Wedding on the Golden Lion Beach!

Random Facts About Me High School Edition

I've been asked to write a bio for a venture I am involved in so I pulled out my senior yearbook to do some fact checking on my self. In the spirit of Facebook's "25 Things About Me", here are 25 Facts about TikiTender when he was in high school.

1. I dated not one, but two redheads in high school. One of them was a cheerleader.

2. I was a jock. 4 year letterman in football, All Conference Defensive Back, 1 year as Captain, 2 years as weightlifting Captain, 3 year letterman in track. 2 year letterman for the weightlifting team. As a running back, I scored 4 touchdowns in the Homecoming game my junior year. At 17, I bench pressed 340 pounds.

3. I was a music geek. 4 year member of choir, 3 year member of chamber choir, 3 year member of band. I played the trombone and sang high tenor. 4 years in All-Conference Choir, 1 year in All-District Choir. 3 years receiving a "1" rating at State Music Contest as a vocal soloist. 2 years in All-Conference Band. I started college on a Vocal Performance scholarship. I was in musicals all four years of high school.

4. I was a nerd. Student Council president for my junior and senior years. National Leadership Award my junior year. Class treasurer my junior year. Quiz Bowl team as a senior. State Accounting contest my senior year. I won awards in History and Geology and was a four year Honor Roll student.

5. I was a drama queen. I acted in plays outside of school and won awards for poetry reading and comedic interpretation.

6. I was a cheerleader. Sort of. Since I didn't play basketball, I was the Tiger mascot during the winter of my senior year. I know it's hard to imagine me dressed in a big tiger head and costume clowning around on the sidelines. :-) *added bonus, I had to hang out with the cheerleaders to learn the routines*

7. I was a king. Homecoming King my sophomore year and Sweetheart's King my junior year.

8. I was known for my thick curly hair. I was voted "Prettiest Hair" two years. I was also known for doing crazy things with it, especially during football season. I had a Boz, a mohawk, and a weird clipper designed stripe stretching from one temple down to the nape of my neck and back up to the other temple. I used to paint the opposing teams colors into the stripe to antagonize them. In the spring of my senior year I grew my hair out into a curly mullet and grew a guido stash. That is a fashion decision I regret to this day!

9. I was voted Best Dancer a couple times. I think it was because I was actually willing to dance.

10. I was voted Best Physique and actually sat as a model for art students. I was never a ripped kinda guy, but by the time I was 17 I had a 20 inch neck, 48 inch chest, 32 inch thighs, broader shoulders than most grown men, and a 31 inch waist. Did I mention I squatted nearly 700 pounds? I was a baby-faced brute.

11. I was voted most popular. I never really tried to be popular, I just talked to everyone and had a good time whatever I was doing. Kinda like now. :-)

12. Along with my best friend Steve, I threw the best party of the year for 4 years "Mark & Steve's B-Day Bash". We even renewed it for mt 21st birthday in college. Nearly 300 people attended.

13. My junior year, I was accused of being on an unofficial mission to make out with every member of the girls' track team. I came pretty close.

14. I was voted Most School Spirit my junior and senior years. See #13.

15. I have yet to attend a class reunion.

16. Oddest casting: Me as Rolf the German telegraph boy in Sound of Music. Even though I looked neither German or boyish, I sang the best "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" and wasn't shy about dancing and sucking face with Liesl (played by the girl voted Best Looking in school).

17. I was a "Student Secretary", which basically gave me a free period to wander the halls and hang out in the weight room.
Occasionally, I would use the "ditto" machine. If you don't know what that is, ask your parents.

18. I am mostly responsible for changing the way students were transported to off campus events due to some back of the bus shenanigans. I will spare you the details.

19. I had a temper on the football field. I once threw the ball at an official, knocking his cap off. In my junior and senior years I received unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for kicking the same opposing defender in the head in a dogpile. In my defense, he was biting my leg both times.

21. I dislocated my ankle in the 6th game of my senior year, ending my football days. It happened in the 2nd quarter after I had already scored 3 touchdowns on the ground. I came back for the last game of me senior year wearing a huge ankle brace. I didn't do well but I wasn't about to miss my last game. I was burned deep for a touchdown pass. On the offensive side I carried the ball 6 times for 13 yards. At least one of the carries was for a score.

22. As football captain, student council president, summertime school district employee (I got paid to mow the athletic fields), I had keys to the high school. If you ask me I will say I never used them for nefarious purposes, but you would see in my face I was lying.

23. I drove a junky pickup truck, yet was still popular and cool. Guess I've never been a car as status symbol guy. Good thing for that!

24. In track, I was a pretty decent sprinter, long jumper, and shot putter.

25. I never took academics too seriously. I was too busy with extracurriculars. But I was a sharp cookie. I was an accounting ace and could write circles around my classmates. To my knowledge, only our valedictorian scored higher on college entrance exams. I could be wrong, though.

