Gar1eth

We obviously do live in different Americas. I grew up as part of the Middle America Economic Zone. But we were probably towards the middle to lower portion of the zone when I was younger. My Mom was reminiscing awhile back. My Dad was a traveling (by car) salesman. For a large part of my early years, he was often gone probably at least 3 to 4 days a week-although maybe not every week. Mom was telling me that sometimes when Dad was gone as a treat for us, she’d use the money she got back from returning Coke bottles to take us to McDonalds. Mom said she would order a hamburger, fries, and a drink for herself, my sister, and me. And she would order my brother two hamburgers or possibly a Big Mac. Quarter Pounders wouldn’t be invented for years and years at that point. Twelve years later when I was in high school, we had an open campus for lunch. My senior year I’m not sure if I ever ate in the school cafeteria. If I did, it was probably less than 20 times. For the most part two of my friends and I went out daily. We would take turns driving as we all had cars. We had to be quick as we only had about 30 to 45 minutes. Luckily our school was right off a main street. We mainly seemed to gravitate to McDonald’s. We occasionally went elsewhere. I can remember going to Grandy’s at least once, and a local Chinese place at least once. But it was mainly McDonald’s. I’ll admit I did get sick of it towards the end. During my first year or so in college I did try to avoid it. But by the end of college, I definitely ate there. I also ate there in grad school. And I go there now. I like Jack in the Box and KFC as well as many other fast food places too. Now I’m not saying my diet is good -far from it. But I did grow up eating the stuff too. And while of course anything I say will be excuses, when I was working and a productive member of society, my life was very chaotic. I didn’t really have the discipline or inclination to cook. So I still ate out a lot or went to fast food places. And of course this partially explains why I have my current Santa Claus physique (the other part being I’m non-athletic and don’t enjoy exercising at all-the old adage about finding something you like doesn’t really work well when there’s nothing you like), and why, for example, @Benjamin_Nicholas or @Rudynate doesn’t. Gman

You’ve really NEVER been to a McDonald’s, EVER-not even as a child? What about Burger King, Jack in the Box, or Wendy’s? Gman

https://www.boredpanda.com/overweight-welshman-businessman-transformation-model-gwilym-pugh/?utm_content=inf_10_2558_2&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=socialedge&tse_id=INF_c402f160147011e8b994b71562261940 Gman

He now lists himself as gay. And he lists his position as bottom. Gman

It would be interesting to find out if it were true. However it would only be to satisfy some prurient curiosity of mine-or of others. If it is true, and by some chance he has always felt or only come to realize lately that he is in a body of the wrong gender, my heart goes out to him. As much as I’ve struggled being gay, I can’t even imagine the daily horror it must be to feel you are the wrong sex. And then even if you feel that way, the bravery it takes to actually have extensive surgery. I wish him, and anyone else who takes that path, only the best. Gman

And on my part, I wish I was a possessor of one of those BIG COCKS that you like to talk about. Gman

I’m glad you weren’t involved in the NYC Ice Cream War. http://thecomeback.com/food/nyc-area-ice-cream-truck-businesses-are-spying-on-each-other-in-mafia-like-fashion.html Gman

I’m glad you are home. And I appreciate learning about the difference between mandelbrot and biscotti. I just got home on Thursday from my first hospitalization for my MG. I hope it’s my last. I received 5 days of intravenous gamma globulin. Usually it’s reserved for severe crises like not being able to breathe. I wasn’t that bad. But I was having trouble swallowing to the point that for a week at least 50 % of what I ate was getting stuck at the back of my throat. I would have to try to cough to get it back to the front part of my mouth. And then I would try to chew it enough with my weakened jaws that I could swallow it. If the hospital scales were correct, I had lost 10 pounds from a clinic visit only 2 or so weeks before. But it’s definitely possible one of the scales was off because I don’t think my clothes have felt as if I had lost 10 pounds. Between the blood draws and the IVs, by Thursday I was feeling like a pincushion. Gman

Did you have your cardiac surgery, @jjkrkwood? If so, I hope everything went well. Is there a difference between mandelbrot and biscotti? Mandelbrot was always too dry for me. Gman

I don’t like either. Gman

Last time I saw a picture of him, he and his friend Joseph didn’t look so hot. Gman

There’s an organic dairy that delivers in the Seattle-Tacoma area. And the people signed up do have metal boxes on the their porches. What always impressed me was how perfectly in tune and in step they always were. I wonder when they found time to rehearse or whether the trades people were all just naturals. Maybe it was a job requirement. Gman

Defunct in 1969 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helms_Bakery Gman

I live in Tacoma. It was so weird seeing the smoke on the horizon and smelling it when it wasn’t in our immediate vicinity. Of course when I lived in Corpus Christi, one year northern Mexico was burning-at least two hours away-and you could smell the smoke then too. Gman

My parents-probably during the 1970’s -bought a Kirby Vacuum from a door to door vacuum salesman. Gman

I’ve been living a lot with Mr. Softee lately. Gman

I’m fairly sure I didn’t imagine them as when I looked them up online, they did exist. And I can’t imagine having seen them online without deliberately looking them up. I think I also remember they had a paper tab stopper of some type rather than a screwed on cap. Gman

We had a milkman intermittently until I was about 6 (1967). But from when I was younger, I can remember my grandmother leaving out empty amber colored glass milk bottles on the front porch for the milkman to pick up. Gman

They weren’t very common where I grew up. I did know a guy named Mark who was a year older than I was who had a route for a while in high school. I mentioned to my MoM I might like to do it. She told me she had heard from Mark’s mother that the insurance was really expensive. I also thought I might like working at the local Baskin Robbins. But the guy who owned the two where I grew up only hired girls-or at least in all the years I went there, I only saw girls behind the counter. Gman

BUTTER, BUTTER, BUTTER!!!! Most olive oil is tasteless to me. I do like balsamic vinaigrette. And it’s especially good on a thick crusty Italian type bread. But did I mention, BUTTER? It’s the best!!! Gman

I read in India Pizza Hut has a Chicken Tikka Masala pizza. I’d really like to try that. Gman

Steve Jordan was incredibly handsome. I figuratively drooled over his website for years. When we met, he couldn’t get hard. But he always advertised as a bottom anyway. He said it wasn’t me. But I took that with a grain of salt. Gman

I just looked him up. I’m probably more into Tex-Mex than I am traditional Mexican food. But I’m not saying I wouldn’t try traditional Mexican food. But I don’t like mole, cheese (except mostly on pizza), sour crema, seafood, or any peppers but bell peppers. Lots of times that limits my choices at restaurants. Gman

Who is Rick Bayless? Gman

Ike was a fellow Texan. The story they used to have posted at the UNO’s Restaurants was that after WW2 initially Ike wanted a Tex-Mex restaurant. He had some potential investors over, and whoever made the Tex-Mex wasn’t very good. The investors became ill. Ike’s next thought was the pizza he had had in Italy during WW2. But he thought it wasn’t substantial enough. So he developed (ie invented) deep dish pizza, so it would be more of a meal. The investors loved it. And the rest is history!! I think Digiornos is pretty good. Gman