What's a Guy to Do?

For the first time in more years than I can remember, I'm an empty nester.  My kids tracked out from school on Friday, so that night, my wife took them to New England to stay with her parents for the week.  Tomorrow night, she'll return by herself so that we can enjoy some peace and quiet (and some good food) by ourselves to celebrate out tenth anniversary.  But in the meantime, I've got no responsibilities!  So, I ask "What's a Guy to Do?" Should I drink myself into oblivion?  Should I eat McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts for every meal?  Can I sleeping until 11am and go to sleep at three in the morning?

No to all of the above!  It's 7:42am on Sunday and I've already been up for an hour, let the dog out, cleaned up a bit, and now I'm writing a blog post.  After almost eight years of steady wake up calls from screaming babies, then crawling toddlers, and now demanding children, it's pretty much a certainty that this body isn't ever going to sleep late again.

So I'm up, but I should be vegging on the couch, right?  Well, yet again, after all this time paying bills, mowing lawns, grocery shopping, and simply cleaning up behind everyone else in this house, I'm prepared to face the facts that I'm a doer.  If I'm not getting stuff done, I'm thinking about getting stuff done.  So, as they say in these parts, let's just get 'er done.

The good news is that while much of what I've been doing is chores, I'm also focusing this weekend on two of my three passions, while my other passion (my kids) goes lobster fishing.  I was supposed to play golf last night at an outdoor par three course under the lights, but the summer of rain was prevalent once again, so that didn't happen.  But it did give me time to watch Argo, which I had been dying to see.  Good choice by the way.  And it gave me more time to cook up creamed corn for the first time, alongside a stuffed burger I picked up at Whole Foods.

Here's the recipe for the corn (single serving), which was rich and delicious:

Cut off the kernels from two raw ears of corn.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter on medium-high heat, then add kernels and 1/2 tablespoon of flour.  Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently.  Whisk in 1 cup of milk and a few tablespoons of cream cheese.  Simmer on a low boil for 10 minutes, stirring often until it's thickened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  I also added a few dashes of Habanero hot sauce.

I'm going to pause here for about 12 hours and finish writing the rest of this post tonight, after I've cooked up a few more delicious meals.  See you soon...

And I'm back.  Did you miss me?  Ok, so today was a cooking and dish washing fest.  I started off by making hash browns using red potatoes and a chili pepper from our garden topped with two sunny-side up eggs and bacon, all cooked, of course, in the bacon fat.

While I had that cooking, I made a batch of tomato sauce with balsamic vinegar using several pints of freshly picked cherry tomatoes, also from our garden.  

Then, once I had chowed down on my breakfast, I baked up two Amish cinnamon breads from a starter my wife had gotten from one of her co-workers a few weeks back.  This is actually the second round of breads we've made, so we'll see if mine comes out as good as my wife's did.  After all that, I took a break to let my pruney hands recover from all the dishes I had to wash.  Thank goodness we have a super wide, deep sink!

I had a small lunch so I'd be plenty hungry for the dinner I planned.  Since my wife is not a fan of mushrooms and I love them, I decided I needed to honor the Great Fungus.  As a treat, I picked up some Chanterelles from Whole Foods.  At $30 a pound, a few would do, about $3 worth.  I also picked up some Crimini mushrooms.  I also planned on fully testing my abilities by making fresh pasta rags, but after mowing and all those dang dishes in the morning, I decided on packaged pasta.  The pasta making will just have to wait for another day.  To go with the pasta, a wild mushroom cream sauce and pan- seared chicken.  Here's how I made it:

I started by pan-searing some chicken breasts in a cast-iron skillet and then finished them in the oven.  When they were done, I sliced them into bite-sized pieces.  In the same pan, back on the stove top, I sautéed some prosciutto to render some of the fat out, and after a few minutes, add some butter, garlic and red pepper flakes.  When the butter melted, I added the sliced mushrooms and some fresh thyme from the garden and cooked for about three minutes.  Then I added about a cup of heavy cream and simmered it down for about five minutes.  Lastly, I added in the cooked pasta and chicken and tossed it through to soak up the sauce.  I plated it up and topped it with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Beautiful wild mushrooms

Prosciutto rendering down

Mushroom and prosciutto simmering in the cream

The final glorious product!

Now I find my belly full and my mind satisfied after a wonderful and relaxing day in the kitchen.  So where did the sports come in to my weekend?  I've got a 7:56am tee time tomorrow with a good buddy.  A great way to top off my home alone weekend!

