"My Pad Just Disappeared"

 Good "Almost Fried" Friday Morning, all bodies!

A few days ago, I decided to make a homemade gluten free pizza. When all the ingredients were assembled into a fine cheese covered mess, I loaded the pizza on the pan and shoved it into the oven with an oven pad because the oven was already preset at 450º.

When I closed the oven door, I realized the oven pad was nowhere to be found. Thinking I set the pad on fire in the oven, I quickly opened up the door and took the pizza out to find no oven pad inside.

What a relief that was, but happened to the pad? Somehow, it disappeared. Well, that kinda freaked me out. I thought those kitchen gremlins back at it again? After a ten minute search, I decided it was no big deal… Besides, the pizza was ready and I’ll just use another oven pad to extract the grub… Got lots of those!

It was a yummy pizza and wherever the pad disappeared to, it didn’t burn down house.

Later that evening, while unloading the dishwasher, I opened the oven draw which is below the oven to put away some oven utensils and well, what’dya know, there appeared the well worn blue oven pad.

Apparently, it slipped out of my hand and into the gap between the oven door and the pull out drawer. And, I never even noticed it… Scary!

Still, it was a yummy pizza and it didn’t burn down house.

No cups, yet!

Copyright 2022/Ben Bensen III

Hakim, "King Of Spareribs" ... A Veteran's Day Story!

Hakim, King Of Spareribs!

 Good "Veteran's Day" Friday Morning, y'all.

Well, that last Saturday before our trip home, we had a great time in Heidelberg and all of us were looking to end the day at some nice, upscale restaurant. It was our last big hoorah before we prepare to head back to the States. I was all for a nice meal after prancing to and fro and up and down at the Schloss ( Heidelberg Castle). Somewhere down amongst the downtown masses which we saw from high up above, there had to be a wonderful dining experience.

Max, our intrepid security cop, heard about a great local restaurant that everyone raves about. Max got a recommendation from another German policeman, and thought it’d be an interesting experience. In a way, I was all for it because I still didn’t have a rival to the Anaheim Angel brat experience here in Germany and I doubted eating out at an expensive restaurant was gonna help.

I’m not sure the ladies were on board with this one, but…

So, we drive to the other side of town where we pass what looks like a German PJ’s. Max assures us all that it is all good and quite secure… Well, he should know, right?

What I thought was a scene from the St. Thomas Projects in the Irish Channel circa 1980’s was actually dormitories for the United States Army. It is a part of the historic Fort Campbell that was taken over from the Germans who used it to house POW’s in World War II in 1943. Since then, Ft. Campbell has been a cooperative experiment between the new German government and the United States Army.

Anyway, we stop at a place in that general vicinity where Yakim’s world renown for bbq ribs resides. Again, Max, assures us that this is the best place for this kind of grub and the first thing I notice is that a portion of this makeshift restaurant is designed from an old mobile home, aka, what we might call in Los Angeles, a roach coach!

The head lights stare at you if you decide to partake in the local fare out on the patio. I wonder if they’re turned on to illuminate the patrons at dusk?

Donna found that one refrigerator had colder beer than the other one did. It helped.

I don’t remember what Therese had for dinner, and she doesn’t remember either, but Donna and Thatcher and, I guess, the guards had the specialty… Ribs!

Undaunted, I insisted on brats, and well, the bread was excellent!

Thirty minutes after we finished four entrees and six beers, I decided to beat Thatcher at paying the bill, and that’s where the fun started. Hakim, asked if I was an American, which I stated in the affirmative. When he asked me what part of the country, I was reticent to tell him the truth, but I did.

He kept talking about the rich getting richer and the poor was getting poorer and that’s why he does what he does. How that related to being a native of the Big Easy, I’ll never figure out. He never did mention if he visited America or not, but great ribs at an affordable price, I guess, was his mantra. I kept asking him for the bill, but he insisted on stating his stance.

A logo between a "Rock and a Hard" place!

“Hakim, I just wanna pay the bill. Can you give me the total, please?”

“Ya know, people are waiting to place their order and the lines are getting longer,” I announced.

“Aw, let’ em wait!

What seemed like twenty minutes or so, Hakim relented and figured out in his head, by memory, I guess, what the total came to. I decided whatever he thinks it should be is fine with me as well as the long line of patrons still waiting to place their order.

On the way back to Frankfurt, Max tells us that politicians, business men, the Army brass as well as the residents of Ft. Campbell and local university students all flock to graze at Hakim’s. He’s a local hero, I suppose!

I didn’t get a chance to pursue the discussion, but according to Max, Hakim fought along side with the U.S. Army as an informer and as a soldier. So I guess having done so along side of our military makes Hakim a Veteran of one or more wars.

Afghanistan… what a mess that was!

Hoisting my first cup to all our Vets.... Thank you!

Copyright 2022/ Ben Bensen III