New Words and Phrases for 2022

 

I can’t believe it’s October already, can you? Here are some new words and phrases we’ve run across this year.

• Tilapium – Singular for Tilapia. Or, as Dr Seuss would say, One Fish…
• Tilapi Joes – Fish sandwich.
• 19th Wheel – Extra guy at the truck stop
• 3rd Wheel – Extra guy at bike shop
•  Training Wheel – Apprentice at bike shop.
•   Lights on – Not great (not lights out (do I need to explain these?))
• Supplement - a large compliment. Or, a compliment when it’s really hot out (over 90 degrees)
• 6th Wheel – When you’re really, really, really not needed
• Venmoron – people who can’t or won’t figure out venmo
• Obeast – Large, out of control person
• Bucket seat list – Cars you desire to own someday

As always, feel free to use these. Let’s get ‘em out there.

Chicken Street Tacos

My wife and I recently enjoyed some Chicken Street Tacos from Costco. Yes, we’re members. The tacos were delicious. You’ve probably had them. Marinated chicken on a corn tortilla with lettuce, cheese and salsa. Create your taco and microwave it. Yum.

So yeah, Costco mass produces everything, and they do a nice job but I figured there has to be a little restaurant somewhere where they got the idea for this dish. My wife and I travel some, and I’ve searched for the place where these tacos originated but I can’t locate it. I’ve asked around in various towns in Texas and in the Midwest. I’ve checked Rand McNally. I’ve checked Google Maps. I called AAA. I cannot locate Chicken Street.

I was however able to find 5^th Avenue where they make the candy bars…

 

The 700 Club

As we approached this, our 700^th post here at Uncle Tommy’s, we couldn’t help but think about Ole’ Albert Pujols working his way toward 700 career home runs.  Who would get to 700 first, Albert or us?

We here at Uncle Tommy had 693 posts and Albert had 698 homers when I thought of writing this. He hit two homers that Friday night so he made it to 700 before we did. So yeah, he won this round.

I’ve got nothing against Albert. He’s had a great career. But I think his winning the race takes nothing away from this blog. Had I won the race, I had no plans to call him and rub it in. Nor did I have any plans to go to a game and shout the results at him from my seat. Heck, I don’t even know if he reads the blog.

I prefer to dwell on what we have in common and that’s this: neither he nor we have ever used performance enhancing drugs to get to 700.  Yes, I drank some five hour energy drinks (free at the hotel we were staying at in New York) years ago and cranked out like 5 posts in one sitting. But I admitted to it and we’ve moved on.

 

Pay the Piper

We all read last week about King Charles having a piper play outside his bedroom window every morning at 9AM. This wakeup service is something that his mother had also enjoyed. I assume that it’s the same guy she had. While this service seems a bit over the top (and doesn’t it rain a lot in London?), I, for one, am glad Charles is continuing it. If he hadn’t, it might be kind of difficult for the piper to find work. Sure, he might get hired by some rich guy, but it probably wouldn’t be in London, and the guy would have to move his family. And maybe the new employer would want to wake up at 6AM instead of 9AM and it’s not like the piper has a piper to wake him up in the morning. And maybe the new employer might make him play pop stuff like ABBA or Anne Murray.  

So, how does it work? Does the piper keep playing louder and louder ‘til Charles gets up? Can a piper play Reveille?

How long before Harry gets a piper?

 

Intentional Walk

I know it’s fall time now, but I still have to cut the grass. It just keeps growing. Speaking of cutting grass, what’s with these guys with the really slow walk behind self-propelled mowers? Yeah, they don’t have to push the mower but it takes them like 3 hours to cut their postage stamp lawns. If you pushed a stroller that slowly around the block you’d need to pack a lunch. (Do they make self-propelled strollers yet?) ‘Cause it’s so slow, I’ve often referred to the self-propelled mower walk as the Frankenstein strut. (I know, technically, I should have called it Frankenstein’s monster’s strut.)

I was never that scared of the Frankenstein dude, ‘cause he walked so slow. I mean, was he really gonna catch anybody? If he came back today, the only guy he’d catch would be that guy down the street with the self-propelled walk behind mower.

 

Maris on the Mantle

In baseball, Aaron Judge is trying to break Roger Maris’s home run record. It’s been exciting, hasn’t it? He just hit his 61^st last week. Back in ’61, teammates Maris and Mickey Mantle battled each other as they raced to break Babe Ruth’s single season record. Maris ended up with 61, breaking the record. That record had stood for 61 years – I just realized that. 61 homers in ’61 followed by 61 homers 61 years later.  The number 61 will never be the same.

My friend has a lightly used Roger Maris board game. (I wish I had one.) I suggested, at least while Judge is pursuing the record, that he put the Roger Maris game on the mantle in their family room, in effect honoring both Maris and Mantle. Sounded to me like a win-win.

His wife is not having it. Does this sounds pretty judgemantle to you?