Rather than focus on the major snow storm headed our way beginning tonight (10-12 inches predicted), I thought I would give you another segment in the continuing series of famous people Joe has met. As I said before, Joe has met more famous people than anyone I know.
Today I want to tell you about the time he met not only Steven Tyler, but all of Aerosmith.
Joe was down the shore with some friends of his and they were sitting at an outside restaurant dock having lunch. They saw a motorboat coming their way with a group of guys in it. The boat pulled up to where they were sitting and one of the guys that Joe recognized as Steven Tyler shouted at them asking where the nearest refueling station was because they were almost out of gas. Joe and his friends said they didn't know and called a waitress over to give them directions.
Joe had ordered a bucket filled with ice and some bottles of beer. He said to them that they looked thirsty and asked if they wanted some beer. The group in the boat all said yes and Joe threw some bottles to them. He said Steven Tyler started talking to him and he was really nice and personable.
By this time the waitress had given them directions to the fueling station that was nearby, in fact they could see it from where they were. They thanked her and headed off, got halfway there, ran out of gas, and had to paddle with their hands the rest of the way there.
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Tuesday's weather:
Sunny
High: 27 degrees
Low: 15 degrees (brrr...)
Sunrise: 6:58 a.m.
Sunset: 5:32 p.m.
10 hours and 34 minutes of daylight
It's getting longer!
There's nothing going on here lately, just normal every day stuff. So I thought I would do another one of my continuing series on famous people Joe has met. He has met more famous people than anyone I know. I will tell you about his meeting with the famous chef Jacques Pepin.Many years ago Joe was taking a trip where he was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. At the time Howard Johnson's had the contract for restaurant stops along the turnpike. Being hungry and knowing he could get a good meal, he stopped at one of them. He was waited on right away, but his food took a little while to come out. The waiter who took his order did not bring out his food, but another man did. He placed the food on the table and said in a strong French accent, "Let me know if anything is good with your dinner or if there is anything you don't like."After Joe ate, the man with the French accent returned and asked him how his dining experience was and how the food was. Joe replied that both the food and service were excellent and anytime he was hungry and a Howard Johnson's was around he would eat there because he knew he would get a good product. Joe introduced himself and asked him, "How is it that a Frenchman would work for Howard Johnson's?" The man answered, "My name is Jacques Pepin and I am in charge of creating menus and training cooks throughout the Howard Johnson's chain."Not many people know that this was one of Jacques Pepin's first jobs after he came to America. He held this position for several years before setting out on his own and becoming a famous chef. Joe had no way of knowing who Jacques Pepin was or that he would go so far in his career. But that's Joe. He always seems to meet the "rich and famous."If you haven't read them, please go back and read about how he met Frank Perdue and Olivia Newton-John. More stories coming later. Yes, there's even more famous people Joe has met.
Here is another post in the continuing series "Famous People Joe Has Met". As I said last time he has met more famous people than anyone I know. This time I will tell you about him meeting Olivia Newton John.Joe was on vacation in Hawaii in the early 1990s. He was staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Villages in Honolulu. One part of the hotel had a series of very small shops along a walkway. One of these shops belonged to Olivia Newton John. He went into her shop and was looking around for souvenirs. While he was in the shop Olivia Newton John walked in. He overheard her telling the manager that that particular store was underperforming in sales. Joe walked over and asked her if she was Olivia Newton John and she said yes. Since he had worked in sales at one time, he started talking to her about the sales. He told her that she needed to relocate her business to a place where there was more foot traffic and people had a taste for what was in her shops. She wrote everything down and thanked him. Only Joe could do this. I would have just asked her for her autograph. Too bad I wasn't with him back then.
Joe has met a lot of famous people. More so than most anyone I know. He tells me stories about meeting them. So I thought I would start a little series on famous people Joe has met. This will be a now and then thing. When he tells me about someone, I will pass it on to you. Last night Joe told me about how he met the founder of the chicken empire -- Frank Purdue.
Joe was working as a baker at Acme Markets here in Philadelphia. He was walking down a hallway during his break time when he saw this man coming towards him. He immediately recognized him as Frank Purdue. Mr. Purdue stopped him and asked if he could talk to him for a minute.Joe told him it was a pleasure to meet him as he had seen him only on TV. Mr. Purdue asked Joe what he thought of putting his chickens under pink lights. The meat department manager was urging him to do this.Joe said that when he bought chicken he knew the tricks that the meat department played and always brought the meat or chicken out to the middle of the aisle under a clear light to make sure he knew what the real color of the meat/chicken was. He knew of other people who did this too. "Also," said Joe, "I was a cook in the Marine Corps for four years. I've cooked lots of chicken. The pink lights are to make the meat look redder. Chicken isn't supposed to be red.""Thank you, son," said Mr. Purdue. He had been opposed to the pink lights. He said he produced only quality products and he wanted just a plain florescent light on his chickens.Purdue chickens are always seen under clear lights.More stories to come.
