What I am reading

Celebrity Endorsements: Could Ric Flair and Chuck Norris be wrong?.....A Yes

The 92 Apple Cup

Keith Jackson: "We understand there having a little bit of snow in Pullman"

In November of 1992 it had been unseasonably warm in Pullman. For a week I had been walking up to class without a jacket. On the day of the Apple Cup I woke up and turned on the T.V. Keith Jackson was broadcasting a Big Ten game and mentioned snow in Pullman, I figured Keith was mistaken. Then I opened our front door to get the morning newspaper, we weren't just having a little snow, we were having a fricken blizzard.

I had planned on attending the game with my roommates as well as a contingent from Walla Walla who had travled up to see the game. As game timed approached WE ALL decided that we didn't want to sit in Martin stadium for 3-1/2 hours in a blizzard. So we had a nice apple cup party in our townhouse.

The game is considered one of the greatest moments in Apple Cup history. The cougars played like kids in a candy store while the Huskies looked like they didn't want to be their. Drew Blesdoe Bledsoe had the best performance of his career throwing 4 touchdown passes in the third quarter. The cougars ended up winning in a blowout.

By the next morning the all the snow in Pullman was completely gone. It was almost like the previous day was a dream.

The Thanksgiving song

The entire Walla Walla Barer family

Steve, Dawn, Buddy ,Puff and Spider wish everyone a Very Happy Thanksgiving.

Saturday night at the theater

Dawn and I attended the play Out Of Sight out Of Murder last night at the Walla Walla Little Theater .

One of the Vets at Dawn's clinic performed in the production and a contingent from the clinic was their to support her. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show.

KARATE

I practiced karate consistently for seven years from 1998-05. In the summer of '03 in Spokane I earned a black belt from sensei Teruo Chinen. Here is a very nice T.V. profile on Mr. Chinen.

That's incredible ! Cathy Lee Crosby has an injury

More silliness from battle of the network stars.

Sir, I am not looking for Jesus ....I am looking for Jimmy Snuka.

I remember hearing two addresses on T.V. in my childhood. One was for Maryland public T.V. Every week Wall Street Week host Louis Rukeyser would invite viewers to send letters to
"11767 Owings Mills Blvd. Owings Mills, Maryland 21117...Now before we me tonights special guest"

The other address was 8725 N Chautauqua.

As a sports fan I've been to some cool places and done some cool things.

When Portland had a pro football team in the USFL during the 80's I was able to sneak into civic stadium and frolic in the very end zone I had seen Hershel Walker dive into weeks before.

I have seen legends like Steve Largent, Reggie Jackson and Michael Jordan perform at the old Seattle Kingdome.

I've seen the Sonics and Blazers play at their respective coliseums.

I've gone to Boston's Fenway Park to see the Red Sox and I've been to Chavez Ravine
to see the LA Dodgers.

Yet, I never got to go to the greatest venue of them all.
The Portland Sports Arena.

Last weekend Dawn, Buddy the Poodle and myself spent the weekend in Portland Oregon(we originally thought we were going to Seattle, but that a story for a different time). Dawn had a conference that lasted all day on Sunday, while I new I was going to have to entertain myself and Buddy.

Right before we left for Portland something occurred to me. Dawn's conference was at the North Portland Veterinary hospital. I remembered something else being in North Portland. So the night before we left I went to Map Quest and typed in the clinics address 3000 N Lombard and 8725 N Chautauqua. To my glee they were less then a mile apart. Half a mile down Lombard, right turn, half a mile down Chautauqua and wallah your their.

While the wrestlers on Big Time wrestling captured my imagination like nothing else the arena was also a source of curiosity. They only used one camera that would show the interviews in the "crows nest" then swing around and show the matches. You would only see the bleachers immediately behind the ring and the first five rows on either side. What did the rest of the arena look like? Maybe, I was going to find out.

I woke up on Sunday morning with hopes that I would be able to conjure up the ghosts of Andre the Giant and Lou Thez, that I would be able to feel the aura of legends like Jack Briscoe, Harley Race, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka all of whom had performed at the Portland sports arena in the 70's and 80's.

