THE YANKEES, MY DAD & FUDGIE THE WHALE

Father's Day is all about dad. It's a day to show appreciation and make memories, and I think this year I did just that. It was a day meant for my dad, but I think I got just as much out of it as he did.

Every Sunday I go to my dad's house and spend the day there. We have breakfast, beat up on each other's sports teams over breakfast and continue to do it as we break bread at the dinner table later in the day. That in itself is a tradition. When the Yankees are doing good, my dad will give props to the team and when things are not going well.....let's just say it gets brutal. I take it in the teeth in stride though. He is a Diamondbacks / Mets fan after all so you have to let him have his fun when he can.

This past weekend I spoiled my dad while he got his digs in. While a special Father's Day homemade French Toast was being made my dad was in fine form. I believe it went a little something like this:

Dad: "What happened to the Yankees? HUH?! Are you in 5th place yet?"
Me: "No dad. Stop confusing us with the Blue Jays....or the bottom feeder Mets."
Dad: "Well you can't say that about the Diamondbacks now, can ya?"
Me: *heavy sigh* "Nope."
Dad: "The Yankees are done. You can't even beat the Mets. The METS! They stink. You lost 4 straight games."
Me: "Oh, I remember."
Dad: "How many games out are you now?"
Me: "4, dad."
Dad: "4 games?! You have to catch the Orioles AND then the Red Sox. Not this year."
Me: "It's only June dad, it's early."
Dad: "They've lost 5 in a row now!"
Me: "It's just a slump, no big deal."

Dad: "It would've been nice to go out on top and do it for Mariano Rivera."
Me: "They still can, dad."
Dad: "I don't think so."

Then after breakfast we called a cease-fire, temporarily. I think that had a lot to do with another surprise he got.

When I was a lot younger, living in New York it was tradition to get dad a Carvel Ice Cream cake for Father's Day. But not just any ice cream cake....the KING of all cakes. I'm talking about Fudgie the Whale. A couple of years ago Arizona got a teeny tiny piece of New York. Carvel finally arrived. There are only a couple, and one happens to be within driving distance to my dad. I say that because driving a far distance in Arizona to get an ice cream cake just isn't doable. It turns into soup very fast. At any rate, I was just going to settle for ice cream, but fate was calling. I walked into the store and on the shelf it was there.....it was meant to be. ONE Fudgie the Whale cake.

It was like finding the Golden Ticket from Willie Wonka himself. Of course, I had to buy it and personalize it just for him. It cost a fortune, but the smile on my dad's face made it worth it.

I brought the hidden treasure back to the house and as soon as he saw it his face lit up. By the time I got it back to the house the game was over, so the next conversation went like this:

Dad: "Jeana, did the Yankees win?"
Me: "Yup!"
Dad: "What was the score?"
Me: "6 to 5"
Dad: "Free the pigeons! The Yankees are alive!"

At the end of the day my dad had to take a picture of his special cake. It didn't last too long though, because eventually Fudgie became a piece of history. By the end of the night it was my turn to tease him back a little:

Dad: *groans* "I think I are too much Fudgie."
Me: "Pace yourself with the rest of the cake."
Dad: "He's so good though. I can't move."
Me: "Gee dad, are you trying to say you are a beached whale?!"

So it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. It was filled with good food, family, friendly rivalries, a much needed Yankee victory and of course, I can't forget......Fudgie the Whale. I couldn't draw it up any better than that.

--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ


 
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