Romeo Lunch 12-14-11

The Romeos met for lunch today at the Continental Restaurant in Saugus, MA on Rte 1. You can see the website at the link … http://www.continentalrestaurant.biz/
Ten Romeos were present and were Joe Lapiana, Mark Ryan, Ed DeSchuytner, Jim Terlizzi, Jack Tweetie, Joe Pignatiello, Steve Winter, Jim Sicuso, Paul Girard and Mike Zapantis. You can see some photos at the web site link ….
https://picasaweb.google.com/108806068200291783388/Romeo121411?authuser=0&feat=directlink

We were seated at a large round table at the back where other tables began filling up with groups. Most of the other patrons were of the older set. You could see the elderly lovelies eyeing us older gents and vintaged stallions as we pranced over to our assigned stable (sorry table).

Jim Sicuso, who still works in Revere joined us and started off the table laughter with a joke. I’m terrible with remembering jokes, but here goes. “An elderly lady was asked about her longevity and life with here husband who had recently passed away. She said that it was due to their romantic activities during the day. They lived next to a church and would make love at the sound of the church bell which went ding and dong. They would take turns with their romantic moves. He would start with a ding and she would respond with a dong. The rhythmic ding and then dong was slow a steady and suited their age. Everything was fine until the dam Ice Cream truck parked outside of their house. The husband died from too much ding.”

The waitress then took our drink orders and gave us menus to look at. The drinks were beer and soda and martinis and manhattans and were served quickly. Joe Lapiana then asked all to toast the two Romeos that recently passed (Joe Loduca and Peter Gabriel). Joe also read a prayer that was composed by Brother Tim Paul and we all said Amen.

Several attended the wakes and funerals for both Peter and Joe Loduca. Joe Lapiana said that there were 800 visitors at Joe Loduca’s wake. Jim said that he attended the funeral for Peter and the Meal after. There was a long line of cars for the travel to the cemetery and Jim got separated with other cars but eventually made his way back to the restaurant. It was a sit down dinner and well attended.

The waitress then took our food order which consisted of various dishes of fish, steak and chicken. The special of the day was a fish trio of scallops, shrimp and haddock which many selected. The meal came quickly and was delicious.

The conversation was lively as always as it bounced around the table but mostly between three or four since it was hard hearing across the table. Mike was interested in teaching online courses and asked Ed about them. Ed said it was good for the college since they could add sections at will and were not constrained by classroom space. They also charged the same amount of money for online or at school courses. Ed also was worried about student honesty in taking exams online since there was no way to check who actually took the test.

Mike was also interested in teacher supervision jobs and asked Jack who is presently supervising 4 teachers. Joe Lapiana had mixed feelings about the pay since the supervisor was paid about $800 a semester and had to make six visits for each student, travel to and from the city school, write evaluations and communicate by email with the student and others. Too much work?

Mike was interested in the iPhone and iPod and I showed him some of the APPS that were available. Paul recently got an iPhone and is having a great time with the functionality of a smart phone. We talked about the Occupy Boston movement and the cost to repair the area as well as how well Mayor Menino handled the affair without much confrontation.

Before long it was 2 PM and we ordered one large ice cream dessert and 10 spoons. We also ordered coffee and cappuccino. However, the cappuccino machine was broken and we got coffee instead. We then talked about next time and several restaurants were suggested and we decided on one in Winthrop on January 7th. Jim T. will send an email to give particulars.

