Haines His Way

Loved variety shows back in the good old days. Watched them all. Faves: Garry Moore Show, Carol Burnett Show, Ed Sullivan, Smothers Brothers, Dean Martin, sometimes Sonny and Cher, I even used to like Mitch Miller and his bouncing ball.
Last month PBS had on some Sinatra specials (with Ella, Jobim, etc.) Boy, were they good!

Countdown to 40,000 posts.  I'd say we're getting within spitting distance, wouldn't you?

Ok, but no spitting.  That's a nasty habit.  

My other question of the day: Tipping.How much should I give the following people:

The guy/gal that is going to pick me and the luggage up and drive me to/form the airport.

If it's a shuttle with other people - I usually just give one dollar per bag that they have to take on and off the vehicle (If you have two big bags and a tiny bag - count that as two bags total)


The guy/gal who takes my luggage at the airport..

Same thing.

The guy/gal porter at the hotel..

Same. But you might add a bit extra if he takes you up to the room, shows you how to work the AC, etc.

The maid.  And I have several questions about this..
Should I leave money for her every day or just one big tip when I leave?
WHERE do I leave the money?  On the dresser?  Should I put it In an envelope?  Or do I give it directly to her?
How much should I leave her?.

One tip when you leave. If she hasn't done anything other than her usual job, I just leave a dollar a night in an envelope with "Maid" written on it. On the desk, or anywhere visible. (if you're at a terribly posh hotel, this would be more.)
BTW - If a maid or housekeeper comes to your room on some special mission - you've asked for an extra blanket, etc. and you're there - give her a buck.

The cabbies.  How much of a tip should I give them?  I think I’ll only be using one cab to/from  the BWW concert at Joes Pub.

Depends. Someone from NY should get this one. I tend to overtip in cabs.

Anyone know how far that is from the Milford and how much I should expect to pay in fare and tip?

Don't know.

Is there anyone else I should tip? Besides at the restaurants, I think it’s 10% of the meal there.

NO on the 10%. Tip at least 15%. I always leave 20% - which is not unusual.

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Same. But you might add a bit extra if he takes you up to the room, shows you how to work the AC, etc.




The cabbies.  How much of a tip should I give them?  I think I’ll only be using one cab to/from  the BWW concert at Joes Pub.

Depends. Someone from NY should get this one. I tend to overtip in cabs.

Anyone know how far that is from the Milford and how much I should expect to pay in fare and tip?

All right, DRs Panni and Danise, let me see if I can help here.  Taxi fares just went up again.  I believe the taxi from midtown to the East Village will run you around $8.00, and since a 20% tip would make it $9.60, I'd estimate around $10.00 each way.  This may be high, but I don't think so.  Any other New Yorkers want to jump in here?

I'm generous with taxi drivers because I hate figuring out the change.  

Good evening all!

Or... as I originally typed that: Godd eveing all!

BK - I wish there was a series of books with a character with my exact name.  Mr. Kritzer (non-fiction) is a lucky guy - and you're even luckier to have gotten the chance to hear from him via this site.  A lovely story

Jennifer - If Rocco was cutting up live frogs, he is clearly is just as bad at being a compassionate carnivore as he is at managing his restaurant

Grits = gross.  Or at least the ones I had while I was in M-I-DOUBLE "S"-I-DOUBLE "S"-I-DOUBLE "P"-I a few years ago.  But then I am not a big fan of black pepper and the grits I had were covered in the stuff.

Happy Birthday Joe!!!

Hope you don't mind but I did a copy/paste to a word doc then I'm going to download it to my PDA so I'll have it with me in case I forget.

I'm generous with taxi drivers because I hate figuring out the change.  

I start calculating about two or three blocks from where I'm going.  I round it up to the next dollar and then calculate the tip.  If the meter says $5.10, I'd still round it to $6.00 and with a $.90 tip, it's $7.00.  The cabbie makes out well, but they deserve it for enduring New York traffic.

Jane, I forgot to put about the ticks.  Our horses and dogs used to get them (can't say I ever remember having any on me) but we used to light a wooden match, blow it out then touch the tick with it.  It would detatch itself very quickly no matter how deep it was buried.  You might want to try that.

Ticks carry lime disease so I hope Echo has had her shots for that!  B & B get theirs every year even though I haven't seen a tick on them.

We have a special pronged gadget that is great for removing ticks.  It is much easier than lighting a match.  

The vets we have gone to in Ashland didn’t think we should vaccinate her for Lyme disease so we stopped.  Each area is different.  This afternoon, after elmore mentioned my safety, it made me think we should get her tested for it.  I’m going to talk to the vet tomorrow.  Thanks for mentioning it.

Looked it up on IMDB ...Miss Ryan.

DR Panni,

Your tipping style is much like mine, and quite different from most other Torontonians I've met. I have found Torontonians to be really stingy in the tipping department - and the odd thing is that cab drivers don't even complain. I've shared taxis with people from my building, and have often found myself in the position of slipping the driver another buck when I'm not handling the moolah. I have one friend who is extraordinarily wealthy, and her husband's tipping practices are appalling. I got to talking one day with a retired CN porter who lives in my building, and he told me that working stiffs were always his best tippers.

No, Penny Fuller is Eve, both on B'way and TV.  It's Debbie somebody.

I just did research on the blood test for Lyme Disease.  It isn’t very accurate and not worth doing on Echo since her symptoms are different.