Frosty Who?

 

Dinner last night:  Dan Dan Noodles from PF Chang's.

Ding Dong

 

Or maybe today's blog entry should be called "There Is Hope After All."  I don't know.   I was conflicted.   But you will get the idea a few paragraphs from now.

It was all so innocent and simple.  I had gone for my regular chiropractor appointment.   Working out the knots of tension.   I had parked on the street.  And was as light as air as they returned to my car.   As I slid into the driver's seat, I saw it on the windshield.

A parking violation envelope.

And the tension returned almost instantly.   I looked around.   I was in a legal space.   I had put my ADA placard where all could see and that little sign means I don't have to feed a meter.  I grabbed the envelope while dropping F-bombs as if it was Hiroshima 1945.

Turns out it was not a ticket, but a note.

"Text or call me.  I accidentally hit the left bumper of your car.  I am so so sorry."

I didn't know how to react.   At first, I checked out the damage and, with my hand, I was able to make the scratches disappear.   One, however, did scrape a little paint and probably will require some auto body work.

But that didn't bother me.   This was one auto mishap that actually made me smile.   Because this girl (I could tell by her name) did something that 99.9999% of the cretins around us would never do.   It's sparked my hope for humanity.

The damage is minimal but will probably have a cost attached.   She was thankful that I was so easy on her and that I was not trading insurance information.  If there is a cost for repair, we will deal with it like civilized folks.  At one point, she asked if I was from NY.   I don't know why, considering I wasn't screaming at her like a New Yorker.  Nope, it was because of my accent.  

I looked her up on Instagram when I got home and it turns out she's probably around 30 years old.  And quite attractive.   If there weren't a 25-30 difference in ages, this would have a great "meet cute" for a Hallmark movie.

Okay, Len, what are you thinking?   Just be happy and content that there are decent people still left in this world.

Dinner last night:  Beef stir fry.

This Date in History - February 19

 

Happy birthday to Smokey Robinson.  Ah, the miracle of childbirth.

197:   EMPEROR SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS DEFEATS USURPER CLODIUS ALBINUS IN THE BATTLE OF LUGDUNUM.

Five points if you know either of these guys and where Lugdunum is.

356:  EMPEROR CONSTANTIUS II ISSUES A DECREE CLOSING ALL PAGAN TEMPLES IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

So, I'm assuming he is anti-Pagan.

1600:  THE PERUVIAN STRATOVOLCANO HUAYNAPUTINA EXPLODES IN THE MOST VIOLENT RECORDED ERUPTION OF SOUTH AMERICA.

Was the stratovolcano by the same people who produced Strat-O-Matic Baseball?

1807:  FORMER US VICE PRESIDENT AARON BURR IS ARRESTED FOR TREASON IN ALABAMA.

Hence, the word "former."

1846:  IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, THE NEWLY FORMED TEXAS STATE GOVERNMENT IS OFFICIALLY INSTALLED.  

Today, they want to be their own country.

1847:  THE FIRST GROUP OF RESCUERS REACHES THE DONNER PARTY.

And why do I think this group failed, necessitating a second group of rescuers?

1859:  DANIEL E. SICKLES, A NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN, IS ACQUITTED OF MURDER ON GROUNDS OF TEMPORARY INSANITY.

As opposed to NY Congressman Charles Rangel, whose insanity was permanent.

1861:  SERFDOM IS ABOLISHED IN RUSSIA.

Serfs Up!

1878:  THOMAS EDISON PATENTS THE PHONOGRAPH.

So we should blame him for Lady GaGa.

1884:  MORE THAN SIXTY TORNADOES STRIKE THE SOUTHERN US.

The nineteenth century's edition of Global Warming.

1916:  JOCKEY EDDIE ARCARO IS BORN.

Paying $5.50, $4.30, and $3.70.

1940:  SINGER SMOKEY ROBINSON IS BORN.

Named because one of his relatives wanted to remind him always that he was Black.  Okay, done.

1942:  DURING WORLD WAR II, NEARLY 250 JAPANESE WARPLANES ATTACK THE AUSTRALIAN CITY OF DARWIN.

I never knew that Australia was under attack, too.

1942:  PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT SIGNS THE EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066, ALLOWING FOR JAPANESE-AMERICANS TO BE RELOCATED INTO INTERNMENT CAMPS.

That's what they get for bombing kangaroos.

 1945:  ABOUT 30,000 US MARINES LAND ON THE ISLAND OF IWO JIMA.

Who's got the flag???

1953:  GEORGIA APPROVES THE FIRST LITERATURE CENSORSHIP BOARD IN THE US.

For those in the state who could actually read.

1963: THE PUBLICATION OF BETTY FRIEDAN'S "THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE."

The end of the American housewife begins.

1969:  ACTRESS MADGE BLAKE DIES.

Aunt Harriet on TV's "Batman."

1976:  EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066, AS BEGAN IN 1942, IS RESCINDED BY PRESIDENT GERALD FORD.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

1985:  WILLIAM SCHROEDER BECOMES THE FIRST RECIPIENT OF AN ARTIFICIAL HEART TO LEAVE THE HOSPITAL.

Key phrase is "leave the hospital."

1996:  BASEBALL OWNER CHARLIE FINLEY DIES.

Now who's the real jackass?

2001:  THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING MUSEUM IS DEDICATED.

Wow, that went up fast.  Unlike the memorial near Ground Zero.

2001:  FILM DIRECTOR STANLEY KRAMER DIES.

Guess Who's Coming to Heaven?

