This, that and tother - Over the River via Tacony Palmyra to the shores of Jersey

On WXPN yesterday morning I heard this wunnerful Cajun music and here tis.

Joseph Falcon and Cleoma Breaux, husband and wife team.

After arriving at The Rohrer's house in Evesham Township, we drove to the Brio Tuscan Grille restaurant.  As I entered and looked down at the floor tiles, it reminded me of being in Italy.



We celebrated Debbie Rohrer's 50th birthday. She's Scott's younger sister. It was also their dad's 81st birthday AND the 60th anniversary of The Shermans marriage.

Ain't that something? as my friend Fontaine would say.

I have a thing about driving to Jersey. I believe I won't make it home alive. My sister Amy has the same fear.

Ready for my terrible photos?

 If you stare at the above photo you will find what it's about.

Across the street from the Rohrers is a simply decorated house for Xmas. The house is unusual as it's not a tract house, but may have been there for years.

 They refer to Natalie as Bubby.

Danny Rohrer came in a day early and brought decorations plus a b'day cake.

 Here's Matt an art student who will attend University of the Arts in January as a transfer student. Illustration is his field. He likes Robert Crumb.

Crumb came from a family dominated by mental illness. 

Tommy and Amy, the lady with the cats. Carol and the late Steve Rohrer adopted two children... Danny and Amy, who recently found out her bio mom was a Siamese cat. In the tradition of making an aliyah to Israel if you're Jewish, Amy is now able to take a free trip to Siam, now known as...you figger it out, I'm too tired. Look at the clock - 1:56 am.

This is Carol Rohrer and grandson Matt, the artiste! He cut his hair so he looks, well, normal. Before, he had shoulder-length hair that hid his handsome face.

See my $7.25 glass of wine? Why do they not fill it up? I sipped on it slowly. I do love wine. Scott asked me if it 'went' with my meal.

Indeed it did, I said. I wanted white wine so if it spilled on my pink shirt it wouldn't show. Matt had a fit when he spilled spag in his lap.

When was your last fit, Dear Reader?

The waiter below is a friend of Matt's and was the one who told him where to get a good haircut. 

 His beverage of choice is PEPSI, no ice.

 My salad was a wedge of Iceberg with a creamy dressing that was delicious. I buy this same Wedge at the Giant salad bar, which probly costs 80 cents, compared to this, which would be around 8 dollars.

Calimari below. My second helping from Matt, who ordered em. They were better w/o the dressing.

 Matt's tattoo, I think of a naked broad, hard to see. The bread plate contained triangles called Flaxseed Crackers. I stopped myself after eating the second one.

How many would YOU have eaten?  

Straight ahead is Birthday Cake Danny had brought in the day before. Very good. From Shop-Rite. Matt is doodling on the cardboard tablecloth that goes over the linen cloth.

My New Zealand lamb chops with mashed potatoes, mushrooms and gravy.

And grilled asparagus.

And so we come to the end of the dinner. Scott and I were the first to leave as we have the longest way to go. The pouring rain we never experienced since we were eating.

A gentle rain pursued us most of the way home.

At Scott's I watched a religious program about the Ba'al Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, who died in Ukraine 300 years ago.

Numerous rabbis were interviewed. I understood not a word of what they were talking about.

All but Susannah Heschel.



She's the only child of the late Jewish philosopher


Joshua Heschel and Susannah.