Daddy, Can I Take Basketball Lessons?

There are moments parenting when you realize just how much your child is like you. This week was one of those moments. The theme of my blog is sports, food and my kids. And it's clear to me that if my older daughter had her own blog (and she's already asked me if she could), her theme would be sports, food and dad.

It started last week when she got in trouble in school for talking when she shouldn't have. A normal occurrence for her, but this time she swore she wasn't talking and didn't understand why her teacher wasn't very nice. As a kid, I was a big talker, too. And I was also a trusting soul, thinking everybody should be nice and honest. Teaching my daughter that some people just aren't nice and preparing her to deal with it, I could hear my father's voice some 25 years ago.

As the weekend rolled around, my daughter's sports-loving nature shined through. Saturday, she completed her third dance audition in eight days. Ballet, jazz, and finally my favorite - hip hop. In fact, this summer, in addition to playing taxi driver for her to the studio several times a week, I'll haul myself up there for an adult hip hop class. Yeah, she got her dance skills from me. Of course, I was much older than seven when I learned to dance.

At seven, I was dancing around the schoolyard basketball court doing my best MJ. And Sunday, when we arrived at a friend's house for a kids play date and cook out, I quickly took to the pick-up b-ball game going on in the driveway. My younger daughter went inside to find her friend, but my older hugged my hip, dribbling around and taking five foot jump shots, even making a few. She played for over an hour, dripping wet of sweat, stopping only momentarily for water breaks. She even had a ripped pant leg to show for her newly found passion.  By the end of the night, she'd be asking me "Daddy, can I take basketball lessons?"

When we returned home that night, we both hit the showers, and then proceeded to put a delicious bow on the weekend by hanging out in the kitchen and baking a blueberry crumb cake together. She worked on mastering her measurements, artfully placing blueberries on top of the batter I mixed up, and sprinkling streusel on top.

Yes, mini-me is on full display these days and I couldn't be more proud!

When Will There Be Another Peanut-Free Night?

For the first time since I started this blog, I get to write about something that combines all three of my passions: my kids, food and sports!  And it's all thanks to a very special support group called NC FACES (Food Allergic Children Excelling Safely).  This past Sunday night, the "volunteer support group that provides a social and emotional support network for families dealing with food allergies in the RTP area of North Carolina" organized a night out at the ballgame.

My wife and I had recently been discussing our realization that our younger daughter would not only never get to eat Chinese food because of her peanut allergies, but that she'd also never get to smell the fresh cut grass at a baseball game because of the abundance of peanut shells littering the pavement.  Then my wife learned about NC FACES from a co-worker of hers.  Ironically, they had just planned a Peanut-Free night at the Durham Bulls game!  Our little girl was going to get to see her first baseball game thanks to this wonderful collection of people.

Peanut-Free Signs All Around the Porch Area

The weather this past weekend was pretty crappy so for a while I didn't think the game would even happen.  Throughout the day, there were random passing downpours, but as game time approached, the clouds parted partially and some sun broke through.  Game on!  NC FACES had secured the porch area down the left field line and put up Peanut-Free signs everywhere.  The area had been cleaned thoroughly with not a shell to be found anywhere.  We were all given special stickers to show our support for the cause, and they even put out nutritional and ingredient info on the ballpark food so parents could be sure they would purchase safely for their kids.

The Famous Durham Bull and Blue Monster

We took in the sights and sounds, we eat hot dogs and nachos, we stretched during the seventh inning  and we cheered on the Bulls.  My daughter even got a tour behind the Blue Monster over which the famous bull from Bull Durham sits.  It's true, she cared much more about what was happening off the field than on, but it was a truly special night for all of us, especially for her.  It was a night that left her asking "When will there be another peanut-free night?"

So a special thanks to NC FACES for providing my daughter with an opportunity to feel like every other kid out there!  We are excited to be new members of this terrific group.

Will My Preakness Picks Be Any Better?

Since I didn't make a complete fool of myself with my Derby picks, I'm at it again for the Preakness Stakes, the second of three legs in the Triple Crown.  Since there are only nine horses in this race, here's my quick analysis of each horse, followed by my wagers.  I'll stick with another $100 in bets in an attempt to make up the $100 I lost in the Derby and hopefully a lot more.

