Charles W. Raker, VMD: A Living Legend in Equine Surgery

Guest Blog by Cornell Veterinary Student, Sarah M. Khatibzadeh, Class of 2014 
Based on a personal interivew with Dr. Raker on May 25, 2011.
Posted March 1, 2012




This historical blog is in recognition of the 150th anniversary 
of the American Veterinary Medical Association (1863-2013).



A private practitioner and academician, clinician, master surgeon, teacher and mentor, a friend to horses and horse owners alike, Dr. Charles W. Raker has done it all.

After spending a childhood surrounded by animals in southeastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Raker attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and graduated at the top of his class in 1942.  He was a mixed animal practitioner initially, then returned to University of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor.

Dr. Charles Raker (R), examining a horse by endoscope
Photo by University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Raker became Chief of Large Animal Surgery at New Bolton Center in 1956.  He held that position for almost 30 years, pioneering new surgical techniques, particularly in the realm of upper airway surgery. He set the standard for New Bolton’s approach to client communication, and mentored many interns and residents, some of whom are today’s renowned equine surgeons. 

Dr. Raker was as fine a teacher as he was a surgeon.  Many established equine veterinarians speak fondly of Dr. Raker as their instructor and mentor during veterinary school. Even today, he continues to mentor veterinary students, offering advice on coursework and careers in equine medicine. 

Dr. Charles Raker at his home
in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania.
Photo by the author

Dr. Raker has received numerous accolades for his achievements . In 1993, an endowed professorship in Equine Surgery was established in his name. Two years ago, he received the prestigious "Beyond the Call Award" from the American Association of Equine Practitioners at their annual convention. He was only the second veterinarian to receive this award. Dr. Raker is also the recipient of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Award and the Bellweather Medal for Distinguished Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania.

While his professional accomplishments are extraordinary in their own right, what equally impressed me during the course of my interview with him was this man’s youthful energy.  At 91, Dr. Raker looks and sounds like someone at least ten years his junior.  He exercises regularly, his memory is excellent, and he speaks with more clarity and poise than many trained orators. 



Sarah Khatibzadeh, Cornell '14
 Interviewer of Dr. Raker .
Photo provided by the author.

 Dr. Raker is self-assured but surprisingly modest for a person of such great stature in equine medicine. Unlike many veterinarians of his generation, he promoted the inclusion of women in large animal practice, and mentored the first female large animal surgical residents. When I asked him about his career achievements and awards, he described them in a matter-of-fact tone, occasionally even poking fun at himself.  


Though I am not a Penn veterinary student and had met him for the first time, Dr. Raker offered me insight into veterinary school and beyond. I am honored that he became an unofficial mentor to me in just a few hours of conversation.

I invite you to read and also be mentored by this fascinating story of a wonderful and inspiring legendary equine surgeon.  His professionalism, kindness, and humility are traits to which all veterinarians should aspire.

Interview, including audio, available at 

http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/28564/2/Raker%2c%20Charles%20W.%201942%20BioInt.pdf

Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu.

Albert Welti, Violinist by a Grave (Geigenspiel am Grab)

Private collection

Date: 1904
Technique: Etching, 38.2 x 49 cm

Source

Carl Strathmann, The Source (Die Quelle)

Private collection

Date: 1900
Technique: Gouache over color chalks, 72.7 x 101.5 cm

Source

The Bay Leaf

Since the beginning of the year the PE Coffee Crawlers have, for the most part, visited coffee shops in the Walmer and Summerstrand areas.  This past week we decided to head to the Kabega area at the opposite end of PE.  The Bay Leaf Bistro and Coffee Bar is the first shop we've been to in this part of town.  The Bay Leaf is located in the Metlife Plaza Shopping Centre next to Makro (for the benefit of my friends in the U.S., Makro is like Walmart or Target).

Well, all I can say is that it was good that the Crawlers arrived early and got a table because the shop got very busy very quickly.  Due to high winds on Thursday (no kidding,,, it's PE!!!) we chose to sit inside where there is available seating for sixty.  On a less windy day the outside patio area, which seats about fifty, would be quite pleasant.

