#SecureThePorch

The BK club returned to its rightful place on the back porch of Bobby's today with close to a full house. I arrived at 7:30 AM, set up the usual tables and waited for the rest of the BK boys to arrive. Order and consistency have returned. As Coach Rooney likes to say, I was able to #SecureThePorch. Don't let him fool you, he's not as tech savvy as it sounds. Up until a month ago, he was still using a flip phone. Jim was not present in the photo because he arrived too late. Jim - I know you're cranky without that extra hour of sleep you get on Saturdays but the rest of us are cranky because you're always an hour late. Your charm has always been your crankiness. We need you at the BK club at least by 8:30 AM. My end of the table needs you Jim. It was a treat for me to have my son, Mark B,  join us for the BK breakfast this week. It's always interesting to hear the opinions of the next generation because they'are always out-of-line with us BK members.

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Happy Birthday to Laurie B. Mike told us how he was going to spoil you silly on your special day. Mike, I know you love your wife but you are making it very difficult for the rest of us. Grilled steak and fresh string beans? She is going to think you did something wrong and you're only trying to make up for it. You know how this stuff works. Come on now. 

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One of the topics covered on Saturday was the 'R' word. Retirement. All of us BK members work in the private sector and do not have the luxury of a pension. Some of us have planned better than others but like it or not, the time is approaching. Mark B, was quick to remind us that it's his generation that will be funding a good part of our retirement(SSN); which reminds me of the saying "be good to your kids, because they will selecting your nursing home". I tend to view retirement preparation the way Gatsby viewed the green light across the bay. 

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

For so long retirement has been such a vague concept to me. It's still a good 6-10 years away but it is starting to take shape and form right before my eyes. I'm not sure if I could ever be fully prepared financially and emotionally. Am I alone on this one? Give me your thoughts. Submit some comments!!!

Out of Harmony

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm, and harmony."
--Thomas Merton, an American Catholic writer, mystic, and Trappist Monk.

Every Saturday, I leave my house at 7:30 AM so I can be the first to arrive at the BK Club. At this time of the day, the air is still fresh and crisp from it's night time slumber, barely a car is on the road and the sounds of birds can easily be heard. Often times I will see a family of deer getting their early feeding along with some exercise. My car pulls into the Corner Deli around 7:40 AM and as usual, I am one of the first cars in the parking lot. The staff greets me as I walk in the door, pleasantries are exchanged with genuine excitement and enthusiasm, I pour my own coffee and walk back to the porch to set-up 2 or 3 tables. For 15 minutes or so, I sit by myself in total harmony as I sip my coffee, read the day's news and wait for the arrival of the rest of the BK Club. This is a schedule that I have been following now for close to a decade. It brings me great comfort. The routine of my Saturday morning is the balance, order, rhythm, and harmony that Thomas Merton was speaking of. This past Saturday, my rhythm, and harmony; the rhythm and harmony of the entire BK club was disrupted.

Everybody in the BK Club has their own unique skill set or role. For example, Rick is considered a Subject Matter Expert in College Football and wagering. If anyone has a question on spreads, giving points, getting points, over, under, we go to Rick. Jim is a food connoisseur. If we are all out to dinner, Jim orders all the appetizers. Why, you may ask? The answer is because Jim is a Subject Matter Expert when it comes to food and Jim has never left anyone disappointed. I will get into the skill sets of the others in a later posting.

Well, I am not an expert on anything but I do have an important role to play that all members rely on me for. My role as Head of Security is to secure the tables early Saturday morning so we all have a place to sit. We sit at the same tables in the same chairs week after week. It is order and harmony. Order is good! This is my only job and I take pride in my job and this past weekend, I failed. A couple had sat down at our tables shortly before I had arrived. I was nervously waiting for these interlopers to leave with the hope that I could right the ship before my BK brothers arrived and it never happened. One by one the BK members arrived expecting to sit in the same chair they had sat in the week before and the week before that; expecting the same person to be seated on either side as had sat on either side the countless times before. They had all turned to me with a puzzled look seeking an explanation and I had none. The conversations didn't flow freely, the food didn't taste as good as it normally does and the mood was not where it belonged for a Saturday morning at the BK Club. We were all lacking  balance, order, rhythm, and harmony. This will not happen again.

"Order is good"
-- BK Club of NJ Security Team

There Was a Time

There Was a Time

There was a time when men of great character, men of integrity, from various walks of life would convene on Saturday mornings to discuss the day's affairs; a time to relax, celebrate the end of the week, and rejoice at the arrival of the weekend. But it was more than that. It was fellowship. It was men of shared values exchanging ideas in search of the truth with the hope of making the world around us a little bit better. There was a time.

