Table of Contents
- Baseball #6: Wiffle Ball!?
- Nebaletan Word of the Day – PAWNZO!?
- Pizza Review – 500 Degrees, Nokomis, FL – Sicilian Style
The Baseball Series:
- Baseball – Why Do I Love Thee? (here)
- Baseball – Baseball Cards!
- Whiffle Ball! – this post
- High School Baseball!
- Baseball – The Pros and The Cons (of statistics that is…)
Baseball #6: Wiffle Ball!?
Along with my love for baseball cards and my love-hate relationship with Little League (next article), there was wiffle ball (Wiffle ball – Wikipedia)! I could play wiffle ball for hours! Most games were mano e mano – one on one combat, but sometimes there were 2 or 3 per team but usually no bigger.
Ronnie the Gracious Natural
My cousin Ronnie wasn’t just a competitor — he was a dominator. Calling him a “competitor” would imply I had a fighting chance — that we were evenly matched and I might win half the time. I wasn’t. And I didn’t.
Ronnie was a natural. Gifted at baseball. Deadly at wiffle ball. On top of that, he was older, stronger, and hit puberty while I’m still waiting to mature. Thankfully, he was also gracious— never handed out true beatdowns. He kept things fair-ish when we were kids. But let’s be real: I rarely won.
Our go-to game was Home Run Derby, which at least gave me a sliver of hope. I could hit about anything back then.
But we didn’t use the usual plastic yellow bat and regulation ball. We played with:
- The same, thin, unforgiving fungo-style bat as above
- BUT, tiny plastic wiffle golf balls
- And we pitched them hard— no mercy, just pure heat
Between the skinny bat, the crazy movement from the wind, and the speed we threw, just making contact felt heroic. But when we did hit it, which Ronnie did frequently, but me, not so much — boom— that little ball flew.
Our target? Uncle Louie’s house across the lot. Uncle Louie and Aunt Jenny were always watching us from their kitchen window. Uncle Louie, my Grandma Maouri’s brother, was a fixture — a die-hard
Cleveland Indians fan who loved talking baseball as much as watching it.
We’d finish a round, and Uncle Louie wave us over for commentary, like his own kitchen-side postgame show. Those were the days: wild pitches, flying plastic golf balls, and baseball talk with Uncle Louie —
while trying not to break his windows.
Donnie the Combatant!
Conversely, Donnie and I were true combatants! While in grade school, we fought at everything – table hockey, knee Nerf basketball, AND wiffle ball! Many times, we’d go days without talking as a result!
In our one on one games, Donnie would choose a “team” consisting “ghost players” from both the Minnesota Twins (think Oliva, Killebrew, Carew) and Indians. I primarily was Indians but often from
different eras (think Bob Feller with Chris Chambliss) or occasionally, I’d add in a Pittsburgh Pirate -Clemente, Stargell…When it came to Indians – Donnie was always John Lowenstein, and I was Charlie Spikes, the Bogalusa Bomber!
I’m not certain why I choose Charlie Spikes other than I liked that Jim “Mudcat” Grant, the radio and TV guy, nick-named him the Bogalusa Bomber!
As for Donnie and John Lowenstein – I’m not quite sure…
Nebaletan Word of the Day – PAWNZO!?
PANZO (pronounced pawn-zo) was a favorite word of my mother, Grandma Joanne who used it in reference to one’s tummy or belly (primarily one’s big/fat belly)!
In context:
- Grandma Joanne, “Jerry (our neighbor and my godfather) has a good PONZO! Mary (Jerry’s mother) must make good macaroni!” This was because Jerry was a little round.
- Then Jerry went into the military service for Vietnam when he returned svelte! Upon first seeing Jerry, Grandma Joanne shrieked, “Jerry, what happened to your PONZO?!”
I did several searches to find PONZO, found little:
- Italian Word of the Day: Pancia (tummy / belly) – Daily Italian Words
- And panzagin’! – I’m full! [paan-zaa-GEEN] from https://americanitalian.net/2009/04/14/italian/
Chip believes PANCIA (pronounced PAWN-CHEE-AH) is where PONZO comes from. But, for me, Chip’s explanation and the two definitions above are a stretch.
So, I’m quite unsure where Grandma got this word.
Pizza Review – 500 Degrees, Nokomis, FL – Sicilian Style
In my last post (here), I mentioned that I’d ventured to 500 Degrees, a new Italian eater near my home. Cathy was away, so I wanted to make sure she’d have a chance to enjoy the new find too!
Last time, I ordered a 12″ pie to eat there and an Eggplant Parm to take home for later – they were fabulous!
This time, I tried their Sicilian Style pizza – and of course, we took our meals home for later!
| Date | April 18, 2025 |
| Pizzeria | 500 Degrees Eatery |
| City/ Neighborhood | Nokomis, FL / Near the new hospital |
| Website | |
| About Us | No real website with an about us section – too bad, they have a nice story! |
| Style | Sicilian Style |
| Ambiance | See last post – here |
| Beverage Pairing | Pepsi zero |
| Rating Criteria | |
| Shape | Square |
| Dough/Crust | Tickness – Tick Cook – Soft, Crispy, Chewy – Slightly over cooked on parts of the bottom and slightly under cooked / rare-ish / raw dough-ish right under the sauce. Flavor – Buttery. Sweet, Bready in a good way versus Bready in a bad no taste way Heavy. Not nearly as airy and light as the NY Style I had on my first trip. Not highly digestible due to undercooking and heaviness |
| Cornicione | Crispy crunchy, Chewy, and Sweet – not as good as the NY Style of the previous visit |
| Toppings | 1/2 Pepperoni and Buffalo moozedell Fresh – likely |
| Sauce | Tangy, Rich Tomato taste, Sweet, Spicy – distinct oregano flavor, Very nice |
| Cheese | Cheese Type – Buffalo Moozedell Cheese Distribution – All over, Stringy, Salty |
| Cheese to Sauce Ratio | Sauce – A little to Medium Cheese – Medium Balance – good balance, but unfortunately, that doesn’t overcome the dough wetness / rawness |
| Value | The menu says that it’s a 16″ square Sicilian – not really. It was rectangular and likely 12″ x 16″ pan which is typical for high quality pans like a Lloyd’s pan. This comes out to an outstanding value of $11.20 for a 12″ equivalent round. This place is truly a great value. |
| Overall Rating | Unfortunately, 500 Degrees’ Sicilian was not up to the snuff of their Round Pie of my first visit. At best, their Sicilian is Good (which is not Great) and Meh (which is not good). This is based upon the wet dough layer under the sauce, it’s heaviness, and the slightly burnt bottom. And, just as with dialing in the interior, it takes a while to dial in recipes in a new oven – so I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and say Good. |
| Would I Go Back? | Yes – but not likely for a Sicilian pizza – I’ll stick with the NY Style. |
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