Ketchup or Mustard?

Ketchup or Mustard?

“A hot dog at the game beats roast beef at the Ritz.”  ~ Humphrey Bogart


On your hot dog.

Your frank.
Your wiener.
Your dachshund
sausage.
Grilled,
boiled or
steamed.
That you’re 
holding
and eating.
Maybe right now.
With virtual (and 
actual) relish.
At the picnic.
In the backyard. Or
ballpark, or stadium.
That in a bite 
of your dog
and bun
takes you 
right back
to your American 
childhood. Sunny
Summer times.
Good times.
Hats off to Charles
Feltman, that 
enterprising German
immigrant who 
started the whole shebang,
the meaty sensation, 
at his sea-salty
Coney Island stand
in 1876. 
That’s been sliding 
down the culture’s gullet
ever since.
20 billion of them 
a year filling Americans’
welcome bellies.
7 billion alone
between Memorial
and Labor Day,
nearly one for everyone
on the planet.
Washed down
with oceans 
of cold beer
and lemonade.
Loved by men, women
and children alike.
Even Hollywood stars,
like sexy, smoky Marlene 
Dietrich, who savored hers
with champagne.


Hot dog!

---

Colin Goedecke, Long Beach, New York, July 2025