Cottman,Crawford and the Jersey guy.
Two Brooklyn born gen X guys and a Jersey millennial shooting the shit. Talking about everything and anything. Ready to hear topic suggestions for future podcasts and feedback on those we have recorded. Follow and Like us on FaceBook & Instagram. Email: CCandNJGuy@Gmail.com
Cottman,Crawford and the Jersey guy.
Celebrating Festive Memories: Holiday Traditions, Timeless Movies, and Nostalgic Gifts
Have you ever cranked up the air conditioning in December just to set the perfect Christmas mood? Join us as Frankie returns for his third appearance, bringing with him a sackful of holiday cheer and stories. We journey through the season's diverse festivities, from Christmas and Hanukkah to Kwanzaa and even Festivus, sharing heartfelt family tales and the warmth that makes this time of year truly special. This episode is all about unity, laughter, and the peace that wraps us all up in a cozy end-of-year blanket.
Our conversation takes a festive twist with a spirited debate on whether "Die Hard" fits the bill as a Christmas movie. We dive into nostalgic films like "It's a Wonderful Life" and modern favorites such as "Elf," sparking memories of beloved family traditions. Frankie shares how his family has turned watching "A Christmas Carol" into an annual event, with Bill Murray's "Scrooged" adding a humorous twist to the classic tale. These cherished films become the backdrop for reminiscing about tree lightings and Santa parades, capturing the magic that defines this merry season.
Reflecting on childhood Christmases, we swap stories of unwrapping Nintendo consoles and $6 million man toys, feeling the chill of those Northeastern winters. The 80s and 90s come alive as we recall daring adventures on dirt bikes and the fearless spirit of Gen X kids. From the joy of holiday songs by Sinatra and Tony Bennett to the laughter sparked by holiday memes, this episode celebrates the shared joy and nostalgia that make the holidays unforgettable. Join us, and let's unwrap some memories together!
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It's the holidays yes, merry Christmas, merry Christmas son of a you like that, you like that, you like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the happy season of all yeah so we
Speaker 1:have a guest with us tonight yes, welcome guest and it's also gonna be his third time as well is it three times already?
Speaker 2:yes, we gotta get him out of here. We have two tied right now.
Speaker 1:Frankie, how are you, my friend?
Speaker 4:Gentlemen, how we doing, how you doing. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Holidays, happy Festivus for the rest of us.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's my favorite Festivus. For the rest of us, yes.
Speaker 4:That's my favorite Festivus for the rest of us, man.
Speaker 2:Yes, how you doing, frank, everything good brother.
Speaker 4:Everything's great. Thank you, yes, hey, you know what?
Speaker 3:If we're going to do Festivus, we have to do the airing of grievances.
Speaker 4:I had a lot of you people, that's right.
Speaker 2:And, and you're gonna hear about it, yeah, that was the best man, that was the best, yeah, so lu tell us what today's episode is about. Brother, the holidays, oh, you did say the holidays, my fault, yeah, what happens.
Speaker 1:We got a little bit technical difficulties. No, no, we got too cheery before the show started. Exactly what happened.
Speaker 2:So we're already, uh, festive, yes that's right, guys, but I appreciate everybody for being here. Thank you, frank, for coming on. Brother, I'm glad you had time to hang out with us again yeah, hey, listen, I'm, I'm, I'm honored a third time.
Speaker 4:Let me uh, let me tell you I'm uh very, very happy to be uh chat with you guys finishing off the year, right yes, definitely, definitely, yeah, man.
Speaker 2:So today's episode, like we said, is about christmas well, well, no, the holidays oh, the holidays.
Speaker 4:Okay, Christmas is the main holiday of course we don't know why I mean then everybody else falls into place.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 1:Hanukkah Little Christmas.
Speaker 3:Festivus, festivus.
Speaker 1:I believe. What is the other one, hanukkah? I mean, what's the other one, hanukkah?
Speaker 2:What's the other one, there's one more.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Christmas, hanukkah.
Speaker 3:Kwanzaa, kwanzaa.
Speaker 1:Kwanzaa's at the end of the month. Hanukkah and Christmas are on the same day this year On the 25th and then everything else just follows how. It's how they follow the holiday, because everybody follows it at a different time. Yep, yep, yep, I think Little Christmas is in the beginning of January.
Speaker 2:What's Little?
Speaker 1:Christmas. It's a Greek, well, Greek Orthodox. Greek Orthodox.
Speaker 2:Oh, because I know for the Spanish it's January 6th, is Three Kings Day. Yeah, and that one too.
Speaker 4:Yeah, exactly yeah, they're all very similar.
Speaker 1:So my point is just that, it's everybody's.
Speaker 3:And Huel. If you're pagan, huel, let's not forget Huel. Yeah, that's right, don't forget pagan.
Speaker 1:Everybody's got a holiday to celebrate so it's nice, it's just not the one, but it's all of them which is good.
Speaker 2:Well, this is the grooviest time of the year and Frank you can speak on too, because I mean, you know what? This is the one time of the year where, no matter what race, creed or religion you are, that everybody's at some kind of peace ahead, tom.
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, you know also, it's like the end of the year, so you. It's usually like a time to reflect on the whole year, right, exactly you know, let's look at what happened, but we do in 2024 yeah, like that kind of thing too, so yeah, yeah, no for sure, yeah, no for sure.
