A fathers wish..

rockJust the other day, my daughter asked me why I haven’t written anything in such a long time. I told her I was in a slump. My slump is now over and this one is for her.

Life changes overnight when you become a father. It’s difficult to explain but easy to understand when that day occurs. You see your daughter for the first time and understand how fragile and reliant on you she is, to care for her until she becomes of age to tend for herself. Naturally you have prepared the usual things, crib, playpen, car seats, etc… but as the days, months and years pass you can’t help to think about what you will imprint on her. What you will leave with her long after you are gone. The stuff that helps her get through life unharmed, perhaps even without a broken heart , maybe to show her how she can be happy without all the material things hers peers, friends and others cherish so needlessly.

When my little girl was born her mom and I were in a tough time. We didn’t last but 6 months after she came to us, and of course it was no fault of hers, but a number of things that accumulated in her parent’s relationship that caused the parting.

Looking back on those days, her mom and I only wanted to do what was best for her albeit we differed in ways of how we believed it should be. I can say that I was distraught with how the whole thing played out but I am grateful that for the first 13 years of my daughter’s life I was able to enjoy a lot of memorable time with her.

Those early years were always my favorite times. Of all the things that stuck with me the one thing that I will never forget is how I felt when she would fall asleep in my arms. From the time that she was an infant and nestled her head on my shoulder to when she was a toddler and rolled herself up in a ball for a nap against me on the couch.

“She wakes and struggles to open her eyes. She reaches up from her bed to climb into my arms. She hugs tight to my chest and rests her head on my shoulder. I am reminded now, how it feels to be a father”.

I wrote that about her, one morning 14 years ago, when reflecting back on my life.

When she became a teen, my life again took a turn. This time period in our life wasn’t a very good one. It’s hard enough on a father’s relationship with his teen aged daughter when they both live in the same house, but being divorced, that was not our case. I understood the challenges I would face and not getting along well with her mom didn’t help my cause. I learned through years mediating parents through their own divorces, that fighting wouldn’t help my daughter see that I really loved and wanted what was best for her, so I let her choose her own path. Those years without her in my life (like it used to be) were very difficult. Although I believed that in time she would realize the man I was, it is still a hard thing to get through. I preached to others that if you stood by what you believed in, what your parents instilled in you, what values were important to teach your children and that if you showed love, then you had to make a stand. I felt that if I compromised my beliefs then I would be doing her an injustice, perhaps for the rest of her life. I needed her to remember and understand that I was her father, the same person who she adored when she was a child, and that person wasn’t going to give in to certain things no matter what. It was a gamble but parents today compromise their beliefs and the things they were taught as children because they want “more “ for their kids then they had. What a bunch of crap that is. How bad did we really have it?

I don’t pretend to think I know it all when it comes to relationships. A father/ daughter relationship is a tough cookie to crumble. As a man we are wired to want to “fix” everything, including whatever goes wrong in our daughter’s life. But as a father we should realize that our daughter needs to find her on way at some point and hopefully what we showed her in her early years can help her get there. Parents today want to be friends to their children. They avoid laying down the law. They curse in front of them. They get drunk and stoned, sometimes even with them. And then, after it all, they cry out loud to their friends how their kids don’t show respect towards them. I remind them how their parents would never have done the things they do in their children’s presence and they certainly would not accept disrespect from their children but they say it’s different now. Yes, sadly it is, but it wasn’t going to be that way with me and my daughter. I would never want that for her and I wasn’t going to let society or a divorce turn my way of thinking.

When she graduated High School I felt like an outsider looking in. She became this beautiful, intelligent, young woman who I hardly knew anymore. I understood fully how divorce can really tear apart a relationship between a parent and a child. Not being there all the time always put me in the role of the underdog. Never quite enough time to build something between us and now with her heading off to college, there never seemed to be a time to talk and maybe reconnect.

Being the person I am, I tried to remain true to what I believed. I paid the bills, tried to give her moral support and waited for a chance to get to know her again. I fully understood that it’s pretty difficult for a young woman to open up to a man even if he is her father. She definitely couldn’t share the things she would with her mom as easily if at all, with me. Heck some of that stuff could get embarrassing, plus as a father we don’t need to know certain things!. But as years passed by things started to change and as she grew she needed support and advise and she began to turn to me for it. We began talking and spending more time together again and today we seem to be on a good path.

