My Baloney Has a First Name

I betcha you didn’t know today is National Bologna Day in the U.S. Don’t feel bad, neither did I. And if it weren’t for a kitchen conversation between Dagwood Bumstead and his neighbor, Herb Woodley, I could have gone another year in the dark.

It’s O-S-C-A-R.

Did you know that more than 800 million pounds of bologna (aka “baloney”) are ingested by us Americans every year? That works out to more than two and a half pounds per person annually.

My baloney has a second name,

One of my favorite memories of baloney is going to a special sale day at Pick ‘n Pay Supermarket in downtown Hilo sometime circa 1959-1960. They were giving free baloney sandwiches … nothing but a slice of baloney between two slices of soft, white Love's Bread, smeared with yellow mustard. Boy, was that delicious.

It’s M-A-Y-E-R.

Then, when I was going to college in Los Angeles, we used to frequent the little deli/market store just down the street, where the guy would slice baloney for you. I’d always ask him to make big slices, about a half-inch thick. Nothing like fried baloney and eggs in the morning!

Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A!

And that ain’t no baloney.