Oyitch!

The Flip Side

bottlehilldays — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:15:40 +0000

And here’s what was on the other side of the page — part of a report on The Planets (back when there were nine). Reading it now, I’m relieved to know that I hadn’t yet been taught about attribution!

Springbrook Beats Penbrook!

bottlehilldays — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:07:00 +0000

In honor of the last day of the Olympics, here is documentation of one of my earliest athletic feats. I actually didn’t like swim team practices, and the meets scared me, but you can’t sense that in what I wrote here!

Dave’s Chart — Late October, 1985

bottlehilldays — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 13:42:42 +0000

In this week’s chart, Dave’s feeling particularly poppy. Can’t fault his taste for anything here — “Can’t Get There From Here” is the great overlooked R.E.M. pop single (in my humble opinion), “Our Lips are Sealed” is the Go Go’s finest moment, and “Little Creatures” were the Talking Heads at their poppy best as well. And the Three O’Clock and Squeeze were stalwarts on my mid-80′s charts, too. No indications here of his later predilection towards more rockin’ stuff, while I stayed a “pop” (not popular music) fan.

As for the softdrink footnote, Yoohoo definitely is the winner!

Snapshot of Time: September 1985

bottlehilldays — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 16:17:50 +0000

John’s response – he was at Carnegie Mellon when he wrote this, but flying the Mets’ flag high. He was right about Bombo Rivera’s move to Japan — in fact, he made a splash in a big way in 1985, hitting 31 home runs for the Kintetsu Buffaloes.
As for the “Glad All Over” reference, I had been looking all over for a 45 copy of the pivotal pop song by the Dave Clark Five, in Sam Goodys and thrift shops across northern New Jersey. I never did score a copy.

Starting a Baseball Thread

bottlehilldays — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 02:38:10 +0000

The 1985 pennant race (remember those, before baseball banned them with excessive wild card teams?) came down to the Mets and the Cardinals. Ultimately, the good guys fell short, but there were moments of euphoria which inspired notes like the one below, which was probably addressed to my good friend and partner in agony, John F. His reply will follow next.

40 Years and At Least 100 Horses Apart

bottlehilldays — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:52:17 +0000

And which was the sweeter ride?

American Humor

bottlehilldays — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 14:28:55 +0000

D’oh! This picture must have been taken during one of our junkets to New Orleans to see the Super Bowl. This was the year that a lot of Dad’s buddies also went — Joe the Hawk, Chippy, and others. We did some stuff together the day before the game, including a cruise on the riverboat that you see in the picture. (Got to love Frank’s Widow Browns jacket; I still have two, but only in red, not blue.) One of the guys on the trip was a friend of Dad’s who lived in Chatham, and who I believe was single. We were all in the stateroom of the boat, sitting at tables for lunch. This guy was chatting up one of the women he met on board. Dad told Frank to go over to his friend’s table and say, “Daddy, Mom says you have to come back our table, and she’s mad!” Frank dutifully performed the task with a sheepish grin. I still remember the guy’s momentary look of confusion, and then embarrassment! Anyway, it was a tough weekend for him. He lost $5,000 on the game when the spread didn’t work out at the end, and the last look at him that I got was of him sitting on the bed in his hotel room, head in his hands….

Stamp Collecting

bottlehilldays — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 23:51:53 +0000

As a young man, my grandfather was an avid stamp collector. If you’ve ever been to Harlowton, Montana (and unless you’re a cattle dealer or train enthusiast, you probably haven’t), you’ll appreciate the lifeline to the world that this hobby provided in the early 1900′s.

Having said that, one thing that intrigues me is the Santa Monica return address. A question for Mom!

Springfield House Week Continues

bottlehilldays — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 23:52:57 +0000

Following the theme of this week, here’s a snap of the money clip I’m using at the moment. It has an imitation sharkskin exterior, a felted interior, and was made in the day when men were men and a dollar could buy a dollar’s worth of goods!

