Captivating Colors
Gorky Park, Smokehouse 52 BBQ, Dionne Warwick, Fernando Valenzuela, Aging Accountant
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes the second in a series of five favorite kinds of sandwiches, an international thriller, a popular spot for barbecue, the first in a series of recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, the pitcher who sparked Fernandomania, and a skeletal desk worker. I hope you like the picks and pics.
Colors are almost at their peak in southeast Michigan. On Saturday I took a short fall color tour to Chelsea, and this week I enjoyed the views as I drove to Ohio and then on to Maryland.
I gave a keynote address at a conference at Kent State University, I visited my sister Ann in Columbus, and I am currently visiting my son Roger and his family in Maryland.
Roger’s wife Cristi is a pediatric speech therapist and certified lactation counselor who recently started her own business, Pura Vida Lactation. If you know of mothers who can use some help with prenatal breastfeeding support, breastfeeding and lactation, bottle feeding, transitions, or early intervention for growth and development related to a child’s speech-language milestones, please contact Cristi through her site. She has received excellent reviews and testimonials and can provide her services remotely to mothers located anywhere. I highly recommend her.
Last week I enjoyed yet another great concert by May Erlewine, this time at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, Michigan. My friends Barbara and David Osher, who have become big fans of May, joined me and brought along three of their friends.
I really enjoyed hanging out recently with my relatives from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Dixons (Megan, Bryan, Lily, and Nolan). They were in town for my brother David’s concert that featured Lily on the bass. A shout-out to Megan for becoming the 200th subscriber to Fave Five!
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Fave Five 107: Captivating Colors
Arkady in Action (Gorky Park), Tasty Taco Trio (Smokehouse 52 BBQ), Burt Bacharach Belter (Dionne Warwick), Mexican Mound Master (Fernando Valenzuela), and an Aging Accountant.
Fave Five List: My Favorite Beef Sandwiches
Reuben
Cheesesteak
Tri-tip
Italian Beef
![Al's Italian Beef Sandwich-"Dipped" with Spicy Giardiniera & Provolone Cheese [OC][5184X3456] : r/FoodPorn](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Facb55fd2-66ac-4731-94d5-8c63135b69e1_1080x720.jpeg "Al's Italian Beef Sandwich-\"Dipped\" with Spicy Giardiniera & Provolone Cheese [OC][5184X3456] : r/FoodPorn")
BBQ Brisket
Book Best Bet
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
After seeing the 1983 film version starring William Hurt, I read the book. I liked it so much that I bought and read the next three Arkady Renko novels: Polar Star, Red Square, and Havana Bay. I see now that there have been six more in the series, so I will have to get back into reading them.
From Amazon: The Arkady Renko book that started it all: the #1 bestseller Gorky Park, an espionage classic that begins the series, by Martin Cruz Smith, “the master of the international thriller” (The New York Times).
It begins with a triple murder in a Moscow amusement center: three corpses found frozen in the snow, faces and fingers missing. Chief homicide investigator Arkady Renko is brilliant, sensitive, honest, and cynical about everything except his profession. To identify the victims and uncover the truth, he must battle the KGB, FBI, and the New York City police as he pursues a rich, ruthless, and well-connected American fur dealer. Meanwhile, Renko is falling in love with a beautiful, headstrong dissident for whom he may risk everything.
A wonderfully textured, vivid look behind the Iron Curtain, Gorky Park is a tense, atmospheric, and memorable crime story.
Once one gets going, one doesn’t want to stop. The action is gritty, the plot complicated, and the overriding quality is intelligence. — The Washington Post
Reminds you just how satisfying a smoothly turned thriller can be. — The New York Times Book Review
Martin Cruz Smith
From Wikipedia: Martin Cruz Smith, born Martin William Smith (born November 3, 1942 in Reading, Pennsylvania), is an American writer of mystery and suspense fiction, mostly in an international or historical setting. He originally wrote under the name "Martin Smith", only to discover there were other writers with the same name. His agent asked Smith to add a third name and Smith chose Cruz, his paternal grandmother's surname.
Restaurant Recommendation
Smokehouse 52 BBQ 125 S. Main St., Chelsea, MI 48118
I read about this place recently and was surprised that I had not tried it before. I planned my fall color drive to end up in Chelsea so I could correct that.
After a nice one-hour walk in this Pure Michigan Trail Town, I headed to downtown around 4 p.m. I thought this would be a less busy time, but there was a long line of people waiting for a table. Fortunately, I found a seat at the bar, where the service was friendly. I didn’t order a lot of barbecue, opting instead for the tempting tacos. The burnt end taco and the chili made with brisket were both great, and I really liked all of the sauces. I will return to try the other BBQ meats.
Street Tacos: Three soft shell tacos served with our salsa and tortilla chips. Burnt End (topped with coleslaw and cilantro), Nashville Hot Chicken (drizzled with honey and topped with a pickle slice and coleslaw), and Pork Carnita (topped with yellow onion and cilantro).
Smokehouse Chili: Voted 1 of the Top 10 Chilis in Michigan by MLive. Made with our legendary beef brisket.
We have five house-made Smokehouse Sauces and our signature "52 Rub" served at the table with your BBQ. We used everyone's favorite qualities from each BBQ region to create our "All-American" sauce. Those of you with a sweet tooth will enjoy the "Root Beer" sauce. Our "Smokehouse Gold" is a mustard based sauce. For a vinegary kick, try our "Kiss & Vinegar" sauce. We smoke our own jalapenos for the "52 Alarm" sauce for lots of flavor and just enough heat.
