Recently, a few of my friends attended an informal party in my home. We were all, except one, about the same age fifty-something. We had lived in the same neighborhood and had the same general experiences while growing up in South Philadelphia.
Someone, with a faint smile on their face, asked if anyone remembered the Waffle Man. They had a memory flashback, caused by something said or done. Almost instantly, we all sighed. Of course we remembered! Although we had not thought of him in quite a while, we all had fond memories of this unforgettable character. We were then all wearing that same curious smile brought on by this memory flashback.
One of my friend's sons, who is twenty-something, was the exception. He said he had never heard of the Waffle Man. To satisfy his curiosity we related this explanation to him:
The Waffle-man was a pleasant, elderly, white haired man who regularly visited neighborhoods in South Philadelphia. To announce his arrival, he would clank loudly on a bell attached to his yellow push-cart, as he chanted . . . Waaaffles. Waaaffles. Freessh baked waaaffles. On his push-cart he had a gas-fired waffle iron, on which he cooked square Belgium waffles, six at a time. He used a homemade batter. When the waffles were cooked, he removed them from the griddle. From an ice box, also on his cart, he took an inch thick square of ice cream. It was three-flavored, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. He sandwiched this slice of ice cream between two of the still-warm waffles. The whole thing was then liberally sprinkled with white powdered confectionery sugar. This cost the princely sum of ten cents. They were simply delicious.
This started a flood of other memory flashbacks that I have attempted to catalog. This list is not complete, to be sure. There are probably inaccuracies in it, but remember . . . the second thing to go is the mind. What's the first thing to go? Gee, I forget.
Joe "Bag-a-Donuts" Sbaraglia
is the author of The Waffleman books.
There are many memory "flashbacks" in these five (5) books written
by Joe "Bag-A-Donuts" Sbaraglia
THE WAFFLEMAN THE WAFFLEMAN - PART TWO
YO - I 'MEMBER DAT! YO - I 'MEMBER DAT - TWO!
YO - I 'MEMBER DEM!
They cost only $7.00 per copy postage & tax included.
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Here’s Joe in a Video about: How to make a 1950s Scooter.
Presented by: Phillyneighbors.com
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Joe also writes "The Waffleman" a weekly column in
The Philadelphia Public Record.
Telephone: (215) 463-2632
Postal address:
Joe Sbaraglia
1815 South Watts Street
Philadelphia Pa 19148
E-mail: me @ Dwaffleman@aol.com or Waffleman@phillyrecord.com
Web Master: Tony Sbaraglia Sbrag@comcast.net
Copyright Notice: Dwaffleman.Com is the exclusive proprietor of this database and holds the copyright interests therein. Any public or commercial use, distribution or duplication of these materials without written permission from Dwaffleman.Com, is in violation of federal copyright law and may also violate the rights of third parties.
Updated December 8, 2009 8:37 PM
