The Reo - April 12, 2022

We got together at the Reo Diner on April 12th.  We had 6 guys - Frank Geremia, Peter Donnelly, Vince, John Ricci and Bob Filoramo and his son Marc . 

Did you hear that? It sounded like the start of an Organ Recital. Here we go...  

Vince, Peter Donnelly and John Ricci all showed up with canes. When Bob Filoramo showed up, we told him to go out and bring back a cane. Turns out that John is having some trouble with his back, Vince with his left hip and Peter needs one to steady himself as he walks. Naturally that led to discussion about each other's maladies, including a chat about hip surgeries, natural remedies for aches and pains and alternative treatments beyond surgery.

Another patron passed by on his way to the men's, and wanted to know about all the canes. Frank got into a discussion with him and some bargaining about cane prices, but nothing came of it.

John let us know that he and wife Joann just moved into a new house, and found out that his 2nd cousin, once removed lived right across the street from his new house. He also mentioned that in the garage next to his cousin's house was a Maserati and a Corvette. Guess you'd call that moving up...

We couldn't get the attention of the waitress to place our order, so Vince called the diner and asked the woman who answered to send a waitress to our table. Stone silence on the other end of the line, and then, "...OK. I will take care of that." We ordered without a hitch and  lunch came, followed by the check.  Vince managed to figure out the tip and the inflation-bloated check was paid. After a few brief good-byes, we were on the road home.

We are planning another in-person Cuppa for Tuesday, Apr 12th @ noon EST, at The Reo Diner. 

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We got together at the Reo Diner on Mar 15th.  We had 5 guys - Bob Filoramo, Bob Pipchick, Frank Geremia, Peter Donnelly and Vince. 

Cataracts led off the conversation, and lots of stories about what happens after...  How long before you can see/drive. etc.  and then how well you can see after cataract surgery. Some said that their vision was completely restored after surgery. That was quickly followed up by discussions about glasses... Vince told us that he had excellent vision until it started to go south and he now has a pair of reading glasses in every room of his house. Apparently he wasn't wearing his glasses when he calculated the lunch bill last month.

Vince got a call from Dave Connolly who had just had a surgical procedure to remove spots on his lungs. He reports that all was successful, and will be at the next Cuppa at the Reo.  We all took a minute to wish Dave a speedy recovery.   Vince shared the fact that Gerry Drummond was also involved in a bit of difficulty after a surgical procedure on his leg following a fall. Keep these guys in your prayers for a successful recovery.

Vince reported on the Grand Gala ad project, which generated $1,500 in donations. We had already sent in the $500 fee for our full page ad, which left $1,000 to be distributed to a worthy charity. The consensus was to make a donation to a Ukrainian aid organization. We agreed that we would send it thru Walt Mohuchy's Ukrainian Church which has a very active aid campaign with a Ukranian church in Poland.

Lunch came, followed by the check.  Since Vince fat-fingered the check at the February Cuppa, he announced that he was picking up the cost of lunch to atone for the February overcharge. The rest of the gang was unanimous in saying that they wished he would have mentioned it before they ordered. Case closed.  

We are planning another in-person Cuppa for Tuesday, Apr 12th @ noon EST, at The Reo Diner. 

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We got together at the Reo Diner in Woodbridge for a Cuppa on Feb 15th after cancelling the sessions scheduled for December and January...

A good turnout considering...   Dave, Vince, Peter Donnelly, Bob Pipchick, Frank Geremia and Bob Filoramo continued the Cuppa Club tradition started more than 9 years ago, with a little catching up and something to eat. Bob Filoramo's son Marc, our honorary Cuppa Club member, hustled over to the Reo from The Ross Street School school, where he teaches, and joined us for a quick lunch. 

Right off, there was discussions about our Zoom Cuppa and the 'protocol' for attendees during the session. We have no lack of active participation at these sessions, and we were trying to make sure that anyone who had something to say got a chance to say it. We are open to suggestions from anyone who has a POV about it. Send your comments to Vince.

Vince mentioned that his wife Stephanie was in the process of establishing a Baking Blog, which would feature 'how-to' videos and discussions abut baking. A YouTube channel is under construction, and Vince told us that he would keep us posted on the launch of the channel, with a hint that we support it by subscribing to the channel and taking a look at the videos. He went on to say that 50+ years of extra desserts have put him in the lead for a job as Chief Taster for the enterprise. More to come.

The YouTube mention triggered a story from Dave who told us that YouTube is his first stop for any projects that come his way. He told us a story about cast iron pipes, and about the difficulty in repairing them if they leak due to rust out. The story involved one of his Gkids, but we lost the rest of the story.

Frank Geremia told us that he and his wife had just returned from a cruise (we didn't get the destination), and let us know that they have been on more than 100 cruises. 

Frank sent us the details of the story...

"I just got back from a 2 week cruise aboard Royal Caribbean sailing round trip from NYC to the 5 different islands in the Caribbean.  A great cruise and the ship sailed at only 50% of capacity with 2,000 passengers and 1100 crew.  The ship was ultra clean and not a passenger tested positive for the entire trip.  (Not sure about any crew getting Covid).  This was my 2nd cruise since the cruise industry restarted and our next trip is in May & then Sep.  So, my experience and opinion is that cruising is safe and prices are unbelievably cheap."    

Frank went on to say...

"At our Cuppa we were discussing the very high  pricing of football trading cards and then fell into a discussion of the receding value of baseball trading cards which reminded me of a situation that occurred about 20 years ago. A friend was asked by a local card dealer who owned two stores in the shore area, to babysit one of his stores in Pt Pleasant so the dealer could run a Sunday afternoon YOGI BERRA signing event in Seaside.  I got there on time and after the Dealer left to get to the other store, someone knocked on the front door ( it was open) and then in walked YOGI.   He drove down from Montclair and he claimed that he drove to the address on the contract.  The billhead had both store addresses so Yogi went to the first address he saw.  He wanted his money up front but would not drive the additional dozen miles unless the extra drive time was included in the original deal.  We worked out the details and I drove Yogi to the Seaside store and then drove him back to pick up his car after we stopped for a quick hot dog.  A rewarding day all around.  One of the other Cuppa attendees claims this proved  the YOGISM that "when you get to a fork in the road, TAKE IT."

This led to Bob Filoramo telling us how he and Brian Dugan wound up getting a lift back to Jersey from Yankee Stadium from none other than Phil Rizzuto. They were waiting in the parking lot, hoping to get an autograph when one of them approached Phil and asked if he was going to Jersey. One thing led to another and Phil told them to hop in. Not often you get chauffeured around by an all star.

Lunch came and after some financial calculations, Vince asked us each for $24, after adding in our customary 30% tip. A few guys said that was a bit steep, but everyone paid up. As it turned out, Vince split the bill five ways, when it should have been split 6 ways. He's definitely on a downhill slide these days. So, the next Cuppa Club lunch is on Vince.

Speaking of which, our next Cuppa Club get together is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15th @ noon. We will pay attention to the NJ Covid news and schedule accordingly, but if things continue to improve we will meet at the Reo Diner. Vince will keep us posted.     

Until next time, stay safe. 

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