Julianne (Ja Ja) Skutnik b. 1-5-1928 d. 1-6-2013

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On Monday January 6th, my aunt Ja Ja passed away one day after turning 85.  Naturally my family was sad and the last real family connection to Germany was gone.  My mother spoke to her sister everyday and her daily routine will never be the same.  However today’s post is not meant to be a sad one, its meant to remember a special woman in my life.  I remember the summers of my childhood when she would visit us from Nurnberg or when we would visit her.  I remember her taking me on the trolly’s around Nurnberg and the walks we had to the castle.  In recents years I spoke to her about once a month and the last time we spoke we talked about my last trip to Nurnberg where we would stroll to the old streets.  It was awesome.  Now she is gone and all I have is the memories.  One memory is I was about 4 and I couldn’t pronounce her name and I just called her Ja Ja.  In October of that year my mother,  Tanzie , and I went to my Grandfathers birthday and when I got there and saw my aunt I could say her name.  She corrected me and told me call her Ja Ja!  From the time she returned to Germany and for the next 40 years she was known to everyone as Ja Ja!  Here are some photos of another great lady.

I will miss Ja Ja!

IMG_0204 IMG_0219 IMG_0218

that's me with the hat

that’s me with the hat

DAVIO’S BAR BREAKS INTO THE TOP 10

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Davio’s (Lexington Ave Btw 44th & 45th Streets) – Opened in October, you walk downstairs to a perfect blend of Old & New Schools.  The Bartender’s and staff are great, the make fantastic cocktails and the apps during happy hour are spectacular and complimentary.  This is a must go joint.

Cigar Success – Is it Good or Bad?

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Every December I get my copy of Cigar Aficionado Magazine’s annual Top 25 Cigars and I turn to see who is number 1.  Last year 2012, there appeared a name I never heard of “Flor de las Antillas Toro” had the number one spot. I say who? Then I read the details and noticed that (1) it wasn’t Cuban and (2) it was under $7 per Cigar.  So I went upstairs to my computer and ordered a box online.

Two days later my box arrived and I called my Pally Don and told him to meet me on The Roof (That is the Roof at Aretsky’s Patroon) at 5pm for a special smoke.  When he arrived I presented him with the Flor de las Antillas Toro the top Cigar for 2012.  We cut and lit our cigars and were amazed at how great the cigars were.  I gave some cigars to other friends who were amazed as well.

My first box was gone very quickly so I ordered another for both me and Don.  When that box came I heard that the cigar was selling out real fast, so I quickly put another order in.  My friend was correct they were now on back order.  I tried several other sites and visited some stores and they were all on back order.

By being number one on Cigar Aficionado’s list created a run on the cigar.  I waited almost two months for my next box to arrive.  When it did I was very excited, I called Don and we met on the Roof again to smoke.  Much to our disappointment, the cigar did not have the same flavor as the first box, it didn’t burn the same, the ash was darker.  It just wasn’t the same cigar.  Don agreed and said, that the reason is probably that there was such a run on the cigar that the manufacturer couldn’t keep up and the quality dropped in order to meet the demand.  It was the last box of Flor de las Antillas, I ever purchased and went back to my Padron’ 1964 Anniversary (Natural).

Yesterday, I received my copy of Cigar Aficionado 2013 Top 25 issue and I am sad to report that the Flor de las Antillas didn’t make the Top 25.  Last year it was number one and now not on the list.  It’s sad success ruined a great cigar.  So who made number one this year Montecristo #2 (#5 on my top 10 list) .  I have no concern that there will be a decline in the Monte #2 for two reasons (1) it has been argued by many as the Best Cigar Ever for the 25 years I have been smoking cigars and (2) it cost about 21 Pounds per cigar so the casual cigar smoker  isn’t running out to by some boxes (3) it is from Cuba and cannot be legally sold in the United States.

However I am very concerned about the #2 cigar on the list, the Aging Room Quattro F55 Concerto.  Don introduced me to this cigar over the summer and it was wonderful.  The cigar is from the Dominican Republic (Filler, Binder, & Wrapper) and goes retail for under $9.  I am just afraid that this fine cigar will suffer the same fate as 2012 Best Cigar.  I will keep my finger crossed.

In the meantime remember “LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO SMOKE CHEAP CIGARS”

Remembering a Great Lady

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Adelhied  (Adele) Reinauer was born May 7, 1904 in Oberndorf am Neckar in Germany.  In May of 1923 she boarded a ship named “The Bayern” and she set sail for America.  On May 28, 1923 she arrived at Ellis Island.  She settled in Astoria Queens and married Karl Donhauser.

