When Winter Persists . . .

. . . Just EAT!

April 18

A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety. ~ Aesop

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~ Luciano Pavarotti

April 13

As you may know, for several years now the Boys of ’65 have been visiting small town restaurants in the area. So, yesterday Little Mayo snuck in the long drive from Burnsville on a day that wasn’t weather adverse. Yes, we are in the midst of another large snow storm today, with another due on Sunday.

[A beef commercial at Nutcrakers Cafe in downtown Starbuck (population 300). Starbuck is on the western edge of Lake Minnewaska, a little over 7 miles from Glenwood, which is on the eastern edge of Lake Minnewaska. A “commercial” is such a Minnesota established dining entree, there are statewide contests to see which restaurant makes the best. Of recent vintage, Mike Bump’s (resident in good standing of the Fat Boys Walking Club) restaurant, “Bump’s” (now run by his son-in-law) commercial in Glencoe has been rated #1 . . . ]

The many years of road trips with Greg (Mayo), Brad, & me, to include Professor Doctor Colonel Kiehne when he’s in town from Austin, Texas. The last couple years because of COVID and Brad’s health we have had to stick to local restaurants multiple times such as the Lure (6 times), the Alex golf club (4x), Traveller’s Inn, and Casa Jalisco . . .

[As the name indicates, the Nutcracker Cafe was all Christmasy (even a decorated tree in the women’s restroom). It had an extensive menu, but Mayo and I opted for the special beef commercial. Some would say there’s a fine line between fine dining and pigging out (made worse by getting a couple of caramel rolls to go)! We had a nice visit among ourselves, and with the powers that be in the cafe whose knowledge we sought regarding other similar eating places in the greater Alexandria metropolitan statistical area. We have 5 or 6 future destinations lined up. We began the day with coffee and coffee cake with friends, then this lunch, then our usual Wednesday night fine dining experience with a group of 14 at the Lure. As dear old mom always used to say,”EAT! EAT! EAT!”]

I’d much rather hang out in a cafe. That’s where things are really happening. ~ Joe Sacco

I don’t want to be famous. I like to be able to sit in a cafe and watch the world go by and observe people. ~ Sophia Myles

[Mayo practicing the Norwegian two-step . . . ]

[Bradley scouring the Nutcracker’s extensive menu. Hey, we always opt for the burger or the special . . . ]

We can get carried away with our heads in books, and although there’s so much to be learned from that, I think sitting in a cafe and speaking with someone – whatever it is, their mannerisms, their choices, are just as valuable as any class you can go to. ~ Rose McIver

[Bradley, as is his wont, opted for the burger and onion rings . . . ]

And I’d like a pint of hot sauce. ~ Bradley

Strangely enough, the first character in Fried Green Tomatoes was the cafe, and the town. I think a place can be as much a character in a novel as the people. ~ Fannie Flagg

[There were inquiries as to how three old men were able to take photographs of the women’s restroom. Well, the door was open . . . ]

[The cafe had an adjoining banquet room as well – come help decorate the tree . . . ]

[Of course the main reason we go to these small town restaurants is that we’re less likely to be recognized and reported to the local constabulary . . . ]

If I don’t feel like writing on a certain day, I just go to the cafe and hang around. ~ Elizabeth Berg

I saw the Nutcracker to be a dummy as I thought of its mouth moving like a nutcracker – and also find them pretty scary as they almost have a life of their own. ~ Matthew Bourne

Sometimes me think, ‘What is Friend?’ and then me say, ‘Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.’ ~ Cookie Monster

[That evening was the usual gathering for fine dining at the Lure. This was the only photo taken at that event. For further explanation send $1.23 and a self addressed envelope to Merkel Press, c/o whoever opens the request . . . ]

[Lest you forgot, the fine dining group on a previous occasion . . . ]

April 14

A DATE THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY: On this date – April 14, 2022 – thousands of Minnesotans permanently moved to Florida. As a result of this vast internal migration, however, Florida subsequently sank into the ocean under accumulated weight of the new arrivees . . .

Blossom by blossom the spring begins. ~ Algernon Charles Swinburne

Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again. ~ Gustav Mahler

If winter comes, can spring be far behind? ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks ‘Go.’ ~ Christopher Morley

[It’s a Thursday night. That means Tuesday Night Club must be playing at the Garden Bar . . . ]

[Instruments stand ready to obey the commands of their respective musicians . . . ]

[This is the Super’s – the Schatzki burger, various stuff with 42 pounds of ground beef . . . ]

After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relatives. ~ Oscar Wilde

[This is mine – the New Yorker, pastrami and stuff on a baguette . . . ]

[The Dreamsical cake . . . ]

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. ~ Ernestine Ulmer

[Terry Kennedy – guitar; Jim Faber – bass & voice; Bill Riggs – trumpet; as a group, Tuesday Night Club. On this night, Al Lieffort – mandolin & voice, decided not to make his commute from Minneapolis because of the ongoing daily blizzard. The tip jar, in its luminescent orange color, adds to the overall ambience . . . ]

Feed the body food and drink, it will survive today. Feed the soul art and music, it will live forever. ~ Julie Andrews

