Presenting – The Garden Gate Restaurant a.k.a. “The Goof” – Good Food in the Beach since 1952

It was time for lunch after my extensive interview at the Balmy Beach Club, and all I had to do was walk up the street and head into the first restaurant that presented itself to quench my hunger. The Garden Gate Restaurant, affectionately nick-named “The Goof”, is a true institution in the Beach, and the restaurant’s sign certainly is one of the most frequently photographed landmarks in this area.

I sat down in this busy place and looked over the menu which contains a wide selection of Chinese and Canadian specialties, all on offer at a very reasonable price. The restaurant was bustling with activity, and people were just streaming in for lunch. Since I had another appointment in the afternoon I was looking for speedy service, and sure enough, the waitress approached me promptly. I ordered the special of the day: “General Tso Chicken” features hot chunks of boneless chicken, sautéed with the chef’s special sauce. I started my meal with a steaming won-ton soup, a great way to warm up on a freezing winter day. The General Tso Chicken was very tasty, with a crispy texture and spicy sauce, and the portion was so generous I actually had to take half of my meal home.

All the waiters were very busy, but I just had to find out a bit more about this culinary institution in the Beach, so my waitress connected me with the owner: Raymond Lee. I could tell right away Raymond is a rather shy individual and not one who enjoys the limelight. In addition he was tied up with some work at the back of the restaurant, but he graciously took a few minutes and sat down with me to answer my questions.

Raymond has co-owned the Garden Gate Restaurant for about 15 years now with a partner. Before he became co-owner he used to work here, so he has a personal long-standing history with this restaurant. Way back in high school he worked part-time in the restaurant business already. After graduation he went to Brock University and completed a degree in business and economics and started to work in accounting with companies such as Famous Players and Petro Canada. Raymond describes his situation with the words that “he was a small clerk in a big corporation”, but he always wanted to be his own boss.

In 2006 Garden Gate underwent a major restoration: everything was changed, a new kitchen was installed – the main reason for the renovation. The bar and all the furniture are new. The only original components left are the floor and the ceiling tiles. Of course, the treasured street sign has stayed intact, although the façade of the building has changed and was replaced by big full-length glass windows.

Raymond describes his restaurant as a “Canadian – Chinese restaurant” because he features both Canadian and Chinese fare. The restaurant opens early in the morning, and the Canadian breakfast is extremely popular. Sandwiches, pork chops and steaks are also offered along with a long list of Chinese specialties. The restaurant is fairly large: it can hold 70 people inside and 30 people on the patio.

“The Goof” has about ten staff members today, and one of them is Hazel, who with 54 years of service, has been here virtually forever, and has become a treasured neighbourhood institution in her own right. Hazel usually comes in Wednesday to Saturday from five to ten pm, so I did not have a chance to meet her, but Raymond added that she works here because she wants to be here. She has fun interacting with the clientele, and the patrons love her.

Prices at the Garden Gate Restaurant are extremely reasonable, and portions are plentiful. The restaurant also offers takeout and delivery and is open 7 days a week from 8 am to midnight. Raymond succinctly summed up the philosophy of “The Goof” for me: “Friendly service, good prices, good food”.

A Eureka Tent Was My 7 Year Old’s Favorite Birthday Present

My son just turned 7 years old this week. Surprisingly his favorite birthday present was a Eureka tent. We signed him up for cub scouts a few months ago. My wife and I agree that scouting is a good life experience for our boy. Which is good because otherwise I would have to sneak him away to the meetings. My son, Jan, is somewhat of a ham. He loves attention, and will get it anyway he can. When I first started taking him out to fish or hike, he would act scared. I think he was just acting to get attention, because in other situations he seems pretty fearless. Like running in the woods in the dark… I’ll finish that story later in just a minute. So, my son has been pretty excited about being a cub scout. At his age scouting is all about fun and getting the kids to learn something without them realizing it and running away covering there ears.

For Jan’s 7th Birthday, his grandmother went online to the scouting supply store, and bought him a Class A uniform, and other scout supplies including the BSA 75th Anniversary Akela 2 person Eureka tent, which is no longer available. Jan’s mother and I got him… toys. We figured we would have him open grandma’s presents first, thinking he would like them but would want toys, so we saved the remote helicopter and video game and transformers for last. Well, we should have done it the other way around, who knew. After opening everything the first thing he wanted to do was set up the tent.

So we went out back and started unpacking it. Of course Jan wanted to do it all, even if he didn’t know what he was doing. I have to hand it to him though, after a few minutes he figured most of it out. He wasn’t quite strong enough to bend the poles in order to insert the pins, but I was there to help him with that. Once I got the pins inserted into the poles, he started clipping the tents sides to the poles. I got to tell you the quick clips, shock corded poles, and ring pin / pole features are really great. They make setting up and tearing down a breeze. I was really surprised once we got it set up. The thing is huge for a 7 year old. I’m sure it will last him clear until he’s a full BoyScout, especially since its made by Eureka. Most of you probably already know a 2 person tent will only fit 1 person comfortably, because you need room for your gear. Well, Jan definitely had plenty of room. The dogs liked it too.

