Stuff: The big story of course in baseball was Albert Pujols changing uniforms from Cardinal to Angel. It hurt to hear him say he was glad to be an Angel but then what do you expect him to say to the tune of 25 million a year? Unfortunately, disappointment within the fan base and confusion with offers has led to some very negative reactions. One good thing; a generous portion of the money will go to his foundation and other charities he supports for challenged kids.
The Steelers beat their friendly rival Cleveland in one of the ugliest games seen in some time. Big Ben is a monster coming back after a high ankle sprain sent him to the locker room. That guy will play off a stretcher if need be. Fired coaches in the NFL: Todd Haley , Kansas City and Tony Sparano, Miami. Do not know how Haley's departure will affect Tyler Palko's future. Haley was a staunch supporter.
A Tebow commentary: He is one heck of an athlete. One thing for certain; it is well known by NFL running backs that accumulated punishment to the body shortens a career profoundly. Tim Tebow takes more hits than a quarterback with a poor offensive line. He definitely is enjoying success and deservedly so, but to quote Brian Urlacher of the Bears; "It's fairly simple once you know what the formation is and what runs they can do out of that formation". In short, opposing teams will devise game plans to limit his running capability. Tebow would have been more of a sensation in the 30's and 40's running the old single and double wing formations.
The NBA is a mess. Enough said!
Penn State having hearings this week which will be twittered, emailed and texted (is that correct?). As mentioned on a Re-Cappy it will be a long sad process. Contradictory and false statements add to the tragedy. A thought: after the Penn State story broke there was a series of similar reports concerning child sexual abuse involving men that work with children and young adults. How does this affect the careers of well intended others that choose this honorable line of work?
Brief stuff: Bad do it yourself story. A woman was spotted in a Walmart mixing chemicals to manufacture meth. She was at it for six hours before apprehended. Jodi Foster's estranged father(what does that mean?) eighty nine years old convicted of twenty one misdemeanor counts of grand theft. Quite a bit for an old dude. It may be in the wrong direction, but the man is still thinking! BTW, Jodi, one of my all time favorites. Texting while driving, an activity I abhor, has increased fifty percent in the last year. Fifty percent percent of what :-)
Make Note; This is 12-12 11. Brings to mind that next year 12-12-12 will be the last of these date oddities for another eleven years. Since 01-01-01 we have seen this every 13 months. The next one will be 2-2-22 and then only to come about every eleven years; 3-3-33, etc. It all reminds me of when I first became aware of this occurrence. It was 5-5-55. I was around for 4-4-44 but having too much fun dancing to notice. We will not go back further:-)Soon!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Eleven and Out
I have never been to St. Louis Missouri. Trips across the country on old Route 66, not a typo, and later I-70 had me skirting the town but regretfully never stopping for a cup of coffee. Somehow though I feel akin to the folks that live there. Perhaps it is because I have been a St Louis Cardinal fan since the age of eight or nine.
The baseball Gods have been kind to the Cardinal fans over the years. We have had our share of glory and disappointments but not as alarming as that of the departure of Albert Pujols. This news coming on the heels of a wonderful, dramatic World Series victory. Their eleventh by the way, second only to the very rich New York Yankees.
Mr. Pujols started his career as a Cardinal eleven years ago. Strange that the total coincides with the number of World Series wins. Sadly he no longer will wear the uniform with the birds on the bat. The numbers he put up are good enough to place him in the baseball Hall Of Fame. Quite an achievement for a career that may be only half through at the age of thirty two.
The Cardinal chat forums are filled with a mixture of relief, consolation and anger. Relief, because the ordeal of the decision process has finally ended. Consolation, because the amount of dollars and long term commitment may have been too much for the Cardinal organization to absorb. Anger, because Albert is on record saying he wanted to be a Cardinal for life. Most fans wanted it so!
Well it is business done. He is now an Anaheim Angel and this makes some of my family and friends very happy. I wish all the best for Albert and his family and thank him for making my prediction of eleven years ago come true. Very early in Mr. Pujol's career I got the sense he was special. It was over a beer at a bar with a friend on one of my visits with relatives in Imperial PA. He was an Alex Rodriguez fan. My friend laughed at me, claimed I was nuts when I said, "Albert will someday be talked about in the same breath as Arod!" Of course, Albert delivered!
Saying goodbye to Albert is going to be extremely difficult. I enjoyed his individual accomplishments along with each Cardinal win. I definitely will miss all the thrills he provided along the way. Thank you for the memories Albert. A Cardinal no more:-( Soon!
The baseball Gods have been kind to the Cardinal fans over the years. We have had our share of glory and disappointments but not as alarming as that of the departure of Albert Pujols. This news coming on the heels of a wonderful, dramatic World Series victory. Their eleventh by the way, second only to the very rich New York Yankees.
Mr. Pujols started his career as a Cardinal eleven years ago. Strange that the total coincides with the number of World Series wins. Sadly he no longer will wear the uniform with the birds on the bat. The numbers he put up are good enough to place him in the baseball Hall Of Fame. Quite an achievement for a career that may be only half through at the age of thirty two.