Upon entering The Bay Leaf the thing I immediately noticed was the advertisement for Pavin Brand Italian coffee... another first for Thursday's Crawl.  After a year of Crawling, what a surprise for us to come across a brand of coffee we haven't had yet!  The Bay Leaf uses Pavin for the specialty coffee beverages and Sumatran Pride for their filter coffee.  Needless to say, with a new brand to be tasted, most everyone ordered cappuccinos, lattes or Americanos.  As for me I had to try one of each.  I also needed to order some Mozart cake just to keep the caffeine jitters in check! 

The decision to get the Mozart cake was extremely difficult as The Bay Leaf's baked goods display was "hands down" the most impressive we've seen to date!  All the cakes, pies, muffins and breads are made on site to owner Antonio Perreira's specs.  Besides the amazing pastries/breads, The Bay Leaf offers a full menu (breakfast, lunch, light dinner) menu for eat-in and a condensed version of the menu for take-away.  The staff also does catering for off-site functions as well as on-site special events.  A Sunday Roast Special for R49 with a free dessert is offered on Sundays for lunch.  The shop's hours will fit into everyone's busy schedules.... Mon-Thurs 8am-8pm,  Fri-Sat 8am-9pm,  Sun 8am-5pm.  So, have breakfast at The Bay Leaf before your shopping trip to Makro or get all your shopping done first and you'll still have plenty of time to pop over to The Bay Leaf for quick refreshments or dinner.

Meet the Owner
Antonio Perreira

Meet the Baristas
Maria and Chantel

My suspicion that Antonio had a "story" behind the shop's name was confirmed when I chatted with him and baristas Chantel and Maria after the Crawlers left.  The story goes that 20 years ago Antonio, in order to make some points with his future mother-in-law, asked his soon-to-be wife if a bay leaf plant would be an appropriate gift for her mother.  Well, 20 years later his mother-in-law's bay leaf tree and his marriage are both flourishing!  Hence, the name of this coffee shop that Antonio just opened in November, 2011.  Good luck, Antonio on your new business venture!

As Thursday's Crawlers, Beth Vieira, June Nash, Fran and Keith de Beer, Leanne Waller, Nomusa Nkomo, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, Jenny Fowler, Sylvia Mynhardt, gathered at The Bay Leaf we were all treated once again to the harvest from Nomusa's garden, this time in the form of tomatoes (to-mah-toes, whatever).  Thank you for sharing, Nomusa... you're spoiling us!

This Week's Crawlers
Nomusa, Jenny, Beth, Keith, Gail,
Fran, June, Stella, Beryl, Leanne, Sylvia

So, with the U.S. Presidential election process in full swing, the hot topic at my end of the table was U.S. and SA politics.  As with any political discussion there's never a shortage of opinions.  We then moved on to what is becoming a regular topic at the Crawl... books and authors.  Thursday's featured book was, "Beethoven Was One-Sixteenth Black" and other short stories, a collection of stories by Nobel Prize winning South African author, Nadine Gordimer.  Definitely an interesting read.  This one is on the must-read list for the Crawlers once The Elephant Whisperer  finishes making its rounds.  And the discussion as we were paying the bill and collecting our change.... SA car guards.  When Lou and I moved here the idea of car guards was "foreign" to us.  Now that we've been here a while we've grown accustomed to the services they provide like helping unload packages, taking your cart away, stopping cars and backing you out (not to mention watching your car).  During our most recent trip to NY I almost got hit by another car while I was pulling out of a parking spot at Walmart.  I thought, "Where's a good old fashioned car guard when you need one?"  Their services are certainly worth keeping change in my car for.

~Thank you to Antonio and staff for introducing us to Pavin brand coffee... oh, and the wonderful cake!
   I'll be stopping by soon to give you some bay leaves from my backyard tree!

~Happy Sadie Hawkins Day!!!

