Page 12 - Italian-American Herald - September 2024

12 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | SEPTEMBER2024 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD
Continued from preceding page
Panorama Restaurant & Wine Bar
IT’S ALL GOOD
My first experience with Virginia Beach
and poison sumac left me itchi
Classic authentic and contemporary Italian specialties in the Penn’s View Hotel in the heart of Old City Philadelphia. 5-9 p.m. Tue.- Thu.; 5-10 p.m. Fri.; 3-10 p.m. Sat.; 2-8 p.m. Sun. Dinner entrees $27-$45, including lobster ravioli, gnocchi tartuffo, braciola, New York strip. Also offering more than 120 wines on tap, poured from a custom-made winekeeper that holds Guinness World Record as largest
in the world. Reservations recommended.
14 N. Front St., Philadelphia. (215) 922-7800. www.panoramawinebar.com
Serpe & Sons Bakery
Known for 70 years for delicious bread and rolls, cakes, pies, pastries and cookies, Serpe’s also offers all the ingredients to make your own pizza at home. You can also take home Rosa Fine Foods and Scaramuzza Pasta Products. 1411 Kirkwood Highway, Elsmere.
(302) 994-1868. www.serpesbakery.com
Suburban Food Service
Food truck offering breakfast, lunch and dinner at your location and time with a day’s notice. Italian, Mexican, American, Eagles tailgate parties. Featured items: Grab-and-go cheese- steaks, taco bowls, lemon roasted chicken, penne pasta with crispy prosciutto and parmesan. Lunch entrees $10-$15; dinner $15-$25.
(610) 618-9250. www.suburbanfoodservice.com
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n
r return
“Fred, I
guess the salt
water will do the blisters good, right”?
“No, there are bacteria in the water so you best stay out”
“But at least the sunshine will help dry them up, right”
“No, it will only serve to irritate them. Better keep out of the sun as much as possible. Just keep using the Calamine and keep them dry.”
So much for my medical opinions!
However, the trip came off and we made it there OK. I wore shorts and T shirts every day and had my share of quizzical looks on the bike paths. The biggest saving grace was that that the poison sumac had no adverse effect on my appetite. The first night there we discovered “Captain George’s,” a fantastic seafood buffet. Nothing makes you forget about a case of poison sumac more than a dish of shrimp and scallops along with some hush puppies from the Captain!
We enjoyed the trip so much that we returned to Virginia Beach three times. We visited the Captain on the first night of each trip. Those times the only itch in the restaurant, happily, was the “scratch” I needed for the cost of the meals. IAH
Charlie Sacchetti is the author of three books, “It’s All Good: Times and Events
I’d Never Want to Change;” “Knowing
He’s There: True Stories of God’s Subtle
Yet Unmistakable Touch,” and his newest, “Savoring the Moments: True Stories of Happiness, Sadness and Everything in Between.” He was raised in Philadelphia and lives in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Contact him at worthwhilewords21@gmail.com.
Family, Friends & Bocce
The game of bocce spans generations & brings families together!
Outdoor Lighting • Drainage Systems
Home Bocce Courts
SERVING THE TRI-STATE AREA
Frank Costello
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License NJ HIC#13VH02316700
By Charlie Sacchetti
In May of 1990, as a sales manager with my company, I was asked to help train a new salesperson in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, an
area that includes Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Newport News. The young lady would have this beautiful area as her “territory” and it was full of great potential.
Unfortunately, the time I was needed coincided with our 15th wedding anniversary so that meant I’d be away for that big day
but my wife and I made plans to celebrate after I returned from my weeklong trip. We were scheduled to work in the Virginia Beach area on the second day. Although I had been in the Hampton Roads area while playing ball in college, I had never been to Virginia Beach. The area was beautiful. The beach itself was clean, the concrete “boardwalk” had a brand-new bike path, the ocean was lovely and there were a multitude of hotels and restaurants in the area.
I resolved to take the family to Virginia Beach for a week’s vacation in August. Soon after I arrived home, I made the reservations for the trip. We would be staying at the Sheraton Hotel, right on the beach. Out the door and onto the sand ... you can’t beat that. As the summer progressed, the kids
got very excited about the trip. Rosie was 11 and Mike was 8 and they, like Luann and I, looked forward to this new adventure. They were especially interested in the travel route, since it would involve taking us over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. This 17-mile- long feat of engineering was something to behold, as it took you both above and under the bay.
Two days before the trip, the radiator
in my car sprung a leak and had to be replaced. Thankfully, this happened while we were home and not on the trip so I had no problem taking the car to a local radiator
i
T shop to get the job done. In shorts and T
shirt, sitting in the waiting room, I started chatting with Joe, the owner. One thing
led to another and when he found out that
I sold specialty chemicals, he asked me if I had anything that would kill poison sumac. Being raised in the city, I wasn’t familiar with that particular plant but did have a terrible encounter with poison oak one summer. I asked to see the area involved and he took me behind the shop. As I approached the mini jungle, I had trouble seeing the plant so I took a closer look. I checked my product data sheets and determined that our best “weed killer-soil sterilant” would indeed take care of his problem. So, I made the sale which made me happy since it would offset some of the cost of my new radiator.
A win-win situation?
About an hour later, I started to itch, first my leg, then my arm. I jumped into the shower but it was too late. Blisters were beginning to erupt. By the next morning,
I had a bunch of them on both legs, both hands and both arms. They varied in size from tiny to marble size with the largest being on my left knee. I went to the doctor’s and she confirmed it was poison sumac.
Although I was not contagious, the family didn’t want to come near me. I was covered with Calamine lotion, gauze pads and tape.
I looked like a cast member from the “The Mummy.” Of course, I had to have some
fun with the situation, so at the right time I would sneak up on my kids and walk toward them, zombie-like just to hear their squeals as they scurried away.
The trip was still on. If I had to drive
the 300 or so miles to Virginia Beach,
at least I could control the itch with the medicine the doctor prescribed. The fellow vacationers would just have to get used to my appearance. I engaged in some wishful thinking that things weren’t that bad and I would be able to do everything I planned. So, to confirm my beliefs, I called my brother-in-law Fred, a brilliant physician who specializes in infectious diseases.
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MEMORIAL HOMES AND CREMATORY
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ASTON • BROOMALL • FRAZER
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713 Montgomery Ave Narberth, PA 19072
610-668-3848
3517 West Chester Pike Newtown Square, PA 19073
610-356-6781
www.marcheseopticians.com