First Bite: Culvers

Decided to try out Culvers yesterday. I’d never been. I’ve heard people speak of how great cheese curds were, so I upgraded my order. Fried battered balls of cheese. Good stuff. A nice change from French fries. My order came with another upgraded side, so I opted for onion rings. Hot, perfectly battered, round, crisp. Above average, though not much onion inside, not that anyone really cares. Probably frozen, but still wonderfully prepared.

The butterburger was also delicious. Two big patties picking out from the tasty bun. Lots of meat. The condiments and extras didn’t overwhelm the meat. Had I not ordered takeout I would’ve added extra ketchup. Saved my chicken tenders for Thursday lunch. Culvers would be an upgrade from the less expensive Steak & Shake, a nicer place than Five Guys or Cheeseburger Bobby’s. I give Culver’s a thumbs up.

We only had seven for Hot Stove, and no real agenda. Just a roundtable general discussion: Braves, baseball, the Hall of Fame, the vaccine, etc. Newcomer Eddie Cook of Peachtree City was back for the second straight month. Last month he’d shared several Niekro stories. A native of Thomasville GA, he’d gone to school with William Andrews. His Aaron story: he attended the game the night after Hank hit 715. He and his brother were staying across the street from Atlanta Stadium, at the old Stadium Hotel (now a homeless shelter). They learned that Mrs. Babe Ruth was also staying at the hotel that day. Cook went to the front desk and asked for her room number, and they gave it to him. That would never happen today. They knocked on her door. She opened the door, and autographed a game program. Later they had Hank autograph the same program.

This reminded Johnny Tallant of the time he went to a hotel to meet up with Nationals catcher Michael Barrett. The front desk said no one by that name was registered. Then Johnny saw manager Frank Robinson walk into the adjoining restaurant. Johnny followed Frank, and asked him if he knew Barrett’s room. Robinson wasn’t happy, but pulled out a sheet of paper with the room assignments, along with the aliases the players were registered under. Frank had to ask someone what Barrett’s alias was, and finally found Barrett’s room number. While this was going on, Johnny pulled out a couple of Frank Robinson baseball cards, and asked Frank for his autograph. More grumbling: “I can only sign one.” But he signed both anyway.

Tallant also told of the help Braves longtime trainer Jeff Porter had given Johnny’s daughter, who went to school to become a sports trainer. She eventually worked at Converse College for two years before becoming a PA. Porter told Johnny he’d give him tickets if they were ever at a road game, and Tallant hit him up for the next ten years, until Porter had to start filling out tax forms for the exchange.

We stayed around talking later than usual. I didn’t leave until 9:20, after taking a selfie with Nomar. After such a busy day at work, I’d been on the go after work from 5 pm until I got home after 10 pm. Took out the trash and packaged a bobble shipment, and went to bed. Hadn’t checked my phone or personal emails all day.

Pet peeve: the misuse and overuse of terms like icon, legend, awesome, GOAT, etc. I heard the following ballplayers referred to as an icon: Ron Gant. Terry Harper. Gant was a 2 time all-star, but only a career .256 hitter.

The Mavericks issued a statement that included several phrases that I hope people will apply to all people: “listen to those who feel differently than them” and “have courageous conversations” and “find what unites us.” I’m not seeing much of that these days in our country. The people calling for listening and unity are the same people saying they’ve already made up their minds on issues. Why don’t they listen? This applies to all issues, not just to people who feel strongly about the playing of the national anthem.   

I keep hearing the term “evangelicals”. What does that mean? How does an evangelical differ from a Christian – follower of Christ?