Our Day At The Apple Scrapple Festival

OK, there is a confession I must make. I was born and raised in Sussex County. Outside of a little under three years, I have lived here all my life. With all this in mind, there are a few things I have not done that are or have become staples of county living. I have never been to the Apple Scrapple Festival. Nope. Not once. This year from that grevious sin I have repented, and have demonstrated my repentance by going for a good six and a half hours.

Well, mind you, my attendance was motivated by work. As most of my regular readers know I have been working with WKNZ radio. The station had a booth at the festival, and I helped man the booth with John Mixon and Bill Sammons. My wife even got into the support by wearing her WKNZ t-shirt.

And in the picture below, you can see what Bill and John did all day:

No, I’m just kidding… Really! Those guys carried the weight. I was just the happy sidekick. We talked about the radio station to whomever would listen. John sold some tickets and a couple of shirts, plus he kept the music playing. I had a chance to pray with someone who had lost their job.

This picture below confirms what I have been told by a friend and swampcritter2:

Apple Scrapple is CROWDED. It was like this just about everywhere!

Now, for some more pictures. This car was parked across from the WKNZ booth. My wife and John Mixon were loving it:

And more cars. I can’t afford them but I can still look and appreciate:

I saw several politicians. There was one that actually talked to me (correction, there were two, Christine O’Donnell did):

Either Mike Castle is too tall or I’m just too short.

I snapped this picture with The Balloon Man in mind.

More people and the rides!

Some of the vendors:

This dude was puttin’ a hurt on a piece of a tree (this picture is not suitable for tree huggers):

I missed seeing my fellow bloggers and some faithful readers. However I did finally catch up with Brian from The Mourning Constitution.

On our way out of town, we saw this, which rounded out a very nice day.

Apple Scrapple Festival

Don’t forget the Apple Scrapple Festival in Bridgeville is this weekend, October 10-11, 2008. You know I’ve got to be at a festival that celebrates my favorite food, scrapple! My cholesterol will probably not be good for a few days. The schedule and details for the event will be on the festival’s web site.

I will probably be there on Saturday but I am not sure what time. You will probably find me wearing either a Christine O’Donnell t-shirt or a WKNZ shirt. Maybe I will get to see you there.

Angel Food In Laurel

Tonight Melody and I went over the Laurel Church of Nazarene and placed our first order from Angel Food Ministries. This is a food ministry based out of Monroe, GA (near Atlanta). It started in 1994 attempting to service families affected by recent plant closings. It grew to where they now serve 500,000 families a month.

There were no income qualifications to participate, well actually there aren’t any qualifications. You simply have to order what they call the “regular box” which they say is enough food to feed a family of 4 for a week. The cost of the regular box is $30, which according to Angel Food is retail valued at around $60. After ordering one regular box, you are fee to take advantage of the other box specials or you can order additional regular boxes. For senior citizens, you can order a “senior box” which contains 10 fully cooked meals geared with the seniors’ diet in mind. Those are priced at $28.

This is our first time ordering. Because we slightly exceed the “family of four” size, we ordered two regular boxes. The boxes are being delivered on October 25, so sometime after that I will give you a “critique” of the food. Yes, that will be my Sussex County born’n'raised critique.

The Angel Food Ministries web site is here. On there you can view information about the ministry, their current menu, and find a host site if you don’t live in Laurel. Melody and I took a look and found that as of now there are three locations in Sussex County: Laurel, Georgetown, and Roxana. Behind the Iron Curtain we found one in Princess Anne. I would imagine that there will be more popping up locally.

So can you secede from a town?

Originally posted on theconservativegeek

We recently looked at a very nice home and quickly ruled it out because it was the last house inside town limits. With town water, sewer, and taxes, it added over $200 per month to the cost. So it made me wonder, can you secede from a town? A quick Google search showed me that I was not alone in my thoughts. It has been done by at least one condominium complex in Pennsylvania and is being considered by another in New York. (article)

My question is can one homeowner secede? There have been many towns that want to secede from their state. I know there are advantages to being part of a town and that those advantages come at a price, and for me, they are not a good value.

