Pizza Break

Back in the day (who knows when, just seems appropriate to set the stage) ornaments used to be things like candy, cakes, and little toys. “Shiny” things weren’t really a thing until mass production of items and therefore a need to make things shiny came into existence. Now, almost all Christmas decorations have some shine to them. Some glitter, sparkle, glimmer, gloss, all give way to an image of the commercialized, Christmas experience. I make sure to say commercialized, for the original Christmas was anything but shiny. In fact, it was opposite of shiny. I wasn’t there, but mangers and horse stables tend to hold a weathered-wood image in my head. What makes Christmas so great is unique to each one of us. Some people like the excuse to over eat. Some people like their perception of more cheer, more love, and more giving. Some people are more nostalgic and this time of year reminds them of being a child which could be some of your best memories. Others might find this time of yea...

In the summer of 1998 the Disney movie Mulan was released. That same season, McDonald's released a limited-edition promotion sauce called Szechuan sauce for the chicken nuggets. I may have actually had this sauce when it was first released. I was after all, eating McDonald's on the regular and chicken McNuggets were my favorite. Apparently, now they are called, "chicken tenders." #fancy I kid you not, the movie was on TV just today.  Today, October 7th 2017 at 6AM, almost 20 years later, my brother Casey and I sat at a table at the one McDonald's location in order to get just a packet of this long-ago discontinued sauce.  A series of events have led us to this place. One exists from an assumed marketing manager for either Disney or McDonald's back in 1998 who thought of an Asian-inspired sauce would help promote a cartoon film. The second is that in 2017, another cartoon, Rick and Morty, a favorite among me and previously mentioned brother, made an o...

As the damp, cloudy day comes to an end, the drive home through the puddles serves as a reminder of the simple joys. The little drizzle cause for the lowest function on my windshield wipers to perform their minor duty. Driving through pot holes and puddles avoiding splashing any on the sidewalk speckled with kids carrying backpacks and their dreaded homework. It's cool, but not cold. The moisture makes the environment appear colder than it is. On this early autumn day, the moisture is welcomed due to the unending heat over the weekend. Work is out, my wife with our daughter will meet me at home. Driving past a couple of holiday favorites of mine, I want to eat. My hunger is not due to nutrients, but to nostalgia. I want to feel more than this classic autumn sensation I have now. I want more feel-goods that only the fantastic stimulation of festive foods can provide. Foods like breads, cookies, hot chocolate, seasonal candies, even a hot cooked meal full of bread....