The Butcher's Son

Flying

2010-08-15T20:00:00.002-04:00

I had to fly this week to take care of some business. I used a "no-frills" airline, Direct Air. Since you don't get your seat assignment until you check in, I was asked if I wanted a emergency aisle seat. I said no as they can have solid sides and be uncomfortable for my somewhat large ass. I also asked for an aisle seat without someone in the middle seat.

So I get my boarding pass, have a couple of beers in the bar while I'm waiting to board and proceed onto the plane. Albeit, the same person that checked me in is now taking the boarding passes at the gate. Yes, it is that small an airline. I walk down the aisle to my seat and sure enough, it's not only a emergency row seat that's solid, but there is someone in the middle seat.

Now I don't usually make too much of a fuss on a plane, but the look on my face must of said it all. A flight attendant asked me if everything was OK. I said no, this is most likely the first and last time I will be flying this airline. She told me to take a seat for now and she will try to move me as soon as they get a head count.

Sure enough, I was able to get moved towards the back of the plane to a seat like I had asked for. To add insult to injury, I look over my shoulder and there is some skinny kid in an entire row by himself.

Lucky for me, I was able to get an upgrade on my return flight to first class for $50. Worth every friggin' penny.

Next time, it's Southwest all the way baby!!

History in the Making

2010-01-22T10:24:00.002-05:00

This past week was very exciting here in MA. We now have our first Republican Senator since 1972. That is a real feat in MA being that MA is extremely liberal. A lot of people on both sides of the fence are shocked by this election. Lots of people thought because Ted Kennedy had the seat for over 4 decades, it belonged to a democrat. Obviously, the majority saw it as the people's seat and voted accordingly. I for one am glad that the Health Care Reform will be done without shoving a unpopular bill down the throats of the American people at an extremely, absurd price to the working, taxpaying people of this country. I do hope it does not fail in it's entirety as I believe we need reform of the system. Good Luck Scott Brown and I hope you have a very thick skin. Let's see how long it takes the liberal scumbags to dig up something on him or post a pic of his daughters in an inappropriate manner.

Dadspeak...

2009-10-12T15:46:00.002-04:00

I was chatting on line with an old friend the other day and they reminded my of some of the charming "Terms" let's call them, that my dad would use in everyday speak.

here's the ones I can remember:

Blivet: that's 300 lbs of shit shoved into a 10 lb bag. Usually used around a fat person.

Pot Belly Savage, (or just PBS): Just what it sounds like. Someone who has a pot belly.

Jeep: some that is so lucky, no matter what they bet on, they win. Not a bookie's favorite person.

Fireplug: someone that is short and stocky

Tootsie Roll: money that is rolled up and has an elastic band around it as to resemble a tootsie roll

Pea Shooter: a small handgun, (i.e. his beretta)

Degenerate Gambler: Some that will bet on anything. Example, a person that will bet on 2 ants walking on the sidewalk betting on which one will get to the crack first.

The Horn: the telephone

Getting Pinched: getting caught by the cops

"Oh, he won't be around anymore": Someone that either left town for good, was escorted out of town for good, or someone that just won't be around anymore.

Shpacone: someone that acts like their better than you or a bragger.

Mal occia: the evil eye, or wishing someone bad luck.

Rug: a hair piece that is not very good.

That's all I can remember right now. I hope you got a chuckle out of them.

WTF

2009-10-12T15:37:00.002-04:00

so I'm talking to my brother recently and start to ask him about the sausage recipe's that may dad and his partner used decades ago. I have been told by my friends that my dad's fresh sausage was the best they ever had. (Seriously, if you like Italian sausage, his was very good). I get the idea that I get the recipe's from my brother, go to a sausage maker to make the sausage by the recipe I give them, sell it around, then when the company get's big enough, sell it to Kraft or Smithfield for a million dollars and retire.

Here's the snag. My brother doesn't really have the recipe's. He tells me that they were never written down and my father's partner just did it from memory. Is my brother full of shit? Maybe, but what am I going to do, put a gun in his mouth? He's my brother.

My dad is gone, his partner is gone. Shit...I'm gonna have to figure it out for myself.

Festival Time

2009-08-21T07:29:00.002-04:00

With Summer winding down and Fall not far behind, it's means one thing. FESTIVAL TIME!!!! There are literally hundreds of festivals around here. There's the Big E, San Gennaro, Apple, Peach, Strawberry, Wine, Blues, Folk, and a bunch more.

