Buffa's Buffet: 5 things on my mind, including a new Pit bull
The Cards play on, the movies remain on hold, and 2023 rockets by.
At the moment, a Pit bull is staring me down. He’s 60 pounds and means business, burning a hole into my soul with his beady eyes. Formerly a member of the APA in Olivette, this dog is a soon-to-be foster fail. They have over 200+ animals at that Animal Protective Agency location, a place that saves dogs from the streets.
HELLO, NEW BUFFA PET!
According to our doggie caretaker, Leeroy (a tentative name for the moment) was left in an empty house, abandoned after the owner was evicted. Imagine the sigh of relief in those big eyes and block head when the APA founded and took him in. Humans take the toughness of dogs for granted due to their loyalty and cuteness. Strip a cell phone away from most of us, and we’re lost. Animals adapt and survive, but still need help.
There were two other beautiful pits in the front display rooms--giant spaces for dogs to play around in and be able to have a passerby take notice. I wish someone off Olive Boulevard would relent and adopt one of those dogs. Foster them at least, which relinquishes a room to a new rescue.
Since people are shitheads and dogs are born just about every half hour, the fight carries on to keep a dog like Leeroy from sleeping in an empty house: a very hot house that should have felt like hell. I drive a box truck on my day job up and down Olive; I could pack 5-10 pets in there and drop them off like Fall-welcoming gifts.
He’s a handful, but what creature isn’t? Yes, the biceps get a workout on walks due to Leeroy finding EVERYTHING fascinating. He makes six pets for the Buffa Estate, evening out the hierarchy at three dogs and three cats.
Are we nuts? Yes. Certifiable lovers of animals who don’t get to choose their home.
Should you be nuts and bring a pet in? Yes. In the meantime, here’s a few more things on my head outside of the giant Pit bull now sleeping next to my desk.
BEER HAS BECOME BORING TO ME
There was a time, maybe last year, where I could put away four bottles of Stella Artois like they were soda water. The Belgian lager was smooth and satisfying, a few steps past your cruiser beer that could function 365 days a year. But over time, it became a to hardship finish even two beers, sometimes a single bottle.
Overall, drinking alcohol isn’t as high of a priority as it used to be. If it’s there, pop it open and pass it down. A beer right after work? Sure, but probably just one. All of this to say that people don’t change as much as their preferences do. A couple fingers of whiskey gets to the point faster, or a nice-tasting Seltzer quenches the thirst without draining the entire body of energy.
No shame to the beer lovers. Judging by the growing number of breweries around town-it used to be Urban Chestnut and a few others-the consumer train isn’t slowing down. I’m not dipping into wine and never looking back. If anything, the palette for getting loose has been expanded. This may not be noteworthy, but it’s definitely on my mind as I sip a cup of coffee right before seven in the evening.
OLIVER MARMOL NEEDS TO STOP CONFUSING FANS FOR STUPID PEOPLE
Carrying on the moral of my dose from yesterday, the St. Louis Cardinals manager needs to stop fooling fans with his postgame comments. Calling them outright lollygaggers won’t play well with the bosses, but get real. Please don’t tell an adult that handed three hours of his or her time to your game that the team played hard.
“They really battled.”
Don’t make me laugh. Yeah, for the 27th out so they could be put out of their competitive misery in the shower. The Cards can rally around a home run eruption or a pleasant win over a good team, but don’t confuse a win with an overall style of play that resembles anything but Johnny Hustle. A team this bad could retain a few fans that are leaning towards soccer with more inspired play.
But no, they are not battling. Oli, your job is safe. It’s not your fault that this team is a dumpster fire, but few could find a realistic and statistically supported fact that proves he was a good manager this year. His pitching changes are cringeworthy, and his rapport with players isn’t much better than Mike Shildt, two years in. He can’t inspire a $157 million payroll-carrying team to do much more than this, so cut out the hustle comments.
The front office can’t fire him. It would look too bad for them. So unleash a few postgame rants. Don’t call players out; that never works out well. However, give out the idea that Major League players shouldn’t collectively resemble a trust fund kid pout face that reminds St. Louis sports fans of Marc Bulger after he threw an interception.
Side note: Play some Frank Sinatra and the mood can lift. The man was smoother than smooth, had the mob outlet to add toughness, and has a collection of songs that speaks to every human mood, including baseball. But St. Louis wasn’t flying high in April before being shot down in May, and June didn’t change the tune. It went from 93-win euphoria to maybe 70 wins. MAYBE…
How sad is that, Mr. Marmol? It’s not battling.
