August 22 marked 20 years since I arrived on campus at Slippery Rock. I remember the morning very well. It was late summer, overcast, and humid. We had already seen the campus a few times to go to orientation, schedule my classes, and to take a look at the place. This was officially the day that I was moving into my dorm room.

We had a team of helpers at Kraus Hall ready to help the incoming students move into their new rooms. This group of volunteers was known as the Welcome Team. They all had matching shirts on and waited for the new students to arrive. My room in Kraus was on the second floor and every floor had two separate resident assistants. These were equivalent to the dorm counselors we had at Hiram G. Andrews Center. Our dorm also had a basement floor which also housed study areas as well as washing machines (make sure you have quarters ready).

After we got my stuff moved in, my family and I went off to Grove City and visited the Outlets. We also had lunch at Eat’n Park. I was taking it all in, just as I had done three years earlier when I moved into the Hiram G. Andrews Center. Slippery Rock was going to be a different beast entirely, though.

Time to open up a six-pack of facts covering my journey to Slippery Rock University.

1. I chose Slippery Rock over other great schools like IUP and Edinboro.
2. Some things had to happen in order for me to get housing for the upcoming Fall semester.
3. I came up a few days prior to moving in and picked up my books and even got to check out my new residence hall.
4. For my first year, I would be residing in Kraus Hall, which was a residence hall that housed transfer and nontraditional students.
5. The Fall semester was going to be more about me finding my way on campus.
6. I experienced plenty of growing pains that semester, as well as during my first year at Slippery Rock University.

Some of the highlights from my first semester at Slippery Rock included making new friends, and some of them were also local. I even got to reunite with a few that I went to high school with. Our first weekend on campus was a weekend of fun and games. We got to check out the baseball park, have a block party, and watch a movie under the stars. I joined a Christian organization my first week on campus and got involved right off the bat. I even got the opportunity to attend an event (Fall Retreat) at Camp Sequanota, a summer camp near and dear to my family.

I also had some disappointing moments during my first semester, as well as my first year on campus. One of them was that I fell behind in classes, especially my major. I was more interested in having a social life and didn’t realize that I was no longer a college freshman, but now a fourth year student.

When I was at HGA, I met a girl who had just arrived on campus (she had come back after a brief sabbatical) and we easily clicked. I hoped to repeat that same feat at Slippery Rock but it didn’t turn out the same. It seems that a fourth year senior at Slippery Rock has different priorities than someone coming back to the Hiram G. Andrews Center to take a diploma course. My feelings got the best of me and eventually, she said no and broke my heart. I should have seen it from the get-go but I was in love. You live and you learn.

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “poor college student”, please understand that the struggle is real. That first year on campus, I wasn’t broke but I wasn’t working as much as I should have. The lack of work experience in college would hurt me later on after graduation.

In Toastmasters, we give evaluations to our speakers to highlight what we liked about the speech. We also provide suggestions for improvement. How could I have improved that first semester and made it less painful?

One suggestion for improvement was that I could have asked for advice from my cousins who have had experience attending a bigger college campus. I could have taken time in Spring and Summer months to prepare myself for what was to come. I could have joined less organizations and focused more on my studies. I could have joined a study group (which probably would have helped me in my major). The list goes on.

I enjoyed my time at the Rock but that first year taught me a lot. Knowing what I know now, the experience was still worth it. If I dropped out after a year, I would have likely regretted it and thought “what if”. College was always a safe space for me for years and that’s why I longed to go back after holiday breaks. Homecoming would become a longstanding tradition for me for years even after I finished school.

That first year saw me swallow a large dose of humility, and I’m glad it did. Things eventually worked out later on.

This question has been going through my mind the last week, and I’ve been taking some time to sleep on it. Am I taking a social media holiday? For now, I’m not but it might not be a bad idea in the future. I am going to keep my Instagram and Facebook open so I can share my blog posts and any pictures I take, as well as follow my Toastmasters0 district and any news and notes from District 13.

