Your Weekly Antics, The Poor Mans Sombrero Edition 2-15-2024...

Well kids, happy Thursday, it's almost Friday and most of us have a long weekend to look forward to because Monday is Presidents' Day. Let's hear it for George Washington and Abraham Lincoln who we have to thank for sleeping in and not having to drag ourselves out of bed into the cold on Monday morning. Its origin dating back to the 1880's, Presidents' Day in the United States was initially established to acknowledge Washington and Lincoln, but now acknowledges all Presidents past and present and is always celebrated on the third Monday in February. That's your history lesson for today people, here's what I've got...

1.  While out doing the work of the people and making home visits, we run across a little bit of everything. Many of those we visit show their appreciation and hospitality by offering us food and beverages. Doesn’t matter what time it is, its noon time somewhere folks, especially if you’re retired and have nowhere to be. I’ve been offered coffee, tea, soda, water, beer, wine, grain alcohol, glug, moonshine, whiskey, to name a few, I must admit this week was a first. Now don’t be jealous, but I was offered what was described to me as The Poor Mans Sombrero. I arrived at my newest clients home at 10 am to find him happily mixing up this concoction of Vodka and chocolate milk, and then offering to do the same for me – in honor of cupid’s holiday of course. A jolly and resourceful man he was, using what he had on hand to provide himself the liquid breakfast of champions. The only thing that made this scene better was while mixing his cocktail if you will, he was doing so while seated at his kitchen counter on his rolling walker, not wearing pants. Drink up...Happy Valentine’s Day one and all.  

Exhibit 1, Let there be no mistake about it. This is not a photo of the Poor Mans Sombrero. The Poor Mans Sombrero is served luke warm in a chipped coffee mug.

2. After reading the above, you may have asked yourself, the Poor Mans Sombrero can be considered breakfast? Like the mimosa that consists of champagne and orange juice and provides one with an early morning buzz while ingesting a dose of vitamin C, the drink described above that I will loosely refer to as a cocktail, contains chocolate milk and chocolate milk is dairy. Dairy is a breakfast food people, get with the program. We’ve said it before and will say it again, work smarter not harder. Get it together.

3. On the subject of breakfast, in case you haven't heard, William Post, the inventor of what has been described by some as America's favorite fruit filled breakfast ravioli, has passed away this week at the age of 96. I was not aware of the Pop Tarts origin, and according to many articles posted this week, like this one I read in The Air Force Times, it's stated, that during the height of the Global War on Terror, Pop-Tarts were a coveted treasure. Whether they were traded as valued currency alongside MRE contents or buried under a pile of white socks at the bottom of a care package, for those downrange, they offered a taste of home...(Air Force Times 2/14/24) RIP William Post.

4. If you live in the Woo and in the surrounding towns who suffered through and survived the blizzard that didn’t actually happen earlier this week, I hope you’ve all recovered and shoveled out from the coating to 4 inches of snow that hit us and hit us hard. Now before you all go blaming the weatherman, let’s remember this. School systems and businesses everywhere can go old school and go back to cancelling the morning of, you know, in the off chance that the weather misses us and there’s no reason to cancel school and close all the businesses after all. Most of these kids don’t know what it’s like to get up at o-dark-hundred and sit in front of the news watching the school cancellations scroll by on the bottom of their tv screens. God forbid you had to look away or run to the bathroom and not make it back in time before your city or towns name scrolled by, because then you'd have to sit through the whole list again. Or worse, listen on the radio while your Mom called the neighbor who called her sister whose brother works with the Superintendents Mothers cousin, to get the inside scoop if school is cancelled, so you could find out before seeing it go across your tv screen. No, let’s just keep cancelling things ahead of time and then complain all the next day when we could’ve sent America’s youth off to school saving them a snow day. Or better yet, quit your complaining. If you can do better, go to meteorology school. Or...volunteer to drive that school bus that will skid and slide all the way down one of Worcester's hills, and then ask yourself if everyone should have gone to school. Or, here's one...just enjoy the day off. :)

For your future weather curiosities and needs, click here...

Worcester, MA Weather Forecast | AccuWeather

5. This is New England people, show your weatherman some love. As Kevin Lemanowitz said on Tuesday, you can’t blame him for all these early premature cancellations. He was tracking the weather like he was supposed to, and the weather changed. The storm shifted, Jack Frost got bored, Mother Nature put the hammer down, whatever the case may be, the storm missed us. It instead went elsewhere and buried other communities while Worcester stayed in the clear. Imagine that, unpredictable ever changing weather in New England. Who would’ve thought? Let's blame the groundhog - he's the fraud who said spring was right around the corner. #bigfatliar #gobacktobed

6. Gibson's got the weatherman's back. He doesn't care how much snow there is, as long as there's some form of precipitation that he can lay around in while surveying his yard. I myself was thrilled with even the small amount of snow because my nonexistent grass needs a break from his horse like paws that have turned the entire yard in to a mud bowl. We've chosen to embrace his Pyrenees traits and pick our battles. He wants to sit out there barking all day at nothing, have at it. See ya in the spring buddy.

7. Friendly reminder…head on over to CVS today for your half off Valentine’s Day candy. They need to make room for the rest of the Easter candy they’ve been putting out since Christmas. We will caution you to prepare yourself to still feel like you're being robbed, not actually saving any money, because don't forget, chocolate prices have gone up. Sorry kids, just trying to keep you informed.

8. Second time’s a charm. Exhibit 1, Gibson graduating for the second time from the High School portion of dog school. There was much improvement. He didn’t sleep through all his classes this time around.

9. Ash Wednesday. The reason the Antics may be lame this week is because I sat down to begin writing them on Valentine’s Day, which I thought was Tuesday, but it wasn’t Tuesday, it was actually Wednesday. This was brought to my attention when my good buddy Colleen B Mahoney pointed out that it was Ash Wednesday. How can it be Ash Wednesday when it’s Tuesday? It can’t be, it wasn't Tuesday, it was Wednesday. Maybe I should’ve started drinking the Poor Mans Sombrero at 10 am after all – clearly, I had no idea what the hell day it was, so tipping one back may not have made any difference in my day. In fact, maybe it would have improved it. Thanks Coll for looking out for me.

10. Exhibit 3, my new half dead plant, also a gift. Went from visit to visit today being offered all sorts of goodies from made up cocktails to dead plants to a package of Twinkies circa 1987. For the record, I only took home the plant and my reason for doing so was it was yanked out of its pot and handed to me, pot-less, roots and dirt intact, needing a new home. I couldn’t leave it behind, someone had to save it.

And last but not least, for many, this nice long weekend also means the beginning of February vacation for all you school aged hooligans out there. Kick back, enjoy your Pop Tarts and stay away from the Poor Mans Sombrero's.

Have a great weekend!