NEW JOB, NEW PEOPLE
Learning a new gig is as much about learning the people as it is the product. Crescent Plumbing Supply is no different. I am less than two weeks from my nine month anniversary, a span of time that has blown by in a blip.
During that time, I have learned the location and function of hundreds of items, each performing a certain function in a building or home. I have driven five different trucks, and a couple smaller delivery vehicles. From unloading 23 toilets that weigh 100 pounds apiece to wrestling a 50-gallon water heater from a skid, the physical element is never far away. Did I mention warehouse heat?
But it’s more than the product and regimen; it’s about the people. Learning the moods, abilities, and general aura of your teammates. Without them, it would take me an hour or more to load my truck in the morning. Without them, I wouldn’t know where a lot of stuff is. Taking the time to get to know them and what makes them tick is as important as strapping a skid correctly.
This week, let’s talk about Paul. He’s fair yet firm on the warehouse floor, meaning he is going to give you a little shit on occasion before helping you find a product. He’s going to expect you to be on point in the morning, being a former truck driver himself. He’s a big guy who moves like the pavement has tread, but will melt in the presence of a dog. If anyone could be blindfolded and locate 85% of the stuff in a giant, complex warehouse, it would be Paul.
He gets one soda a day to keep his health in check, and can speak 50 words with a single smirk. Every workplace needs a Paul, a ride or die kind of teammate. At times, the help may carry some heat, which is a combination of a person’s history mixed with what they’ve experienced in life. But if it’s sincere, the temperature of experience being handed over to a new guy is culpable.
Every day, I learn something new.
WELCOME BACK, BOBBY AXELROD
Showtime’s Billions hasn’t enjoyed the same success without their white knight. No offense to the very talented Paul Giamatti and Maggie Siff, but it’s always been the rebel from New York who kept our interest. In the beginning, we wanted his super hedge fund-wielding genius to go down, under the firm hand of Giamatti’s Chuck Rhodes. Towards the middle stretch, we began our descent to the dark side of Axe’s gluttonous consumption of small, overmatched companies.
The genius melted to a human being, and the change in character calibration (we care for this guy now) was complete. All of that happened due to Damian Lewis. He’s never been better, or more assured on screen. Homeland and Band of Brothers are great turns, but Axelrod is his masterpiece. He left the show after the fifth season following the death of his wife, Helen McCrory.
The sixth season wasn’t lackluster or unwatchable, just more unmemorable. Episodes came and went, the plot moved forward and predictable twists occurred. At the end, the show needed a shot of adrenaline. Lewis provided that in the seventh and last season. After consuming three episodes, the fastball on Brian Koppelman and David Levien’s drama series has returned--or at least gained a few mph.
The wordy dialogue with relentlessly versatile pop culture underbellies has always been carried by great acting. Giamatti can hold serve, but Lewis sparring with him (even if aligned) makes for great television. One guy doesn’t mind being bad, as long as he can skate the consequences as fast as he skates the rules. The other tries his best to stay noble, even if the tendency to break bad for a slam dunk case never leaves his mind.
FINAL RAMBLES:
-The shoulder is mad at me, the back won’t talk to me, and the right knee is ready for a breakup. But not everyone can do what I do, and there’s pride in that.
-Word to the wise: on those county roads, the winding ones that are loaded with fails, it would be kind to NOT ride the ass of a box truck. Speeding is so overrated when you witness car events from a higher peak.
-Matthew Tkachuk joined Cam Janssen and Andy Strickland on their podcast, Cam and Strick, this week. The Florida Panthers phenom is a good conversationalist, a chip off the block from his old man, Keith. The pod is good for interviews, but worth a listen every week for the two hosts berating each other’s habits and lives. That’s funny shit. Side note: I delivered a toilet to Strickland. He needs more hockey equipment in his garage.
-The strike goes on and studios remain greedy. Aaron Paul, co-star of Breaking Bad, said he’s never received a residual from Netflix streaming the series to great demand. What Sarah Jessica Parker makes every time Sex and The City airs doesn’t come to every star of a hit show. But a good friend, local filmmaker and photographer extraordinaire Douglas Wicker made a good point on my Facebook post today.
Due to filmmakers and actors making early deals with a still-growing Netflix, payments were up front only. Unions were able to clip these deals off due to the unknown ROI on Netflix back then. Then again, some things just need to change.
There’s plenty of movies to find while the two sides hash it out. Keep reading.