I’m doing this as kind of an experiment and also as a way of improving my mental health. I’m not dropping off entirely as I still need this platform to share my content. I’ll be checking in but it will be limited to about a half an hour a day. Social media is great but it is a huge time waster if you’re not careful.

Here’s a six pack of facts about my history with Social Media.

1. I’ve been on Facebook since 2005. It’s a link to my college years as I joined when I was still at Slippery Rock University.
2. While some may feel that I am a social media junkie, I don’t use all platforms nor I am a fan of some of them. I am not a Twitter user (I’ve never stayed consistent with it). I tried SnapChat for a while but interest quickly waned. I downloaded Tiktok but it couldn’t keep me entertained as I could find some of the same reels on Instagram.
3. For years, I posted weather updates on my Facebook page. It gained popularity among my other Facebook friends.
4. Be careful what you post on your status update. I bashed a former place of employment on Facebook and it nearly cost me my job. I would be leaving there soon anyway but, who knows, that could have had an effect on whomever hired me.
5. Social media is not a place to spread your political views if you don’t have a thick skin. For this thin-skinned individual who easily gets offended, it almost led to a meltdown multiple times. I’m better now but I abstain from posting anything political.
6. I took to social media to follow and support small businesses in my hometown when they needed it most. Like in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown. I still give my support and encourage people to shop small, but no time was more important than during the pandemic. Truth be told though, it’s always important to support your local everything no matter how good or bad things are in the world.

What would a benefit of leaving social media be?

It would spark a substantial improvement in my well-being. Nothing has drained my mental health more than reading pointless Facebook posts and watching videos that don’t carry much value or merit to me. It’s a habit but I know I can find better things to do with my time. I already have with reading, writing (as I’m doing with this blog), and playing Switch. Don’t forget taking time to get outside.

What would be a detriment of leaving social media?

As I mentioned earlier, it would be one less vehicle to promote my blog with. I share the link to my blog posts on Facebook and Instagram for those who follow me. Maybe I can reach out to my cousin on what to do if I decide to go down that route of eventually disconnecting Facebook for good. Also, another detriment would be not learning about fun events coming up in the Fall and Winter months. Social media is good for promoting those. There is good and bad to being active on Facebook and Instagram.

Why else would I want to consider taking a holiday from Facebook or Instagram?

Technology is an asset but there’s also a liability to having it in your life. One such liability is less time to get outside and enjoy life when the weather is nice as well as less family time. I feel like the answers that I came up with have already been explained in greater detail (mental health, more free time).

In closing, I’m not leaving the platforms for good but I am going to control how much I use them. I already have made some changes but I know that I can still do better.

I’m calling this blog what it is, and that would be a potpourri blog. It will have a little bit of everything from the last few days (today included).

Tuesday night, I took advantage of some free time between work and dinner. We eat early (usually around 4pm) when Annabelle has karate so that means more time to get outside when the weather is nice. I took a drive into Greensburg and walked around downtown. Parking is free after 5pm, which comes in handy during Toastmasters meetings. I’ll get to that in a moment. I snapped a few pics with my iPhone and made some interesting discoveries. Five of those pictures really stood out and I’ll post them to this blog.

The long awaited work on the front of the courthouse is finally complete. I walked around the plaza Tuesday night and loved what I saw.

Greensburg has really nice shops that cater to all interests, as well as cafes and restaurants. The city also boasts of having a great cultural district with the Seton Hill Center for the Performing Arts and the Palace Theatre. This mural that is being worked on in the little park on Pennsylvania will look very lovely when it is done

The bridge on Main Street between downtown and the Westmoreland Art Museum always has good words to live by.

While Wednesday night’s Toastmasters meeting was exclusively an online event, I enjoy making my way downtown twice a month to take part in my home club. We recently achieved “Select Distinguished” honors, meaning that we had met at least seven of the ten goals needed in the “Distinguished Club program”. I joined Toastmasters in 2011 and served as a leader in the area and division and have attended numerous events in District 13 from leadership training to conferences. I achieved the highest honor, the Distinguished Toastmaster award, in 2019.