Speaker 4:And then you know it doesn't matter which of the holidays, and each one means something special to whoever is. You know what you were brought up in life, but you know it's just that one special time of year where everybody is just chill and everybody. You know it's the kind of thing where you wish everybody was like that almost every day of every you know, each year, and you know, yeah, it's just always so wonderful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, definitely, man. What are you guys doing over there in Tennessee?
Speaker 4:Oh, we're fighting the cold right now. It was a little chilly today, but we're hanging in there. But we're getting excited because we're buttoning things up here and we're heading back down to Florida to be with family. We miss our family so much. You know as hard as we're trying to build something up here with the hope that they'll all be here one day.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 4:We just you know, we want to get back there and just celebrate the holiday.
Speaker 2:Oh, so you're going to Florida for the holidays. Oh, yeah, oh yeah, yeah, Cool okay.
Speaker 4:My three. You know, my daughters are down there my mom and dad, my brother, which you know, louie, is a close second to him. You know, it's just about getting back down there and you know it's funny. You know, I'm 56 years old now, but when I go back there, and even though I have my children, it's the time of the year where I can actually revert back to when I was like five years old.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, cutting open the presents you know, while mom and dad was sleeping.
Speaker 4:Oh, you know, my brother and I would grab a razor blade or a knife and we cut open the gifts to find out what we're getting the next morning, because we just couldn't wait an extra four hours you know some good times yeah that really.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's like such a great time. Growing up as a kid you know that christmas and presents and wow at that.
Speaker 4:I mean it's like something magical about that, you know you know, yeah, I mean the presents are great and I know, I don't know if it's about getting older, but you start to remember about all the family get-togethers, yeah for sure. And you know people that may or may not be with us now and you're just so thankful. You know, it's just a wonderful time of year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, Be thankful for all that. We got brother man. That's it. You had a question, bro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, oh good yeah, I'm just thinking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, this was like 2024 for me was a hard-ass year, bro. It was serious. So right now, like I said, laughing, joking, having a good time and being here, you know year, you know it was still.
Speaker 4:You know it was groovy.
Speaker 2:You get to spend it with family and such. So yeah, frank, you're on the money, brother.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm talking about but I think it's been like like kind of up and down you know like oh yeah no, no definitely, you know which is good, it's that roller coaster ebbs and flows yeah it just I will and
Speaker 2:hopefully, you know, you just go, just continue yeah, I gotta be easy, bro, because I get super hyper and excited, so I always try to keep myself calm down. Yeah, yeah, for the holidays especially. Yeah, dude, it's insane, I love it. Yeah, I do, I love the holidays. I don't tell the missus too much that I love it, because then you know, well, now she's going to hit the podcast.
Speaker 4:You know what, kenny, don't ever change that, brother. That's the good stuff, man. You know, if you could, if I had a choice of you know, I don't know going into a store and they say, oh, you keep buy a million dollars worth of stuff, or having those memories, those that I would pick the memory time and time again, oh, yeah, absolutely definitely, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah it was fun, even though I was a kid, like you know, just thinking about because I mean brooklyn, you know, you with jersey, you also in brooklyn, frank, in brooklyn, you know it was like the, the, the fun, the thing. It was the little, the little things, the small things that we didn't even think about, and now those are our biggest memories.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you know what I mean yeah, well, I mean you know when, you know when we were kids, and, louis, you may remember, when we were kids, I mean when christmas time came around, it was like the perfect opportunity.
Speaker 4:Dad's like, okay, jump in the car, jump in the cat, do we're gonna drive up and down in Bay Ridge and we're going to see all the Christmas lights, which were phenomenal, and you know there's still an area that does that still to this day, which is incredible. But then, as you got older, you started venturing into Manhattan and when you got to the city during Christmas time as much bad as you you know you've heard or throughout the year, that you know this specific time you can go into the city and it's just absolutely magical. Now I haven't been there in a few years Dica Heights man, you go up there and you would see these houses that were ridiculous.
Speaker 3:Absolutely yeah for us, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:You just go up there and walk the neighborhood because that's how nice it was, or you drove like if it was cold.
Speaker 2:Right right right.
Speaker 3:You know your parents could put you in the car. Obviously we weren't driving because at that time they were larger homes but they would go crazy. The one guy he would start doing his decorations in October, start putting them up and he had this whole house. He had this big, huge property on a lake and he had a lot of Elvis characters.
Speaker 4:Because I think he was an Elvis impersonator, or something like that, so his house had all.
Speaker 3:Elvis-themed stuff.
Speaker 1:Which you kind of drive through the whole neighborhood was like that. People would just drive around. I love that.
Speaker 1:That was one of my favorite things of the holiday growing up and my father would be in the hallway decorating, he would have his records playing and he had everything already set up where he knew what was going on. It was always the same thing, but it always looked nice and it looked good. The menorah was on the other side of the building. Yeah, then you had the rudolph on the wall and he had all these different things and he's got his records playing and he's listening to the music yeah you know which is yeah.
Speaker 4:He, yeah, he always took pride in that. That's uh, and, and that's what I'm talking about. Right, you know, memories are the greatest thing. Not that you're not looking forward to creating new memories right but you know you. The older you get, you think about the older stuff and it just makes you enjoy the new memory that's created that much more.