It’s been a challenge for both of us but I must say that I am impressed and proud of how things turned out. As a father I wanted her to understand the importance of family over friendship, the true value of a dollar, the show conviction in what you believe in and the pride that comes from earning everything you acquire in your life. As a father I would want my daughter to be strong and independent and to not have to rely on a man or the village to take care of her. To show both passions in all the things she does and compassion for the people she meets along life’s path. That she’d never fall in love too easily, fear for a broken heart but embrace it when it happens and learn from it, and never, never become fearful that she won’t find happiness because that might happen more than once. Take the bad with the good because it makes the good even better when it happens. And remember what my mom always told me when things turn bad, “it’s just a test”. After all these years and countless times of hearing it, I really have no clue what the hell that means because life itself seems to be a test. Mostly of showing patience and waiting for a point in time when you find that happy place. My advice to her would be not to wait to find happiness, but go and make it. Make a little bit everyday and when you get to be older you can look back and see that a lot of the sadness and pain is hidden deep behind all those little bits of happiness you made every day. I would also tell her that above all else stay true to who you are. Don’t let anyone or anything make you into something you are not. This is one of the hardest things to do in your life because everything you believe, everything you are, and everything you do eventually effects someone else and you will always have to find a way to balance your feelings against your beliefs. You are unique, there will never be another you and you only get this one chance, so make it count.

I love you… Your Father

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How about that!!!

storephotoLately I have been noticing a significant amount of new subscribers to my site.  That is a really cool thing when people notice your blog and want to be part of it so thank you all for signing up. I have been in a little bit of a slump of late and I haven’t posted anything for months because frankly I can’t seem to come up with anything but political opinions that I probably shouldn’t share on a regular basis. That being said, some new things have happened that I would like to share in future postings but today I will start with the biggest item first.

Life for me has taken a turn recently, in a great direction, since the sale of our family business this past August. I had been so busy the months prior to the sale working and trying to put together the deal that brought on the new ownership. After 30 years I had been feeling burnt out and wanted to step down from all the responsibility and just stay on to help grow the business for a new owner. Seeing and feeling the new energy since the sale has given me new life. I almost feel like I did when my family first opened except I don’t have the nervousness that comes from starting a new business.

Responsibly can weigh a person down and more so than I believed it could until I realized just how different I feel since the sale. People often say that letting go of responsibility  in their life can feel as if a “weight” had been lifted off their shoulders and I can relate to that now. Over the past 30 years I had spent most of my days baking, managing and running the finances of the bakery which never gave me the opportunity to concentrate on any one area and that  prevents a business from growing. I always felt that the only way I would ever see this business grow would be to sell it, because I would never be able to do the things necessary to make it happen.

Today, as I sit in sunny Florida, I have time to reflect on the changes and how I feel today about my future in this business. After the last 2 months or so under my new boss, Joe, I have had the time to actually bake everyday for 8 hours. I always felt that if I could just bake  I would be able to turn out more product than anyone else which would help to increase sales and perhaps bring more business as we would have more product available everyday. I have been enjoying my new position as a baker and I feel like I am having fun for the first time in a long time. Getting to create and pay attention to the details of baking full time has made me find renewed energy and creativity.

Stepping aside for new ownership raised a question from both my friends and customers who wondered  if its weird for me not being the boss but still working  in what was once my shop. I guess I had to stop and think about that but it has been such an easy transition that I feel very comfortable where I am at. The new owner makes me feel more like a partner than an employee and having to teach him the many aspects of the bakery business gives us the opportunity to  get to know each other better. Besides, the passing of the day to day responsibilities of running the bakery has given me more time to enjoy the other aspects of my life, which is what was most important to me when we talked of what I wanted from the sale. Things like more time in Florida, restoring my Chevelle and having weekends off to do the things most people take for granted were high on my list of what was important when changing ownership.  When you work most every weekend for 30 years you miss a lot of things because they all happen on Saturdays and Sundays. I have a lot to catch up on and I am working hard on that now!!!

