So last Friday was the 17th anniversary of the O.J. Simpson car chase. Some guys on this podcast I was listening to earlier this week were doing the whole "where were you?" thing regarding that evening.
I do remember that night - my story is kind of boring, though. I was at home, a high school graduate of about three weeks, watching the whole thing unfold on television on a split-screen with the NBA Finals.
That's not the main point of this post, though. I started wondering after thinking about the O.J. thing - what are the other significant news events where I can remember exactly where I was when I heard about it?
Challenger space shuttle explosion. This is probably the first significant one I remember. I was in the fourth grade and we had just settled into our chairs in Mr. Towers' room after lunch when he told us the bad news. It was significant to me because astronomy was one of my big interests at the time, and Mr. Towers was an astronomy buff - I attended many a "star party" thrown by that man. We had been talking a lot about the Challenger thing and Christa McAuliffe, the teacher in space, leading up to the launch. I think there were probably some exciting Challenger-related classroom activities planned for the afternoon of January 28, 1986. So it was pretty shocking for a 10-year-old kid to find out - uh, that thing we were so excited about happening - well, it just had the worst possible ending. Interesting detail of this story is that Mr. Towers found out the news from my dad, who I guess had seen it on TV and gone down to the school to deliver the bad news. How times have changed. . .
Magic Johnson HIV positive. This one is kind of random, but I do remember pulling up to the house after returning from yet another trip to Alamosa, when the DJ mentioned between songs on KOB-FM out of Albuquerque that Magic had the AIDS virus and was retiring from the NBA. Happy, smiling, Magic Johnson? AIDS? What? But he's still around so I guess that worked out okay in the end.
Death of Ezra Taft Benson. I was delivering newspapers early morning at the time. I put the bundled stack in the car, picked the first one up, and there it was, below the fold on the front page of the Pueblo Chieftain.
Death of Howard W. Hunter. I was in the laundromat of the MTC in Provo when a member of the MTC Presidency got on the intercom and announced that President Hunter had passed away. We got on a plane a few days later for Seattle, and on my second day in the mission, I watched the funeral at the Silverdale Washington stake center.
Death of Gordon B. Hinckley. I might as well throw this in as long as we're doing the prophets, although it's kind of a lame story. I actually didn't hear that President Hinckley had passed away until two days later, and I believe I got the news from an LDS Living e-mail. I had to look up to see what I was doing at the time that woud have left me in the dark for 48 hours. I was working at a client, without internet access, and I believe I was fighting a cold. So that makes sense, I guess.
World Trade Center Attack. I was in my last semester at BYU. Elizabeth had a temporary job at the BYU employment office, so she had already left. I was at home in our Wymount apartment, getting ready for class and probably thinking about our third anniversary date for that evening - we had a sitter lined up. Elizabeth calls and tells me to turn on the television because we were under attack. And I was all "what?" and so I turned it on, I think just before one of the towers collapsed.
Assassination of JFK. Well, let's see, I was a premortal spirit and I was attending a farewell service for this guy Richard, who was going down to be born that afternoon, when this girl runs in and tells us that the president was shot. . . seriously, what were we doing?
Well, this post didn't turn out to be as interesting as I thought it might. So, sorry about that. On a positive note, I just ate a delicious orange.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
13 Restaurant Reviews in One
I recently finished a stint of working 13 consecutive Saturdays. It's not the most fun, but that's the job.
One of the perks of all the weekend labor is that we get treated to a free lunch every Saturday. Sometimes we go out, but that can take a long time, especially with a large group of 8-10 people. So as we get towards the March/April crunch time, there is a lot more ordering in, which can be just as good. I decided this year that it would be a good idea to rank the various visits, because 1) I love ranking stuff and 2) I really want to contribute to the Southeast Denver dining scene.
So here goes, worst to first:
13) Rodney's at Tamarac Square. If you've never eaten here, well, you missed your chance. It closed as they prepare to bulldoze Tamarac Square to make way for Super Target. We went on the last Saturday they were open. Not a good idea, by the way, because there's not a lot of incentive for employees to provide good service. All of the burgers were undercooked, even after we waited 45 minutes.
12) Honey Baked Ham. Pretty unspectacular. We get sandwiches from there. I can't even remember what I ordered.
11) Panera Bread. It's popular, but I've never been super impressed with them. I'd never spend my own money there. It seems like they spend more time thinking up exotic ingredient names than they do making good food. It could also be that I'm not cool enough to eat here.
10) Crown Burger. This is kind of a joke place we go to. Not healthy at all, and not very clean or attractive. The burgers aren't that good - quality of ingredients are lacking. The fries and shakes are good though. Plus they serve fry sauce.
9) New York Deli News. I didn't get the pun at first - think about it. It was my first visit. Tons of different sandwich offerings. I think I went with the french dip - my default sandwich. They give you a A LOT of fries. Maybe too many.
8) Happy Teriyaki. Normally, this would be in the top five. But I decided to try something new this time - bulgoki, some sort of marinated beef concoction. It was okay, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the teriyaki/tonkatsu, which is what I usually like to get. Thus the low ranking.
7) Fresh Fish Company. I'm probably a little biased in that I don't really like seafood, so it would be hard for them to get up very high on my list. I ordered the fish and chips, which were pretty good. But by the time you get to the last fillet, it starts getting really. . . well, fishy tasting.
6) Cocina de Marcos. I usually don't like this Mexican place as much, but it was better this year. Or maybe I was just hungrier.
5) Pizza Hut. You can't really go wrong with Pizza Hut. Unless you order that cracker-crust crap they sell.
4) Piccolo's. We usually order in various pans of good stuff - spaghetti, enchiladas, lasagna, garlic bread, salad. It's all good, and there is something to be said for variety. It's like buffet-to-go.
