So Many Animal Lovers In This Town; Thai Me Up With Attitude; Ahoy, Sailor!; Flingo & The Flying Hot Dogs; Helping Nabors.

RVA 5x5 - August 14, 2023

No algorithms. No content filters. Honest and insightful analysis.
You can find the 5 main stories from Friday’s edition here, and today features the “ALT 5” stories for a nice, leisurely, read. Enjoy!

This week check out our five stories on:

• Nothing says America like flying hot dogs at a baseball game flung into the stands by a guy in a pink flamingo suit known as “Flingo.”

• A set of quotes from a great service that helps not only seniors in need but those providing the service as well.

• A look back at the history of The Sailor sandwich and its origins from the New York Deli in Carytown that has origins going back to Austria.

• We have so many animal lovers in this town and they proved it when the Tommie Fund ran out of funds and a local donor stepped up big time along with many others.

• If you like it spicy and served with attitude that changes perceptions and expectations, then check out the hottest Thai pop-up that is turning heads and bringing the heat.

THE ALT 5

ALT #1 — OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Flingo & The Flying Hot Dogs
One of the reasons the Flying Squirrels are so beloved is not (necessarily) because they put a baseball team on the field during the summer, but the fun they come up with between innings to add a moment of fun and levity.

And that’s exactly what happens during the middle of the second inning along the baselines at every home game and Melanie Martinez-Lopez at the Times-Dispatch has a fun look at the adventures of Flingo the Flamingo and the Wacky Hot Dog Vendor.

They have been a staple at the games since the Squirrels arrived in 2010 and one recent toss even wound up on ESPN’s "Sportscenter “Top 10" when a hot dog was thrown into the stands and caught in a net sticking out of the press box behind home plate.

The origin of the idea was ostensibly born at the minor league baseball team in Reading, Pennsylvania, which used to be run by recently retired Squirrels’ CEO Chuck Domino. But the Reading Fightin' Phils Crazy Hot Dog Vendor wears glasses, a bowtie and red and white stripes and tosses hot dogs from an ostrich-like puppet. But nothing says America more than fans screaming and yelling to try and grab a flying hot dog hurled by a guy running in a pink flamingo suit.