When I sit back and think about what feels most different about my life, I realize that I actually have moments now when I am thinking about nothing. I am sure that sounds funny but its true. I spent most of my days and nights thinking of the business. Coming home and working on insurance quotes, making sure the money is there for payroll, paying bills, worrying about wedding orders being filled etc..etc…Now I come home and think about what parts I need to order for my car or how I can put a second floor on our vacation home. Yeah I still think about Holidays and how many Stollens we will need to make but it doesn’t constantly burn in my head anymore. The single biggest change since  no longer being the”boss”  has got to be  the peace of mind that comes with free space in my head!

Now as I look to the future of what was once our business, I hope that there will be a place for me as it grows, where I can find a balance between work and free time. Where I can play a significant role and yet enjoy the things I missed out on over years past. Be there when I am needed most but still have time to explore the things I have been wanting to do for so long.

How about that?  It looks like I might have found a way to  have my cake and eat it too!

The Regular Guy

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Forked River House, Forked River NJ

There’s something fishy about Sushi in a sports bar but what the heck, I’m feeling adventurous. Someone recently told me I should check out the half price Sushi at the Forked River House on Monday nights, so with the Memorial weekend coming to a close , I traded the idea of a burger for a dish of raw fish.

Not to be confused with the Sushi we were served!

Not to be confused with the Sushi we were served!

Welcome to my Sushi disaster! Arriving to find only one table filled in a Sushi bar is a scary thing because Sushi places need to be busy to insure the fish is fresh. Not wanting to spend the night visiting the toilet, and feeling good to go as I am armed with a friends recommendation of good Sushi, we venture forward to try our luck.

Well as luck would have it we experienced some bad and some good as the evening progressed. After checking out both the half price Sushi menu and the regular Sushi menu we chose to try the peppered Tuna salad for an app and then the Spicy Tuna roll, The Dragon roll and the Spider Crab roll.

Bad luck encounter number 1 would be a peppered Tuna salad minus the salad. Eight thin slices of peppered Tuna with a scoop of seaweed drizzled with a soy dressing appeared to be missing something which later turned out to be the greens, as we were served the wrong dish. Good luck encounter number 1, would be that our waitress, who at first seemed to be in a daze, brought us the requested ginger and extra seaweed to make up for the mistake which when adding the ginger made the dish quite tasty. Score if your keeping it, 1-1.

Moving on….The rolls arrived, dressed quite casually I might add, as compared to some places that are very fancily prepared, but none the less looking good enough to eat. The Spider roll in fact was pretty cool looking with the large pieces of fried soft shell crab stretching to the ceiling from inside the roll. Tada..bad encounter number 2, wheres the Eel???? Dragon roll should have eel inside, so we question our waitress who still seems a bit out of it, and as we discuss the missing eel, my wife takes apart the roll to find a tiny morsel of eel well hidden beneath the layer of rice and avocado. Good luck encounter number 2, when our waitress offers us a complimentary roll to make up for the MIA eel. Nice job on the customer service side. After discussing back and forth with my wife, we opt to pass on the new roll but our waitress, and here it comes, good luck encounter number 3, offers my wife a serving of dessert for our trouble. As the dessert offered was a chocolate cake, it kind of made up for the mess as far as my wife is concerned. Chocolate cake can make a bad day a good one so why not turn a fishy evening sinfully sweet. Score 3-2 in our favor.

Allie ( I hope my wife recalls the spelling correctly), our waitress, turned what could have been a reason to not return into a reason to give this establishment a second chance. Although she seemed completely frazzled all evening, we did find out later, that she has been working three jobs and hasn’t had a day off in about a week. Even with being tired, she tried extremely hard to make up for all the mistakes that occurred. We assured her that we didn’t blame her for the mishaps and thanked her for being so responsive to our needs and trying to make up for the problems that weren’t her fault.

All in all I probably won’t return for Sushi anytime soon but I will return to try a Mexican Burger because I saw one go by and it made me wonder what the hell was I thinking eating Sushi on Memorial day. I should have had the burger. Anyway, Allie assured us that the burgers are really good and told us to come back any night but Wednesdays to see her again! Good job Allie and get some sleep will ya!