It's nice to know that just about every weekend there's going to be a place we can go to eat, drink, listen to music, and hang with a bunch of people that enjoy the very same thing. There's no talk about health care reform, stimulus packages, town hall meetings or pulling the plug on grandma. Just good times.

So, if there are any festivals in your area, no matter how small or hokey, go have a good time and take a break from it all.....

Don't forget to have a cannoli for me if you end up at any Italian festivals...

"Mangia, Mangia"

Been a While......

2009-05-27T10:15:00.006-04:00

It's been a while since posting. Work sucks, so not much to talk about there. The best part of the last few months was our cruise to the Caribbean and a trip to Florida. The Weather was nice for both trips. In Nokomis, FL, they do something called "Drums on the Beach". It's a gathering of different musicians that bring their percussion instruments of all kinds and begin a beat that continues and builds to crescendo as the sun sets. Very cool, everyone brings their favorite snacks and beverages so everyone is in a very good mood. It's become so popular, there are hundreds of people there spread across the beach. I included a couple of pics of the sunset and the people. If you find yourself in the Sarasota area, look into it. It's very popular and everyone seems to know about it.

Our cruise was very nice. Lots of good food, drink, cuban cigars, and spa visits. One thing we did in Greneda was go a "Party Cruise". This was basically about 80 people on a covered barge with a steel drum band, open bar, fresh fruit for snacks, a great beach, drinks brought to you while you lay in your chair and bobbing in the cleanest water you can ever imagine. This is our 5th Caribbean cruise and hope to do many more.

till next time....eat well, drink well, live well.....

"Stop Playing with the Chickens"

2009-02-03T20:01:00.003-05:00

My brother and I would always find new ways to piss off my dad, or make him laugh so hard he would almost pass out from lack of oxygen. One day, I went into the walk in cooler to find a whole chicken sitting on the edge of the to shelf with it's legs crossed. What makes this funny is the chicken is headless and without feathers, just like you buy in the store. My brother found it funny to position chickens in various poses. Of course, with our very vivid and twisted imagination, it was not long before we started to put the chickens in the wonderful positions of the Kama Sutra. So once a while, my brother or myself would take it upon ourselves to decide what position the chickens were going to take part of that day. We would start out simple like missionary and work our way up to "69", doggy style and so on. Some days my dad would find them first. At the beginning, he found it amusing. After a few weeks of this, he lost his sense of humor and started to get very pissed off. It got to the point where one Saturday afternoon, my dad came out of the cooler with a chicken. He looked at my brother with his tongue rolled up in his cheek, wound up from the other side of the world and flung a chicken at him so hard you can hear the bones break against his chest. With that, my brother asked his most famous question. "What did you do that for?". My brother always asked that even when he knew exactly why it happened. My dad simply picked up his knife and went back to work. A couple of minutes later, my dad just turned to both of us and said, "Stop Playing with the Chickens". Like the smart alacks we are, we both asked, "What are you talking about?". "You know what I mean, stop playing with the chickens, you almost Mario a heart attack". Mario was my dad's partner and he thought the chickens put in "certain" poses was blasphemous.

So, that was the end of the "fun with chickens" part of my life. So the next time you want to scare the kids, put your chickens in fun poses in your fridge. Keep it clean though.

Is It Going to Stop Snowing?

2009-02-03T19:54:00.003-05:00

I have just about had enough of this winter. I am not an outdoors type and definitely not a winter type. I am going to Fla next week and I can't wait to go where there is NO SNOW!!!!
I will be visiting my friends, the pink flamingos. I hope they will be waiting for me with open wings and a cold mojito.

New Year's Resolutions....

2009-01-02T19:07:00.002-05:00

I have not truly made an New Year's resolution for a few years now. Most of the time, it involves losing weight and eating better. So this year, instead of making any resolutions, I just went about the house making it a better environment to start a better year. It was very heart wrenching to toss out desserts, cheese, soppresata, more desserts, pepperoni, stuffed peppers....did I mention desserts. I have veggies, fruit, no diet soda, seltzers, 100% fruit juices, whole wheat breads. I now have the perfect environment to eat better and hopefully lose some weight.

I've lost weight before, and I'll do it again....

Is that a cream puff in the back of the fridge? I'll get that little bastard.

"Close Your Mouth, You Look Stupid"

2008-12-16T12:10:00.002-05:00

This is why I don't like candid pics. I'm trying to do something nice and give a quick cooking lesson on how to make baked brie, and my wife has to take a candid picture with my mouth hanging down like an idiot. Thank you very much. I hope you enjoyed all the cooking I did for your chicks at your cookie swap. Sheesh...what a melon.

