Quote of the Day/Week- George W. Bush

I once saw a bumper sticker in Strasbug, Va., which said: "GOP- God's Own Party."

Giving that my laptop shut down when we tried posting this quip on Friday, I have to personally wonder about that!

Though I'm a Democrat, I would give George W. Bush the respect that any former American president deserves. Since we don't agree on much, I'd probably ask him what his favorite Humphrey Bograt movie is. He would probably say "Casablanca." My favorite Bogie movie is "The Maltese Falon." Bogart son his only Oscar for "The African Queen" some 60 years ago.

Here is Bush's quote:

"I have a different version of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together."

DC Diary- Those Annoying Young Couples

Yes, we see them everywhere, even in small towns like Bluefield, W.Va., or Mount Airy, NC, but they are really abundant in major metro areas, especially in Washington, DC. We are, of course, talking about Annoying Young Couples.

Of course, DC has one of America's most infamous annoying couples in Tareq and Michaele Salahi, but both of them are not spring chickens. There are also annoying celeb couples like Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag from "The Hills" who made a trip to DC themselves (not while we were there) where they posed with American flags in front of the Washington Monument.

But, there was one annoying young couple which really stood out (and there were several others that were almost as awful) when I went on the DC Metro to get to the E-Street movie theatre in Northwest DC to see "I Love You Philip Morris" on Wednesday night.

This couple consisted of an Asian-American girl, who was about 23, and her beau, who was about the same age. Both were dressed very eloquently. She was wearing a brown wool coat and designer shoes of some sort and he was wearing a green sweater and fancy pants. His hairy wasn't curly, but he did sort of look like Spencer Pratt (don't all the guys who go out with cute girls).

They were quite lovey dovey as they kissed passionately and rubbed each others shoulders and backs; I think he even kissed on her nose without any objections from her.

I was very delighted to see the guy leave his girlfriend/fiance/wife and they beamed at each other so hard I thought he was going to forget to get off the train.

After leaving DC on Thursday, I thought I would at least get away from the sight of all those annoying young couples. But, sure enough, there was one sitting beside a window at Cristina's Cafe in the small town of Strasburg, Va., about an hour south of DC.

She had on some fancy shoes and a nice dress, and I think he had an English accent. They had their legs curled around each other, and they were gazing at each other profoundly. It was quite disgusting, actually.

Quote of the Week- George HW Bush aka Papa Smurf

Yes, we had to make fun of the Bush family though in all fairness to the veep who went on to beat Michael Dukakis (who I voted for which did not go over well with my Turkish relatives in Istanbul), George H.W. Bush now seems like a voice of rational sanity in the GOP.

At the George HW Bush Library in College Station, Tex. (on the Texas A&M campus), there is an interesting-looking exhibit of red dresses worn by first ladies ranging from Lady Bird Johnson to Pat Nixon to Hillary Clinton to Laura Bush. Sponsored by The Heart Truth Foundation, the exhbit runs through Aug. 14, 2011.

Ben Franklin impersanator Art Yeoman also stops by the Bush Library on Nov. 30, and the museum will host a screening of the original 1947 version of "Miracle on 34th Street" on Dec. 9.

Here is the quote from 'Papa Smurf:' "I'll be glad to reply or to dodge any of your questions, depending on what I think will help me get elected."

SIDEBAR: An actual conversation (more or less) that I had with servants at the 24/7 diner Texas Tavern in Roanoke, Va., last night:

Me: What's a Cheezy?

Server One: It's a cheesy western. They're very popular 'round here. It's a cheeseburger with a fried egg that's got relish on top it.

Me: Wow! That can't be good for the heart? So, is it really that popular 'round here?'

Server Two: Far and away, it's our most popular sandwich. People come from all over to have it.

Me: You mean like from Lynchburg? (an hour away)

Server One: Oh, a lot farther than that!

Me: Like where? Pittsburgh?

Server Two: We've had people come from the west coast for our burgers.

Me: Really?

Server Two: You betcha, man. We got some of the best burgers in the country around here.

SIDEBAR TWO: We wanted to mention the town of Strasburg, Va., an hour and a half south of DC, two and a hlaf hours north of Roanoke, which up until this year housed the kitschy, but unique Museum of American Presidents. But, the town which now has a coffeehouse called Cristina's Cafe downtown has gotten more attention lately because pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg is playing for the nearby Washington Nationals.

Things We Learned from Twitter Last Night- Israel is the Best Place to Get a Kidney

Those of you not hip to this blog may be confused by my twisted sense of humor, but while Tel Aviv may not be the best place to find that antique pipe organ you saw on the Kansas City episode of "Antiques Roadshow" (which airs on PBS here in the USA), it is apparently the best place for organ donations in the world according to an article in "The Jerusalem Post."

Through a tweet from the newspaper, I learned late last night that Israel is first in soliciting organ donations according to the article by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich.

The nation's Donor Action Foundation, founded in 1998, has been an international leader with 600 successful identifications of potential organ donors last year.

Israel is also a leader in preserving donated organs according to the article.

SIDEBAR_ If one wants to find an antique organ, one good place might be The Strasburg Emporium in Strasburg, Va. While visiting the town for the first time in years this week, I also discovered Cristina's Cafe which will be celebrating its second anniversary on Saturday.

SIDEBAR TWO_ If you are not a recipient of a liver transplant and you can pretty much eat whatever you want (a habit I am trying to break though I'm not carrying a dead teenage girl's organs), then you may want to try one of the Five Guys Burgers and Fries establishments in Greensboro, NC.

My friend Brian Clarey, the editor and food critic of "Yes Weekly!" in Greensboro recently reported that the diner at Friendly Center, one of three Five Guys places in the Triad (a national chain with 550 locations, including one in my hometown of Salem, Va., that started in the Washington DC-area a mere eight years ago) serves up a delicious burger as well as scrumptious French fries made from potatoes from a farm in Rigby, Idaho.

We presume that Brian has not had a recent organ transplant either, but if we has we will apologize for the oversight in advance!

Leftover Files- Strasburg Va. is NOT Going to Name Town After Pitcher

In a story we've been meaning to post for several weeks, but since our focus was on The World Cup, we never 'round to it, the town of Strasburg, Va., some 85 miles south of Washington, DC, actually contemplated renaming the town Stephen Strasburg, Va., just for a day.

Stephen Strasburg plays for the Washington Nationals, and last night the rookied sensation whiffed eight San Francisco Giants pitcher leading his team to an 8-3 win.

Strasburg's mayor Timothy Taylor did tell "The Washington Post" that he wanted to have a special week in the pitcher's honor and have him come down I-66 to visit the town of antique stores and drive-in diners.

There is an amateur baseball team in nearby Front Royal, Va. The Front Royal Cardinals play in the Valley League at Bing Crosby Stadium. I went to the field to cover the Valley League All-Star Game when I was a reporter in Woodstock, Va., which is 20 miles south of Strasburg. The Cardinals head down I-81 to play in Staunton, Va., tonight---presuming there is no rain.

In other Valley League is also home to the Rockbridge Rapids of Lexington, Va., where my mom sells antiques at Duke's Antiques Mall. I was there a few weeks ago, and I noticed there was an old $2,960 Blue Sunoco gas pump for sale. I imagine it will be there for a while. Tonight, the Rapids have a home game against the team from Covington, Va.