The thrill of buying a new car - Meeting up again with Tommy Williams aka Latif

 Scott is getting ready to turn in his car.

He loved his 1994 Ford Escort Stick Shift which he got at a great price when he worked as a mechanic at Hopkins Ford. Love those old passive restraints, which are now forbidden. Something about when you crash your car you'll get..... use your imagination.

94,000 miles. Gave him very little trouble - it's got a Mazda engine - but now the transmission is going.

Beverly Maisie was our salesperson at Sussman Honda.

Scott knew he wanted the Honda Fit

b/c you can fold down the back seats and FIT lots of stuff back there, like our bicycles.

In fact, today - the day after he bought the car - we rode our bikes at Lorimer Park.

It was blazing hot today but when we rode past this rock shelf it was 10 degrees cooler. Can you hear the former railroad train chugging over the railroad tracks?

Why is Jason McPeak lying on my kitchen floor?

My refrigerator stopped working. The compressor blew to the tune of over $400. Dave's Appliances, which employs 20, sent Jason out right away.

Jason, 22, goes fishing with his dad. He has a boat in the marina of LBI. He's saving his money so he can achieve his dream of moving to S C and working in a marina.



You remember Tommy Williams - Latif - don't you? 

My article about him in the Compass 2014 - Twenty Years a Prisoner - was one of the most interesting I've ever done.

Tommy has had a dream of becoming a four-star chef ever since he was a kid.

His role model is Scottish chef Gordon Ramsey

Tommy Williams is already to enter The Restaurant School of Walnut Grove in Philadelphia.

$27,000 a year. He's gotten several scholarships already, including one for former inmates.  He's waiting to hear about a grant to pay for his kitchen knives and uniforms.

He works PT now at a restaurant in Broomall, where his boss gave him an excellent review.

The review packet was sitting with us at Barnes and Noble where I wrote him a glowing review. Ad libbing it with Tommy, I wrote in all down in my not-so-great handwriting. 

"My friendship with Thomas Williams," I wrote, "began in the year 2000, but then we lost touch."

That's b/c he was behind bars. 

I concluded by saying Tommy is an extraordinarily determined and ambitious man who you'll all be proud of at your wonderful culinary school.

While I was at Barnes & Noble, I learned that this store has a 'publishing machine' which will print out copies of books.Can't find it online.

Also ordered a book for Grace's fourth birthday. 

Grayfriars Bobby.

The book will be shipped directly to her house. She will love it.

I've never read it ... my library doesn't carry it ... so I'll go out back and read the book to myself. We all become innocent children when we read children's books.

Which reminds me, I'm gonna email Obama now and ask him to send in the troops to find the missing Nigerian school girls. It's been 100 days.