I’d just left the coffee shop around the corner when I saw this plaque and Memorial Garden. It’s been awhile since I walked around in the Strip District. I was walking by St. Stanislaus Church (St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish was founded in 1875 as the first ethnic Polish parish in the Diocese of Pittsburgh…) and I stopped to read this tribute. Made me think.
I thought it was a great question to find the answer to.
“What’s GOOD about TODAY?” Memorial Garden -Plaque by Artsignworks
Christian Anthony Cochran an article about family carrying on their son’s legacy By Brian C. Rittmeyer
The other morning I was in the Strip District and saw this salted and dried cod. Then I remembered my friend Donna said I could use her photo of her holding a piece which she used to make the Baccala fish for Christmas.
“I always wondered why we like these things,” said Professor Will Zavala, “I think it’s because they are a mystery. They’re a mystery because their literal meaning is sometimes a puzzle, sometimes they’re advertising products, for the most part, that don’t even exist anymore for companies that aren’t around, even though they must have been household names at the time.”
I wanted to show my granddaughter Anna the Pickle favored Soda at Grandpa Joe’s Candy Store in the Strip District of Pittsburgh.
I’d no idea there were so many unusual flavors. We were window shopping and did not purchase or consume any. They certainly were colorful.
Shirley Temple, Marshmallow or Pickle
Ketchup or Kettle Corn? Bacon?
Blue Cheese? Mint Julep?
Ketchup or Kettle Corn
Blue CheeseMint Julep BaconGuava Sour Puss has many different flavors Kiwi Orange and Blueberry Lemon or Fruit Punch Honey BunBirch Beer or Grape Raisin Bubble Gum on the right Twirly Pop Rainbow Fruit Punch or Strawberry
After our walk, my friends Jen snd I Went to have a coffee. There was a slice of of Earl Grey Tea Bread in the case and she’d had it before. Encouraged me to order snd try it . It was brought to the table with a generous amount butter and lemon zest on top.
We were at de Fer Coffee in the Strip District. And she was right. It was delicious. The butter slathered on top reminded me of the A.A, Milne poem the King’s Breakfast when the Dairymaid asks the Alderney “Don’t forget the butter for The Royal slice of bread.” I’d say the cow did the butter spreading royally!
Remembering how my mother read aloud to me, this is a poem I can hear her voice recite the verses. Another she’d read with great expression was Milne’s poem Disobedience. I’d not thought of either in years.
Until the slice of bread arrived at the table in the coffee shop.
Funny how a slice of bread with lots of butter sparks a childhood memory of a poem being read aloud and the cadence and tone of a mother’s voice can come alive in your head, decades later.
Once my cousin John B wrote that my mother’s voice was mellifluous. I had to look it up!