Speaker 1:Right. And then it reminds you of an old one. Whatever's happening, it just pops in your head and you're like, oh, this reminds me of so-and-so when we were little, and whatever it might be. I get that all the time, but I love that. That's what's so great about having that where it's be. You know, I get that all the time, but I love that. That's what's great about having that where it's there. You didn't lose it, right. But then something just gets it going and you know you're like, oh, that's cool, nice.
Speaker 4:Well, you know it's also about, you know, passing on to the younger generations. You know the the gifts that we've been given in life. I know my daughters, all three of them. They're just have this ingrained in them over. You know the time growing up of stuff and seeing what Nancy and I have done during Christmas time and you know you get that and you know the season to start when you know you get that and you know the season to start when you know starts when your daughter sends you a text.
Speaker 4:Oh, 53 days to Christmas you know, and you just have this kind of countdown.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, it's just awesome yeah. Hey, you know what I figure we could talk about? We could talk about what's your favorite Christmas movies.
Speaker 4:Movies.
Speaker 1:So maybe we can all go around and talk about. I have so many different things in my head, die Hard.
Speaker 3:Let's do like I know. You know what's funny Before we talk about that.
Speaker 1:It's a Wonderful Life is probably one of my favorites.
Speaker 3:Before we talk about it if Die Hard is a Christmas movie, there's this new movie on Netflix Carry On no, oh, it's weird, jason, oh, that's uh, justin bateman, jason bateman, yeah, but anyway, it takes place during christmas and stuff like that. So like if die hard's a christmas movie.
Speaker 2:That's a christmas movie.
Speaker 3:Yeah, right, right, exactly, but um yeah, I figured like we should name like our top three favorite christmas. Maybe we'll talk about that a little bit okay okay sure so like I'll start so uh my top three would be Christmas Story. Right, because that's the movie I kind of grew up with.
Speaker 1:I love that show.
Speaker 3:A lot of it's just stuff.
Speaker 1:That's already probably all our top three right now I'm thinking Christmas Vacation. Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Chevy Chase.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Yeah, fucking classic.
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely, and then, one's a newer movie, elf, and then one's a newer movie, elf. Oh, elf, that's my top three. I would think Elf is for me. We watch it every year. For me, right.
Speaker 1:Those are great and it's in my top five for sure. But it's a Wonderful Life is definitely would be three on me.
Speaker 3:Okay, so what is so? What do you got? So it's Wonderful.
Speaker 1:Life. It's Wonderful Life, right, you just named pretty much to the Christmas story.
Speaker 3:I like or Christmas Vacation or Elf. I love Elf, elf is great.
Speaker 1:Which would be three? Which would be three? Right, okay, fair enough. What do you?
Speaker 2:think Ken. Oh, for me my number one movie is it's a Wonderful.
Speaker 1:Life Okay.
Speaker 4:I can recite that movie. I like that movie. Yeah, that's my favorite.
Speaker 2:It's not my mandatory shit every year. Bro, Gotta watch it and then Die Hard. And then the Christmas Story. Christmas Story, what do you got? What do you got, frank? What are your three movies?
Speaker 4:I gotta tell you you guys are definitely hitting on all of the right movies, I'd say my top three, three being Elf, two being Christmas Vacation. But one you guys didn't mention is and it's a family thing, because you know it's something we throw on a Christmas Eve when everybody's stuffed and fallen asleep, but it's a Christmas Carol, um, most people know it as Scrooge.
Speaker 1:I forgot about that. That's on the top five.
Speaker 4:You know, the thing is there to us, that's my five. And again, it's a tradition thing.
Speaker 3:Which one.
Speaker 4:The only one that exists, which?
Speaker 2:is your favorite.
Speaker 1:Right, but which one? That's the black and white one.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, that's the black and white one. I mean they colorized it, but it's like watching a Disney cartoon. That's the best one. That's the best one. That's the best one. That's a good one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's definitely the best one, but I do like not to interrupt you. Frank Scrooge with Jim Carrey the animated.
Speaker 4:I watch it every year because I love it.
Speaker 1:It's really a favorite, probably in my top 10. Yeah, oh, okay.
Speaker 4:No, no, he does it really well. Yeah, that was definitely a good one, but honestly not that. I'm thinking about my girls. I could tell you the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol it's just as good.
Speaker 3:They all bring the same tears to your eyes and just makes you feel good internally, which is a great thing being a kid in the 80s, so like I grew up with Scrooged with Bill Murray, oh yeah, one of my favorites. Absolutely, it was so weird because, instead of it being traditional, it was updated.
Speaker 4:It was like a weird taxi cab driver for the past. His boss kicks the cab.
Speaker 2:Yeah and then that lady, that weird fairy oh, I loved her. She was from Taxi, yeah.
Speaker 4:Dude Like that weird fairy.
Speaker 2:Oh, I loved her. She was from Taxi.
Speaker 4:Yeah, dude, that is so you know. Look, christmas movies, there's a ton of them, and that probably was the first one that my wife and I watched, because we're like, okay, it's after Thanksgiving. My wife has a very strict rule no Christmas movies or Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. Thank you.
Speaker 3:I agree.
Speaker 4:I agree.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm the same way.