Until next week,

Ellen

Jean-Léon Gérôme, Duel After a Masquerade Ball (Suite d'un bal masqué)

The State Hermitage, Saint Petersburg (Государственный Эрмитаж)

Date: 1859
Technique: Oil on canvas, 68 x 99 cm

Source

A Tribute to African-American Deans in Veterinary Medicine

Posted February 27, 2012
Written by Donald F. Smith, Cornell University

My final blog for February is a celebration and tribute to African-American veterinarians who are currently deans of U.S. veterinary colleges, or have recently served in that capacity.  At a time when fewer than three percent of the veterinary students in the United States are African-American, three of our 28 veterinary colleges are currently led by African-American deans.



Current deans of veterinary medicine (L-R): Willie M. Reed (Purdue), Phillip D. Nelson
(Western University of the Health Sciences) and Tsegaye Habtermariam (Tuskegee).
Photo by the author, 2011



Dr. Willie M. Reed, dean of Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, was raised in Alabama and received his DVM from Tuskegee University in 1978, and PhD from Purdue in 1982. He served as an avian pathologist on the faculty at Purdue, then became director of Michigan State University’s Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory (now called the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health). An accomplished scientist, administrator and champion of diversity, Dr. Reed was attracted back to Purdue as dean in 2007, where he has served both the college and the greater veterinary community with distinction. He is past president of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

The dean of newest veterinary college in the U.S. at Western University of the Health Sciences is Phillip D. Nelson, DVM, PhD. A 1979 veterinary graduate of Tuskegee University with his PhD from North Carolina State University (1993), Dr. Nelson established a career that included research on a feline model for human HIV infection. He held senior administrative positions at Tuskegee University and at Mississippi State’s veterinary college before moving to Western in 2005 and becoming the college’s second dean in 2007. Dr. Nelson is a strong proponent that each student should develop a positive moral compass, and practice the profession with compassion and decency.

Dr. Tsegaye Habtemariam’s journey to becoming Tuskegee’s Dean of Veterinary Medicine and Nursing and Allied Health in 2006 began in his home country of Ethiopia where he received his B.Sc. in 1964. His passion to become a veterinarian led him to the U.S. where he received this DVM from Colorado State University in 1970, and advanced degrees (MPVM and PhD) from the University of California at Davis. Dr. Habtemariam has a distinguished research record in risk analysis with a focus on diseases of agricultural species like Food and Mouth Disease and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (often referred to as “mad cow disease”). He has held numerous prominent international assignments of significant importance to disease surveillance and control.



Dr. Michael Blackwell, veterinary dean,
the University of Tennessee (2000-2007).
Photo provided by Dr. Blackwell



Dr. Michael J. Blackwell was the first African-American to serve as dean of a veterinary college outside of Tuskegee. A second-generation veterinarian—his father was in the second graduating class at Tuskegee—Dr. Blackwell was appointed dean of the veterinary college at the University of Tennessee in 2000 after having been Chief of Staff of the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States.

Dr. Blackwell served as dean with distinction for seven years when he left the university to form The Blackwell Group, a management and venture-capital corporation.


Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

Henry de Groux, Vers la Grotte

Private collection

Date: c. 1900
Technique: Oil on canvas laid on panel, 50 x 60 cm

Source

Oskar Zwintscher, Grief (Gram)

Städtischen Galerie Dresden

Date: 1898
Technique: Oil on canvas, 150.5 x 150.2 cm

Source

John Tenniel, The Nemesis of Neglect

Date: 1888

Cartoon commenting on the Jack the Ripper murders.

The Nemesis of Neglect is a cartoon alluding to the social neglect of the Victorian time. Published in Punch the cartoon illustrates a ghostly figure with “crime” on its head roaming the streets of the city with a dagger. The cartoon reveals the fears during the time of the Whitechapel murders and also the issues in the city arising from lack of police vigilance.

Source

Welcome our new Archivist Librarian!

Greetings! My name is Kent Randell and I am happy to join the team at Albertsons Library here in beautiful Boise. My undergraduate studies were in history and I am excited to serve as the library's liaison to the history department in the fall of 2012. I am particularly interested in American history as well as the immigrant and pioneer experience.

