Over the years, I've tried to find a 'perfect' Philly cheesesteak, outside of Philly, and have come close (Frankie's over on Campbell, Daglio's on Pantano)...and, I've always counseled friends NOT to choose to buy a Philly cheesesteak when we are out to eat at a place like Village Inn - or one time, we were at some steak house in Dallas and a guy that I worked with at Toys R Us, Ed Reeves, asked me "Dave, think I should try the Philly Cheesesteak?" No Ed, it will be horrible. He did not listen. And I was right.
And I'm OK that I cannot find that Pat's or Geno's caliber cheesesteak. I've come to appreciate what I have here - chile rellenos - you kiddin me? Or any Mexican food, for that matter. I really don't need another Philly cheesesteak, truth be told.
So when Filaberto's, a local Mexican fast food chain put up a Philly Cheesesteak poster several months ago...I ignored it. But each time we went there, my curiosity grew. And grew. Today, I broke. I went against every bit of advice I've ever handed out. And I know in the case of the cheesesteak, my advice has never been wrong....yet, there I was, with Cody today at Filaberto's for lunch. When the lady asked me what I wanted, I ordered Cody the rolled tacos, and then, I heard - out of MY MOUTH, as if I had aboslutely no control, as if I had lost every last marble - over the rainbow - 'I'll have the Philly cheesesteak burrito!'...
I was wrong. This thing was great! It had grilled onions and peppers. And provolone cheese (sorry Cheez Whiz fanatics...there was NO Cheez Whiz when the cheesesteak was invented by Pat and Harry Olivieri back in the 1930...it was not invented until 1952 and didn't really catch on until the mid to late 80's...I was already in college and had eaten so many provolone covered cheesesteaks by that time). Now, in my opinion, that burrito is a great combination of the real Philly cheesesteak mixed with Mexican food...
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Oh, and Cody and I had a nice lunch together, while the little bambini went swimming with our friend Tammy. And here's the little dare devil going down the slide...head first! They had a lot of fun...
After lunch, just for fun, I took my last real estate course I needed to renew my license. You must complete 24 credit hours of continuing education to keep your license every two years. I completed my credits with full 30 days to go! And scored a 96% on my final exam.
Tonight, we went to Fuddrucker's, for Angie's daughter, Kristie's and Kristie's daughter, Trinity's, birthday celebrations...we pretty much took up their whole front room. I lost count at 30. I got to be talking to Mark, about the world today, etc...and Mark told me, his personal philosphy is that you need to surround yourself with postive people. Supportive people - to be happy these days...I had to point out the irony in his philosophy as I showed him how he had done just that for my family. And, to prove this point, today, an old friend from high school of Kim and mine, Karen Miholics and her children, Kallie and Matt, arrived in town and Angie and Kristie insisted we invite them along! We spent about 4 hours eating burgers, cake, watching the multitude of bambini carousing about, playing video games, the older boys playing ball outside on the patio, the smaller ones crowded around the poor guy making balloon animals...good times.
And now, it is after 11:30, and, Lexy, Trinity and Autumn are on a conference call on my cell phone. I had no idea that you could conference in multiple callers on my phone. Autumn did. And she has. I'm getting old. The striking thing, is, not only did Autumn know how to initiate this conference call, none of the girls were impressed or awed by this feat. It's as if they've done this a million times...
I got a great text today, from Ami, my blog-technical and design guru, and kindergarten teacher of Cody. And incredo-mom of triplets. She was enroute with her family to San Diego.
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Ami commented that the only way to survive driving through Yuma, is with a Rock Star! I have to concur. And Bryan makes a smart choice with the orange, rehydrating Rock Star! Way to go Bryan! Although Rock Star cannot help you hyperspace through Yuma, it can make this barren, scorched, wasteland bearable until you get to the sand dunes in Cali. Smooth sailing after that! Hope you guys have a fun time in San Diego! I'm playin' that lottery, if I win it for enough millions...there will be a Conca Beach House in our future!!!
At the end of the day, it's about people...good people. People helping people. I was once married to a girl that believed in that. She'd say 'Do things for people, with love and a smile.' She was right. I believe that more than ever now. So, it was with great sadness that the district that I work in with Barnes & Noble was dissolved this week. For the business. Which means that my District Manager, Tom, no longer had a district to manage. We will miss him. And I've told you how much he had done for my family. He'd claim that he had done nothing, yet, here was an agnostic actually praying for Kimmy to get well. And praying that I did not truly go over the rainbow and making sure that I could be with the bambini to help them begin on their new journey. And his wife, Cathy, had her prayer group praying for us all...and their two daughters, too. Tom was the first D.M. I've ever worked for that truly got the meaning of work/life balance. He's a good person, so I'm confident he will land firmly on his feet - but please say a prayer for him and his family for me tonight...
