Playing in the Sun (June 2015)
10 years ago
Last weekend, for Memorial Day, Granny came to visit the wonder that is Philadelphia. When she said that she wanted to visit, she told us that she wanted to experience what life with Bart and Katie was like. Well, in case some of you have missed the majority of our posts, life with Bart and Katie consists of EATING--the true Philadelphia way--often and a lot. Here is what we took her to do:
This is when we took her to a local favorite: Pat's King of Steaks. You guessed it, a cheesesteak place (we also had cheese fries). 5000 calories and a three-hour rest later, we went out for water (pronounced "wudder") ice. See below:
The following day after attending our branch we thought it appropriate to eat some delicious (READ: DELICIOUS) stir fry and more importantly pig out on egg rolls*.
*Note: all of the Asian food was homemade. Not by Asians, by Bart and Katie.
As you can see, we had a wonderful visit. We are so glad that Granny came to stay with us and are really looking forward to seeing her over Thanksgiving where we will inevitably stuff ourselves full of Louisiana fare. Stay tuned for future posts where Bart experiences Luby's Cafeteria, sopapias, catfish, donuts, seafood, etc. Oh, and Thanksgiving dinner and birthday cake. Should be a full (hehehe) two days...
The South Philadelphia Pennsport neighborhood just got a little nicer.... Because we moved in.
We haven't hung anything on the walls and our basement is still a disaster, but we have already gotten our first little mouse. We named her (or him or shim) Denise after one of Katie's coworkers who steals any food that's been left out and poops all over the place (not a joke -- she stinks up the bathrooms on every floor every day twice a day).
Listen carefully in the video. You may notice a distinct lack of bickering, drunken neighbors upstairs...because upstairs is ours, too!
[Awesome video originally placed here, but ruined by Blogger. Sorry. Stay tuned.]
That's it for now. We will most definitely be posting something cool after the incredible weekend we have planned. Mmmmm.... cheesesteaks. (And Granny).
So much for faith in the democratic process. Our voting day sucked.
Our polling station is literally next door -- fifteen feet from our front door. I went in to vote at 7am, as soon as the polls opened. I passed through a small crowd pushing literature at me on my way into the polling station (which is illegal), and once inside was greeted by the sound of the polling judge loudly proclaiming misinformation about the voting process (who refused to listen when I pointed out the inaccuracy).
There is a political watchdog organization in Philly called the Committee of Seventy. I called to report the voting problems, and they confirmed that what I'd experienced were violations of voting law and said they'd send someone over to the polling station.
When we got home, Katie went over to vote. That's when the real crap began. When she experienced the same problems with campaigning I did -- thanks to supporters of Kenyatta Johnson (see photo) -- she asked them why they weren't 10 feet from the polling station, as they are required to be. They laughed at her. She went inside to the table of the polling judge to ask about the problem, and one of the people who had been mocking her outside came in and sat down at the table. At this point it shouldn't surprise you that he proceeded to loudly ridicule her, as did the other poll workers. He said, "Does it even matter?" She said, "Yes, because it's the law." He laughed. When they had reduced her to tears, she left, unable to vote, literally to the jeers of the poll judge, campaigners, and accumulated loitering neighbors.
For simplicity in the narrative, I left out the details regarding poll workers opening the ballot booths while people were voting, the polling official refusing to allow the girl ahead of Katie to vote, the Obama campaigner roaming around in Obama apparel with literature INSIDE the voting station, and the patronizing apathy of the police who came to take the report.
Screw you, Kenyatta Johnson, Barack Obama, Philadelphia police, and United House of Prayer for All People.