Romeo Lunch 11-16-11

In Memorium (Joseph Loduca – (Passed Away 11-18-11)
Although the Romeos had lunch this week on Wednesday 11-16-11, I have not had time to write the Blog until this Sunday morning. Unfortunately, during that time we were all informed that our friend Joe Loduca had passed away on Friday. It was truly a sad day when we got the news. Joe was a great friend and always fun to be with. He always had a good story to tell or an unlimited assortment of jokes. Our bellies would ache from all the funny stories. We will all remember him in our prayers and our truly thankful for the impressions that he made on our lives. We also give our heart felt condolences to his family whom he loved so dearly. Funeral arrangements will be at the Anderson Funeral Home in Townsend where Joe lived. See the web site for details…….. http://www.andersonfuneral.com/

Lunch Update
The Romeos met for lunch on Wednesday 11-16-11 at Not You Average Joe’s Restaurant in Watertown.
The Romeos present were Steve Winter, Ed DeSchuytner, Jim Terlizzi, John Tweedie, Mike Zapantis, Paul Girard, Mark Ryan, Joe Lapiana, and Joe Pignatiello. You can see photos at the link …..
https://picasaweb.google.com/108806068200291783388/RomeoLunch111911#

The conversation was lively about politics, skiing, JP duties, NSSSA, Bank foreclosures and fees, and individual chit chat. I will expand more in next month’s blog. We all ate off the lunch menu and the food was a little spicy. Although we did have a few beers, the bill was more reasonable this month than previous.

We agreed to meet next time at Spinelli’s Restaurant (Old Towne Line House) in Lynnfield on 12-14-11. Jim T. will send out more info.

Comments Always Welcome …. Markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Lunch 10-19-11

The Romeos had lunch today (10-19-11) at the D’Parma Restaurant in Winthrop. You can see the info at the link … http://www.dparmarestaurant.com/.  The restaurant is located on Shirley St. in Winthrop near Winthrop Shore Drive (the beach road) where we ate last year for lunch at Café Roseti. Although the restaurant serves soft drinks you can bring your own alcohol, wine or beer.

Most everyone arrived on time and we were seated at the front near the window at a long table. Those present were Mike Zapantis, Steve Winter, John Tweedie, Ed DeSchuytner, Jim Terlizzi, Mark Ryan, Joe Lapiana, Joe Loduca, Paul Girard, Joe Pignatiello and Jim Kearns. You can see some photos at the link …………. https://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/RomeoLunch101911#

The waitress whose name was Beatrice took drink orders (water and soda) and opened wine bottles for those who brought them. Fresh bread was also placed along the table. There was a separate menu for the day with two choices ($7.95) as well as the regular lunch menu with more choices ($9.95 to $16.95). Ed had his own bottle opener on a utility knife. Leave it to him to always be prepared. We also ordered some appetizers to start which included some stuffed mushrooms, eggplant parmesan and meat antipasti.

In a short while other patrons began to fill the restaurant in groups of two and four as we drank and ate our appetizers. Next a salad was served with house dressing which was a surprise and came with the meal. The main course was then served and within a few minutes all eleven Romeos had there lunch in front of them. The main dishes included mussels or clams over linguine, veal marsala, and chicken broccoli and ziti.

The conversation was lively as always and bounced around the table. Joe Lapiana talked about a cruise he took to Bermuda in early October which sailed out of Boston. It was 7 days and cost less than $600. There were 10 dining rooms on the ship and meals all day. The entertainment included an Irish comedian as well as a circus act like Cirque Soleil. He spent three days in Bermuda and enjoyed all the attractions. One joke that the comedian told went something like this: (One of the great things about getting old is you can now pee in Morse Code.) We can all relate to that.

The rest of the conversations had to do with politics, and current events. John T. said he only had one marriage customer for his Justice of Peace duties. Joe Lapiana also agreed that business was down for his JP duties. People are saving money in a bad economy and decide to just live together without the marriage contract.

Mike Z. passed around some old photos. One had Frank Sullivan from sweeping the floor when they all took a trip to England. Frank passed away over twenty years ago. Mike also mentioned that Greg Cantone (Seles Rep for Prentice Hall) wanted to meet with the Romeos for lunch but has had to cancel the last two times due to business priorities.

Joe P. brought a bottle of wine that he made last year. He made 300 bottles at the Boston Winery last year. He called his wine Pa’s Zinfandel. The other wines around the table were mostly corked with some screw capped. We kidded about the screw cap being a cheaper wine. However, some good wines now come in a card board box.

