Eggplant parm at a Clam bake

Hi there and hoped you enjoyed reading edition #250.  Well its back to business and I'll be honest with you,  I'm starting to worry about myself.  I've had three really great weekends in a row and I'm wondering if I could actually be happy for a prolonged period of time?  I have written on a few occasions that I'm a glass half empty who wonders why its not completely full kind of person.  I might have to go to a doctor to see if I'm feeling well or coming down with something.  Me being content. It can't really be happening can it?
Leading off is, "Eggplant parm at a Clam bake."  My friends Kathi and Will had a clam bake/summer party this past weekend and it was a great time.  Just terrific company.  Of course you bring either a side dish or dessert to share to go with the clams, burgers and hotdogs.  So I made eggplant parm.  It has now become my signature dish.  Anyone who has ever made something for a potluck dinner or any type of, "bring a dish to share with friends" type event like that knows what I'm talking about.  You make something and if it's a big hit, it becomes your signature dish. You're expected to bring it everytime you get invited to something like that.  If you don't, well people wonder where hell it was because they were looking forward to you bringing it.  Here's one thing about eggplant parm.  It's a pain in the tuchis to make!  Since I make everything from scratch, its even more time consuming  One day had to make the marinara sauce.  The eggplant itself is an all day affair.  Between the peeling, slicing it really thin, pressing out the bitters from it and then finally frying it up.  Get the idea.  The easy part is actually putting it together and baking it in the oven.
On to other things.  Had an interesting 30 minutes on Saturday.  First was the pharmacy, where I bought a new pair of sunglasses.  I'm at the check out counter and the nice person working asked me a question.  It was a Bill Engvall moment.  Mind you I was wearing glasses and not contacts at the time.  She asked, "Would you like me to cut the price tag off so you can put those on after you leave the store?" Sure and by the way my name is Mr.Magoo. Here's your sign.  Right after that, I go pick up a four pack of Guinness and while waiting to pay, the woman behind me in line notices my beer and asks if I've made a Guiness float with vanilla ice cream.  That caught me off guard.  So I said yes and she replied, "they're delicious, aren't they?"  I nodded.  That gets brownie points in my book.  It's like women and camping.  I find it hard to believe that women really do like camping and it surprises me when I meet a woman who prefers and likes a darker beer like a stout or porter over an I.PA or traditional lager style.
It doesn't get any better than this for me.  Anthony Bourdain was on "Real Time" with Bill Maher last Friday night.  I haven't watched it yet. So don't tell me any details and if you've never seen "Titanic," I won't tell you that the boat sinks at the end of the movie.
Go to http://www.parade.com/ and read Mitch Albom's column about summer and kids. Just a great article.   It will bring back some great summer time memories about your own childhood and make you think about today's kids and do they really have it better than we did?
I've got not one, but two "This weeks sign of the apocalype."  Sign #1 comes from San Antonio Texas where a knife fight took place in a restaurant mens room between a Texas Longhorn football fan and a Oklahoma Sooners football fan.  This occured before practice started! Now for #2.  Animal Planet is premiering a new show called, "Hillybilly Handfish" about those guys who go into rivers and bring up these huge catfish by means of grabbing them with their hands after finding them in some mudhole on the bottom of the river.  There's a Jeff Foxworthy, "you might be a redneck" joke somewhere in that one.
Please don't re-make "Dirty Dancing."  I inflicted some serious trauma to myself during my senior year in college because of that movie.  I get terrible flashbacks whenever I hear or play, "I've had the time of my life."
Six more days til the start of high school football practice.  Eggplant parm guy...I mean Leccese out.