There are times when things don’t always go quite as we planned them to go, not because of any design, or by sabotage, or unfair play, or someone else’s meanness, it just happened to be a day when we may have had a planned agenda, but circumstances, just happened to pop up that kept us from being able to do things as smoothly as planned. I recall one of those days that happened to me on the last day of November, and the way I was able to rebound from what we might call “one of those days.” Just to let you know, I ended up getting done all that I had planned, but not exactly in the smooth way I had planned to get them done.

It was the last day of November, and on the last business day of every month and receiving my retirement pay on that day, I have an established routine of going to my Credit Union, and transferring some of my money from my Checking to Savings Account, and I withdraw some of my retirement to cover some bills (yes, I still pay some bills in person and with cash), one of those bills being my mobile device, one which covers my Line of Credit Account, and money to deposit in a second account I have locally. It usually takes me about an hour to take care of all of that. On this particular day though, which by the way, I had five other errands to run, at many of those, I ran into some old friends, some I haven’t seen in a long while, and it was great seeing them and catching up. Another stop was at my sister’s house and we got to talking about family and the upcoming holidays which is always great conversation. In between those two stops, my travels took me to just past the city line to Falconer, then backtracking to Lakewood to pick up some Christmas gifts, which I wanted to get home and wrap before Sally got home. So, things happened, all of them good, that put a rush on completing my tasks in the time frame I had planned.

I was in a rush because this was a Thursday, and most Thursdays are reserved for my weekly get-together with my COVID cugino at a local eatery, often the one located on Main St. in Jamestown, where we share “Lunch and Laughs” on a regular basis. By the time I got there, after all the running and hustling, I was a bit “Fershimmeled” (a Yiddish word meaning confused), as I felt a little stressed, a lot tired, and in wonderment why there wasn’t a way to have had an extra hour in my morning. But I got there, at the Pub, just on time, and I sat and started looking at the lunch specials board to figure what I wanted to have for lunch.

On Thursdays at “Cheers”, I try to eat a fairly lighter lunch, often a turkey on rye with mayo, accompanied by my favorite liquid libation, or a bowl of the Pub’s Amazing homemade soup (doesn’t matter what kind as they are all wonderfully delicious) again, accompanied by my favorite beverage. That last day of November, 2023, after my hectic, but successful, mission, I felt I deserved to think of myself and splurge by ordering something I love, but don’t usually order because I have to watch my sodium intake, and this particular food is overloaded with sodium. After thinking about it, though, I decided, what the heck, I’m going to do it. So, when it was time to order, I put in my request for a liverwurst sandwich on rye bread with onion and yellow mustard, to accompany my normal preferred cocktail. As always, it was absolutely delicious, and I didn’t feel the least bit guilty for not following my low sodium intake practice.

Wow! What a great decision on my part. Amid the conversations (with bartenders, friends, and new acquaintances), stories (many of them funny), the always great time had at the Pub, the fantastic blend of flavors sandwiched (pun intended) between those two slices of rye bread, and of, course, washing it down with my favorite “pop,” all of the “fershimmelment” I was feeling, and my stress, and confusion seemed to disappear, and it was another great time with great food, great drink, great friends, and great interactions with great people at the Cheers of Jamestown.

So, the lesson for today is, when you’re a little rushed, a little confused, a bit out of sorts, I prescribe a Pub liverwurst sandwich on rye bread with onion and yellow mustard. It’ll make you feel great again. It did for me.

(But don’t let them try to sneak in mayo instead of mustard.)