Winter Sucks....

2008-12-05T13:22:00.007-05:00

My wife and I have been lucky enough to be able to vacation in the Caribean again this year. I would like to share some of the best part of the trip. Our cruise stopped in Cozemul, but my wife wanted to see the Mayan ruins. So, we took the ferry to the mainland, (Playa del Carmen), and headed to one of the most interesting sites we have every seen. Enjoy the pics. They were all taken at Tulum. I loved the Iguanas.

I Love to Cook, But.....

2008-11-30T22:24:00.002-05:00

As much as I love to cook, I was able to escape cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year. It was the first time in 7 or 8 years in a row that I have prepared Thanksgiving dinner, (of course, I am not alone in the preparation and my wife also does all the setup). This year there was no shopping list, no shopping, no deciding how everyone will fit at the dining table, no deciding who will sit next to who, no deciding how much of everything to get, no deciding when to eat....you get the drift. Instead, we kept reminding ourselves how carefree our Thanksgiving is going to be this year. And lastly, no snide emails or remarks about anyone being unhappy about what was made, what time we eat, who sits where, if we really wanted them at our house or not, etc.

This year, we went out for dinner and drinking Wed night with our favorite neighbors. We slept in Thanksgiving day because what I did bring to our host was a simple appy. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade together. Had a nice breakfast. Had a nice meal at a house full of people, then went home and relaxed. We helped pick up after dinner and dessert. That was the extent of our work.

The rest of the weekend was just as relaxing. Spent time with mom to make her happy. Did a good chunk of our Christmas shopping. Most important, had some pumpkin pie. It's not Thanksgiving unless I have pumpkin pie.

So, If I don't do Thanksgiving dinner for a few years, I will not miss it. I have never had a more relaxing Thanksgiving that I can remember...

Guess what, I don't have to cook for Christmas this year either. Makes me giddy.

I hope anyone reading this had a great Thanksgiving...whether you had to cook or not.

Whack it harder...

2008-10-31T13:27:00.002-04:00

My dad had a friend named Sonny. Sonny didn't go anywhere without his friend Poop. (Think of Uncle Junior and Bobby Bacala from Soprano's). Sonny had the misfortune of stepping on a landmine during the last weeks of WWII. He had 2 artificial legs and got around with a cane.

Sonny's legs would lock on him once in a while if the pins holding the knee joint came loose. If he went to the doctor to have it fixed, he would get charged with a visit, let alone having to wait in waiting room full of sick people. Sonny would have none of that. So Sonny would come in my dad's store, hop up on the counter next to the register, (his usual spot), and have my dad whack the pin back in with the meat mallet.

One day, while this procedure was going on, a woman customer happen to walk in the store. She walks up to the counter and out of the corner of her eye, she catches my dad banging away at Sonny's knee with the meat mallet. You can hear the audible smack of wood against plastic each time the mallet connected with Sonny's fake leg. Of course, the woman didn't realize that Sonny's leg was fake and thought my dad was wailing away on a real kneecap. What made it even more crazy was Sonny telling my dad, "Hey, can you whack it harder than that?". The woman started to get squeamish at the site and began to get weak in the legs. My brother and Poop happen to be at the window talking at the front of the store. Just as she started to fall backwards, by brother jumped from the chair and caught the woman in mid air just before she hit the floor. My dad and Sonny had no idea what happened. My brother walked the woman out of the store, let here get some air, and explained to her what was going on in the store and no one was getting hurt. With that, the woman storms back in the store and starts to give my dad an Sonny an earful. "Whatz a matta with chooze guys? R you crazy you somanabitches? My dad and Sonny burst out laughing when they realized what happened.

After the woman calmed down, we put her order together, threw in a loaf of bread no charge, and all was right again in the world. After the woman left, we all got a good laugh from what happen. Sonny got his leg fixed, the woman got a free loaf of bread, by brother did his good deed for the day, and I got a another story to share on my blog.

Remember, things aren't always as they seem. They could be fake.

Double Tapped....

2008-10-27T10:33:00.003-04:00

I have been tagged by old crone and cj, so here we go.

Here's the rules.
Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
Share 7 things on your blog, some random, some weird.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving there names as well as links to their blog.
Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a note on their blog.