The Regular Guy Rating

Sushi * *       Allie ****

 

 

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The Boss

Today, it seems that no one wants to be the boss. In my 30 years of running our family business, I have not had the opportunity to work side by side with someone who could be the “the bossboss”. Oh yeah, I have had a few  who say they want to be but no one who had what it takes to be one. The main reason usually turns out to be the inability to tell people what to do. More often than not, no one wants to be what many employees perceive to be the “bad guy”. That’s it in a nutshell. You have to be the kind of person that doesn’t give a damn what their co workers think of them,( as long as you are fair and respectful). To often managers or bosses don’t want to be disliked so they wind up doing the job instead of delegating it and holding that person responsible to get it done.

The boss isn’t supposed to be your friend. Friendly yes, but friends absolutely not. There has to be a distinct separation between worker and boss and those lines should never be crossed. Hanging out with or taking interest in a workers life puts you at a disadvantage when it comes to having to direct that employee on what they need to do. You begin allowing your feelings to rule your decision making because you have now allowed emotion into the equation.

I am quite sure General Patton didn’t have many friends or men who liked him but they sure as hell respected him and followed where he led because they believed in what he stood for. His strong leadership didn’t come from hanging out with his soldiers, it came from his ability to separate himself from his troops in order to accomplish the task at hand. If he allowed his emotions and feelings to rule his decisions, we might be saluting the German flag right now.

Being a boss I learned something about hiring employees. There are what I believe, four things a good employee and perhaps future boss should have.

 1.Talent

 2.Strong character

 3.Passion about their work/life

 4.Desire and ability to learn

I have nothing to base this on but my own life and my experience with the people I have employed over the years, but I do know that without these four things, you do not have a chance at success in either work or more importantly life. I have never thought of myself as being perfect but have always strived for perfection in my work. Believing that if you don’t aim high you will always hit low, can be a curse for a boss. You tend to believe that everyone should think the same and that frustrates you to your wits end when employees constantly fall short. As a person, you can’t understand how anyone wouldn’t want the same things in life and feel deprived when you give it but don’t get it back.

Everyone wants to “be the boss” but few actually have what it takes. At the end of the day and perhaps my career, I know that I have led people on a long journey and did what I believed best for both my business and its employees. There are very few thank you’s along the way because most if not all of what you do for people is expected of you. Even so, being the boss and knowing that you gave people an opportunity to succeed in a safe, respectful environment, with a chance to earn a fair wage, makes what anyone might perceive of you, not matter all that much. Deep down inside you know you gave it everything it took to lead your troops on the road to success.

Just one mans opinion

The Regular Guy

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Should we be preparing for a war at home or…???????

Looks as if the Department of Homeland Security  is readying for a war on US soil, or as many believe a war against the people of this country.

Just recently the DHS purchased more rounds of ammunition than the entire US military, 1 billion rounds of HOLLOW POINT ammo( not used for target practice ) and some 3000 armored vehicles to be used on US soil. Looks like we better prepare for an invasion of Canadians or something. What could this President be up to when he is spending more on Homeland security and less on overseas military operations.thumb.php

Read here and again..start doing your homework!!! Scary stuff

The Regular Guy

http://mychal-massie.com/premium/the-obama-regime-paramilitary/

and http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/03/army-captain-demands-dhs-give-up-their-weapons-of-war/comment-page-1/

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My letter to our Reps Feb 7, 2013

IIsent the following letter to all my local, State and Federal Representatives because I don’t believe that I can stand by and do nothing but complain about what is taking place in our country. I am not convinced that any of them will even read this letter let alone act on it, but I know if for only my own good, that I did something. I know that a lot of my friends and people I am in contact with everyday think that guns are bad and no one should own them. I can see why they feel as they do because they don’t have any desire to own one or even shoot one, but that isn’t reason enough to just go along with what is happening with our Constitutional rights. Even though I would miss shooting, I would go along with banning all guns if it meant EVERYONE would no longer have access to them. Do people really believe that our government has our best interest in mind? Why are they then exempt from all the new laws they are presenting to Congress? Perhaps because they feel they are more deserving of our rights than we are. Maybe because they believe they need the protection more than we do. For what ever reason, they shouldn’t be above the law that we would have to live by. My guess is Joe Biden feels he shouldn’t be included if only because of  his recent ridiculous comments about how he and his wife should handle a shotgun. Now HE’S one person that shouldn’t be allowed access to guns!!

