A Very Young Howie and his Brother Dick

Two very dapper looking young men but Grandpa, why are you sticking out your tongue? And why are your pants so short?

Be Prepared

I'm think I'm known as a pocket stuffer. I carry items I think I might use. Someday. Somewhere.When in the post office last week, the long line had come to a stop. The patron at the window had three large packages which required to be measured. Both clerks were trying to find a tape measure. Each one accusing the other of having lost it. Feeling the anger rising in the line, I decided to act before someone went "postal". I pulled my six foot tape from my pocket and told the clerk, " you can use mine". Which he did. A few chuckles came from the line. The lady behind me was amazed. Imagine she thought "that I should carry a tape". And as I considered the remark I took a mental inventory of my pockets. Left hip. 1 -small bill fold, 2- pill box{aspirin, vitimin "C", gout pills,tums 3 -box of matches....Right hip 1- flash light 2- two pencils with erasers 3 -28 year medallion from AA 4- six foot tape 5- retractable exacto blade {for opening those plastic bags} Rear pockets, wallet and hankerchief . On my belt my multi-tool {knife, pliers, can opener,saw, file, and a few others} I guess I like to be prepared. And in case all else fails, I can call for help on my cell phone. I may call you... Be prepared!

Some more sayings

Well after reading Aunt Mary's post about Stoltenberg children sayings I felt as if there were two that came to mind that were left out. Of course they were both said by me, so I would pick up on the fact that they were missing from the list.
"Baby Soup" (this is what I said when I was referring to a bathing suit)
"Black Soda" (this is what I said when I was referring to soda such as Coke, or Pepsi, or Rootbeer, and so on...)

Its Just a Little Powder

I am going to try and tell the story of the powder incident to the best of my ability, although I don't actually remember the incident, I have heard the story many times. When Michele and I were little, Aunt Mary would come and watch us. Michele was very good at getting into things like locked cabinets to get cookies by piling chairs with books... well you get the picture. She was unstoppable when she wanted something. Believe me, I tried to stop her. This particular time poor Aunt Mary was woken up by the sound of the vacuum. Now neither Michele or I was of the age that it seemed like a natural thing for us to go ahead and vacuum the house so of course Aunt Mary had to see what was up. There was me, in the middle of living which was now white with powder, trying to clean it up. I did my best to assure Aunt Mary that it was just a little powder, but I don't think she bought it.

Famous Sayings by Stoltenberg Children

These are some of the best sayings ever spoken by Stoltenberg children.

Remember the time
You give love a band-aid
Wait a minute, I have to get my prarire shoes
Just a little powder spilled, Aunt Mare
I amn't
It's mean and nasty day
I want a stick out bathing suit
I'm aggressive
HV... dangerous
She can't see the fish, her eyes are too small
Wow! A bass fiddle!
Hi Aunt Airme
.....and the ever famous......
CHOBBY NEIGHBORS

Spidini

I have been going through Aunt Angie's papers
and I found her spidini recipe.

1 or 2 lbs of beef (top round) or veal, cut thin (I believe she used beef)
Light olive oil—100% pure
Breadcrumbs (plain)—15 ozs
Parmigiana cheese—5-6 ozs
Parsley flakes—to taste
Black pepper—1/4 teaspoon
Garlic powder—not too much

Mix all dry ingredients—do not salt
Cut beef/veal—2"x2" or 3"x3"
Put oil in a deep dish
Dip meat in oil then into breadcrumb mix
Roll up—close with toothpick
Bake at 350 degrees for 26 minutes—13 minutes on each side
Do not cook to long

1 lb makes about 20 pieces

Second base Grandpa

Hey, playing short stop must run in the family. I sent the Katherine article to Mark in Texas. He said his brother craig was the best short stop his high school ever had. As for myself I played second base. We had a team in the Air Force that went to the base finals. I played second because my throwing arm was so slow, I had to be close to first to make an out. I can still hear the coach yelling at me" for crying out load throw the ball, you're not a pitcher, don't wind up" actually he he used a few different adjectives, but I can't use them here. The biggest thrill I had was I hit a home run. I played for the Hercules Powder Co. team. Left field. I for got my spikes one game. I chased a fly ball over my head and ran and caught it "see Howie run, run Howie run"The hitter asked how I could run that fast in loafers. I guess all hitters get mad when they get caught. Even Joe "D" got angry.

