You Would Never Have Guessed

Captain Kangaroo passed away on January 23, 2004 at age 76, which is odd, because he always looked to be 76. (DOB: 6/27/27 ) His death reminded me of the following story. Some people have been a bit offended that the actor, Lee Marvin, is buried in a grave alongside 3- and 4-star generals at Arlington National Cemetery. His marker gives his name, rank (PFC) and service (USMC). Nothing else. Here's a guy who was only a famous movie star who served his time, why the heck does he rate burial with these guys? Well, following is the amazing answer: I always liked Lee Marvin, but didn't know the extent of his Corps experiences.

In a time when many Hollywood stars served their country in the armed forces often in rear echelon posts where they were carefully protected, only to be trotted out to perform for the cameras in war bond promotions, Lee Marvin was a genuine hero. He won the Navy Cross at Iwo Jima . There is only one higher Naval award... The Medal Of Honor!

If that is a surprising comment on the true character of the man, he credits his sergeant with an even greater show of bravery.

Dialog from 'The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson': His guest was Lee Marvin Johnny said, 'Lee, I'll bet a lot of people are unaware that you were a Marine in the initial landing at Iwo Jima ..and that during the course of that action you earned the Navy Cross and were severely wounded.

'Yeah, yeah... I got shot square in the bottom and they gave me the Cross for securing a hot spot about halfway up Suribachi. Bad thing about getting shot up on a mountain is guys getting' shot hauling you down. But,Johnny, at Iwo I served under the bravest man I ever knew... We both got the Cross the same day, but what he did for his Cross made mine look cheap in comparison. That dumb guy actually stood up on Red beach and directed his troops to move forward and get the hell off the beach. Bullets flying by, with mortar rounds landing everywhere and he stood there as the main target of gunfire so that he could get his men to safety. He did this on more than one occasion because his men's safety was more important than his own life.

That Sergeant and I have been lifelong friends. When they brought me off Suribachi we passed the Sergeant and he lit a smoke and passed it to me, lying on my belly on the litter and said, 'Where'd they get you Lee?' 'Well Bob... If you make it home before me, tell Mom to sell the outhouse!' Johnny, I'm not lying, Sergeant Keeshan was the bravest man I ever knew.
The Sergeant's name is Bob Keeshan. You and the world know him as Captain Kangaroo.'

On another note, there was this wimpy little man (who just passed away) on PBS, gentle and quiet. Mr. Rogers is another of those you would least suspect of being anything but what he now portrays to our youth. But Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, combat-proven in Vietnam with over twenty-five confirmed kills to his name. He wore a long-sleeved sweater on TV, to cover the many tattoos on his forearm and biceps. He was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat, able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat

After the war Mr. Rogers became an ordained Presbyterian minister and therefore a pacifist. Vowing to never harm another human and also dedicating the rest of his life to trying to help lead children on the right path in life. He hid away the tattoos and his past life and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm.

America's real heroes don't flaunt what they did; they quietly go about their day-to-day lives, doing what they do best. They earned our respect and the freedoms that we all enjoy.
Look around and see if you can find one of those heroes in your midst.

Often, they are the ones you'd least suspect, but would most like to have on your side if anything ever happened.

Take the time to thank anyone that has fought for our freedom.. With encouragement they could be the next Captain Kangaroo or Mr.Rogers.

Chocolate Facts

Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans. Bean is a vegetable. Sugar is derived from either sugar CANE or sugar BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable. To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is dairy. So candy bars are a health food. Chocolate-covered raisins, cherries, orange slices & strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want. Another important thing is to put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done. Before I forget, a nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy? A special reminder: "Stressed" spelled backward is "desserts"!

Helpful Hints For St. Patrick's Day

Feast of St. Patrick and Other Holidays

As even the most non-religious person would know; Tuesday, March 17 is the Feast of St. Patrick (more commonly known as St. Patrick's Day). The past week at the warehouse has been busy with the receiving and shipping of green cabbage. We've been moving over 100 cases a day with more expected to move today and tomorrow morning. Red potatoes have also been on the move. Everybody is getting ready for that traditional meal of corned beef and cabbage with potatoes. Even though, as you read our weekly newsletter you will find that corned beef wasn't always the traditional fare of Ireland.

For my brothers at the bars who want to kick a little knowledge to impress the ladies, here are a couple of facts about St. Patrick:

1. At age 16 he was captured by Irish raiders and turned into a slave.
2. During his captivity, he was a shepherd.
3. Consecrated Bishop at age 43.
4. Was the person who divided the Country of Ireland into dioceses.

So, wherever you plan of enjoying your pint of green beer, Irish coffee, or Guinness tonight...remember, do it responsibly.

For some more off the wall facts...Today is "Lip Appreciation Day" and "National Bubble Week". So blow a few bubbles with those lips and if you really want to show some lip appreciation, give your love a romantic little peck everyday this week.