• Orb (#1) ran the biggest race of his young career winning the Derby and he doesn't figure to repeat that performance in the Preakness.  Derby winners are usually the favorite in the Preakness, and they have been known to run better than they should in this race, so while I'll look for a better value to win it all, I can't throw him out completely.
• Goldencents (#2) went into the Derby coming off his biggest race and figured to go backwards a bit in the Derby, but not that bad.  He was beaten by almost 50 lengths which is a whole lot in a horse race.  There are a lot of possible reasons for the horrible performance including distance, too many speed horses in the race, and most of all, a very sloppy wet track.  He should get back to form in the Preakness, as long as the predicted rain doesn't mess with this race, too.  And since I figure the betters might shy away from him a bit, he'll definitely be in my wagers.
• Titletown Five (#3) looks too slow to keep up with this field, so he's out.
• Departing (#4) is a new entrant to the triple crown, with four weeks of rest to support his efforts.  He seems to have done well with the increasing distance and is a serious contender.  He should have enough speed to sit right behind the frontrunners and strike when they turn for home.  He's a major player in my betting.
• Mylute (#5) ran a big race closing fast in the shadows of Orb to finish fifth in the Derby.  He figures to struggle off his biggest effort so far and as one of the favorites, I don't think he's worth the odds.  So he's out of my betting.
• Oxbow (#6) ran alright in the Derby until fading late like many other horses running a mile and a quarter for the first time.  The Preakness is a sixteen of a mile shorter which should help, but I just don't think he'll have enough to win it all.  But at a potential long shot price, I'll take a shot at him finishing in the top 3.
• Willtakecharge (#7) was coming off his best race heading into the Derby and might have been turned off by the wet track and added distance.  He's probably too slow to win it all, but at a decent price, I'll throw him into at least one of my triple bets.
• Sometimes when handicapping a race, there comes a horse you just don't know what to do with.  Governor Charlie (#8) is that horse.  He's lightly raced with only three starts in his lifetime and he hasn't run in almost two months.  He's never run against this quality of competition either.  All signs are that he probably needs a few races of this caliber to be competitive, but if he can continue to improve, it's not that difficult to make a case for him.  I'll throw him in a few bets because his price might be too good to pass up, but I'm not counting on much this time.
• Itsmyluckyday (#9) took a huge step back in the Derby and I'm not certain he can recover quickly enough with just two weeks since that race, so he's off my radar.

With the analysis behind me, I'm putting all my eggs in the Departing basket.  And since I like to try to hit it big, I'll take a shot with a bunch of triples without Orb for a big price.  Here are my wagers:

• $20 Win on 4 (Departing) (total bet costs $20)
• $5 Exacta Box 4 (Departing) and 1 (Orb) (total bet costs $10)
• $5 Exacta Box 4 (Departing) and 2 (Goldencents) (total bet costs $10)
• $3 Exacta Box 4 (Departing) and 6 (Oxbow) (total bet costs $6)
• $3 Exacta Box 4 (Departing) and 7 (Willtakecharge) (total bet costs $6)
• $3 Exacta Box 4 (Departing) and 8 (Governor Charlie) (total bet costs $6)
• $2 Triple Box 4 (Departing), 1 (Orb) and 2 (Goldencents) (total bet costs $12)
• $1 Triple Box 4 (Departing), 2 (Goldencents) and 7 (Willtakecharge) (total bet costs $6)
• $2 Triple Part-Wheel 4 (Departing) with 2 (Goldencents), 6 (Oxbow), 7 (Willtakecharge)and 8 (Governor Charlie) (total bet costs $24)

Here's a quick reminder on what these bets mean:

• Win - The horse has to win the race
• Exacta Box - The two horses have to finish first and second in either order
• Triple Box - The three horses have to finish first, second and third in any order
• Triple Part-Wheel - The first horse must win the race and two of the other horses in the bet must finish second and third

Who's My Derby Pick?

Today is Kentucky Derby day.  For some, that means it's time to dig out their big fancy hats.  For others, it's time to mix up a Mint Julep and cook up a Hot Brown.  But for me, it's time to put my handicapping to the true test and see if I can pick a winner among nineteen unpredictable three-year old horses.  I've studied the past performances, I've done my analysis, and I'm ready to make my picks.  As a kid, I used to grab the morning paper, check the names of the horses running that day and circle my top three picks.  Then that night, I'd watch the race recap show and cheer on my picks, comparing my results against the professionals picks.  One summer, I even managed to have a better winning percentage than all five pros in the NY Daily News.  So I'm excited to share my picks with you today, knowing full well that by about 6:30pm EST tonight, I will have either earned your full respect, or I'll cease writing about my race track adventures forever.

