For obvious reasons I have not had the time to even scan the news, so no politics tonight. I will just assume everything is ok because no one has called me to inform me to turn on the tv.
Joelle and I are having date night this week at home- I took an edible and she went and picked up sandwiches from a local place and we are going to watch a couple more episodes of Yellowstone, a poorly written shlocky bit of right wing agitprop loaded with odious people doing awful things to each other, but somehow oddly fucking compelling and riveting. There’s always Jimmy, I suppose, the only good one of them.
Joelle introduced me to this place called the Cheba Hut. Quick side note, one of the things I love about Joelle (and I have told her this and am not breaking any news to her this way) is that she can just look at me and tell when something is not going to happen and that stubborn mode is activated. We were planning to go out for dinner but I just did not have it in me and she didn’t even flinch. That’s kinda cool to have someone who “gets” you.
At any rate, when I was an undergrad in Morgantown in 1992, there was this little deli near the medical school right by a landmark mexican place called Los Mariachis which is still there today and will serve as a tidy reference point for anyone who has ever been Morgantown. The deli was the first of its kind around there- like an Italian place where you could get all the imported sauces and oils displayed on chrome racks, as well as a large refrigerated display of imported meats and cheeses and a deli sign and the first big espresso machine with all the syrups I had ever seen. I know for you big city folk this is basically everything everywhere when you were growing up, but it was the first here.
At any rate, they baked the most delicious bread, big pillowy loaves that mushroomed over the bread pan into the size of a chef hat, and they would serve their deli sandwiched using that bread. My go to order was a roast beef and swiss with lettuce, tomato, and copious amounts of horseradish mayo. It was amazing. Sadly, that place closed down, but it clearly made a huge impression on me.
All of this is a long way of saying that I had the best sub I have had since Shakespeare’s Deli in the early 90’s I got the sandwich called the KGB which is roast beef, horseradish, green bell pepper, shrooms, swiss, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, Shake & House dressing. It was so good I only ate half so I could eat the other half in an hour or so and relive the experience.
So if you are ever in this area- Sheba Hut. It’s good. They even seasoned the lettuce before putting it on. Fucking maestros.
War for Ukraine Day 1,025: A Brief Saturday Night Update
zhena gogolia
The KGB? Why not the FSB?
dlwchico
Been binging the recent All Creatures Great & Small series and it is nice show in an idyllic pre-WW2 (at the start) England with nice characters and lots of animals.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@zhena gogolia:
Probably because KGB is more well-known in pop culture
Nukular Biskits
Living the good life.
We should all be so fortunate.
Suzanne
Cheba Hut is a chain in the western states. Spawn works at one.
cain
I think they had Cheba Hut in Denver as well.
cain
@Suzanne:
I don’t think I’ve seen one in the Northwest.
coin operated
Having finally gone fully mobile (remote job and we live in the RV), we are looking a Tempe as a possible winter destination. In other words…I’m taking notes on the culinary experiences in the area. Thank you, Cole. Best wishes to Joelle on her surgery tomorrow.
NotMax
Noodle kugel just slid into the oven.
Fingers crossed ,as it’s always an amalgam pulled from different recipes. And in typing that realized forgot to add cinnamon so pulled it out of the oven and liberally sprinkled that on top instead of mixing it in.
Suzanne
@cain: According to their location finder, there’s at least one in Oregon.
MagdaInBlack
Agree on how cool it is when you find some one who “gets you.” I’m glad to know you found that.
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
KGB had better be slathered with Russian dressing.
Ahasuerus
Hey Cole –
I was working for a networking startup and did a client site visit to the Morgantown campus in ’92. We may have even gotten sandwiches from that deli you remember so fondly. Were you anywhere near the campus IT department at that time? If so, we may have encountered each other.
As for Yellowstone, it’s just the Sopranos with cattle and cowboy hats.
geg6
When I lived in the upper valley here in Beaver County in New Brighton, there was a place that had the best Italian hoagies. Piles of very thin sliced ham, salami, pepperoni, capicola and provolone were toasted on a Mancini’s bakery hoagie roll then covered with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, black olives and banana peppers and topped with their house vinaigrette. OMG, so good! If you ever find yourself in New Brighton, PA, go to The Top of the 9th for their Italian hoagie. They also make a mean white pizza with fresh ricotta that is to die for.
TBone
Tone Loc got that cheba.
Geminid
New York Times journalist Farnas Fasihi reports:
Ms. Parastou’s concert was livestreamed from an empty caravanserie courtyard Wednesay evening.
I would urge people to watch some of the concert clips offered on You Tube. Given the risks she and her accompanists were running, it was a spectacular performance.
NotMax
@Suzanne
Tonight Joelle is the Queen of Cheba.
Omnes Omnibus
@Geminid: Here is a link.
MagdaInBlack
@Suzanne: I sure wish I had not looked up their menu. Now I am wanting all of it =-)
Nukular Biskits
I think that whenever Cole starts posting about the great food he’s found, he should take photos or, even better, fly the rest of us in to enjoy it with him.
Mai Naem mobile ¹
Cole, you should try DeFalcos. It’s on Scottsdale Rd near McDowell. I used to go to their old location on a semi-regular basis when it was more of a hidden gem. When I do happen to be driving by the new location it always looks packed as in line outside the deli. There’s a convenience store at Hardy and University that used to have the best subs but sadly they closed the deli section when they got new owners.
coin operated
@Geminid:
@Omnes Omnibus:
Thank you for the callout and the link. Iran should be celebrating this woman, not arresting her.
