For the Love of the Game

It's about 6:30AM early Saturday morning and I am grilling steak. The kids are up watching TV and waiting to eat. They had waffles with syrup and hash browns last night which was affectionately called "Breakfast for Dinner!!" and in a short while they will be eating steak and potatoes which is the total opposite.

I was preoccupied as I stood by the grill as I thought about the very valuable lesson I learned this past Sunday. My newly formed basketball team took on a squad that included my softball teammate, who is one of the most gifted and inspiring athletes I personally know. I mentioned to my team in good fun that if we won one game this season, this would be a nice one to have. We didn't really have chance against her (my softball teammate) more experienced team but you always want to perform well with and against someone you know.

But we had a bad day. We missed open jumpers, easy lay ups and our rhythm just wasn't there. I began feeling the burden of mentioning this game as we were still trying find our team identity. I didn't need to impede our growth and take away from the fun. And as the person who assembled this team, I felt that I was failing them.

After the game, I sat for awhile, head down. I got great hugs from my little fans who came out to watch. I thought about what I could do to make amends for subjecting my teammates to my misstep when my new friend/teammate came up to me and said that he was sorry we couldn't get this one for me. And then other teammates began expressing the same sentiments of disappointment for not getting the win.

I was floored. This is not the reaction I expected. I began seeing my team beginning to support one of their own in our short time together,

I helped form this team in less than week so I had no idea what we kind of squad we would be. We were made up of friends that knew each other for years, some we haven't seen in years and some we just met.

We quickly congregated at the bar after the loss to hang out for some laughs together. That made me smile because that was also unexpected. And I started to see how very lucky I was with the assembly of this team.

Growing up, I never had a chance to play organized sports as music took me in a different path. And I didn't get a chance to play in recreational leagues until later in life. When I did, I had no foundation of any fundamental skills taught when participating in youth sports so everything I learn was on the fly. And the only knowledge of teamwork was what I observed in the sports teams I watched.w

Some of the team who have basketball experience have volunteered to help us to get more out of this season and go over basics. My main goal in putting this team together was to consistently see old friends and get some exercise but I guess it has taken a life on its own. Though I may not know how to act as a teammate just yet, I know how to be supportive as they have with me and I continue to learn the game I love.

Steak's done and I let sit for awhile before wrapping them with eggs and home fried potatoes in flour tortillas. The kids chant "Dinner for Breakfast!" a couple of times before the youngest decides he's not hungry.  I wrap the steak breakfast burritos in aluminum foil (so they'll reheat quickly and evenly in the oven) and then store them in the refrigerator. The team will be hungry when they come over after practice.

I pack up my gear and head to the courts for our first practice and my first time being a student of the game, not knowing what to expect. But I am looking forward to it.

Somerville's Eat at Jumbo's Nick's Garbage Plate

A client sent a picture of a menu from Eat at Jumbo's in Somerville with a Nick's Garbage Plate on it. It took me only two days before I checked this place out.

I arrived around 11am and the place was empty. But they were already making lunch orders to go when I stepped up to the counter. I asked about the garbage plate on the menu and the man behind the counter (who turned out to be the owner) instantly asked me, "Are you from Rochester?" I said no and told him that I was sent a picture of the item from this place. I asked what was in it and he said it's chef's choice. Then I asked if I could request certain items to be in it but that wasn't how the plate was assembled. The man behind the counter explained that it's in the spirit of the garbage plate. You may get a burger or you may get home fries but that combination would be highly unlikely. The food will be similar elements depending on what is available and what was fresh. I further inquired his connection to the plate and he said that he used to visit a friend at Rochester Institute of Technology. "What made you put this on the menu?" He responded, "Well, since I brought poutine to Boston, I needed to set myself apart so I decided to include this in the menu." #PrettyboldstatementBobbyValentine He also noted that he has the best buffalo wings in Boston and let me know the plate was a bargain at $12 because he makes everything on the spot.