Hello Island Time Radio Show!

Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes

To be featured on tonight's Island Time Radio call-in segment, live from the deck at the Golden Lion.  Tune in to wbwc.com at 11:00pm Eastern to listen!

Pumpkin Pie
1/2 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
1/2 oz irish cream
1/4 oz Goldschlager® cinnamon schnapps
Cinnamon
Shake all ingredients and strain into a large shot glass. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Apple Pie Margarita
1 oz white tequila
1 oz DeKuyper® Sour Apple Pucker schnapps
1 1/2 oz apple juice
1 1/2 oz sweet and sour mix
cinnamon sugar
Rim a margarita glass with the cinnamon sugar and fill halfway with ice. Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into glass. Yummy!

Coconut Cream Pie
1 oz Malibu® coconut rum
1 oz coffee liqueur
½ oz cream
Shake all ingredrients with ice & strain into a shot glass.

Jenny's Banana Pudding
1 oz Bailey's® Irish Cream
1 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
1/2 oz creme de banane

Shake with ice and strain into an old-fashioned glass. A great dessert drink!

Live On Island Time Radio Tonight

It's time again for me to be on Island Time Radio later tonight. I will
be sharing some dessert shots for your Thanksgiving gatherings. Some
recipes to be discussed will be Pumpkin Pie, Banana Pudding, & Coconut
Cream Pie. I will also throw in a TikiTender classic, the Apple Pie
Margarita. Tune in to wbwc.com between 11:00 and 11:30 EST to listen!

Island Time Radio is recorded at WBWC 88.3 The Sting FM in Berea, Ohio
and streamed live online from the station's website wbwc.com on Monday
nights from 10:00pm to 1:00am (Eastern). For more info about the show
and where you can hear it, visit www.islandtime.freeservers.com.

Special thanks to madgringo.com for all they do.

Sail On Bill Foye

Yesterday at about twenty past two, William Foye passed into his next life. He was 96 years old.

I first met Sara's grandfather in the fall of 1998, shortly after we started dating. Bill & Winnie moved to Palm Coast FL from Reading, MA about 30 years ago (before Palm Coast was really Palm Coast) and lived there until about 4 years ago when they moved to Indiana to be closer to Sara's parents. They were charter members of Palm Coast First Baptist Church. Without them, I would never have met TikiWife. She would never have known about Flagler County and would never have come here to take a teaching job. Funny sometimes, how the cosmos line up. Bill was a good man, even when he was cranky. He welcomed me into his home and, along with Winnie, gave me a thumbs up to Sara's parents. I will always remember camping out at their home in Palm Coast during Hurricane Floyd and sitting next to them at Jackie Robinson Ballpark when I caught my first ever professional foul ball. He got a great laugh out of me sitting in peanut shells holding up my ball like a triumphant 33 year old kid!

Bill was born in 1914. It is mind-boggling for me to think about the things that passed before his eyes. When a person lives to 96, most friends have already passed. Bill will be dearly missed by his loving wife, family, and me.

With Bill & Winnie; Christmas 2008

2nd Annual Gamble Rogers Memorial Music Celebration

The Gamble Rogers Memorial Music Celebration is December 4th right here in Flagler Beach. This should be a fun event at the Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area.

A little bit about Gamble Rogers:

Gamble Rogers, as he went by, gained national prominence playing lead acoustic and electric guitar with the Serendipity Singers. He also became a storyteller, being compared to Mark Twain and Will Rogers.
Gamble starred in, hosted and was a guest on numerous Public Broadcasting programs, the Tonight Show, Hootenanny, and the Ed Sullivan Show and in quite a number of American and Canadian programs. He wrote the theme song for the 13-part “Philadelphia Folk Festival,” the five show series “Fantasies of Florida” and narrated numerous films and audio/visual presentations, just to name a few. He also wrote several plays for radio and theater, as well as TV screenplays.
Gamble was quoted as saying that “each and every one of the characters in my stories started out representing a specific person. The characters may tend to be outlandish,” he admitted, “but their statements resonate with a certain amount of horse sense.”
Gamble and another up-and-coming songster by the name of Jimmy Buffett cruised the back roads of Florida. Gamble taught Jimmy his craft and was booked as the first act for Mr. Buffett at Margaritaville in Key West. Gamble’s stage acts always offered a seamless transition between stories, songs and virtuoso guitar.