I lost some interest in Toastmasters when the pandemic happened in 2020 and had my issues with the new learning program. Just like my nontraditional “journey” to find myself, I have twice felt tempted to give up and quit, only to come back every time. Very soon, Greensburg Toastmasters will be a “club of champions” with three of our members set to achieve their Distinguished Toastmaster awards. That Spring 2024 DTM gauntlet is going to be sweet as we all represent Greensburg.

The new getGo Cafe and Market opened yesterday to much fanfare. Located on Main Street next to Main Bowl and across from Callaghan’s, the new store is big. They have a decent size cooler to hold on-the-go food as well as a great selection of drinks. It’s one of the few getGo’s I’ve been to that are new to the area. Other ones that recently opened include New Stanton, North Versailles, Murrysville, Latrobe, and Jeannette. A new wetGo car wash will be opening in Irwin at the site of the old Penn Motel.

Say what you will, that we don’t need another new getGo, Sheetz, Dollar General, or bank, but for me today was a good first impression. Good deal on gas right now with the grand opening too (if you use AdvantagePay).

I will always love Latrobe and Ligonier, but the same can be said about Greensburg. This town really has a lot to offer. You just have to look for it.

Come with me today as I reminisce on days gone by when it was time for back to school shopping. Later I’ll talk about my upcoming FALL HAUL and I’ll wrap up the blog by looking ahead to Back to School shout outs. Maybe I won’t look ahead and enjoy what’s left of Summer 2023.

August is a month without any major holidays. The Fourth of July is over and Labor Day marks the official end of summer. However, it’s a month for county fairs (the last fun thing for kids to do before they go back to school). It’s also time to plan for the first day of school, which falls at the end of August. I’m old enough to remember when it was after Labor Day. All the major department stores have deals going on right now with clothes, shoes, school supplies. Everything you need to be prepared and to stand out at the start of the new school year.

Today I’m going to look back on my experiences with back to school shopping. When I was in school, Walmart wasn’t as big and Target wasn’t in our area yet. Therefore, we always hit up Greengate (remember them?) and Westmoreland Mall, as well as K-Mart, Hills, and Ames (remember them?). Remember how K-Mart and Hills had layaway? We always made out very good on our school shopping adventures.

I was lucky to grow up in the ’90’s and am shocked and amazed at how styles have changed over the years. The ’80’s were a different beast altogether, in the clothing and in the hair. I remember going through a phase during my sophomore year where I wore Hawaiian shirts. I got the inspiration from Seinfeld and “The Raincoats” episode from Season 5. That Easter during my freshman year I actually got a very flowery shirt. Now all I needed was a lei. I ran right into tenth grade with that style. I think I even started a trend at the time. In my college years, I switched to more casual polo shirts with sports logos on them, and khakis. I was kind of nerdy-looking back in the day.

Even though I made out good on my purchases, there was usually one article of clothing that I missed out on that everyone else had. I was a trendsetter but I wanted to fit in with everyone else. I tried to reason with my mom but she said no and I left feeling disappointed.

FALL HAUL

Recently I went on a shopping spree online at oldnavy.com. I bought some Halloween tops with pumpkins and ghosts on them, as well as a sweater. I went online again and bought some overalls there as well. I’m looking forward to showing off more of my new outfits and starting to make plans for Fall. I did a fashion blog recently and modeled my new shirts. I’m excited to put things together for all the upcoming events I have going on in my life. I have some ideas for what to bring for our fall family reunion this October. I will save that for a future blog, however.

Back to School Shoutouts

In 2018, I posted back to school shoutouts on social media for schools in the Pittsburgh area, as well as in Westmoreland County. I did the same for local colleges as well, including Slippery Rock and IUP. It gained a lot of popularity the first year so I brought it back for 2019. Unfortunately, it was shelved in 2020 because of COVID.

After much consideration, I will once again be giving schools a holler. Look for my back to school shoutouts starting the night of August 20 as the upcoming week will see classes start back up. Look for a weather forecast as well and know if you’ll need an umbrella for the rain, or a light jacket to stay warm at the bus stop.