Love,
Dave
And I'm OK that I cannot find that Pat's or Geno's caliber cheesesteak. I've come to appreciate what I have here - chile rellenos - you kiddin me? Or any Mexican food, for that matter. I really don't need another Philly cheesesteak, truth be told.
So when Filaberto's, a local Mexican fast food chain put up a Philly Cheesesteak poster several months ago...I ignored it. But each time we went there, my curiosity grew. And grew. Today, I broke. I went against every bit of advice I've ever handed out. And I know in the case of the cheesesteak, my advice has never been wrong....yet, there I was, with Cody today at Filaberto's for lunch. When the lady asked me what I wanted, I ordered Cody the rolled tacos, and then, I heard - out of MY MOUTH, as if I had aboslutely no control, as if I had lost every last marble - over the rainbow - 'I'll have the Philly cheesesteak burrito!'...
I was wrong. This thing was great! It had grilled onions and peppers. And provolone cheese (sorry Cheez Whiz fanatics...there was NO Cheez Whiz when the cheesesteak was invented by Pat and Harry Olivieri back in the 1930...it was not invented until 1952 and didn't really catch on until the mid to late 80's...I was already in college and had eaten so many provolone covered cheesesteaks by that time). Now, in my opinion, that burrito is a great combination of the real Philly cheesesteak mixed with Mexican food...
After lunch, just for fun, I took my last real estate course I needed to renew my license. You must complete 24 credit hours of continuing education to keep your license every two years. I completed my credits with full 30 days to go! And scored a 96% on my final exam.
Tonight, we went to Fuddrucker's, for Angie's daughter, Kristie's and Kristie's daughter, Trinity's, birthday celebrations...we pretty much took up their whole front room. I lost count at 30. I got to be talking to Mark, about the world today, etc...and Mark told me, his personal philosphy is that you need to surround yourself with postive people. Supportive people - to be happy these days...I had to point out the irony in his philosophy as I showed him how he had done just that for my family. And, to prove this point, today, an old friend from high school of Kim and mine, Karen Miholics and her children, Kallie and Matt, arrived in town and Angie and Kristie insisted we invite them along! We spent about 4 hours eating burgers, cake, watching the multitude of bambini carousing about, playing video games, the older boys playing ball outside on the patio, the smaller ones crowded around the poor guy making balloon animals...good times.
And now, it is after 11:30, and, Lexy, Trinity and Autumn are on a conference call on my cell phone. I had no idea that you could conference in multiple callers on my phone. Autumn did. And she has. I'm getting old. The striking thing, is, not only did Autumn know how to initiate this conference call, none of the girls were impressed or awed by this feat. It's as if they've done this a million times...
I got a great text today, from Ami, my blog-technical and design guru, and kindergarten teacher of Cody. And incredo-mom of triplets. She was enroute with her family to San Diego.
At the end of the day, it's about people...good people. People helping people. I was once married to a girl that believed in that. She'd say 'Do things for people, with love and a smile.' She was right. I believe that more than ever now. So, it was with great sadness that the district that I work in with Barnes & Noble was dissolved this week. For the business. Which means that my District Manager, Tom, no longer had a district to manage. We will miss him. And I've told you how much he had done for my family. He'd claim that he had done nothing, yet, here was an agnostic actually praying for Kimmy to get well. And praying that I did not truly go over the rainbow and making sure that I could be with the bambini to help them begin on their new journey. And his wife, Cathy, had her prayer group praying for us all...and their two daughters, too. Tom was the first D.M. I've ever worked for that truly got the meaning of work/life balance. He's a good person, so I'm confident he will land firmly on his feet - but please say a prayer for him and his family for me tonight...
Love,
Dave
Dave, that was a very sweet thing for you to write about Tom. I thought I had most of my crying under control until I read your entry. It will be good for Tom to have lunch with you. I think he's still in shock after 20 years.Cathy
ReplyDeleteIt is so funny about the Philly cheese steak burito. We found a place here in MD, that makes a Philly cheese steak wrap that is, in my opinion, better than a cheese steak. Have you ever eaten at the "East Coast Subs" in Tucson? It was pretty close to where Tim's office was on 4th ave or maybe it is 4th st. There was a High School nearby and it wasn't too far from the university. Well anyways, it had pretty good philly cheese steaks there. It was a sports bar and we always sat at the table with the Flyers articles on the tables.
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