 I’m in an area where I want to make music that I’m thrilled with, but, you know, I do have to worry about putting food on the table. I’m in that position where I cannot always be gauging what things might become. I have to look ahead, because I’m cautious. ~ Jakob Dylan

Solitary pleasures will always exist, but for most human beings, the most pleasurable activities almost always involve sharing something: music, food, liquor, drugs, gossip, drama, beds. ~ David Graeber

We are nowhere forbidden to laugh, or be satisfied with food … or to be delighted with music or to drink wine. ~ John Calvin

[Terry, a.k.a. Dr. Kennedy, is a retired orthopedic surgeon. Orthopedic surgeons must have good hands to perform their work. Terry subsequently put his good hands to work building guitars, an example of which is in this photo . . . ]

 If music is the food of love, play on. ~ William Shakespeare

[Bill, a.k.a. “They call me Mr. Riggs”, is a retired history teacher. He has been playing the trumpet longer than Louis Armstrong . . . ]

Food – like art, like music – brings people together, it’s true. It begins, though, with a private experience, a single person stirred, moved, and wanting company in that altered stated. So we say, “You have to taste this.” We say, “Please, take a bite. ~ Jessica Fechtor

Jazz is my comfort music, like comfort food. ~ Molly Ringwald

I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water. ~ Ray Charles

[Jim, a.k.a. Mr. Bass Man, Alexandria high school class of ’64 making him the kid in the group, unless Al is there . . . ]

My best hostess tip is to have good food and really good music! ~ Jennifer Aniston

There’s sure no passion in the human soul, But finds its food in music. ~ George Lillo

It is the part of a wise man, I say, to refresh and restore himself in moderation with pleasant food and drink, with scents, with the beauty of green plants, with decoration, music, sports, the theater, and other things of this kind, which anyone can use without injury to another. ~ Baruch Spinoza

Music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist. ~ G.K. Chesterton

The game is an analogy for life: there are not enough chairs or good times to go around, not enough food, not enough joy, nor beds nor jobs nor laughs nor friends nor smiles nor money nor clean air to breathe … and yet the music goes on. ~ Steve Toltz

I love music more than food!!!!!!!!!! ~ August Wilson

April 16

[The day before Easter. On Easter, it actually snowed all day . . . ]

[Saturday mornings for as long as I can remember are doughnut pick up days at the bakery. We have had extraordinarily bad weather for every pick up day this year . . . ]

Spring will come and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer. ~ Anita Krizzan

[That afternoon Josie was back at the winery . . . ]

[Josie is just wrapping up her first year of medical school at the ‘U’. She hopes to someday perform at the winery for us as Dr. Nelson . . . ]

Children must receive music instruction as naturally as food, with as much pleasure as they derive from a ball game, and this must happen from the beginning of their lives. ~ Leonard Bernstein

Qualities you need to get through medical school and residency: Discipline. Patience. Perseverance. A willingness to forgo sleep. A penchant for sadomasochism. Ability to weather crises of faith and self-confidence. Accept exhaustion as fact of life. Addiction to caffeine a definite plus. Unfailing optimism that the end is in sight. ~ Khaled Hosseini

A Harvard Medical School study has determined that rectal thermometers are still the best way to tell a baby’s temperature. Plus, it really teaches the baby who’s boss. ~ Tina Fey

You could be a corrupt doctor, but at least you have to go to the medical school first. Right? ~ David Fahrenthold

When I went for my medical school interview, I had an old paperback of ‘Henderson the Rain King’ in the pocket of my coat. ~ Ethan Canin (Editor’s note: I read “Henderson the Rain King”, Saul Bellow wrote it (1959).)

I really put the medical school thing on hold and really chased after my football dream. And I guess I’m still chasing. I’m eight years in the NFL, and I feel very fortunate to be where I am. ~ Kirk Cousins

As my mentor in Medical School, Dr William Strong taught me: Never wear a white coat; it separates you from a fellow human being. I never have from that day on. You are your patients guide, counselor, and defender, not their ruler and dictator. ~ Steven Gundry

All of the details that most of us memorize in medical school – you don’t have to learn those things. They’re going to be in your computer. ~ Leroy Hood

Instead of writing thrillers to pay for my train bills, I was actually now going to medical school in order to have something to write about. ~ Michael Crichton

Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless. ~ Alice Walker

No one teaches you how to think about money in medical school or residency. Yet, from the moment you start practicing, you must think about it. You must consider what is covered for a patient and what is not. ~ Atul Gawande

[The Josie “in” crowd . . . ]

Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch. ~ Orson Welles

The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook. ~ Julia Child

Life is a combination of magic and pasta. ~ Federico Fellini 

[A Josie original, one that she will put on an upcoming CD when she finds the time in her rigorous academic schedule . . . ]

I’ve long believed that good food, good eating, is all about risk. Whether we’re talking about unpasteurized Stilton, raw oysters or working for organized crime associates, food, for me, has always been an adventure. ~ Anthony Bourdaine

Tell me what to eat, and I will tell you what you are. ~ Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~ Jim Davis

Up Next: As they say around these parts, it all depends on the weather . . .