First a few facts about this race.  The horses will run 1 1/4 miles, which is further than any of them have ever run before.  The race is run on the dirt, but with rain predicted, a sloppy track is possible which could throw all research out the window.  So here goes.

The Favorites

• Revolutionary (#3) is taking money, down from 10-1 morning line to current 5-1 odds.  He has a chance to put in a big performance.
• Goldencents (#8) ran a very big race in his last effort and his name is now well known as the horse partially owned by Rick Pitino.  Those factors will likely make him one of the favorites and doesn't provide enough value for me.  So I'm throwing him out.
• I grow up in the shadows of the Verrazano Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to Staten Island.  So my heart is with Verrazano (#14) today, but I'm concerned he's run too many big races the past four months.  And he didnt' race as a two year old, so he just might not be ready for this big stage just yet.  I think he's still good a solid shot at top three, but he won't be my first choice to win it all.
• Orb(#16) may be the favorite when the gates open, and he's run two solid races in a row, but at short money, even if he continues to progress, I think someone else will jump up and beat him.

The Middle Tier

• It looks like Normandy Invasion (#5) will like running the extra distance and has a big race last year to indicate he could run big today.
• Overanalyze (#9) has a shot at a decent price to make the top three and beat Normandy Invasion last November.
• Itsmyluckyday (#12) ran two very big races in January before getting beat by race favorite Orb in March.  It's possible after a step backwards in that last race he could improve again, but I think this distance will be too much so he's out.

The Long Shots

• Will Take Charge (#17) is interesting to me if the track doesn't get too sloppy.  He's well rested and should like the added distance.  His sire is Unbridled's Song, a Derby champ and he's trained by legend D. Wayne Lukas.
• Java's War (#19) ran second to Verrazano in March and a repeat performance could have him close at the finish, especially given he likes to come from way behind.
• Vyjack (#20) will leave from the far outside post but with Garrett Gomez along for the ride, getting over and saving ground shouldn't be problem and he also figures to be closing late at a very big price.

Now that I've done the analysis, "Who's My Derby Pick?"  I've decided to put my faith in the #5 Normandy Invasion.  He might not be the best horse in the race, but for his price, I like his chances the best.  So here's how I'd spend my $100:

• $10 Win on 5 (Normandy Invasion) - I think he's got the best shot for the price (total bet costs $10)
• $10 Exacta Box 3 (Revolutionary) and 5 (Normandy Invasion) (total bet costs $20)
• $5 Exacta Box 5 (Normandy Invasion) and 9 (Overanalyze) (total bet costs $10)
• $3 Exacta Box 5 (Normandy Invasion) and 19 (Java's War) (total bet costs $6)
• $3 Exacta Box 5 (Normandy Invasion) and 20 (Vyjack) (total bet costs $6)

A whole bunch of $1 Triple Boxes (each bet costing $6):

• 3 (Revolutionary), 5 (Normandy Invasion) and 9 (Overanalyze)
• 3 (Revolutionary), 5 (Normandy Invasion) and  17 (Will Take Charge)
• 3 (Revolutionary), 5 (Normandy Invasion) and  19 (Java's War)
• 3 (Revolutionary), 5 (Normandy Invasion) and 20 (Vyjack)
• 5 (Normandy Invasion), 14 (Verrazano) and 20 (Vyjack)
• 5 (Normandy Invasion), 16 (Orb) and 20 (Vyjack)
• 3 (Revolutionary),  9 (Overanalyze) and 14 (Verrazano)
• 3 (Revolutionary), 14 (Verrazano) and 20 (Vyjack)

Here's a quick dictionary of bets:

• Win - The horse has to win the race
• Exacta Box - The two horses have to finish first and second in either order
• Triple Box - The three horses have to finish first, second and third in any order

So, who you got?  You've got about 3 1/2 hours to make your pick!

What Good Will Come Of This?

***This post is written in memory of those that lost their lives yesterday at the Boston Marathon as well as the others that have suffered because of it.  It is also written as a thank you to my dear friends who helped my family get through the devastating tornadoes of two years ago.***

I find this post particularly hard to write.  You see, today marks the two year anniversary since tornados ripped through Raleigh, North Carolina, leaving a path of devastation some sixty miles long.  That path included my neighborhood, demolishing at least six houses completely, and damaging dozens more including my home.  While we were fortunate enough to be out of town when the tornado roared through like a freight train, it is a date and a memory that I will never ever forget.  But it also taught me that from pure destruction can come good.

