Lesson Learned

Since we moved here in January we have found a couple of good Mexican restaurants, two good Chinese places, two seafood places we enjoy, and on Thursday we found a good Chinese buffet not too far away in Columbus, Mississippi. But we still hadn’t had much luck finding good pizza. Yesterday we checked out Broadway Pizzeria 43 in Northport, based on some good reviews we saw online.

It’s a storefront operation in a small strip mall located in an out of the way place, which may account for the fact that we were the only diners there. The pizza was good, no question about that, though I won’t say it’s the best pizza I’ve ever had. But it is the best pizza I’ve ever had in Alabama, except for those that Terry makes at home, which are outstanding.

What was really memorable were the garlic knots. Those alone are worth the trip. I’m sure we’ll be back again.

Right next door we discovered Rolf’s Deli & Sausages, a German-themed restaurant featuring all kind of European dishes. Just reading the menu posted in the window was enough to get us to go inside, where we talked to the owner and a friend for a few minutes. No question about it, this is on our Must Do list. This is a small business and nothing like any chain restaurant you’ll ever see. The owner is from Germany and came here to work at Mercedes years ago. Once his commitment to them was up he went into the restaurant business, since he is a trained chef, and it’s obvious that they have a loyal following even in their hard-to-find location. However, we were told that they will be moving to another place next month and we look forward to going there.

They say you should never go shopping on an empty stomach, so that’s why we waited until after we ate to go to Publix. By the time we got there I was reminded of something that Travis and Geli told us when we first moved here – stay away from Northport and Tuscaloosa when the University of Alabama is having a home game which they are today. The traffic was heavy and the grocery store was full of people wearing Crimson Tide shirts, stocking up for the big game. Folks in Alabama take their religion and their football seriously, and in some ways Alabama football is a religion to many of them.

Lesson learned, we’ll avoid town from now on when they’re having a home game.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of Tinder Street, the first book in my Tinder Street historical series starting just before World War I that will eventually end during the Vietnam War days. This first book in the saga that will take readers from rural farms to a major industrial city in the Midwest, across an ocean where German U-boats lurk waiting for a target to come within range of their deadly torpedoes, to the bloody trench warfare of France, and home again. And of how, back at home, the soldiers of a victorious army try to put their experiences behind them and pick up the pieces of the lives they once had, to look toward a future bright with promise. Lucas Wirtz was one of those soldiers, a simple farm boy who hated the thought of killing but did his duty. A duty that would haunt him long after the last shots were fired.

This is also the story of the simple working-class people who built America. Farmers, factory workers, streetcar conductors, midwives, and public servants. Their joys and sorrows, their wins and losses, and how these people who struggled together to build a better life for themselves and their children changed a place named Tinder Street to Tender Street, a reflection of one family’s devotion to their neighbors.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 90 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. You know what they say, accidents do happen.

Thought For The Day – They say money talks, but all mine ever says is goodbye.