Ed D. talked about some bank foreclosures and the new fees being charged by banks. I then told a story that I read in the AARP Bulletin about an elderly couple in Florida who refinanced their mortgage with Bank America. The new mortgage was to start in January. The wife sent in a payment in December earlier than required. The bank receiving the payment said it violated the agreement and began foreclosure proceedings. The couple contacted the CEO at BAC and he said there was nothing he could do. The couple contacted their congressman and hired a lawyer. Eventually the situation was resolved in court and BAC was ordered to pay the lawyer expenses of $1800. I later learned that since BAC has multiple departments, one does not know what the other is doing. There is lack of communication. What ever happened to the small local bank able to help the local neighbor? We have all just become pee-ons for big business.

No wonder that there is all this turmoil against Big Business and the Wall Street Protests. Maybe the Romeos should start their own political party and show the world how the old-timers would run the things.

When the bill came it was only half of what we normally pay. That certainly says a lot for the cost of alcohol.

Comments Welcome …. Markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Lunch 9-21-11

The Romeos met again for lunch today at the Seaglass Restaurant in Salisbury, MA. Those present were Joe Lapiana, Paul Girard, Jim Terlizzi, Joe Pignatiello, Steve Winter, Mark Ryan and Ed DeSchuytner. You can see some photos at the following link… https://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Romeo92111#
I was the first to arrive and decided to stroll the beach and enjoy the bright summer day. It will probably be one of the last great days of summer. However, the beach was pretty empty except for me and the seagulls since most kids were now back to school. During my walk I picked up a few seashells and stones and wondered how long Mother Nature had taken to smooth down their edges with the eternal tide.
At the entrance to the beach road along the center island, there were the remains of a Sand Castle Building Contest with several beautiful sculptures. Along the main strip were various vendors offering games, gifts and food choices. The main Pavilion housing the Seaglass Restaurant and Music Hall were on a side street to the left. The Music Hall offered big bands and other entertainment concerts. The Pavilion was located right on the beach shore, built up on cement pillars. I entered the restaurant and took some photos of the main dining room before any guest had arrived. There was a main bar, a fire place and a grand piano for light entertainment and seating for about 200.

I then waited outside to enjoy the sunlight as the rest of the crew arrived and talk for a while enjoying the ocean air. In a short time we went inside and were seated at a long table with a great view of the beach and the ocean. Some of the group commented that there were a few boats way out quietly fishing or speeding off to another spot. Joe P. then asked Paul, when we were going deep sea fishing. Paul then said he would look into it and polled the group to see who was interested.

The waitress took our drink orders and quickly returned with an assortment of beers, margaritas and soda. The waitress then described the specialties for the day and the catch of the day was salmon. She then took our food orders which included several appetizers of mussels in a spicy sauce and corn chowder with the entrees of shrimp scampi, haddock, eggplant, and salmon. Later we finished off the meal with coffee, cappuccino and assorted gelatos with plenty of spoons for all to sample. The food was great with large portions.

As we ate and drank, the conversation bounced around the table and was lively as usual. The first topic centered on politics and the constant bickering going on in Congress. Obama’s approval rating is at an all time low and he can’t get anything through congress due to partisan politics. Doesn’t look like he will be re-elected. However, the republicans don’t have any real contenders. The people are just FRUSTRATED.

Steve W. just returned from a 21 day trip to Germany. He traveled by boat from Berlin to Prague on the Alba River and said it was wonderful. He later took a cab ride up into the mountains and it was breath taking. Jim T. also just returned from an 18 day trip to Spain. He was on a group tour and enjoyed the entire time. However, 18 days is a little long for him and he would rather be driving his own rental car and moving at his own pace. Ed D. celebrated a wedding anniversary October 1st in N.H. at the Mt. Washington Hotel. Since his son’s wedding anniversary was on the 4th they went together, all four that is.

