My blog n'at

I’ve wondered how I was going to handle today. On this day back in 2006 my father had a massive heart attack while snowblowing for 3.5 hours. Why so long? Well it was Erie and he wanted to make sure the elderly people and mailman would be able to get through.

My brother and I drove up the night of the 5th and honestly expected to see him bitching to get out of the bed because he had work to do at home. It was a running joke that we couldn’t visit Erie without someone making a trip to St Vincent ER. However on this night, we wouldn’t be leaving. We walked up to the 3rd floor and walked in stunned as we saw him hooked up to machines which doctors said were keeping him alive. The strongest man I have ever known was now gone and we knew it, we just didn’t want to accept it. The doctors kept him on support until the morning when my mother, brother and I told them to turn the machines off. I was the last one to hold his hand and within seconds he had flat lined.

I’ll never forget that moment when my life changed and I can still feel his hand in mine.

A lot has happened in the 5 years since he’s passed and I’d give anything for him to have been around just a bit longer to see one of them. I’ve had 2 beautiful sons, bought a house, lost a job and gained a new career plus I know he’d be damn proud of what I’ve done with SIDT (dad was a closet audio junkie). I get angry at times because he’s not here to enjoy being a grandfather to my boys as he was to my brother’s kids (you KNOW he’d be best friends with Teaspoon) but if he did pull through that heart attack he wouldn’t have been the same person.

There is so much I still had to learn from him and now I don’t have that chance. What we’ve gone through with the preemie births of both sons and the layoff were intense and I didn’t have him to lean back on. Stupid little things too like house repairs or car problems go unanswered. Its the void of not having a father around that has made this part of my life difficult.

Dad and I had a project we started and I’m determined to finish – his family tree. He knew stories about relatives but nothing solid and growing up I knew very little about his family. We never got to finish this while he was alive but recently I’ve made a vow to finish it as very rare documentation has surfaced. How this incredibly cool story goes though is for another post but if you’re into genealogy and can offer tips let me know!

As I type this I look in on my sons watching morning cartoons while the smell of bacon is in the mmmmmm bacon… just a sec. *ahhhh* in the air, the way him and I would start our Sunday mornings.

He was a great man who was always looking out for others first and this veteran spent 20 years working for the state making sure the people of Erie could find work. At the funeral home there was almost a 2 hour wait just to pay their respects. He was the head usher at his church my entire life and there wasn’t a parish festival where you couldn’t hear his voice bellowing up and down Buffalo Rd. When he passed things got a lot quieter.

Dad was an American flag addict. In his military photos he always had a flag with him and every holiday mini flags would adorn his yard. As a sign of final respect for him my wife and I got up early the morning of his funeral and in 2ft of snow put 50 of his flags in the yard. The funeral procession passed in front of and stopped at the house. As if staged the wind kicked up and all flags started blowing in sync as if it was their final salute.

I miss you dad and I think you’d be proud of how things have turned out.

Here is a video tribute that the funeral home made. Enjoy the pics of me as a kid. What were they thinking dressing me like that?

I was in Erie last Monday to help my mom get the house ready for winter when she treated my brother and I to dinner at the American Legion. The pic above is a sign by our table. Only in Erie (Wesleyville to be exact) will you find a sign war.

The long awaited review of the beer fest weekend from July 25-27th is here. This is your belated Humpday Happiness as next week we will be going back to beer reviews.

The Meter Maid
Sickpuppy and I arrived in Erie on Friday afternoon so we could pick up the prizes for our contest winner which included a 1 night stay at the Avalon. The meter I pulled up to had 9 minutes left and we were 1/2 a block away from the hotel. We hurry in check reservations and then run back. The meter maid was in the process of writing me a ticket when I ran up. Told her that we just came in from Pittsburgh, spots in front of the hotel were full and I just had to check reservations. She said “put a quarter in NOW!” She rips up the ticket and with a sneer she says “I’ve had a bitch of a freaking day and want to go home”.  She walked away.

Walk down Memory Lane
Friday night we went to the BrewErie for dinner and a few drinks while reconnecting with our friends there. It’s not everyday that I absolutely rave about food but goddamn you need to see this

That would be the special from the BrewErie. Along with that, and many fine beers was the legendary Beergarita and fresh from the test labs was the Bloody Weizen (1/2 bloody mary, 1/2 wiezen and rimmed with Old Bay).