Our Constitutional rights were meant to protect us not only from outside attacks on our country but also to fight tyranny from within. I know that if that time ever comes, I at least spoke up against this unfair treatment. Can you say the same?

The Regular Guy

Open letter to my Representatives:

I have been an avid gun owner and target shooter since I was a teenager and I am writing today in hopes that some or all of you are as passionate about our 2nd Amendment rights as I am. With all the talk again about gun banning, I find it necessary that I speak out against further constraints against my Constitutional Rights. I, like the vast majority of gun owners, practice safe control of our arms and do not need further legislation prevent us from legally owning guns of our choice. These new proposals and past laws have done nothing to stop the criminal element that has been present since the dawn of time. Tougher laws do nothing to protect good people from bad, but only make it easier to become a target for criminals. Its time to enforce the laws we have now and keep criminals off the streets, protect our schools if need be with trained armed professionals and don’t continue to punish good honest people with laws that protect no one. I ask that you please fight for our continued Constitutional rights, for we as a nation were built on these principals for a reason. God bless you.

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Are Guns really the Enemy?

Lately I have been catching up on a History channel show “Mankind, the story of all of us”and I can’t seem to get enough of it. But the one thing that stands out most about our history as portrayed here, is that we are all killers. Every civilization since the beginning of time has killed to expand their religion, territory etc..I couldn’t help but notice that with each episode, one tribe, one civilization, one religious group or even people from the same community, inevitably turn on each.

We have been killing each other for centuries and way before the gun was invented. The gun perhaps has made it easier for evil men to do harm to another, but what if your not evil? How does one protect themselves against such?

I know the arguments for gun control but none of them make sense to me. They always seem to hurt the innocent more than the guilty. With each new gun control law that is passed, it seems our civilization gets worse in spite of the tougher laws. Probably because the laws only make it harder for good people to obtain guns. I always said that no matter how tough the law it won’t stop the bad guy because he doesn’t file for a permit, clear  the wait period and then buy his gun in a store such as Dicks sporting goods. Bad guys will always have guns but with each new “tough “law, the good guys lose.

Perhaps the most important thing that Americans fail to realize is that with each new law that is passed we lose more and more of our rights as Americans. The politicians who would champion tough gun laws, need not worry about protecting themselves as they won’t have to surrender their guns. Its just like the healthcare reform. Pass a new law that doesn’t pertain to them. Sure its always “best ” for us, but not good enough for them.

Its time that people start doing their homework and open up their eyes to what is happening around us. This isn’t about saving lives, this is about controlling them. Did everyone forget why our Bill of Rights was written? Did everyone forget how we fought our government to be free from England’s rule? Did everyone forget the saying ” if you don’t learn from history your destined to repeat it?” Yeah, I know its all conspiracy theory, right? That’s always the way peoples rights are taken away. Everyone’s so busy with their lives that most of us just stand by and watch this happen until its too late.

Guns don’t kill, people do. Watch that History channel show and witness just how evil people are and don’t be so surprised when you wake up one day and this country is no longer what it was meant to be. History always has a way of repeating itself and governments just love to rule.

Fair warning. Just one man’s opinion…..

The Regular Guy

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Lilies of the Field

Sometimes life takes you to places that make you stop for a moment and just take it all in. I know your thinking ,( “he must be talking about something like the Grand Canyon”) something big. Nope. Not this time.

Simple things in my life usually make me stop and notice. This past weekend, while visiting friends, I happened upon a small boutique in Doylestown Pa, where I couldn’t help but think this place is special. Located on a corner on main street and if not careful, you might just walk past it, Lilies was definitely one of the highlights of my visit.

A fresh take on clothing for women  and one HUGE  ( pun intended) table display for  men, the articles on sale were not what caught my attention. Arizona, a lively and attentive sales person, was standing behind the front counter when we entered and quickly offered us hot Cider and cookies. Not long after,  Jona ( the shops owner) entered the store with more fresh made cookies from a local bakery. As excited as one could be about cookies and a bakery, Jona couldn’t wait to offer the extended variety of cookies she had purchased for her store.