Geminid
@Omnes Omnibus: Thanks.
swiftfox
Maybe the time references aren’t complete but having spent a fair amount of time in western Maryland with occasional trips to WVU library in the 80s, and knowing that Italians had been in the area since at least the 1920’s, I have a difficult time believing that you could not get classic Italian deli fare in Morgantown until the 90s.
mrmoshpotato
@MagdaInBlack: Hehe
Suzanne
@Mai Naem mobile ¹: DeFalco’s is the goddamn best.
Phoenix, in general, is very weak for delis. But DeFalco’s makes up for it. I miss it tremendously.
I was actually looking back at anniversary pictures this week, and Mr, Suzanne and I went there on past anniversaries multiple times. LOL.
Chris T.
Cheba Hut is in general pretty good. I think they started in Arizona but they’re spread throughout a lot of the west now, and there’s one up here in Bellingham. I like it, even if the marijuana theme is a bit gimmicky.
Suzanne
@Mai Naem mobile ¹: LOL, I just told him that a commenter mentioned DeFalco’s, and he went, “Ohhhhhhhhhhh….” and started talking about his favorite sandwich from there.
As Marinara-Americans, we take the Italian deli seriously.
Jackie
JC, that sub sounds delicious! I, too, love roast beef with horseradish mayo and lots of fresh veggies – extra points if the beef is offered medium rare.
HeleninEire
Hi. 2:26 am in Dublin and I am wide awake. Still on NY time. I am in the bar at my hotel. The bar is open 24 hours which is very rare here. Pubs close at midnight.
Anyway you balloon juice peeps will be happy to know that I just met the best dog in this bar. His name is Hugo. Me, not knowing anything about dogs, thought he was maybe a poodle..but he is shorter than a poodle but bigger than a miniature poodle. I was gonna ask you all what can he be? Well I just asked Hugo’s owner. Apparently Hugo is a cockapoo. Is that a combination between a cocker spaniel and a poodle?
So anyway the reason I am here sucks but it was great meeting Hugo.
Martin
Today my son had a tornado cross a few hundred yards from his apartment. That wasn’t on his ‘likely disaster’ list here in CA.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Martin: Whoa, scary! I don’t think of CA as tornado territory.
different-church-lady
@NotMax: GO TO YOUR ROOM!
MagdaInBlack
@mrmoshpotato: There’s one in Lakeview. If you have a cravin’ come upon you.
Geminid
I saw a couple “good news” stories out of Syria.
Duraid Laham acted in a number of dramas presented on Syrian state TV during the Assad years, and many Syrians identified him with the regime. Al-Arabiya interviewed him today:
I found this reposted on Syrian American journalist Hassan I. Hassan’s Twitter account. Hassan edits New Lew Lines magazine and has been reporting on Syria for some years now.
Hassan also reposted some video of a crowd in Damascus celebrating the revolution. Some are waving flags; others are holding up cell phones and recording a man on a raised platform. He’s delivering his speech in sign language because he and the crowd are deaf.
Lord Fartdaddy (formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
One nitpick: hoagie. Not sub. I will fight anybody who disputes this, damn it.
Jay
@HeleninEire:
Yes, a cockapoo is a cross between a Cocker Spaniel and most commonly, a Miniature Poodle.
Baud
@coin operated:
Lots of countries seem to be doing things they’re not supposed to.
Martin
@Dorothy A. Winsor: We get them from time to time. Waterspouts aren’t uncommon but the rugged coast makes them hard to get on land and remain stable. So they’re always pretty weak. The one by him was surely a cat 1 storm, but it knocked a tree down in front of the driveway to his place, and it injured 5 people and overturned some cars. We had one near us some time back that damaged a few buildings. They’re local newsworthy and not much further than that. Annoying more than dangerous.
HeleninEire
@Jay: Thanks. I thought so. I’m a little bit in love with Hugo but I do that all the time. I love my friend’s pets. I love my friend’s kids. And I know now that one of the reasons I love them is because they are not mine. In a good way.
Jay
@HeleninEire:
Being a Pub Dog, it should be well socialized, right up to it’s 4th pint
Or when the football game comes on the telly.
Omnes Omnibus
@HeleninEire: That was one of the best things about being an uncle when my brother’s kids were young. You could do all sorts of fun stuff with them, but when they got tired or had too much candy you could just give them back.
Baud
@HeleninEire:
@Omnes Omnibus:
Agreed. Other people’s kids are great fun.
BellyCat
@Omnes Omnibus: Reminds me of when my sister had a baby. I’m at the toy store looking for a gift. The salesperson says, “Do you want a regular gift or a revenge gift?” Me: “What’s a revenge gift?” Salesperson: “One that makes lots of noise!”
You can likely guess which was purchased. 😇
Miki
Not exactly sure how I came across this tonight but it’s fucking fabulous.
For you, Joelle, and also John.
Melancholy Jaques
@Lord Fartdaddy (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
Hero!
Lyrebird
@Geminid: Thanks for posting some good news. So needed. Thanks also for helping keep Ms. Parastoo Ahmadi’s name out in the open. Yikes.
.. and thanks @Omnes Omnibus: for the linkage.
Geminid
@Geminid: Typo correction: Hassan I. Hassan edits New Lines Magazine.