The next day I had to rush home from work at the end of the day because Jan’s cub scout troop had a camping trip planned at Starkey Park. Starkey Park is a great campground by the way. It’s located in New Port Richey, Florida about 45 minutes from Tampa Bay. Its a good thing me and Jan got familiar with the tent the night before, because by the time I got us there it was already getting dark. Making camp wasn’t too hard even though light was scarce. When the Troop Leader stopped by to say hi, he noticed we had two tents setup and look a little confused. He thought it was really strange that Jan would be sleeping alone. I just told him Jan was very independent and didn’t want to share his new tent. After that we started building a fire, which didn’t take long. Jan decided he wanted to move his tent a few feet further away from the fire and before I could say anything he took out the stakes and moved the whole thing back. I wouldn’t have been able to do that with my old pop tent. That ring and pin/pole feature is really cool.

This is the part where my son receives his first black eye. It’s that special time in a boys life when he realizes getting hurt isn’t as bad as being afraid of getting hurt. Jan saw his best friend two campsites away from us and went running after him, completely disregarding my calls. You would think its common sense not to run in the woods in the dark(unless your being chased by a madman with a machete), unfortunately common sense isn’t that common in children. Jan tripped over a log and fell on a tree stump. It caught him just below his left eye. A half an inch higher and his nickname, “Jan the Pirate” would have some real weight to it. Jan stood up holding his eye, which made me start to freak out just a little. Luckily It wasn’t anywhere close to as bad as my overactive fatherly imagination first thought. I was relieved when I saw that his eye was still very much intact, but I could tell right away that he was going to have a shiner.

Jan took it like a man, I couldn’t believe it. He didn’t cry or anything, just got a bit of an attitude because he was embarrassed that he fell. After Jan begrudgingly let me look at his wound, he went into his tent and zipped up the doors and windows. He thought the other boys would make fun of him. One of the den mothers brought us over some ice to keep the swelling down. We gave Jan the ice and talked him out of the tent with the prospect of roasting marshmallows. To Jan’s surprise, and mine, all the other boys thought Jan was the toughest scout there due to his lack of tears; and even some of the older boys admitted they would have cried.

The next morning before breakfast at the pavilion, me and Jan packed up. We ate and did some activities and played baseball with the other cub scouts. I had a bit of a hard time with him when it was time to go, until I told him we had to go to another birthday party(big families are the best). After we got home, I told Jan we had to clean up all out camping gear. I got to listen to some moaning and groaning about that, until I told him he was in charge of setting up his tent to dry out. Jan’s birthday tent made a fun weekend an unforgettable one.

I started writing this article to recommend the BSA’s 75th Anniversary Akela Eureka Tent, but, before I could finish it I came to the realization that it is no longer available. I can, However, recommend a comparable Eureka tent that would suit a cub scout or boyscout. The Apex 2 – 3 Season Eureka Tent is almost identical to the Akela Eureka Tent. Both have about 36 sqft of area, ring and pin/pole assembly, and shock corded poles. They also weigh about the same at a little over 5 lbs. And you can count on a Eureka tent to last.

Public Speaking: How Connectives Make Your Presentation Easier to Follow and More Interesting

Imagine that you are listening to a speaker at a conference or even at the head of the boardroom table and you begin to notice that every sentence is connected with the word and. Have you ever heard this before? Nothing could be less interesting than listening to this dull, unimaginative style of addressing an audience except possibly hearing you know at the end of every sentence!

I know a presenter who begins every new idea or sub-topic with the words, “And the next point I want to cover… ” This becomes very tedious and predictable. When your audience knows what you are going to say before you say it, you will lose their attention. The answer is to use one of four types of connectives.

Connectives are a part of good writing skills but they are also a part of good speaking skills. A connective is a word, a phrase or a sentence that not only connects your ideas in your speech or presentation but also shows the relationship between ideas.

1. Transitions – words or phrases that indicate that you have finished one thought and are moving on to another.

    Now that I have explained the problem of using the word and to connect all your sentences, let’s look at some more interesting ways of connecting your ideas.

2. Internal Previews – more detailed than transitions, the internal preview lets your audience know what you are going to talk about next.

    In talking about the use of good connectives, I’d like to first discuss the transition.

3. Internal Summaries – one or more brief sentences in the body of the speech which gives a summary of your previous point or points. Internal summaries are very effective because they reinforce what you have previously said.

    Now that we’ve seen the difference between the transition and the internal preview, let’s look at the 3rd connective which is the internal summary.

4. Signposts – a brief statement, a number. or even a question which indicates where you are in your speech and places the focus on your key ideas.

    The most important thing to remember about connectives is that they move you from one idea to another, often reinforcing that which has been said and preparing your audience for what is to be said.

Adding interest to your delivery, connectives are a vital part of a good presentation and are very beneficial in helping you coordinate your ideas as well as helping your listeners organize that which you have said.