The Cardinal chat forums are filled with a mixture of relief, consolation and anger. Relief, because the ordeal of the decision process has finally ended. Consolation, because the amount of dollars and long term commitment may have been too much for the Cardinal organization to absorb. Anger, because Albert is on record saying he wanted to be a Cardinal for life. Most fans wanted it so!
Well it is business done. He is now an Anaheim Angel and this makes some of my family and friends very happy. I wish all the best for Albert and his family and thank him for making my prediction of eleven years ago come true. Very early in Mr. Pujol's career I got the sense he was special. It was over a beer at a bar with a friend on one of my visits with relatives in Imperial PA. He was an Alex Rodriguez fan. My friend laughed at me, claimed I was nuts when I said, "Albert will someday be talked about in the same breath as Arod!" Of course, Albert delivered!
Saying goodbye to Albert is going to be extremely difficult. I enjoyed his individual accomplishments along with each Cardinal win. I definitely will miss all the thrills he provided along the way. Thank you for the memories Albert. A Cardinal no more:-( Soon!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Italian Hot Sausage Sandwich
Not to divulge my age but I do qualify for senior discounts. They stopped carding me..oh, I have forgotten when. Does that give you a hint? That reminds me of something that happened when I turned twenty one, a long, long time ago. Strange how I can remember events of years past but at times do not recall what I did last week? Believe me this quirk of memory occasionally has its' benefits.
You see, where I lived my early life, and the period I am talking about; drinking establishments, yes watering holes, were not as closely scrutinized for under age drinking as they are today. I am sure there was a reason for that oversight:-)
At the age of eighteen or nineteen my favorite hangout was one of those under-supervised dens. It was a family owned local bar where yes, I'll say it; "everybody knew your name" Besides the bar there was a small kitchen, dance floor and a stage to accommodate entertainment. The only food item on the menu was a not so asked for; Italian hot sausage sandwich.
One of the owners, named Tony knew me very well and never questioned my age even though I still had not started shaving! He prepared the sausage sandwiches while still working the bar. which was located in a section apart from the kitchen. This became an annoying problem and led to my being asked if I wanted to work the kitchen. I had a daytime job but accepted because the kitchen was open only in the evening and also it would help pay my bar bill.
The sausage sandwiches at that time were a low volume business item. It was merely a throw-in for a few regulars with low expectations. The sausage, homemade and exceptional, unfortunately was getting a bad rap. Sadly, the sandwich was not in demand. Of course, as the cook I would occasionally sample the product. It did not take me long to realize something was missing. I thought about Mom's homemade bread and how much better the taste if I had her bread to go with it. In order to keep costs at a minimum Tony purchased inexpensive buns from a nearby store. This I could not understand because the family also owned a bakery.
I took the matter to the boss and asked him to try their own baked bread for awhile to see if it made a difference in the sales, I knew it would. He agreed and the rest of the story, you guessed it, sales soared. This also was accompanied by increased liquor and beer volume. The Italian hot sausage sandwich became the talk of the neighborhood! The real secret was the bread which to this day is well known.
Then it happened, as George Carlin would say; "I turned twenty one!" Most of my friends had the great idea to have a birthday party at the place I worked and sipped. The owner of course bought the idea because all he could think of was a full house. It also helped that Cappy knew many musicians who would entertain just for a chance to blow (jazz talk for that era). Not once was there any curiosity about my age?
During the festivities, and it was packed, everyone started shouting; twenty one, twenty one, how does it feel Cappy now that you can start drinking legally?
I do not for once think that my boss was so naive enough not to know my real age all this time but he did make an effort to show surprise and consternation. He approached me, looked me in the eye, and with a stern face blurted; "I have been serving you all these years while you were under age, you could have cost me my license!" He had the nerve to say this to me fully aware of the risk of all the questionable activities going on in his thriving business! I answered "Yeah Tony; but you have to admit I do fry up one helluva good sausage sandwich!" Soon:-)
You see, where I lived my early life, and the period I am talking about; drinking establishments, yes watering holes, were not as closely scrutinized for under age drinking as they are today. I am sure there was a reason for that oversight:-)
At the age of eighteen or nineteen my favorite hangout was one of those under-supervised dens. It was a family owned local bar where yes, I'll say it; "everybody knew your name" Besides the bar there was a small kitchen, dance floor and a stage to accommodate entertainment. The only food item on the menu was a not so asked for; Italian hot sausage sandwich.
One of the owners, named Tony knew me very well and never questioned my age even though I still had not started shaving! He prepared the sausage sandwiches while still working the bar. which was located in a section apart from the kitchen. This became an annoying problem and led to my being asked if I wanted to work the kitchen. I had a daytime job but accepted because the kitchen was open only in the evening and also it would help pay my bar bill.
The sausage sandwiches at that time were a low volume business item. It was merely a throw-in for a few regulars with low expectations. The sausage, homemade and exceptional, unfortunately was getting a bad rap. Sadly, the sandwich was not in demand. Of course, as the cook I would occasionally sample the product. It did not take me long to realize something was missing. I thought about Mom's homemade bread and how much better the taste if I had her bread to go with it. In order to keep costs at a minimum Tony purchased inexpensive buns from a nearby store. This I could not understand because the family also owned a bakery.