Joe Lapiana passed out some fliers for the Lowell Arts Festival this weekend. We are all invited to attend. He will be at the Western Avenue Studio #326 on Saturday. You can get additional info at the web site…
http://www.lowellopenstudios.org/   .  Joe Loducca wasn’t able to attend the lunch. He had a car accident which totaled his small Miata. He is fine now but his doctor wants him to take it easy for a few days.

We then decided to meet again for lunch next month on October 26. Jim T. will send an email.

Comments Always Welcome: markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Lunch 8-24-11

The Romeos met for lunch today (8-24-11) at Michaels Restaurant in Newburyport. I didn’t attend but was informed by Jim that it was a great time. Those in attendance were Jim Terlizzi, Joe Lapiana, Joe Pignatiello, Ed DeSchuytner, Paul Girard, Mike Zapantis, Brother Tim Paul and Wayne Adams. Nice to have Wayne join us for the first time.
Everyone arrived at about 12 noon and they were seated quickly. Drinks were served and the conversation bounced around the table. I was informed that it was the SAME OLD BULL. I hope it was U.S. Top Sirloin and not that KOBE beef crape. .

(Reference Wikipedia)

Kobe beef  (神戸ビーフ Kōbe Bīfu?) refers to cuts of beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The meat is generally considered to be a delicacy, renowned for its flavour, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture. Kobe beef can be prepared as steak, sukiyaki, shabu shabu, sashimi, teppanyaki and more. Kobe beef is also called "Kobe meat" (神戸肉 Kobe niku?), "Kobe-gyu" (神戸牛?, lit Kobe cow) or "Kobe-ushi" (神戸牛?, lit Kobe cow) in Japanese.[1]

Top sirloin  is a cut of meat from the primal loin, subprimal sirloin, of a beef carcass. Top sirloin steaks differ from sirloin steaks in that the bone and the tenderloin and bottom round muscles have been removed; the remaining major muscles are the gluteus medius and biceps femoris (top sirloin cap steak). Some American butchers call a thick top sirloin steak a chateaubriand, although the French reserve that term for a more premium cut from the tenderloin.

I thought this was a seafood restaurant, what’s with all this OLD BULL. I’m just trying to fill up space because I don’t know what the conversation entailed.

Jim has already informed you that the next lunch will be at the Seaglass Restaurant in Salisbury, MA at 12 noon on Wednesday, September 21st. Check out Jim’s email for further directions.

Comments are always welcome: markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Lunch 7-20-11

The Romeos met for lunch today at the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA courtesy of Paul Girard who is a member there. The Romeos present were Paul Girard, Brother Tim Paul, Joe Loducca, Mark Ryan, Jim Terlizzi, Ed DeSchuytner and Mike Zapantis. You can see some photos of the group at the link below ….. https://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Romeo72011#

Ed and I arrived early and went directly upstairs and sat on the sunny deck. The sun was bright and it was hot but we enjoyed the view. The harbor was busy with sailors of all types. There were some beginners getting instruction and the seasoned sailor with the large yacht leaving harbor.

I told Ed that I did some sailing as a kid in high school out of Marblehead Harbor. A friend had a small 21 foot sloop that we refurbished with new fiberglass, paint a sails. It took several months of hard work several nights a week working on the boat in Graves Boat Yard on the hill. Those were the days of living free with practically no worries. We would sail up and down the local shore lines and coves. It was great fun. There were a lot of college kids and the rich and famous having parties on large sailing yachts. Even though we were paupers from the city, the sailing community was a big family and we would sometimes get invited to a yacht party nearby our mooring. The joys of young dreamers.

The rest of the Romeos arrived shortly and we went inside with the cool AC. The waitress took our beverage orders and told us about today’s specials on the Lunch Menu. The drinks came and they were Sam Adams Summer Ale, margaritas, water and soda. The lunch menu had an assortment of club sandwiches including Philly Cheese Steak, Chicken Salad, Burgers, Lobster Roll, and Haddock.