I received my Masters of Science in Information (an ALA-accredited Masters of Library Science), Archives and Records Management Concentration, from the University of Michigan, where I also worked at the Bentley Historical Library. Since graduation I have worked for the State of Nebraska Capitol Collections, my undergraduate alma mater Northern Michigan University, and Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan. I am happiest when digging through the Archives to assist a researcher on any topic. I can't wait to see more of the Idaho wilderness in any season as I am an avid snowshoer and hiker. I am also a music lover and relax by playing my guitar or mandolin.

François-Nicolas Chifflart, The Conscience (La Conscience)

Date: 1877
Technique: Charcoal on paper, 56.7 x 41.4 cm

Illustration for Victor Hugo's La Conscience

The famous Cain poem, written in 1853 and appearing in the 1859 first edition of La Légende des siècles, is an apt rendering of Victor Hugo's moral preoccupations, in this case, the first recordered Biblical murder, when Cain killed his brother Abel. Hugo's short narrative (sixty-eight lines) traces the itinerary of the fleeing Cain who, with his family, seeks asylum from the powerful wrath of Jehovah. The motif of a long voyage, filled with suffering, already exploited by Hugo in the Mazzepa poem of Les Orientales (1829) is here reiterated as a frightening exodus, as Cain, his family, and his descendants seek calm and peace. But for Cain there is none, for he is pursued by the Eye of God. Thus, even when he attempts to bury himself underground, the eye is always there, menacing and judging: L'oeil était dans la tombe et regardait Cain (The eye was in the tomb and kept looking at Cain). This poignant and persistent symbol of a bad conscience, hence the title of the poem, is somewhat akin to similar symbolismus found in the writings of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). Helmut Hatzfeld in his Initiation à l'explication de textes français (Munich: Max Hueber, 1957) speaks of Hugo's success in fusing history and symbolism, making Cain's murder of Abel a very typical Romantic and visionary text.
(John Andrew Frey, A Victor Hugo encyclopedia)

Source

Flavours

When I started this blog a year ago my friend from NY, Jackie, asked me if there were really enough coffee shops in PE to keep a blog going for a while.  I responded with a onfident and enthusiastic, "Yes," figuring "a while" meant six months... tops.  Well, as of last Thursday's Crawl to Flavours, the PE Coffee Crawlers have visited a year's worth of coffee shops.  That's right, 52 and counting!  Who would have thought?

Meet the Owners
Elmarie and Richard Moore

It's not typical for me to do a pre-Crawl scouting trip but when I was out and about early last week doing some errands I found myself in the vicinity of Flavours and decided to check it out.  I had a chance then to talk to owner, Richard Moore about the shop, tell him about the Crawl, and purchase some goodies to take home.  By the time Thursday's Crawl rolled around I was looking forward to a return trip to Flavours to spend some time enjoying a few Sumatran Pride cappuccinos with the Crawlers.

Fudge and cookies wrapped and ready to go!

Flavours is situated in the 17th Quarter on 17th Street in Walmer near GAME.  Richard Moore and his wife, Elmarie, started their bakery/confectionery business from their home a number of years ago.  They eventually outgrew their kitchen and so acquired the 17th Quarter shop from which they have worked for almost two years.  Their primary business is providing homemade fudge, cookies, muffins, scones, savory and sweet pies, and other baked goods to 80 stores in the PE area and as far east as East London and west to Mossel Bay.  Richard and Elmarie operate Flavours Coffee Shop on the premises as well.  The coffee shop's menu includes breakfasts, light lunches, and a variety of hot and cold beverages.  The shop's hours are Mon-Fri, 9-5 and Sat, 9-4.

Along with the bakery, confectionery, and coffee shop the Moores also make lovely gift baskets for all occasions.  Just stop by the shop, choose items from the store's selection of preserves made at local farms, gifts/curios/stationery creations made by talented local artisans, and Flavours' sweets and baked goods to include in a basket, and let Richard and Elmarie do the rest.  With Easter just around the corner one of these beautiful baskets would be the perfect hostess gift.



