Chicago gun deaths have now reached the 500 mark for the year.  This is pretty spectacular since guns are illegal in Chicago.  In fact, more Americans have been killed by guns in Chicago this year than in Afganistan.

I guess the criminals in Chicago are not aware that guns are illegal.

The other day, I was shopping with a friend of mine when she commented that she couldn’t find “foldtop” sandwich bags.  I told her that Meijer (regional grocery chain) had lots of them.  She told me that her Meijer did not have any.

So, the other day, when I was in Meijer, I decided to pick up a box of foldtop sandwich bags for her.  But, to my amazement, there weren’t any.  I don’t know if they have been discontinued or if the stock is just low.  I guess time will tell.

$10 a gallon for milk!!  That is what the media is now screaming.

Farm subsidies are about to expire and unless they are renewed, the price of milk could rise.  And, while there is no reason to believe that the farm subsidies won’t be renewed, the media does not want to miss an opportunity to terrorize the public.

While it is important to inform the public about farm subsidies, it is quite another to terrorize them with headlines of $10 a gallon for milk.

Our local MickyDs is carrying the McRib sandwich for a limited time.  Since it has been about 20 years since I had a McRib sandwich, I decided to give it a try.

Well, it was OK but I can wait another 20 years for my next McRib sandwich.

It was very strange driving through the business section of town on Christmas eve.  Every thing was dark.  All of the normal signs such are Meijer, McDonalds and Taco Bell were black.  It was like something out of a SciFi movie.

And even though it was a bit eerie seeing all of the dark store fronts, it was nice to know that these workers were spending time with their families.

For years, health officials have been advocating a low salt diet.  The claim is that a lower salt diet will reduce heart disease.

Unfortunately, there is very little research to support this claim.  And, in fact, there is some compelling evidence to suggest that a low salt diet actually increases the risk of heart disease.

So, here we go again.  Another classic battle of the experts and, once again, we are caught in the middle.

A few years ago, we were told that plastic cutting boards were a poor choice for health reasons.   Since they were plastic, moisture would remain on the surface and that would harbor bacteria.  Wood was considered to be the better choice because wood would absorb any moisture and prevent bacteria from growing.

But now, we are being told that plastic is the better choice because it doesn’t absorb moisture.  And, not only should we use plastic but we should have a separate cutting board for meat, poultry, fish and vegetables.

So, if plastic is cleaner, then why the separate cutting boards?  I suspect that there is something Kosher about all of this.

During the final weeks of Kathys’ life, I was impressed by the number of people who stopped by to visit her here at home.  And while I was not surprised to see friends and family, there were some visitors that completely took me by surprise.

These visitors were a surprise because they apparently no longer had time to be friends with Kathy.  And even though Kathy would leave messages on their answering machines and send them emails suggesting a get together for coffee, none of these people ever responded back to her.  So, when these same individuals showed up at our door, I was shocked.

After years of unreturned calls and unanswered emails, these people decided to give 5 minutes of their time to visit Kathy.  While I was impressed that they even made the effort, I did have to wonder as to their motive.  Were they really interested in seeing Kathy or were they feeling guilty that they hadn’t made time for her in the past?

I mean, some of these people Kathy considered to be her best friends.  Yet, these people didn’t even have time to reply to the birthday cards that she would send out.

Well,  I haven’t seen them since.  So, I guess their visits were the result of a guilt trip and nothing more.

Sad,

Fortunately, there is a coffee store in Grand Rapids which is very close to where I shop called Schuils.

I have been in the shop many times over the years to buy espresso for my late wife.  But, I had never tried any of their coffees.  So, when I entered the store, I was elated to see several different blends of decaf.

When the clerk asked me what I was looking for, I told her that I wanted a full flavored decaf that wasn’t bitter.  She immediately referred me to the Cafe’ L ‘Europe.

Since I needed to start some place, I thought “why not” and asked her for a bag of whole bean.

I took it home and ground up enough for a pot and made my first pot.  Not bad.  A little harsh but not bad at all.  Once the bag is finished, I will have to try another blend.