On this night following the unspeakable tragedy in Boston, a city I called home for five years after college, I would be remiss and selfish if I didn't look to my experiences from two years ago to spread hope to those in pain right now.  To speak about how good can come out of the darkness for all of those forever linked with yesterday's events.

Our destroyed possessions piled by the curb

I'll start by saying that I am not naive.  I understand the primary difference between mother nature's acts of two years ago and the acts of one or more evil wrongdoers yesterday.  But at the end of it all, the thing they have in common is that tragedy can strike without a moment's notice.  That a day which starts off as any other can end with you questioning everything about life, if you are fortunate to still have one.  I makes you wonder why you?  But it also makes you grieve to the question of why you were spared when others were not.  And it leaves you with indelible images and feelings that come to you when you least expect, or when other similar events flash you back to that horrible day.  For me, that's many of our family possessions piled high by the curb, and for others less fortunate, it's images of flattened houses or worse.  Much worse.  It changes you forever.

Neighbors and strangers pitch in to clean up my yard

But then you look around and see a rainbow.  Only this rainbow isn't a mirage, it's the bright colors of humanity shining all around you.  Yesterday, it was the thousands of bystanders who rushed to the aid of those who were hurt or worse.  On  9/11, it was all of those firefighters who rushed into the World Trade Center to pull people to safety at their own peril.  For me, two years ago it was the dozens of neighbors, church groups and reconstruction crews, who selflessly gave of their time and labor to clear debris from my backyard, to mow my overgrown grass filled with shattered glass, and to just say "I'm sorry" and "What can I do to help?".  At a time when my family felt so lost in our own home, our neighbors, many of whom we had but minor friendships with, made us feel at home again.  And while two years later I hate the sound of thunder, and a tornado watch feels like certain doom, I can't help but think of how that day gave me so much more than it took away.  It gave me faith in people, it gave me hope for the future, and most importantly it gave me new friendships that will last a lifetime.

So on behalf of those affected by yesterday's events, and for anybody struggling to come to grips with their own personal tragedies, I ask "What Good Will Come Of This?"  While each of you will have to answer that question for yourselves and only in due time, I remind you to look around.  To remember what is truly important in life and to find your own humanity in all of this.  I pray that the remembrance of these events lives on for you, not to serve as a painful memory, but rather to serve as a guiding light for your future.  I hope you find your rainbows.

A note from a neighborhood kid

Please take a moment to share a kind thought or an empowering story that might provide a ray of light to those in pain right now.

Some People Count Sheep, Why Do I Relive Scoring Hockey Goals?

We all know that when you can't fall asleep, the common advice is to count sheep.  But has anyone ever told you to relive your most exciting personal sports successes?  Well, that's what I do, and it's led me to ask myself "Some People Count Sheep, Why Do I Relive Scoring Hockey Goals?"

The cement playground in front of my apartment building

For a short, skinny, Jewish kid from Brooklyn, I would say I'm a decent athlete.  I grew up on the 18th floor of a twenty-three story high-rise apartment building.  I didn't grow up honing my baseball skills shagging fly balls in my backyard, sliding easily on fluffy green grass to make a great catch.  No, instead, I snared line drives fired off my closet door by diving across my rugged carpeted floor resulting in some pretty nasty rug burns.  I only ice skated a few times as a kid, yet I learned to handle a hockey puck by practicing shooting tennis balls through a small opening in my sliding closet doors with a broken-bladed hockey stick.  And my basketball skills?  I got those by shooting a bright orange rubber basketball into a cardboard box with the bottom cut out and taped to my wall.  No one would ever mistake me for Cal Ripken, Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan, but on the cement playgrounds in Brighton Beach, some did call me mini Air Jordan.  Don't laugh, I'm serious!

I went to college at RPI.  That's short for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  RPI had one Division I sports team in hockey.  That was it!  So our lives revolved around going to hockey games.  Right after getting to RPI, I joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.  One of the best parts of fraternity life was the intramural sports.  Having never really skated before, I decided not to play on the fraternity ice hockey team.  But after going to watch a game, I decided I had to try to put my puck handling skills to the test.  I rushed out the next day to the hockey shop and bought myself all new hockey equipment, and within a few days found myself dressing for my first ice hockey experience.  As soon as I stepped onto the ice, I knew this was the best decision of my life.  And then I fell.  And I fell again.  And again.  And again.  In fact, I spent so much time laying on the ice, they starting calling me The Mattress.

