2026 TRIP

Today was minimal driving. I met 3 cousins for lunch at Langer’s deli in Los Angeles for my 3^rd pastrami sandwich in 2 days. The pastrami rated a distant third but the bread was right up there with Brent’s… really nice crispy crust and soft tasty middle.  I hadn’t seen  these cousins for many decades… Rob & Steve Bird and Kim Benjamin.  I can’t say how very much I enjoyed the conversations and the laughs we had.  It was as if we had been buddies forever. I'm older than they are and was able to tell them the memories I have when they were little kids and also some stories about our parents' generation.

From there I made a short drive down to my hotel in Hermosa Beach.  For dinner I was picked up by my dental school classmate Mike Sherman and his wife Sandy.  We had dinner at the Bluefish Grill in Redondo Beach.  Food was very good and again good conversation with two really nice people.  Back in dental school Mike was always one of the nicest in our class.

Before going to lunch, I went to the location of two places I remembered from my childhood.  Most of you won’t have a clue what these places were/are but a few of you will remember the references.  The building with the ivy didn’t have ivy 70 years ago (shit did I just say 70 years ago??? Am I really that old???).  It’s address is 611 S. Cloverdale Avenue in Los Angeles.  The corner store used to house  a restaurant called the Flying Saucer. 611 was where my Aunt Ida lived.  She was the eldest of my father's siblings.  The Flying Saucer was a small BBQ place which had the most delicious ribs. Back in the 50's and 60's and even into the 70's it was the place I looked forward to eating at when a visit with my aunt was on the agenda.s