1. I work 20 feet from my bed. I thank God every day for my commute.

2. I have size 12 feet. You know what they say about men with big feet, "you must be a clown".

3. I am a list maker.

4. I love to cook for my friends and family, but don't ever criticize my food.

5. I am allergic to cats...and we have 2 of them...and one sleeps near my head every night.

6. I love to eat and hate to excercise. Not a good combination.

7. I love a good cigar, out on my deck on a quiet day.

I only have a few followers, since I was tagged by cj, I will have to tag old crone.
Back to work for me.

Hey, How Tall Are You?

2008-10-13T09:54:00.002-04:00

One Saturday morning, Tony G stopped in the shop to talk to my dad. Tony was a friend of my dad's and a real pain in the ass. Tony would come in the shop looking like he just got his clothes out of the hamper and combed his hair with a pork chop. While my dad was talking to Tony, the neighborhood mortician walked in and was making small talk with my brother. After a few minutes, Tony G started getting loud and breaking my dad's balls about something. Peter, the mortician, took notice of what was going on and decided to teach Tony G a lesson. Peter starts to look Tony G up and down and rubbing his chin in an inquisitive way. After a couple of minutes of this, Tony G turns to Peter and asks him if he has a problem. Peter looks at Tony G and says, "No, I don't have a problem. I was just wondering to myself, "Hey, how tall are you?". Then Peter takes out a tape measure and puts it up in front of Tony G and makes like he's measuring his height and width. Tony G turns to my dad and asks my dad, "Hey Ray, What's up with this guy?". Dad says to Tony G, "Hey Tony, meet Peter, he's from the funeral home up the street". Tony G goes white as a ghost and his eyes look like a deer's in the high beams. Peter looks at Tony G and says, "Nice to meet you Tony, why don't you stop by, I got a nice box for you". Tony G saw that as such a bad omen, he turned and ran out of the store. My brother and I were laughing so hard, we almost wet ourselves. My father was laughing so hard, I thought we were going to have to call an ambulance to resusitate him. Peter just put his tape measure back in his pocket and ordered a couple of steaks. My dad got such a kick out of what Peter did, he threw in a couple of pounds of sausage to say thanks.

So, don't be a ball breaker in public. You never know who's sizing you up.

Spam????

2008-10-09T11:15:00.000-04:00

for those of you seeing a message from blogger.com about my blog being blocked, it seems that something in my blog is making blogger.com think that my blog is spam.

I don't even like spam. It's nasty and looks like ground head cheese. I'm sure the Hormel company sees this product as the backbone of the country, but none for me.

I will not judge anyone for enjoying spam with eggs, or spam with cheese as that is your right.

So don't be scared of my blog. It is not a meat product......or advertising.

McMeaty

"But was your chicken tender"

2008-10-05T12:22:00.001-04:00

One Saturday morning, my dad was taking a phone order as usual. After he hung up the phone, he didn't say anything, and walked into the cooler. He came out of the cooler with a whole chicken that I thought he was going to cut up or wrap whole for an order. Instead, my dad proceeded to throw the chicken up against the wall so hard, you can hear the bones break. Then, he put in on the bench and gave it a couple of whacks with the 5 lb wooden mallet we would use to pound out veal and chicken cutlets. Of course, the sound of bones snapping can be heard again. Dad then proceeded to wrap up the aforementioned chicken and put it on the bench where we stage the phone orders until they are completed to be bagged. My brother and I just watched this entire episode without saying a word and my never mentioned why he just did what he did.

Next Saturday, just like every Saturday, my dad answers the phone to take an order. After a few, "uh huh, really?", and "I don't know how that would happen". He asked the customer, "but was your chicken tender?"

What we found out was, the previous week, this same customer complained about their chicken not being tender. My dad didnt' like their tone of voice so he made sure they were going to get the most tender chicken they ever had. Of course, every bone in the chicken was snapped like dry twigs. When my brother and I found out why my father beat a defenseless chicken, we almost pissed ourselves.

So, is your chicken tender?

Ringling Bros. Winter Home

2008-10-02T08:22:00.016-04:00

If you ever find yourself in or near Sarasota, FL. You might want to take a stop off at the Ringling Brothers Circus winter home. It was also the home of John Ringling. Below, I have put some pics of his home, a small theater he had brought over from Italy and a museum full of his pieces. It is now run by the U. of Florida. I was really surprised by it all. If you have ever been to Italy, the grounds in the gardens of the museum are very reminiscent of Florence. Enjoy.

This is the tiny Theater that was imported from Italy.

Yes, they actually shot people out of a cannon!

This is the "Greeting Room" to the mansion.

