Vacation Time Stories

  My family is getting ready to take our more or less semi-annual vacation to the Jersey Shore and visit my brother, so I thought I’d share a couple of stories from past New Jersey trips.

  3 years ago we went to eat lunch at the boardwalk in Seaside Heights and got a pizza pie from one of the ‘3 Brothers from Italy’ stands. We’ve always liked their pizza and they have a large covered eating area where you can get out of the sun while you eat. When you order a whole pie, you get it in the pan and get the paper plates separate. There was a couple a few tables over that also had a whole pie. It must have been a slow time of the day because we were the only people in the place. While we were eating our pie and relaxing, the other couple left and only ate half their pie. After about 15 minutes, one of the ‘Three Brothers’ walked around and wiped off the tables. When he got to the table with the half a pie, he picked up the pan, went back to the ovens and put the pan (still with the pie in it) on top of the oven. We waited a few more minutes and someone came by and ordered a slice. You guessed it. A slice form the discarded pan went into the oven, on to a paper plate, and into the customer’s hands. I’ve never looked a slice of pizza the same way. I was sort of hoping someone would leave a half a cup of lemonade around so I could see where that would go. We won’t be going to ‘Three Brother’s from Italy’ for pizza anytime soon. Even if we ordered a whole pie, there is the possibility that 2 people would have left half a pizza each.

  There are a few stores 2 blocks from the beach where you can get beach supplies, groceries, etc... One year my brother met us at the shore and did not bring anything with him so we went to a store owned by an Indian lady to get some beachwear. The Indian lady’s son was working in the store and my brother asked him if he got to go to the beach much. He smiled and said that he went every night after the store closed, but his mother had never been to the beach. We asked her and she said she had owned the store for 19 years and indeed had never been to the beach. Then we went to the convenience store around the corner to get some Gatorade. It was owned by an Asian couple. My brother asked the lady how long she had worked there and she said she’d been there for 30 years. My brother then asked her how many times she had been to the beach and she said, “What beach?”

Progress on 2010 resolutions

Blogs                60       (out of 104)
Stationary Bicycle  395 miles (out of 525)
Push-ups           6080       (out of 8000)

  The stationary bicycle and push-ups are starting to get a little boring. Next year's fitness resolutions will involve lifting weights and hitting things.