Cartoons and Strip District Shopping

I stayed at my girlfriend's house in Butler, Pa., over the weekend so I could catch her 14-year-old daughter's outstanding performance in a cheerleading competition in Pittsburgh. Heather and her hubs also have a pre-teen son; I've known those kids since they were little. What a great feeling to know two great kiddos are looking forward to your visit!

Here's what I was thinking. I don't know when you grow out of watching cartoons, or if, for many years, turning cartoons on in the morning is a habit moreso than a tantrum-soothing necessity. (At some point during a break in the cheer competition, the DJ broke out "Spongebob" and all those beautiful, leggy, made-up teens sang along. So it's got to be after age 14. )

I digress. Anyway, at one point at the homestead, I think it was just Heather and me with our coffees watching cartoons. (Ah, so it's got to be after age 38.)

"They sure don't make cartoons like they used to, do they?" Heather said. She was right. It was some awful computer-generated animation. Rude characters. Dumb plot. Obnoxious noise. Goofy voices.

Our cartoons were iconic. Hilarious. Adventurous. Mysterious. Educational. We learned vocabulary and science from The Professor in Underdog, and fashion tips from Daphne, and when our moms gave us whole carrots with the greens on, we chewed them like cigars and did our best "What's up Doc?" impersonations. After school syndicates hit the TV airwaves in the 80s, I watched a lot (too much) of Heckle & Jeckle and Tom & Jerry and Woody Woodpecker.

Which brings me to my story! Saturday we had some time to kill before the competition, and it was a gorgeous sunny early spring day in Pittsburgh. We shopped on the Strip District, which is like a wholesale market for imports, grocery, ethnic foods, supplies, sundries.... And one of my favorite places on the Strip is the cheese counter at the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. on Penn Ave. (Outside photo courtesy of their website.) Everytime I go there, I think to myself in an elegant southern belle accent, "Cheese.... I love cheese. Really, I do."

Those of you age 40+ might recognize that as a sweet little mouse quote from a Tom & Jerry episode. If you ever wondered how Hanna-Barbera created years' worth of cartoons about a cat chasing a mouse, which somehow always featured a cheese-baited trap, I can tell you, I totally relate how Jerry might be tempted by one cheese after another. Tom went the extra mile in this particular episode and threw in the chick mouse. He still didn't catch that clever Jerry!

Heather and I both bought a few samples (in half-pound minimums) of cheeses from the vast international menu at Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. A saga bleu, some 60% brie, an aged mild Gouda, some apricot fruited Stilton and a scrumptiously dry and crunchy Dutch Beemster. When we got home, we split our half pounds again and shared. Winning!