several years ago, there was a book entitled, “Real men don’t eat quiche.†So being a real man, I didn’t eat it, though my wife Nancy loves quiche. However, being an amateur chef, I had to try my hand at a Quiche Lorraine and my version turned out so well that Nancy thinks it might even be better than her recipe. The word “quicheâ€, or so they believe, comes from the German … [Read more...]
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