The only souvenir I remember my dad having was a piece of shrapnel that cut him behind his ear on a Japanese bombing raid. His CO wanted him to get a Purple Heart, but he said no for just a scratch.
Today is my MIL's birthday. I think she turned 89, but it is impolite to ask. For brunch my wife got some dim sum from Yummy House. She loved it, but it was nowhere near the dim sum I have had in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. For dinner I am making her request which is a farfalle pasta with a sun dried tomato and roasted red pepper sauce with heavy cream and shrimp. It is my take on a recipe from Bon Apatite that had no shrimp. Adding the shrimp takes it to another level. Also the original recipe called for penne, but farfalle is an improvement.
I grew up in San Francisco and my wife lived in Manhattan for several years. In our opinion the dim sum at Mr. Han's is better than NY, but not as good as San Francisco. I haven't eaten at Yummy House, but my wife is not a fan.
Mr Han is great, especially if you have a Chinese friend in your party to get the good stuff. My friend gave me props for eating things that he thought that I wouldn't eat, like chicken feet. My San Francisco experience was from getting a recommendation from a shop clerk in Chinatown the night before. My wife and I were the only Caucasians in the place and the place was huge. OMG was it good. I have no idea what I was eating because none of the servers spoke English. They would just point at things and smile. I was disappointed in what we got today, but I have been there on other occasions and it was OK.
Falling back once again to simple and good—Grilling wings with a cold tray tonight. In honor of my Dad I watched Band of Brothers on the History Channel today. God bless all Veterans and their families. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Tonight we are using up the remnants of the smoked chicken in a salad and I am making rice with datil peppers as a side. I also spent some of the afternoon making bird blocks.
Cole Slaw recipe......what do you think? - (1) 16oz bag cole slaw - 1/4 cup chopped onion (I like vidalia) - 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper - 1/4 cup chopped green onions - 1/8 cup sugar - 1 1/2 tsp black pepper - 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder - 1 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning (Tony Chacheres, Slap ya Mama, etc.) - 1 cup mayonnaise - 1/2 TBSP yellow mustard - 1 TBSP white vinegar For best results make it up about 6 hours ahead of time... overnight is better.
I prefer vinegar based slaw over ones with mayo. Here is a good one: Tangy Vinegar Based Carolina Coleslaw Is Perfect for Barbecues I cut the sugar in half and double the celery seeds.
Tonight is jambalaya with chicken and andouille. Still working on getting rid of that smoked chicken.
Tonight I’ll be grilling bone-in country cut ribs indirect over cherry wood smoke. Our sides will be fresh pink eye peas with snaps and rice pilaf. Jalapeño cornbread will also be on hand. The last two days here have been stifling hot even though only reaching 93*—no breeze or wind makes it feel like dog days already. The ice cold longnecks and chilled wine on the back porch will be greatly appreciated. Life is good in Gator Nation!
My Dad had a very good friend who was "one of them". They'd sit in the PM and have a beer and tell jokes, stories etc. As a little kid I loved to hide and listen in since most to the jokes were kind of dirty about women. Then one PM his friend began telling my Dad of the nightmares returning on the shootings of German prisoners. I walked away in shock and never listened in again. When it was shown in the Band of Brothers, I teared up thinking of him who had passed away with that repeated same nightmare many years back.
God no. He was a Goldwater conservative. He thought that his success in life was do solely to his hard work in spite of the fact that he never would have gone to college without the GI Bill and some good luck getting into college as a football player because one of his former coaches put in a good word to George Halas that called the head coach at the school he wanted to attend as an engineering student. My dad said that he attended one practice and quit the team. But he always thought that everything he achieved was due solely to his own effort and not to good fortune.
There is no emoji that I can post here, but it would have lots of tears. War is awful. It sucks. Occasionally somebody can be honorable, but it usually goes the other way. Killing people is usually not a good thing.
350— My Dad was a Paratrooper in the 517th PRCT (brother unit to 101st). He never talked about any graphic specifics, only of what they called humor or camaraderie. He did tell me that his Major told him to climb a light pole to cut German lines that were about 75’ off the ground. He got about 30’-35’ up and Germans started taking pot shots at him. He said when the 3rd round whistled by him he kicked loose and slid back down, picked up his M-1 Garand and in 4 shots cut the 3 lines….His Major looked at him and said “Outstanding Sgt. Horne!”
My dad participated in the sinking of a lot of Japanese shipping in the South China Sea. He did not like that he took the lives of many people doing it. Talking to him late in life he regretted doing it, but he had to do it as his duty. Even though we disagreed on politics he was a good man. I miss him.
