This Is What I'm Talking About!

This One's For You Bud

Our son Jameson has always loved to cook. According to my mother, when he was just a little thing she would stand him in a chair, push it up to the kitchen counter and let him make anything his little heart desired. So, if you believe Frances, although Jamie is only 34, he has been cooking for the last 30 years or so. Jamie has always been a like a dog after a bone, while in high school he worked 3 jobs, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. On Saturday afternoons he would stuff ads in the Atlanta Journal for the Sunday edition and the rest of the week he worked at Arbys and Taco Bell afterschool. Always the ladies man, during high school Jamie would cook dinner for his dates. The tradition continued while he attended Oglethorpe University, but he also started cooking for his fraternity brothers. I always dreamed of Jameson becoming a lawyer, but in his second year of college he broke down and told me that my dreams wern't his. He wanted to become a chef, and to achieve that goal, he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of Atlanta. Three years ago he moved to New York to pursue his dream and immediately began working at Wichcraft, an industrial-chic sandwich shop, the third member of chef Tom Colicchios trilogy, which also include Craft and Craftbar.

Wichcraft is a sandwich shop, but not your ordinary sandwich shop. According to Best of New York "Wichcraft's sandwiches are masterpieces of bold flavor and balanced texture, and the New York Post states "when the sandwiches hit on all cylinders, cleverly melding tastes and textures, they're unforgettable. Here's an example of some of the choices you'll find on the menu; Fontina with black-trumpet mushrooms and white-truffle fondue, a grilled cheese fit for a king or queen, and then there is a meatloaf sandwich lavished with melted cheddar and bacon, unlike anything my mother ever made or dreamed of making. If those aren't enough to send you running to the kitchen while you are reading this (is anybody out there reading this?) then how about a warm roasted turkey sandwich adorned with smoky bacon, smooth avocado and sweet caramelized onion on a crisp-crusted fluffy ciabatta roll. Kinda makes me remember something my grandfather used to say "makes you want to swallow your tongue". There are more choices, but I'll stop at the tuna, a Sicilian tuna on a crunchy brown baguette topped with fennel, chopped black olives and a spritz of lemon. And don't even get me started on the salads, soups and desserts. I think you get the picture.

Colicchio's first Wichcraft shop is located at 49E and 19th street, and he has added one in Tribeca and another in Bryant Park. Jamie has been in charge of the kitchen for all the stores, but yesterday learned he will be stepping out of the kitchen and into the corporate world. Jamie, my brillant and gifted son has been named Director of Operations for Wichcraft. This is quite an accomplishment considering that Colicchio is opening 6 more shops in New York city and plans are underway to take the concept to the westcoast. I hope they consider Atlanta, we've got lots of foodies down here. After all of Jameson's hard work I deserve bragging rights, don't you think. You'll have to excuse me now, I'm heading to the kitchen.

Peace

War of the T-Shirts

I decided I'd write something about the State of the Union address given by President Bush last night, but was distracted by the removal of 2 women from the U.S. Capitol. One, invited by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, was arrested, handcuffed, fingerprinted and jailed for 4 hours. She was arrested for unlawful conduct because she refused to coverup an anti-war T-shirt which read "2,245 Dead. How many more?" Maybe she was arrested because she had her numbers wrong. According to U.S. Central Command, 2,483 men and women have died in Iraq. That number doesn't even include the 16,549 who have been wounded or the 31,891 Iraqis who have died in the conflict. Or, maybe she violated the dress code, does anyone know if there is a dress code for the Capitol? Yeah, that's probably it because Senior House of Representative Bill Young's wife was ordered out of the building during the State of the Union address because she had on a t-shirt that read "Support the Troops Defending Our Freedon". A guard at the House chamber called her "a demonstrator and a protester". Of course, she wasn't arrested, handcuffed or jailed, but maybe her t-shirt was prettier. Isn't it ironic that we restrict free speech in the very halls that are the foundation of our freedoms? In President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address he stated that "one by one, the terrorists are learning the meaning of American justice". I guess they got the message because I don't recall one of them prancing around in a t-shirt with anykind of message printed on it. So, if you've been wearing a Kiss t-shirt, or anything else that might be considered offensive, take it off! Remember justice will prevail and I'd hate to see you land in jail.

More Questions

Kelly wanted me to answer these questions, and they aren't easy, but I'll give it a try.

What was I doing ten years ago? I was teaching 10th grade World History at Fayette County High School, loving the kids, but hating the administration. It would be my last year teaching.

Five snacks I enjoy. I love my sweets and unfortunately it's beginning to show. I love ice cream, especially from Jakes. I love cookies right out of the oven. I love my homemade 7-up poundcake. I love magic squares that I make at Christmas and I love my 3 AM snacks.

Five songs to which I KNOW all the lyrics: Beach Boys, Wouldn't It Be Nice If We Were Married; Beatles, Yesterday; John Lennon, Beautiful Boy; Rod Stewart, Maggie May, and If Ever I Would Leave You from Camelot, it was playing when Zach was being born.

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire: Buy a 57 Porsche for Mike, Open a restaurant for Jamie, Make a documentary about Zach, move to New York, and travel all over the world.

Five bad habits I have: Smoking, Trying to figure out how I could have changed things, Buying too many books and not reading them, Buying too many CDs and not listening to them, and Not sleeping at night and then sleeping until noon.

Five things I like doing: Playing with Buster and Chloe, Being with Mike, Going out to eat, Getting on my computer and checking my e-mail, researching my genealogy, and Going to the country in Virginia to visit my country cousins.

Five things I would never wear, buy, or get again: I would never, ever buy a pair of uncomfortable shoes again; I would never buy anything again without checking it out in person first; I would never buy a really big TV again; I would never get a gym membership again, you can figure that one out; and I would never buy anything to wear that is fluffy.

My five favorite toys: My computer, of course, my jigsaw puzzles, my tv, my family photos, and all my CDs.

Boy, that was hard, really hard. I can't remember anything these days, so I had to wrack my brains to remember a lot of the questions. It was fun though and thanks Kelly for pushing me to my limit!

What Would You Ask?

I've been reading the companion book to What the Bleep Do We Know and right off the bat it gets you thinking about the Great Questions of life. Silly as it may seem the writers ask what would you do if a spaceship landed in your house and inside it was the The Universal Book of Everything. You get to answer one question, and after you ask your question you are given the chance to ask something else. After you've scratched your head for who knows how long, and thoughtfully answered your questions one more question to ponder. What is the one thing you know for sure? It really didn't take me long to come up with my answers, they aren't earth shaking or anything like that, just things I have been wondering about since my son Zach died almost 3 years ago. My first question would be about Zach. Is his spirit alive and happy, and is he with someone who knows to give him a big hug and kiss every now and then. The next thing I would want to know - what it is I'm supposed to do to make this world a better place, I'd want the answer to be specific so I could get started on it right away. No time like the present. And, the one thing I know for sure is that my family is the most important thing in the world to me. I didn't think I could go on living after Zach died, but I have kept on going for my husband, my son Jameson, my mother, my brother and my nieces. Life doesn't always turn out like we expect it to, but I'm learning that if we change our way of thinking, we can change our lives, and change the lives of others. Now I'm wondering what would you ask?