Meet the Barista
Monique

This Week's Crawlers
Stella, Beryl, June, Beth, Nomusa, Fran
Catherine, Margaret, Keith, Terry
not pictured: Leanne

The Coffee Crawl usually starts at 9:30 on Thursday mornings.  This past Thursday I needed to buy electricity, and make stops at the bank and post office before the Crawl.  So, anticipating heavy traffic and long lines, I left the house way early so as to make it to the Crawl on time.  Well, light traffic and no lines got me to Flavours early...just as the shop was opening.  Margaret Zoetmulder and family members visiting from the UK, Catherine MacFarland and Terry Murphy, were already there and waiting for me.  We were quickly joined by June Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Fran and Keith de Beer, Beth Vieira, Nomusa Nkomo and Leanne Waller.  By 9:30 our barista, Monique, was busy prepping coffees/teas, and Richard was taking orders for breakfast.  The No-Food-On-The-Crawl rule is becoming a distant memory!  While others took advantage of the R15 coffee/muffin special, I took the recommendation of the SA'ns at the table and ordered roosterkoek with jam and cheese... delicious!  My favorite at Flavours, though, are the Hertzog cookies.  If you like coconut with a hint of apricot, these are phenomenal!  I bought some to take home since I finished off the ones I bought earlier in the week.... I see more gym time in my future!

Cappuccino and Hertzog cookies



Cappuccino and Roosterkoek





With a year of Crawls under our belts, Thursday's Crawlers shared stories about all the shops we've visited.  A few have closed and a few we wish would close....   We've met many interesting owners/baristas, had a lot of laughs, enjoyed great coffee and conversation, and made memories that I, for one, will truly cherish. 


~Happy Birthday to Crawler, Beryl Dawson (Feb 22)
~Thank you to Richard and Elmarie Moore and the Flavours' staff
~Thank you to the coffee shop entrepreneurs of PE for providing a year's worth of awesome venues for the
   PE Coffee Crawl
~Thank you to Keith for emailing me a recipe for Hertzog cookies.... with Flavours just down the street I
   won't need to try the recipe until we move back to NY!
~Jackie, when you come to visit I'll give you the choice of where to go for coffee....oh sorry... tea!

Until next week,

Ellen

Arnold Böcklin, Prometheus

Private collection

Date: 1882
Technique: Oil on canvas, 116 x 150 cm

Source

Evelyn de Morgan, The Love Potion

De Morgan Centre, London

Date: 1903
Technique: Oil on canvas, 104.1 x 52.1 cm

Source

Intuition?

Ever feel like you have the lamest super power ever?

I start humming a song, turn on the radio and it just started playing or hear the phone ring before a bill collector calls.

I'm no fluffy bunny but man wouldn't it be awesome if some of the powers of Charmed, Harry Potter, etc were real? At least then I could do something useful...

Feeling a little blah lately, sorry.
My past is catching up with me just like my 2012 horoscope said it would. Everything from ex boyfriends to people I never slept with, wish I had, and now am, to friends confessing their love for me...
Really tired.

Can't wait for the part about how my career is gonna take off and I'm gonna be a monetary success...when is that gonna come to pass Mr. Dragon Horoscope?

Salvator Rosa, Saul and the Witch of Endor

Musée du Louvre, Paris

Date: 1668 (?)
Technique: Oil on canvas, 273 x 193 cm

Source 1
Source 2

Leon Wyczółkowski, Sarkofagi

Muzeum Narodowe, Poznań

Date: 1895
Technique: Oil on canvas

Source

Charles Gilbert-Martin, Death Illuminating Tonkin

Date: 1884

Illustration from Le Don Quichotte magazine.

Charles Gilbert-Martin (1839-1905) founded the caricature periodical Le Don Quichotte in Bordeaux in 1874.

The Tonkin Campaign was a armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there. The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.

Source 1
Source 2
Source 3

Beneš Knüpfer, The Embrace

Private collection

Date: Unknown
Technique: Oil on canvas, 150 x 164 cm

Source

Packing packing packing

Still getting ready for the big move in April.

Here is our large trunk in which we've packed the majority of our metaphysical items and quite a few of our books. We'll have a hell of a time getting across the board of Canada if the troops search this and think we're a bunch of crazy devil worshipers. Oh well, maybe the spirits of travel will be with us.

