The Burger King Salad Bar

Burger King Salad Bar (1983)

The restaurant that would go on to become Burger King was founded in Jacksonville sixty years ago today.  for a brief period of time in the mid 80's, the chain featured a salad bar in some of their restaurants, including many of their mall locations.

The salad bars offered pita bread that could be stuffed with vegetables, as well as plates that guests could use to put together a plate of salad.

These must not have lasted as long as the Wendy's salad bar because I don't ever remember seeing them when I was a kid, but it's an interesting idea that I think might work if they tried again today.

Pierogies, Potato Cakes, and Polka

Transfiguration Church Picnic
West Hazleton, PA

When I was a kid, my grandparents, my dad and I took a walk over to my grandmother's annual church picnic every July.  Back then, my favorite part were the children's games.  These days, I mostly look forward to all of the good food.

I may not be a religious man, but there's nothing quite like relaxing in the ally of the church where you were baptized listening to live polka music and eating homemade pierogies and potato cakes.

Become A Spectator

https://neonrocketship.tumblr.com/post/55979481975/george-carlin-has-long-been-a-hero-of-mine-this

Sushi Donuts

Sushido Delight
Mister Donut - Thailand
I haven't seen a Mister Donut restaurant since I was a kid, but the chain is still going strong outside of the United States.  In Thailand, they're making donuts that look like sushi.

1993: Braves vs. Marlins

Atlanta Braves @ Florida Marlins
Joe Robbie Stadium
July 9, 1993
I lived in South Florida during the first few seasons of Florida Marlins baseball. We went to about a dozen games in their debut year, including this game that saw John Smoltz pitch 8 innings.  Future Phillies in this game included Braves outfielder Ron Gant, who hit his 20th home run of the season in this game.  On the Marlins, the lineup included catcher Benito Santiago (1996) and left fielder Jeff Conine (2006) who each spent a year of their career in Philadelphia.

Be Respectful

Even if you don't understand, it's not difficult to be kind.  [artwork by Sahee]

WWE Six Man Tag Team Champs

WWE Live (house show)
Mohegan Sun Arena - July 7, 2013
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Roberto and I got to meet former two-time WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund at a WWE house show.  He was a cool dude - perfectly normal one minute, but then as soon as they're about to take the photo, he snapped into his crazy "Mr. Backlund" character and put us in a headlock.  It seems like he truly enjoys meeting fans and creating memorable moments.

Results
Tag Team Match	The Usos (Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso) defeated The Prime Time Players (Titus O'Neil and Darren Young)
Singles Match	Justin Gabriel defeated Heath Slater
WWE Divas Championship Match	AJ Lee defeated Kaitlyn
Singles Match	Randy Orton defeated Big E. Langston
Six Man Mixed Tag Team Match	Brodus Clay, Tensai and Naomi defeated Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and Brie Bella
Singles Match	R-Truth defeated Drew McIntyre Fellow Three Man Band member Jinder Mahal came to the ring with Drew McIntyre.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Last Man Standing Match	Alberto Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler

I enjoyed the matches and the chance to meet a WWE Hall Of Famer, but the best part of the show had to be the tattoos on the guy who sat in front of me.  You have to admire how the dimples and creases on the back of his neck make a nose and a mouth.

Bus Out Of Service

City Bus
West Hazleton, PA
I stumbled onto this old city bus in the woods behind Fern Court while walking little Harvey earlier today.  I'm not sure what year it's from, and I don't know if it's been abandoned or if it's a project that someone is working on, but it truly is a treasure.  I'm not a great photographer by any means, but this is one of my favorite photos that I've taken.  The overgrown plant life and the aged technology give it a bit of a post-apocalyptic feel that I like very much.

My Connection

Donut Connection
Rt. 93 - Hazleton, PA
This location was a Mister Donut restaurant when I was a kid.  It was converted into a Donut Connection in the early 90's, but with the exception of the sign out front, it still looks pretty much the same as it did 30 years ago.

This place isn't fancy, but I love it.  It's a quiet little place to have a coffee and a donut and maybe get a little reading or writing done, and it's right next to a pizza parlor where you can get a slice and a Farmer's Tea.  Can't go wrong with either one.

The Priest They Called Him

William S. Burroughs and Kurt Cobain
Lawrence, KS (1993)
This photo was taken at Burroughs' home while Cobain was visiting.  The two collaborated to produce a spoken word version of a short story called The Junky's Christmas, which was written by Burroughs in 1989.  The nearly 10 minute recording featured Burroughs reading his story with Kurt playing a very trippy Silent Night and To Anacreon In Heaven.  It was called The Priest They Called Him, and it was given a limited release on 10" vinyl twenty years ago today.  You can listen to it here.

Tie On A Passing Breeze

Out Run hand-painted tie
Created by Maya Pixelskaya
Source: It8Bit.com

Introversion

Introversion
Lucie Byron (Luchie)
Absolutely brilliant comic that I relate very strongly to.  Check out the rest of this work, as well as all of Luchie's other comics, on Tumblr.

Before Hells Bells Ever Rang

Trevor Hoffman
1993 Topps - Card #572

Twenty years ago today, one of the most dominant relief pitchers in the history of the game was traded by the Florida Marlins to the San Diego Padres.  At the time, it was seen as little more than a part of the Padres salary dump.  Throughout the summer of '93, the Padres traded Roger Mason to the Phillies, Fred McGriff to the Braves and Gary Sheffield in this deal to the Marlins.

