Ollies An American Restaurant

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Learning is not confined to sitting behind a school desk. Learning to pursue success is a habit and frame of mind that can be attained at any age. If you are looking for the key to success, look under the alarm clock, penned Benjamin Franklin, American patriot, inventor, and self-proclaimed sage of the 1700s. Befriending the morning was a theme that suited Franklin as he also is credited with a more famous saying: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Despite the differences in eras and technology, successful people such as Franklin seem to hold certain practices and attitudes that can be applied by each of us today. If we are to follow in the footsteps of greatness along our own individual journey to success, what can be learned from extraordinary achievers of the past? "Everyone who got where he is has had to begin where he was," according to writer Robert Louis Stevenson, famous for the novels Treasure Island, Kidnapped and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. For each of us, the journey begins where we are today, not when we reach a certain goal or milestone. Resolve to begin your quest for success now, keeping in mind that your objectives need not be daunting or overwhelming. In the words of President Abraham Lincoln: The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.

Being in the restaurant almost every day for the last 29 years, Ive gotten to know many of our repeat customers. Its interesting to learn the differences they have made in the lives of their circle of family and friends, as well as their achievements, and their service to society. In future issues, I would like to feature repeat customers who are willing to share their stories with us. In this issue, we feature Tom Robinson. This issue of MealTimes was delayed for personal reasons. Edna and I had a busy month with our family. My sister and her family came from far away to visit us for two weeks. Then we had our nine-month-old grandson for a week. It was tough, but we enjoyed every moment!

First Lady Michelle Obama called on restaurateurs to help put an end to childhood obesity in an address made to the National Restaurant Association. She recommended that restaurateurs offer more healthful menu options for children, adding that most kids menus look pretty much the same, including items such as macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, and burgers. Some options weigh in at over 1,000 calories, and thats close to the recommended amount that a child should have for the entire day, Mrs. Obama said. Thats why I want to challenge every restaurant to offer healthy menu options and then provide them up front so that parents dont have to hunt around for them.

Tom Robinson is a long-time customer of Ollies Restaurant. A resident of Dallas, he was an electrical engineer at Bell Atlantic, a fundraiser for Penn State WB Campus and is currently an independent consultant for fundraising to non- profit organizations. Over the years, Tom served on the boards of many local non-profit organizations like North-East Philharmonic, Dial-A-Driver and Alcohol and Drug Services to name a few.

Except for the keen eye and care of John McIntosh, the world might be lacking one of the foundation fruits of American apple growers and consumers. McIntosh was born in the Mohawk Valley of New York in 1777 and was the son of a Scottish immigrant and loyalist during the American Revolution. John moved to Canada in the late 1700s and acquired a farm in 1811. While clearing the farm, he discovered numerous apple seedlings, which he transplanted to his garden.

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school. These are the things I learned:
Share everything. Play fair. Dont hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own messes. Dont take things that arent yours. Say youre sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Before the days of the Harry Potter series or even the most popular juvenile book series of all time, The Hardy Boys, young people across America would read of adventure and learn of our local history. Story series books were quite popular before the days of radio, the silver screen and television. Two such series of local importance and nationally read were Edward S. Ellis Wyoming Series and Edward Stratemeyer and James Otis The Minute Boys Series.