SALAD DAYS

(Clockwise from upper left: baby lettuce mix; arugula; "spicy mix"; wild romaine, green leaf and red leaf lettuces. Center: striped radishes)

Some Sundays I feel like I've hit the veggie lottery.

Sunday is the day we pick up our weekly share from the Honey Brook Organic Farm in Pennington, NJ, about which I've posted a lot here. This Sunday was perhaps the salad greens lottery, but it was impressive nonetheless.

The photo above shows just a small portion of the total haul this Sunday. I plated handfuls of the most impressive stuff, and, while trying to channel my inner Eric Menscher (a former Philadelphia Inquirer photog who had just taught a workshop I attended on Saturday at the Philadelphia Food & Drink Writers Meet-Up at Daniel Stern's fabulous R2L restaurant, 37 stories above center city Philly), tried to display the inner beauty of some of these greens.

I obtained 2 POUNDS of a baby lettuce mix, so bright and glistening and colorful, the photo doesn't do it justice; a half pound of arugula (which is a lot of arugula); a half pound of "spicy mix", which seems to include baby chicory and mache and mustard greens among other zippy leaves; and 4 heads of fall lettuce, including wild romaine, with its finger-like leaves, red leaf and green leaf lettuce. There were also gorgeous pink and red and white radishes, field tomatoes, among other veggies, but the greens just stood out so much, I had to post this.

Salad days are here. Oh baby.

"Did You Ever Wonder...."

Andy Rooney broadcast his final regular segment for 60 Minutes last night, and it was a classic. In case you missed it, you can view it above here.

I met Rooney once, we shared a laugh, and it was a memorable 30 seconds of my life.

I was working at the Adam's Mark Hotel at the time, as the hotel's advertising and public relations manager. Philadelphia's The Book and The Cook food festival was at the peak of its popularity and in full swing, and the hotel was asked to put up some of the celebrity chefs that were in town that year. One of those chefs was David Burke, Executive Chef at the Park Avenue Cafe in New York City. He was a big headliner that year, very popular and very in demand around town. He was a great guest, very affable and gracious, and I drove him to a couple of appearances, as well as back and forth to the annual chef-media party at Jack's Firehouse restaurant in Fairmount. As I drove him to the train back to NYC after his time in Philly was done, he gave me his business card, and said, "If you're ever in New York, gimme a call and come in for dinner."

About 6 months later, I had to be in the Big Apple and took him up on his offer. When we got to the restaurant, Burke had set us up at an "A" table, dead center in the main dining room, and, after schmoozing with us for a bit, served us a brilliant tasting menu of many of his greatest hits, from an amuse' of truffled wild mushrooms in an egg shell, right down to his signature cheesecake lollipops. It was a perfect meal in every way. He was chatting with us at one point, explaining one of the dishes he was about to bring out, when he pointed to the entrance, and said, "Look you just walked in!". It was Walter Cronkite and his wife, Betsey, and Andy Rooney and his wife, Margie. Burke left our table, and went to help whisk the famous foursome to another dining room in the restaurant.

About a half hour later, I went to the mens room and a moment later, Rooney walked in and took his place at the urinal next to mine. "Hello, Mr. Rooney," I said. "Hello, " he replied, and added, "You'll excuse me if I don't shake hands." We both laughed out loud. I washed my hands, he remained in place, and I walked out without a handshake.

You know, despite all of the imitations done of Andy Rooney, Joe Piscopo's being the most famous, he never once uttered the phrase "Did you ever wonder..." on one of his 60 Minutes segments. Just a little trivia.

REMEMBER, JUST REMEMBER

We remember so much about that day now. The perfect blue sky, the bright sunshine, the balmy temperature. And where we were when it happened.

I was getting ready to head out the door for my commute to Philly and my office at The Bellevue, where I was the PR-Marketing Director for the landmark property. "Imus in the Morning" was on WFAN in New York, and on the radio in my kitchen, part of my morning ritual. Imus was asking his crew if it was true that something crashed into the World Trade Center. I quickly flipped on the TV in the den and saw the image we all remember now, the hole, the smoke, the strangeness of it. And the talking heads on every channel were calmly speculating on how a small plane could possibly ever hit a building so large. Sun glare, said one, pilot collapse or heart attack, said another.

And then the second plane hit. And I remember being frozen, unable to move, standing in my den.

We all remember what follows. The Pentagon. Shanksville. The collapsing buildings. The thousands who perished. The chaos.

And for weeks after we all remember how every siren made us stop and wonder what was happening. How every chopping helicopter above made us rush to a window and look outside.