For those of you who celebrate
Happy Valentines day

I did a Valentine's Tarot reading regarding love and life and received a very in depth reading about upcoming romance.

It seems fate has decided to tie up some loose strings regarding my love life. I've had 2 ex boyfriends try and contact me in the last month - not cool. And I recently had a tryst with a girl I've had a crush on for 4years now (before some of you get confused, Damon and I are polyamourous and both of us slept with her so no one cheated on anyone else). We had hoped that something more would come of this but it doesn't look like it will. So we will stay good friends and move on.

My tarot reading tonight did say that nothing would happen with her but that we will have someone coming into our love life come Beltane (We will already be in Alaska by then so I'm really curious how this will come about).
Some of you may wonder how I get these time frames in my reading. I read intuitively and go by strong emotions and one of them popped into my head hard that it would come on Beltane, to be ready by then.

I also got some news about my career. Recently I've been looking at 2 options I have as far as my career goes. I could go one path which will lead to more schooling and maybe a more stable position. The other will allow me more artistic freedom but some financial instability.
The reading told me that there will be a 3rd option coming along. It didn't say which of the three I will choose, just that I don't only have 2 paths.

My current ally is The Devil and my current enemy is the King of Pentacles/Coins; both were inverted. This is something that is sticking with me strongly from this reading.

So there's my update. I hope you all had a great Vday or Lupercalia.

BB
Dawn

Linga Longa Cafe

One of my fondest memories from my childhood is my mother singing the "oldies" (1910s - 1940s) as she  went about her daily activities of managing a household and raising seven awesome children.  She always seemed to be singing or humming something, and I think oftentimes she didn't even realize she was doing it.  One of her favorites was the 1937 Gershwin song, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off."  As a kid I just thought of it as the "po-ta-to, po-tah-to, to-ma-to, to-mah-to" song.

Meet the Cook, Owner, and Barista
Cleo, Pat and Sylvia

Last Thursday, upon entering Linga Longa Cafe I met owner, Pat de Kock, and she and I got to chatting about the shop.  When I asked what inspired the name "Linga Longa" she said it was the name of a restaurant that she and her husband, Mike, frequented while living in Gaborone, Botswana.  Figuring it meant something in Tswana (official language of Botswana) I asked Pat more about it.  Well, this led to one of those exchanges where each conversant is following a different train of thought from the other.  It took a few minutes before I realized that "Linga Longa" is just the South African accent phonetic spelling of "Linger Longer" .... po-ta-to, po-tah-to, to-ma-to, to-mah-to....  No one else in Thursday's Crawl group seemed to suffer from the same confusion!

Once I got the cafe's name all sorted Pat briefed me on a management change at Linga Longa.  As of this past weekend Pat and Mike passed the torch to Pat's son, George Foley, who is now the shop's owner/manager/chef.  Pat and Mike are pursuing a new business opportunity as managers of the Savoy Hotel in Umtata.  Good luck with this new venture!!!

The brother-sister Linga Longa team
Merelda and George

So, more about Linga Longa Cafe....
The shop is located in the Mercado Centre, 1527 Strandfontein Rd. in Summerstrand.  Pat and Mike opened Linga Longa in April, 2011 with the idea of running a dual purpose establishment, that being a coffee shop and off-site catering business.  Over the past number of months, Pat's daughter, pastry chef Merelda Foley, has added specialty cakes/cupcakes to the business as well.  Merelda has been busy with wedding, birthday and other special occasion cake orders.  Decorating Valentine's cakes kept her hopping on Thursday... check out the pic....beautiful!

Merelda's Valentine Cake



Merelda and her Africa Cake creation



Along with Merelda's cakes and Masterton's coffee beverages prepared by Barista Sylvia, Linga Longa's menu includes breakfasts, light lunches and home-cooked hot meals.  A special Sunday roast for only R45 is served on Sunday afternoons 12-2.  Everything on the menu is available for eat-in, take-away, or off-site catered events.  Also available are party platters and kids' platters.  So many options!  If you choose to eat-in, Linga Longa's hours are 9am-7pm daily.  Patrons can enjoy FREE WiFi on the premises as well as a large screen television with DSTV in the upstairs lounge area. 