Sitting Room

Outside on the Patio.

Some of the art.

This was one of my favorites.

The gardens within the museum. The statue of David in the

background is an full size replica of the actual statue in Florence.

Lastly, one of the many fountains on the grounds.

I hope you enjoyed a different side of Florida. Of course, there

was plenty of drinking, fishing, golfing, and laying on the beach.

It wouldn't be a trip to FLA without all that.

Fat Tony...

2008-09-30T07:33:00.003-04:00

Fat Tony was an ex-boxer, drove a big caddy, and had fingers the size of Italian sausage links. He was also a "business associate" of my dad's. One Saturday afternoon, as my Dad, my brother and I where at the front window of the shop after cleaning up...Fat Tony pulled up in the driveway next door because there was nowhere on the street to park and my brother already had his car in our driveway. That usually is not an issue, except today. The landlord of the building, nickmaned "The Bear", decided to start yelling at Fat Tony to move his "friggin'" car. Tony explained that he was only going to be a minute to see my dad, pick up his sausage, then he would leave. The Bear continued his tirade, spewing obscenities, always starting with the word "Fat" whenever he could. Now, picture this. Fat Tony is 6 ft tall, weighing well over 300 lbs. The Bear is about 5 ft nothing, about 150 lbs. After Fat Tony kept his cool for about 2 minutes, his head started to get as red as a ripe tomato. My dad looked out the door, looked at us, then uttered, "uh oh". In a flash, Fat Tony had wrapped those sausage-like fingers around the Bear's neck, lifted him off the ground, and was shaking him like a rag doll, on the sidewalk, in broad daylight, on the busiest street in town. My Dad bolted out the door, with my brother and I close behind. Dad grabbed one of Fat Tony's huge arms, while my brother and I grabbed the other. Dad was yelling at Tony to let the Bear go, to no avail. Fat Tony was in a, "Sicilian Blind Rage", and wasnt' hearing anything. The Bear, meanwhile, was turning blue, and his eyes were rolling back in their sockets. My Dad finally smacked Fat Tony in the face to get him to snap out of his rage and then he dropped "The Bear" to the sidewalk, where he crumpled into a fetal postion. Dad told Tony to get out of there fast. The Bear was screaming something about calling the cops and my dad told him it would be better for his health to just go back in his house and thank God we were there to save him. My dad told my brother and I to get back in the store. After that, Fat Tony parked in the Bear's driveway whenever he wanted and the Bear never said a word to him again. Of course, my brother and I had to make a trip to East Haven that afternoon to deliver Fat Tony his sausage. We sat down with him, had some wine, laughed about the whole thing and went home.

I learned an important lesson that day. There is always someone bigger and crazier than you are. Also, fat people don't like being called fat.

A Blog is Born...

2008-09-28T22:33:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone. This is my first post on my first blog. I want to dedicate this blog to my dad. He is no longer with us, but has left his influence on me in some good and not so good ways. I will try to use the good ways to communicate my travels through this wonderful world of my life. My dad was a butcher in Hamden with a nice little "cut to order" meat market. I worked there after school and on Saturday's with my dad and my older brother. I actually don't have a picture of my dad since he passed away before I got my first digital camera. I will have to find one and scan it in...if possible. I have evolved from cutting cold cuts and making sausage to selling and marketing cold cuts for a large corporation. Sometimes I still wish I was sitting with my dad and brother staring out the big window in the front of the store on Saturday afternoon, waiting for the last of the customers to pick up their orders. My dad would tell my brother and I stories of him growing up in New Haven and some of the characters he associated with and the antics they would get into.

An early story that always stuck with my was how my day had gone to catholic school, and was brought into the priest's office for fighting. After my dad gave the priest his basic "BS" story, the priest proceeded to remove his collar and explain to my dad that when he took off his collar, he was just a man and not a priest. The father than asked my dad if he wanted to hit him since he liked to fight. Of course, my dad said no. The priest then popped my dad in the jaw, put his collar back on, told my dad no more fighting and sent him back to class. Sometimes I wonder if things were still like that, would it be easier on teachers. But then, it's not exactly PC.

More stories will follow. There's lots of them.

I included a picture of one of our cats. No, this is not the shedder. This is Leo who is the most needy cat you will ever meet. He enjoys eating, sleeping, pooping, and getting petted. Most of all, he loves being near a warm body.

I'm starting out slow, so this is it for now. I hope those of you that stumble upon my blog will enjoy it and make you chuckle.

So long for now.