Speaker 4:I'm the same way. So it was the day after Thanksgiving. I think Scrooge was probably the first one that we watched, because that is just incredible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good movie man Bill Murray's the best bro.
Speaker 2:Yeah, over here by me in Middletown they have a tree lighting thing, a parade and all that stuff. In Middletown there's an old school movie theater. They used to show it's a Wonderful Life. So even the kids are like it's a wonderful life and everybody's running. I'm trying to get to the. I'm like kicking little kids out the way trying to get in there.
Speaker 3:I've seen that one Colorize too.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, I don't like the Colorize one but the movies they did. They played the original, the black and white one.
Speaker 1:They didn't do it this year, bro. Yeah, you know, fire department drives around with Santa on the back on the truck. Yeah, they do that and they drive around and they go through all the neighborhoods with Santa, with the sirens and everything.
Speaker 2:Oh no, kidding, yeah. And everybody comes out and they're used to Santa, that's groovy yeah.
Speaker 3:In my town they did that and they used to give out these giant candy canes. Yeah, they were like the giant size ones.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, hey. But you bro for you out there in tennessee, how different is christmas?
Speaker 4:for you in tennessee than it is when you're living over here in brooklyn or in florida?
Speaker 2:yep, or in florida. Like which one is like how?
Speaker 4:different, are they? Well, I mean, you know all the quality decor, but you know it exists, don't get me wrong. I mean, but they're far in between. You know there's, you know, half a mile between each house.
Speaker 4:So, but the funny thing, the great thing about it, though, is they still do it. You know, I mean they're going yeah, OK, I'm out here in the country, but I don't care, I'm going to decorate, and they decorate them from. One car passes in five days. They've seen what I've done. It's more about just keeping the spirit, which is a comforting thing.
Speaker 4:Now, you know, growing up in Brooklyn, and even in Florida, I mean you know, everybody knew our place, our house was going to look ridiculous because I had all these things up and you know I used to take these pictures and we had the music playing and even the rabbi who lived across the street from me was like very nice you know, and I'm going. If that's not peace in the making, I don't know what is yeah, so that is all good stuff you ever see that cartoon?
Speaker 1:you ever see that cartoon with santa when he walks into a jewish household? No and he walks in and the guy goes oh, wrong house, he goes wrong house, wrong house of my toches. Sit down, have some coffee, no shit I swear to god sit down why are you in a rush for? Yeah, you know like, yeah, we know who you are, come on come on in. He's a mensch, they. They love him.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, man. I mean even for me. When I left Brooklyn and I moved to Florida the first year, I did not know it was Christmas, because it was so freaking hot.
Speaker 1:It was weird, I was down there for Christmas too.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, it threw me off.
Speaker 1:I'm like what the hell's going on. This is not right, man.
Speaker 4:Listen, I'll agree with you guys a thousand percent, because what I used to do when I was, when I lived in Florida, is I would actually drop the air conditioner down as far as it could go. Ok, because we would always have these ugly Christmas sweater contests. And one place I had a fireplace and I go well, I'm not going to be able to light this fireplace if it's 90 degrees outside, so it would literally be about 50 degrees in the house, just so we could light a fire because, there's just something about waking up Christmas morning or even partying during Christmas Eve.
Speaker 4:You know, or you know. You know what I mean, and just have that fire going. You know it's kind of special.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely yeah, christmas I mean granted, you know I'm not taking away from anybody that lives in the warmer climate. You know I'm just saying for us personally that you know we're in the Northeast and you know it's snowing today.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it was snowing.
Speaker 1:It is snowing and it's cold. It's cold man, it's like.
Speaker 2:I think it was 31 when I pulled up over here, it's going down to like I think it's funny.
Speaker 4:We're having a heat wave, tropical heat wave as long as I lived in Florida and now we're in Tennessee. So you know we wake up and they go okay, today's high is going to be 45. And you go oh, 45, not bad. Well, it got to 45. But on the app, this is the first time I've ever seen this. Okay, the temperature's 45, but it feels like 22.
Speaker 2:Yeah Right, that's insane. When did that start? Yo, that's crazy. How did it get that?
Speaker 1:You used to get that when we lived in the city. Not that 20 degrees difference, it would be more like a 10 degree.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it would be like it's 20, but it feels like, yeah, the wind blowing we had, and we had some cold winters yeah, bro, let me tell you yeah, just crazy, yep you live in jersey, so you had the same thing we would get the same snowfall, but like it's usually colder in, I know in manhattan, it's colder probably in brooklyn too, because it's surrounded by water.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, get colder manhattan it was. Oh no, manhattan got cold manh, it wouldn't get colder Manhattan it was that bad?
Speaker 1:Oh no, Manhattan got cold. Manhattan got cold when you were walking through there and it was windy.
Speaker 2:But depending on where you were.
Speaker 1:If you were by the water, well, no, you know what it was?
Speaker 4:The wind. You would walk around in Manhattan and like would just cut down those streets and just saw right through you.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, right, your face would hurt. Right, yeah, it would.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean, it was just brutal.
Speaker 3:Right. Put the collar up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the leather bomb is back then.
Speaker 2:But it was dependent on which way the wind was coming, though, because if the wind was coming north to south, you couldn't walk on the avenues, because, yeah, then you're right and you're walking on side streets.