Not into computer or TV?... No problem, Linga Longa has an assortment of board games available for customers' use... Rummikub, Scrabble, Backgammon, Trivial Pursuit and more!  After my chat with Pat and on my way to join the Crawlers at the table I happened to eye a Backgammon board perched on a shelf.  I figured I'd get a few games in while enjoying my coffee.  Well, no one at the table knew how to play.  Gail was up for learning, though, and after a few games I think she's hooked.  I love Backgammon and am looking forward to playing someone besides my husband.  He and I have had an ongoing Backgammon tournament for 30-plus years and I believe I'm winning something like 8,365,246 to 8,365,244!

This Week's Crawlers
Beryl, Gail, Jenny, Stella, Keith, Nomusa, Fran, Les

So, after the Backgammon tutorial, this week's Crawlers, Gail Darne, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Jenny Fowler, Les Baldwin, Nomusa Nkomo, and Fran and Keith de Beer, decided to break out the Trivial Pursuit game and just ask questions from the cards.  I never realized how many questions about South Africa are in the game.  I was at a major disadvantage... oh, until Keith found a Scrabble question... right up my alley!  The following dialogue ensued....
     Keith:  "In Scrabble, how many points does the word 'JAW' get on a double word score?"
     Ellen:   (mentally calculating)  J=8, A=1, W=4       13x2=26
     Ellen:   "That would be 26."
     Keith:  "Wrong, it's 20."
     Ellen:   "WHAT?!?   ARE YOU CRAZY? ;  J=8, A=1, W=4 ;  13x2=26"
     Keith:  "Ellen, the word is 'JAW.'"
     Ellen:   "I know... 'JAW'"
     Keith:  "No, 'JAW'"
     Ellen:   "Yeah, 'JAW'"
...and as all the Crawlers started to see (hear) what was happening.....
     Keith:  "Ellen, the word is 'JAW'.... J--A--R."
...cue the Gershwin tune....
    ".....po-ta-to, po-tah-to, to-ma-to, to-mah-to...... Let's Call the Whole Thing Off......

~Thank you to Pat and Mike, George and Merelda - We all had a great time at Linga Longa!
~Happy Valentine's Day to all!!!
~Happy Birthday #24 to my son, Jeff!!!
~Apologies to my sisters who will now have po-ta-toh, po-tah-to, etc stuck in their heads for a few days!

Until next week,

Ellen








Albert Welti, Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht)

Kunsthaus Zürich

Date: 1896/97
Technique: Tempera on wood, 93 x 69 cm

Source

Nikolaos Gyzis, The Spider (Η αράχνη)

National Gallery, Athens (Εθνική Πινακοθήκη)

Date: 1884
Technique: Oil on panel, 71 x 51.5 cm

Source

Richard Cockle Lucas, And scarcely had he Maggie rallied When out the hellish legion sallied

From Tam O'Shanter by Robert Burns.

Source

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Tauromaquia

Musée Historique Lorrain, Nancy

Date: 1894
Technique: Lithography, 54.5 x 73 cm

The cover of a collection of etchings by Francisco de Goya entitled Goya - La Taureaumachie.

Source 1
Source 2
Source 3

comocaffe... New York Deli

Taken on our afternoon game drive at Amakhala

When I started this blog in Feb, 2011 I was very good about getting each coffee shop posted within a day or two of our visit.  In July/August my posts were getting pushed out later which I blamed on the fact that my daughter, Liz, was visiting.  Once September rolled around I found that I had no late post excuses except that "real life" gets in the way.  So, here I am, close to a week after our Wed., Feb 1 Crawl with some "real life" reasons why I didn't post earlier:
             1) Thurs-Fri - overnight at Amakhala Game Reserve- great game sightings and awesome coffee
             2) Sat - power failure...TIA
             3) Sun - watching the Super Bowl XLII (NY Giants/NE Patriots) rerun and the Super Bowl
                          XLVI Pre-game show
             4) Mon - Since we had to record the Super Bowl XLVI (NY Giants/NE Pats ... again!) I didn't get
                            on the computer all day for fear of finding out who won the game before I had a chance
                            to watch it on Monday night.  (Thanks, Jeff, for not texting me with the results!)

