70-Year-Old Man Fights Off Home Intruder and National Shrimp Day

70-Year-Old Man Fights Off Home Intruder - Fighting back stories such as this are easily my favorite news stories! The concept of someone displaying great courage when confronted with danger evokes scenes from Charles Bronson's "Death Wish" movies. When the courageous man who is fighting back is seemingly at a great disadvantage because of age or health, in my mind he is all the more a hero!

Seventy-year-old Michael Salame has eight heart stents, nerve damage, and apparently quite a right hook, as an alleged home invader found out.

It was about 3 AM Saturday when Salame was at home with his girlfriend and heard something outside. He did not realize that the intruder—identified as 24-year-old Timothy Adams—had already shattered a window, climbed inside, then gone back outside.

When Salame spotted the man outside stumbling over his trash barrels, he called 911. By then, Adams was back in the house and the two were face-to-face in the foyer.

"I went to the other side of the house to call the police department and didn’t want to spook him so I didn't turn any lights on," Salame said. "I turned around and there he was; he was inside my house." Salame said he was in no mood for visitors.

"He came in, and that's when I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him down on the floor and told him to stay on the floor and not to put his hands in his pockets. I didn't know if he had a knife or a gun on him," Salame said.


"He managed to get up again and he tried to get up the staircase and I decked him three times with a right and he went down again," he said. "I give him three good rights — I caught him right in the face. He went down and he never got up again."

It is not as if Salame is a retired boxer, and he has several limiting medical conditions. Due to nerve damage, Salame has to wear bracelets with metals straps on his arms at night. "That kind of worked as a weapon," Salame said. "It worked like a boxing glove."

When the intruder went down, Salame said the would-be thief offered him thousands of dollars to let him go. "He offered me $100,000," said Salame. Salame told the man the only place he would be going is the police station.

Adams is charged with breaking and entering and destruction of property.

National Shrimp Day - Most of the shrimp consumed in the United States comes from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Gulf Coast. Generally speaking, the colder the water the smaller and more succulent the shrimp. Shrimp change color when one cooks them due to a heat induced chemical change in their shells. Jumbo and colossal shrimp are referred to as prawns—although the prawn is actually a different species.

Shrimp are available year round: shelled or unshelled, raw or cooked, fresh or frozen. Smell raw shrimp when purchasing and look for an ocean-side fragrance. Choose plump, juicy shrimp and rinse under cold water before tightly covering and refrigerating. Shrimp can be used in a variety of dishes but classic shrimp cocktail is one of the best recipes to highlight the pure taste of fresh shrimp.

Shrimp Cocktail
5 large uncooked shrimp
1/2 cup chili sauce
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup horseradish
1 drop hot sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt

Clean shrimp by deveining and discarding heads and shell if present. Leave shrimp tails intact. Boil shrimp for about 3-4 minutes. Do not overcook, as shrimp will become tough. Shrimp are done as soon as they become opaque. Combine all other ingredients to make sauce. Place 3-4 shrimp in individual serving dishes with greens and lemon garnish. Pour cocktail sauce over shrimp, or dip the shrimp in the sauce.

Let's Eat! and Let's Laugh!

Let's Eat! - Last evening, we enjoyed a delightful repast: Laura cleaned a quantity of large prawns. She made a marinade of exotic lime-infused extra-virgin olive oil, minced garlic, grated fresh ginger, and herbs and spices. She marinated the prawns overnight. I julienned zucchini, yellow squash, and yellow, orange, and red baby sweet peppers. Laura quickly sautéed the prawns and vegetables and took the dish to the table. For condiments, we had freshly grated Parmesan cheese. ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes. It was delicious.

A quantity of leftovers followed me to mine office and shall provide a succulent luncheon dining pleasure for me.

Let's Laugh! - Now, it is time to relax and chortle a bit!

Prawns, Penne, and Cats

Prawns and Penne - Saturday, Laura and I enjoyed a wonderful feast: She grilled beautiful New York strip steaks and portabella mushrooms. Laura made a nice marinade for the steaks and mushrooms, and they were wonderful. While she grilled, I cooked a package of penne until al dente, drained, and set aside. I put butter, extra-virgin olive oil, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper, and ground basil in a large sauté pan. I sautéed this for a few minutes then added a package of baby spinach that I had julienned. I stirred this for a few minutes, added the penne, and stirred.

The meal was excellent, and there was a quantity of penne remaining. Sunday evening, Laura cleaned and marinated some enormous prawns. Last evening, she grilled the prawns quickly indoors on a special grilling pan. She reheated half of the leftover penne and added the prawns to the penne. Words fail me. This photograph will suffice:

Hunger Pangs, Please Remain Seated, -and- Lawnmower Man

Hunger Pangs - world's priciest foods
Please Remain Seated! - woman arrested for trying to open airplane door at 30,000 feet
Lawnmower Man - man faces 6 years for armed attack on mower

On this day in history: July 28, 1957 - A C-124 transport plane carrying three nuclear weapons jettisons its precious cargo into the Atlantic, somewhere east of Delaware and New Jersey. The bombs are never recovered.

Born on this day in history: July 28, 1929 - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929 - 1994) Born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Southampton, New York, Jackie Onassis married John F. Kennedy in 1953. As first lady, she promoted the arts, history and high style. The couple had two children, Caroline (1957– ) and John (1960 — 99). After Kennedy’s death, she married Greek magnate Aristotle Onassis. In later years, Onassis lived quietly and worked in publishing.

Scripture of the Day: When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. - Matthew 7:28-29

Video of the Day: Bunny Eating Banana - submitted by Cindy

R-E-S-P-E-C-T - Yikes!!! Click to enlarge.

Blue skies! Yesterday—for the first time in many weeks—the skies were blue and clear, the air was clean, and the birds were singing! This morning, the sky is bluer and clearer yet, and the birds are singing more loudly! Praise God!

Laura's birthday is Thursday, July 31. We celebrated it over the weekend, however. The celebration culminated with dinner last evening. I asked Laura what she wanted for her birthday dinner, and she said she wanted me to make "the giant prawns that taste like lobster—and lots of them!" I got two large packages of giant prawns. I washed them, snipped off the tails, and cut them in half. Laura coated them with olive oil to ensure the shells would not stick to the grilling grate. I made a mop with a stick of Land O' Lakes butter, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, granulated garlic, ground ginger, Tony Chachere's More Spice, Italian seasoning, lime juice, and sea salt. I cooked the mop in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup until it the butter melted fully. I reserved a glass bowl for dipping. I placed a grilling grate on the barbecue. I arranged the prawn halves—shell-side down—on the grilling grate. I ignited both burners and turned them to medium. I brushed the prawn halves three times and cooked for 5 minutes. Laura took the garlic bread from the conventional oven and placed it in a serving bowl. I turned off the barbecue, plated the shrimp, and took them to the table. It was an absolutely delightful meal. There seemed to be an endless quantity of prawns, and several times we exclaimed that we could eat no more. However, when we left the table, the last prawn shell had been removed and cast aside and the prawn meat devoured hungrily.