Philly Today

This weekend at the Philadelphia Flower Show, the Southeastern PA Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is displaying their commitment to the environment. They have new hybrid buses, and the idea is that their trains and subways are a more “green” mode of transportation than driving. That’s all well and good, but the way that they are advertising this is a little, um, gross. On the sidewalks outside of the Convention Center, SEPTA has used stencils and power washers to create pictures of flowers, acorns and their logo. It’s cool looking until you realize that it’s the remaining dirt on the sidewalk that creates the pictures. I hope that they eventually just clean the entire sidewalk, as long as they are firing up the power washers.

He was the subject of my very first post here on philly.today.com back on June 8th of last year. On that inaugural day of the blog, I can’t believe I actually uttered the following words: “I like how Adam Eaton’s been pitching lately”. It turned out those were the only few games in 2 years that Eaton pitched consistently well. He quickly went downhill after that, and today the Phillies announced that they have released him.

The paper today reported that he was still in good spirits despite his release. I think I have an idea why. He still has a year left on his contract, most of which the Phillies will have to pay if another club picks him up. By the way, that’s $9 million this year. That will give him $24.5 million for three years, the first two of which were horrible. He even struggled after being sent down to the minor leagues. Eaton was not invited to join the Phillies in the postseason or in the World Series celebration and everyone pretty much knew he wouldn’t be back.

I may have been wrong about Eaton that day, but I did also raise an interesting question about the finger holes in baseball gloves and who actually uses them.

Last week, police in North Wildwood, New Jersey arrested Ashley Fuhrmeister and her mother Kelly Nowacky, charging them with making and using counterfeit $50 bills. The 21-year old Fuhrmeister claims that they are both innocent, that her ex-boyfriend, John Laughlin, gave the money to the mother and that they didn’t know the money was fake. Laughlin was arrested as well. Fuhrmeister is a beauty paegant winner, she was Miss North Wildwood in 2007 and has her sights set on being Miss Cape May. This incident may put those plans on hold for the time being. The main reason I even mention this story, however, is so that I can show a picture of the mother. When I saw this I really couldn’t believe it.

Wow! And just think, that’s with makeup on and her hair done. I’m sure this story will be in the news for a while and we may see more of the mother and her beauty-queen daughter (who looks a lot more attractive than this one). I will try to keep you updated.

Charles Barkley has been sentenced to 10 days in jail on Monday after pleading guilty to a DUI charge from New Year’s Eve. Having seen Barkley from starting his career to becoming a great basketball player in Philadelphia to an even greater player in Phoenix, this incident was not a complete surprise to me. Like many times before, Barkley messed up, along the way making some unbelievable remarks, but at the same time taking full responsibility for his actions and remaining always candid and honest. The honesty is one of the things I admire most about Charles. Of course, he did something stupid and deserves the punishment. 10 days seems like a short sentence, made even shorter (5 days) if he completes an alcohol program. And he gets to keep his TV analyst job and has a new show about golf. He seems to always find a way to stay in the spotlight even though his playing days are over.

At Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City last Thursday, a man wearing a backpack was caught trying to steal lobsters out of the kitchen. How many lobsters? Try 91. That’s right, he had hidden 91 lobsters in the backpack, in his jacket, and yes, even in his pants. Before you start thinking about the hazards of putting live lobsters down your pants, it should be noted that the lobsters were frozen. Still, frozen lobsters in your pants can’t be too pleasant, either.

So he swiped the 91 lobsters and started walking out of the kitchen. But he was easy to catch for a number of reasons, including the fact that he was wearing verrry bulky clothing, and that he was walking verrry slowly. In fact, that would be great if we could get the surveillance tape to see exactly how he looked walking with these lobsters. I am glad that the thief was apprehended and the lobsters, worth $1200, were returned safely. But knowing where they’ve been, I just hope that none of them end up on my plate anytime soon.