October 10, 1991

Gamble and Nancy Rogers, along with Sid and Cindy Ansbacher were camping here at, the then, Flagler Beach State Recreation Area. They returned from cycling late in the afternoon. Gamble heard a cry from the water. Without hesitation, he stripped to his shorts and shirt, grabbed an air mattress and headed to the edge of the water. A youngster told Gamble his father had wandered too far out and was in trouble. Gamble was not a particularly strong swimmer, as he had suffered from spinal arthritis since childhood. However, he struck out into the ocean.
A ranger joined the rescue attempt. When he encountered Gamble, the would-be saver indicated he was ok. The ranger went farther out but could not find the fisherman. He did find Mrs. Ansbacher, who was struggling, and brought her back to shore. A few minutes later a rescue team brought in the fisherman. Gamble had disappeared. His body was later discovered beyond the breakers.
A plaque recalling the selfless action was erected over on the dune between the Day Use facilities and the campground. In 1992, the state park’s name was officially changed to Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area.
Gamble Roger’s style of music and storytelling lives on in his CDs, the annual Gamble Rogers Festival in St. Augustine, Florida, and in the state park’s annual Gamble Rogers Memorial Music Celebration.

Info above borrowed from www.gamblecelebration.com

Visit the event on facebook to RSVP and invite others. http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=170257639670464


Mahalo!

Latest Island Time Radio Show Appearance

My Island Time Radio Show appearance from October 25 is available on my media page. Click to tikitender.com and hit the media tab.

JJ & Mofro Release "Georgia Warhorse"

JJ & Mofro Release "Georgia Warhorse"

I've been a fan ever since the 2nd Blackwater Sol 2 in St. Augustine. Visit www.jjgrey.com to hear about this roots and blues act from North Florida.

JJ & Mofro Release "Georgia Warhorse"

JJ & Mofro Release "Georgia Warhorse"

I've been a fan ever since the 2nd Blackwater Sol 2 in St. Augustine. Visit www.jjgrey.com to hear about this roots and blues act from North Florida.

What The Heck Is Beaujolais Nouveau?

Beaujolais Nouveau Night 2010 is almost here! We have been talking about it for months, which may lead the uninitiated to pose the question "What The Heck Is Beaujolais Nouveau?" The short story? Beaujolais Nouveau Night is a Golden Lion tradition of over 15 years. We join the worldwide party on the third Thursday of November every year. For almost as long, the entertainment has been provided by the incomparable Will Pearsall. Join us next Thursday for a great party with great food!




The long story? At one past midnight on the third Thursday of each November, from little villages and towns like Romanèche-Thorins, over a million cases of Beaujolais Nouveau begin their journey through a sleeping France to Paris for immediate shipment to all parts of the world. Banners proclaim the good news: Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! "The New Beaujolais has arrived!" One of the most frivolous and animated rituals in the wine world has begun.

By the time it is over, over 65 million bottles, nearly half of the region's total annual production, will be distributed and drunk around the world. It has become a worldwide race to be the first to serve to this new wine of the harvest. In doing so, it has been carried by motorcycle, balloon, truck, helicopter, Concorde jet, elephant, runners and rickshaws to get it to its final destination. It is amazing to realize that just weeks before this wine was a cluster of grapes in a growers vineyard. But by an expeditious harvest, a rapid fermentation, and a speedy bottling, all is ready at the midnight hour. By French law, Beaujolais Nouveau is to be released no earlier than the third Thursday of November.

Beaujolais Nouveau began as a local phenomenon in the local bars, cafes, and bistros of Beaujolais and Lyons. Each fall the new Beaujolais would arrive with much fanfare. In pitchers filled from the growers barrels, wine was drunk by an eager population. It was wine made fast to drink while the better Beaujolais was taking a more leisurely course.

Beaujolais Nouveau is as about as close to white wine as a red wine can get. Due to the way it is made -the must is pressed early after only three days- the phenolic compounds, in particular the astringent tannins, normally found in red wines, isn't there, leaving an easy to drink, fruity wine. This, coupled with the fact that it tastes best when chilled, makes for a festive wine to be gulped rather than sipped, enjoyed in high spirits rather than critiqued. As a side note, it makes a great transitional wine for anyone wanting to move from white to red wines.

The race from grape to glass may be silly, but half the fun is knowing that on the same night, in homes, restaurants,cafes, pubs, bars and bistros around the world, the same celebration is taking place.

Vote For Me! Vote For Me!

Just when you thought election season was over! This election is much more fun though! Last year, Backstage Pass slipped the voting past me. Time for you to help me reclaim my crown as Florida's Favorite Bartender! Go to www.backpassmag.com now to cast your vote for me and your other favorites in the area. Let's flood their site with traffic! When voting, vote for Mark Woods - Golden Lion Cafe. Even though, I have moved into management you are still drinking some of my drinks if you drink at the Lion. Even if I've never made you a drink, vote for me if you enjoy my recipes online! Please share with your friends. Let's rock the vote!

Harvest Drinks: Pumpkin Pie Margarita

Perfect for these crisp fall days! This can be served up or on the rocks.


Pumpkin Pie Margarita
2 oz reposado tequila
1 tbsp pumpkin puree
sour mix
cinnamon-sugar

Rim a glass with the cinnamon-sugar. In a shaker half-filled with ice combine tequila, pumpkin puree, and about 2 oz sour mix. Shake, shake, shake. Pour into prepared glass. Delish!