Speaker 1:It wasn't that big of a deal. Well, of course, right, you knew that. But sometimes you have to turn down that street, you have to turn every once in a while right and you can't avoid it, you know yeah, true enough you can, man, if it was hitting you from behind.
Speaker 2:Right, but when it? Was hitting you from the front it was like whoop, yeah, that, yeah, you would walk into school.
Speaker 1:you know you'd walk to school and it'd be brutal and by the time you got you couldn't open your fingers because they were frozen to your books.
Speaker 2:Yeah to your books, to your, to the dungare. A denim loose leaf book. Yeah, yeah man, oh my God, oh, the little, super little tiny ones with the trapper keepers and shit, oh my God, oh man, Get it.
Speaker 4:My first trapper keeper was a Redskins trapper keeper and I'm like I don't even like football.
Speaker 2:You see, but it was the coolest thing.
Speaker 3:That's funny. I had like one of those trapper keepers from like the 80s. I just had like all just like 80s designs on it. It was all like like weird squiggly lines with like aqua color and like yellow.
Speaker 2:See that's funny because that's what I got for christmas one year pink.
Speaker 1:You know, it was all like 80s color right, it's just like these, because everybody was wearing them too. I don't know what it was.
Speaker 3:It was just like this, or was that 90s? Maybe I'm thinking 90s, maybe it was the 90s. I haven't worn for years Late 80s, early 90s, maybe so now we know what that.
Speaker 2:Then, what was your favorite gift? My favorite gift? Ooh, that would be oh man Nintendo. I don't know if it was. Wow, that's a good one. Kenny Mine was Super Nintendo.
Speaker 1:I never even thought of that Because that was Super Nintendo came out. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I was like wow, dude. And my parents Bought me the. I think I don't know if that was the first or second year I had the gun. The Super Nintendo gun Was like a scope. Yeah with the duck.
Speaker 4:Alright. Tom you let us know You're younger than Wait. Wait, wait, no, no you're going to hold yours.
Speaker 2:I want yours last. I'm going to tell you why, Frank. What was your favorite toy or whatever gift? Whatever was your favorite gift, yeah a gift.
Speaker 1:It doesn't have to be a toy, yeah.
Speaker 4:All right. So I got to tell you when I was a young child, I was just absolutely crazy for the $6 million man. Oh yeah, and I know which one. You got too, bro, and you had the one that he had the hole in the back of his head and you could look through his eye right.
Speaker 2:That's the one you had that is correct.
Speaker 1:He had the motor too.
Speaker 4:You know my mom and dad, my mom and dad, god bless them, they they bought it for me and I was just absolutely in love with it. And then, funny enough, you know, as we get older and and and we move on, you know, you kind of let those things kind of fall wayside. My brother, god bless him too A couple of uh, uh. Last year, as we were moving up here, I get a package in the mail and I open it up and what is it? It's an original $6 million man doll. And let me tell you, he stands in my workshop where I go in there and I create stuff and it's just a very special part of my life right now I got to
Speaker 2:tell you that's awesome.
Speaker 3:Yo, you just made me do a little shit. I got one for you.
Speaker 2:I got a couple for you, yeah.
Speaker 1:Go ahead, I'm listening, dude. So my favorite toy Right Of all time Right Would absolutely be my big wheel, really, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:My big wheel.
Speaker 1:Okay, my father, we lived in an apartment building, yeah, and we had a ramp and my father was super, yeah, so I would go out the back gate, go out to the sidewalk in front of the building, come back around and then go down the hill, yes, and then I'd spin out. Yep, right, I'd be all over the place. My father would be working, he would just Run around all day doing that shit.
Speaker 4:He knew where I was On the big wheel, bro, you had to hand the bar that you could pull it so that you could do donuts.
Speaker 1:No, I didn't have that because I had the earlier one, but I still knew how to skid out, though I knew how to do it, yeah, yeah, yeah, going down the thing. You know, bro, you know it was cool, so before I give you my answer, so you know that there's an adult version of the black wheels now and they have a whole big thing I came up with that idea, just so you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you did too.
Speaker 1:They have a whole thing out west where you could get an adult size wheelie I would do that in a heartbeat.
Speaker 2:So the front wheel is rubber, so this way you can steer as you're going down the curvy road, the black top.
Speaker 1:And the back wheels are the plastic so this way you can drift and skid out and shit. Yeah, it's fucking great bro.
Speaker 2:So yeah, my favorite gift that I ever got for you know, when I was a kid growing up, was a bicycle, because then that was when I left the neighborhood and everybody else was staying stuck in the neighborhood and when my mom wasn't looking. I'm going to all the. So I went to Borough Park.
Speaker 1:I went to Bay Ridge. Yeah, you saw me bro Wizard right by.
Speaker 2:I went to Flatbush Like I started going around to all these places and then so that was my favorite gift because it taught me to want to leave the neighborhood, you know what that getting a bike was cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because it taught me to want to leave the neighborhood. You know what Getting a bike was cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, you know what? Because we used to drive.
Speaker 4:I had a bike. I got a bike.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the way we would find all our friends.
Speaker 1:Right, we would just ride a bike to someone's house Right, because we didn't know where everybody was.
Speaker 3:Sometimes We'd ride a bike around to each house and then, when we see the pile of bikes, we know exactly what it was?