In closing, I have three questions for you. Did you look forward to going back to school? What cool school supplies did you own? What was your favorite subject in school? Boom, Table Topics questions!

Get ready with me as I prepare for tonight’s Pittsburgh adventure.

There were things that made tonight special: Primanti’s for dinner, riding the subway from Gateway Center down to the North Shore, and of course the game itself. But before we talk about tonight’s Pirate game, just how did I get to this game? Also, what did I do to come to my decision on what game to attend and who to bring with me?

It’s June 25, and we’re having a picnic. On top of that, we’re also celebrating my birthday. My aunt attended an auction for a summer camp that Benny attends and bid on a voucher. This voucher was good for two seats at a Pittsburgh Pirates game. There were conditions on when you could attend. I knew who I was going to take to the game.

A few days later, Mr. Clougherty (Kevin) and I met for dinner at Burgatory in Murrysville, as well as to celebrate my birthday. During our time together, we discussed what game we wanted to attend.

For me, I wanted to make sure it didn’t fall on a Toastmasters meeting night or on Wednesday night since I would have to request off work. That night is tag night at Giant Eagle when we change store tags and post the new specials that start Thursday.

For Kevin, we wanted to be aware that the game we attended would have to be before the middle of August. By that time, teachers are reporting back to school. Hempfield Area’s first day back is August 24. His schedule would soon be busy with preparing his classroom, teaching, and coaching.

After careful consideration, we decided on Monday, August 7. That night the Pirates would take on the Atlanta Braves at 7:05pm. It was the first game of the series, and the Braves had the best record in baseball. So it was sure to be a good game.

Checking out the forecast a week in advance, the outlook for Monday night called for scattered showers and thunderstorms. As the day of the event drew closer, there was a risk of severe weather in the area, including a threat of damaging winds, hail, and even a tornado.

Not to be deterred by bad weather, we made our way to the ballpark and our first stop was Primanti Brothers in Market Square. This location has a mural of great Pittsburgh sports icons and some outdoor seating. It’s a busy location as well as we waited to be seated. But we had excellent service and our food arrived quick. Not the quiet sit down place we’re used to but we still made it work. I won’t use that against them either. In tonight’s review of Primanti’s, I give them an A+.

With the Roberto Clemente Bridge closed through December 2023, Mr. Clougherty and I had to resort to taking the subway 🚇. I’m no stranger to public transportation, having relied on it throughout college. Plus, I’ve rode “The T” many times before, going to Station Square and South Hills Village. We were on for only one stop before getting off at the North Shore, close to our destination, PNC Park.

We got there in good time, arriving there well before 7pm. We had no problem getting our tickets scanned or finding our seats. The usher was very helpful. The Pirates had a six run third inning before Atlanta put up four in the fourth. Both teams played another inning before the rains came and the game was delayed, to be resumed at 10:00pm. We caught one more inning of play before we made the call to leave with the Pirates leading 7-5.

Even though we skipped the rest of the game to head home, the Pirates held on to win, 7-6. On the way home I even got to finish my Duolingo lessons, impressing Mr. Clougherty with my foreign language skills. We’ll meet again for dinner in a few weeks just as school starts on August 24. We will be at EDO Hibachi Steak House and Bar.

When you boil it all down, it turned out to be a well-played night.

Last night I watched the Super Mario Bros. movie on Peacock. Was it as good as when I saw it the first time in the theatre. I would say yes and I will say yes to seeing this movie if you haven’t already. I digress, but on to today’s blog post.

In July, I had my best month for content since the beginning of the year. Props go to my cousins and their little ones for gifting me with a new laptop. That’s one of the reasons why content was way down in 2022. However, there were other factors that played into my regression.