At this point I realized that unlike most shops along the streets of Doysletown, this one was different. Jona and Arizona’s spirit and freshness made my visit both fun and interesting, as both women seemed as if they truly liked being there. So many times you wander into stores to find sales help absent or perhaps they are off playing with their phones, and even if they acknowledge your being there, they rarely take interest in that fact. At Lilies, I felt like it was appreciated that I happened to be there and both ladies upbeat mood made the visit extremely enjoyable. I found myself waiting to hear the next interesting thing that Jona was going to say. After discussing the local bake shops fare and how much she liked it, her attention then turned to area restaurants that she would recommend for this evenings dinner. While this was happening, Arizona filled me in on the stores clothing, all  made in the USA, and some of which are from local merchants.

As I stood and listened to the conversations and laughter, I couldn’t help but think that I should use my Blog to tell people about this great little shop and the experience awaiting customers when they pass through the doors. If for nothing else, I felt compelled to do something nice for Jona since she had made both my friends and I feel so welcome.

Thanks Jona!

Just one man’s opinion..

The Regular Guy

Lilies of the Field

www.facebook.com/pages/Lilies-of-the-Field/10150090483750693

1 South Main

Doylestown Pa 215-348-8355

 

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Mia, Toms River NJ

Like most couples on their anniversary, celebrating the occasion while dining out is very common. For our anniversary  this would be one crazy dining experience.

With a “strong”suggested( as recommended on Mia website) dinner reservation for 7pm we arrive 15 minutes early, full of anticipation, hungry, and anxious to be seated. First impressions are important and the dark wood tables, subdued lighting and great furniture pieces give Mia an upscale look. While standing at the hostess station, we couldn’t help noticing that the dining room was empty, less 4 tables and with no host or staff in attendance. After a 5 minute wait and with no attention to our presence, we decided to call the restaurant in hopes that someone would come to the desk  and recognize that we were standing there. The idea worked as what turned out to be the waiter/owner rushed to respond to the ringing phone. Although we shared a laugh and thought it was kind of funny, we thought it would be a good way to get some one to notice us.

With only 4 other tables we expected service to be quick but that thought slowly faded as we waited 5 more minutes for menus and water. Again, the  waiter/owner greeted us with the menus and asked us questions such as “have we ever dined here before?” We told him that we believed we had some years back but the menu was very different and perhaps we were wrong. As it turned out, it is the same place but the menu was changed. He also told us that he believed he had the “best food in Ocean County”. I found that to be a pretty strong statement with Villa Amalfi and Il Giardenellos serving the same style food, right in his backyard. Regardless we looked over the menu and found some interesting and refreshing choices.

I chose the Veal Chop Milanese and the wife opted for the Filet Mignon. I also asked if I could have my pasta side with their house sauce that was spicy and light tomato based. My wife asked if the vegetable (broccoli) was frozen and the owner insured us that he only uses fresh vegetables, sauteed with butter and seasonings.We also ordered side salads as they do not come with the meal. I was told the Bleu cheese dressing was excellent so my wife chose that and I went with a Balsamic dressing.

At 7:55 pm, an hour and 10 minutes after being seated, our salad was served. All the time we waited we noticed no other servers but a young woman who bussed the tables and poured water. It seems the owner was the only person serving meals this evening. That would not have been a problem if one, he made it clear to us that they had a situation and two, he served us cheese, an appetizer or even our salads, while we waited. There is only so much bread a person can eat while waiting an hour for dinner.

Salads were nothing out of the norm and the Bleu cheese dressing wasn’t anything more than the bottled type you would find in any restaurant. We were expecting crumbled cheese at the very least, but instead received the basic creamy dressing. Our dinners followed shortly after and didn’t do much more to make our experience any better. My Veal Chop was so thick that it was under cooked and completely raw close to the bone. I was under the impression that the chop would be pounded thin while still on the bone, breaded and sauteed until crisp like most Milanese dishes I have eaten in the past. While it wasn’t a problem exchanging it for the Veal Cutlet Milanese, and although it was very good(sauteed not fried), I was disappointed that the cutlet weighed in about 3 ounces while the original chop was closer to 10 ounces. That in itself was okay if the price would have reflected such a difference, but alas it did not. My Rigatoni’s in the house sauce were very tasty but the sauce was too thin, didn’t stick to the pasta, and the peppers should have been diced instead of whole so as to get the most flavor and also to fit on the fork. No one wants a Fra Diavolo type sauce with whole Pepperoncini’s in it. My wife’s filet while tasty, was not tender enough to cut with a fork, which has always been a tell tale sign of a great steak. We would not have expected a “great” meal if the owner hadn’t boasted about how they had the best food in the County. Great food speaks for itself and doesn’t need the owner to brag about it.