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly man. Just this pile of bikes. Everybody had a bike when we were growing up in Brooklyn, frank, how about?
Speaker 4:you, yeah, definitely. I mean yeah, kenny, I mean you definitely flashed me back. You know, I woke up Christmas morning and there was a bike there and there was this bag hanging on the frame. And I'm like this is the greatest thing I've ever gotten. I can't believe it. What's this bag here? My dad was like uh oh, those are extra parts.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And I come to find you know, like that day when I started writing, that they were the brakes you know, or the reflectors.
Speaker 1:Should have brought it to my house. My father would have put it together for you.
Speaker 4:Listen. No, no, no, don't get me wrong. The thing is, and the only reason why I understand this, because now, after all these years of putting together gifts for my children, at two o'clock in the morning, after having, you know, half a bottle of Bacardi, yeah, yeah, right. You're like okay, I'll take care of this tomorrow. Yeah, so I understand, but it was definitely, and again, it just goes to the memories that you have.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, absolutely. Like I said, for me as a kid, that was my favorite. I have another one, you guys? Are going to love this as a kid or as an adult.
Speaker 1:As a kid, okay, go ahead, my favorite toy. But I was also able to get it, like Frankie did as an adult. Okay, and I have it Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Evil Knievel, I do have that. That was the best toy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you could do anything to this thing.
Speaker 4:It would bounce off walls and just drive. Oh bro, you got to post a video of him like jumping over. You know, I don't know the sidewalk or something.
Speaker 1:Frank, there's a play, there's somewhere on social media where there is somebody I think it's on our Instagram. They might be on our Instagram, we follow them, right, and it's videos of people jumping Evel Knievel off. These crazy jumps from windows Stupid, I mean with ramps, it's amazing and they make the jump and they make the jump. It's crazy. I'm surprised you haven't done it out your window, oh bro but not me.
Speaker 1:I still have it put in the closet, but I'm watching them online. You're like, wow, these people, really, you know they're getting into it, yeah, man. Oh, dude, I'm waiting for the call back, but that was a great toy though. That was a great toy, yeah, no, that was an awesome toy.
Speaker 2:I had one of those too. I had one of those too, man. I used to but bicycle in my apartment because my mom wouldn't let me take it outside because she wasn't you know, she wasn't home or whatever. So then I had to write it in the freaking.
Speaker 1:I was writing it in the in the living room around. That's just all right. Go outside, right, because you gotta know what you're driving because she wasn't home.
Speaker 2:So when she would come home and walk in the door and she sees me riding the bike, she's like what the fuck are?
Speaker 1:you doing?
Speaker 2:there's a big brown circle in the car yeah, exactly pretty much, and she's like get the fuck outside. So then I'm gonna tell you a funny story. I took that so because I got the bike for christmas, I take it outside. It was a little bit snowy, everything was cool and groovy, whatever there was, um, there were. There was, like this in front of a fire hydrant there was a leak, so the water froze, so I got a dirt bike. So I'm thinking, yeah, I can't, nothing's going to make me full. I got knobby tires.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a smart move.
Speaker 2:Bro, I went over with a little bit of ice, I slid underneath the car and I jump up limping and I'm looking for scratches to make sure the bike wasn't messed up or nothing. I didn't give a shit about the car, I'm like, not the bike not the bike. Yeah, it was that Christmas that I got it, bro, all right.
Speaker 4:That's freaking great, that's crazy. Oh man, kenny, there ain't no one of us that is listening to this, that isn't like, doesn't have that splashing through their mind. That specific moment is like what you're just talking about yeah, man, exactly, jumping ramps.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, jumping the ramps, I did it with my bike.
Speaker 1:Listen, we have another thing we follow is where 80s or Gen X kids or whatever, right, and you see the bike, you see this kid going off a ramp he made with plywood Right right, right, right, and some cinder blocks or whatever he found all right on a bike, got the crazy handlebars right and going over.
Speaker 1:And got the crazy handlebars right and going over and everybody's sitting on the lawn watching you do it right. Even your parents, your mother's sitting there watching you. And this remember, frank I'm not making this up because they have actual pictures and I remember saying, oh shit, I did that. I remember building a ramp and jumping off of this thing. You know trying to do it.
Speaker 4:You know, and you know it's like, not these elaborate rants.
Speaker 1:No, they weren't.
Speaker 4:It was a cinder block and a plank of wood that you went and go do it. Jump over some of these garbage cans 12 inches off the ground and skid it off. And you know you got a raspberry on your knee.
Speaker 2:You're like yeah.
Speaker 4:I did it. Yeah, I did it, he's right, that's a funny man, I did it, it was right.
Speaker 2:That's a funny man. All right next question, you ready.
Speaker 4:Yeah, let's see.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:Favorite Christmas song? Oh, that's crazy, man. I would have to say my favorite Right and I love we just played one of them, right, okay. I have a bunch of them, but I like tony bennett's version of um, what the hell is the name of that song? It wasn't that from the sound of the music.
Speaker 2:Um, you know the song, frank and the sound of music yeah a christmas song from the sound of music I don't know, I don't have to look it up now, he's gonna have to look it up, I'm gonna have to look it up, so all right. So me I can't believe I can't remember.