British-Lebanese journalist Oz Katerji recommended Mr Hassan to his readers. Katerji is best known for his reporting from Ukraine and his book, The Battle if Kyov. Last week he traveled to Damascus where he reported for a Polish TV network. Katerji posted this morning from Beirut.
Jackie
@Miki: That was fabulous!
Omnes Omnibus
@Melancholy Jaques:
It’s just a fucking sandwich.
lowtechcyclist
@Suzanne:
What is it like? Stand-alone restaurant, tiny mostly carry-out, what?
I ask because my wife and I have run into a couple of new places in our area that basically look like cleaned-up hole-in-the-wall places. There’s room to sit and eat, but not a whole lot, maybe a half-dozen small tables, so mostly their business has to be carry-out. One’s called Moby Dick, the other’s Peri-Peri Original. And they’re both chains, which you only realize when you Google them. Both have great food, so being a chain hasn’t ruined either of them yet. But it’s weird to find that this narrow little place shoehorned into a strip mall is part of a chain of a few dozen restaurants.
NotMax
@Jay
Did someone say pub dog?
:)
KatKapCC
@Martin: I have a couple of friends in the Santa Cruz mountains, very close to where it ripped through. Pretty terrifying stuff! Some of the photos were awful :/
EmanG
We just got a Cheba Hut here in Athens. Was fun to see a familiar brand in our new place. If you haven’t tried the Panama Red I highly suggest it as well. Also, if you haven’t been to MIke’s sandwiches yet (it’s across the street from Lee Lee’s the amazing asian grocery store which I can only assume is within 10 minutes or so of y’all given your location clues) it’s gonna blow your mind. Proper banh mi with house made baguettes. Freaking baller. Also Lee Lee’s, can’t wait to hear your impressions.
lowtechcyclist
@different-church-lady:
He’s probably in his room!
That’s the trouble with kids these days. Used to be “go to your room” was a punishment. Now the challenge is getting them out of their room.
And don’t tell me NotMax isn’t a kid. He may be an old on the outside, but.
lowtechcyclist
@Lord Fartdaddy (formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
Grinder!
Geminid
@lowtechcyclist: That’s what they called them in New Haven. I used to grab tuna grinders from a New Haven restaurant. There was melted cheese involved. Mmm, mmh!
zhena gogolia
@Geminid: Yorkside?
HeleninEire
@Omnes Omnibus: Ah..I love being an Aunt. I am the cool, rich Aunt. My nieces and my nephew love me. It is the best.
Sister Golden Bear
@Martin: A bunch of my friends in SF got woken up by a tornado warning — an extremely loud alert on their phones similar to the recent tsunami alert — although as it turned out we fortunately didn’t have one. But there has been a damage from winds that reached 80 mph.
Thankfully we get a break tomorrow before the next storm hits on Monday.
Geminid
@zhena gogolia: I don’t remember. I think it was on Whaley Avenue.
Melancholy Jaques
@Omnes Omnibus:
For some people, sure. But for others, a sandwich and so much more
One of my favorite entries in the Stuff White People Like series. Pretty much describes me and my relationships with sandwiches.
Gin & Tonic
@Melancholy Jaques: Grinder, up here in New England.
ETA: Slow typist.
Kayla Rudbek
I’m sitting here doing knitting on a high difficulty level (dark blue yarn against dark needle tips, I posted it on Bluesky). I have Hearts of Space playing so I’m going to time how long it takes me to cast off by how many episodes I get through.
I got more likes from strangers on Bluesky for one picture of my knitting than I ever did on Facebook or Ravelry.
And once I get this cast off, I should probably make my sibling’s tablecloth the next crafting project.
Kayla Rudbek
@HeleninEire: I am the eccentric aunt who buys lots of books for my younger nephews. I’m still sorting out who gets what books for Christmas as I bought a bunch off ThriftBooks and some of them are a bit advanced for the six year old one, particularly the one about the Assateague wild horses that discusses the contraceptive shots.
Mai Naem mobile ¹
@Suzanne: I discovered DeFalcos years ago when I went to pick up a Christmas gift from Fairytale Brownies whose location was next to the old DeFalcos’ location. It was a crappy location. The strip center was mostly vacant so they must have gotten a good deal on the lease. I worked with a guy who was from NY who only shopped at delis for Italian stuff and mentioned DeFalcos. He said DeFalcos was okay but he said Romanelli’s at 35th and Dunlap was much better. I still haven’t checked out Romanellis.
eemom
“Husbands and wives generally understand when opposition will be vain.” — Jane Austen
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
I might be going to NYC this spring/summer for a weekend trip. TBD.
I was looking into Amtrak, having never been on a real train before.
My god, the ticket price for 1 person in coach was $143 from CLE to NYC one way in the spring/summer. And the trains always arrive in the middle of the night in CLE.
Anyone who has ridden Amtrak before, is that an outrageous price? I was hoping for something under $100
mrmoshpotato
@Omnes Omnibus:
LOL!
Gin & Tonic
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): That seems pretty reasonable for Amtrak (I typically ride in the Northeast Corridor.)
eemom
@zhena gogolia:
@Geminid:
Dunno what era y’all are from, but they were “subs” when I was in New Haven (1980-1984). There was Park Street Sub across from where I lived, now long gone. :(
And Yorkside is on, um, York Street, not Whaley Ave.
NotMax
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Keep an eye out for satby, a frequent Amtrak rider.
mrmoshpotato
@lowtechcyclist: LMAO!
