Oddly enough, she had a hard time finding a job after college, and thus wound up in the US Navy, during the Vietnam years, spent some time in the Pentagon and in Pearl Harbor. Not a bad way to get your GI Bill benefits, which put her through medical school, which put her into a career as an independent physician.
She was the last of the old-style doctors -- lived over the store, saw everybody, and refused to take orders from insurance companies and play the game the way that the accountants dictate. So she was a humane physician but forgot to get rich (hence, living next to LOVESalem HQ now rather than in a big city condo near the Arts District -- where the retired gentlemen hang out to discuss music literature -- or some mountain lake somewhere).
After retiring, she's turned herself into quite the gourmet cook -- she bakes a mean blueberry pie, for example. Wonderful neighbor that she is, there is one problem -- I don't know whether it's the music literature or the MD at work but she is, how do we put this, VERY HARD TO PLEASE, especially around food.
And yet. Today, we had lunch at Church St. Pizza (on Church St. ! Where Christo's used to be, a couple doors north of Chemeketa, just south of the Chase Bank on Center St.) - and lo! It was good. Very good, in fact.
And she was well pleased! She had a supremo (a veggie combo slice with sausage) and I had a veggie slice and a cheese slice -- and it was wonderful. I don't know if Ian puts crack in his crust or what, but it's amazing. Thin yet loaded with flavor.
Crazy neighbor's most telling comment during lunch: "You know how with most pizza you try to eat it so you eat the parts you like and avoid the rest --- there isn't any part that's not good on this!"
And it's true. Check it out.
P.S. They're also serving local wines by the glass and Oregon beers! Handmade pizza with Oregon beer --- mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . .
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