Kerry Matthews
Well-Known Member
As I stated in my tranny post a couple of days ago, it's been a tough week.
I drove past Ford today, and my truck hasn't moved from the spot where the wrecker dropped it off on Tuesday afternoon. I called, and they said "Saturday"... So I'm still out a ride, and I'll be out $2300 when it's done.
You know what? That's the least of my problems this week. In fact, ALL my problems seem insignificant right now... I've got transportation to get by... (No, I'm not driving the 2 GT's...) But I did "trade up" as I gave the Sububan to my brother to drive, and I have my mom's '04 Escalade right now. Nice rig. But I wish SHE was driving it...
Unfortunately, my mom has been quite ill the last couple of months, and she passed away Wednesday morning.
I've been doing well most of the time, as I've been mentally preparing for this day for 25 years. But there are those moments...
Guess I'm fully into the 'Work Later' part of the program now...
I copied this off the Sacramento Bee's webpage. It's running in Friday's Metro section. You have to register to read it, but it's free.
Zelda M. Breslin, the colorful proprietor of a midtown pizzeria who introduced Sacramento to deep-dish pies and ruled her restaurant with a no-nonsense approach to cooking and customer service, has died.
Mrs. Breslin, who opened Zelda's Original Gourmet Pizza in 1978, died Wednesday of complications from previous health problems, including heart surgery last year and a recent stroke, said her son, Kerry Matthews. She was 67.
For almost three decades, she was the doyenne of deep-dish pizza at Zelda's. She cooked, wiped tables and cracked jokes with customers who came from as far as the Bay Area to taste or take home thick-crust pizzas. She was a traditionalist, shunning nouvelle cuisine and sticking with traditional meat and vegetable toppings smothered in thick cheese and served bubbling hot in blackened cake pans.
"She built the place from the ground up," said George K. Deukmejian, a frequent customer and longtime friend. "She had friends come in there who ranged all over the map ... from KC of KC and the Sunshine Band to homeless guys in the alley."
Mrs. Breslin never advertised, relying on word of mouth to attract crowds of neighborhood residents, college students and suburban families to the dark, crowded pizza joint.
She ran a tight ship, riding herd on restless customers waiting in line, discouraging patrons from lingering after meals and insisting on payment in cash only.
"A lot of people said she was rude, but it was really her sense of humor," her son said. "There'd be a couple at a table holding up closing. She'd go up to the girl and say, 'You know he's just handing you a line, so why don't you take this out in the parking lot?' and start clearing the table."
She was born and raised in a family of 12 on a farm in Ottawa, Ill. She was christened by her father, who went to the racetrack the day she was born and bet on a winning horse named Zelda M. When she was a teenager, he sent her to live with relatives in Sacramento, where she graduated from St. Francis High School.
She returned to Illinois and waitressed at a downtown Chicago pizzeria for about 20 years. She married Edward J. Breslin, a Chicago Tribune driver, and decided to return to California on a mission to bring Chicago-style pizza to Sacramento.
Zelda's opened on 21st Street to disappointing business, and the couple considered bankruptcy.
"It didn't go over well at first," recalled her sister, Linda Ellington. "Californians didn't like thick, deep-dish pizza. They were used to picking up little pieces served on tissue paper."
Timely reviews by The Bee and a local TV program brought customers to try out the new restaurant. Business grew through word of mouth, and Zelda's became a Sacramento institution.
Mrs. Breslin, whose husb
I drove past Ford today, and my truck hasn't moved from the spot where the wrecker dropped it off on Tuesday afternoon. I called, and they said "Saturday"... So I'm still out a ride, and I'll be out $2300 when it's done.
You know what? That's the least of my problems this week. In fact, ALL my problems seem insignificant right now... I've got transportation to get by... (No, I'm not driving the 2 GT's...) But I did "trade up" as I gave the Sububan to my brother to drive, and I have my mom's '04 Escalade right now. Nice rig. But I wish SHE was driving it...
Unfortunately, my mom has been quite ill the last couple of months, and she passed away Wednesday morning.
I've been doing well most of the time, as I've been mentally preparing for this day for 25 years. But there are those moments...
Guess I'm fully into the 'Work Later' part of the program now...
I copied this off the Sacramento Bee's webpage. It's running in Friday's Metro section. You have to register to read it, but it's free.
Zelda M. Breslin, the colorful proprietor of a midtown pizzeria who introduced Sacramento to deep-dish pies and ruled her restaurant with a no-nonsense approach to cooking and customer service, has died.
Mrs. Breslin, who opened Zelda's Original Gourmet Pizza in 1978, died Wednesday of complications from previous health problems, including heart surgery last year and a recent stroke, said her son, Kerry Matthews. She was 67.
For almost three decades, she was the doyenne of deep-dish pizza at Zelda's. She cooked, wiped tables and cracked jokes with customers who came from as far as the Bay Area to taste or take home thick-crust pizzas. She was a traditionalist, shunning nouvelle cuisine and sticking with traditional meat and vegetable toppings smothered in thick cheese and served bubbling hot in blackened cake pans.
"She built the place from the ground up," said George K. Deukmejian, a frequent customer and longtime friend. "She had friends come in there who ranged all over the map ... from KC of KC and the Sunshine Band to homeless guys in the alley."
Mrs. Breslin never advertised, relying on word of mouth to attract crowds of neighborhood residents, college students and suburban families to the dark, crowded pizza joint.
She ran a tight ship, riding herd on restless customers waiting in line, discouraging patrons from lingering after meals and insisting on payment in cash only.
"A lot of people said she was rude, but it was really her sense of humor," her son said. "There'd be a couple at a table holding up closing. She'd go up to the girl and say, 'You know he's just handing you a line, so why don't you take this out in the parking lot?' and start clearing the table."
She was born and raised in a family of 12 on a farm in Ottawa, Ill. She was christened by her father, who went to the racetrack the day she was born and bet on a winning horse named Zelda M. When she was a teenager, he sent her to live with relatives in Sacramento, where she graduated from St. Francis High School.
She returned to Illinois and waitressed at a downtown Chicago pizzeria for about 20 years. She married Edward J. Breslin, a Chicago Tribune driver, and decided to return to California on a mission to bring Chicago-style pizza to Sacramento.
Zelda's opened on 21st Street to disappointing business, and the couple considered bankruptcy.
"It didn't go over well at first," recalled her sister, Linda Ellington. "Californians didn't like thick, deep-dish pizza. They were used to picking up little pieces served on tissue paper."
Timely reviews by The Bee and a local TV program brought customers to try out the new restaurant. Business grew through word of mouth, and Zelda's became a Sacramento institution.
Mrs. Breslin, whose husb
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