hey dad

this weekend holds two momentous occasions for me.

saturday, is my one year anniversary to my wonderful husband ROF.  i’m going to give that it’s own post.  on the 25th it will be the anniversary of my dad’s death.  it will be 6 years on sunday.  it’s not sad, just i remember back to everything that happened that you can read here.

this story i found on-line on a flint, michigan website.  i’m in michigan now and i think of this with every coney place i pass.  it’s one of my favorite and something that was passed around on email FOREVER.  it so has my dad’s way of telling a story which i miss so much:

Famous Coney Sauce

 Passed on by Barbara Bacon Ewing

 From Jim Krause….R.I.P.

Good Evening folks! Since we all spent at least one afternoon in beautiful downtown Flint, this should bring back some memories.

This has been a secret of mine for years that I have been unwilling to share. However, in my present state, I am hoping that if I can share so much joy for so many people, the good Lord will say this man needs to be saved. OK, I know it is a long shot, but worth a try.

A LITTLE HISTORY:

No matter what you may have heard, I grew up in the Coney Island hot dog capital of the world. (Flint, Michigan.)  As a youth, a perfect evening would be taking a date home and then going directly to your favorite Coney island restaurant. In my case, it was the Original Coney Island located on Saginaw Street down from the Durant Hotel by the railroad tracks.  You could pull right up in front in the no parking space as long as you were just running in for “two to go”.  At 1:00 AM the place was full of drunks and hookers but that had no bearing on the Coney Islands.  I would get two with onions and head for home.  The plan would be not to ever try and eat a Coney in the car. However, about two blocks away the smell would be just too much. I would say to myself, I will just very carefully eat one on theway home. No matter how carefully you tried, those onions and sauce would drop between my legs and sometimes fall on the floor. They were also known to ruin a great new tie. It didn’t seem to serious at the time, but the next day when you opened your car door after three hours in the sun, those Coney’s had a different smell.

Now, some people will tell you the key to the Coney island mixture is the Koegel hot dogs that are only available in Flint or online. However, you can still make a great Coney with regular hot dogs.
Before, I give you the recipe, this is the way to fix the Coney Island Dog on a soft hot dog bun, steamed bun would be best, mustard to taste, much Coney island mix, and then top with a generous portion of chopped onions.

Cheese is optional. If you are on a diet, do the same thing without the bun. (low carbs)

I can usually get about two dinners, four lunches and one late night snack out of a mixture. After six days and seven warm ups you sometimes get a little green tint to the meat. That tells you it is time for a new mixture. But DO NOT throw out the old mixture, just mix it in with the new and therefore none is wasted.

Here is the recipe:

1 tb butter
1 tb margarine
1 1/2 lb LEAN ground beef
2 md onions finely minced
1 clove garlic finely minced or equiv garlic powder
3 tb chile power
1 tb prepared mustard
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 6oz can water
10 skinless hot dogs
salt and pepper to taste

Do NOT brown beef before using!!!  Combine all except hot dogs and simmer until thick. Grind up the skinless hot dogs or chop in food processor.
Stir in and cook 15 min longer. The big secret in this recipe is the ground up hot dogs.

DO NOT SEND MONEY………………JUST ENJOY!

 

the wednesday story – part 6

welcome back wednesday story readers.

if you’ve missed the past few weeks of the krause family drama, please click here to see past stories.

i’ve decided that next week will be the end of my side of the story.  as you read this, remember there are a lot of interesting viewpoints that would probably like to weigh in.  my mom, karen, karen’s daughter Tracy, my sister, my dad.   I, too, would love to hear their versions.  we’ve all talked about putting a book together. talk talk talk.

contrary to what I said last week, it is not therapy for me to write this.  I don’t need it because the whole situation turned out to be a wonderful experience.  this is going to be quite long but engaging … so grab a coffee or a wine depending on what time of day it is or mood you’re in (tee hee)

REWIND: you have my dad who after 34 years of a (happy, loving) marriage left my (beautiful, wonderful) mom.  got remarried, moved to our childhood vacation island and then got cancer and a 4 month sentence. there, you’re caught up.  but here’s how things began to change…

in a very sad way, I think dad felt guilty for what he did to mom that he acted somewhat relieved to get cancer.  like he deserved it.  but his concern now wasn’t just my mom because he had married this other wonderful woman, karen.  he was in a predicament.  so during his bout with cancer he got the two women together.  first at my condo and I believe it was mothers day.  can you say together:

awkward.

