Hard Labor 5.1 – Another Brick in the Wall?! – FeMike's (aka IronMikes) Blog

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Another Brick…to Paint?!

My final hard-labor job, before I settled into a 40-year career as a desk jockey, took place during the summer after my sophomore year at Allegheny College. At the time, I was a pre-med major who adored math but had a visceral dislike for biology. Dissecting frogs? Not a friggin’ chance—I skeeved (definition – see 2020-10-12 blog post here) the little guys; couldn’t touch the slimy SONSABEACHES (definition – see below)!

Fortunately, I had some wise advisors to help steer me… or at least confuse me further. Dr. Lundgren, my math professor and former engineer, suggested I consider engineering school. He joked that if I stuck with math, I could get a “Phony Doctorate” like him (a Ph.D.) and join the ranks of academics. Another advisor, Dr. LoBello, encouraged me to stay in the Math Department and possibly become an actuary.

But neither option felt right. I couldn’t see myself as Dr. Michael V.—my son would deserve that title someday in the far future. As for being an actuary? Back then I thought, “ACTUALLY, what do ACTUARIES ACTUALLY do? (At least now I do, and I’m likely to have liked that job!)

With that swirling confusion, I headed into the summer without a job. My old gig at Linde Wire wasn’t panning out, and after a few weeks of “strategic relaxation” (read: doing nothing), I reached out to Mr. Davey. He was the father of some high school friends and a bigwig at a local plastics company called PreMix. With his help and a nudge from Mr. Fritz at Linde Wire, I landed a job.

Little did I know how much this summer would shape my future.

Quick aside: According to Capo Carm, Mr. Davey passed away between November 2024, when I started writing this, and now. Rest in peace, Mr. Davey—you were one of the good ones.

Another aside on a lighter “side”: PreMix was at the cutting edge of thermoformed plastics in the 1970’s. I remember stacks of plates being tested between their research and development lab and the manufacturing floor. Little did I know those plates would end up being the iconic microwave-safe dinnerware for brands like Swanson, Budget Gourmet, and Le Menu!

from – Dinnerware Plates for sale | eBay

In fact, here’s one of those plates featured in a commercial for Le Menu frozen dinners. They paired them with “vintage wine”—because what says elegance like TV dinners and plastic plates?

Now, about my actual job at PreMix. Officially, I was hired for plant maintenance, but in reality, I did no “maintenance” whatsoever. My responsibilities boiled down to two tasks:

Paint the exterior cinder block brick wall of the plant, which was at least a football field long and 30 feet high.
Get rid of garbage.

To tackle the monumental painting project, I teamed up with Jerry, another college-aged summer hire. Our equipment? A forklift and a questionable homemade scaffold attachment (think: death trap on rails!).

Forklift homemade scaffold attachment from – click here

And again like Linde Wire, what were they thinking!

One of us would hop into the scaffold armed with paint and brushes, while the other operated the forklift to raise it into position. Once the scaffold was in place, the forklift operator would clamber up to join the painter.

Industrial safety standards of the late ’70s? Let’s just say OSHA wouldn’t have been impressed.

Here’s a Google Maps screenshot of the infamous wall. It still stands today, likely a testament to our labor and sheer dumb luck that no one got seriously injured.

It took us nearly two months to paint that wall, brick by painstaking brick. The plant’s management didn’t seem to mind the timeline—or the risk to our lives. After all, we were expendable college kids, right?

But, it was conversations with Jerry while on the death trap plank and the aforementioned, “garbage” disposal which truly changed my thoughts about a future! Next blog post…

Nebaletan Word of the Day – SONSABEACH?!

Not technically a unique Nebaletan phrase since SONSABEACH is somewhat universal, but it’s the pronunciation that gives it that special Nebaletan flair.

This word was a staple in my mom’s (Grandma Joanne) vocabulary and occasionally made guest appearances courtesy of my dad (Grandpa Tony). Grandma Joanne had an extensive repertoire of Nebaletan words to describe individuals she found… let’s just say “less than charming.”

SONSABEACH (son-sa-beach), plural – SONSABEACHES

The pronunciation of SONSABEACH aligns closely with another Nebaletan classic: “Sonamongona (Sona mu gonya) which I defined on October 10, 2023 in my blog post “The Long Snapper, That Son of Mu Gonya!“

If you haven’t guessed it yet, “SONSABEACH” is a playful twist on a certain English phrase. The “BEACH” part comes from the Italian pronunciation of the letter “i,” which sounds like a long “e” in English.

Variants and Derivatives

Per Capos Carm and Donnie, SONSABEACH evolved in their households into a few delightful variations:

SUMANABEACH (some-an-a-beach) and its plural SUMANABEACHERS – Carm’s grandfather
SUMBEACH – Donnie’s family

So next time someone cuts you off in traffic or steals your parking spot, feel free to channel your inner Nebaletan and shout, “SONSABEACH!” Just be prepared for some puzzled looks!

Pizza Review – Origin Craft Beer & Pizza – Sarasota, FL/Palmer Ranch

In December 2023, we ventured to the downtown (Southside Villages) Origin Craft Beer & Pizza. I reviewed it here, but to save you the trouble, let me summarize: it was underwhelming! Sure, the pizza was edible, but the price and atmosphere left a lot to be desired. My takeaway? This was a craft beer joint moonlighting as a pizzeria.

My Sarasota friends were shocked by my “negative” review. Why? Because I have a golden rule: all pizzas are good; some are just better than others. But let’s be honest—Origin in Southside Village fell into the “not better than others” category.

Not ones to give up easily (or to let me off the hook), my friends insisted I give it another shot. So, with their prodding, we decided to try the Palmer Ranch location, conveniently closer to home AND they happened to have a 2 for 1 special. We used Uber Eats for delivery to save to same hassle as before with a crowded brewery. We ordered this 2 for 1 with hope and an open mind…but alas, mi dispiace, ma no (I’m sorry, but no!).

Date	December 13, 2024
Pizzeria	Origin Craft Beer & Pizza – Palmer Ranch
City/Neighborhood	Sarasota, FL/Palmer Ranch
Website	ORIGIN \| Origin Pizza Cafe
About Us	Nothing! Never a good sign! Why do you even make pizza? Seems that you are a brewery first and pizzeria somewhere lower than…last!
Style	New York Style
Ambiance	Uber Eats – there’s nothing like home to not have to deal with a overcrowded brewery saying that it’s a pizzeria
Beverage Pairing	Mango Cart NA

Shape	Round
Dough/Crust	Tickness – Thin Cook – Soft NO, Sponge or air, Chewy, Fully brown bottom, no char/no brown spotting, just brown! Flavor – some crispiness, but really brown a flavor? Well, NO! Seems that the crust is just a carrier for sauce (which didn’t really exist) and cheese
Cornicione	A few bubbles and somewhat chewy
Toppings	Cheese which actually might have been thicker than the crust
Sauce	Tangy , thin although rich, but there was hardly any
Cheese	Cheese Type – Moozedell Cheese Distribution – All over Greasy, Salty, OVERCOOKED AND BROWN!
Cheese to Sauce Ratio	Sauce – A little to NONE Cheese – Medium to a lot Balance – way out of balance, needed to hunt for the sauce, too bad, the sauce was the best part!

Value	$18 for a 12″ Margherita. Highway robbery for the quality of the pizza! Even at with the 2 for 1 special, the $9 per pizza is not a bargain when the pizza is MEH at best
Overall Rating	Meh
Would I Go Back?	No – never say never? Well, I can safely say never again! Once again, a brewery that makes pizza because it’s “easy”. If it were so easy, why is yours MEH? Best to stick to frying chicken wings!