A lone coffee cup occupies a single place setting at the far table in a room that was once filled with the sounds of laughter and joy. So very sad!

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Seeking out debauchery? Look no further than Bachelorette The Play produced by none other than Carly J Bauer Productions. I attended this play over the weekend down in SOHO. Having been a twenty-something during the 80's, I thought I knew what tragedy and self -destruction were all about. A few girls get together for a Bachelorette Party and all hell breaks loose. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll...and did I mention sex and drugs? Each character trying to elevate themselves by destroying the other while at the same time coping with their own failures the only way they know how...drugs.

As mentioned in Theater Mania.

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I had the good fortune of visiting the famed Dominique Ansel Bakery in Manhattan on Sunday, Sep 11, 2016. This is where famed baker Dominique Ansel invented the Cronut® pastry.  If you haven't heard of the Cronut®, you have been living under a rock. 

The place was extraordinary. I walked in the door and immediately recognized that I am in the presence of Pastry/Bakery greatness. But the Cronut® is not the only game in town here. One-of-a-kind food items at every turn. The attention to detail is masterful. Flavours, textures, and shapes colliding with reckless abandon. Rarely are hip, hot, and hyped places as good as advertised; this place surely is.

Dominique Ansel has been called the most celebrated and innovative pastry chef in the Western Hemisphere and for good reason. I could not get there until 5 PM precluding me from purchasing a Cronut®. Cronuts typically sell out by 8 AM every morning. The lines start outside as early as 1 hour prior to opening. As a rule of thumb, if you arrive prior to 7:30am on a week day, you have a great chance of getting the Cronut® pastry. Please note there is a 2 Cronut® pastry per person limit for in-store purchases. Customers are discouraged from using any scalpers to purchase these delights. Yes, scalpers. People are actually paid a hefty sum to wait on line to purchase a Cronut®.

Here is a good article from Forbes about baker Dominique Ansel:

How The Wildly (Deservedly) Successful Dominique Ansel Innovates

A BK trip is warranted.

189 Spring Street (between Sullivan and Thompson)

New York, NY 10012

Tel:(212)219 2773

Fax:(917) 591 2330

Email: info@dominiqueansel.comOpening hours:

8am to 7pm (Monday to Saturday)

9am to 7pm (Sunday)

Closest subway stops:

C-E train on Spring Street stop

N-R-W train on Prince Street stop

The Moth

If The Moth is unfamiliar to you, you are missing out on some very good entertainment. People from all walks of life share their experiences covering every conceivable aspect of the human condition.
Here are two stories that are worth a listen.

The Moth

Mission to India
A young doctor is whisked halfway across the globe to care for an ailing international religious icon.

The All-Star Game
Michaela Murphy takes her little brother on a cross-country adventure to see an All-Star Game.

Please leave your comments. I would love to hear your reaction to these stories

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It has been reported that Penn State will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Joe Paterno's first game as the Lions' head coach when Temple comes to Beaver Stadium on Sept. 17, 2016.

My reaction...huh? Too soon maybe? But certainly not all BK members felt as I did.

If you want to read the announcement as well as some very strong opinions, click Penn live.

Penn live
Penn State to honor 50-year anniversary of Joe Paterno's first game Sept. 17; other game themes, promotions announced

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Don Bosco Prep, ranked 24th in the nation, lost their home opener to American Heritage. It always hurts me to report a Bosco loss. Thankfully, it does not happen often. For a tiny Catholic all boys suburban school with a great academic reputation, they do pretty good. Go Mighty Bosco!!!

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It has been revealed that we have a few Grammar geeks in the breakfast club. Yes, it's really not all about beer, football, and politics. Please take note of the 'Oxford Comma' following 'football' in the previous sentence..

The Oxford comma is arguably the most important punctuation mark of all time. Yet, many people are unaware of it.

The Oxford Comma: "...an optional comma before the word 'and' at the end of a list."

With the Oxford comma:
The Breakfast Club has invited political leaders, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump to attend breakfast.

Without the Oxford comma:
The Breakfast Club has invited political leaders, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to attend breakfast.

Without the Oxford comma, it is suggested Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump are political leaders and we all know that to be false. This is why we need the Oxford comma.

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Coach Al - How do you do it? Even in retirement people are begging you to return to work as a special consultant. You are really raising the bar for the breakfast club in terms of life after retirement. Most retirees are lucky enough to handle a game of Dominoes. You're still making major contributions in the financial world. What is your secret?

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