Dad on the Joe Franklin Show (Part 3)

bottlehilldays — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:00:53 +0000

The following is the second half of an almost completely accurate transcription of my father’s appearance on Joe Franklin’s television show, the first TV talk show ever, which aired on New York City’s Channel 9 (WWOR) on Saturday, November 6, 1965.

JOE: And we’re now talking about dining out, ladies and gentlemen. And if you live anywhere in New Jersey, it must be the Springfield House. I was wondering, Frank, can I just choose some of the items and ask you to elaborate?

DAD: Sure.

JOE: …because in dining out, the main thing is the cuisine. ”From the Butcher’s Block”, blue ribbon sirloin steak, over a pound, carefully aged and broiled with the bone in, served for two on request. What makes this special?

DAD: It’s a prime piece of sirloin beef. It’s probably the most popular. It’s just a more flavorful piece of meat than the filet would be, so actually any butcher would always grab a piece of sirloin in preference to filet mignon.

JOE: Now for the ladies that really want to do something nice for the gentlemen when they come home, Stockyard Special Filet Mignon, “the prize of the stockyard” men, a completely trimmed nine ounce piece of tenderloin broiled to perfection and topped with mushroom caps. Is this a popular item?

DAD: This is, especially with the women, Joe, it’s much less trouble, there’s no fat to be trimmed, there’s no bone in it, and women seem to enjoy that more.

JOE: Got good lamb chops?

DAD: Very good. All the food is good, Joe.

JOE: Tender lamb. Let’s ask about fish. You have enough fish customers?

DAD. Oh yes, we do. It’s a good area for that as well. There’s a complete variety of seafood items, shellfish as well as the conventional fish dinners. We do a very good job with that as well. All the food is good, Joe.

JOE: Got frog’s legs?

DAD: No, that we don’t have. That we don’t have….

JOE: Lobsters?

DAD: Lobster we do have.

JOE: Kingsize crab?

DAD: Yes, we do.

JOE: You serve crab? Then I’ll be back again. (laughs)

DAD: Alright, very good, Joe.

JOE: Let’s ask you, if I may Frank, some of the dignitaries or celebrities or political figures that have been in through the years?

DAD: Well, we’re very close to the Paper Mill Playhouse, which is about a five minute ride, Joe, and we do get quite a few of them over there. Paper Mill, as you know, has some of the stock and they generally have the Off Broadway shows all during the course of the year, so as far as celebrities go we do get our share of them. They find it quite popular. We’re also very close to a lot of the good, competitive areas as far as golf courses go — Baltusrol, which is a fine club, Echo Lake, Shackamaxon…uh, the tournaments, we get quite a few of the tournament stars over there, we’ve had all the…Women’s Open, Women’s U.S. Open was over there, we had all the top stars….

JOE: Were you ever a movie actor?

DAD: (emphatically) NO. No, no, unfortunately not, Joe.

JOE: Always in the restaurant line?

DAD: Always in the restaurant line. I played professional ball for a while, but….

JOE: Is that right?

DAD: Yes, baseball.

(after a commercial break)

JOE (to DAD): You are now chatting with many, many diners out. Invite us in, Frank — name, address, and how to get there, that’s important.

DAD: Well, we’re the Springfield House, located on Route 22 in Springfield. It’s completely renovated. We have an Early American atmosphere. We have fireplaces and the motif is relaxing, the food is good. We try very hard to accommodate the customers coming in, so….

JOE: I remember the restaurant! The motif is antique, but the food is fresh every day.

DAD: Correct.

JOE: Let me show the menu again. Don’t forget that they serve Canada Dry exclusively at the Springfield House. Have a beautiful weekend, ladies and gentlemen, see you Monday with Robert Ryan and a tribute to Mr. Winston Churchill, and more surprises on Joe Franklin’s “Memory Lane”. Here’s to your continued happiness at the Springfield House.

DAD: Very best, Joe.

(Piano music fades out.)