Hot Dog!

The past two Saturdays, my son, Richard, and I worked at the concession stand at his high school football field. We volunteered via the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO). Richard helped in the concession stand selling candy, soda, hot dogs, hot chocolate and coffee. Everything is $1 except hot dogs which are $2.

I helped grill the hot dogs. The PTO has a very nice propane gas grill that is outside the concession stand. The customer buys the bun (on a paper plate) from the concession stand and we just drop the hot dog into the bun.

Both this week and last week, we sold over 200 hot dogs per game. The hot dogs are Hebrew National are delicious when grilled: juicy and sweet (just like Sugardale dogs in Clevo).

We had a great time (and the home team won both games). Richard is a great helper and they invited him to come back anytime to help. So he agreed to come back next week. That's great!

Saturday in September

The weather forecast for today (Saturday September 24, 2011) was not promising: overcast with chance of rain; it rained most of Friday evening/Saturday morning.

On the positive side, the decaying NASA satellite did not hit us.

Unfortunately, Richard's roller hockey team seems to be suffering a let down from their playoff loss (on Sunday 9-11). Today marked their third loss in three games for the fall season. We lost our goalie at the end of the summer season due to back problems. Today we heard that he may have a torn disc which could require surgery if 2-3 months of rest does not help. Please keep Tyler in your prayers for healing.

My original plan was to drive back to the shore and attend the annual "Meet the Artists" at Milford's Green. However, due to the weather, decided against it.

Richard & I enjoyed lunch at Angelina's Pizzeria. We shared a "slice" of cheese and a (very large) chicken caesar salad. They had a college football game on the big screen.

Then we went back to Lynn's apartment to watch the Indians game on TV. It looked like a beautiful day in ClevO as the Tribe beat the Twins 8-2.

Since we had been sitting so much and the weather was calm, we went for a nice walk around the neighborhood for about an hour and a half. Lynn and I like to take a brisk pace; but Richard apparently thought he got all the exercise he needed this morning at roller hockey.

On Stage

Yesterday (Saturday September 17, 2011), Richard and I enjoyed an open house at Hartford Stage. As you may recall, Richard volunteered earlier this summer for their production of Break Dancing Shakespeare - The Tempest. Lynn noticed a listing for the open house and recalled that Richard and me had attended last year's event.

We had a nice chat with the summer student program coordinator, Kirstin.

An interesting lecture about the background of the play was presented in the theater by the Senior Dramaturg (that is actually a titled position!).

Fortunately, our tour was conducted by the Associate Production Manager, Andy. He was able to give a lot of technical information, especially about the lighting (a keen interest of Richard); afterwards, he shared his educational background and gave tips about college.

Richard and I slipped out for a bit of lunch just around the corner at Pietro's Pizza. We enjoyed a slice and a soda while chatting and glancing at the big screen TV which was broadcasting a German Day Heritage Parade in NYC. The we strolled around downtown Hartford for a bit.

For desert, we each got a cupcake from a food truck, The Cupcake Brake. Richard had "Plain Twain" with vanilla frosting; I had "Vernon Velvet" (a soft, red chocolate) with white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

After checking out the parking garage adjacent to the theater to see how last year's renovation had changed the space, we returned for a short light and sound demonstration of the opening scene of the current play, The Crucible.  You may remember that Richard read the play in school last year. Therefore, he is not very interested in sitting through the 3-hour play.

When we got back to Lynn's apartment, we were able to catch (on TV), the ending of the Indians 10-4 win over the Twins.