Last year, I was navigating new roads working at Giant Eagle and trying to figure out my new routine. I was still exploring my non-traditional journey and lost some faith in it as my support system had dwindled. I became depressed early in 2022 as I wasn’t hearing from those who supported me the year before. Perhaps, I should’ve realized that only my opinion counts. Things would turn around nicely in the second half of the year

As for content, early on it looked like it was going to be another good year. I averaged 16 posts a month over the second half of 2021, even though not everything that glittered turned out to be gold. Early in 2022, I was still averaging 11 posts per month before the bottom fell out. Despite the lack of content (I put up very little from May on) my mental health started to improve later on in the year. In case you’re wondering, my mental health drives my journey which, in turn, drives the blog posts.

After a great start to 2023, content was down in the Spring due to a number of things. Benny’s prolonged hospital stay, the cooler than average Spring, and once again there were doubts about me and my nontraditional journey. The attacks on Tiktok transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney made me question things once again. Even though my journey was different, even though I had support from my colleagues and even my store leader, it still had an impact on me. You know what though, woke rules and people need to shut their mouths (because they might end up regretting it).

However, my spirits would be lifted in March when I was called to become President of my home Toastmasters club, the Greensburg Toastmasters. I also know that I had support in my journey from not only my Giant Eagle family, but also my Toastmasters family. I’ve also begun to pick up other hobbies in addition to this blog.

So the questions remain. What does the rest of 2023 hold for me and for this blog? Plus, when do we hit 500 blog posts? I’ve passed my total from last year when I posted last Saturday and I appear to be well ahead of that pace going forward. I would like to keep blog posts at around 10 to 12 posts per month and not make it a race to 500 posts. I have new reading material coming this September and October, plus new Fall outfits I have in mind. I’ll be making trips to pick up a few of those books and using the remainder of my Amazon gift card on the other. You’ll see that material on the blog and on my Instagram stories. It’ll be early on in the Fall, but I’ll be on vacation and there will be adventures to post about. Look for photo opportunites as I make my out to the parks and to Ligonier. In October, it’ll be Annabelle’s birthday plus the Fall Gaffron family reunion. Look for restaurant reviews as I have places lined up in August and September.

My target date to publish that 500th blog post will fall between Thanksgiving and Christmas. November 19 would be perfect because it would be the fourth anniversary of the blog. November 23 is Thanksgiving and that would be something to really be thankful for. November 24 is Black Friday and that would be a gift to all of you who read my content. Realistically, it will fall in the middle of those dates as I’d have to stop posting to hit the goal on Christmas. I hit 300 on Christmas Eve a few years ago.

Closing off the blog, this is a sign that things are looking up once again and 2023 is going to end well. Let’s make it a great rest of summer and a great Fall!

Hard to believe it’s already August 1! The year is already flying by, as is summer. School will be starting up soon as most districts around southwestern Pennsylvania are back to classes in a few weeks. Hempfield Area’s first day back will be August 24, as noted by Annabelle’s disgruntled reaction to today’s date. Here’s what to look forward to in August.

I won’t be posting this to the blog, however it will be on social media. As I just recently noted, kids will be back to school later on this month and I will be posting back to school shoutouts. I started this in 2018 and got back to it last year after taking a few years off due to COVID. Look for these starting around the 20th. Your school may just make the list.

I saw the Super Mario Bros. movie back in April and starting this Thursday, it will be showing on Peacock. I’m hoping to check it out again this weekend. The film got great reviews and is known for its hit song “Peaches” sung by Jack Black, who voiced Bowser in the film. A lot of the elements that make Super Mario games famous were in the movie as well, like Mario Kart and Rainbow Road.

This coming Monday, I will be going to my first baseball game at PNC Park since 2015 when the Pittsburgh Pirates take on the Atlanta Braves at 7:05pm. Atlanta holds the best record in baseball and are favorites to make it to the 2023 World Series. Tied in to the baseball game may be a restaurant review at Primanti’s in Market Square.

Recently I’ve cut back on my reading habits to produce more content for the blog, and pursue other interests. It’s August, so I’m trying to enjoy summer while I can, plus I’m also devoting more time to playing Switch. I’d like to add photography to that list as summer begins to wind down and fall starts to make its arrival. I’m still reading my two country music books, setting time every week to read a chapter and I have new coffee table books in mind for the Fall.