Gin & Tonic
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Missed the edit window, but I just took a look at schedules, and the Lake Shore Limited arrives in NYC at 6:42pm, which is hardly the middle of the night.
Geminid
@eemom: You are mixing up two comments. I mentioned Whaley Ave., ZG talked about Yorkside.
They probably only told you they were subs, not grinders.
frosty
@Lord Fartdaddy (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): There are no hoagies west of the Susquehanna. I will take up that fight with you!
Captain C
@zhena gogolia: Having eaten there when I lived in AZ, as I recall Cheba Hut gives all their sandwiches weed-themed names and KGB stands for Killer Green Bud.
Anyway
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Amtrak is expensive and many lower cost alternatives have emerged in the NE corridor. Buses are popular and convenient in the DC-NYC route. Looks like the RT bus fare for Cleveland -NYC is $90
Jackie
@Anyway: Greyhound bus long distance is miserable. An Amtrak train ride may be more expensive, but they’re so much fun overall! You can get up and move between cars rather than being stuck in a seat…
Geminid
@Anyway: Intercity bus travel is on the upswing. I hear some of the buses have Wifi outlets and little fold-down tables for people using laptop computers.
A good supplement to other mass transit. Many of the routes go from city center to city center, which is an advantage over air travel.
Martin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): That sounds about right. Amtrak isn’t particularly cheaper. SF to San Jose is about $100.
Part of the problem is that they have limited ability to increase supply of seats, and at least here on the west coast, the trains tend to be full so there’s no real ability to lower prices and still cover costs, so prices are stuck being kindof high.
I have the same problem taking the train here – I can leave LA at 9am which is great – I can take the commuter train to get to that train early enough, but coming back it arrives around 9PM and those trains are no longer running unless there happens to be a Surfliner running at that hour, which there sometimes is and sometimes isn’t.
Basically, because the freight railroads own everything and will never share, even when Congress forces them to, improving passenger rail is really freaking hard.
But Amtrak is a lot more pleasant than air travel. Seats are roomy, you can move around. It’s slower, but it also leaves you more connected to the places you are traveling through, which I enjoy a lot.
Eolirin
@Martin: Amtrak is generally more expensive than alternative trains, where they exist, which is not everywhere certainly.
Anyway
@Jackie: in the NE there are non-Greyhound options for DC to NY that do not suck. Don’t know about other routes.
ETA they used to be called Chinatown buses but now there are many more of them.
Anyway
@Geminid: yes, most buses have WiFi and AC! I don’t use the bus much but a friend takes it often and finds it convenient.
narya
@Gin & Tonic: I take the Lake Shore Limited (with a roomette), and have since the 1980s, but my heart also belongs to the Capitol Limited and the no-longer-running Broadway Limited.
Origuy
Did you mean LA to San Jose? Because Amtrak doesn’t go directly to San Francisco; you have to get off in Emeryville and take a bus across the Bay Bridge. Caltrain from SF to San Jose is $10.50. San Jose to LA on Amtrak runs around $100 for coach.
The Unmitigated Gaul
“Yellowstone, a poorly written shlocky bit of right wing agitprop loaded with odious people doing awful things to each other.”
Prefect review.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Found an r/travel thread on Amtrak. Not looking good 🥴
BigJimSlade
@TBone: That’s more like what I was thinking.
WTFGhost
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I rode some of the western Amtrak lines for 4-7 hour trips. For me, “not driving” made up for the problems of being on the train. Of course, I’m in constant pain and fatigue, so 4-7 hours of driving is more torturous than I realized. (Yes, train, *or* traffic, could turn a 220 mile trip from 4-7 hours travel.)
I did once take the Empire Builder, with a room, and it was pleasant, but, on the whole, I’d have preferred the plane because I couldn’t enjoy the experience. I travelled with a photographer who *loved* the trip, and the wine tasting, and the food, and the whole experience of just being in a private room on a train, while travelling through *beautiful* country – near cities, train tracks *do* tend to be in the ass-end of the city, but, out in the country, you have some *beautiful* scenery.
It’s a shame we don’t have better train service. People complain about subsidies to Amtrak, but the entire air traffic control system, and highway system, are *huge* subsidies too, Good rail, good roads, and good airports, give more flexibility, and there’s no reason we couldn’t have at least *semi-high* speed rail, much faster than driving, more comfortable than the bus, not as fast as (but more pleasant than) the plane… flexibility and choice are good things, and it’s always good to have more transport infrastructure (all else being equal).
hotshoe
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
hmm, been a decade since I took the train cross-country, and I had a blast. Everyone brought whole picnics of food and ate in the the upper level of Superliner Sightseer Lounges. Folks playing card games. A little illegitimate drinking. I guess you’d have to make sure your scheduled train has the Superline cars. Else you have to eat at your own seat. Ordinary seats are not too uncomfortable to take a nap, but if the train in full you probably won’t be allowed to take two seats to lie down on.
Still wouldn’t take the Greyhound, depending on exactly which route you’re on, it’s going to take as long or longer than the train (varies from 12 to 16 hours) and that’s on a bus where you can’t get up and walk around, can’t go up to the observation level … fare is around $70 for next summer, so it does save a lot of money compared to the train, but … if it were me, I would find a way to come up with the extra for the train.