Dressing for the game

So I decided to dedicate myself to practicing my skating at the expense of some silly college courses and quickly put my Mattress days behind me and became one of our better players.  Our team wasn't that good that year, but we managed to make the playoffs, and found ourselves down a goal with seconds to go and the goalie pulled.  The puck found its way to the point, where our biggest defenseman, standing a good 6' 7" on skates, blasted the puck toward the net.  I had positioned myself to the side of the opposing goalie and managed to get a stick on the incoming shot, deflecting it up and over the goalie's pads and into the back of the net.  The crowd of at least ten fans went nuts and we were headed to overtime, and then eventually to a shoot out.  With a 1-0 lead after one round of shots, I got the call to give it a go. With all eyes focused on me, I scooped up the puck at center ice and raced toward the net.  It felt like I was flying, but in reality I think I was probably skating pretty slowly.  As I neared the net, I faked a shot and then slide the puck to the right to my backhand.  The goalie slid over to block the shot and I quickly drew the puck back the my forehand and lifted a shot into the vacated net.  It was the most incredible feeling I had ever felt playing sports.  For a few seconds, I could hear nothing.  I was truly floating on clouds as I skated away from the net, pumping my fist and eventually high fiving my teammates on the bench.  I don't think I slept a wink that night thinking about how I had saved the day!

Now, almost twenty years later, I often find myself run down from a long day of work, taking care of the kids, and numerous other responsibilities.  Yet I lay in bed at night with too much on my mind to drift off to sleep.  So I do what relaxes me most.  I close my eyes and transport myself back to that incredible late night in March 1994 and relive scoring hockey goals.  Why does it relax me so much?  Perhaps it's because I can feel the complete calm that came over me in those seconds after I scored in the shootout.  Perhaps it's because for just one night in my life, I accomplished what so many little kids fantasize about...scoring the winning goal in the final seconds and becoming a hero.  Or perhaps it's because I know that while my best athletic days are clearly behind me now (I can't even run to the mailbox without catching my breath), I can always close my eyes and for a moment feel young again.

What's your shining moment?  What accomplishment do you often think about from your younger days to make you feel better?  Please take a moment to share a comment below with all of my readers!

Hey Kid, Which Horse You Got?

Do you remember back in school when your teacher asked you "What do your parents do for a living?"  For most, the answers to that question were pretty standard: doctor, lawyer, nurse, teacher, stay at home mom, you get it.  And then there was me.  When I was asked by my first grade teacher this question, my answer was "my mom stays home and my dad bets on horses".  Surely, my teacher thought I had an active imagination, so foolishly she asked me again, and when I responded with the same answer, she threatened punishment.  Of course, just weeks later at parent teacher conference, she must have felt really foolish when she asked my parents the same question, and yet again, got the same answer.

Yes, it's true.  My dad bet on horses for a living.  More specifically, he was called a Professional Handicapper.  In layman's terms, he handicapped, or evaluated, the field of horses in a race and then based on the odds of those horses determine which horses and bets provided the best value for the wager.  Many a man has tried and failed miserably to do this for a living, many of these I witnessed firsthand growing up around the racetrack.  But not my dad.  He had a system based in mathematical data and statistics, and while there were plenty of ups and downs, he managed to support his family well for over twenty years.  And let's be clear, what he did was 100% legit.  He wasn't a bookie.  He didn't bet for others.  He didn't bet on football or baseball, or hang out in casinos.  Sure, there was the occasional trip to Vegas, but his expertise was in horses and he knew and understood how to "gamble" responsibly and in support of his profession.

To watch my dad at the racetrack was like watching royalty.  People constantly rushing up to him wanting to know what he was doing.  Everybody always up in his business.  He was even the focus of a local New York newspaper article series.  Simply put, my dad was the King of the track.  He even substantiated that title one year by winning a handicapping contest beating out hundreds of competitors.

That's me on the left with my dad in the white shirt back in '84 at Saratoga

And of course, if my dad was the King, that made me the Prince.  For as long as I can remember, I've been going to the racetrack.  My mom still tells the story of a young me, probably no older than five, being asked "Hey Kid, Which Horse You Got?"  To which I provided that old man the winning horse.  Of course, for some bizarre reason he didn't listen and quickly learned not to doubt royalty. 