I will returning to EDO Hibachi on August 24 as part of my Westmoreland Dinner series with Mr. Clougherty. I ate here a few weeks ago for lunch with my mother and it was so good that we agreed on eating here for August. The entertaining performance our chef put on inspired me to make this decision as well (plus I might be up for ordering some sushi). Chances are we will be talking about the first day back to school at Hempfield. September is already set with North Park Lounge in Murrysville on the agenda. The series will wrap up in October with a location yet to be determined.

I will be posting some blogs from my Nostalgia Series this month as I highlight back-to-school shopping, and look back on days gone by at Hiram G. Andrews Center and Slippery Rock University. It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since I arrived on the Slippery Rock campus. The HGAC blog will actually be posted on the anniversary of my move-in date, so keep it tuned. I just gave a speech last month about my first semester of college there, and it got good reviews.

Pina Colada or Pumpkin Spice? Summer Waves or Fall Foliage? Tee shirts or Sweatshirts? Sandals or boots? For me, it’s definitely a clean sweep for Fall. However, I don’t like what comes after (except for the holidays) and I’m not ready to wish summer away just yet. Now that we are at August 1, enjoy the summer vibes while you still can and make time for one last trip to the beach. Before long, we’ll be seeing shorter days and cooler nights.

In today’s blog, I’ll look back at this past month and what really stood out to me.

It was the beginning of a new Toastmaster year on July 1 and the start of my term as President of the Greensburg Toastmasters club. Our first meeting of the year was July 5 and during the meeting, I gave a speech about my first semester of college at the Hiram G. Andrews Center. You’ll read more about that in an upcoming nostalgia blog later next month. I also took part in speaking and evaluating a speech at my two Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meetings. My next Greensburg Toastmasters meeting is this coming Wednesday and the next Laurel Highlands meeting is August 8.

July will end up being a good month for the blog as I turned out the most content since the beginning of the year with 16 posts. This will get me closer to my goal of 500 blog posts which I hope to achieve by the end of 2023. In Tuesday’s blog, we will also look ahead to when I plan on achieving that milestone and what to expect going forward.

My interests shifted to design and home decor, in addition to food and country music, during the month of July. Thus, I made good use of the Amazon gift cards I got for Christmas and for my birthday. I ordered a Betty Crocker Cookbook (handle with care) and one by Miranda Lambert titled “Y’all Eat Yet?”. This one is also a collection of stories in addition to the recipes found in the book. I’m not new to country music as I have listened to it on and off since I was 12, when my mom introduced me to Garth Brooks. I also started watching Trisha’s Southern Kitchen on Food Network. Believe it or not, I’m starting to get some ideas for the holidays. Summer is going by fast.

Finally, I used my Old Navy gift card to buy some new t-shirts and some other clothes and turned that into a blog. With today being the last day of July, it’s time to enjoy Summer while you still have it. Also, it’s time to start planning for back to school purchases and time to start dressing warmer. I picked up some cute clothes for the upcoming Fall months. I have some more Fall shopping planned for August and I will discuss that in tomorrow’s blog, which looks forward to next month.

This blog looks back at a college transfer event that I attended in 2002. This event would decide my future when I graduated from community college the following Spring. It was held at the local vocational-technical school, the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center (GJCTC) in Richland Township, across from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

It’s October of 2002, and I am now in my third year of college between having attended the Hiram G. Andrews Center and the local community college. I am now taking the major courses at “the college” (my major at the time was accounting). By now, I’ve started to think about my future plans after graduation. I’m almost certain that I will be transferring to a four year college to obtain my Bachelor’s degree.

The local community college was holding a college transfer fair that I was very interested in attending. This event would determine where I would be attending college in the Fall of 2003, if that’s where my road was leading. That morning, I took the bus from the Hiram G. Andrews Center to the downtown transit center from there, going to the GJCTC in Richland Township. The weather conditions were less than ideal on the day before Halloween, with the forecast calling for sleet, snow, and freezing rain. Keeping in line with the holiday, it was going to be a scary ride to my destination.