I also new the reality that the promotion went out if business 15 years ago and the building was sold a couple years latter.

I dropped Dawn off at 9:00 at the vet hospital and headed down Lombard to Chautauqua.
Then I saw the huge Baptist church and a smaller building next to it.... 8725 N Chautauqua.

As I sat in the car I thought about all those Saturday afternoons watching wrestling with my grandfather. I also thought about the DVD's I purchased earlier this year. Almost all of the matches on the discs are out of chronological order, for me, this gives the arena a field of dreams quality as all these magical characters from my childhood appear out of the background like the ball player walking out of Ray Kinsella's wheat field.

I finally got out of the car and headed to the front door. It looked like they were having a meeting so I didn't go in. I walk around the exterior of the building and let my imagination wander. Then a man came up behind me.

unidentified man: "can I help you with something"

me: "no I am just looking"

I looked around some more and headed back to my car. I then realized the man was still glaring at me. I got in my car and droves up to where the man was.

"what can I help you with"

me: "Sir is this where they use to have the wrestling matches"

man: chuckling "your right this was the old Portland sports arena"

The man went on to explain the history of the Mount Olivet Baptist church and it's mission. I told the man I watched wrestling growing up and wanted to see the arena.
I asked whether I would be able to recognizes any of the interior? He said no, it had been completely remodeled

I thank him for is time, then Buddy and I drove off.

More fun with you tube....Ever wanted to see David Letterman swim?

The Sonics In 1979

Steak, Lobster And Premature Jocularity

R.C. is one of my favorite customers. He comes in every year and tries to sell us steak and lobster tickets. The tickets are a fund raiser for a 4-h group. I have gone a couple of time over the last 12 years. This year I figured it would be nice to take Dawn since she loves lobster.

When R.C. came in with my tickets he was also trying to sell one of my co workers Kenny "the spider" a pair of tickets which led to the following conversation.

Ken: The two best things in life are lobsters and sex.

ME: YEA! and they both go extremely well with butter.

And then we laughed... and...laughed

Dawn and I did attend the Valley Chapel 4-h steak and lobster feed last Sunday. Dawn said the lobster was cooked perfectly. She ended up with two pieces because I have an aversion to seafood. In turn I received her steak so we both got very full.

Write young man write

Last Friday I found myself in a room with several very talented writers. I was hoping maybe I picked up some talent via osmosis. Probably not.... but I was flattered that they read this blog and it has inspired me to continue writing. After two months of in activity I finally completed a new entry on my T.V. Time Limit blog. And I had fun writing it!

Eternal Love

"Dorthy Barer always thought her husband would outlive her. She would often kid him, Don't bring a date to my funeral, but make sure to pick one up on the way home, because you don't know how to take care of yourself."
Rabbi at Dorthy Barer's funeral.

David and Dorthy Barer were married for fifty years. Sadly, Aunt Dorthy had to live the last 22 years with out the love of her life. Today, on a beautiful fall day in Walla Walla with their three children and seven of their grandchildren in attendance they were reunited.

The Mongolian Stomper

Tonight I went out to dinner with Dawn and her mother Darlene. Dawn's dad Don was off covering a Wa-Hi football game for the Union Bulletin.
We had a very nice dinner at the Hua's Monolian and we all got to take home leftovers.

Rosh Hashanah

Dawn And I attended Rosh Hashanah services at Temple Beth Israel this evening. I counted around sixty people in attendance. Richard Kaplan made the trip to Walla Walla to be our lay leader this evening. We had a nice service

Fennel Crusted Pork Chop With Apple Fennel Salad & Sultana Raisin Emulsion

One of Dawn's favorite shows is Top chef on Bravo. We decided that maybe we should try one of the winning recipes.

So early Saturday morning we went to Super 1 in Walla Walla and purchased our ingredients. We then went home and put together our marinade. Latter in the evening we put everything together and had a wonderful meal.