I took the matter to the boss and asked him to try their own baked bread for awhile to see if it made a difference in the sales, I knew it would. He agreed and the rest of the story, you guessed it, sales soared. This also was accompanied by increased liquor and beer volume. The Italian hot sausage sandwich became the talk of the neighborhood! The real secret was the bread which to this day is well known.
Then it happened, as George Carlin would say; "I turned twenty one!" Most of my friends had the great idea to have a birthday party at the place I worked and sipped. The owner of course bought the idea because all he could think of was a full house. It also helped that Cappy knew many musicians who would entertain just for a chance to blow (jazz talk for that era). Not once was there any curiosity about my age?
During the festivities, and it was packed, everyone started shouting; twenty one, twenty one, how does it feel Cappy now that you can start drinking legally?
I do not for once think that my boss was so naive enough not to know my real age all this time but he did make an effort to show surprise and consternation. He approached me, looked me in the eye, and with a stern face blurted; "I have been serving you all these years while you were under age, you could have cost me my license!" He had the nerve to say this to me fully aware of the risk of all the questionable activities going on in his thriving business! I answered "Yeah Tony; but you have to admit I do fry up one helluva good sausage sandwich!" Soon:-)
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Formerly Re-Cappy
This is my first attempt at posting a blog, or is it better stated as "blogging"? My birth name is Gennaro Caputo. Friends and some family call me Jim or Jimmy and some times James. I am also known to family members as; Dad, UNC and Grandpa. During my adolescence and early adult life, most acquaintances, friends, or even strangers knew me as Cappy.
With a last name of Caputo it was a sure thing that a nickname would be derived from those first three letters. There must have been thousands of kids with names such as; Capolla, Capaducci, Capacola or even Capotosta that were called Cappy. It was not uncommon, but to me it was unique. I wore the nickname proudly and when my sister tried to claim it for herself I reacted with proprietorship indignation. She had some talent for the arts and all of her renditions carried the name Cappi. She did not even know how to spell it! Anyway it did not get attached to her so her friends still called her Phyllis. I went for years with most everyone not knowing my real first name. Nicknames that stick; perhaps a thing of the past.
Prior to this venture I was emailing friends and family a weekly recap of news and sports items flavored with some attempt at humor. Although entertaining, it progressed into a form that was not email suitable. Some of the recipients thought a blog would be the perfect fit for my posts.They were being kind. It was their way of saying I talked too much and with a click I could be here or gone! So here I am:-)
For those of you that were followers of Monday Re-Cappy the format will change slightly. The feedback on the approach taken for the introduction of specific blurbs was all positive and I intend to retain those lead-ins and insert them when doable in subsequent blogs.
Cappyblog will consist of something I enthusiastically call stuff-plus. The stuff encompasses current news items with an injection of humor; some good and some so, so. Pop culture, music, and sports will be included. The plus: there are many decades in my rear view mirror so their will be reminisces of the past with a touch of personal bio. On occasion some news items and human interest topics will be addressed with a personal commentary. The intent is to inform with up-to-date news topics, nostalgically reminisce, converse about subjects that may arouse your interest and most important of all; entertain. Soon:-)
With a last name of Caputo it was a sure thing that a nickname would be derived from those first three letters. There must have been thousands of kids with names such as; Capolla, Capaducci, Capacola or even Capotosta that were called Cappy. It was not uncommon, but to me it was unique. I wore the nickname proudly and when my sister tried to claim it for herself I reacted with proprietorship indignation. She had some talent for the arts and all of her renditions carried the name Cappi. She did not even know how to spell it! Anyway it did not get attached to her so her friends still called her Phyllis. I went for years with most everyone not knowing my real first name. Nicknames that stick; perhaps a thing of the past.
Prior to this venture I was emailing friends and family a weekly recap of news and sports items flavored with some attempt at humor. Although entertaining, it progressed into a form that was not email suitable. Some of the recipients thought a blog would be the perfect fit for my posts.They were being kind. It was their way of saying I talked too much and with a click I could be here or gone! So here I am:-)
For those of you that were followers of Monday Re-Cappy the format will change slightly. The feedback on the approach taken for the introduction of specific blurbs was all positive and I intend to retain those lead-ins and insert them when doable in subsequent blogs.
Cappyblog will consist of something I enthusiastically call stuff-plus. The stuff encompasses current news items with an injection of humor; some good and some so, so. Pop culture, music, and sports will be included. The plus: there are many decades in my rear view mirror so their will be reminisces of the past with a touch of personal bio. On occasion some news items and human interest topics will be addressed with a personal commentary. The intent is to inform with up-to-date news topics, nostalgically reminisce, converse about subjects that may arouse your interest and most important of all; entertain. Soon:-)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
My first post
This is my introduction to using this blog format. Let's hope this is the beginning of a love affair...for me and my readers.