In August of 1955 she met her 20-year-old niece Liselotte Reinauer  (My Mother) at the pier to welcome her to New York and America.  Liselotte was only supposed to stay only three years, but she got side tracked.  While attending a class on how to speak English she met another 20-year-old German man named Kurt Schall.    Kurt and Liselotte were married on June 15, 1957 and on June 21, 1966 I was born.

But this post is not about me or my mother or father it is about Adele (Tanzie as we called her).  While actually being my grandfather’s sister, she was in spirit my grandmother and she was the best.  She was a flapper in the 1920s and loved to drink dance and be the center of attention.  When I was a teenager and my parents would go on vacation Tanzie would watch us and ask, “when are you coming home?” I would say 4am (I was 15) she would respond “Okay Doll have fun”.  When I got home at 4am there she was sitting in the kitchen playing solitaire with either a glass of wine or champagne.

The last few years of her life she lived with my parents so they could take care of her.  On December 17, 1993, I took off from work; my father and brother were home and my mother off to work (where else would my mother be).  I knew something wasn’t right, I called my dad and brother to come up, Tanzie’s caretaker told me to hold her and check for a pulse.  My brother called my mother and then 911.  As I sat there holding her hand and feeling her pulse, I looked at her face we made eye contact and then the pulse stopped and she was gone.

It is hard to believe it has been 20 years since then.  I have her photo on my desk at work and her picture is on my nightstand.  She was an incredible lady and everyone who knew or met her was truly blessed.

Tanzie I miss you, One day we will have that waltz….

 

Me & Tanzie Circa 1992

Me & Tanzie
Circa 1992

Adele & Karl Circa 1925

Adele & Karl
Circa 1925

The Flapper Circa 1925

The Flapper
Circa 1925

Tanzie at Christmas 1989

Tanzie at
Christmas 1989

 

HAPPY 98TH BIRTHDAY FRANK

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On December 12, 1915 at 415 Monroe Street,  Hoboken New Jersey, a woman gave birth to a still born baby. While the mid wife was attending to the mother, the grandmother picked up the baby and put him under ice cold water and the baby sprang to life.

Just think if Grandma didn’t save that child’s life the world would have never had

Francis Albert Sinatra.

What a horrible thought: “a world without Frank”

Thank God she did save him (yes it is a true story) and today we celebrate Frank’s 98th birthday.  I will be doing my celebrating at Patsy’s Restaurant on 56th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue.

So kick back,  pour yourself a Jack Daniels,  and put on your favorite Sinatra song and give thanks to the VOICE and little ole Grandma that saved it.

May you live to be 100 years old and mine is the last voice you hear.

 

Mr. S.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMMY!!

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Samuel George Davis Jr.  better know as Sammy! was born today in 1925.  Smokey was the name that Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra gave him.  He was called smokey because he smoked!  Sammy was one of the greatest entertainers  that ever lived.  It is hard to believe that he has been gone 23 years!

God Bless You Sammy!

A DATE THAT WILL LIVE IN IMFAMY

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72 YEARS AGO TODAY THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE EMPIRE ATTACKED THE US NAVEL BASE AT PEARL HARBOR.  LET US TAKE A MOMENT TODAY TO REMEMBER NOT ONLY THOSE THAT LOST THEIR LIFE THAT DAY BUT THOSE WHO SURVIVED AND FOUGHT IN THAT WAR AND ULTIMATELY WON IT FOR THE UNITED STATES!

HERE ARE SOME DISTURBING FACTS ABOUT PEARL HARBOR WHICH LASTED 90 MINUTES:

2,386 AMERICANS DIED

1,239 AMERICAN INJURED

18 SHIPS DESTROYED

JUST TO MAKE A COMPARISON BETWEEN 2003 AND 2012 (9 YEARS) THE US LOST 4,486

 

 