Speaker 3:You see, I'm. That's a tough one. That's a real, real tough one Because there's so many great songs. I guess like I always liked Jingle Bell Rock.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, that's a good one. Really, I don't know, not a specific version.
Speaker 3:I was in the school chorus, so I was singing that song too. Yeah, okay, alright, I can deal with that. Jingle Bell, jingle Bell.
Speaker 2:I was in the school chorus, oh, so I was singing that song too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, all right, I can deal with that. Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell. All right, tom Frank, talk to us what's yours.
Speaker 4:I mean, that song definitely deserves respect. But you know, if I had to, you know, wrap in like memories and growing up and everything, memories and growing up and everything I would have to say Frank Sinatra's Jingle Bells I could see. You know, I'm driving my girls to kindergarten and school. You know, school when they were young and I'd have that on and they would just be, you know, know, smile from ear to ear and I gotta tell you that's one of the greatest memories that I have in my life.
Speaker 4:so that is awesome yeah, frank Sinatra, jingle Bells, if you don't know it that's good, j-i-o-g-l-e Bells, that is correct J-I-O-G-L-E.
Speaker 1:Bells, I think you got hidden talent there. Yeah, seriously, that is correct.
Speaker 4:Yeah, j-i-o-g-l-e bells.
Speaker 1:That sounds more right.
Speaker 3:I think you got hidden talent there, yeah, yeah, seriously, you did yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, so I found this one, bro, here we go.
Speaker 3:Okay, what is it? Oh?
Speaker 1:that's the one. Yeah, who is that? My Favorite Things.
Speaker 3:Oh Okay.
Speaker 2:Tony.
Speaker 1:Bennett.
Speaker 2:All right, tony Bennett, that was from the Sound of.
Speaker 1:Music yes, well, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Alright.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Turn it off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, we're gonna get sued, we're gonna get sued, turn it off.
Speaker 4:I did it. Turn it off Less than 15 seconds.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you might have went 16, yeah, yeah, yeah, just saying.
Speaker 2:Uh, oh, but um you know what's.
Speaker 4:How, um you know what's so how much you know what's, how much time do we have left, guys?
Speaker 1:10 dollars.
Speaker 3:We got about 2 minutes 10 minutes, but I, I really I just want to one memorable mention absolutely, we got time.
Speaker 1:I mean 10 minutes is a lot just don't hung it up.
Speaker 3:Not my favorite song, but I want to mention all the memes about it. Is is she's thought. They always say she's thawing out and it's always mariah carey, because oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, because like we're stuck with that song every year everybody's like oh yeah, I actually love that song, I know, but it's funny because there's a lot of memes about that yeah, there is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no see, well, I'm gonna mess you guys up, because so for me, I grew up on a disco album. Oh it's a holly jolly. Christmas. It was a group, sal Soul Orchestra, and they had a disco.
Speaker 4:Yeah, thank you, the one with the girl on the front. Yes, the girl. I fucking love you Frank, I love you man. Oh yeah, it was the best.
Speaker 2:Yes Are you kidding me. I love that album man.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Yes, thank you Frank. That album man, wow. Yes, thank you Frank for doing that, bro, I forgot about that, Bro.
Speaker 4:it used to be out at Christmas Eve. We used to go out to Staten Island to my Aunt Kitty and my Uncle Junior's house. And he always had that album on yes man, yes, and it was rocking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, bro, I have it on my playlist right now to listen to, and.
Speaker 4:I'm going to order it right as soon as I get off this, I'm going to download that Dude just go to Pandora.
Speaker 2:If you have Pandora, just go to Salso Orchestra and they give you the holiday. It's either the holiday one, they give you a choice.
Speaker 4:Or they give you the regular old one. Oh my God, you just brought me back like 40 years.
Speaker 2:I know dude we used to sing the whole. My God, you brought me back like 40 years, bro. I know, dude, unbelievable. We used to sing the whole thing.
Speaker 4:I'm at work and I'm singing it. That's it.
Speaker 2:Yes, it was the greatest man and it always brought a tear to my eye because the last album, the last song on the album, was like Little Drummer Boy and they did like a whole thing. Like I love this song, I love this music.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's so good, freaking great, so good. Yeah, what was it you wanted to talk about? Now, frank, you said you had something else you wanted to bring up.
Speaker 4:So you know, holiday season, big foodie time. Oh, foodie, you know.
Speaker 2:So I want to start with a. I want to talk a little bit about food and OK, what, what people you know, what you guys?
Speaker 4:eat and all of that. So you go. But I do want to give something I thought of this for Tom, because I know Tom is suffering from a little bit of a toothache. So here's a corny Christmas joke for you, Tom. All, all right what is a vegan's favorite christmas carol what soy to the world.
Speaker 3:That's a good one I like that is great, that is funny bro, I would be lying if I said that tofu wasn't like a regular staple in our house. Really, oh yeah. I'm actually on the way home.
Speaker 4:I believe it. I bought three blocks of tofu, did you really?
Speaker 2:Yeah we eat tofu. I believe it. That's crazy. That is hilarious. What's your favorite? Turkey? Well, not turkey.
Speaker 4:What's your? Favorite food for dinner for the holidays bro, I know everybody listening, you know may not know it, but I'm actually from an Italian descent.