This is a picture of one of our newer hires here at Peddler's Son Produce, Pete "Chivo" Lombardo.







Michael "Doesn't Wave Hi To His Neighbors" Shea has also joined the Peddler's Son Produce Family.







If you've seen Russell "Russ Russ" Hall zooming around town with his "Tom Tom" in hand, he's probably trying to find an AJ's location.







Now it's time for some more fun stuff boys and girls...May the "Farm" be with you...always.

Organic Produce and Donating to Worthy Causes

In the age of organics some of my followers ask, "How does produce that is grown organically compare to the produce that we grew up eating?" The answer is...organically grown produce taste better because it is better. There is no loss of flavor, the color is not unusual, and the texture is the same. What's different is that you know you are doing something that is good for you. It's like taking that walk after dinner with a loved one, you feel better because you know that you've done something that is good for both of you. If you don't believe me about there being no difference in taste, just watch Hammy the Hamster...



I was asked a question this weekend by Helen's mother, "What does Peddler's Son Produce do when they can't sell some of the produce? What happens then?" The answer is that we donate any produce that is usable. We have a relationship with St. Mary's Food Bank, Phoenix Dream Center, and the West Valley Children's Crisis Center. Peddler's Son Produce uses many different techniques to control product waste but sometimes we have product that is no longer at its peak in quality. Between Ted and myself we also decide when a product is no longer at a quality that can be sold to our customers. At that time we decide which organization would benefit the most from our donation. If you are involved with a Non-Profit Organization and would like to become part of our donation list, please contact Peddler's Son Produce at 602.253.3577. You can ask for me, Bridge aka the Produce Guru.

With Sympathy

This post is in memory of the mother of one of our own employees, T Williams. T lost his mother this week. Our sympathies and prayers go out to T and his family. We know that his mother had been battling illness for some time now but that doesn't make the loss any easier.

With T's position here at Peddler's Son Produce, he's the one that has to hear about our families and their needs, and why we need one day off or another. We hope that T knows that we appreciate his skills of listening to our problems and that all of us are here to listen to his if he ever needs to get something off of his shoulders.

There will be a memorial this Sunday, March 8th at 1:00pm at the Avondale American Legion Post 61 for those that would like to attend.

From all of the Peddler's Son Family, "We love you T."

Are you down with OPP?

Those of you familiar with rap music might remember a hit song that Naughty By Nature had which included the lyrics, "Are you down with OPP?" We here at Peddler's Son Produce hope that you are not down with OPP, Other People's Produce. Peddler's Son Produce strives to bring you the best quality of product that is available.

Yesterday I was out to lunch with Helen in Avondale, we had decided on Mediterranean. We started with Babaganoosh for an appetizer, which was really good to my surprise. I had decided on the lamb kabobs and Helen had ordered a lamb gyro. The gyro came with sliced 6x6 tomatoes that were not ripe and just looked sad. The tomatoes looked as though they had underwent the "gassed green" process. This means that the picker tried to ripen the tomatoes with gas instead of letting them ripen on the vine naturally. So, I then proceeded to inform the waiter about my position as Peddler's Son Produce's resident Produce Guru. After showing the waiter the poor quality of the tomatoes, I inquired about his current produce supplier and asked if he knew if the restaurant was happy with that company. The waiter came back after talking with the manager and informed me that the manager was happy with where they go (a local supply depot) to buy their produce and was not looking to change. It just so happens that the depot where they buy their produce is a current customer of Peddler's Son Produce (but does not buy tomatoes from us). With the help of Mark Damato, Peddler's Son Produce's Vice President of Retail Sales, we confirmed that the supply depot had only "gassed" tomatoes in stock and not a single vine ripened tomatoe in the depot. See what happens when you are down with OPP? If you were a customer of Peddler's Son Produce, you could rely on quality produce being delivered to your door 6 days a week.

Whether it's Paco, Doug, or myself, when ever we unload product from a truck we are immediately scrutinizing it for quality issues. (That's Doug over here on the left conducting a temperature check on some cucumber crates this morning.) If there are any issues, the product does not make it past our receiving dock. Not only do we look for problems with the product itself, we also visually inspect the packages that the product is packed in, we inspect the pallets that the packages were shipped on, we inspect the interior cargo hold of the trailer the product was shipped in, and multiple temperature checks are conducted. One of the tests that I enjoy the most is the taste test. My consumption of fruits and vegetables has really grown since coming to work here at Peddler's Son Produce. It's not unusual to taste some Ugli fruit from Jamaica, seedless watermelon from Nogales, and Starfruit from Taiwan all in the same day.

If you own or manage a restaurant, eatery, or resort; stop on by the warehouse any day of the week and take a look at our quality control standards for yourself. You never know, maybe you'll get to taste test some mangosteens with me.