HAPPY REPEAL DAY! SO GET A DRINK AND CELEBRATE FREEDOM

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Today marks the first day of Holy Week for us Sinatra Fundamentalists;  it also marks the 80th Anniversary of the ratification of the 21st amendment to the United States Constitution, which repealed the 18th amendment and the Volstead Act. So I make sure to celebrate this day every year. Whenever I bring this up,  people laugh and think it is funny because they know my love for alcohol, but in reality it is very serious. The fact that the 18th amendment was passed was an assault on Freedom. There have been 27 amendments to the US Constitution and 26 of them have promoted individual freedom. The 18th did not. How did the 18th amendment pass and the country born of individual freedom pass such a horrific law? Back in the late 19th century people (mostly Protestants) decided that alcohol was bad and should be outlawed. The Anti – Saloon League was established to rid the country of alcohol. They launched a campaign using the circuit of Protestant churches to preach the gospel according to them. They claimed that the Roman Catholic,  Irish,  & German immigrants were destroying the country with alcohol.  The Anti-Saloon League is also responsible for Income Tax (Alcohol tax basically funded the Civil War and the Government needed the alcohol revenue). The League pushed for Income Tax laws so they could attack alcohol. The first laws passed were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. So the League pushed for the passing of the 16th amendment which gave the Federal Government the ability to collect Income Tax. Check your history:  the US did not have a Federal Income Tax until 1913!!! We all know of the unintended consequences of Prohibition so I won’t discuss that today.

That brings us up to today. Over the years we have seen a lot of laws passed to limit the individual freedoms of US Citizens. First we had the motorcycle helmet laws, then the seat belt laws. Later they moved to smoking restrictions (which still go on today;  some counties in California passed laws restricting people from smoking in their own home). New York City has Mayor Bloomberg with his Soda laws, they want to tax you for the amount of distance you drive. It is really getting crazy and it’s going to get worse. Politicians are using the same arguments that the Anti – Saloon League used to make the 18th amendment. Remember the words of Ronald Wilson Reagan “the most dangerous words you can hear is ‘I am from the Government and I am here to help’.” So this day is no joke it is very serious.

So today is a day to celebrate freedom, I encourage you to exercise your right as an American and have a COCKTAIL AND SAY GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!

 

 

SHOULD MEN WEAR A COLOGNE?

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YES!! BUT IT DOESN’T REPLACE A SHOWER!

People ask me all the time should a Man wear Cologne?  I don’t understand why you wouldn’t.  A nice fragrance is a perfect finishing touch to you out fit.  For the most part I wear cologne everyday.  It doesn’t matter if I am going to work, out on the town or just going to one of my son’s sporting events I wear it.

For those that want to know, I wear three colognes

  1. CREED – Bois du Portugal – My personal favorite, it is a luxuriously rich, warm and masculine blend inspired by fragrant woods of Portugal – the word “bois” means “woods” in French.
  2. Lagerfeld Classic – When I started wearing this cologne in 1982 it was just called “Lagerfeld”  the joys of getting old.
  3. Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb – I just started wearing about a year and half ago and I love it.

Those are what I wear and not necessarily what you should wear.  Cologne like everything else in fashion its personal and you need to find what works for you.  If you decide that you want to try and wear cologne, then go to Bloomingdales and sample.  One very important thing to remember every fragrance smells different on every person.  So just because you might like what a friend has on doesn’t mean it will work for you.  Once you find one that works it becomes like a good friend.

If you are like me and love to shop it can be a lot of fun picking out a fragrance.  I have worn plenty of colognes over the past 35 years or so and some I purchased only once others like Lagerfeld Classic 31 years later and I still wearing it.

How do you know if it smells good?  or if you have too much on? Sometimes it’s hard to tell if you like it on yourself.  So if that is the case watch people around you, they are usually rude and will let you know if you have too much on or if they don’t like it.  Another good way is ask your spouse, significant other or girlfriend.  If they hate it they will let you know.  If they do hate it it just may encourage you to wear it more often.

So go out this holiday season and try some colognes out, you will be glad you did.

THE SHOT(s) THAT CHANGED AMERICA

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50 years ago today in Dallas TX, President John F Kennedy was assassinated and it forever changed America.  Most people who were alive at that time can tell you exactly what they were doing when they heard the news.  The nation was in shock and it is still mourning his death today.  While there is still a lot of mystery around the assassination, I think it symbolized something bigger.  I believe the assassination ended the greatest era in the United States.  From the end of World War II (August 1945) through the assassination was America’s Golden Age.  We were prosperous, the free world looked to us for hope and freedom.  It was a time when movie stars hung out with politicians and gangsters.  We were about having fun, drinking smoking and just worrying about enjoying ourselves and not living long miserable life, but a short happy one.  Then November 22, 1963 came and the party came to a crashing end.  Before the 1960s were over we saw riots in the streets and two more major assassinations (Robert F Kennedy & Martin Luther King Jr).  The world grew up and I think that is a shame.   So in my small little mind I divide this country’s history as Before JFK assassination and After JFK assassination.

I wasn’t around then, because I was born in 1966, but like 9/11 for me, November 22, 1963 will be a day many Americans will never forget.

Mr President may you rest in peace.