Guess what, everyone? It’s Marriage Monday! Okay, I just made that up; it doesn’t exist. But it is Monday and I have two wedding-related items because I’m kind of in a bizarre mood today. Over the weekend a wedding ceremony took place in Bethlehem Township, PA at the local Dairy Queen. Forget that it’s the middle of winter or that the idea is crazy. The groom works at the DQ so he figured, hey, why not get hitched here too? He may be on to something. Their Blizzards taste better than most wedding cakes, plus they’ve got hot dogs and stuff there. I wish the happy couple all the best.

Also, I saw this clip on TV last night and then today found it on YouTube. It’s a wedding ceremony mishap that’s just out of control. Maybe it’s fake, but I got quite a laugh out of it and I hope you all enjoy it too.

Today, the Philadelphia Flyers held the 32nd annual Flyers Wives Fight For Lives Carnival at the Wachovia Center. This is a great charity event that is one of the largest and longest-running in sports. Since it began, the Carnival has raised nearly $21 million for their charities, one of which is for lukemia research. I have only been to the Carnival once, and I was quite young at the time. I had fun scoring a goal against netminder Pete Peeters and getting Tim Kerr’s autograph. The Carnival these days has so much more; you can take on the players in Guitar Hero or Wii Boxing or get your picture taken with the Stanley Cup. Now, after yesterday’s loss to Pittsburgh one might argue that this is the closest we’ll actually get to seeing the Cup in this city, or that even an 8-year old kid could score a goal on Martin Biron, but for one day at least the fans can forget about all that and think about the great charity work the team is doing.

Word is that the Eagles are almost ready to agree to contracts with two of their free agents: safety Brian Dawkins and offensive tackle Tra Thomas. Both of them are getting up in years; by the time next season rolls around, Dawkins and Thomas will be 36 and 35 respectively. But they have also been two of the team’s most reliable and popular players for over a decade. Many fans will be happy they will be back for at least one more year. Much less certain is the status of the team’s other free agents, which include tackle Jon Runyan, running back Correll Buckhalter and tight end L.J. Smith. All of been Eagles for a long time too, but Runyan is recovering from surgery, Buckhalter wants to be a starter somewhere, and Smith has been a huge disappointment. I don’t think we’re going to see a lot of changes from the Eagles this offseason, but it will be interesting to see how they replace these players if they aren’t coming back.

I just found out that the plant that makes York Peppermint Patties is closing today and production is being moved. The plant was in Reading, PA which is nearby to me (I drove through Reading today, in fact). How did I not know this before!? Peppermint Patties are awesome. The plant also made 5th Avenue and Zagnut candy bars and Jolly Ranchers. I never had 5th Avenue or Zagnuts, but I am a big fan of Jolly Ranchers.

If I had known, I would have taken a factory tour or tried to find an outlet store where I am imagining all of the misshapen yet still delicious candy ends up (okay, maybe not). I didn’t even think that the York Peppermint Patties should have actually come from York, PA. Well, they did originally. But after being part of Hershey Candy since 1988 and in Reading for 23 years, they are moving to Mexico. It is sad, but I am not quite ready to boycott because the candy is so good.

The Philadelphia region has a lot of different area codes. When I was a kid, everybody was 215. Then half the area became 610. Now I’ve lost track. When I started a new job 3 years ago, I was puzzled when my office’s area code was 484. I had never heard of it. So because needing to know the area code you’re dialing is essential, it became natural to dial 10 digits every time I used my phone. It was annoying at first, but now it’s no big deal. Just always dial the area code and you’ll be fine.

That is, fine until a couple of months ago, I tried to call my sister on the West Coast, area code first. I got the annoying tones and then the message, “You must first dial a 1″. Why!?!? I never had to dial a 1 before, but now I do? Next, I called my dad in the 215 area code, but the 1 is not required there. This is even more puzzling to me. So area codes that are sorta near me don’t require it, but far away does? It seems that I forget the 1 pretty much every time I need it because I am still in the habit of not using it for 90% of my calls. It screws with my head severely. If the phone company is smart enough to know which area codes need the 1, then why can’t they automatically dial it for me? What is even the point of having the 1? If it is okay now to skip the www when you type in a web address, surely we can skip the 1 when dialing a number, right? I thought that practice had gone the way of the rotary phone, but apparently it’s here to stay.