Over the weekend we went to a place that we don't go to often enough plain and simple.  The delicious Great Harvest Bread Company in Stow.   The place is incredible.

The bread they make there is delectable, and I can't stop eating it. I am not a bread snob by any means.  I also don't eat a ton of bread, but I will eat GOOD bread, and this is good bread.  Windy and I walked in there, and were captivated by the enticing smell of fresh baked bread.  Oh, we've been there before and we will go again, it's that good.  She asked me what I wanted as a selection, and I said, "yes!"  Truth is, everything there is so great, to me, it makes no difference what we get. 

Of course we always get pepperoni rolls when we are there, if they haven't sold out. Those things are just ridiculous in how good they are.  We sliced it up later with a little warm red sauce to dip it in, cheese, glass of red wine with it, and it was incredible! HUGE recommendation! They are huge, fresh and taste so good, it's a real treat. 

This place is a great example of a somewhere I will go to and get things I would not normally get, because of the quality.  If I'm going to eat certain things, I'm going to eat the best, and when it comes to bread, they are the best. Good service, good food, good location, and a good thing we live near there so we won't be strangers.

Great Harvest Bread Company -  have the best. You deserve it.

Delish!

You know, there just aren't enough Butcher, or Meat Shops anymore.  This is taking nothing away from the folks at the big stores, as they know their stuff too. But there is a goodness in a butcher shop. Although the name for some can be a bit rough.

Kirbie's Meats and Catering in Stow is a great place.  I have recently moved near there, and it has become a fav of mine. They always have really good meats, and a bunch of other related food stuff that is always GREAT!  Windy and I go there from time to time and pick up some things.  She has bought many prime ribs from there that are amazing!  We went there Saturday morning and I picked up some really great beef, chicken and pork chops.  The service is always very friendly, the advice is great, and they always call me by name in there, and I like that.  Makes me want to go back.  It is a wonderful little market!

I remember when I worked and lived in Jefferson City, Missouri many years ago, there was a client of the radio station KLIK (The Big 950) called Weber Meat Market. Roger Weber and his friend Chris worked there and I learned so much about how to cook meat, BBQ and grill from them, the info has stayed with me all these years.  That's what you get from a meat shop. I used to call my order in on Thursday for the weekend, and I would pick-it up in a big bag on Friday after the show at about 11AM.  And there was usually a little something extra in there, as a bonus. Loved that.

There are a number of meat shops around and that's a good thing. Dumas, Showcase and others.  Gibbs Butcher Block in Columbia Station is very famous, and Hall Brothers in Olmsted Falls.  And I'm glad they are all still around.  Small business that is worth supporting.  PLEASE support local business!

Happy Place!

Thanks Kirbie's.  We are neighbors now, so I won't be a stranger.  Thanks for being there, and let's eat!

And Lets' Ride The Big Grill!!!

Because this weekend is Mothers Day, and because she's great, I got the Beautiful Windy a dozen roses from Akron's amazing florist, Pam's Posies.

What An Arrangement!  She Loved Them!

They have done flowers and arrangements for the station on countless occasions, and they are one amazing business. So when I decided to get Windy flowers this week, there was no doubt who I was calling.  They did not disappoint, and Windy was thrilled.

With Mothers Day on the way or if you simply want about as good quality of any arrangement as you are going to find anywhere, try Pam's Posies.

This is not the first time I have called them, and it won't be the last.  Your someone special will feel special.

New DVD –Bloodshot /  I Still Believe  / Gretel And Hansel

Drive In's Are HUGE  – Booming in CV-19 era.

Some Theaters - Opened in Texas this week 25% capacity  Story

ESPN – Will have games on this weekend from the KBO  - Korean Baseball Organization  Schedule

The UFC  -  Returns Saturday Night, with no fans in Jacksonville, and will be the first live sports event since the quarantine.   How To Watch

There will - Be a third Wonder Woman and an Amazonian spin-off.   -   Wonder Woman (2) 1984

Looking like  – There will be a Demolition Man 2.....Stallone says, yes! And word is Wesley Snipes is in!   Refresher - Original Demolition Man

Nicolas Cage – Will Play Joe Exotic in a new movie about him and Tiger King    Story

 Hallmark – Mothers Day Movie Marathon. All day Saturday and Sunday

Netflix - Set the premiere date for Season 5, Part 2 of the Full House sequel series. It will hit the streaming service June 2.  Story Here

Midnight Sun - The follow-up to the Twilight saga- told from Edward's perspective, will arrive August 4th.   Book - Midnight Sun

To quote my life long friend Kurt (Zing)  from years ago, "It's May, you can't wear a coat...not allowed."  I've never forgotten that, and I don't wear one this month. But this year it's gonna be tough.  I wonder if a down vest is a coat?  I'll have to call Kurt for a ruling on that.