The food was served quickly and we chowed down. Later we ordered coffee, cappuccino and desserts to share. As we ate, the conversation bounced around the table and we talked about some items in the news. The economy and the different plans to raise the Debt Ceiling were discussed with several differences of opinion like what is now happening in Congress.

Brother Tim talked about grading the AP exams. He spends 8 days during the summer with a team grading hundreds of questions. Before the teacher teams start scoring, they are given a rubric and have to agree on a 10 point scale for each question. Its sounds like a lot of hard work.

We then talked about catching gophers. I recently caught a family of four, one each night using apples for bait in a Haveahart Trap. I bought the trap at Aubuchon Hardware for $54.00 and it was well worth it. I tried all the other methods with no luck. Joe Loduca said he heard that Cayenne Pepper was a good solution. It is supposed to keep gophers away. He said that his gopher must have been Mexican since he ate all the pepper.

Others said they used fox urine and moth balls. I spread a box of moth balls around my house to first get rid of the gophers and now have a Hazardous Waste Site. After catching the family of gophers, I transported them one at a time each day to a town forest 5 miles away. Now I just heard that sometimes gophers will find their way back even if moved more than 20 miles away. I hope my gophers can’t read maps.

Joe Loduca also said that a beaver had built a dam near his house where the stopped up water eventually flooded a nearby road. He reported it to the conservation commission and they said that the beaver is protected by law and they could do nothing. Miraculously, the dam disappeared over the winter, piece by piece. Joe said that he knows nothing about it.

Mike and Paul talked about the new state teacher evaluation system. They were on the other side of the table and I didn’t hear the entire idea. Ed, Jim and Mike talked about painting their houses. Even though they have painted their house previously, they were now leery about standing on a forty foot ladder and would rather have a professional do it.

Ed said he was painting the peak of his house once and got stung by some wasps. He was holding on to the peak of the roof and they flew up his shirt sleeve and began stinging. He was afraid to let go but eventually did and luckily caught his balance without falling. Jim said he was done with painting in his old age and recently hired a painter to paint the rooms inside his house. I talked about using a spray gun to paint which kept on getting clogged. I later gave up and used a brush.

As the time passed quickly we then decided to meet next month, August 24 at Michaels in Newburyport. Jim will send out email notices when it is confirmed. At that time, Greg Cantone the sales rep from Pearson may join us to talk about old times.

Comments: markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Lunch 6-20-11

The Romeo gang met for lunch today at 12 noon, June 20, 2011 at Greg’s Restaurant on the Cambridge/Watertown line. Greg’s is located at 821 Mt. Auburn St. in Watertown. The plan was to first meet at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery at 11 AM and tour the park and gardens. Then we would walk to the restaurant which was only a short distance down Mt. Auburn St..

I was the first to arrive and drove my car around the park. In a short time you lost site of the road and traffic and found yourself in a quiet woodland setting. I finally weaved my way back to the Visitor’s Center. You can park on any of the side streets in the cemetery without a blue center line.

The others arrived shortly and I went inside the visitor center to get a park map (50 cents). We waited a while for others to show but then decided to take a short walk around. Only five Romeos made the cemetery walk (Ed DeShuytner, Joe Lapiana, Joe Loduca, Jim Terlizzi and Mark Ryan). We later met Steve Winter at the restaurant. We waited for Joe Pignatiello but he didn’t show.

With the map in hand we could see the different path names and important monuments to look for. We also noticed all the groomed lawns, trees, bushes and flowers. There were quite a few maintenance workers tending to all the gardens. They were cutting grass and fertilizing trees and plants with modern landscape equipment. There were workers on most every path that we walked. It must be quite a task taking care of all the acres of park land.

As we strolled along the cemetery paths we stopped at large and small monuments to read the inscriptions. The monuments were of different shapes depicting the time periods since it opened in 1831. There were Roman and Greek sculptures as well as Victorian influences. In addition to the monuments, there were chapels along the way. We entered one chapel with the ornate interior design of pews, center and side alters and balcony. A paper sign was at the entrance announcing the name of a recent deceased that would have services at the chapel later that day.