3) Famous Dave's. I'm not a huge bbq person, but if I was ranking these based strictly on meal size, this would be #1. The item I ordered came with some Georgia que, Texas brisket, three St. Louis ribs, a roll, potato salad, and cole slaw. It's no wonder obesity is a problem in this country.
2) Thai Basil. Orange beef. Yum. Even the vegetables were good.
1) Panache Catering. I wasn't really expecting much from this place - I thought it would be the same type of underwhelming sandwich that Panera and HBH serve. Wrong. This may very well have been the best sandwich I ever had in my life. I ordered the rare roast beef. Phenomenal.
One of the perks of all the weekend labor is that we get treated to a free lunch every Saturday. Sometimes we go out, but that can take a long time, especially with a large group of 8-10 people. So as we get towards the March/April crunch time, there is a lot more ordering in, which can be just as good. I decided this year that it would be a good idea to rank the various visits, because 1) I love ranking stuff and 2) I really want to contribute to the Southeast Denver dining scene.
So here goes, worst to first:
13) Rodney's at Tamarac Square. If you've never eaten here, well, you missed your chance. It closed as they prepare to bulldoze Tamarac Square to make way for Super Target. We went on the last Saturday they were open. Not a good idea, by the way, because there's not a lot of incentive for employees to provide good service. All of the burgers were undercooked, even after we waited 45 minutes.
12) Honey Baked Ham. Pretty unspectacular. We get sandwiches from there. I can't even remember what I ordered.
11) Panera Bread. It's popular, but I've never been super impressed with them. I'd never spend my own money there. It seems like they spend more time thinking up exotic ingredient names than they do making good food. It could also be that I'm not cool enough to eat here.
10) Crown Burger. This is kind of a joke place we go to. Not healthy at all, and not very clean or attractive. The burgers aren't that good - quality of ingredients are lacking. The fries and shakes are good though. Plus they serve fry sauce.
9) New York Deli News. I didn't get the pun at first - think about it. It was my first visit. Tons of different sandwich offerings. I think I went with the french dip - my default sandwich. They give you a A LOT of fries. Maybe too many.
8) Happy Teriyaki. Normally, this would be in the top five. But I decided to try something new this time - bulgoki, some sort of marinated beef concoction. It was okay, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the teriyaki/tonkatsu, which is what I usually like to get. Thus the low ranking.
7) Fresh Fish Company. I'm probably a little biased in that I don't really like seafood, so it would be hard for them to get up very high on my list. I ordered the fish and chips, which were pretty good. But by the time you get to the last fillet, it starts getting really. . . well, fishy tasting.
6) Cocina de Marcos. I usually don't like this Mexican place as much, but it was better this year. Or maybe I was just hungrier.
5) Pizza Hut. You can't really go wrong with Pizza Hut. Unless you order that cracker-crust crap they sell.
4) Piccolo's. We usually order in various pans of good stuff - spaghetti, enchiladas, lasagna, garlic bread, salad. It's all good, and there is something to be said for variety. It's like buffet-to-go.
3) Famous Dave's. I'm not a huge bbq person, but if I was ranking these based strictly on meal size, this would be #1. The item I ordered came with some Georgia que, Texas brisket, three St. Louis ribs, a roll, potato salad, and cole slaw. It's no wonder obesity is a problem in this country.
2) Thai Basil. Orange beef. Yum. Even the vegetables were good.
1) Panache Catering. I wasn't really expecting much from this place - I thought it would be the same type of underwhelming sandwich that Panera and HBH serve. Wrong. This may very well have been the best sandwich I ever had in my life. I ordered the rare roast beef. Phenomenal.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tall Tales
As a young boy, I had a friend who was pretty good at storytelling. For some reason, I still remember a couple of the best ones.
One of our funnest summer activities was playing baseball. One time he told me the history of his baseball. Apparently, his neighbor across the street had been a major league umpire back in the 1920s and had picked up a stray baseball after a game and saved it for 50 years until he bequeathed it to my friend. And this was the ball we played with back behind his house.
Another time he was telling me about a dog he had once owned, an exemplary canine. He used to hitch his wagon to the dog and have the dog pull him around. Then one day a guy in a Ferrari came by the house and wanted to race or something. And although it was close, the dog did in fact outrun the Ferrari while pulling my friend in a wagon.
Even at seven or eight or however old we were, I think my BS Meter was pretty well calibrated. I didn't call my friend on it at the time, but I even at that age I could detect how illogical the stories were. Dude, I've known you practically your whole life. Wouldn't you have told me about this race-dog before now?!? And why don't we go over and visit your umpire friend who has retired to the middle of nowhere? Maybe he can regale us with stories of the Babe.
I'm not sure why I still remember these stories, but they sure are funny.
One of our funnest summer activities was playing baseball. One time he told me the history of his baseball. Apparently, his neighbor across the street had been a major league umpire back in the 1920s and had picked up a stray baseball after a game and saved it for 50 years until he bequeathed it to my friend. And this was the ball we played with back behind his house.
Another time he was telling me about a dog he had once owned, an exemplary canine. He used to hitch his wagon to the dog and have the dog pull him around. Then one day a guy in a Ferrari came by the house and wanted to race or something. And although it was close, the dog did in fact outrun the Ferrari while pulling my friend in a wagon.
Even at seven or eight or however old we were, I think my BS Meter was pretty well calibrated. I didn't call my friend on it at the time, but I even at that age I could detect how illogical the stories were. Dude, I've known you practically your whole life. Wouldn't you have told me about this race-dog before now?!? And why don't we go over and visit your umpire friend who has retired to the middle of nowhere? Maybe he can regale us with stories of the Babe.
I'm not sure why I still remember these stories, but they sure are funny.
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