And to quote my life long friend Don (Beef)  "This weather, what the......."  Well, you can fill in the blanks.  Don is also right. Good gravy man, it's May can't we have all this cold, and SNOW behind us?  Seems not.  If you've seen the forecast (which of course can change)  there is a chance of measurable snow Friday night into Saturday morning and it will be in the 20's. Oh, BTW Friday and Saturday in Fairbanks, Alaska?  68 and sunny, overnight lows, 53! NO snow!

I've looked at a few sources, and it seems the latest it has snowed around here and stuck, was May 15, 1904, (Yankee Doodle Dandy by George M. Cohan was the big hit song) with an honorable mention to May 1989 (the year Garth Brooks debuted on radio) when it seems to have snowed some on May 7th. Both are unacceptable, sheesh!  How the heck are we supposed to play golf in this crap? Or do much of anything outside?

OK, LOL, enough pontificating about things we can't control, and this year, that seems to be the problem, more than most.  Right now, we are not really in control of much of anything. The virus has made that clear.  Then there are those telling us how to act and what to do on many sides of many issues.  And now here come the Murder Hornets.  I think we all are just looking for something to go our way, and not have to worry about anything for a while.  And a nice run of great weather would be a big step in the right direction.

Of course it will get here, and the sun will shine, days will get longer, the evenings milder and the mornings brighter, plus good times are ahead.  Just like most summers, although for unrelated weather reasons this one will be a bit different. I mean concerts seem to be online, the only corn dogs you'll get are from Costco, and we're watching the Korean Baseball league on ESPN.  So we need to be patient.  But every now and again, you gotta get it off your chest.

But I'm still not wearing a coat....

Yesterday, a local hero died who was a staple in the NFL for years, Don Shula -  he was 90.  Shula was a graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland and is the winningest coach in the history of the NFL with 347.  Also two Superbowl wins, and the only coach to finish off a perfect season in NFL history in 1972 with the Dolphins.  He's the benchmark for an era that is slipping away.

He was Coach Shula to his players and to all of us.  A coach, a mentor, a father, an icon.  I'm not so sure this really exists to this degree anymore in sports at this high level.  Oh sure, there are great coaches like Bell Belichick who will pass Shula soon for the all-time record in wins.  But as great as Belichick is, he will be viewed differently than Shula. 

Times are different.  Shula coached men who wanted to be coached, wanted glory, and history. They were men that were children of depression-era parents.  Belichick coaches millionaires that want branding, fame and contracts none of us can imagine.  It's just so incredibly different.  But the real point is, Shula was what coaches were supposed to be - then. Leaders of men that wanted to win, and to be part of team.  His former players loved him, and many are making their feelings known today.  His passing reminded me a couple stories.

I am Facebook friends of one of my coaches, "Coach Ludwig" or just "coach, " as I played football and basketball for him in school.  I have seen him a couple of times in person over the years on a couple of golf courses, and calling him coach is as normal as anything for me, even 40 plus years later.  He was my coach, he still is my coach.  Coaches then were cut from the same cloth as Shula. You talked with them about things outside of the game that maybe you wouldn't with even your own parents, or friends sometimes.  And I would do the same today if he were sitting here with me right now. 

I also remember one time a number of years ago I was at a high school football game and I saw a man sitting with his wife watching the game.  I hadn't seen him since I was 14, when I pitched for him in a summer baseball league.  I walked up and asked if he was "Coach Pierce."   He said yes....sort of.  I introduced myself to him and talked for a few minutes and it was very nice, as he remembered me.  Later, his wife walked up to me separately and said that me calling him "coach"  made his day, as he hadn't coached, or been called coach for many years.  I said, well, that's who he is.  We laughed, and hugged, and it was nice.

I am not sure we still feel the same way about coaches in many respects.  I'm not sure the working prototype of coaches is the same. I'm not sure big athletes want to be coached the same way.  I sincerely hope there are, as coaches can be a valuable asset to so many, like me -  who needed leaders at a tough time in my life.  But I am sure that the pressure to win probably trumps everything today.  But my hope would be there are still some from the same mold as Shula.

Thanks, Coach. Well done.  You will be missed.

You have probably seen the Ten Album Challenge on Facebook.  It's been around for a while, and I was challenged to post one album per day, for ten days for ones that "Influenced my musical tastes"  or "made an impact on me"  I've seen it both ways and other ways too.  It's pretty interesting.

