The Rest of the Hole Story

When was the last time you had a doughnut? No, not a roll, a doughnut?

We have come to believe that any pastry that is round and made from dough is a doughnut. That is not so. Having grown up in a doughnut shop, not a bakery, the son of doughnut makers, I think I know doughnuts. The delicious globs of dough with a HOLE in them are what I am talking about. Not some blob of dough that is deep fried or baked and has some kind of glaze on it. Doughnuts have holes, let's get that straight. And, depending on how you like them, they are either raised or yeast, or cake.

Personally, I prefer cake. The yeast seem to be just a little too airy for me. Krispie Kreme doughnuts are just not right. They melt in your mouth and have some kind of gooey goodness to them and the icing sticks to your fingers. Krispie Kreme has to give away their doughnuts to get you started. What does that say for their product? Mister Doughnut cake doughnuts are almost perfect. Their doughnuts do a have a certain heaviness which is not that great, and the orbs seem to be a little overpriced. Mister Doughnut now serves breakfast, too. So, are they a doughnut shop, a bakery, or a sandwich shop? They can't decide. With them, it is all about market share.

I can remember the days when my parents sold a cup of coffee and two doughnuts for a quarter. Now, those doughnuts were the best! Just ask anyone who grew up in Hoopeston in the 50s, 60s or 70s. Mom and Dad made the doughnuts fresh every day in full view of their customers with their Lincoln Model Doughnut Machine that was made by the Doughnut Corporation of America. There was a piece of American Manufacturing ingenuity! That machine made over a million doughnuts in its lifetime. The best part about these deliciously mouthwatering morsels? They were fried in LARD! No shortening until about the mid 60s. Those bad boys did not rest in your stomach, they took up residence! But they were so good doing down, and you barely felt them until hours later. I used to eat a half dozen for breakfast! Hence, my nickname, Doughnut.

People would call ahead and put their order in. This was in the day before Hoopeston had dial phones. You would pick up the phone, the operator would say, "Number Please..." and you would tell her what number you wanted. She would then find the right hole and put a plug in and connect you with your number. The number for our Do-Nut Shop was also our home phone. Our number? Why 503, of course.

So, there you have it; the story behind my blog name The Doughnut Hole 503. Or Doughnut...Hole 503.

Doughnut 503

Have you already read this?

John Denver sang, "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy..." That is exactly the way I feel today.

I had knee surgery last Wednesday. Nothing serious, just a clean up and a lube job. I was in by 10 and home by 1. A quickie. Not the usual kind, just the kind that makes you move better and enhances the output of endorphines. I was stiff for a while, but that has seemed to have worn off. Now I am back to my old, wacko self.

I found it funny, though, that as I was doing some research for my book, "As You Ramble On Through Life Brother" I discovered that as I was on the operating table in a death-like state, it was the anniversary of the death of my Grandfather, James R. Shields, whom I never met. Now, I have had a lot of surgeries, but for some reason, I was at peace before and after this one. Now I know why.

I truly believe in paranormal things. I mean, after all, I witnessed my mother talking to my dead father one evening as she lay in the hospital on a respirator fighting for her life. She fully recovered the next day and when I asked who she was talking to, she replied, "Your father" I reminded her that Dad had died and she said, "I know, he told me it was not time yet." And, I saw a teacher friend walk through the PBL High School gym just a few days after we held his funeral there. I yelled hello at him before I realized he was dead. He nodded back and kept on walking.

Ever have that feeling of having been there? Or having something happen that you remember already happening...Deja Vu...Maybe there was a hole in the time-space continuum and you leaped. Ever met someone that you felt immediately comfortable with...like you have met them before, or maybe been around them, but you know you have not? (insert Twilight Zone music here) Love at first sight... what is that all about? Is it really your first sighting of the person?

Here I am, in the Valley of the Sun with triple digit heat daily and short haircut. Maybe I have absorbed too much Vitamin D, or had my brain fried. But thinking about all the people I miss and will meet again, makes me happy.

Right now, some of you are thinking, "I read this already." Maybe you have.

Don Shields

The New Adventure

Today is the first day of my new adventure into blogging. I know, you think that this is going to be just another old man whining about life. WRONG! I am going to whine about everything! I have discovered through my adventures that there are many types of people and places and ideas which go from the mundane to abstruse. I hope that some of you get into reading this daily, and I hope that somehow I spur some thought from you. You want to make comments, fine, but do so in an intelligent manner without name calling and banalities. I'm here to hone my writing skills, what are you here for? If you expect some existential thought that will change your life, that is possible. But highly improbable. If you expect me to give you an epiphany, you will have to pay for the happy ending.

This is an exercise in thought for both me and the reader. You might agree and you might not. I don't really care. I am not here to debate with you. Sit back, relax, enjoy the ride. Together we may not change the world, but understanding it is a key to getting along. Have fun, because I surely will.

Doughnut 503