Page 10 - SKC 115 February Flipbook

SOLERA SUN / FEBRUARY 2017
Time is Precious | PART 1 A SHORT STORY SUBMITTED PAT DICICCO
The Palm Springs sun was a blistering 107 today. My past rolled across my mind and my future
was playing out before me. There I sat, in a parked car just outside the local bank. Waiting. Heat wasn’t
an issue today; my car was idling and my air conditioner was on, but I was sweating like a pig. I had sat here previously many times, always a Friday, always on my way to Vegas, always between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., always with an alertness and intensiveness that de nes me. For 3 months, I have done this, always parked just out of reach of security cameras. Life has a pattern and so do people. Every Friday at 10:00 the line that forms outside the bank is let in. Moments later an old lady walks by with her dog...every Friday! At 10:30 the manager of the neighboring restau- rant arrives and enters his domain, and minutes later walks next door and deposits the previous day’s receipts. Between 10:40 and 10:45 the Armored Truck arrives and parks in the alley on the side of the bank...EVERY Friday. One guard steps out and opens the rear door, the driver sits with his radio in his hand looking at his mirrors, and one guard remains in the back of the truck. At no time in this dura- tion has a Police car gone by, ever!
Your mind races in your idle time. Macabre thoughts take place and bounce off the walls of your brain, sometimes suffocating and blurring your judgement, but I
stay focused. Anxiety is high! I’ve played this out a hundred times. I know the I-10 is two blocks away and is a perfect escape route; Vegas, L.A., or Arizona can be had in a short time. I don’t read the paper while I watch the bank, however, I do
listen to the radio for local news. I am all business, but my mind does wander.
It was 5 months ago, when I received my death sentence. My Doctor calmly told me that my prostate cancer had invaded my lymph glands and was untreat- able. He gave me 4-8 months, mainly because I stayed t through the years. Each day I lived the thought of death consumed me. This caper was a great dis- traction from doom and excited my senses; it keeps me alive. I rationalized it didn’t matter if I
got caught, and the thought of traveling Europe and leaving my wife and kids a chunk of money when I died was uplifting too.
I must tase the guard when he enters the bank as he is armed. The transfer will take place and
I’ll walk out of the bank with a briefcase to my stolen car. I then drive two blocks to the rear of the McDonalds parking lot and switch into my car. The freeway exit is right there and I’m gone.
Today is the day. It’s 10:38 and time to put on my disguise and enter the bank. But rst I will call 911 to report a robbery on the other side of town. My throw away phone I purchased months ago, will be tossed in the trash can inside the bank. What do I have to lose? Let’s do it!
Part 2 will appear in the March issue of The Solera Sun.
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
Bacon, Cheddar
& Spinach Strata
10
Ingredients:
1 tbs bacon grease
1 lb loaf day-old bread cubed
12 large eggs
2 tsp kosher salt
1⁄2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
2 1⁄2 c. heavy cream
1 lb bacon, cut crosswise into 1⁄2 strips 1 lb fresh spinach, wilted, squeezed dry 12 oz shredded extra-sharp Cheddar
cheese divided
Preparation:
• Oil bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch baking dish with about a tablespoon of bacon fat.
• Place bread cubes in a mixing bowl. • Crackeggsintoaseparatemixing bowl. Season with salt, pepper, cay- enne, and nutmeg. Add cream and whisk mixture thoroughly.
• Pour egg/cream mixture over the bread cubes and mix to distribute ingredients evenly. Allow mixture to sit about 15 minutes to absorb the liquid. • Transfer half of the bread mixture to the baking pan; spread evenly over the bottom and press mixture down a bit. Top with half of the grated Cheddar cheese. Add cooked bacon pieces in an even layer over the cheese. Place the cooked spinach over the bacon; top with half of the remaining cheese. Finish with the rest of the soaked bread cubes, spread evenly and pressed down slightly. Sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese. Cover and let strata sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake strata in preheated oven until set, about 45 minutes.
Recipe by Chef John