Little Pleasures

When I lived in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood (1964-1986), there was a quaint ice cream parlor on Wells Street called "Little Pleasures." I don't know if it is still there, but I hope so. It was a small place with a few tables and chairs and terrific ice cream. And it had that great name!

I thought about Little Pleasures last week when my neighborhood Taco Bell reopened after being closed for about four months. The reason: the old Taco Bell and a building next to it were torn down. Taco Bell acquired the adjacent land and built a brand new Taco Bell with indoor dining and more parking spaces.

I became acquainted with authentic Mexican food while living in Chicago's Old Town. In the 1960s, there was a small Mexican grocery store on North Avenue a block or so east of Sedgwick. Tacos were only 25 cents. For a buck, you could feast like Pancho Villa. The owner was a hard-working young man of Mexian-American background. About a mile west on North Avenue was a small Mexican neighborhood. Its residents often rode the bus down North Avenue to buy groceries at this store.

The young man who owned it saved enough money to open his own restaurant in Old Town in the late 1960s. He named it Hacienda del Sol. From the very start, it did a fantastic business and was often chosen by Chicago Magazine as the best Mexican restaurant in Chicago.

Taco Bell couldn't hold a candle to it! Or to the grocery store.

Now, living where I do in Los Angeles for almost 20 years, I have yet to find a Mexican restaurant that compares with Haciena del Sol in Chicago, or even a taco stand that makes tacos as good as the ones I enjoyed at the old Mexican grocery store. Having tasted the best, I'm spoiled. There is a place nearby called Tito's which does a bang-up business, but to me it's just so-so.

My neighborhood Taco Bell here in L.A. is only a block from my home. So I've been going there for some time. Being deprived of my Taco Bell for the past few months has been difficult for my roommate and me, but we pulled through. When the new one opened about a week ago, we stopped by for lunch. It was terrific! And we went there again today. It was terrific!

Little pleasures....

The Rains in Southern California

Los Angeles, April 16, 2006 (Easter Sunday)--It has been raining on and off in Southern California since December. The land of sunshine, the land of fruits and nuts, and the land of the loons has become the land of the wet and soggy ones.

The only good news is that Southern California has been spared the terrible storms that have hit Northern California, Oregon, and Washington in recent days and the devastating tornadoes that have ravaged the Midwest and South in recent weeks.

I remember meeting a family from back East in the early 1990s who were terribly disappointed because they had experienced nothing but rain during their first of two weeks vacationing in Southern California. "We should have gone to Florida!", the mother said to me. "All we've been able to do here is go to movies and visit indoor shopping malls. We could have done that in Ohio."

Whenever people think of Southern California, they often recall the song, "Oh, It Never Rains in Southern California." Don't believe it! It does rain out here, although not like it has in recent months.

Usually, however, the rains are light rains and last for only a couple of hours. Total rainfall is often less than an inch. And we can go months without any rain. But not this year. We have experienced considerable rain in December, January, February, March, and April.

I know that other parts of the country have been experiencing far worst weather than we have. We've been lucky out here. Very lucky.

The real downside to rain in Southern California is that most residents don't know how to drive when it's raining. They slip and slide all over the place. Fender benders and freeway jams skyrocket. It is much easier navigating the expressways of Chicago than the freeways of Southern California, especially during the rain.

"I turned right, but my car turned left," Southern California motorists often say in complete disbelief.

When will they ever learn?

Once in a Lifetime

On Wednesday, April 5th, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the clock on the wall said "01:02:03 04/05/06."

This will never happen again in our lifetime.

I'm sure you can think of other "once in a lifetime" experiences. Click here to enjoy one of my favorites....

Why not share some of your own?