And then there was the day I successfully picked the winner of six straight races in a bet called the Pick Six, the most difficult of all wagers.  And I did it by selecting just one horse in each race.  In sixth grade when we were given an assignment to write an educational book, I wrote a book title "How to Bet on Horses".  That book won a contest for the best in the entire district and was published to all the schools.

The entrance to Saratoga Race Course

My love for horse racing ran so deep, it even managed to summon a mystical power from within.  As a kid, we spent our Augusts in Saratoga, a quaint little horse racing town in upstate New York, when the racing moved there from the tracks in NYC.  Well one August night when I was about eight, I experienced a very vibrant dream.  In the dream, I was supposed to ride the #1 horse in the first race at Saratoga, but I chickened out and was replaced by a jockey by the name of Jimmy Miranda.  The horse won the race, awakening me from the dream.  The next morning, I told this story to my parents, and when my dad relayed the dream to all of his friends at the track, they all rushed to the betting windows.  And wouldn't you know it, Jimmy Miranda, riding the #1 horse, crossed the finish line first in the first race.  And then, amazingly, riding the #1 horse, he did it again in the second race.  Everyone cashed in, and it was years before I could go to the track without being asked "Hey Kid, You Have Any Dreams Last Night?"

Yeah, I think it's safe to say my friends thought I had the coolest dad, even if their parents didn't agree.  And they all wanted to go with me to the track.  I even managed to help one of my friends cash in to the tune of $300 one magical day.  Many questioned my dad as to whether I was too young to be exposed to the dangers of gambling.  But what they didn't understand was that I was actually learning just the opposite.  I was learning how to respect the dangers of gambling and how to have fun trying to solve the great mathematical problem each new race presents at two bucks a pop.  Yeah, it was a pretty awesome childhood with lots of amazing memories and stories, and it's something I wouldn't trade for the world.

Too bad there aren't any tracks in North Carolina.

I want to hear from you!  Have you ever been to the race track?  If so, what's your best memory?  If you haven't, got a question you'd like to ask me?  Fire away!

Do You Understand the Importance of "The Bond"?

With the 2013 baseball season underway, this seemed like the perfect topic for my next post.  Now before all the Yankee haters out there click away...or start posting negative comments...or even remark on the Yankees "wonderful" start to this season...let me start by saying that this post is NOT about being a Yankees fan.  And it's NOT about being a Red Sox or Mets hater.  It's also not about battling with my wife (although it might seem like it shortly).  Here's what it IS about...The Bond.  It's a fanatical sports bond between a parent and a child.  A connection built on an extreme, devoted, almost obsessive love for the SAME favorite sports team.

If you had it with your parent, you know what I'm talking about.  If you have it with your child, you understand what it feels like.  You know that special, indescribable feeling of seeing your child wearing the team colors, cheering for your favorite players, and yes, even booing the hated rival.  I hesitate to say it, but I don't think there is anything else on this planet that can bring a parent and child closer together than The Bond.

That's me!

As a kid, I shared that The Bond with my dad, just as he did with his dad.  We were Yankees fans through and through.  My dad and I didn't have the tightest relationship when I was young, but sitting next to him at a Yankee game was more magical than a thousand Disney Worlds.  Wearing the same pinstripes, donning the NY navy blue cap, and cheering at the top of our lungs as the Bombers took the field, I knew my place in my dad's heart, and he in mine.  There was no greater feeling, period.

It is because of those feelings and the unforgettable attachment they created, that from the moment my first daughter was born, I anxiously awaited the day where I could sit next to her, watch a Yankees game and high five her when yet another Yankee legend hit a blast deep into the Bronx night.  When I could form another fanatical sports bond that runs generations deep.  A bond that is tied together by Joe DiMaggio,  Mickey Mantle, Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter and future Yankee legends.

Exhibit A

So I ask "Do you understand the importance of The Bond?"  Unfortunately, if you never had The Bond with your parent, and you don't have The Bond with your child, sadly you will answer "No".  To you, it's just a team.  It's just a jersey.  It's just some players.  And it's just a rival.  There's no emotion behind it, and there's certainly no bond to be had.  And that's fine for you.  You can cheer for your team.  And you can boo the enemy.  And heck, you might even cross over to the dark side once in a while for a World Series ticket (see exhibit A).  But, and here is the moral of this entire post, don't deprive the ones you love of The Bond.  Recognize, even if you can't understand it, that it exists, it is real, and that it matters to some.  So keep cheering for your team, but step aside and let generations of this fanatical sports bond live on!