But remember these things instead: The flags everywhere. The courtesies to strangers. The ceremonies honoring proud but humble police officers and firefighters in every town. The national anthem and "God Bless America."

Remember all of these things. But just remember.

FOREVER THE KING

I remember listening to Howard Eskin in 1983 on talk radio station WWDB-FM in Philadelphia when he did a ground-breaking (for Philly) sports talk show in the early evening. It was riveting radio. Eskin was opinionated, passionate and argumentative. He interviewed sports guests with a combination of child-like awe and reporter zeal.

I also remember when he moved his show to the multi-faceted Philly radio icon WIP-AM in 1986 which had been veering to an all-talk format back then, launching what would eventually become one of the country's first sports talk radio stations.

He did his style of brash, in-your-face, sports talk for 25 years at WIP, dominating the afternoon drive time ratings for most of that time. He was also famously paired with a rogues gallery of partners in an attempt to perhaps soften his sarcasm or lessen his polarizing personality, but all of those attempts (including an embarassing morning drive stint with Morning Zoo-famous John DeBella at sister station WMMR-FM) fell flat, even his most recent pairing with ex-Eagle linebacker Ike Reese.

In the end, the best Eskin is the solo, unfiltered, full-strength Eskin, and maybe that was part of the motivation for his emotional announcement a few weeks back that he would give up his regular time slot in favor of other opportunities. He remains at WIP for several spot roles, and seems to be leaning toward some kind of national show, either on satellite or terrestrial radio.

Yesterday Eskin did his last regularly scheduled show in his time slot, as WIP-AM moved to simulcast itself on the frequency held for decades by hard rock WYSP-FM. The show was filled with celebrity phone calls, well-wishing callers, and Charles Barkley in studio along with Eskin's son, Brett, who ironically lost his job at WYSP in the foremat/simulcast change. It was, of course compelling radio, full of emotion, laughs, inside jokes and forced reflection.

It is still amazing and very impressive that Howard Eskin lasted (survived?) for 25 years at one radio station, in virtually the same time slot, a concept virtually unheard of in the current climate of homogeneous radio, right-wing talkmongers and dumbed down sports talk, corporate rock radio and scattershot pop programming.

Part investigative reporter, part oddsmakers, part insider, part true sports fan, there is not, nor never was, anyone like Howard Eskin. He made the mold, broke the mold and re-invented the mold.

Forever The King.

THE DEATH OF HOSPITALITY

I think I'm going to agree with Tim and Nina Zagat, publishers of the ubiquitous guides to restaurants, resorts and other things that give the dining and travelling public their own say about the places they choose to praise and boo for dining and lodging. Today the Zagats wrote an incisive screed on the state of declining service in our favorite and not-so-favorite restaurants across the country.

It reminded me why I haven't been enjoying many of the restaurants I've been visiting lately. With few exceptions (places where we're regulars and know the staff and management), restaurant wait staffs have been exceeding even my low expectations. Service timing is a real pet peeve of mine, and although most waitrons blame the kitchen for bringing out your next course before you're done with the previous course, they're just displaying their complete indifference to your dining experience and their lack of training. Even I was a waiter and manager long enough to know how to time a customer's meal to make sure it flowed smoothly. Value-priced restaurants, and even expensive ones, just don't seem to care anymore.

My mom worked in several restaurants over a 40 year career, and she genuinely cared about her customers, treated them with care and good humor and had a large cadre of regulars who made a point of requesting her when they dined at her establishments.

I know of no higher praise that any restaurant or its staff can receive than to 1) HAVE regulars who frequently dine at your place and 2) have regulars who specifically ask for YOU to serve their table.

That's why my mom HAD a 40-year career in the restaurant business. I doubt that any servers I've encountered in the past few years will ever approach that milestone or that distinction.

But what do you think? I'd love to hear your good and bad restaurant service experiences.

KARMA

I have the privilege during this transition in my life to be the Managing Editor of a newsletter produced by the Professional Service Group (PSG) of Mercer County, which is a free resource for professional networking, training, coaching, support and education for professionals in transition. Its mission statement says that it's a "voluntary, self-managing and mutual support network affiliated with the Mercer County One-Stop Career Center, for professionals who are seeking new employment and contracting opportunities throughout the region."

Next to my extended family, it's the finest group of people with which I've ever been associated.

The facilitator of this group, Craig Jez, is himself a great resource for brainstorming, career counselling, and no-nonsense advice, especially about networking and resume writing. He pens a column for the PSG Newsletter and he calls it The Last Word, and it's always a terrific read. What I like about the column is that Craig writes it in his own voice, and it actually reads like he talks, a mix of salesman/bartender/next-door neighbor that is a delight to experience.