I had the option of several schools to choose from, but quickly whittled it down to three or four choice schools. Penn State was a hard pass due to SAT scores and finances, and Clarion wasn’t there because of the wintry forecast. I spoke to college representatives about what their schools had to offer, what student life was like, and other things (i.e., food). The reps were friendly and professional and I narrowed my list down to three when it was all said and done. My tote bag runneth over with college brochures and other literature, including financial aid forms.

That night at the Hiram G. Andrews Center, I read through my literature and within time, I had a place after graduation in mind. A green and white school with a funny name. Fast forward to early next year. My mom and I began to fill out the necessary forms, like financial aid and admission. I wrote a check for the enrollment fee that I knew I wasn’t getting back, regardless of whether or not I got in.

We took a drive up to Slippery Rock University in March of 2003 and spoke with the transfer admissions counselor. She went over some important things that we needed to know before my first class that coming August. I also had a chance to see what I could take for electives, also known as liberal studies courses. We got a lot from that visit and I was taken in by the beautiful campus that I hoped to call home later that Summer.

I got the call early that Spring that I was accepted into Slippery Rock. Despite the good news, I wasn’t out of the woods quite yet as I still needed housing for the upcoming 2003-2004 school year. Even after orientation a month later, I still didn’t have a place to go when I got in. A few weeks before my graduation from community college, a spot opened up and I finally had housing lined up. Interesting how the universe works, right?

We made a few trips up to the campus between graduation and when I moved in during the new student rush in August of 2003. My parents instilled in me some tips that I could benefit from, as Slippery Rock was going to be a far different beast than the Hiram G. Andrews Center or community college was.

Before I close off the blog, August 22 will mark the 20th anniversary of my move-in date at Slippery Rock University. Even though I posted it back in May for my friend and SRU alum Rocco’s birthday, I’ll highlight it again and hit on some of the growing pains that I was dealing with my first year.

In tonight’s installment of the Westmoreland dinner series (unofficial name), Mr. Clougherty and I ate at Rizzo’s in Crabtree. I was inspired to try it out after the Hempfield Area swimming and diving team held their yearly banquet here this past Spring.

Rizzo’s is located on Rizzo Road in Crabtree, just off US 119. Nearby is Bardine’s Country Smokehouse. The former Carbone’s restuarant is just up US 119 near Dollar General. The restaurant and marketplace are on one side. The banquet hall is across the road.

Giant Eagle carries Rizzo’s Spaghetti Sauce, as well as other products. You can also find those in the Marketplace.

We were seated quickly and we were given the choice of where to eat. Outdoor seating was an option but given the heat and humidity that wasn’t an option. We chose the dining room. On our way there we walked down a hallway filled with pictures and newspaper and magazine articles. Some of the pictures were of big time celebrities like Arnold Palmer and Barbara Walters. The articles talk about how good Rizzo’s service is, as well as their food. For me, tonight did not disappoint.

The menu was plentiful with many entrees to choose from. Whatever pasta dish you ordered, you were blessed with their hearty tomato sauce. I ordered the cheese ravioli with a side salad while Kevin (Mr. Clougherty) got spaghetti with meatballs. It was hard to finish it all but I accomplished it. The beer and cocktails list was decent while the wine list was extensive. This place goes all out to give you the best meal and the best service. Menu and Food get an A.

Our server was very friendly, professional, and took excellent care of us. She gets an A+.

Overall grade: A

I was hoping to visit the marketplace after our meal and check out the banquet hall. Rain kept me from my appointed rounds. I’ll make up for that and get some pictures posted at a later date. It was a great experience nonetheless.

While I’m on the subject of local italian fare, I’m interested in having a meal at Pasta Too sometime this Fall. They are located in Bethel Park just off of PA 88 (Library Road).

Other stops this year include EDO Hibachi (my second visit there) and North Park Lounge. We’ll end the series in October with dinner at Oliver’s Pourhouse.