We sat down to breakfast on the Mississippi river ship and were immediately joined by a pleasant looking couple from Indianapolis, Indiana.

I asked right out if he knew Larry Bird and he said "no." He scanned the breakfast memo and a Cheshire cat smile came over his face.

He said to me, "They have your food on the menu!" He pointed to the bagels and lox. I told him he must be mistaken as I am a native of Australia. He laughed, but I did not understand why. We New Yorkers somehow stand out on a shipload full of Mid-Westerners.

He then launched into a long spiel about a famous New York restaurant in downtown Indianapolis, "Shapir-ee-ohs," he pronounced it. I did not correct his mispronunciation.

"They have the best pastrami and corned beef I have ever eaten," he stated. He then delivered a five-minute lecture on the good and bad aspects from a gourmand's point of view of these delicacies. Actually, he was 100 percent perfectly correct in his dissertation.

He then launched into his other favorite "Shapir-ee-os" (sic) food - Chicken Soup. Again he was on target.

The waiter then delivered the pancakes he had ordered. He decided to share one of his gourmet secrets with us. He slowly and carefully spread peanut butter over the top of his stack of pancakes and then covered it all with maple syrup.

He proceeded to cut bite-sized pieces of his concoction and offered them to us on the end of his fork. We accepted his gift and tasted the offering.

Eureka - We loved it!

I can never eat pancakes again without the thought of covering them with peanut butter. He was a real swell fellow and his name was Larry.

He said I'd never forget him because of Larry Bird. He even laughed at a few of my corny jokes which definitely cemented our friendship.

I love Mid-Westerners!