Driving a car is something like seven hours, a dozen gallons of gas (or several stops to recharge the e-car), tolls on I-80. Don’t drive to NY City.
hotshoe
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Dunno who those folks are, dunno where they were going. But airfare Cleveland to NY is listed (on cheap flights) as way more expensive than train for next spring. Maybe twice as expensive.
Might be a little faster, but you have to waste two hours at the airport first.
laura
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Do It! It is totally worth the cost, the fuss, the bother. (Oh, how I wish I could arrive in New York City, again, for the first time.)
Do not hesitate to go. You will feel at home in New York City because it is for everyone.
Anyway
that’s the main reason intercity buses in the NE became popular. This time of year they beef up the schedule and run extra buses
ETA check out Great Wolf Bus line
Anyway
Agreed. NYC during the holidays is special. Encountering NYC for the first time is magical. Do eeet. Goku!
Raflw
Just got caught up on yer dad, Cole. Fingers crossed for him & y’all.
I had fish and chips here on vacay in Kauai this evening. The catch of the day was ono, also known as wahoo. I liked it, was a fine dinner, but my first reaction was “is this fried chicken”? The texture is dense and the fish is white in a more opaque way than, say, cod.
Last night was a burrito filled with rice, beans, salsa and grilled blue marlin. It was so good! I have mixed feelings about eating those big game fish, but apparently the local population is not considered overfished, and heavy metals are not seen to be a concern in Hawaiian blue marlin. (This is good to know, since I’ve had fish dinners four nights in a row. I often go nuts on fish when traveling and eating out. There’s a decent chance I’ll have fish again tomorrow evening!)
Wishing you all a good night here where it’s not even (quite) bed time.
NotMax
@Raflw
Did someone say eating fish?
:)
Martin
@Origuy: Yes, LA to SJ. Thanks for catching that.
Martin
@Anyway: Particularly arriving in NYC by train. Driving/flying in sucks, but stepping out of Grand Central or Penn Station is a great sensation.
satby
Well, I had to fly 50 out of 52 weeks a year for several years for my job in IT, and now the train is a far less stressful, relaxing pleasure by comparison. And yes, it’s slower and not always on time, but for me the journey is part of the trip and I enjoy seeing parts of the country I previously flew over. I handle the “not always on time” aspect with trip insurance for long trips, which covered a hotel and a refund of my outbound price for one trip once. I’ve mostly been on trains that aren’t packed so I’m the only one in my two seat row, the seats recline like lounge chairs and are quite comfortable. And the social aspects of the train are part of the fun for me too, so I hang out a lot in the observation car, meeting and chatting with people. But it is more suited for people not on a rigid timetable like a short weekend trip, especially if you have to be home on time for your job. What people often forget is planes are frequently delayed (or cancelled) too; I’ve lost lots of time in airports waiting for weather conditions to improve enough to take off. And the cascade of suck when a major airport is down for bad weather affects flights where the weather is fine. So my rule for travel is just roll with whatever happens, it’s all out of your control anyway.
Martin
@satby: The Coast Starlight (Seattle-LA) goes through a LOT of college towns that don’t have nearby airports, so anything around holidays/end of term tends to be packed, and the rest of the time it’s merely quite full.
I suspect they could double the number of trains if the freight operator would allow it. But they also need to do a lot of upgrades on that route. There’s so many agricultural areas they go through with level, unsignaled crossings that the train needs to slow for that it really slows the trip down. It’s a lovely trip, though, especially the trip north of Chico. I’ve only gone as far as Eugene, but that last half was really, really lovely.
satby
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Be aware that ticket prices fluctuate just like plane prices, as the train fills the remaining seats get more expensive. Also try not to travel during holiday/spring break/peak times, because those are times the train fills up with families and college students.
satby
@Martin: I took that last year at the end of spring break. And that trip (LA to Seattle, the 4 days later home to Chicago on the Empire Builder) was the only time I had to share my row with other passengers. But the scenery made up for it. And some of the company. Surprisingly, the Empire Builder has one of the best on time rates, and we were early arriving at most of the stations.
Martin
@satby: Yeah, Coast Starlight isn’t great on that front. The worst was a stop in Oakland to hook up a Federal Railroad Administration executive’s private car to the train, which took them over 2 hours. I was getting off at San Jose on that trip to catch up with my family, and had we known we’d be sitting there, I’d have gotten off the station 3 minutes earlier and had my wife pick me up there. That was infuriating.
sab
@Anyway: I am not an urban person, and the two times in my life I have been in NYC freaked me out, not in a good way.Those dark canyons between tall buildings, all those people slamming into each other on the sidewalks.
I envision Hell in the afterlife as NYC. Not hellfire. Just darkness and crowds.
My older sister disagrees. She sees it as exciting bustle.
TBone
Awake for suckitude season. Josey Wales of the Nicked Ear is, in fact, dying according to the vet (fluid on lungs and in abdomen showed on yesterday’s scan, she said it’s either lymphoma or congestive heart failure). All we can do is try to keep him comfy and fed and watered. He’s up and at ’em right now, still eating a bit, purring, walking around. I got the contact info. for a home euthanasia person for when it’s time. It is not yet time.
Suckitude is so fucking hard.
sab
@TBone: I am so sorry for you and him. We all are mortal, but end of life still sucks. He is lucky to have you there. I remember when I couldn’t help my StarScream. My best cat ever.
sab
@TBone: Nicked ear means he was a rescue? Lucky he found you.