KB in the news

From the Courier News

BASICS

NAME: Katherine Stoltenberg

SCHOOL: Montgomery

YEAR: Senior

SPORT: Softball

POSITION: Shortstop

HIGHLIGHTS: A four-year starter for the Cougars, Stoltenberg has played 103 straight games at shortstop. Her 85 career hits puts her seven away from the all-time school record, and she's scored 52 runs and made just 22 errors in her four years. This year, she's hitting just under .350 for Montgomery, which is the top seed and defending Somerset County Tournament champion. The Cougars will face Hillsborough at 8 tonight in the county semifinals.

COACH'S COMMENTS: "Since she's walked on the field as a freshman, she's played every single game as our shortstop and our No. 2 hitter," Montgomery coach Johnny Rooney said. "She's a winner, a clutch player and a team-first player. She's dedicated to the program, and her accomplishments speak for themselves. She's brought a lot of expectations to the team and put them on herself."

FAVORITES

MUSICAL ARTIST: Justin Timberlake.

MOVIE: "Music and Lyrics."

SCHOOL SUBJECTS: Math.

ATHLETE I'D MOST LIKE TO MEET: Mia Hamm.

WHAT I'D SAY TO HIM/HER: "I would tell her how much she influenced me, personally, and all the young female athletes. I would just say, 'Thank you.' "

UPDATE!!
Courier News, Saturday, May 26
MONTGOMERY 8 HILLSBOROUGH 2

MONTGOMERY -- Senior shortstop Katherine Stoltenberg went 3-for-4 with three
RBIs and posted the 100th hit of her varsity career in her 100th game for
second-ranked Montgomery.

Three Great Catches

I have always loved playing baseball and softball, both as a kid and an adult. One thing for sure, I have always been an outfielder. I tried playing infield, as I suppose all kids do at one time or another, but I never got along with ground balls. Since I'm fairly small I've always been pretty fast, which made it easy to cover lots of ground. I found myself in left field in most games I played, even the pick-up games I played as a kid. My first great catch came when I was eleven years old. We were playing at the field in front of Guardian Angels Church in Edison, near where I grew up. I remember that an older kid, Ralph, was up and he hit a long fly ball over my head. I immediately took off, losing site of the ball. Suddenly, as I looked up, I spotted the ball sailing away from me. I kept running, see Carl run, I raised my glove as the ball began to drop and BANG! It landed squarely in my mitt. I was so excited and when I turned I realize that the big kid who hit it was now running toward me. He was so mad that I made the catch he was going to extract his vengeance. But fortunately for me his older brother had been a witness to the hit and the catch and he was following close behind. The older brother tackled his sibling and proceeded to sit on him and calm him down and said to him "don't be mad at Carl, he just made one of the great catches of his life"—my first to be exact.

The second catch came a number of years later. I was playing for Peterson's Guides' coed softball team. I was around 28 years old. It was a play off game and it was hotly contested. We were behind at this particular point in the game and one of their best hitters was up with one out and a runner on second. Early in the count he hit a foul ball toward the left side that easily went 300 feet. Needless to say, it went well past me so his at bat continued. But now I was prepared. I moved back a good bit in preparation for his next attempt. Sure enough, he hit the next pitch, but to my surprise it was well over my head. Just as 17 years earlier, I took off. I kept running as fast as I could. Run Carl run. I was on a full sprint, I raised my head and glove and, fortunately for me, the ball was in my view heading right toward me. Without slowing, I extended my arm fully and BANG. I remember jumping in the air. It seemed like I went a mile up. I let out a yell and when I came down I had the sense to turn and throw the ball toward second. The runner who had been occupying the base had touched home and was heading toward the bench. He felt the ball would never be caught. Double play—number two was in the book.