2003:  SINGER JOHNNY PAYCHECK DIES.

Cashing it in.

2016:  AUTHOR HARPER LEE DIES.

Mockingbird.  Dead.

Dinner last night:   Chili from my freezer.

Len's Recipe of the Month - February 2025

 

Back when I was a kid, my parents and I had a roast dinner every Sunday around 2PM.   A very nice and sweet tradition in retrospect.

Now my dad often did the cooking and, for a while, he loved to make a dish that became quite popular in the day.  London Broil.   The attraction of this piece of meat was that it could be tasty but it was from the part of the cow that is reasonably inexpensive.

Truth be told, I was not a fan as Dad didn't necessarily have success making it. The end product was often gray in color and chewy.  He truly cooked it too long.

I've been thinking about this of late and given that I am now a better chef than both of my parents ever were, could I possibly make a good London Broil.   With my research, I did and see the result above.   Not a gray speck in the photo.

The secret is a 24-hour-marinade and I'm pretty sure my father never marinaded anything.  This guarantees the meat will be flavorful.   Now, there are several ways to do this per the internet.   But I will detail my route.

First, I got a rather small-ish London Broil.   Some comes two to three inches high.   I went small first for my experiment.

Next, the marinade.   I pulled a few from the internet but also added my touch.

In a bowl, mix the following.

1/3 cup soy sauce.

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.

3 tablespoons of EVO.

1 tablespoon of brown sugar.

Salt and pepper.

4 cloves of minced garlic.

Place the meat in a freezer lock bag and pour the mixture in.   Put it in the refrigerator for at least one day.

Okay, a lot of on-line cooks tell you to cook the meat in the oven broiler or on a grill.  I used a cast-iron pan and it worked just fine.  Pat the meat dry and put it in a sizzling pan.

Sear it on one side for about ten minutes.  Flip it and then let it go on this hot pan another five minutes.

Remove from heat and tent it with foil for at least 15 to 20 minutes so juices can circulate.   You should still have the marinade liquid in the bag.   You could use it to make a sauce.   I used it as the base to saute two cups of baby bella mushrooms.

Slice the meat on a angle and enjoy with the mushrooms.

Sorry, Dad.   I outdid you this time.

Dinner last night:  Salad with leftover...London broil.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - February 17, 2025

 These never ever get old.

Dinner last night:  London broil and sauted mushrooms.

The Sunday Memory Drawer - When Birthdays Attack

 

Yeah, that's sort of the look I have every year at this time.  

Not to be completely narcissistic, my birthday was last week.  This is not mentioned to induce any congratulatory words or merit undue attention.  I clearly hate the spotlight and always have.  Why then, you may ask, do you open up your life every day and in every way on this blog?

I never promised you a simple human being, did I?  

But, indeed, I have always been uncomfortable getting any attention, both good or bad.  And, of course, the celebration of one's birthday is the annual pinnacle of being focused upon.  It has never been easy for me, but, these days, the day arrives with even more intensity.  There are Facebook greetings from people you haven't seen in thirty years.  Folks are reminded on that website that there is a birthday to be recognized on that day.   Like a robot, you respond with a message.  I'm the same way.

"Happy, happy birthday.  Have a great day."

Of course, if it's somebody I am close with, the greeting is more personalized.  But, those folks are likely still getting the old fashioned recognition from me.

Yes, I still send a birthday card.  In an envelope.  With a stamp.  I'm stuck in the past and loving it.

Unlike some people,  I view every birthday equally.  No one year is more important than the next or the last.   I don't pay more attention to those ages that end with a "5" or a "0."  To me, age is still a number and not representative of who you are as a person.  Besides, when I think of my parents at the age that I now possess, we are as different as night and day.  Yes, ninety is the new eighty.  Eighty is the new seventy.  And orange is the new black.  Whatever.

Truth be told, I prefer the day to pass simply.  If there's dinner with a good friend or two, that's ideal.  For years here in Los Angeles, my writing partner and my good friend, Djinn from the Bronx, did this round robin birthday tournament.  Two of the three would take the third out to a surprise restaurant.  We never went to the same place twice.  And ultimately sampled the best eateries in town.  Other friends participate with me throughout the month of February.  A good meal with a terrific pal is perfect.

A few years ago, I actually and unintentionally returned to the scene of the crime.  I spent my birthday in New York for the first time since 1997.  As I looked at the calendar, I realized that my birthday, as it did in that year, fell on a Tuesday.  Two days later in 1997, I moved to Los Angeles.  On February 13, 2014, I was also scheduled for a flight to Los Angeles.   Symmetry that is interesting but ultimately means nothing.  I will, however, never fly on my actual birthday.  That's too convenient a feng shui for the fatalist buried inside me.

Meanwhile, the symmetry didn't hold up.   A major snow storm pushed my flight to Friday.  And the birthday week took another hit.

So, as simple as I like my birthday, there have been years where it was much more.  Whether I liked it or, in most cases, not.

Look at the photo above.  In my family, hosting a birthday party for one of the kids was a D-Day-like military ploy.  My older cousins would be there with their minds elsewhere.  The children of my mother's friends would be there and, other than their own birthday parties, we never saw each other.  Where were my neighborhood pals?   Where were my classmates?   The kids I was going through the wars with each and every day.

Another mystery of life I never could understand.   You can see how puzzled I am in this photo.  I still don't.

Dinner last night:  BBQ Chicken Breasts at the home of good friends Amir and Kevin.

Classic TV Theme Song of the Month - February 2025

This was in its first season...fifty years ago this month.  The show never really caught on. 

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.