Jay
@TBone:
I am so sorry, but you gave him a good life and love.
TBone
@sab: when our behind-us neighbors got a doberman that eats cats 3-4 years ago, Josey moved out of their house permanently (along with another cat we couldn’t save). Josey and his compadre, Tux, sat at the edge of our yard, watching us, for a full year. We feed any/all of the neighborhood cats every day (to this day, in our shed that has ingress for kitties and kitty shelters inside made of beer coolers with 7″ hole cut in the end filled with straw and blankets). Josey would not get near us for that year, Tux still won’t but Tux still goes inside at his owners’ house off and on, we don’t know what their “let the cat in” criteria is but Tux is a tougher, scratchy hombre.
Josey saw that Noah would sit in my lap everyday and finally decided we were okay one very cold, rainy November night. He walked up and jumped into my outdoor chair “I give up, please help me!” soaked to the skin, wracking cough, rail thin…
We put him in our finished, cozy basement and from that moment on he was ours. He got sleek and fatter. His little, protruding belly was a source of pride for me and he loves belly rubs. He would come and go each day whenever he wanted but he never again ventured any further than 20 yards from our door.
I hate this but at least we gave him a best life retirement.
I am sorry for everyone who has ever had to feel helpless. It’s not my first time either, but it never gets easier.
Thanks for listening!
sab
@TBone: He really was lucky finding you
Four years is a long time in cat life. He had a happy safe retirement.
TBone
@sab: 💜
sab
@TBone: Our StarScream begged to move in during a November storm. He was a stray, barely a year old at that time, facing his first Ohio winter.
TBone
@sab: another lucky fellow to find you and your love.
Some days I want to be able to save the whole world. It feels like I have that much room inside.
TBone
I found this little story last night and smiled through the tears. Sharing again in case anyone else needs the smile this morning.
https://www.robertleefulghum.com/evangelist/
An illustration of how I frequently feel about my fellow jackals
Jay
So, yesterday, T had bloodwork done, and EKG and a “fitting”.
Previous “medical info” had said it was “markings for the surgery”.
Yeah no.
The markings are for a “stoma”. If they can’t stich her intestines back together, they pull the cut parts out through the stomach wall and attach it to a bag, that you poop into for the rest of your life.
That was right out of left field.
Fuck.
TBone
@Jay: oh dear, I am hugging you with my broken heart. My Dad had a colostomy bag too.
All I can do is try to hold on to you across the ether and remind you that we are ALL here for you any time.
Every time.
sab
@Jay: Thinking of you always.That is rough.
TBone
@Jay: do you have in real life people nearby who can support you and help you both through this?
I do not have that kind of support system here. It’s another reason why I went back to church recently, to try to make some human connections after my years of being feral in the wilderness.
Ramalama
@satby: 50 out of 52 weeks? Comedians don’t even spend that much time on the road. Do you tell jokes while doing your IT things?
Jay
@TBone:
@sab:
Thank you both,
This, sadly, is a possibility they should have told us about, 3 months ago.
Now I have 2 days to learn everything I need to know, in case.
TBone
@Jay: goddamnit.
Dad’s need for one was sprung on us the day of surgery (after surgery) too. My guess is that they don’t want you to have too much time to spend dreading it beforehand.
Is there a cancer support group or other IRL people you can talk to there? After you have educated yourselves, I mean…
Ramalama
@TBone: aw that sucks. I’m sorry.
Jay
@TBone:
Not really, T has her parents, sister and her BFF Bun.
Her parents are old, have their own med issues, Bun’s husband is a Vietnam Agent Orange Vet with tons of health issues.
T’s sister has volunteered, but we have a 1bdr, and T needs the couch to sleep comfortably, so, plus, she would have to take time off work.
I can’t reach out to Steve, because he is also close with my estranged brother and family, and has “loose lips”, and my estranged brother, wife and 5 children are feral fundi’s.
It’s okay, I am there for T no matter what.
But thank you for asking.
satby
@Ramalama: The week between Christmas and New Year’s off, and the week before Easter, and I suspect that was just because the company didn’t want to shell out for higher airfare during peak travel times; as well as that’s when most people took vacation days anyway. It was tough, but at least I only went to and from one destination each week. Except in England, that was a new city every one or two days, via the excellent British railway system.
Ramalama
@Jay: well that sucks. Will the surgeries do something about all that pain?
TBone
@Jay: crap, I’m also kind of isolated from friends and family by physical distance, which is better than your reasons. It may sound crazy, but strangers who know what you’re going through can also help.
We’ll all try here, holding hands and walking through the fire together.
T’s sister could use an air mattress to sleep on, they are comfy (I know from experience).
https://cancer.ca/en/living-with-cancer/how-we-can-help
Jay
@Ramalama:
The banding really helped with the pain from the last surgery,
so, we see what happens with this next two.
Ramalama
@satby: it kind of sounds like fun. How long did you have to keep it up?
Rusty
@eemom: I was a late night regular to Park Street Sub in the mid to late 80’s, the closest food to my dorm. That or Wawa’s. Loved their homemade peanut butter cups, and they would front you food until you could pay in a few days.
sab
6 am Cats roaming and angry. Sorry guys. It isn’t even morning.
WereBear
@Jay: They have a stupid habit of thinking their “usual” won’t land like a bomb. All my sympathies to T.
Jay
@TBone:
Thank you,
we have the BC Cancer Clinic here which offer support.