“the story” – part 5

before i continue on our wednesday story, there is something i need to say.  since this is my therapy a little bit and i’m bringing you along for the sorted ride (insert evil laugh) i need to share.  there were so many people in our family’s lives who dropped off at this part.  my parents got divorced, lots of gossip…dad got remarried, got cancer and died and that’s all that they know.  i hope they’re reading.   stick with me here, because this story doesn’t go where you think it will go.

so we left off last wednesday at a pretty deep place.

how would you react to being told that you had a life expectancy of 4 months?  no, really, think about it for a minute.  you’re in a doctors office and he tells you that you “have a tumor the size of a football in your abdomen and that you have about 4 months to live.”

4 months.

“the story” – finally! part 4

bawling like a baby at midway airport is where we left off last week.

dad had just left mom for another woman after 34 years.  if you’re new to the story, you’re going to want to get caught up here.  do it quick...we’re moving on.

“the story” – finally! – part 3

good day!

if you’re joining in the “the story” for the first time today, then, please read part 1 and then part 2 and you’ll be all caught up and ready for part 3. which is right here.  won’t take long.

so where does this find you on this downright balmy wednesday morning …at the kitchen table with a cuppa joe, laying down with the laptop propped on your stomach (my favorite pose) or can’t sleep at night and nothing is on tv?  i hope it finds you well.  let’s get on with the story at hand, shall we?

we left off with a pretty dramatic flourish.  a crescendo if you will.  and those that know me know that is so unlike me – to be dramatic.

i remember the day vividly.  like it was yesterday.  have you ever had one of those times in your life where everything bad converged at once?  like one thing wasn’t bad enough, God goes ahead and just piles it on.  this was that year for me.

“the story” – Finally! – Part 2

last week, i started a weekly series in telling “the story”.  You can find that story here if you missed it or feel so inclined to read it again.

as a reminder, we spoke about my dad, our relationship and hopefully i gave you a pretty good idea of what he was like.  now, the background on my family.  a few years ago, i gave my mom a plaque that hangs in her bathroom that has the phrase “Home is where Mom is”.  that little sentence says it all.  moving around as much as we did, mom made wherever we were home.  she instilled consistency where there was none.  think about moving your family to a whole new city at least 8 times during very formidable years for a child.  think about what that entails.  think 3 kids!

new house, new bills, new mailing address, new schools, new neighbors, new carpet coming this week, class project due next week, new girl scouts, new indian guides, dinner on the table, katie wants a hamster, husband is traveling, son is upset, daughter #1 needs new shoes, welcome wagon is here, don’t know where the store is, there’s a hurricane, new ballet, swim, karate, tennis and baseball classes, tutoring, shopping, get the doorbell, no you can’t do that, yes please pass the pancakes

our house outside chicago

mom always had it going on.  she made new friends easily, she was always home for us no matter what.   we typically moved at the start of summer, so the only people we knew was US.   this is the main point i want to you understand.  summer didn’t come and we all split in different directions, most of the time – we didn’t know anyone.

“the story” – finally! part 1

there’s a story I’ve been wanting to tell for a while now.  my family once considered writing a book but that’s just damn daunting.  this blog –while it’s new and just getting started – is the perfect place to tell “the story”.  I’m going to tell it on thursdays  wednesdays  because I like wednesdays thursdays.  and that is a good enough reason for me.

this story is a hard one.   when I think back on what happened, it seems so very long ago but it’s only been 5 years.  i used to hold it close in my heart.  it’s still there but I liked it better when it was closer.  Sometimes time is good for the soul and sometimes not so much.