It was  a nail biter of a game with the NY Giants winning 21-17!  WooHoo!!!!...... and NY celebrates!

Another great NY story can be found right here in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa, that being the January 22, 2012 opening of comocaffe... New York Deli located at 86 Heugh Rd. in Walmer.  There could not have been a better venue for Coffee Crawl #50!  Owner Minas Mandis spent a few years in New York City (NYC) and, upon returning to SA, decided to bring a bit of The Big Apple to PE.  Well Minas, you nailed it.....the furnishings, decor, Little Italy theme, amazing menu, deli and bagels... the pentultimate NY deli!  comocaffe is named after Lago di Como (Lake Como) situated in the Northern Lakes District in Italy near the Swiss border.  Along with a wall painting of the famous NYC skyline, adorning the walls of the shop are fun maps of Italy and large framed photos of NYC brought here directly from NY.  Minas' attention to detail makes this shop so authentic.  Even the ellipsis in the logo consists of a basil leaf, a mozzarella ball and a tomato in the colors of the Italian flag... brilliant!!!

Meet the Owners
Minas and Ari

Meet the Waitress and Barista
Lee-anne and Sisa

comocaffe is sandwiched between Gates to Africa Leather Furniture and The Cotton Mill Interiors, both owned and operated by Minas' brother, Ari.  The shop's hours are Tues-Fri, 7:30am - 6:30pm and Sat-Sun, 8:30 - 4:00.  The menu includes breakfast (served weekdays until 11:30), and a wide variety of sandwiches, burgers, salads, antipasti, dips and desserts.  Liz, when you come to visit in June you may find the "Hell's Kitchen" burger worth investigating.  Everything on the menu looked so tempting that for the third week in a row a number of the Crawlers broke the No-Food-On-The-Crawl rule.  I had the Apple Pear Crumble with Caramel Sauce...delizioso!  We all kept our waitress, Lee-anne hopping and she she was all service with a smile.  I am definitely planning a return visit to comocaffe to check out the Weekend Brunch Special (Sat-Sun, 9:00-2:30) which includes a complimentary Bloody Mary or Mimosa.  What a way to get the weekend started!




This Week's Crawlers
Tolla, Sylvia, Keith, Stella, Beryl, June,
Leanne, Gail, Fran, Belinda, Maureen, Nomusa



Sisa demonstrating his barista skills



With all this talk of food I haven't even mentioned the coffee.  Our barista on Wednesday was none other than PE Barista Champ, Sisa, who we met a number of months ago.  He was as amazing as ever as he demonstrated his skills tableside again for us.  My LavAzza cappuccino was incredible as was the iced caramel macchiato I ordered because it was hot..hot..hot on Wednesday.  Sisa is competing in the SA National Barista Competition in March in Cape Town.  Good luck, Sisa!!!

As was mentioned earlier, our visit to comocaffe was PE Coffee Crawl #50!  Joining me to celebrate the occasion were Gail Darne, Nomusa Nkomo, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Sylvia Mynhardt, Fran and Keith de Beer, June Nash, Leanne Waller, Belinda Waller, Tolla and Maureen Koetze.  Nomusa came bearing gifts for the Crawlers in the form of granadillas (passion fruit) from her garden/orchard...yummy.  Thank you, Nomusa!

Talk at the table ended up mostly being about how much we all liked comocaffe.... oh, and chocolate.  Speaking of "liking,"...., Minas asks all (Crawlers and Readers alike) to please "like" his shop on Facebook <facebook.com/comocaffe>     All I can say to that, Minas, is that it is too bad there's not a "love it" on facebook!

~Thank you to Minas, Sisa and Lee-anne for making Crawl #50 a memorable one!
~Thank you to all the Crawlers for making the first 50 Crawls so much fun.  Here's to 50 more!
~Thank you to Kerry and Steve at Amakhala Game Reserve... tremendous game drives!
~Congrats to Super Bowl XLVI Champs, the NY Giants!

Until next week,

Ellen