I want to hear from you.  If you've felt The Bond, share a story of one of your memories in the comments box below.

Will My Kid Never Eat Chinese Food?

The restaurant I went to as a kid in Brooklyn

As a boy growing up in Brooklyn, NY, there were three food staples that were a part of my DNA: pizza, bagels and Chinese food.  Pick any block in the big apple and walk down it and you're sure to see at least one pizza place, a bagel shop, and a takeout Chinese restaurant.  I can't even begin to imagine what life would have been like as a child without an oil-drenched slice of cheese pizza or a sesame bagel schmeared with cream cheese.  But most of all, what would life have been like without a crunchy deep fried egg roll dipped in duck sauce, a big bowl of piping hot wonton soup with crispy fried noodles, an order of spare ribs and a side of fried rice?  Now that's the real good stuff... the stuff I took for granted. 

Fast forward some twenty plus years.  I'm married and a father of two young daughters.  It's a typical weekend errand run with the family to Trader Joe's.  We see samples of bananas dipped in creamy peanut butter, yet another staple of my childhood.  My wife gives my younger daughter, then 18 months old, the sample which she proceeds to spit out, never ingesting any of it. It doesn't even dawn on us that this is her first taste of the yummy, yet about to be poisonous to her, peanut butter.  Within minutes, a small batch of hives begin to form near her mouth where she spit out the sample.  But that appears to be about it.

We leave the store, and ironic to this story, proceed to a nearby Asian market where I run in to pick up a few more things.  Ten minutes later my daughter's life (and all of ours as well) changed forever.  I'm in line to check out and my phone rings.  I hear my daughter screaming in the background and my wife demanding I get outside immediately.

(If you're eating right now, I suggest you put down the food.)  I arrived to the car to see my daughter spewing like Mount Vesuvius.  By the time she was done, I don't think there was a drop of fluid left inside her little body.  Her body was covered from her head to her toes in hives.  And she was screaming like she was on her first roller coaster ride.  It was downright horrifying.  We rushed her to the nearby emergency room where they administered some Benadryl while I cleaned out the vomit from her car seat so we'd have a way to get her home.

She survived that scary day and the next week we had her at the allergist, where just six months earlier she had tested negative for all allergies.  This time, the results were, as we expected, dramatically different.  They scratched up her back for all sorts of allergies, and the area where they tested for peanuts blew up so bad they had to retest for all the allergies within three inches of that test.  The doc told us that it was one of the most severe reactions he had seen in years, and that it would likely be with her forever.  At that moment, I wondered to myself "Will my kid never eat Chinese food?  Will she never know those same joys I knew growing up?"  After all, there are peanuts everywhere in Asian cuisine.  It seemed so unfathomable, yet it was now her reality.  In the four years since that fateful day, we've managed to cope with it, adjusting our lives and our eating habits, and I've even learned to make some pretty tasty Chinese food at home.  But it never tastes the same as what you get from that take out place around the corner.

So, I ask you, my faithful readers (or I hope soon to be), what is the one food you can't imagine ever having to give up?  What's the one taste you would never imaging your kids missing out on?  I want to hear from you, so please leave a comment!  Oh, and feel free to offer up any of your own homemade peanut-free Chinese food recipes!

Should I Write a Blog?

Hi!  My name is Mike and I hope you'll come along with me on this exploration of the things I'm truly passionate about: my kids, food and sports.

So recently I asked myself, "Should I write a blog?"  I'm a very introspective person.  I often ask myself "why did I do this?" or "what would I do if?".  That's probably why I love going to therapy so much.  And at difficult times in my life I've turned to writing bits and pieces of my autobiography, hoping that perhaps one day, the questions I've asked myself and the answers I've come up with to help me cope with life could somehow help others deal with their own problems.  But recently I thought, why not start a blog where I can share some quick thoughts on a relevant topic in my life and pose a few questions to myself and to others who might share common interests.

My goal is to focus my posts on at least one of my passions, but where possible to combine these passions to connect the dots of my life.  I'll plan to post at least twice a week to start with, and hope you'll follow along and get to know me better in the coming weeks and months.  I'd love to hear from you and hope you'll provide your own thoughts on how you might answer the questions I pose.

So here's a sneak peak at my next post.  It's titled "Will My Kid Never Eat Chinese Food?", and it's coming this Tuesday.  I hope you'll come along for the ride!