These deals were highly criticized at the time because it was obvious that it was a purely cost-cutting move.  The Padres traded away their best and highest paid players and the general consensus was that they didn't get much in return.  The only prospect that looked like they might develop into a star player was Melvin Nieves who came from the Braves, and he really didn't pan out.

Trevor Hoffman wasn't really considered much of a prospect.  He was originally drafted as a shortstop by the Cincinnati Reds in 1989.  He was converted into a pitcher in their minor league system, but the club left him unprotected during the 1992 Expansion Draft, and he was taken by the Marlins with the 8th pick.  Dad and I were living in Boynton Beach at the time, and we went to quite a few Marlins games in their inaugural season, so we got to see him pitch twice before the trade.  On May 19th, 1993, we saw him come into the game in the 8th inning against the Phillies, and a few weeks later on June 11th, he pitched the final two innings of the Marlins 11-3 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The future closer would go on to spend the next 15+ years with the Padres before moving on to spend the last two years of his career with the Milwaukee Brewers.  He retired after the 2010 season with a remarkable 601 career saves (second only to Mariano Rivera for most of all-time).  He was a seven time All-Star, and an almost certain induction to the Hall of Fame.

More Drive In Announcements

Man Of Steel and The Hangover 3
Laurel Drive-In - Hazleton, PA
I've been going to the Laurel Drive In for over 20 years.  The first movie I've ever watched here was The Karate Kid II when it was a first-run feature.  I love this place.  It's open 7 days a week during the summer, the food is pretty awesome and very reasonably priced, plus you get to see two movies for $7 without having to deal with people screaming or using their cell phone in the theater.

However, despite all of this, one of the most enjoyable parts of the Drive In is listening to the owner's announcements.  He really gets excited about the cheese in his nachos dispenser, and I think he likes to scare the hell out of everyone when he announces the intermission.

I shared a recording of his announcements a couple of years ago, but that was during Opening Weekend when they were operating on a limited menu.  This recording is a compilation of his announcements from last night's screening of Superman: Man Of Steel and The Hangover 3.

Public Square in the 50's

Public Square and Market Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA (1953)

Take A Peep At This

Peeps & Company
Sands Bethlehem Casino - Bethlehem, PA

There's a store in the mall attached to the Sands Bethlehem Casino dedicated to Marshmallow Peeps.  I guess that shouldn't have surprised me too much considering the fact that they're made by a company called Just Born who have their headquarters in Bethlehem, but it was still something I didn't expect to see.

The store is filled with Marshmallow Peeps, Mike & Ikes, Peanut Chews, and other snack foods and merchandise inspired by the products produced by Just Born.

I didn't buy anything because I didn't want to have to run all the way back to the car or hold a bag through the whole concert, but this t-shirt was pretty tempting.  I love the equality sentiment that's being expressed here, but I'm even more amused by the idea that we're all filled with marshmallow fluff.

An Extra Terrestrial Served On A Pile Of Reese’s Pieces

Far East
Sands Bethlehem Casino - Bethlehem, PA

We stopped here for something to eat before the Billy Idol concert.  I didn't see any space aliens on the menu, so I'm guessing that the word at the end was "etc" before the last letter broke off.  ET or no ET, this is a pretty darn good place to grab a bite to eat.

My wife had the sesame chicken with white rice and an order of seared tuna from the sushi bar, and I had a bowl of Roast Duck Ramen that was a lot larger than I was expecting, especially from a restaurant in the food court of a casino.  Everything was delicious!

It's A Nice Day To Start Again

Billy Idol
Sands Bethlehem Event Center - June 9, 2013

There aren't many artists whose music I enjoy more than Billy Idol and I was extremely happy that we had the opportunity to see him live in concert.  Angie even caught a guitar pick at the end of the show!

I'm deliberately mindful to not experience concerts through a camera lens, but at the same time, my memory is kind of lousy so I want to make sure that I have something that helps me to remember that we were there.  In retrospect, I think that I took way too many pictures during this show.

Here is the setlist from the show.

The Turning Point

John Mayberry Jr. hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 11th inning to beat the Marlins 7 - 3.  Let this be the turning point for the Phillies this season.

Recreate The Hart / Luger Finish In 16 Bits

Royal Rumble SNES Flyer
Sears (1993)
One of the fun wrestling games of the 16-bit era is turning 20 years old.  The Super Nintendo version of this game was released in June 1993 with a roster that includes five wrestlers who are not present in the Sega Genesis port that was released three months later: Yokozuna, Ted DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, Tatanka, and Ric Flair, who stopped working for the World Wrestling Federation four months before the game was released.

What's New, Mr. Governor

What's New, Mr. Governor
WVIA (May, 1973)
When my dad was a kid, he was one of the students who was invited to speak with Governor Milton Shapp on WVIA tv.  He's the one wearing glasses on the far right.  He's as big as the governor, and he looks a lot older than the kids around him, but he's really not.  He had just turned 14 years old a few weeks before this photo was taken.

I found the photo last year when I was cleaning out my grandparent's attic.  It was in a manila envelope with this signed letter from Governor Shapp, which is how I was able to tell where and when it was from.  It also gave me a starting point to see if I could find anything on newspapers.com.  From there, I was able to find another photo of my dad on the show and a tv listing that shows when it aired.

It looks like Dad's appearance aired 40 years ago today, on June 1st, 1973.  This was a Friday evening in the summertime, which is a pretty rough timeslot.  He also had some stiff competition from Bert Parks and Young Dr. Kildare.

I keep meaning to ask him if he remembers anything about this show.  Hopefully I remember to ask next time I see him.