December 2003

End of the Railroad Line
mp3–>> Link

When I was a young boy
my daddy said to me
son you need to hear these words
they can keep you free
see some folks they will wander
town to town from time to time
so never do get married
at the end of the railroad line

you can fool the breakman
the locomotive engineer
but when you reach the steel rails end
one thing you should fear
don’t plant your feet on stony ground
or spend one thin dime
and never do get married
at the end of the railroad line

the years run by like a hellbound train
on the wrong side of the tracks
and when you bind that final tie
you never can turn back
don’t cast your fate to fortune
poverty or crime
and never do get married
at the end of the railroad line

I sit tonight in old Key West
At a stool on Angela Street
A bottle of bread is my best friend
the old voice still calls to me
there is no steel rail singing
just the sirens lullaby
do never give your heart away
at the end of the railroad line.

Never one to pass up an Italian pastry, I was happy to see the Pan’e Dolci Italian Bakery expand on Fort Lauderdale Beach. In fact, my waistline has been expanding right along with them. I first wandered into the bakery about a year ago. After noticing the quaint cafe I figured I’d get a nice loaf of Italian Bread. The staff (2 women) we’re about as rude as anyone in the service sector I had ever met. The concept that a customer had entered the store and interrupted their conversation really seemed to frost their biscotti. But I purchased the bread anyway. I figured, what the hell, it might be really good and well worth being treated like a bum. In short, it wasn’t.

I noticed a couple of months ago that the bakery had expanded. Pan’e Dolci now offers pizza, pastries, gelato along with the bread. So I figured I’d give it a try again. I’m glad I did. The gelato is full of all the butterfat you would expect. The biscotti are pretty damn good, despite the fact that they sometimes taste like they may have been sitting on the shelf for a few days. And the pastries are first class. But beware that they too might be a little on the stale side. I would stay away from the cannoli’s though, they fill the little buggers up with the cannoli cream and then load the shelf. Unfortunately what you get is a soggy cannoli. If they filled the cavernous treats as you ordered them, they would be much more appetizing. The fruit tarts are great. The slice of mango gives them a real Caribbean flavor. But the Rum Baba’s are a bit disappointing. To be honest, they need more rum!

Has the staff become more courteous? In a word no. The folks that work there, for the most part, still make the customer feel as if he or she is intruding on their clubhouse. Every time I stop in and get something, I end leaving thinking to myself, “why do I go back there? They are just so rude?” Well. The truth is, I do. So it must be pretty good. Oh, one more tip; bring plenty of cash. They don’t take plastic and a pastry will set you back three bucks and biscotti, if I remember correctly, are 16 clams a pound.

Pan’e Dolci
3341 East Oakland Park Blvd
Fort Lauderdale Fl 33308
map

mp3->> (A Man Knows) No Honor

a man knows no honor
in his own hometown
from the hour he was born
to the day they lay him down
you can run thru this world
or stand on firm ground
but a man knows no honor
in his own hometown

jesus stood by
alone in the wild
watching the souls
he touched as a child
raising the dead
from the stone cold ground
still he knew no honor
in his own hometown

a man knows no honor
in his own hometown
shake off the dust
wherever your bound
your own relations
will just tie you down
a man knows no honor
in his own hometown

just an old story
if you can hear
the promised land calls
for you to draw near
throw your seed in the wind
and turn under the ground
cause you’ll know no honor
in your own hometown

a man knows no honor
in his own hometown
from the hour he’s born
to the day they lay him down
you can run thru this world
or stand on holy ground
but a man knows no honor
in his own hometown