Weekly Mail November 20,2016

Hey:

Last Sunday, I went to Donovan's with Tara, Timmy and my mother and father in law. We were given the royal treatment from Jimmy Jakes and Danny Connor.  They made me feel like a celebrity there, and it felt like home.

I was back there again Sunday to celebrate my Aunt's birthday. Once again, we got treated like celebrities. Donovan's is amazing!

What made it extra special to be back in the old hangout was that my favorite nights at Donovan's was the big boozefest they had the night before Thanksgiving. Between 1993 and 2005 just about every Thanksgiving Eve was spent, either in part or totally on the corner of 58th and Roosevelt Avenue.

Future spouses met, light fixtures were broken, nicknames were created. There were hook-ups, throw ups and lots and lots and lots of laughs,

One year when I was in college, there was a girl I was sort of interested in. I asked her if she wanted to come to Donovan's for Thanksgiving Eve, and she was kind of going back and forth on it. In the end she said no, and it was probably just as well. Donovan's was a great place to take a date, but not on Thanksgiving Eve.

Another year, when I had just started working my first job out of school, we decided to do dinner before we started pounding. It made me feel somewhat grown up, as opposed to eating dinner at home and rolling out about 9 or 10 PM,

The year after that, we all showed up after Ray and Maureen's rehearsal dinner. It was the kickoff to what would go down as one of my favorite weekends of all time.

The next year I must have overdid it because on the train up to my Aunt's house in Poughkeepsie I felt like said train had run me over. The year after that, I deliberatly cut myself off around 2 AM, (Though I stayed out till last call.) The year after that, I went to see a co-worker of mine who was also an actress perform in an off Broadway musical, after which I high tailed it to Donovan's. A couple of years after that, in 2004, I staggered into the city to meet who would become my future in laws, after a night of partying. Somehow, despite a ripping hangover, I pulled it off, because the following year, we got married.

Now I usually spent Thanksgiving Eve, either baking something for the next day, or just hanging out at the house. Occasionally we'll head out for dinner, but those crazy Thanksgiving Eve's are a thing of the past.

From what I can remember, they were a lot of fun.


TELEVISION: Thanks for nothing Oprah!

I am proud to say that I have never watched one episode of that creep Dr. Phil's hideous program. And I normally wouldn't even waste ink on him, but this week he sank to a new low.

Dr. Dirtbag advertised all week that he was going to have Shelley Duvall on his program on Friday. Duvall, most famous for playing Wendy Torrance, Jack Nicholson's wife in The Shining, has apparently had some sort of mental breakdown in her later years. She looks about 20 years older than her 67 years, she believes her co-star in Popeye, the late Robin Williams is still alive,  as well as other hopeless rantings.

My understanding is that Dr. Phil McGraw emerged from Oprah Winfrey's stable of "talent" along with the likes of CBS This Morning's co-host Gayle King, Dr. Oz and Rachel Ray.

McGraw, more than the others, seems to cater to the lowest common denominator. In the guise of helping those who genuinely need psychological counseling, he seems more intent on exploiting said patients in order to boost his ratings.

He's been doing it for years. But this whole thing with Shelley Duvall seemed to really hit a nerve.

With guys like Maury Povich and Jerry Springer, there is no pretense. Springer is looking for inbred married relatives to come on stage and beat the crap out of each other. Maury is looking for people who are crazy enough to have DNA test results read out loud in front of a studio audience. The illusion that these guys are looking to help is thin to non existent.

But McGraw is a licensed clinical psychologist. He actually has the ability to help people. He might be able to help someone like Duvall get better. He could do it in the privacy of his office. Instead he trots the poor thing out on syndicated TV.

Sad. And shameful.




Guess what city and state will report the first major injuries from Black Friday trampling, win valuable prizes.



OK OK, let me try to finish this up on a positive or funny note.



Timmy had cultural day at his school on Friday, and the class was tasked with bringing in food that has to do with their culture. Since I couldn't send him in with a case of Guinness, Tara and I (well, Tara) had to whip our man up an Irish Soda Bread.

Full disclosure: I really don't like Irish Soda Bread.

My Aunt Eileen used to make an Irish Soda Bread that made the house smell wonderful.Hers I could eat  But in general, I just could never get into it. I find in very dry, and even with some butter, I just really didn't dig it.

Now add to that, the fact that all dishes had to be nut, gluten and dairy free to aviod all possible food allergies, and what we sent our son into class with might have been the worst Irish Soda Bread in the history of ISB. Donald Trump could have used it to build his wall along the Rio Grande.

Now, before you all go running to Tara to say that I was making fun of her cooking, please let me once again remind you all that she did the best she could under the circumstances. Gluten free + Dairy Free = Flavor free, so we never stood a chance here. I told Tara that we should have put a note with the Soda Bread stating "The Irish are not known for their culinary skills."

Have a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving

And have a Great Week!