Straighten up and fly right

Remember the commander in Top Gun? The bald guy that’s constantly sucking on a cigar with that pissed off, old man, chip-on-his-shoulder attitude? I looked up Top Gun on IMDB and it turns out his name is Stinger.

I think Congress could really use him right now. Correction: I think we could really use him yelling at Congress. While driving home from work yesterday, I heard on the radio that the government has spent a trillion dollars in the last few weeks—money that, surprise, they don’t have. Was there ever a time when a short, bald, pissed off man was more needed to say “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash!”

James Tolkan is the actor who played Stinger. It’d be nice to hire him for the occasion. Have him walk on in to the Capitol Building and start kicking ass and taking names. Congress needs to get their act together. What are we on any way? Draft 471 of the bailout?

I don’t want to hear anymore of this “It’s the Republicans’ fault it hasn’t gotten passed yet” and “The Democrats aren’t helping; they’re going to make the problem worse!” I feel like I’m dealing with two children and I want to smack them both. I’m not suggesting that they slap together some half-assed stimulus package but the economy is going down faster than Monica Lewinsky.

We can’t wait any longer. Remember when Hollywood’s plane goes down and Stinger asks how long it will take to get another plane in the air? “Bullshit ten minutes! This thing is going to be over in two minutes! Get on it!”

Of course, the only people who are going to check Congress—and Obama, for that matter—are us. We are, collectively, Stinger. It’s up to us to impress upon each one of them that if they don’t work together; if they don’t stop being politicians and start being statesmen; “if you screw up just this much, you’ll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog sh*t out of Hong Kong!”

Link to

Jamie Lee Curtis' post, yesterday.

Hendrika's Cafe

Few places can give you that feeling of warmth and sunshine when it’s cold and grey outside. Hendrika’s Café & Coffee, on the corner of Broadway and Farewell is one of those places that can. The café’s giant paned windows let in a lot of light and remind you of a sunroom. The walls are a warm, golden yellow so that even when it’s cloudy outside, it seems sunny inside. Little wooden tables and chairs fill the main room. Adjoining it is another room with more 60s-style tables and chairs. Each has its own vibe, but it’s the main room that I like best. A counter with stools divides the room in half, separating the kitchen—which occupies the back half of the room—from the little tables and chairs that occupy the front half. A long strip of blackboard runs above the counter, just below the ceiling. In sweet, slightly cursive handwriting the drink offerings are listed in different colors of chalk and accompanied by drawings of cups and saucers.

The menu is not extensive but it feels complete, covering all the bases for lunch and breakfast. Everything is made in-house that day—a big thing for me since I once worked at a place in town, where nothing was made on-site, but ordered days in advance from some deli or catering company. At Hendrika’s, the owner gets in around six every morning to start work on that day’s soup offerings.

So many times I want something fresh, homemade and moderately priced for lunch, but it’s hard to satisfy all of those requirements. Inevitably, quality and tastiness become secondary to cost. At Hendrika’s, I don’t have to make a choice between the two; the menu is reasonably-priced. I love when I can get a pot of tea for a $1.65. Breakfast is served all day long and for $3.50, you can get two eggs, any style, with toast and fruit. Sandwiches are $6-7 and they come with pasta salad and a pickle. The Parisian is good. A layer of caramelized apples is spread on French bread; warm ham and brie are served on top with spicy mustard.

In addition to serving breakfast and lunch, they have a wide array of drink selections. Just about anything can be taken to-go. The place is so inviting though, you may just want to stay. I once sat contently at a corner table for an hour and a half with a notebook, a bowl of split pea soup, and a small pot of English Breakfast. I stayed there, writing, until my tea was completely gone—and no one seemed to mind. That’s the kind of place it is. Previously, I’ve blogged about my quest to find “a spot.” Hendrika’s is the closest thing I can find to that in Newport.

Why Rhode Tripping?

I wanted a versatile blog—one that would allow me to express my varied interests.

I wanted an outlet where I could share my opinions on some of the restaurants, cafes, and eateries in town. So much is out there but so little of it is worth the money. Regardless of the experience, I like talking about it. Either it’s great and I want to tell people, “Go here,” or it sucked, and I have to get it off my chest.

I wanted to ruminate on the environment and all things eco-friendly. There’s a lot of talk about it, but not a lot of meaningful things being said. Turning off the lights, driving as little as possible, turning the thermostat down two degrees in winter, these are all obvious things we do because none of us want to spend more money than necessary. However, when it comes to organic apples and organic lotion, it doesn’t cost less to go green, it costs more. Then again, with the tomato and jalapeño pepper recalls last year, we start thinking, “Maybe it’s worth it.” The recession highlights the complexity of the issue at hand: the economics versus the environment. What is worth it and where do you draw the line?

I also wanted to leave room for the oddball topics that I couldn’t not blog about. Politics is not something I have a great interest in writing about, but on occasion something happens that I feel compelled to write about. Same is true for a lot of other things.

Rhode Tripping was born. The double pun allowed me to cohesively bring together my various interests under the same umbrella. First: road tripping in Rhode Island; second: trippin’ on anything, but doing it while living in Rhode Island.