Ingredients:

4 7oz Pork Chops
4oz Fennel seed toasted and roughly ground
2oz Dijon Style Mustard
2oz White Grain Mustard
4oz Olive Oil
2 large shallots
4 large Cloves of Garlic
4 Sprigs of Rosemary Picked
4 Sprigs of Thyme Picked
Salt & Pepper to taste

Apple Cider Reduction:
1qt Apple Cider
4oz Peeled, Sliced ginger
5 Garlic Cloves
1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Cup Light Brown Sugar
2pcs Star Anise
2pcs cinnamon stick
1 small bunch thyme
4 Shallots peeled and halved
1 Bay Leaf

3 Apple Fennel Salad
2 Granny Smith Apples – Julianned
2 Golden Delicious Apples – Julianned
2 Breaburn Apples – Julianned
2 Head Fennel – Julianned
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Cumin
1 Cup Golden Raisins
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup blended Olive Oil (70/30)
1/4 Cup Water

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except pork and 1 half fennel seed, in blender and puree. Pour puree over pork in shallow dish and allow to marinate over night.

For the Apple Cider Reduction:
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Reduce slowly over medium heat. When sauce has reduced to rich, glossy constituency, strain and set aside. Adjust seasoning with Kosher salt and black pepper.

For the 3 Apple Fennel Salad:
Combine all ingredients (except apples & fennel) in a blender and puree. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Reserve for later use.

Preheat grill to medium heat. Remove pork chops from marinade and wipe off excess. Season generously with salt, pepper, and remaining ground fennel. Grill to desired doneness (8-10 minutes for medium) Set aside to rest.

Combine apples, fennel, and raisin vinaigrette in a mixing bowl, toss to combine, season with salt & pepper.

Slice pork thinly, arrange on warm plates, top with fennel salad, drizzle cider reduction around pork, serve immediately.

As we ate our dinner we watched UFC 74 on ppv. Once again the amazing 44 year old Randy "the natural" Couture put on an awe inspiring performance. Dominating a much larger and heavily favored challenger. Giving all us old guys motivation to go work out.

For more on the ppv see my other blog here

Vue 22

This has to be seen to be believed!

The location that for years was known as the B.Barer @ Sons scale yard is now becoming luxury town homes.

They are currently working on the fourth floor of the outer structure.

I am not joking.

click here

Barry Bonds:

Anybody remember the story line on LA Law where Douglas is having an affair with his sex therapist and then gets bored with her? He then informs her that he is "overwrought with ambivalence".

Barry Bonds is a second generation major league baseball player who is one of the greatest of this era. Bonds would have been one of the greats even if he had never taken steroids, heck he would have been considered one of the all time greats even if he had never touched a weight.

Unfortunately Bonds watched Sammy Sosa and Mark Maguire captivate the country with their pursuit of the single season home run record.
This caused Bonds to become jealous. Which led to Bonds ending one season looking like Bill Bixby and returning the following spring looking like Lou Ferrigno's stunt double(are gama rays on the band substance list?).

Bonds supporters argue your innocent until proven guilty and Bonds has never been proven guilty and their is no disputing that he has stepped up to the plate 750+ time and hit the ball out of the park.
Bonds detractors say it's obvious he has taken a short cuts.

In the end it is up to each individual fan to interpret Bond's Achievements.

How do I feel about Barry Bond's record?

I am sorry Barry But I am "ovewrought with ambivalence"

If it's Friday It's Waitsburg

Tonight Dawn and I were treated to dinner by Dawn's parents Darleene and Don Davis
We had a great meal at the Whoopemup Hollow Cafe in Waitsburg . My Dad had a series of articles on his blog a while back about our families history in Waitsburg. Whoo'd of thunk Waitsburg would be able to offer casually elegant Cajun cuisine?

50 Is Nifty For Brother Mike

Saturday evening Dawn and I attended an awesome surprise 50th birthday party for Mike Barer.

Sister in law Debra did a wonderful job putting the party together. The festivities took place at Doc Maynard's in Pioneer square (we had the entire bar to ourselves). We got to listen to a band made up entirely of Boeing engineers who managed to keep the festivities hopping.

Luminaries in attendence included: cousins Sam and Lisa Barer, Carol and Arnie Barer, Stan and Alta Barer, dad and Jean, Debra's mom and Dad, Debra Sister. Cousins C and K
as well as several of Mike and Debra'a friends. A great time was had by all.

Mike turns fifty on July 19th.