Sickpuppy has never been to Erie with me before so being the host I thought it only fitting that I take him on a quick tour of some of my old stomping grounds. First stop was The Shaggy Dog (which is now The Dog) where it all began for me in the mid 90′s. I had my first craft beer there. I hustled pool from frat boys there. I made great friends and I still think back fondly. I also haven’t been back since my going away party in 98. The Dog was a walk back in time as very little has changed there. The hole in the ceiling I put is still in the back, the pool tables look the same and the bar is just as I remembered it.

We talked to the bartenders and instantly hit it off. They ran down the history of the place, since I had left, and it seemed like the bar was a goner until current owner Kenny bought it over a year ago. I have to give props to the staff for being top notch to us and treating us to an entertaining evening. If you go there look for Dill, Bryan and Tomy. Tell them SIDT sent ya   The plans they have for remodeling the bar are similar to what we discussed 10 years ago but I think this group may be able to make it happen. Oh I will be back!

We ate a fat chick and LOVED it!
On our way back to crash for the night I decided there was one more place to stop at to finalize our tour. Jimmy Z’s Time Out Tavern in Wesleyville. My brother and I hold this place near and dear because it’s the only bar open on Thanksgiving and close to our mom’s. Every time we’re both in town for the holiday we HAVE to stop. Drinks are cheap, food is good and the crowd is filled with the same regulars every night (well when we’ve gone) in the same seats.

Sickpuppy was diggin this place as a capper so we had to do the soon to be traditional famous SIDT Flaming Dr. Pepper which you can see on video here from a bar in Pittsburgh. We chat up the bartender for a bit and decide that we need a shirt. We tell him why we’re in town and want something unique to take back.  That’s when we bought this shirt.

Now the kitchen was closed so we couldn’t order one but come on, that’s pretty damn funny.

We left and went to crash and go over notes for the next day which you will read next…

For the full gallery of the weekend click here.

We had traveled up this weekend to help my mom out around the house. Arrived late Friday night and spent it watching Lifetime movies. I went to bed early. Saturday we got an early jump on the day. It was the yearly Wesleyville block sale so the streets were crowded and I knew that if I needed supplies this is the time to get them. I laid 3 bags of mulch in the yard and headed to WalMart for more when Mother Nature would step in. As I’m loading my trunk with mulch the skies turned black and began to pour down rain. For me it was no big deal but for all of those people with yard sales, they were screwed.

The skies opened up long enough mid-afternoon that I was able to finish the yard work, fix some doors and cook dinner. The fist pic above is the dinner Lushie and I whipped up for mom. Aside from everything that went on with Erie County Farm we were able to pull out a tasty meal.  For the record I was hellbent to get seafood so I sucked it up and went to Giant Eagle. There were 2 Delmonico steaks with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, 2 fillets of salmon, 1 pound of shrimp, 4 mushroom caps, asparagus and small red potatoes. Everything we made turned out perfect and then the monsoon came back. Thankfully the cable didn’t go out as we sat in front of the TV for the remainder of the night.

Sunday came and I spent the morning working on my mom’s computer while she and Lushie chatted on the deck. Looked like it would be a perfect day for a drive so mom treated us to Sara’s. When I lived in Erie I avoided the place like the plague. Having been removed from it for 10 years I go back every chance I get. My dad was a regular there so when I found out they used to announce “turn the flames on high, Mr. D wants his dog” I couldn’t help but smile.  The second pic is of the footlong and rings I ordered (dad’s favorite).

The day wouldn’t be complete without a trip around Presque Isle. Lushie always jokes that she’ll never go in the water but I think all of that will change soon when we take Bella up there for her first ever visit to a  beach. I also know that I’ll be on sand castle detail. At least when we have kids I’ll have enough practice

I could tell you about what happened at the Country Fair across from Frontier Park but I won’t. I’ve bitched enough about the freaks I encountered and besides, I didn’t get a pic of this one. I will say this, once you prepay your gas and pump it, don’t come back in saying you deserve a discount. Get in your car made of bondo and quit holding up the line.

Big contest coming up on SIDT that I’ll announce here also. Yeah, it’s that cool. Plus making it into a national publication for doing apparently what I do best. Drinking a 20% ABV beer very very fast.

cheers n’at!

Woy and I have this ongoing joke about “Herky”. The only place either of us had heard the name before was at a gas station in Wesleyville (from the previous link) so whenever we see the name out n’ about it needs to be documented.

The Herky above can be found in the Seven Fields Giant Eagle seafood counter.