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 Old Man Paine's birthday was celebrated last eve, and as per my mother's tradition, he was allowed to select the menu for dinner. Though my tastes tend to gravitate towards the homegrown ham and cheesy potatoes, the old timer decided upon tacos as his meal of choice. The why and wherefore were lost to me until he told this story.
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Old Man Paine loves Purdue football, and he will follow it to the ends of the Earth. As it happened, following a 1966 season as the Big Ten runner up, Purdue would travel to Pasadena to play the USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl. A young man of some 33 years, OMP would follow his beloved Boilers to the west coast for the new year and the January 2nd (1967) Grandaddy of them All.
Many of the Purdue faithful, energized by a team that would continue to improve and be a factor in the national scene for 3 or 4 more years, traveled out to sunny SoCal for the game. It didn't hurt that Lafayette in January is as cold as a witch's tit.
In those days, L.A. as a whole was a different kind of city than other big cities in the US (as it continues to be). Paine Gold had been to Manhattan where he had discovered that a stout pair of legs put everything within easy reach. He had been to Chicago where the train can get you anywhere you need to go. L.A., though, had been born of a different time than that old America. L.A. was spread out for miles in every direction, had little public transport at the time since the street car had disappeared and the buses and the subway were still in their infancy. As a result, cabs had to be taken nearly everywhere.
He got hungry the nigh before the game and decided to find food outside the hotel. He walked out front and asked the valet to hail him a cab. A man standing next to him saw his Purdue jacket and clapped his shoulder saying, "Go Boilers." Dad turned to find that Gus Grissom, an American Hero, had just said hello. Dad greeted him and soon the valet arrived with Grissom's brand new  convertible Corvette. Waving, Grissom hopped in and sped into the night. Less than a month later, on 27 January, 1967, Grissom along with astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee would perish during a pre-launch test of the Apollo I mission.
When the cab arrived Dad asked the driver to take him someplace where he could get a bite to eat and strike off to see part of the city. The cabbie took him to Pershing Square which, in 1967, was very much a market street and hub since the new train and bus lines ran through it. There he found outdoor vendors selling all sorts of chow, some he recognized (like Chinese and Italian) and some he didn't (like Mexican and Japanese). He walked up to the first stand and bought 2 tacos for a quarter. And that, my dear friends, was the first time a Paine ate a taco.
The next day OMP would witness a duel of two teams on the rise. Purdue was the deeper, more balanced team with stars at quarterback and both safety positions. USC had a lot of talent, less balance and experience, was deep at tailback and tight end and the defensive front. Purdue would put together several drives under the hand of Bob Griese, and punch in a couple of touchdowns from short distance. They controlled the game for almost the whole duration, but the 14-7 lead, which had often been more than enough against a brilliant Purdue secondary, was in jeopardy. The Trojans, with only minutes left on the clock and their backs against the wall, moved the ball down field with authority for only the second time in the game. The Trojan QB, Troy Winslow, was far less well known than Griese, but game nonetheless. They scored the touchdown and decided to play for the win instead of the tie. With Purdue's great secondary playing tight to the line , USC decided to pass for the 2. It was a trap. Purdue Captain and safety George Catavolos jumped the out route and picked off the pass to save the day for Purdue. For Old Man Paine, that first taco is still the best.
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2008 Cubs Preview
Ok, Paine, let me have it...just how bad are my Browns? I'm sure you watched the game yesterday.
PINK TACO!!!
The Colts defense outscored the Colts offense and they won. nuff said I think