I've had the good fortune of working with many talented and compelling writers as an editor over the years (Lew Bryson, Ken Alan, Jim Tarantino and Katie Loeb among them), but I am particularly enjoying reading Craig's columns from the past 3 years' worth of newsletters, which you can peruse at the PSG website, www.mercopsg.net.

Read them all.

For the July-August issue of the PSG Newsletter, Craig wrote about karma. Here are some highlights, but I encourage you to read the whole article:

"Patience is an attribute you all exercise every day. Patience is responding to the woes of bills due and still smiling at the job interview. Patience is replacing unemployment depression with acts of volunteer kindness. We had a member who recently landed who defined patience as “the positive energy required daily during a 17 month transition period.” Patience is doing for others as a PSG Committee member despite you yourself needing to find a job yesterday."

"Planning your time should include active networking. Persistent and effective networking is important because you never know who the person you are networking with knows. It is like an adult game of whisper-down-the-lane. PSG has experienced a growing history of happy coincidences where spontaneous networking conversations developed a contact that led to an interview that culminated in a hire. The Karma part is the ebb and flow of relationships evolved from networking. PSG members are constantly surprised by who steps up to help them land at the bleakest moment."

"Another concept surfacing in the market is 'relationship recruiting.' Sounds like a cousin to networking, but let me explain. Say you interview with an employer but it does not work. There is no fit, you are not a match for their corporate culture or otherwise it is not going to happen with that company. To keep the corporate contact, you of course thank the company for spending time to meet you and that you greatly enjoyed learning about them. The extra step is connecting them with a candidate from your networking pool. The employer might appreciate the gesture. Perhaps they might be inclined to return the favor by connecting you with others in the same professional network. The maximum response would be if they referred you to other hiring managers as future unadvertised positions open up."

"Whether you call it Karma or making your own good luck, positive things will happen when you get out of the house, get active and help somebody every once in awhile. If you do it now, do it more.

If you do not do it, get out and try it."

Good stuff, universal appeal, endless uses in anyone's daily life, employed or unemployed. I've seen it work in my life and it's hard to deny the power of karma. But Carig Jez said it better. He always does.

ARS PUERORUM ARTIS CAUSA

I delight in the art my children create. I can't explain it, but it fascinates me.

After collecting their artwork from the last two years of their schooling, I am continually amazed at their creative energy, and at the skill of their teachers to inspire them. Their preschool art teacher, Mr. Colavita, walked me into their school last spring for the student art show and showed me their self-portraits, which he mounted on a kiosk at the school's entrance, and pointing to their art, said, "Watch those two, they have something, they really do."

And ever since I have paid particular attention to the artwork they bring home from school. This year, their kindergarten year, under the guidance of their art teacher, Mrs. Skorupa, it seems like both Ben and Sophie have exploded with artistic energy, creativity and awareness. Their kindergarten self-portraits (above and below) are whimsically revealing, from Sophie's eyelashes and big smile to Ben's persuasive smirk. That will probably be my last attempt at any kind of critique of their work. The rest of this post will just be a display of their best stuff. I think you'll agree that their creative energy and verve are fun to experience.

Ben's "Squares" one of several takes on the art of Piet Mondrian, believe it or not. yes, Mrs. Skorupa was teaching them about Mondrian.

"Under The Sea" by Sophie

Ben's version of "Under The Sea"

Sophie's "t-shirt"

Ben's "t-shirt"

Dr. Suess hats by Sophie

Ben's take on the Dr. Suess hat

Pastel shadings from Ben

Sophie's pastel shadings

"Rainbow Fish" by Ben

Sophie's "Rainbow Fish"

Father's Day "neckties" from Sophie (l.) and Ben (r.)

Sophie's American flag

Ben's Spring Flower

Sophie's Sprin g Flower

Ben's water color "circles", so large a piece, this photo really doesn't do it justice. The visual power of it just blew me away.

Sophie's water color "circles". Again, these particular pieces are so big, they really are a knockout to see in person. Everything you see here I have displayed around the house, on doors to the basement, garage, laundry room and powder room. And it's starting to take over the walls of the den. Beats anything else we've hung in that room.

And this is just a small sampling of their enormous output of art over the school year. I'm trying to catalog it all, and I hope I'll be able to display more of it as I go through it all over the summer.

Biased parental pride? You bet. But I hope you enjoy the beauty and raw energy of Ben and Sophie's creative side.