It said no reviews, no judgment, no order.  OK, I'm doing it, and before I posted even one, I sat back and really thought about it.  These ten, at least for me, are not all my favorite albums, although some are. But many of these, did open my eyes to new kinds of music that lead me to one of my favorites up the line.  But I took the "influenced my musical taste"  literally.  It's been very interesting to watch others do this too.  It's a look inside them a bit from a different prism, and you learn a lot about people you may know well.

Great Album

Many of mine I have found and been honest about, are albums from long ago. Because for many of us, when you're younger a lot of time music is a very heavy influence on many parts of your life.  I feel, like many in my business, I have very wide musical tastes.  There's not much I really don't like. (There is some...LOL)  But I grew up in a house that was theatrical, my mom was an artsy sort, and there was always music playing.  From pop and rock, to folk, to big band, instrumental, show tunes, to classical.  I was exposed to much as kid.  And a lot of it has stayed with me, and I'm glad. Just not the show tunes  LOL.  (I can do without them)

My list has a bunch of variety to it, and I'm glad.  The gift of many of these led me to a wider view of a particular kind of music, and that's a wonderful gift.  Example being,  Earl Thomas Conley's Fire And Smoke album.  I was new in Country Radio, and about 19 years old.  ETC showed me that Country was "cool" and was not at all the stereotypical music I thought it was then.  It's an amazing country album that still holds up well, (highly recommend) . My love for that album is still with me, and I am thankful for that.  His music convinced me there was more Country out there that was worth learning about, and that I was right where I was supposed to be professionally.  I have been in Country Radio ever since having great success all over the country for almost 40 years now. It opened my eyes, ears and most importantly, my mind. Thanks Earl. 

One Of The Most Important Albums Of My Life -

My entire list are albums that I all still love. They led me somewhere else, and expanded my musical horizons, and in the end have made my life far more joyous on the air and off  -  so far.  I am proud of my wide love of all kinds of music, and this challenge has reminded me that every journey begins somewhere whether you are talking art, movies, music or just life.

One Of My Favs Too -  Everyone Should Own This One

It's fun, try it, but be honest with yourself.  Don't worry about the clicks, the likes or the comments.  Just remember where the roots grew and where they continue to take you.

New DVD – NO Major releases

Some Theaters - In some areas slow opening   Story here

Trolls World Tour - Earned $100 million in its first 3 weeks of rental release!  Without Theaters

Theaters Revolt - AMC and Regal will not show Universal movies when theaters re-open - Mad about Trolls  Story here

Drive Ins – Making a comeback, at least for now in many places, some teaming up with local eateries to deliver food too   Interesting story

New Streaming – Extraction - Netfix - great  feedback on it

The NFL Draft - 55 Million watched this weekend! Raised 100 million for CoronaVirus help

Big - The 10-part Michael Jordan documentary series The Last Dance continues Sunday on ESPN. It's over May 17 -   Stream the first four episodes too and catch up

HBO Max - Will now launch on May 27th.  Details

One Year Ago - Avengers: Endgame — the 22nd in a series from Disney’s Marvel Studios - Remember

Sheesh - A study says that children allowed to watch R-rated movies are more likely to start drinking at an early age  Story

Netflix - Set the premiere date for Season 5, Part 2 of the Full House sequel series. It will hit the streaming service June 2.

Last night we were really craving wings, and we wanted to support a local place, so we found the Barrel Lodge Bar and Grill. They are at the amazingly great Boulder Creek Golf Course on Page Road in Streetsboro.

Windy and I went on a Wing-a-pa-looza, and bought a ton of them. We also ordered some onion rings, and some yummy pulled pork quesadillas!  We ordered a great sampling of various flavors of wings, as they offer a bunch of them.  The menu is very impressive with a huge selection of burgers, sandwiches, and apps too.

Look At Those Wings!!!

We did carry out and I'm glad we did.  The food was great, and so was the service on pick-up.  They even fixed us up with a certificate for when things are better and we can go there and dine-in.  And we will - after a great round of golf at one of the areas best public golf courses.

See you at the Barrel Lodge - or on the course!  Big Thumbs up!

I've heard more than a few people say right now they are eating all the time.  Well, that might not be exactly true, but it seems true.

Since we are all home together, there is someone always in the kitchen making something. We may have to have the hinges on the fridge checked sometime soon.  So then here comes the discussion on how to best eat. I ran across this article that helps clear many things up.  Plus, it may help us in some form of moderation.

Maybe.  LOL   (I'm going to make a sandwich...)

When To Eat - When Not To