SPUDS

A familiar word, no doubt. No? A spud is a potato (Webster), and it is my favorite vegetable.

Recently, Dear Daughter and I were lunching and I spied POTATO SOUP on the menu. "That's for me," I said, speaking as one well-acquainted with the item.

My mother had two family favorite soups: potato (my favorite), and vegetable beef, both well-suited for Great Depression menus. Her potato soup contained potatoes, onions, green peppers and whole milk. The vegetable soup contained beef and a slew of veggies, heavy on the onions and tomatoes. Both were tummy-filling dishes for perpetually-hungry kids.

It seems to me that in today's "Foodie World," the spud doesn't get the recognition it deserves as a healthy choice food. Perhaps too many people think of it only as a fast-food French fry. That's regrettable, because it is a real nutritious bargain.

It's a bargain because it offers the advantage of low calories (100 per medium size), almost no fat, and a good source of dietary fiber. This same-sized potato contains Vitamin C (50%), Vitamin B-6 (20%), and Potassium (21%), needed for good health.

The potato is also our most popular vegetable. The average American consumes 126 pounds of potatoes per year.

So, dear friends, when it's "chow-down time," order your spuds boiled, baked, scalloped, or in soup and you'll glow with health.

More, later.

WHAT WAS HER (HIS) NAME?

Recently, while Dear Wife and I were dining out, a small boy in an adjacent booth pointed across the room and shouted, "There's my first grade teacher!" That started a conversation between us about the teachers we had, their names and the schools we attended.

I was amazed that Dear Wife could name many of her teachers, beginning with the first grade and on through high school. And how many could yours truly name? Few, very few, indeed.

I can think of one major reason that she could and I could not. She loved school, (she proved that by becoming a teacher), while I barely tolerated it. I could name just three teachers in the elementary schools I attended, none in junior high and four in my high school. Give me a plus for remembering an elementary principal by name.

I have always been interested in people's names, particularly ones that seemed unusual (they called her Austin because she was born in the Texas state capitol).

My extended family gave their children names popular in their time, but called them other names. Henry was called HARRY, Jane was called ELEANOR, Agnes was called JANE (Jeanie in Ireland), William was called BUBBA, Lester was called DUKE, and Marie was called TOSSIE. Go figure.

What's in a name? Just about whatever suits your purpose, I suppose.

More, later.

IS YOUR DORSAL LATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX WORKING?

There is a plethora of articles written these days about the actions of 16-year-old drivers on our highways.

In a previous blog (SOMETHING IS BURNING), I mentioned getting a New Jersey driver's license at age 16. At age 18, I had a serious accident. Evidently the D.L.P.C. portion of my brain was still in its maturing process, which takes place in teenagers between the ages of 16 into their 20s.

With teenagers in mind, a well-known insurance company (the "hands" people) is urging the public to support a bill before Congress (HR 1895) that would create a NATIONAL GRADUATE DRIVER'S LICENSE law, which would require mandatory training with accompanying restrictions for 16-year-old drivers. This would supposedly reduce the current statistic percentage for this age (examples: failure to yield and driving too closely).

Speaking of laws, the state of New Jersey has passed a similar law, raising its driving age from 16 to 17. The result? A 40 % drop in highway fatalities. Wow!

In today's world, when you consider the added dangers of cell phone use and texting while driving, something that teenagers copy from adults, any action to protect them, and us, would be welcomed.

More, later.

THE BEST BREAKFAST FOOD IN THE LAND

Does the title sound familiar? If I added JACK ARMSTRONG NEVER TIRES OF THEM AND NEITHER WILL YOU, would you recognize the radio jingle advertising Wheaties? That radio jingle was invented by the General Mills Corporation in 1926. First used in the Twin Cities (Mn) area, it so boosted sales that it was introduced nationally and sales soared.

The design of a jingle had to be short, with a simple verse and melody, made easy to remember. Here is one that I have never forgotten:

SOCKS! SOCKS!

HERE WE ARE UPON THE AIR
BILLY JONES AND ERNIE HARE
WE'RE THE INTERWOVEN PAIR

I had no idea what interwoven pairs were, but the people who bought them knew and it was a huge success.

Wheaties became my favorite cereal in the 1930s when the BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS series was introduced. Every sports-minded boy wanted these sports pictures on his bedroom wall. The Yankees Lou Gehrig was the first athlete pictured on a Wheaties box.

Would it surprise you to know that another famous person had a "Wheaties connection?" As a sports announcer, President Ronald Reagan was named the MOST POPULAR WHEATIES ANNOUNCER IN THE NATION. He won an all-expense trip to the Chicago Cubs training camp in California. While there, he took a screen test - the rest is history.

More, later.