Joe Loduca pointed out the monuments with the earlier plain obelisk shape and then ones fashioned after with Victorian adornments of wreaths and flowers. A large Egyptian Sphinx statue measuring about ten by twenty feet square and ten feet tall was set on a large plot designating deceased American Slaves.

As always Joe Loduca told funny stories of his days in the monastery and also working for a time in a cemetery digging graves. He said that he had a position of authority in that job and had “hundreds of people under him”. He also said that the reason there are fences around the cemetery was that “people were dying to get in”. I seem to remember these jokes from 3rd grade.

You can see some more history of the cemetery and some of the famous people buried there are listed below and at the web link. Some of the names that you will recognize are: (Longfellow, Bulfinch, and Lowell).

Mt. Auburn Cemetery

http://www.mountauburn.org/?gclid=CMGF9cjQyakCFQ495QodIXILNw

History

Mount Auburn Cemetery has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior, recognizing it as one of the country's most significant cultural landscapes. Founded in 1831, it was the first large-scale designed landscape open to the public in the United States. Today its beauty, historical associations and horticultural collections are internationally renowned.

Our founders believed that burying and commemorating the dead was best done in a tranquil and beautiful natural setting at a short distance from the city center. They also believed that the Cemetery should be a place for the living, "embellishing" the natural landscape with ornamental plantings, monuments, fences, fountains and chapels. This inspired concept was copied widely throughout the United States, giving birth to the rural cemetery movement and the tradition of garden cemeteries. Their popularity led, in turn, to the establishment of America's public parks.

Famous Residents

Mount Auburn is the final resting place of thousands of distinguished people. Here are a few:

• Nathaniel Bowditch (1773 - 1838), navigator and mathematician

• Phillips Brooks (1835 - 1893), rector of Trinity Church, Boston, Episcopal Bishop

• Charles Bulfinch (1763 - 1844), architect

• Mary Baker Eddy (1821 - 1910), religious leader

• Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983), architect, visionary

• Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840 - 1924), art patron

• Charles Dana Gibson (1867 - 1944), artist

• Asa Gray (1810 - 1888), botanist

• Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809 - 1894), author and poet

• Winslow Homer (1836 - 1910), artist

• Julia Ward Howe (1819 - 1910), reformer and author

• Harriet Jacobs (1813 - 1897), author and abolitionist

• Edwin H. Land (1909 - 1991), inventor, photography pioneer

• Henry Cabot Lodge (1850 - 1924), U.S. Senator

• Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (1902-1985), U.S. Senator

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), poet

• Amy Lowell (1874 - 1925), poet

• James Russell Lowell (1819 - 1891), poet

• Bernard Malamud (1914 - 1986), novelist

• Josiah Quincy (1772 - 1864), Mayor of Boston

• Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin (1842 - 1924), civil rights leader, journalist

• Charles Sumner (1811 - 1874), abolitionist and U.S. Senator
We got to the restaurant about 12 noon and found Steve waiting inside. We ordered drinks and then placed our meal order. The drinks came quickly and included a pitcher of beer, a martini and a non alcoholic beer. We ordered the meals off the lunch and regular menu. The average prices were $9.95 to $15.95 and quite reasonable with large portions.

The conversation was lively as usual. Steve said he was taking a trip to Germany for 20 days and was excited about the adventure. We wondered when Mike Z. would be joining the group for lunch. Various teaching a superintendent positions were discussed. We talked some more about the cemetery tour and maybe returning again. We also discussed a fishing trip which could be a day trip to the cape out of Boston or Gloucester.

After a while talked about the next lunch and thought about eating at The BYC in Marblehead but needed to call Paul Girard first. Otherwise we decide on Michael’s in Newburyport. Jim T. will find out and let everyone know by email or carrier pigeon. Which ever method you prefer.

You can see some photos at the link below …….. https://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Romeo62011#

Comments are always welcome…. markryan82@comcast.net