Responding to Comments and Other Stuff

A winter sunset over Plainfield, NJ.

Huh. It's my day off from work today. I have the Martha Stewart show on in the background. Today's show is focusing on redheads. Cool. I'm one! (But don't look on the show for me because I'm not there.) Did you know that natural redheads only occur in two out of every hundred people in the United States? Now, she has Conan O'Brien on the show. I'm not sure if I want him to be the spokesperson of redheaded folks everywhere, but it's better than me being on TV. ;-) Like him, I had that orange-y red hair when I was very young and it darkened a bit over the years. I think that may have been because, as a child I spent a lot more time outside in the sun than I did as I got older. To this day, my hair is a lighter red in the summer than in the winter. Well, except for this past summer which I spent in solitary confinement -- my apartment due to knee surgery.

If you want to know all about redheaded facts, check this site out. On her Redhead Facts page, she mentions what I wrote a few days back -- no grey hair at all, what's turning is turning white or a sandy color.

But redheaded stuff isn't the reason for this entry. I want to respond to a few comments from the other day's entry. Charles, also known as Cinisoul on AOL, asked how the thieves got the ATM out and didn't just go to the register. I think it was an ATM on the outside of the building. At that hour on that day (New Year's Day evening), the drug store would have been closed. I would guess the crooks had to pry from the building with a vehicle. I could be wrong, though.

As for safety, this will sound very odd, but my town is rough. However, as a middle-aged (sigh) white woman, I'm much safer than a young black male or a Latino male. I can walk through a crowd of gangbangers, give a nod and get a "hello" back, probably because I'm no threat to them. I'm not a good victim sort -- they don't scare me and I don't look like I have much money on me, no furs, no jewelry other than a watch. I'm not involved in the street lifestyle as they know it; not into drugs, drinking or hanging out. They see me walking here or there in the daytime hours and I'm basically respectful (give a nod, say a Jersey 'how ya doin' at them) and, as a result, they don't give me any problems. But, if I were young and especially a male, I'm sure it would be an entirely different story. They prey on rival groups, young males in particular. I'm neither. They probably don't know quite what to make of me. So, they end up nodding and saying hello. ;-)

And then Lori over at Dusty Pages wanted to know more about Pharoah's Texas Weiners in Plainfield. For some odd reason, there's a Texas Weiners explosion in New Jersey. There's a Newark/Italian style hot dog, popularized by places like Jimmy Buff's, but lots of Texas Weiner type places. The guy behind the counter at Pharoah's is an Egyptian immigrant -- a hardworking young guy who's there from open to close, friendly and will go on and on about the opportunities in America for those coming here if given the chance. I thought he was the owner, but he's not. Pharoah's Texas Weiners opens at 6 AM and closes after the dinner hour sometime. Yes, they serve hot dogs. But they serve about everything under the sun. I often get a breakfast sandwich there on the way to work. I could get grits with it, but... um... no. It's sort of a luncheonette place with a huge variety on the menu from hot dogs to prime rib and a full breakfast offering. It's reasonably priced, clean, friendly and definitely a Jersey Good Thing. Y'see, in New Jersey you can get grits with that gyro. There's another Texas Weiners place a block away, but that's more just hot dogs... open 24 hours a day, though!