From the restaurant: Phil Tolliver's passion for BBQ has been lifelong. He will tell you that he has had "a passion for BBQ as long as I can remember." Phil and Jenn Tolliver opened Smokehouse 52 BBQ in downtown Chelsea, Michigan in February 2013.
Growing up on a hog farm in Stockbridge, Michigan taught Phil many life lessons that have impacted his vision for his BBQ joints. Hard work and patience were just a few of those lessons. As his passion for BBQ continued to call, Phil reached out to the best there is: the late Mike "The Legend" Mills of the 17th St. BBQ in Murphysboro, Illinois. Phil traveled south to work alongside Mike and learn his secrets and techniques to creating championship BBQ. When he returned home, Phil started to build Smokehouse 52 BBQ on Main Street in Chelsea, combining his lessons from the farm with those he learned from Mills.
Marvelous Musician
Dionne was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I first heard her singles "I Say a Little Prayer" and "Alfie" on the radio in 1967. I like her Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs and "Then Came You" with The Spinners in 1974, which was her first Number 1 hit.
From Wikipedia: Marie Dionne Warwick (née Warrick; born December 12, 1940 in Orange, New Jersey) is an American singer, actress, television host, and former Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization. Much of her output from 1962 to 1971 was written and produced by the Burt Bacharach/Hal David team.
Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on Billboard's Hot 100 pop singles chart. She is the second-most charted female vocalist during the rock era (1955–1999). She is also one of the most-charted vocalists of all time, with 56 of her singles making the Hot 100 between 1962 and 1998 (12 of them Top Ten), and 80 singles in total – either solo or collaboratively – making the Hot 100, R&B, or adult contemporary charts. Warwick ranks number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100's "Greatest Artists of all time".
During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Apollo Theater Walk of Fame. In 2019, Warwick won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Three of her songs ("Walk On By," "Alfie," and "Don't Make Me Over") have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Walk On By
I Say a Little Prayer
Do You Know the Way to San Jose
That's What Friends Are For
Heartbreaker
Then Came You
My Playlist
Sports Star
Fernando passed away last night. I recall the sensation he caused back in 1981 during his rookie season. He won both Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award that year, the only player to ever do that. His final MLB appearance was on July 14, 1997 for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Dodgers star Fernando Valenzuela, who changed MLB by sparking Fernandomania, dies at 63 by Ed Guzman of the Los Angeles Times
His journey from a small town in Mexico to rousing success in Major League Baseball inspired generations of fans and created a seismic shift in the demographics of the Dodgers fan base.
His unorthodox pitching motion, distinct physique, and seemingly mysterious aura left an indelible mark on people from all walks of life, whether it was Los Angeles’s Latino community grappling with the displacement created when the Dodgers built their stadium, Mexican immigrants and their families, or artists inspired by his wizardry on the mound.
From Wikipedia: Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (born November 1, 1960 in Etchohuaquila, Sonora, Mexico; died October 22, 2024 in Los Angeles) was a Mexican professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from 1980 to 1991 and 1993 to 1997; while he played for a total of six MLB teams, his longest tenure — and most significant achievements — was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Valenzuela batted and threw left-handed, with an unorthodox windup. His career highlights include a win-loss record of 173–153, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.54. His 41.5 career wins above replacement (according to Baseball-Reference) is the highest of any Mexican-born MLB player. Valenzuela was one of a small number of pitchers who threw a screwball regularly.
Valenzuela was signed by the Dodgers on July 6, 1979, and made his debut late in the 1980 season. But in 1981, what came to be called "Fernandomania" took him from relative obscurity to stardom in a brief time. He won his first eight starts, five of them shutouts, and dazzled not just the Dodgers and their fans, but all of Major League Baseball. He finished with a record of 13–7 and had a 2.48 ERA in a season that was shortened by a player's strike. He became the first, and as of 2024 only, player to win both Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season. The Dodgers won the World Series that year. Valenzuela had the best period of his career from 1981 to 1986; he was named a National League (NL) All-Star in each season and won a National League-leading 21 games in 1986, although Mike Scott of the Houston Astros narrowly beat him out in the Cy Young Award voting. Valenzuela was also one of the better hitting pitchers of his era. He had ten career home runs and was occasionally used by Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda as a pinch-hitter. However, for the remainder of Valenzuela's Dodgers career, his pitching efforts were rendered less effective, largely due to nagging shoulder problems. He was on the Dodgers’ 1988 World Series championship team, but he did not play that postseason because of his ailing shoulder. On June 29, 1990, Valenzuela threw his only MLB no-hitter, pitching at Dodger Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals, a 6–0 victory. Despite having recently shown flashes of his former self, he was unceremoniously released by the Dodgers just prior to the 1991 season. The remainder of his major league career was spent with the California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals.
Valenzuela pitched a couple of seasons in Mexico in his 40s. In 2003, he returned to the Dodgers as a broadcaster and remained until shortly before his death in 2024. The Dodgers retired his No. 34 in 2023.
Remembering MLB legend Fernando Valenzuela (1960-2024)
Picture Pun
No accounting for how long he’s been chained to his desk.