I am taking care of T, food, physical, emotional,
Even though I am in my deepest depression of my life, ( almost 2 year now),
I show up, I clean, I cook, (which is “weird”, most of the stuff like brown rice, that we had adopted as “healthy” are now verbotten, no cheese, no dairy, etc), take her to her appointments, record meetings, etc.
I love her. Simple as that.
TBone
@Jay: I am glad you know about and have the Clinic for support.
I know you are there for T.
It’s also who is there for you that concerns me. Caregivers cannot go on and on without help – caregivers need care too, they need rest breaks, and more.
Ask me how I know (the hard way).
TBone
@TBone: it felt too selfish.
It is not selfish.
Ramalama
@Jay: Odd that the healthy food can get some people to a certain (good) place but if they are beyond that, like T is, no more brown rice. What is it then? Ribs and French fries? Or, like, parboiled chicken on plain rice with jello? A Peanuts Thanksgiving with popcorn, toast, and jelly beans?
satby
@Ramalama: Three years with that group. On accounts, so less travel the rest of the 11 years I was with that company. It was fun (a bit), but the dirty secret is that office parks look very much the same all over the world. I saw a lot of office parks.
Jay
@Ramalama:
Whole grains are an issue, with the bowels. Dairy as well.
It’s for now, not long term, but it is an issue, short term.
Quinerly
Well, since I am in Tucson for 9 days, gotta try out the Cheba Hut here on Campbell Avenue. Thanks for posting about it. Prompted me to check it out on line.
A top meal of the trip was had yesterday after 3 hours at Tumacacori. I let my waiter at Wisdom’s Cafe put together a plate of 2 of his favorites….sizzling right out of the oil chile rellenos and a huge GREEN corn tamale stuffed with calabistas. Guacamole, sour cream, red salsa, and salsa fresca. No beans, no rice. It was damn near perfect, except I can tell I’m going to miss our red and green chile (“Christmas”) of NM now that I’m deep in Arizona.
I’m totally hooked on Wisdom’s, though. Just a great place. Been there since the 1940’s. Great online presence. Plus, I have been getting there email newsletter for years in hopes of finally making it there.
Oh, and I topped off my meal with their world famous fruit burro. I went with cherry. “We take one of our locally made flour tortillas, fill it with the fruit of your choice, roll it up into a burrito & deep fry it ’til it’s golden & crispy, then dust it with cinnamon & sugar ~ served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.”
Awesome place. Love their history. Here’s a link.
https://www.wisdomscafe.com/
Quinerly
@TBone:
Haven’t read thru but a few comments. How’s the kitty?
Jay
@TBone:
I’ll be okay. Took care of my Mom for 3 years, alone, while working 10 hrs a day in Milwaukee, 6 hours a day remote in YVR, 3 weeks a month, one week in YVR, while getting to get beyond dating with T.
Worst it got, I got a tattoo.
Push comes to shove, I dig in.
BellyCat
@TBone: So very sorry. 😢
Geminid
@Geminid: NYT journalist Farnas Fassihi, who reported on singer Parastou Ahmadi’s arrest, has a good article about the impact the story of Bashir Assad’s downfall is having in Iran. It’s from December 13 and is titled:
Felehatpishi says that Syria owed Iran 30 billion dollars when Assad fell. Iranians know where some of that money went. Estimates of Assad’s personal wealth are coming out now, and $12 billion seems to be an accepted figure.
Fatihi goes on to review the reactions of various various Iranian leaders including the new President and Foreign Minister. They don’t seem too defensive about this debacle; they’ve only held office for five months and anyway, it’s the office of Supreme Leader Khameini that calls the shots in this area. Khameni’s office is pushing back by investigating critics including Felehatpishi, the former lawmaker.
Ms. Fassihi finished:
Quinerly
@TBone:
Scrolled up a bit. So sorry.
Hang in there.
TBone
@Quinerly: we are in the process of saying goodbye, cherishing him while he’s here. He’s eaten a bit today, and has walked upstairs and back down twice this morning. When he doesn’t want the food on his various plates downstairs, he comes up and winds around my legs in the kitchen. He got some warmed up beef Gerber’s for his trouble just now.
And I want to give a shout out to Chewy. Their people are so kind. Vet was supposed to order appetite stimulant transdermal ointment so I don’t have to shove anymore meds into him by force. Called Chewy just now and they will follow up with the vet right along with me. So we’ll get the meds by Tuesday at the latest.
Yesterday Josey showed more pluck than I thought he had left in him while I was trying to get him into the plush cat carrier for his appointment. He’s still strong enough to struggle!
TBone
@Quinerly: thank you!
Thank you to everyone also too. It helps to talk it out.
TBone
@Jay: stubborn FTW again!
WereBear
@Ramalama: Search engine “cancer and ketosis” and while you are at it “MS and carnivore” as there is compelling science about using diet in therapeutic ways.
Quinerly
@TBone:
Love Chewy. Great customer service. I think they were bought by Petsmart. Was glad nothing really changed with them. We do Wellness brands on auto ship, along with The Princeling’s treats, including knee caps. I love that front door delivery and not having to lug those huge bags of dry food around. And I love those $30 off coupons that come up frequently. I’m even doing my bird seeds now from Chewy.
WereBear
@Jay: Actually, it’s dairy because of gluten issues. When I went no-gluten dairy became good for me.
As always, we vary, and it’s a shift, but the new normal because of the way diet can enhance treatment.