We did however, experience some good and unexpected customer service before paying for the dinner. The owner gave us a 20% discount for the uncooked Veal dish and didn’t charge me for having the house sauce on my side pasta. That goes a long way with me as most places attempt to charge for dishes that patrons don’t care for or eat, and rarely offer a gesture like a discount for the inconvenience.

So with mixed feelings about our visit, I would have to say that I probably would give this establishment the benefit of the doubt and try Mia one more time, if only for the fact that the owner recognized the mistakes and offered to make good on them.

Regular Guy Rating * * *

Mia

1214 Rte #7 East

Toms River NJ 08753

732 929 0595

http://www.miaitalianrestaurant.com

 

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What do you believe?

This country is changing before our eyes and most people are ignoring it, don’t care or don’t believe it. This Presidential election is to date the most important one of mine and many others lifetime, with the chance that the next four years may either bring us back from near death or bury us for good.

With all the hype of the coming debates and election, what is everyone to believe? Americans have been force fed the same crap from both sides for too long and yet politicians continue down the same path because the majority of Americans buy into what their party is selling or they are just to stupid/lazy to do their due diligence on the candidates before them. Politicians know this all too well and play off the fact that they believe we are so busy with life and all the distractions from it, that we wont pay attention to what they are really doing. This had worked well  in the past but with groups like the  Tea party,  there has been more light shown on our politicians which is raising peoples awareness of what is really happening in our country.

I have never been one to just believe what I hear without reading into everything I can to research what is being said. I, like a lot of other people I know, get too many forwarded emails from friends and others that put information out there, most of which is old, proved false already or just plain made up nonsense. Over the past three years I have watched and or read, more programming on our countries past history, our present economic condition and also some items that portray what our country may look like in the coming years if we continue on this course. I have to say without hesitation, I went from skeptical to scared. At first I was mainly concerned with my financial situation and how it had been affected by the housing and banking disasters. Then as I read about what had happened I realized that it wasn’t so much the peoples fault as it was our so called “leaders” who created the mess and that most of them were a never held accountable for what happened. Although too many Americans lost life savings, our leaders continued to live the high life at our expense.

How many times have we heard that we all have to sacrifice more to get the federal deficit down. Why is it always the people who have to give more and the politicians  go on spending in ways that do not help alleviate the problem but continue to make it worse. How is it that our President, who consistently calls on us to sacrifice or pay our fair share, can take, between himself and his wife, more vacations at the tax payers expense, than any other President in our history. I never realized that our presidents use Air Force One to vacation, along with Secret Service at a rate of more than $200,000 an hour. This President has spent billions of taxpayers dollars on golf and vacations, while all the time standing in front of television cameras telling us how hard life is for the middle class. How can anyone believe that politicians on either side will ever change this lifestyle that they have all become accustomed to. Does anyone still wonder why a millionaire would want to be a politician?

Why are Americans so blind or stupid to realize what is happening and that we need to hold these people accountable for what they are doing. Most people are still arguing that the other party is the reason we are in this mess. Its not just one party people! Wake the hell up, do your homework and get involved. Stop playing that blame game and thinking your party can do no wrong. Those days are long gone. People need to wise up and work towards “REAL ” change.

