Tag: food
-
Courageous Leadership Lessons
The room is silent. Billy Beane tells his scouts their decades of experience is wrong. His hands shake as he spreads computer printouts across the table. Every face says he’s destroying his career. But Beane knows something they don’t—his method will change baseball forever. This moment reveals what happens when leaders choose conviction over comfort.…
-
German Chocolate Cake – A Perfect Way to Celebrate Your Birth
Today, my thoughts turn to birthdays. Dad is 77 today, living through the Vietnam War, the Challenger Explosion, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. I don’t know about you, but birthdays are a big deal. Being forgotten about on a milestone birthday, like 16 or 21? That’s not something you forget. Nor is it…
-
Because of a Pepsi
Sitting at Barry’s Bar and Grill, Bonnie brought Bruce an ice-cold Coke in a 16oz glass bottle. Condensation formed on the outside, which is why Bonnie had a paper napkin wrapped around the base of the glass. That and Bonnie didn’t feel like getting reprimanded by Bruce. Before that, Bonnie and Bruce rode the bus…
-
Bullets and Frozen Bananas
Have you ever smelled gunpowder, like the Fourth of July smell, hanging in the air, smoke still floating like a whispy ghost? Yeah, me neither. But all that changed literally five minutes ago. The wrong side of town, you might ask. Or maybe some criminal types were loitering outside a liquor store? Perhaps it was…
-
The Fire at Shady Grove
Slower than molasses on a frosty morning, the residents proceeded to the cafeteria. The six of them, Genny, Travis, Frank, Mark, Tony, and Isabell, shuffled down the hallway, still rubbing sleep from their eyes. Travis and Tony wore athletic shorts, sandals with socks, and t-shirts. Tony had the Def Leppard shirt, and Travis wore one…
-
Overheard At Starbucks
“Where are you?” Are you like me? I try to keep to myself when I’m in public, especially when I’m at a coffee shop. I’m not a huge fan of Starbucks, but it was my birthday. An acquaintance I’m not all that close with handed me a $50 gift card and said, ‘Happy Birthday,’ in…
-
Considering Retirement
“Kathy!” Janice’s shrill voice echoed through the diner from the kitchen. The Presbyterian church let out a few minutes before 11:30 a.m., hunger setting in. Church people knew Janice’s breakfast foods would be hot and ready to go in minutes. Janice knew well that a few of these ‘holy rollers,’ as she called them, would…
-
Janice’s Diner
“Janice, I cannot believe you can cook all this good food and still have time to chew the fat. How is that, anyway?” Pastor Theodore finished the last of his food, his third plate. Every Saturday morning, he came into the diner and ate. Always the same food. Bacon. Pancakes. Sausage. Crispy brown toast. Hash…
-
Floyd Patterson and Janice’s Diner
Floyd complains about lukewarm coffee, sparking banter with Kathy in a slow-paced diner.
-
Pearls? Meet Blink-182
“Wait, what was that?” Pulling out the earbuds, Gina looked over her shoulder where the sound came from. “Can you please move?” The woman was wearing sunglasses inside, which was the first thing Gina noticed. Second were the extravagant pearls hanging from her neck. Gina saw lots of women wearing pearls in southern California. But…
-
Field Trip to Monterey
Good idea. Bad idea. I think the first time I heard that was in the early 90s with the creation of Tiny Toons, Steven Spielberg’s animated cartoon. It was an animated bit that didn’t include any iconic Warner Brothers characters, like Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck. That’s what made it unique. It featured a skull…