Ohio Mom
@hotshoe: And then you have to get from the airport to wherever you are staying in NYC. That can be a long slog. Especially if you have more than a knapsack for luggage, and even then.
zhena gogolia
@Geminid: at yorkside they’re called grinders. Other places do have subs.
Ramalama
@Jay: Jesus, Jay. All that rock climbing trained you good, right?
Also…
I’m reminded of one of my early summers up in the Laurentian mountains, hanging with a crowd of Quebec young people (adults but young). Grilling, bonfires, night swimming, guitar playing, croquet couple times a week. Before eating everyone cheered, “Santé” and “Bon appétit!” One guy they turned to me and asked me what Americans said before a meal and everyone stopped.
“Either we say a prayer or if not religious we say, ‘Dig in.’ ”
They repeated it a lot that night, as if they needed to get it to sink in. Dig in. I felt like a shrugging neanderthal.
Geminid
@Quinerly: Have you seen any pistachio farms around southern Arizona? I read there’s at least one near Tucson.
Once when I was driving I-10 from Tuscon to Las Cruces I spotted a pistachio farm just over the New Mexico border. I remember a sign encouraging visitors to stop by their farm market.
I might have stopped but it was already evening. I got some good pecans once on my way back from New Mexico, at a farm stand near Vinita, Oklahoma.
Geminid
@zhena gogolia: I figured. I was just having fun doing a little pushback.
TBone
@Ramalama: my mom would shout out
Pissed off her parents when they made her say grace before supper more than once. Grandparents then started asking us kids instead. Lol!
Quinerly
@Geminid:
Have done 3 trips over the years to Alamogordo/White Sands/Cloudcroft/ Ruidoso. Maybe even 4. All three traveling dogs have been to White Sands starting with Leo. Think Poco went twice.
Love the pistachio places around Alamogordo and the pecan places around Tularosa.
All 3 dogs have been photographed in front of McGinn’s giant pistachio in Alamogordo.
Fun fact…..in the years of vacationing and driving around talking to strangers in NM for 10 Februarys and now living in NM, I have driven all areas and most of the backroads of the state. I have run out of new to me areas. Now have moved on to AZ. Have covered everything north of 40 to Williams. I am now working on south of 40. I have done Sedona a few times. Adore tiny Clarkdale and sweet Jeromw. Loved Prescott and that area last December. Just left the Bisbee/Sierra Vista area. Have done all around Globe.
Tucson will all be new. Phoenix is in the future as is west of 19. Gotta get to Oatman and the free roaming burros!
Always great to read your comments. Have a great Sunday. Today for me is the 4th Avenue Street Fair in Tuscon. Both east and west sides of Saguaro NP tomorrow.
Quinerly
@Geminid:
Been to Vinita, OK too!
Quinerly
@Geminid: oh, a few years back, Poco and I car camped in February at that Oliver Lee Memorial State Park in Alamogordo. We had spent a Saturday afternoon sitting in the sun listening to music, eating pitashios and drinking wine at Heart of the Desert in Alamogordo. The dog friendly Motel 6 was full. I didn’t want to look around for anything else. I was prepared for car camping on that trip so we went for it. Fun times. Poco wasn’t high maintenance like my supposedly “working dog” JoJo las Orejas. Poco went with the flow. JoJo is literally “not a happy camper.”
Ramalama
@TBone: Your mom sounded (sounds?) like a lot of fun.
Geminid
@Quinerly: Osage Hills State Park in Northeastern Oklahoma is a nice place to camp. I think I stayed there the night before I bought those pecans near Vinita.
TBone
@Ramalama: does anyone wonder why I’m so quirky? She was the best at inappropriate laughter at the most (in)opportune moments!
BSR
@cain: Yes they do – just a few blocks away and Cole raving about his sandwich has me thinking about what’s for lunch!
JMG
@Lord Fartdaddy (formerly Mumphrey, et al.): They’re hoagies in Philadelphia and south Jersey, but weirdly enough, where I grew up in Wilmington, Del., which is all of 20 miles southwest of Philly, they were and are subs.
Terraformer
John, if you haven’t already been, I highly recommend Chino Bandido over on W Bell Rd in Phoenix
She’s Chinese, he’s Mexican, and the fusion is excellent. Try the Jade chicken as a burrito
JML
@TBone: lol. “Good bread, good meat, good lord, let’s eat!”
NotMax
@JMG
Underneath every placard at Blimpie: “America’s Sub Shop.”
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@TBone:
As fellow animal nuts, we like to share in the joy as well as the sorrow of having these creatures in our lives for an ever so brief period. Losing them is never easy and it never gets easier.
I know as humans we’re wired somehow to believe in an afterlife so I always imagine our pets are out there somewhere, either waiting for us or floating along supported by the love we gave them during their lifetime.
And the loving memories we carry with us until we’re gone.
When making the final decision, remember that JW doesen’t fear death, he fears the pain of today. A former vet friend of ours once said “You don’t have to wait until an animal is suffering; the best call is just before the suffering starts.”
Good luck.
WaterGirl
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): get your tickets at least 6 months in advance. If you’re one of the first 15% to book, the cost is half as much as it is later. So book now. ;-)
Kayla Rudbek
@Jay: that sucks and they should have told you about that earlier. I hope that T comes through this well.
Kayla Rudbek
@TBone: sorry to hear that. It sounds like you gave him a good life when you found him.