send a salami to your boy in the army...

NEWARK, N.J. 23-thousand salamis. That's the goal for brothers Marc and Michael Brummer, co-owners of Hobby's Deli in Newark. The Brummers hope to provide a taste of home for each soldier in 42nd Infantry Division serving in Tikrit, Iraq.

The brothers loaded the first two-thousand salamis _ about 2 tons in all _ onto a truck yesterday in the first phase of what they dub ``Operation Salami Drop.'' The dried meat could arrive Over There as early as this weekend.