My curiosity got the best of me (okay, my stomach did because I was starving) and I reached into my wallet and pulled out a 20 and asked for some quarters so I could plug the meter. When I came back inside, I noted that if you don't have the burger/hot dog, home fries/beans or mac salad, it's not really a garbage plate. Obviously prepared for all these questions, he nicely shot back, "Yes I know. It's the sauce. Not necessarily those elements." Touche.

He continued to let me know that he hadn't had a garbage plate since he last visited his friend in Rochester, which was in the 1990s and I added that was the range of my tour of western New York. There have been customers that brought him Nick's sauce to add to emblish this item but there was no indication that I would see it. His plate was very popular with his customers but admits the word "garbage plate" scares many of them away who are not familiar with the lexicon.

We talked about allergies and I let him know that could be a loop hole in ordering. I could say I was allergic to everything but burgers, hot dogs, home fries, beans and mac salad so that I could "customize" my plate but he was not amused. 

The plate was assembled into aluminum plate and sealed, as I had requested it go. I decided to stay there and eat some of it so that I could further our conversation. I opened the steamed plastic cover to reveal a large burger (no bun) with a slice of melted mozzarella topped with marinara, two small fried onion rings, tri-color rotini pasta salad with black olives, cole slaw, two pickle spears and garlic bread. All the elements were there: your meat, your fried and your cold pasta salad and even bread. And believe it or not, it was actually delicious. The flavors of each melded together like it's original counterpart and my belly felt the fullness that you can only get from scarfing a medley of food put together in a garbage plate  I looked in the drink cooler and loyal to garbage plates, there was Pepsi but I opted for a gentler ginger ale. 

I said thanks to the owner, Grover, who finally introduced himself and then I mentioned I was from the Boston Herald. He felt used when he blurted, "You're not a food reviewer are you? Well, then why all the questions?" I replied, "I just like to know what I am eating."

Overall, I enjoyed it and would go back but not sure I would make the dedicated trip. I do like poutine and buffalo wings...

Food: Creative, Delicious

Nick's Garbage Plate Meter: 2 / 10

Freshness: 8 / 10

Ambiance: Unknown

David Bowie's Last Dance

I worked music retail in the 1990s, DJ'ed a radio show in college, signed up with different aliases to 12-for-1 music clubs in the 1980s and inherited a record collection in the 1970s which I appreciated years later. Needless to say, I've been very lucky to be exposed to different kinds of music through my family, friends and occupation.

https://www.facebook.com/abedewing/posts/10156452824990436

I never had the privilege of being a really big David Bowie fan but I understood his impact. When I think of him, I think of this song. It was released at a time when I started watching music videos. We didn't have cable so I never watched MTV in its infancy. V66 in Boston served up a pretty good selection of music videos and this was in heavy rotation.

I didn't like Let's Dance at first but now cannot imagine a world without it. There are a ton of great songs by Bowie but I love this track. Bands from the 70s changed their sound in the 80s to appeal (see Jefferson Airplane/Starship's "We Built This City," Steve Miller Band's "Abracadabra," Santana's "Say It Again" to name a few) but very few evolved. He was one of select artists to do so and this was one of those songs that fused pop art of that time with Bowie's style and signature funk. Yes, it was an 80s song but make no mistake it is trademark Bowie and it was a hit.(Let's Dance was Bowie's last #1 US single and his 2nd after Fame in 1975.)

It's too bad that I never saw him perform live (and for that matter Peter Gabriel with Genesis in its Lamb Lies Down on Broadway days) and regardless of his passing, I planned to listen to his new album, reuniting me with the acquaintance that I respected but didn't know well in high school.

Thanks to one of the very few artists that changed his name, so that he would not to be confused with the other (another being Michael Keaton). He was definitely David Bowie and not David Jones and somewhere Stevie Ray Vaughn is tuning up his axe for his solo at the end. Let's Dance, shall we?