Speaker 3:No, I thought you were French. Yeah, you got that French accent.
Speaker 4:Nice Jewish boy so you know, every year, every year, you know, christmas eve is usually the biggest thing you know, from a thai and uh perspective we do the the seven fishes dinner and even though I don't think we've actually ever had seven different fishes, and one of the main ones is a salted cod called Bacala yeah, bacala which I was never really a big fan of, but my grandmother, my mom, my dad, the whole family growing up, you know, christmas Eve it would be stuffed calamari, it would be linguine and clams.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 4:White sauce. It would be a shrimp, a fried shrimp, stuffed shrimp, battered shrimp, right.
Speaker 3:Oh.
Speaker 4:God stuffed shrimp, battered shrimp, right, oh God you know. And in the early days we actually used to order fried rice and lobster sauce from Lucky Star.
Speaker 1:Oh, right, on 18th.
Speaker 4:Avenue. Yeah, on 18th Avenue.
Speaker 1:We went there all the time, bro, they only just closed.
Speaker 4:Yeah, they only just closed, not too long ago.
Speaker 1:Wow, they were around forever.
Speaker 4:It's just those memories of eating that stuff on Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve. I remember when I was younger that Christmas Eve it wasn't a whole lot of people, it was really more immediate family that was there. But as time goes on and obviously we create life and we get the gifts of life. You know more and more people start to come and you just try to pass that along. You know, those are the things that stick in my head. Christmas Day nowadays it's like okay, you wake up, you know where's the aspirin you know, yeah you know you open the gifts and you have the eggnog and you go.
Speaker 4:Okay, a little hair in the dog right get you straight.
Speaker 1:You know, I think for me I, I I don't mean to interrupt frank, um, because you've got me thinking about the food and I think for me growing up, I want to go to different friends' houses. Every house was different. Someone made something different. The house was different as far as the tree. You know I got to experience all that different.
Speaker 1:You know those things growing up, when I was able to go to my friend's house. You know, if I went to Anthony Kingansaneri's, it was different. His mother was making probably it was an Italian dish, of course, yeah, yeah, frank, of course, his family grandma with her pasta vaso. So for me that was always good. And then, of course, cookies. She had the sesame cookies, frank.
Speaker 4:Cookies yeah.
Speaker 1:Those were the best cookies. I swear to god, they were phenomenal. She was the one to turn me on to actually turn me on to, because I buy them now still because of that, right, because it's like one of my favorite cookies. I see them, I'm like, oh, I gotta get those. Obviously they're not the same, but the fact that, like frankie was saying earlier, that memory is in my mind, it's something I like, right, I see it, you know, and it brings you that. It gives you that, yeah, you know, it gets you to go back and just enjoy that feeling you had.
Speaker 2:Right, Right right.
Speaker 1:Definitely At that moment which is what we should be doing Exactly, right, exactly, and especially this time of year, yeah, definitely so you want to know me the vegan?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course For us, because you know what we grew up with doing a holiday ham or doing a turkey, so we just get the vegan ones. Okay, so Tofurky has a vegan ham. It's good. You know what's funny, my buddy? I didn't think of doing it. It comes with this maple glaze or whatever, my buddy Steve, he throws out the maple glaze, he does it with the, he, the, the pineapple and stuff oh, okay yeah yeah, and it's.
Speaker 3:I was like holy shit yeah because I was by his house. He made that on thanksgiving and I was like, holy shit, it is with the pineapple it tastes way fucking better.
Speaker 3:I'm using their stupid maple yeah but sometimes we'll also get they make holiday roasts, like Gardine makes a holiday roast, which is like it's funny. It's like a stuffed like tube and the outside is like a vegan turkey. That's like breaded and the middle is like stuffing. They really make a, they do a really Stuffing. That's pretty cool and then you just make slices out of it Right. So it's cool.
Speaker 2:So you get like this ring with like stuffing in the middle and like the nice perky, or like the, you know the, the faux meat, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, that is the funniest shit ever. Yeah, listen, well, I'm, you know, I grew up mostly spicola, puerto rican yeah, so you know, we had the penil and the I don't make them, but patelas you know yeah, or you had family that made them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they made the pateles, they made the I mean everything. I had friends that were Puerto Rican and they always had the pasteles yeah you had the two kinds. You had the pateles that is in the wax paper, or you have it in the leaves yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Or the bananas, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I remember someone one time made it with Yuka. Yeah, dude, it's great, we're out of time already. Look how fast that went. That was good.
Speaker 2:Frank. Thank you, brother. I appreciate you for being here with us. Don't hang up.
Speaker 1:We're going to do our thing and hang it up and then close it out, Don't hang up.
Speaker 2:Thank you everybody.
Speaker 4:I appreciate it. I just wish everybody happy holidays. You too Love peace, baby.
Speaker 2:Yeah, baby See, yeah.
Speaker 4:There you go, so thank you everybody for listening.
Speaker 2:Happy holidays.
Speaker 1:Love, peace and hair grease. Live long and prosper and go vegan.
Speaker 3:Holla, yeah, that's so awkward.
Speaker 2:Baby Doom, doom, doom. Yeah See, I'm so off the show. Baby, yeah See, that was a jam. All right, everybody, have a good one Happy holidays.
Speaker 1:Happy holidays, people Be good.