Some years later, I was playing softball for another coed team, The cool thing about this catch was that it was witnessed by the center fielder from the Peterson's team. He was playing on another field for another team and was just a few feet from me. He got a chance to see two of my great catches. Basically, the catch resembled the other two. One thing that made it interesting was that the field, at Rider University, was cut out of very tall grasses in the back of the campus. The catch was made just before I reached the edge of the field so my momentum carried me into grasses over my head. When I emerged, I had the ball in my hand. I could still hear the BANG when it hit my glove—number three.

One thing I can safely say is I'm confident that number four is out there waiting for me.

The stuttering Grampa

When I was very young I stuttered. I recall a teacher saying to me " Howard, do you always stutter like that"? I replied "N-n-n-n-oo, only when I t-t-t-t-t-t-alk" I also liked to steal the neighbors cherries. I would climb his tree after dark to avoid getting caught. One night he hollered out his window "Whose that in my tree"? Being a fast thinker, I answered in the highest pitch voice I could muster "It's m-m-m-m-m-me, S-s-s-s-s-s-shirley" The next day he told my Mother. To this day I don't know why he didn't believe it wasn't Shirley. Maybe my pitch wasn't high enough.

Water at the Farm

The first few times I remember going Upstate to the Farm water was a little bit of an issue. If I remember correctly, it came from the spring house down by the stream and I guess the pump had to be primed before it would start flowing up to the house.

Getting the water going was a process and Grandpa made sure we were all involved. Cathy was stationed with a timer by an open window to yell down to the stream where Grandpa was at the pump. Lisa, Amy, Katherine, Alex, and myself were positioned at various locations-- exposed pipes, the toilet, the kitchen sink-- to listen for the water. The timer was set and we waited. As soon as we heard water we'd shout to Cathy, who'd yell down to Grandpa, who'd inevitably end up screaming unintelligible and angry things at the pump. Eventually the water would start properly and we'd be in fits of giggles.

It still meant baths in four inches of water, rules about when to flush the toilet, and even once a quick swim and shampoo in the pond at Uncle Joe's request. I love the luxury of fresh hot water on demand when I go to the Farm now, but it was a lot of fun then.

My Mustache

I first grew my Mustache when I was so young, my peach fuzz under my nose was light, and no one could see any thing. So I colored it with a dark pencil. Vola!! Instant Mustache! I've had it ever since. One time it was a handle bar. Some times like Clark Gable. Once even a Groucho Marx type. I shaved it off only once. But no one knew who I was. Not even me!

grandpa's in the news

This is my first letter to the editor.

The state ought to hoist a cold one
Home News Tribune Online 04/27/07

Concerning our state budget deficit and the never-ending search for new sources of revenue, why is one category never explored? That is the tax collected from the sale of beer. Presently it amounted to 15 cents per six pack. It was last raised in 1992. Why is it we rank No. in projected per capita budget deficit but near the bottom regarding beer tax?
New Jersey is No. 7 from the top in major breweries. It has one of the highest per capita beer consumption rates. No one in Trenton ever mentions raising the tax. Is it cast in stone? Local jurisdictions don't have the authority to levy a local tax. It seems the breweries have covered all their bases. It takes 20-some six packs to get the same revenue from one pack of cigarettes.
All Jerseyans ever hear is property tax, income tax, sales tax increases, etc., etc. But no one even knows what the tax on beer is.
The money collected from beer sales is earmarked for three purposes: education, rehabilitation and enforcement. Are we to believe they are adequately funded? Evidently our lawmakers do.
The benefits of a large increase in the beer tax would be enormous. What are we waiting for? Does anyone know? Or does everyone know?

Howie Stoltenberg
EDISON