Some Sad News From Arbetter's
Does tryptophan affect tear ducts? Because we're welling up after reading this, a great article about the owner of Arbetter Hot Dogs who is fighting cancer in his pancreas and liver. Ronnie Arbetter has spent his life serving hot dogs and supporting local high school sports, and now he's been told he doesn't have more than a year left:
Doctors first told him he would survive for no more than six months. He's going on seven now, ``and I'm still doing about the same. . . . I don't look to the future too much. I just go day by day.''We're tearing up again, and we're not particularly fond of the Red Sox. You should really read the whole article. And best wishes to Ronnie. Here's hoping he's got a couple more years left.When the Red Sox, also going day by day, reached the World Series in 2004, Arbetter's Hot Dogs quickly became a sanctuary for fans. When the team whipped St. Louis for its first World Series title since 1918, Ronnie fulfilled a promise of his late father and ladled up free baked beans. Bob Arbetter died in 2002, and ''the night they won, we looked up into the sky and said a few little prayers,'' Ronnie says. 'I told him, `Dad, what a day you missed.' . . . It was almost typical of how the Red Sox would break your heart. We're talking since 1960 he was waiting to serve baked beans. We were thinking about him that day all day, sharing stories of what he would have been like.''
In October, when the Sox swept the Rockies for another Series championship, there were more free beans, and Ronnie was feeling well enough to serve them.
''I had a blast,'' he says. ``It really made me feel good. It was very uplifting just seeing the customers again and all those wacky fans. I'll admit, I thought the Sox were done when they fell behind three games to one to the [Cleveland] Indians. To watch them come back and win like that and then to sweep was just great.''
Cancer hasn't dimmed hot dog slinger's passion for sports, helping others [Miami Herald]
Arbetter Hot Dogs [MenuPages]
Photo: Flickr
