Magical Moment 435, "Deli-riously Confused"

If you're not from New York City area, you might be unfamiliar with the true "Delicatessen experience." What you see on Seinfeld and The Sopranos, is true. Delis are small, crowded, and loud. But what's interesting is, every customer knows exactly what to order, and how to order it - like clockwork. Eddie and I went to a deli today and threw a kink in their clockwork.

We may live in the busiest, most culturally diverse area in the country, but we don't really "get out" much. We're used to ordering sandwiches at Subway's drive-through, or from the menu at Applebee's. We found that we were out of our element when we pushed our way into the organized chaos of this local deli. For one thing, there we things on the menu that we've never braved before; matzoh balls, knish, chopped liver, and every type of salami imaginable. To keep things as simple as possible, I decided to go with a turkey sub, and Eddie chose ham and cheese.

First, we were taken aback when the chef started making Eddie's sandwich and asked, "With an egg?" Eddie was so confused. Why would there be an egg in his ham and cheese sandwich? He stuttered an unsure, "No." We thought there was a bit of a strange look from the chef and ignored it. But then, when I tried to order the "cracked pepper turkey" off the menu (which I had NEVER heard of), it came out "cracked turkey." Again, the chef gave me a puzzled look and asked his co-worker under his breath,

"What is cracked turkey?"

His co-worker turned to me, "Did you mean cracked pepper turkey?"

"Yes."

He turned back to his friend, "She meant cracked pepper turkey."

I was so embarrassed. They must think we're idiots. But it didn't stop there. Again, referencing a familiar fast food experience, Eddie wanted his sandwich toasted. When he requested this, the chef looked at him, exacerbated.

"You mean, heat it up after I make it?"

Eddie wasn't sure how to reply, "Just....the meat and cheese and everything hot." As the chef went about fulfilling this apparently odd request, his co-worker asked him,
"What are you doing?"
"The guy wants it hot!" he tried to explain.

I tried to stifle my laughter as my ears grew even more red with embarrassment. After living here for a year and a half, you'd think we'd be able to pull off ordering a sandwich a little better. All around us people were being served up their complicated orders that sounded totally foreign to me. I guess here however, ham, cheese, and turkey are the foreign concepts.

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le...

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-...

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