My question goes much deeper than just pure economics. What about political and regulatory issues? I am, for the most part, a far right social conservative but I have very libertarian views on property ownership. I have a hard time paying the town a fee so that they will allow me to make improvements on my property. Uh, thank you? I understand the need for safety and good citizenship but we have become this nanny state society where everyone must be protected from themselves and have government watch over every move. I have said it before and I will say it again, at the very least, our forefathers would be disgusted at what our country has become. I fear that they would label us all Tories. I find that my desire for independence does not fit well with municipal living.

So, can someone legally secede from a town?

Josh Howard, Let Me Help You Out

Originally posted on theconservativegeek:

I know everyone is dumping on Josh Howard right now. I don’t want to do that. I actually want to help him out. First, let me thank him for being honest with us.

Josh, do you feel like the world is closing in around you? Do you need to get away? After you clear up this little drag racing trial, why don’t you take a little trip. I found a place that would suit you. You won’t have to worry about being harassed about your comments about The National Anthem. In fact, you will be held in high esteem. If only you played baseball instead of basketball, they might even adopt you. Just go to http://www.cubalinda.com/ and book a flight. You’ll feel right at home.

Unfortunately, Howard has the right to make disparaging comments because of the thousands of men and women gave their lives to defend his freedom. The very poem that became our national anthem was birthed in a battle for that freedom. I realize that one song could never fully reflect the deep love and commitment that so many of us have for this great nation, but I can’t think of any other song that comes close. People risk their lives to get into this country, albeit illegally.

Josh, try what I do when I celebrate this fine song and all that it represents. Keep your mouth shut, stand up straight, and think about those brave soldiers who served us, the brave forefathers that faced tortuous deaths, the freedoms that you enjoy, and the God that gave us the rights that we are guaranteed. If you don’t want to do that, I’d suggest that you make that little getaway destination a permanent relocation.

Coffee Chatter

Some of the big news of the last week was Starbucks closing some 600 stores. As Brian pointed out in this post, the newly opened Seaford location is one that is getting the ax. I’ve been in that location twice, both times with my high school friend Scott. He’s been in there more than that. I haven’t talked to him since the news broke. It’s possible I’ll find him crying in his latte.

Howard reported that Linda’s Railroad Cafe in downtown Delmar has closed. He says it is displacing “seasoned citizens” who would drink coffee there. This is not good. Linda’s closing has displaced the 65+ crowd and Starbucks closing has displaced the 40 and under crowd. So far no report if those between the ages of 40 and 65 still drink coffee anywhere.

All this coffee news brings me to this thought. Why isn’t there a decent coffee place in Laurel? Is there one I just don’t know about?

I have often mourned the lack of a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop in the area. Sure, you can grab them in the grocery store or stop by Royal Farm or Shore Stop and get some. Those are not like the fresh tasty doughnuts you’d get in a Krispy Kreme. And there is nothing like hot glazed doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. A very close second is a beignet from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. In my opinion, both businesses have some great coffee.

My coffee at home is almost always ground just before brewing. It just tastes better. The brand of choice is Eight O’Clock Coffee, either regular or Columbian. One of those childhood memories was walking into the A&P in Millsboro with my mom and smelling that Eight O’Clock coffee as it was being ground with those coffee grinders at the end of the checkout lanes. Ah!

2008 Independence Day Parade In Laurel

I’ve got some pictures from the parade, starting with this one:

All of the pictures I have are in a photoalbum on PhotoBucket which is located here.

Howard at Delmar Dustpan has several pictures with commentary at this link.

I got a different view of the parade this year, carrying a banner for Christine O’Donnell’s campaign:

I’m the guy in the shades. That beautiful blonde behind me is my wife.

Call For Pictures of Parade

Attention everyone! I will be in tomorrow’s parade thus I won’t be able to take pictures. My daughter will be taking some pictures which will be featured on this blog as quick as I can upload them. I am pretty sure that Howard from Delmar will sneak into town limits (like he’s done before) and take some pictures. I am certain that some other readers are using their cameras to capture some memories. Would you like to share them with the readers of this blog? Please drop me a note and I’ll post a link to your photo album on the web.

Please be warned. If you take a picture of me during the parade your camera may stop working.

Drop me a note at thatselbert at gmail dot com.