Just recently, I watched “Monumental”, a film by Kirk Cameron, that is about the founding of this country. It is a film that everyone in this country should watch because it shows what the people on the Mayflower had to endure when they landed here and began to build America. It gives detailed history of the plan that was used to build a free nation, and although our leaders will tell you different, one nation built under God and his laws. Laws that were based on religious beliefs. Yes those same beliefs that we are now told, unless you are Muslim, that we can not show in public. Those same beliefs that many of the founding fathers wrote into the sides of state buildings that still exist today.I guess the point I am trying to make is that it worked back then when our ancestors ran from a  Kings rule to make them a free people. Without what they accomplished and believed in, we would not have the freedom we have today as Americans. The part of the film that most troubled me was when Kirk was talking with a gentleman about how our country has gone so far off the course that was given to us. He asked him if it was possible to get us back to our roots and save this country. The gentleman responded that our founding fathers had outlined how they built this country, on a “monument’,  and that it was fairly simple to fix this country if anyone truly wanted to, just by following the simple plan that originally made this country what it was. This monument, which the film was titled for, is in Plymouth Mass. stands some twenty or thirty feet high, and on which, is engraved the outline which was used to build this country. The reason I found this so troubling, was two fold. The first reason, sadly, is  that I, like most Americans, have never heard of  let alone seen a picture of this incredible monument. A monument which should  have been one of the most important pieces of our history. The second reason being, I found it scary that the people of this country have turned  their collective backs on the our leaders by continuing to allow them to take this country down a path that will surely lead us to a bad ending. We have allowed our leaders to little by little take our God given rights away from us, while all the time trying to tell us that it is for our own good. Just look at the Patriot act and some of the executive orders that our past and present Presidents have signed. Our government can at any time take our assets from us just by deeming a state of emergency. Who determines what the state of emergency is. Another attack like 911 and maybe they seize all our guns for government use or maybe they confiscate all the wheat in our farmers fields to do with what they deem best. It sounds unrealistic but we allowed this “law” because of our fear of terrorism.

Our federal government is suing the state of Arizona because they are trying to enforce a federal law pertaining to immigration. What we see in the press is Mexicans being handcuffed and placed in vans to be brought back to their country. We hear of Latinos being carded on the streets to see if they are here legally. We are told that it is wrong to do this and the federal government will put a stop to it. What you don’t read or hear about, unless you look for it, are the American citizens being raped and killed by the Mexican drug cartels and illegal aliens crossing the border. So when Arizona stands up and points to the Constitution and the laws of the land, and works to clean up the problem they are having, our federal government doesn’t assist them, they create “Fast and Furious” to try to scare the American people into believing that the guns the Cartels are using are being given to them from our gun makers here in the states.  But what really happened was our federal government was supplying the arms to the Cartels and when one of our own agents was killed it all came to light what was going on behind our backs. What is going on in this country? Our federal government who is sworn to protect us is doing just the opposite, and even worse, they aide the enemy.

I know, a great deal of you say that this is conspiracy theory stuff. That’s what always happens when a country puts their belief and blind faith in its leaders. Hitler started the same way. Scare enough people, give them what they need to survive and promise to take care of them and the people will flock like sheep to follow the leader. It’s happening right now, here, in this country. Scared, yes, I am scared. I didn’t think this could happen here but it is and we are watching as it as it does and many of us are riding the bandwagon thinking that the other half doesn’t know jack. When a government by the people for the people no longer exists as it “doesn’t” today, then it is only a matter of time before our God given rights will no longer be. Yes we have lost control of our government and our leaders know this, and depend on us to stay blind to it so “they” can control “us”. Don’t see it yet? How else then can they continue to steal from us, spend our money freely and live better lives than the common folk, while we all just keep voluntarily forking over more tax dollars to support the mess they create.

America has finally dumbed down. Just look around you. Everywhere you go the thing you see most is people, especially the young, thumbing a smart phone. Computers that were supposed to do great things for us have just become another way to distract us from the important things in life. While our country is changing it face, our people are changing their Face book page. While illegal aliens are helping to drain the heath care system, our people are tweeting that they are tired from partying all night. And while our President is taking time out of his busy golf schedule to appear on the “View” our countries strongest ally in the middle east, during a nuclear crisis, sits and waits for a meeting with him.

What do you believe? I just hope you believe its time to pay attention to what is changing around us. To put down the cell phone and read some unbiased news about what is happening in this country. To stand up and speak out about what is wrong and not worry about being politically correct. I hope you believe like I do that there’s nothing wrong with the Constitution and that this is the greatest country on earth, not in spite of it , but because of it!

What do you believe?

Just one man’s opinion

The Regular Guy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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